Shedding properly, 2004 Passat Estate 1.9 TDI
Discussion
Cunningly, and despite being frowned at a lot, I take full advantage of the fact there are no age restrictions with regard to the car allowance scheme at my work. As such I choose to rock along in a shed and have done for years and years.
PCP's, company cars and all that malarky, I'd rather have the cash and shed it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you "The" shed of sheds. Anything with the evergreen VW 1.9 PD TDI is always good but when it is in a Passat estate, it is more than the sum of its parts. Well that's what I think anyway and it is the thought that counts.
I've had this current shed since 2011 buying it with 91,000 on the clock, it is now on a tad over 140,000 I'm not doing big miles but in previous sheds, one of which also a Passat TDI I did.
I'm very hands on with the car and do everything I can on it. What has prompted me to start this thread is that I'm currently embarking upon a mid life refresh on the old girl. But first I need to post up some pics of what has happened in the first four and a half years of ownership.
I don't have any early pics of her but not much has changed...
Passat and massive trailer which I built for camping and the like. Thing is, the 'dump people' say the trailer is too big for the dump due to some 'elf & safety nonsense. I don't take it to the dump anymore but luckily I have a Passat Estate so there isn't much that cannot be disposed of with just the car. Try taking a knackere dishwasher to the dump with a TVR.
I like to keep it nice and clean despite it being old and a shed
I fitted some extra telemetry.
PCP's, company cars and all that malarky, I'd rather have the cash and shed it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you "The" shed of sheds. Anything with the evergreen VW 1.9 PD TDI is always good but when it is in a Passat estate, it is more than the sum of its parts. Well that's what I think anyway and it is the thought that counts.
I've had this current shed since 2011 buying it with 91,000 on the clock, it is now on a tad over 140,000 I'm not doing big miles but in previous sheds, one of which also a Passat TDI I did.
I'm very hands on with the car and do everything I can on it. What has prompted me to start this thread is that I'm currently embarking upon a mid life refresh on the old girl. But first I need to post up some pics of what has happened in the first four and a half years of ownership.
I don't have any early pics of her but not much has changed...
Passat and massive trailer which I built for camping and the like. Thing is, the 'dump people' say the trailer is too big for the dump due to some 'elf & safety nonsense. I don't take it to the dump anymore but luckily I have a Passat Estate so there isn't much that cannot be disposed of with just the car. Try taking a knackere dishwasher to the dump with a TVR.
I like to keep it nice and clean despite it being old and a shed
I fitted some extra telemetry.
Edited by colin_p on Monday 29th February 21:31
The main adventure I've had with the car in terms of keeping it going is that of the front suspension arms. For those that don't know the Passat shares most of its mechanicals with the Audi A4's and A6's of the same era. This means my humble shed shares the same multilink front suspension as an RS6.
Great while it is all good but a pain to change. There are four suspension arms each side and changing them is a bit tricky and expensive.
I opted for a Febi as in Febi Bilstein kit the first time I did this as a mid priced fix.
The infamous pinch bolt that hold the top arms
Came out without much fuss due to careful planning and daily squirts of plusgas for a few weeks before. Some people have proper nightmares getting these bolts out
Some new arms
Jet washed prior to starting work. I might be a shed driver but I do hate working on a dirty car.
All set to get the spanners out
I spotted a split CV joint boot which these cars are famous for. Front wheel drive but a rear wheel layout and very tight steering lock ruins CV boots. Upon cleaning up and although this joint wasn't knocking it got changed and it soon would be knocking.
If you have never seen a CV joint in bits... you have now.
Everything off. I also like to do my mechanicing in the dark sometimes
The top arms fit to a carrier the bolts of which you cannot access when it is back on the car, therefore you have to set the 'design' height off the car.
Built up ready to fit
Who has the same fun I do with the CV boot clips? Just a bit tighter, just a bit..... snap!
ABS connection
Nice
Steering knuckle on the bench, had to take it off as the balljoint taper inserts cam off with the lower arms
Great while it is all good but a pain to change. There are four suspension arms each side and changing them is a bit tricky and expensive.
