Volkswagen TDI talk

[broncomitch]

anyone interested in my old set of seats?
https://www.ksl.com/?nid=218&ad=41550151&cat=556

really want em gone..

 

[Rot Box]

Since I moved this summer my commute time/distance has dropped significantly. I love being closer to town but I'm not sure it's great for my car.

I have to jump onto a 60mph highway for about a mile then I take a 30mph road to work. There's no traffic light so I have to hammer down on a cold turbocharged engine to get up to speed which I really don't like doing. Then when I turn onto the 30mph road it is almost too fast for third gear but not fast enough for fourth gear. Coolant hardly even gets up to temp. Went from getting 700 miles to a tank to under 600 miles..

I've only had to fill up three maybe four times since the move (I forget what side the fuel cap is on! haha) which has been REALLY nice.

Starting to wonder if I'm doing more bad than good to the car. Also starting to wonder if I worry too much Thoughts?

 

[Greg]

Since I moved this summer my commute time/distance has dropped significantly. I love being closer to town but I'm not sure it's great for my car.

I have to jump onto a 60mph highway for about a mile then I take a 30mph road to work. There's no traffic light so I have to hammer down on a cold turbocharged engine to get up to speed which I really don't like doing. Then when I turn onto the 30mph road it is almost too fast for third gear but not fast enough for fourth gear. Coolant hardly even gets up to temp. Went from getting 700 miles to a tank to under 600 miles..

I've only had to fill up three maybe four times since the move (I forget what side the fuel cap is on! haha) which has been REALLY nice.

Starting to wonder if I'm doing more bad than good to the car. Also starting to wonder if I worry too much Thoughts?

I think you worry too much, but that's just me.

Congrats on the move!

 

[Unimog]

I thought all of my brake pads were going to make it to 300k, but the rears just gave out this week at 296k, so I broke down and put some new ones on. Those rear brake calipers are a bit difficult to get the parking break backed off.

 

[TRD270]

Those rear brake calipers are a bit difficult to get the parking break backed off.

Yes they are, I was about ready to shoot mine until I figured out you had to twist them while putting pressure on the piston. Thankfully I have a friend that is a full time mechanic and he had the tool to make it easy.

 

[Spork]

I thought all of my brake pads were going to make it to 300k, but the rears just gave out this week at 296k, so I broke down and put some new ones on. Those rear brake calipers are a bit difficult to get the parking break backed off.

I ended up borrowing a tool from Oreilly to get mine to twist and back off.

 

[anderson750]

It looks like I have developed a problem with the actuator on the turbo since I have a 17964 charge pressure code. From my research there is a possiblility that it is just vacuum leak, but I don't suspect that to be the problem. I have done some research trying to find a part # for the actuator without any luck. Does anybody know if this is an OEM only part or can I get it from a parts store?

 

[Greg]

It looks like I have developed a problem with the actuator on the turbo since I have a 17964 charge pressure code. From my research there is a possiblility that it is just vacuum leak, but I don't suspect that to be the problem. I have done some research trying to find a part # for the actuator without any luck. Does anybody know if this is an OEM only part or can I get it from a parts store?

Would this work?- http://www.idparts.com/vane-actuator-vnt-15vnt-17-a4-alh-p-530.html

ID Parts sells high quality stuff, plenty of factory stuff and good parts. I buy almost all my VW stuff from them.

 

[anderson750]

That would. It apparently is not a part available at any parts store, so I ended up buying one of ebay.......made in China.....so we will see how that works. If it doesn't turn out well, I will go with the company you linked.

 

[Rot Box]

That's a pretty easy part to test while it's in the car.. You can also pull off the turbo side vacuum line and use a vacuum pump to check if the diaphragm on the turbo is good and holding vacuum. See where the linkage is on the turbo? Try to move it by pushing it with a screwdriver (obviously when the engine is cold) sometimes the veins inside the turbo stick.. If it moves by pushing it you're probably ok there. I like to lubricate that linkage every few months as well because it will stick/bind sometimes.

