TDI in MT's 03 Golf

[TDI in MT]

Well, Thursday night I reprogrammed the transmission control module to "factory mode" (00000) and reset the adaptives with VCDS. It had been in economy mode (00011) but had problems with the 3H-3M (3rd gear hydraulic - 3rd gear mechanical) handoff, it was usually noticeable, sometimes quite obviously.

What a difference the change made! It now shifts like, um... a 10 year old automatic transmission should, more or less. The 3H-3M handoff problem still exists but it is not nearly as obvious and sometimes isn't apparent at all. I still think there's a mechanical issue there that needs to be looked at, but at least I'm not thinking I have to replace the transmission anymore. Are there any shops in HLN that deal with VW automatic transmissions? (Does V-Dubs?)

And today I replaced the rubber boot/hose covering the wires leading from the hatch to the body. Previous owner simply cut the hose to fix a short-between-wires problem, which he did fix. In the course of replacing the boot (properly) I had to disconnect the wiper motor, rear window washer hose, center brake light, hatch release and the rear window heater in order to pull those wires out of the hatch frame and slide them into the new rubber boot. Well, "slide" isn't the right term. The wiper motor's connector is about 1.25" wide, the rubber boot's grommets and "hose" are about .75" wide. Soapy water was needed to push/pull it thru the boot, but that water also made it harder for me to hold on to it! 15 minutes later I finally got the wires through the 8" long boot.

I also discovered that the plastic right-angle hose adapter (that connects the washer hose to the rear wiper motor) is cracked. It worked, but it never seemed to have quite enough pressure. Now I know why.

[MT-Getto]

Do you have moar info on what you did with the gear box? Is it an 09a?

[TDI in MT]

Do you have moar info on what you did with the gear box? Is it an 09a?

It's an 01m unfortunately. I used VCDS to change the settings.

The TCM can 'learn' how you drive and the conditions it is working under. There are apparently three settings that are fairly common for the 01m: 00000 (factory), 00011 (economy) and 00012 (sport). There could be others as well.

I don't know what the first three 0's mean. The 4th digit indicates dynamic shift protocol (DSP). 0 = on, 1 = off. DSP, as it's name suggests, dynamically changes the shift points based on throttle position, if you're going up or down hill, etc. Much like we'd do in a manual trans - hold the shift point for a while if you're going up hill and so on. It takes time for the system to learn it's new parameters.

The 5th digit is the mode: 0 = factory, 1 = economy and 2 = sport. I think these refer to pre-defined shift points. Factory is some kind of adaptive mode (it sounds much like DSP), Economy shifts at a lower point and Sport is more aggressive and shifts higher.

Mine was in economy mode (00011) before I made the change. I don't know what mode it was in when I got the car, but it wasn't shifting very well after ~30 minutes of driving. So, I reset the TCM the first time by using the accelerator pedal & the key since I didn't have VCDS at the time. I don't think that changed the mode, I think all it did was reset the adaptive ('learned') settings. That's worthy in it's own right, it made things better.

With VCDS though, not only did I change the operating mode, but I also figured it was the best way to reset the adaptive settings, so I did that. While I was at it, I told the TCM the kickdown values. It needs to know where 0% and 100% are on the accelerator for kickdown to work right. Was it wrong before? I don't know, but probably not.

According to Ross Tech, those three things have to be reset anytime the transmission has major work done to it, like removing the torque converter and valve body, both of which the previous owner had done. I don't think the TCM had ever been reset after those procedures.

[TDI in MT]

Replaced the low beam headlights tonight (H7's). Look at what came out. Yes, both are used. Why can't people replace both at the same time? The dark one actually has a bulge in it. It was on the driver side, which means there's 2" of room there to get a hand in and pull it out, but I fit my paw in there so I'm sure anyone else can.

[TDI in MT]

Broke the 600 mile per tank barrier today finally. After doing the ventectomy a few months back and finally getting the transmission settled down, I can now go farther on a tank than a stock '03 Golf can. The past 5 tanks have ranged from 37 to 39 mpg. The fuel economy is probably as good as the 01m 4-speed auto trans. can deliver. Quite an improvement over the 34 to 36 I was getting when I got it (oversized snow tires and a poorly-shifting trans are the likely reasons).

The low-fuel light came on at 545 miles, at 605 I decided it's time to do it since starting a diesel after running it dry is not fun. 15.8 gallons at my usual diesel pump here in HLN. Since the ventectomy, 16.x gallons is probably the most I can put in (before, 13.x was the limit).

The crunching noise I had is gone too. Every time I'd slow down for a stop sign or take off from one, I'd hear a crunching noise from the front end. I thought it was worn out suspension parts. I took it to Bryan @ Helena Trans. Center for a look at the trans, and he found one of the CV joint boots was torn. Since replacing the axle isn't that much more expensive than replacing just the boot, he recommended replacing the whole thing. That's what was done, and now there's no more noise. I wonder how many years it's been like that?

But apparently there's not much that can be done about the funky shifting. Most of the time it's fine, but not all of the time.

[YASHA7FOLD]

Still awesome mileage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TDI in MT]

Still awesome mileage.

For sure. But if it had a 5-speed, it would be 45+.

[TDI in MT]

One thing I learned today: when you have a lift kit, your stock vehicle jack is close to the end of it's travel if you don't have a lift kit for your jack!

For me, a piece of 2x4 will probably work.

I didn't have a flat; I just wanted to learn the VW way of doing it, learning in my garage as opposed to the highway.

Unfortunately, I damaged the underside of the car in the process. I put the jack under the left rear door and lifted it up. Then I realized I hadn't broken the torque on the studs, so I lowered it back down. All ok so far.

Two of the studs must have been put on at oh, 200 ft-lbs I'd guess, so I had to set the parking brake. I then freed the studs, and started to jack it up, forgetting to look at the jack again to see if it's still in the steel edge under the car. (It was, but barely, as I would later find out.)

The car came down on the jack after the holder slipped out of the steel edge. (It dropped about 2"; it didn't go all the way.) As a reward, I now have some 1/4" tears in the plastisol where the car hit the jack. Dented the metal a bit too. With the help of a bottle jack from the van, I was able to raise the car enough to pull the jack out.

Time to go to Walmart and get a $3 can of undercoat spray and brush it on in the affected areas.

[TDI in MT]

Took the car to Colorado Springs last week without a problem; hit 100,000 miles today. And I'm liking the fact that the price of gas is getting closer to that of diesel.

[TDI in MT]

Finally, I have more than one key that will start the car. When I bought it in March that's all I got. I bought one key (no remote, somewhat like a valet key) pre-cut to my VIN from MIG a while ago. That would at least let me in to the car should I lock the 'real' key inside, and could be programmed to start it as well in the future. I then found a place online that sells the "flip key" with electronics for $45. Local locksmith cut that key and after a visit to MIG Saturday to reprogram the computer to recognize them, all three keys now open the doors & start the car!

Also got a true front license plate bracket. The car was originally sold in Texas where front plates are not used, and the guy I bought it from simply drilled two holes in the bumper cover and screwed a plate on. Fortunately the bracket covers those holes...

Still need to replace more parts, but at least the cost of them is going down.