I opted for a Febi as in Febi Bilstein kit the first time I did this as a mid priced fix.
The infamous pinch bolt that hold the top arms
Came out without much fuss due to careful planning and daily squirts of plusgas for a few weeks before. Some people have proper nightmares getting these bolts out
Some new arms
Jet washed prior to starting work. I might be a shed driver but I do hate working on a dirty car.
All set to get the spanners out
I spotted a split CV joint boot which these cars are famous for. Front wheel drive but a rear wheel layout and very tight steering lock ruins CV boots. Upon cleaning up and although this joint wasn't knocking it got changed and it soon would be knocking.
If you have never seen a CV joint in bits... you have now.
Everything off. I also like to do my mechanicing in the dark sometimes
The top arms fit to a carrier the bolts of which you cannot access when it is back on the car, therefore you have to set the 'design' height off the car.
Built up ready to fit
Who has the same fun I do with the CV boot clips? Just a bit tighter, just a bit..... snap!
ABS connection
Nice
Steering knuckle on the bench, had to take it off as the balljoint taper inserts cam off with the lower arms
The heated seat had a burn through. Not uncommon on VW's of this era. It was like this when I bought the car.
I saw a Passenger seat on e-bay for a good price with the same coloured dark grey leather so...
I took the seat apart and swapped the bases over. It was a gamble but the drivers and passenger side bases are the same. The uprights are obviously different though.
Burn hole
I saw a Passenger seat on e-bay for a good price with the same coloured dark grey leather so...
I took the seat apart and swapped the bases over. It was a gamble but the drivers and passenger side bases are the same. The uprights are obviously different though.
Burn hole
problemchild1976 said:
its my father in laws passat and was my brother in laws (his sons) before that and a company car before.
they have replaced the crazy ass suspension twice now
we did the cam belt 2 weekends ago and its needed a new set of headlamps
it does have a little issue from time to time whereby it goes into limp mode but engine off/on again and all is fine
such a nice car to drive
JJ
I love them, there are effectively an Audi A6 ride wise.they have replaced the crazy ass suspension twice now
we did the cam belt 2 weekends ago and its needed a new set of headlamps
it does have a little issue from time to time whereby it goes into limp mode but engine off/on again and all is fine
such a nice car to drive
JJ
The limp mode issue is most likely a coked up VNT mechanism on the turbo.
The other thing these cars suffer from is blocked plenum drain bungs which cause water to overflow into the car and short out the central convenience electrics. Not good.
The beauty of an old shed is that these types of things are all known about and therefore cleaning the plenum is routine maintenance.
I've removed the bungs so they cannot clog
And cleaned
How dirty?
The beauty of an old shed is that these types of things are all known about and therefore cleaning the plenum is routine maintenance.
I've removed the bungs so they cannot clog
And cleaned
How dirty?
On top of the plenum drains, the pollen filter housing as these cars age gets a bit porous as well. I did re-sealed the pollen filter housing and for good measure also did the ECU housing.
ECU housing was ok but still got re-sealed
Loads of crap behind the pollen filter housing
Poor gasket seal design
Squidge in on!
And some more!
Waterproofed ECU
ECU back in its little house
Squidge on the pollen filter housing, no gaskets here, the squidge is the new gasket
Also VW's of this era are prone to slowly siezing wiper rack spindles so whilst it was all exposed, I whipped the wiper rack out, dismantled it and lubed it.
ECU housing was ok but still got re-sealed
Loads of crap behind the pollen filter housing
Poor gasket seal design
Squidge in on!
And some more!
Waterproofed ECU
ECU back in its little house
Squidge on the pollen filter housing, no gaskets here, the squidge is the new gasket
Also VW's of this era are prone to slowly siezing wiper rack spindles so whilst it was all exposed, I whipped the wiper rack out, dismantled it and lubed it.
Also driving an old shed doesn't mean you have to suffer. For very little money, actually £40 I got me a set of winter "steelies" which I put some proper winter tyres on.