If you do replace the actuator be super careful and cut the vacuum hose off of the solenoid don't try to pull it off. If you try to pull it off it will break the actuator. I made that mistake with mine and it turned out mine was good after all.

ID parts is awesome. They also carry the oem type vacuum hose which is really high quality stuff and very affordable. The old hose on mine looked fine on the outside but it would collapse randomly under vacuum..

Hope this helps.

 

[pELYgroso]

I just joined the cool kids club and got myself a TDI 5 speed Jetta. an '06 with 156k miles. It seems to run smooth besides a bit of a squeak coming from the front end on larger dips. I'm thinking bushings?

Also, an error light comes on when you start it but goes off when you press the "0.0" button to the right of the cluster. The guy I bought it from said that it is because of a bad LED in the dash. Anybody else have that happen?

He said that the timing belt was replaced about 35k miles ago. These are 60k belts, right?

Anything else I should be aware of? I'm going to get an oil change asap. Is there a "best" oil to use for these?

This thread was the main reason that I considered a VW and specifically a TDI. I bought a VR6 Jetta a few years ago and had nothing but problems with it. I said that I'd never own another VW. This thread changed my mind.

Hopefully it will last another 100k+ miles for me!

 

[Unimog]

I just joined the cool kids club and got myself a TDI 5 speed Jetta. an '06 with 156k miles. It seems to run smooth besides a bit of a squeak coming from the front end on larger dips. I'm thinking bushings?

He said that the timing belt was replaced about 35k miles ago. These are 60k belts, right?

Anything else I should be aware of? I'm going to get an oil change asap. Is there a "best" oil to use for these?

Welcome to the club!

Mine gets a similar squeak occasionally. On mine it is fixed by a little silicone lube on the sway bar bushing.

05 timing belt change interval is 100k, from what I understand.

I use Shell Rotella t6 5w40 synthetic at 10k change intervals.

 

[Spork]

I've done the waterpump/timing belt combo every 100k miles. I also change oil every 10k miles. I usually use Rottella T6 full synthetic 5w40.
I'm not sure what the 0.0 button is, never heard of that error.

 

[Unimog]

So this happened a couple of weeks ago on my 2002 tdi:

I also broke down and changed the original front brake pads. They had another 40 or 50k left in them, but the warning light was irritating me. Should be good for another 300k?

 

[Spork]

Nice, My fronts only lasted to about 250k. I'm probably going to hit 300k this summer/fall.

 

[pELYgroso]

Hey Greg, where did you get your black GTI grill? That looks pretty awesome and I'd love to put one on my Jetta.

 

[anderson750]

I am still having some turbo boost problems after changing the actuator and I think it is a vacuum issue. The reason for this is that I will get the red "BRAKE" light lighting up on my dash occasionally when I first start it up and get going and my theory is that it is setting off because there is not enough vacuum for the brake assist at first then it goes off. I have also noticed that the brake pedal has a stiff feeling when the car first starts up for about 10-15 seconds. I am not real experienced in this area and do not know where the best place to start at on these cars to try and track it down.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Greg]

Hey Greg, where did you get your black GTI grill? That looks pretty awesome and I'd love to put one on my Jetta.

I honestly can't remember, but it was a reproduction cheap piece. Good chance it came from Ebay!

And yeah, I loved the look... the car stood out, especially with the 'TDI' badge in place of the 'GTI'.

 

[pELYgroso]

I might just use some glossy trim paint and paint it black. Should give the desired look....

I'm thinking about painting the wheels black as well.

 

[Greg]

I might just use some glossy trim paint and paint it black. Should give the desired look....

I'm thinking about painting the wheels black as well.

That should work! Had I known you had an '06 and were looking for those parts, I would have swapped you my grill and headlights (new Hella units) since I sold my car back to VW.

If you ever decide to sell it, I'd love a shot at buying it! I loved my '06 TDI/Manual