VW Passat B5.5 PD 130
Discussion
got this engine in my scabby 2003 bora - 130k and no issues beyond consumables. Replacing the knackered suspension with uber cheapy coilovers (just coz this was the cheapest suspension I could find) wasn't exactly my finest decision, but bouncy aside it's comfortable, economical, reliable and feels quicker than it is. At some point I'll get a blacksmoke remap to flash the ecu with. If it goes pop, that'll just give me an excuse to get one of the old V8 barges I keep drooling over.
Great cars. I've had 40+ cars over the past 15 years and the one I deeply regret selling was my B5.5 Passat Estate, an SE in white. I maintained it meticulously and it was genuinely immaculate. I sold it at 155k miles ish and it never gave me any real bother. The only issue I had was smashing the sump jumping a hump back bridge (oops), but I fixed it myself - quite a big job as the subframe was in the way. I even made a few quid changing cambelts for Passat owners throughout the country as I'd got the hang of them and at the time it was an expensive dealer job.
By chance I saw it up for sale some years later and went to buy it back, but it had been bought by some eastern europeans who had seemingly done mega miles in it with next to no maintenance and it had clearly been clocked. I actually sobbed when I got back home, pathetic I know, but oh well.
It was faster than the Fabia vRS I had before it for sure, as I couldn't quite keep up with my mate's Ibiza FR (also a PD130) in the Fabia, but he couldn't keep up with me in the Passat!
I'd certainly buy another.
I fitted mine with Skoda Superb wheels, which I think really suited it.
Engine was kept spotless too (yes I did have the cover, just not fitted in the photo).
The blue and red glow was legendary, although not that comfortable on the eyes on a long nighttime drive, I used to turn mine right down. The green of the Skoda Superb is less attractive but easier on the eyes in my experience.
Super comfy seats too!
By chance I saw it up for sale some years later and went to buy it back, but it had been bought by some eastern europeans who had seemingly done mega miles in it with next to no maintenance and it had clearly been clocked. I actually sobbed when I got back home, pathetic I know, but oh well.
It was faster than the Fabia vRS I had before it for sure, as I couldn't quite keep up with my mate's Ibiza FR (also a PD130) in the Fabia, but he couldn't keep up with me in the Passat!
I'd certainly buy another.
I fitted mine with Skoda Superb wheels, which I think really suited it.
Engine was kept spotless too (yes I did have the cover, just not fitted in the photo).
The blue and red glow was legendary, although not that comfortable on the eyes on a long nighttime drive, I used to turn mine right down. The green of the Skoda Superb is less attractive but easier on the eyes in my experience.
Super comfy seats too!
Edited by Dan Gleables on Sunday 15th January 14:05
Its reassuring to see the B5 and 5.5 getting some love, I thought I was the only one who liked such a dull and plain car.
Quick snap of mine, its a bit grubby right now with all the salt on the roads. Its closing in on 200,000 but still feels very solid and doesn't have any creaks or rattles. And for a supposedly complex and unreliable engine, mine is pretty much problem free and just needs normal maintenance. I originally bought it just because of the engine and didn't expect to keep it long. But it turns out the rest of the car is actually rather good so 5 years on and I'm not really tempted to part with it. I can see how the PD130 is the ideal workhorse.
Quick snap of mine, its a bit grubby right now with all the salt on the roads. Its closing in on 200,000 but still feels very solid and doesn't have any creaks or rattles. And for a supposedly complex and unreliable engine, mine is pretty much problem free and just needs normal maintenance. I originally bought it just because of the engine and didn't expect to keep it long. But it turns out the rest of the car is actually rather good so 5 years on and I'm not really tempted to part with it. I can see how the PD130 is the ideal workhorse.
Chris944_S2 said:
Its reassuring to see the B5 and 5.5 getting some love, I thought I was the only one who liked such a dull and plain car.
Quick snap of mine, its a bit grubby right now with all the salt on the roads. Its closing in on 200,000 but still feels very solid and doesn't have any creaks or rattles. And for a supposedly complex and unreliable engine, mine is pretty much problem free and just needs normal maintenance. I originally bought it just because of the engine and didn't expect to keep it long. But it turns out the rest of the car is actually rather good so 5 years on and I'm not really tempted to part with it. I can see how the PD130 is the ideal workhorse.
The infamous W8! Awesome! I heard they aren't as quick as you might imagine, but still a very cool car to have. Did they stiffen up the suspesion a bit with all that power? I can't quite work out the thought process of putting that engine in that ad and who the target market was back in the early 2000's, but hey! Very cool. Quick snap of mine, its a bit grubby right now with all the salt on the roads. Its closing in on 200,000 but still feels very solid and doesn't have any creaks or rattles. And for a supposedly complex and unreliable engine, mine is pretty much problem free and just needs normal maintenance. I originally bought it just because of the engine and didn't expect to keep it long. But it turns out the rest of the car is actually rather good so 5 years on and I'm not really tempted to part with it. I can see how the PD130 is the ideal workhorse.
j4ck100 said:
Chris944_S2 said:
Its reassuring to see the B5 and 5.5 getting some love, I thought I was the only one who liked such a dull and plain car.
Quick snap of mine, its a bit grubby right now with all the salt on the roads. Its closing in on 200,000 but still feels very solid and doesn't have any creaks or rattles. And for a supposedly complex and unreliable engine, mine is pretty much problem free and just needs normal maintenance. I originally bought it just because of the engine and didn't expect to keep it long. But it turns out the rest of the car is actually rather good so 5 years on and I'm not really tempted to part with it. I can see how the PD130 is the ideal workhorse.