195 wide oh what fun and joy they bring.
I did freshen up the steelies before getting the tyres fitted. I really like them.
195 wide oh what fun and joy they bring.
I did freshen up the steelies before getting the tyres fitted. I really like them.
Very difficult to photograph but I added some ambient lighting. Blurry but you get the idea.
Although this is the top of the range Highline model by modern standards it is lacking. A few quid on some LEDs and a few hours later...
Much more subtle to the naked eye. The blurry pics make the ambient glow seem brighter than it is.
Although this is the top of the range Highline model by modern standards it is lacking. A few quid on some LEDs and a few hours later...
Much more subtle to the naked eye. The blurry pics make the ambient glow seem brighter than it is.
Another weak point on VW's of this era are the coolant temperature sensors...
Cover bolt covers off. You find most cars with these missing, I swear mechanics take them off on the first service and throw them in the bin!
I had to buy some
And but some more of these
Airfilter housing out the way, you can see the sensor
Cheap e-bay special vs OE item. Buy cheap and do it twice is the addage. I did.
Cover bolt covers off. You find most cars with these missing, I swear mechanics take them off on the first service and throw them in the bin!
I had to buy some
And but some more of these
Airfilter housing out the way, you can see the sensor
Cheap e-bay special vs OE item. Buy cheap and do it twice is the addage. I did.
This is what really got me back home into shedding.
I got ahead of myself and went up market. Bear in mind these photos are quite old and the A6 was quite new at the time. It was my pride and joy.
But then this happened on the A40 coming out of London
A Merc hit me
The impact broke the back of the A6.
Cheesed off and disillusined I went back to shedding.
Got this Focus TDDI as a stop gap which I kept for about two years. A fantastic car. The Wife then used it for another three years after me.
I got ahead of myself and went up market. Bear in mind these photos are quite old and the A6 was quite new at the time. It was my pride and joy.
But then this happened on the A40 coming out of London
A Merc hit me
The impact broke the back of the A6.
Cheesed off and disillusined I went back to shedding.
Got this Focus TDDI as a stop gap which I kept for about two years. A fantastic car. The Wife then used it for another three years after me.
spaximus said:
They really are great cars. I had one as a company car, which they like to get rid of at 60k. So I ordered a new Volvo XC60 to replace it, by which time it was delivered, it was already up to 75k.
The plan to get rid changed when they needed a car quick so it was made a pool car. It is now up to 160k and has not had anything other than tyres and servicing, nothing. Nothing on warranty as well.
The Volvo has visited the dealer on the back of a truck three times in 14 months. I am now looking at an Amorak to replace the Volvo if I can live with it.
If all else fails, get another Passat, you know you can rely on them. A lot of what I've done is premptive and probably not necessary.The plan to get rid changed when they needed a car quick so it was made a pool car. It is now up to 160k and has not had anything other than tyres and servicing, nothing. Nothing on warranty as well.
The Volvo has visited the dealer on the back of a truck three times in 14 months. I am now looking at an Amorak to replace the Volvo if I can live with it.
myvision said:
What's the big green button on the dash?
Oh that.I thought it would be a great idea to not miss out on the modern DRL craze so I wired up the front fogs to act like DRL's.
I never use them though and it was a pointless exercise as I hate DRL's.
I honestly don't know what came over me when I did that.
hughcam said:
How does the passat compare to the a6? I love my b5.5 estate and its still strong at 163k!
I actually prefer the Passat as it hasn't got the tosspot Audi image problem, not that anyone who drives an Audi is a tosspot, gosh no, Audi drivers are the Saints of the road.The A6 I had was exactly the same mechanically, the engine, gearbox, suspension, everything. The A6 had a lot more stuff in it and hence was heavier. It was very nice and at the time was my pride and joy but looking back years later, the Passat is the better car.
The comparison on current ones isn't valid though as the current Passat is based on the Golf chassis with the A6 on its own. I don't know a great deal about the current cars really but they are now very different cars whereas of the era of my current Passat and old A6 they were effectively the same car.
My advice is; keep the Passat.
