[thechoochlyman]

Hey guys, this is my first post here at Passat World. I've been daily driving my B4 TDI for the last couple of years, and I absolutely love it. Regularly gets me 48+ MPG, with a current record of 51.4 MPG on a trip back to central KY from Pittsburgh.

Two days ago I found this 1999 Passat with 177k miles for sale within 20 miles of me for a steal of a deal and had to grab it. It belonged to the owner's son, who left for college and never came back for it. It sat for over a year with a dead battery, and was described as unable to start due to the ECU needing reset. It would run for a couple seconds, then rumble to a stop. Thanks to some reading on this site, I was able to get it up and running with VCDS in under 30 minutes.

Before I was able to drive it home I filled up the coolant tank (PO described as having a slow leak), topped off the oil with what was in the trunk (5w-30 full syn I'm fairly certain), topped off the PS fluid (also had some in the trunk), then had to rock it back and forth a bit to unstick the E-brake which had been left on. I got about three miles up the road to fill up the gas tank and found out I couldn't steer. I managed to get it in the lane, where I saw the steering rack pouring fluid like crazy. I bought four small bottles of PS fluid from the gas station and managed to get the car home, stopping every five miles and filling the reservoir back up.

Also - twice on my way home - the oil light started flashing. I checked the level, which was good, and it took a while for it to come back on after I started driving again. I've read that this can be caused by the notorious sludge issue, so I'm intending to clean the engine out when I change the rack.

Other things I know for sure need to be fixed on the car:

• Hood lift support
• Front right door will not open from outside
• Headliner sagging
• Door panels are falling off
• Driver's armrest control panel is all busted up
• Windshield appears to have silicone around it, so possible reseal by a pro?
• Center armrest is broken, along with a few other odds and ends on the interior
• Truck doesn't latch
• Power mirrors nonresponsive
• Metal bar hanging from underneath, scrapes the ground
• Driver's window sounds like scraping metal when I roll it up
• At least one speaker is blown
• MFA knob is stuck or broken

Good things are:

• Engine runs strong
• Transmission feels good
• Paint is 6/10 with no rust
• No dents really
• suspension is good
• two new front tires
• windows are already tinted

The main questions I have are related to engine maintenance, and what I should do to get it running reliably. Should I change the timing belt? What should I do for preventative maintenance? I will certainly be doing a lot of reading and research on the matter. But if anybody can give me tips for the issues listed above, I would certainly appreciate it! For now I'm an expecting dad who is also trying to finish building a house, so I likely will not be able to get started on the car for another month or so.

I do have a friend with a B5 wagon for parts, and he's offering to sell me the used rack from it. Is there any reason why it wouldn't work?

 

[pszemol]

Just curious - how much have you paid for this new toy-project?


Pszemol
--
2004 Passat GLX, V6 2.8l

 

[thechoochlyman]

A mere $380, my friend.

 

[Electron Man]

Advice: Try to find a covered spot to store the car until you have a chance (new child = if ever) to begin work on it. Most of the issues are solvable, but require ~1/2 to 2/3 of a day to resolve since everything wrong with the car requires removal of 5-6 other parts/assemblies to access the problem component.

One hint on that headliner: It can be recovered by an upholstery shop, but it's a job that needs completion in conjunction with windshield replacement since that's how the factory installed the headliner (prior to windshield bonding). Count on ~$450 for this "double job" if you buy the headliner fabric first. I've used Automotive Interiors & Accessories for cars, trucks, vans, & suvs in the past; two yards of fabric is enough for the sedan.

Six months from now, you'll be thinking you might've paid $200 too much.

Good Luck :beer:

 

[thechoochlyman]

Advice: Try to find a covered spot to store the car until you have a chance (new child = if ever) to begin work on it. Most of the issues are solvable, but require ~1/2 to 2/3 of a day to resolve since everything wrong with the car requires removal of 5-6 other parts/assemblies to access the problem component.

One hint on that headliner: It can be recovered by an upholstery shop, but it's a job that needs completion in conjunction with windshield replacement since that's how the factory installed the headliner (prior to windshield bonding). Count on ~$450 for this "double job" if you buy the headliner fabric first. I've used Automotive Interiors & Accessories for cars, trucks, vans, & suvs in the past; two yards of fabric is enough for the sedan.

Six months from now, you'll be thinking you might've paid $200 too much.

Good Luck :beer:

I've done a few other headliners. If I do have the glass pulled, I'll do it all at once but reupholster it myself.

Some of these things I might not worry about fixing. I had a great debate over whether or not I wanted to part the car out or fix it, and yesterday I settled on fixing it. If my wife likes the car well enough I'll fix it up nice and sell our Subaru. Otherwise, I'll probably be fixing it up to resell. With the timing belt, engine sludge, and steering rack being the most important things to fix, I think I can get away with having it drive-able for about $1,000 in total. (Plus all my time, of course)

Edit: Fortunately, the baby isn't coming until about January anyhow. :thumbup:

 

[PZ]

The headliner can be removed through the front passenger door with the seat reclined. I've never had to do it since I have a wagon, but it can be done.

 

[scotts13]

Exactly how far did you drive with the oil pressure warning on?

 

[thechoochlyman]

The first time it happened was after driving about 15 minutes, and I pulled off immediately to check the oil. The second time it happened was about 10 minutes later when I was almost home. I just put it in neutral, cycled the key, restarted the engine and kept going.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[PZ]

The former owner of engine currently in my car did something similar, but he drove about 10 miles with shutting the car down for 2 minutes and driving until the light came on again. Luckily no damage to the bearings, but the Ebay turbo was toast soon after that.