[HardcoreHenry11]

Hey my name is Henry and I am working on my ’04 GLS TDI B5.5.
Do any of you have experience or suggestions or tips about any of the following:
1-Brake Booster Replacement
2-Brighter Headlight Bulbs
3-TCM and or Neutral Safety Switch Replacement
4-Passenger side door locks Repair
5-Tachometer / Dash "Rattle" sound when accelerating

 

[lreven2]

Hi - welcome to the board! I will chime in on two of the items....

On the brighter bulbs - Year ago I tried the Sylvania Silverstars and liked the light improvement but they seemed to have a short life. I ended up putting W8 Halogen assemblies with adapter cable in the Passats I owned and love the results. No experience with LED bulbs.

Passenger side lock repair, depending on what is wrong with it you might need to replace the latch assembly. What is wrong with the lock?

 

[HardcoreHenry11]

Thanks for the response! I will look into those halogen bulbs. I think I have got halogens in there right now but they are just not bright enough for the dark wooded areas here.
As for the door locks on the passenger side, they just quit working last week. I think my car has some electrical anomalies. The passenger rear door wouldn't unlock with the other doors when the car is unlocked via key or button. But now both passenger door and passenger rear door will not respond to lock/unlock button or key.

I will take the door panels apart this coming weekend. Here's hoping I remember to lock them manually at work tomorrow.

 

[Iowegian]

W8 cars came with HID lights, at least for most of the light output. They may use halogens for some functions but the main lights (and I think both high and low beams) are HID.

 

[PZ]

I added HIDs to my son's B5.5 and it made a huge difference. Make sure the headlight lenses are clear, the internal wiring insulation is intact, and the reflectors are not cloudy. Sometimes, it makes more sense just to buy replacement headlights. Of course, I did mine in reverse, with my younger son polishing the headlights, then I found bad wiring and replaced that and installed the HID once the wiring was done.

 

[AndreasPassat]

I'm VERY happy with Xenon HID's. I'm personally not sold on LED's yet.
All of my Passat's have HID's now. They are incredible down here in the desert were there's NO light anywhere.
Gotta get the right Kelvin color to maximize your light output. I put 5000k HID bulbs in and they are perfect for the pitch-black nights down here.

 

[diesel1024]

Welcome!

I just got done with removing and going to be testing a replacement TCM I picked up and also replaced my neutral safety switch (aka Transmission Range Sensor) all within this month, be warned, it is a bit of a pain. I can definitely give you some details on that.

 

[HardcoreHenry11]

Thanks!
I will be swapping the TCM this afternoon when the part arrives. Any suggestions on that part?
Im thinking ill disconnect the negative battery terminal and just pop the new TCM right in. Ive already gutted the interior all upholstery. So I know where the TCM housing is and all that.
I just wanna know if I can plug and play this TCM?
Do I need to unplug my battery first?
Will I need to recalibrate anything afterwards?

 

[diesel1024]

Thanks!
I will be swapping the TCM this afternoon when the part arrives. Any suggestions on that part?
Im thinking ill disconnect the negative battery terminal and just pop the new TCM right in. Ive already gutted the interior all upholstery. So I know where the TCM housing is and all that.
I just wanna know if I can plug and play this TCM?
Do I need to unplug my battery first?
Will I need to recalibrate anything afterwards?

When I swapped my TCM, I just left the car off, unplugged the TCM, put the replacement in, and sent it. Worked fine for me twice (just swapped back a couple days ago). Theoretically no power is going through it when the car is off

So as far as I've seen on my '01 it's plug and play, and no need to unplug the battery, nothing to calibrate. TCM should auto adjust to driving habits over time

 

[vwipa]

Re: the brake booster. I just had to do this on my 2004 1.8t Passat. It's relatively straightforward, but you'll have to pull the plastic rain tray to give enough clearance to get the booster out. The good news is, you can pull the booster and the master cylinder as a unit that way. You'll also need to pull the under-dash trim to give you access to the brake pedal. You'll need a 16mm and 19mm wrench to detach the booster from the brake pedal.

The rain tray is attached with two clips in the cowl, and it pulls straight up from the metal channel that attaches it to the windshield. In my case, a windshield installer was sloppy with the urethane glue and I ended up breaking my tray getting it out, but hopefully yours won't have that issue, as the plastic does get brittle with age/UV rays.

 

[Rob.Achmann]

I’d add to get a proper wiper removal tool to remove the wipers to get the tray out. Worth the time savings and accidental windshield breakage. Ask me how I know…

 

[vwipa]

So speaking of rain trays, anyone have any idea for a source for one? Mine is broken bits held together with gorilla tape.

 

[diesel1024]

I’d add to get a proper wiper removal tool to remove the wipers to get the tray out. Worth the time savings and accidental windshield breakage. Ask me how I know…

You and me both.

 

[Rob.Achmann]

So speaking of rain trays, anyone have any idea for a source for one? Mine is broken bits held together with gorilla tape.

For that, I found the cheapest option was from the dealership. VW NA still has some

 

[Wahobbert]

I’d add to get a proper wiper removal tool to remove the wipers to get the tray out. Worth the time savings and accidental windshield breakage. Ask me how I know…

I'm VERY happy with Xenon HID's. I'm personally not sold on LED's yet.
All of my Passat's have HID's now. They are incredible down here in the desert were there's NO light anywhere.
Gotta get the right Kelvin color to maximize your light output. I put 5000k HID bulbs in and they are perfect for the pitch-black nights down here.

LED's are junk and mess up the focus of your beams. The only thing they're any good for is blinding oncoming traffic.

 

[AndreasPassat]

So speaking of rain trays, anyone have any idea for a source for one? Mine is broken bits held together with gorilla tape.

For that, I found the cheapest option was from the dealership. VW NA still has some

The B5.5 version is still available but not very many places stock it anymore. The uber rare B5 version is not anymore.

 

[vwipa]

For that, I found the cheapest option was from the dealership. VW NA still has some

Thank you for the tip, I guess I assumed they wouldn’t be available, d’oh!

 

[Passat2.8]

Osram Nightbreaker bulbs. Went with them in all my vehicles for both HID and Standard applications and have not looked back.

They are the best light you can get IMO, after having learned through trial and error.

Also, see here for good info (especially aiming properly):

https://www.danielsternlighting.com/