That brings things almost up to date. Other than the big ticket items I've posted about above I really keep on top of the servicing doing 5,000 oil change intervals. They cost less than £30 and about an hour of my time. The other filters add about another £20 on top and are done every 3rd or so service, they are never that dirty.
The current phase of work started off as something minor and has grown. I wanted and needed to sort out an annoying squeal on the brakes which I believe is due to a worn carrier bracket. Coupled with me wanting to change both outer CV joints prior to the MOT the list has grown and grown and now I'm committed in doing much much more.
The CV joints? Yes, I've got two cracked, cracking boots which although not split soon will, see above somewhere where I explained due to the layout and tight turning circle these cars have an appetite for CV boots and not long after joints.
Anyway....
Not long after getting the car I changed all of the brake discs and pads, so probably about 40k miles ago'ish and noticed a bit of wear on the caliper carriers, the bits where the pads 'ears' bear on and slide along.
You can see the wear in the pic below. I knew this was present but have carried on. Now the pads are about half worn, they are obviously at the point where one of them is stuck in the low spot causing the squeal, or that is my theory.
So....
There were a pair of genuine ATE carriers on e-bay at an un-ignoreable price
Which I painted in readyness for fitting. These things rust! Ignore the glossy paint, it dried to a nice OE satin finish. Also ignore the bolts, they are temporarily fitted so I can hold the bracket while painting it.
And then of course despite them being half worn, I wanted to fit new brakes all round. So I've got a full set of Brembo items ready to fit. You will notice in some of the following pics that I've painted the discs, painted the bits that go rusty.
And then I got thinking, if I'm taking everything apart I might as well......
Do a suspension spring and damper refresh, afterall the old ones must be getting tired.
Bilstein B4's, purportedly the best OE shocks.
And some Eibach springs, again very very good and high quality.
And then....
In readiness for the brake disc and pad swap I thought a brake fluid change was in order once again. I got the car jacked up, all four wheels off, bled the fronts, no problem at all. went to the first rear and the bleed nipple was seized. Tired the other one, seized. I'm old enough to know how far to push things and how much force to use and I know that anymore would give rise to snapped bleed nipples.
So I bought a new pair of calipers. Again, cheap, most things are for VW's of a certain age.
And painted them. (painted sics in background)
They dried to a nice OE satin finish.
After acquiring all of the bits and bobs to build the struts up, bumpstops, covers, cup rubbers, topmounts etc I built the struts.
Rears, not much to do as the shocks and springs are separate
Front bare shock with new base plate and rubber spring cup
Compressed spring. No matter how many time I do this, it is a job I hate.
A random shot of the new CV joint kits
Ready to fit
The current phase of work started off as something minor and has grown. I wanted and needed to sort out an annoying squeal on the brakes which I believe is due to a worn carrier bracket. Coupled with me wanting to change both outer CV joints prior to the MOT the list has grown and grown and now I'm committed in doing much much more.
The CV joints? Yes, I've got two cracked, cracking boots which although not split soon will, see above somewhere where I explained due to the layout and tight turning circle these cars have an appetite for CV boots and not long after joints.
Anyway....
Not long after getting the car I changed all of the brake discs and pads, so probably about 40k miles ago'ish and noticed a bit of wear on the caliper carriers, the bits where the pads 'ears' bear on and slide along.
You can see the wear in the pic below. I knew this was present but have carried on. Now the pads are about half worn, they are obviously at the point where one of them is stuck in the low spot causing the squeal, or that is my theory.
So....
There were a pair of genuine ATE carriers on e-bay at an un-ignoreable price
Which I painted in readyness for fitting. These things rust! Ignore the glossy paint, it dried to a nice OE satin finish. Also ignore the bolts, they are temporarily fitted so I can hold the bracket while painting it.
And then of course despite them being half worn, I wanted to fit new brakes all round. So I've got a full set of Brembo items ready to fit. You will notice in some of the following pics that I've painted the discs, painted the bits that go rusty.
And then I got thinking, if I'm taking everything apart I might as well......