The infamous W8! Awesome! I heard they aren't as quick as you might imagine, but still a very cool car to have. Did they stiffen up the suspesion a bit with all that power? I can't quite work out the thought process of putting that engine in that ad and who the target market was back in the early 2000's, but hey! Very cool. Quick snap of mine, its a bit grubby right now with all the salt on the roads. Its closing in on 200,000 but still feels very solid and doesn't have any creaks or rattles. And for a supposedly complex and unreliable engine, mine is pretty much problem free and just needs normal maintenance. I originally bought it just because of the engine and didn't expect to keep it long. But it turns out the rest of the car is actually rather good so 5 years on and I'm not really tempted to part with it. I can see how the PD130 is the ideal workhorse.
I like to think that if it were not for the humble Passat there would have been no W16 Veyron.
j4ck100 said:
Chris944_S2 said:
Its reassuring to see the B5 and 5.5 getting some love, I thought I was the only one who liked such a dull and plain car.
Quick snap of mine, its a bit grubby right now with all the salt on the roads. Its closing in on 200,000 but still feels very solid and doesn't have any creaks or rattles. And for a supposedly complex and unreliable engine, mine is pretty much problem free and just needs normal maintenance. I originally bought it just because of the engine and didn't expect to keep it long. But it turns out the rest of the car is actually rather good so 5 years on and I'm not really tempted to part with it. I can see how the PD130 is the ideal workhorse.
The infamous W8! Awesome! I heard they aren't as quick as you might imagine, but still a very cool car to have. Did they stiffen up the suspesion a bit with all that power? I can't quite work out the thought process of putting that engine in that ad and who the target market was back in the early 2000's, but hey! Very cool. Quick snap of mine, its a bit grubby right now with all the salt on the roads. Its closing in on 200,000 but still feels very solid and doesn't have any creaks or rattles. And for a supposedly complex and unreliable engine, mine is pretty much problem free and just needs normal maintenance. I originally bought it just because of the engine and didn't expect to keep it long. But it turns out the rest of the car is actually rather good so 5 years on and I'm not really tempted to part with it. I can see how the PD130 is the ideal workhorse.
Its more on the comfort side than sporty, mine has the optional "sports chassis" and it is still very wallowy so a standard one must be very soft. I would have loved to be in the meeting when someone at VW first mentioned the idea
Enjoying this thread and would like to join seeing as I have the 1.9 130 in my A6.
It's a bloody great engine, quick enough to see off Impreza Turbo's and various other track hacks
Yes I took it on a track day!
It was hilarious, pity the poor racing drivers that got overtaken by it!
https://youtu.be/eyA6Hqlrz60
https://youtu.be/6wYBxpBvqao
It's a bloody great engine, quick enough to see off Impreza Turbo's and various other track hacks
Yes I took it on a track day!
It was hilarious, pity the poor racing drivers that got overtaken by it!
https://youtu.be/eyA6Hqlrz60
https://youtu.be/6wYBxpBvqao
dme123 said:
It's really odd that there is some sort of mystique around these old VAG tractor engines that they are some sort of giant slayers with real world performance miles beyond their mediocre specifications.
It's happening on this very thread! Some quotes:"goes like a rocket", "0-30 is really quite remarkable", "quick enough to see off Impreza Turbo's and various other track hacks"
Olivera said:
dme123 said:
It's really odd that there is some sort of mystique around these old VAG tractor engines that they are some sort of giant slayers with real world performance miles beyond their mediocre specifications.
It's happening on this very thread! Some quotes:"goes like a rocket", "0-30 is really quite remarkable", "quick enough to see off Impreza Turbo's and various other track hacks"
It is entirely down to that comical power delivery, and it's the same reason remapped cars often feel so fast as the remapper takes out all that carefully calibrated smoothness out of the power curve!git-r said:
Olivera said:
It's happening on this very thread! Some quotes:
"goes like a rocket", "0-30 is really quite remarkable", "quick enough to see off Impreza Turbo's and various other track hacks"
It's the lag that makes it so quick "goes like a rocket", "0-30 is really quite remarkable", "quick enough to see off Impreza Turbo's and various other track hacks"
Loved mine. It was a 51-plate 130 auto which went on a trip to APS in Brackley for a tweak. Turned out to already have over 140bhp as standard. It was tweaked to just about 170bhp.
Went like a rocket The aforementioned comical power delivery was just that. Ruddy great dollop of torque and wheel spinning all over the place. It was a hoot but also an incredibly comfy and quiet motorway cruiser.
I'd consider another one if I didn't do mostly teeny short trips of a few miles here and there.
Went like a rocket
The aforementioned comical power delivery was just that. Ruddy great dollop of torque and wheel spinning all over the place. It was a hoot but also an incredibly comfy and quiet motorway cruiser.I'd consider another one if I didn't do mostly teeny short trips of a few miles here and there.
Fastchas said:
What's the consensus over the 6-speed Sport against the 5-speed? I had the 5 speed but would now prefer the stiffer 6-speed.
Here are the differences and similarities;Exactly the same engines mechanically
5 speed = AWX designation = 130hp = 285nm torque
6 speed = AVF designation = 130hp = 310nm torque
They are the same in the 0-60 dash and the same for top speed. The differences are in the mapping with the 5 speeds map not having the torque spike the 6 does. The 6 does have a slightly larger clutch plate. Real world I'd say the 6 would be a few seconds quicker on a B road.
But as these cars gracefully age the 6's increasingly suffer from noisy and bad diff bearings which are costly to sort. The earliest 6's (2001) were made by getrag but they then went in house and were made by VW from 2002, these are the bad boxes. You can of course source the earlier 6 speed boxes from Audi A4's and A6's of that era, they are exactly the same engine and gearbox wise as the Passat but there again they also suffer from the diff bearing issue!
The 5 speeds in contrast are pretty much bullet proof.
If your looking to buy a 6 speed, factor in a gearbox repair or get one that has already been repaired.
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