Not trying to put down ECS in any way shape or form, but remember, ECS is not the only parts supplier for our cars. I have had good luck with EMPI axles which you can get almost anywhere, but I prefer raxles. Just dont want you to be stuck on only using ECS as a supplier

 

i appreciate that; i only default to ecs because they're the only supplier i'm familiar with.

raxles seems awesome, but i don't know if i'm in need of their superiority for $75 more per axle.

 

I have had my fair share of axle/boot issues. It is not a fun job, especially if you are taking a part off to deal with a warranty issue. I would really recommend the Raxles or VW OEM part from the dealer for your axles.

I would pay $75 so many times to not have had the issues with other brands of axles. And no, I did not buy refurbs from Autozone... but they were not EMPI either. I actually can't remember the brand.

But, from what I have read from other folks on this board... Raxles or VW OEM is worth it for this particular part.

ECS rocks for everything else, though!

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As far as your question of what else to do while you're in there... I actually don't know what a clutch job on this car entails (still on my original on my '98 w/ 140k), but I would do a good review of your timing belt, water pump, and accessory belts.

I would imagine your PCV system could use some love while you are under there. They seem to start clogging up very quickly on 1.8ts - at least the earlier model years.

 

ah, ok. my '04 has 137,000 miles on it. how does one show some love to the pcv system? haha. i'd search, but i think those search terms wouldn't produce much.

 

Basically you take apart the whole system. Replace the check valves, suction pump, etc. Replace any plastic bits that fall apart when you touch them (some will). Clean the crud out of everything else. Reassemble. Repeat every four or five years.

 

I would suggest to change the following if you are doing a clutch job:

Rear main crank seal
Tranny input shaft seal
Shifter seal

:wrench:

 

Only thing I would add is you may want to Google that RA4 clutch cause I remember when I was researching a new clutch I found some bad things. I messed APTuning down in PA about what a good solution:

We have a clutch kit which is made by Sachs/Luk and uses a slightly large clutch, but biggest benefit is that it uses a single mass flywheel and gets rid of the extremely heavy dual mass setup.

I didn't get specifics but maybe someone here can post something similar that could hold up to a FrankenTurbo lets say. But they quoted me $750 for the whole job including parts which would put the kit around $450

 

I have that exact ECS clutch kit in my Passat (of course it was $700 when I bought it) and I have no complaints about it. It is holding up fine with my APR 91 octane tune. If you do a FrankenTurbo setup, let me know what exactly it took to get it all right. I've been looking into it, but its not exactly the clearest process to me.

 

ah hell yeah, this is the information i was looking for. =) thanks everybody.

ak - i'll look into that stuff. :thumbup:

deathking - customer reviews ftw. i'll get on some searching.

scotts - ahh, right. i'm so happy i bought that bentley's. haha.

dirk - good to hear man, really. i don't think i'll be doing the frankenturbo bit... something about making my own turbo from parts of others just strikes me as off. ko4 and a new chip, maybe, though. =D