Do a suspension spring and damper refresh, afterall the old ones must be getting tired.
Bilstein B4's, purportedly the best OE shocks.
And some Eibach springs, again very very good and high quality.
And then....
In readiness for the brake disc and pad swap I thought a brake fluid change was in order once again. I got the car jacked up, all four wheels off, bled the fronts, no problem at all. went to the first rear and the bleed nipple was seized. Tired the other one, seized. I'm old enough to know how far to push things and how much force to use and I know that anymore would give rise to snapped bleed nipples.
So I bought a new pair of calipers. Again, cheap, most things are for VW's of a certain age.
And painted them. (painted sics in background)
They dried to a nice OE satin finish.
After acquiring all of the bits and bobs to build the struts up, bumpstops, covers, cup rubbers, topmounts etc I built the struts.
Rears, not much to do as the shocks and springs are separate
Front bare shock with new base plate and rubber spring cup
Compressed spring. No matter how many time I do this, it is a job I hate.
A random shot of the new CV joint kits
Ready to fit
And whilst I was at it, I thought it would be nice to do a bit of a re-fresh generally.
I won't add a lot of text to the below other than the odd note here and there but the work comprises of dismantling the complete rear suspension assembly, cleaning the rust off and building it back up.
Crusty rusted and looking like they wouldn't come out without a fight, the hub / wheel bearing assembly mounting bolts
VW are obseesed with using these stupid allen headed (chesse headed) bolts.
Stuck solid, need a bit of tappage!
Rear caliper carrier bracket off, these despite being rusty are not worn like the fronts so are good to be re-fitted once cleaned up.
There she blows! Not the best idea to have the hub hanging off the ABS sensor cable
The ABS sensors did not want to come out without a very gentle fight. I didn;t want to break them, no Sir, not at £millions plus VAT Sir
Grubby but servicable bits ready for refreshment.
Scabius McScabby beam end
I won't add a lot of text to the below other than the odd note here and there but the work comprises of dismantling the complete rear suspension assembly, cleaning the rust off and building it back up.
Crusty rusted and looking like they wouldn't come out without a fight, the hub / wheel bearing assembly mounting bolts
VW are obseesed with using these stupid allen headed (chesse headed) bolts.
Stuck solid, need a bit of tappage!
Rear caliper carrier bracket off, these despite being rusty are not worn like the fronts so are good to be re-fitted once cleaned up.
There she blows! Not the best idea to have the hub hanging off the ABS sensor cable
The ABS sensors did not want to come out without a very gentle fight. I didn;t want to break them, no Sir, not at £millions plus VAT Sir
Grubby but servicable bits ready for refreshment.
Scabius McScabby beam end
Now that the hubs were dismantled the next phase was to drop the suspension beam off the car
Tied the caliper etc up out the way.
Getting there
The good old Halfords jack.
Off and on the workmate
I knew there was an unexplained rattle. Two of the studs that the hand brake cable bolt to had sheared off. Previous pic of the other end the studs are there.
Yuk
These are the beam pivot bushes. Only a few years old, just dirty.
Weapon of choice. Mini grinder with an assortment of wire brushes. This is a curious thing to do as bits of wire ping off at a few hundred miles an hour. Goggles are essential as are ear defenders. But when a bit of wire hits you on say the lip, it stings a little bit.
Cleaned
Rusty dirty
Cleaned
Dirty
Cleaned
Tied the caliper etc up out the way.
Getting there
The good old Halfords jack.
Off and on the workmate
I knew there was an unexplained rattle. Two of the studs that the hand brake cable bolt to had sheared off. Previous pic of the other end the studs are there.
Yuk
These are the beam pivot bushes. Only a few years old, just dirty.
Weapon of choice. Mini grinder with an assortment of wire brushes. This is a curious thing to do as bits of wire ping off at a few hundred miles an hour. Goggles are essential as are ear defenders. But when a bit of wire hits you on say the lip, it stings a little bit.
Cleaned
Rusty dirty
Cleaned
Dirty
Cleaned
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