Big Sky Euro

Hey guys, it's been awhile. It's hard to keep up with this site when I can't check it everyday at work

I'm in the market for a TDI. Work is taking back my Malibu because it hit 80k and has offered us a ford focus or a stipon. I drove a focus and they blow, big surprise. So now I'm shopping for something comfortable with good mpg, and some room for all my stuff. I've been looking at a passat or jetta TDI wagon. Looking for something used, budget is about $10-14k. If I could find something with about 75k miles and drive it to 250k, that would be perfect. I log about 30k miles a year, so I pile them on pretty fast. I'm a bit concerned about passing power, and I'm currious what I can do for modifactions. I'm not looking to loose reliability, but I'm not one to leave things stock. I'd like the passat for the added room, but it may be beyond my price range. I often drive 8hrs a day so seat fatigue is an issue as well. I have a couple of months to figure it out.

I'm looking for anyone's optinion on tuning, reliability, comfort, etc.

BTW, I'll be selling my toyota. I'll post it up once I get an add worked out.

Paging DynoJetta

http://www.scottedgerton.com/listing.php?id=84
heres an 04 tdi passat wagon with 68k on the clock

 
Popular opinion is the 2003 models.

-last year of the ALH Engine
-best fuel economy (autos get about 10 mpg less than 5-speeds)
-cheaper performance upgrades than the later Pump Duse (PD) engines.
-more options for performance upgrades
-some previous issues with the rest of the car have been addressed.

Later PD engines are a common rail setup. The injectors are operated off of the cam. So even a simple injector upgrade is pretty expensive. Also, there's a specific engine oil you have to run to prevent premature cam wear.

Here's a cutaway of a PD motor:


Important things to know:

Ask for maintenance records!

-Timing Belt needs to be changed close to 100K. (Preferably closer to 80K for safety).

-Intake Manifold will clog up and needs to be cleaned. There are a few steps that can be done to slow down, or prevent this from happening (i.e. turning down the duty cycle on the EGR, or simply removing the EGR altogether). Some people setup a catch can for the PCV, to catch any oil mist. I decided against it, as there tends to be moisture in the setup which can freeze in winter months.

Here's my Clogged intake thread: Intake Flow Problems

Automatics tend to have a more problems with their turbos. Being a variable vein turbo, the veins tend not to be "exercised" as much as the 5-speeds, so they can get carbon built up. This causes poor boost performance.



Even stock cars can have Boost Spike issues. The veins cannot open fast enough at WOT to release the excess pressure. Usually you are OK until you start doing any mods. Then you'll need to get yourself a manual boost controller to chop off the spike.

With proper care and maintenance people are getting insane mileage on these things. Easily 300K +.

There's much more to them, but these are just some of the highlights.

General FAQ

TDI FAQ

Again, these are opinions. As we know opinions vary from person to person, but I can attest to the 2003s since I bought one off the lot and have put 120K on mine.

Feel free to contact me with any specific questions. Good luck TDI Huntin'

Thank you for all the great information. I've been reading up on TDI for the last week, planning my strategy. Then today, by some stroke of luck, I get approved for an F150 as my next work vehicle. Apparently, my coworker applied for the exception, was told no, and bought a Honda Crosstour. Nice car btw. Anyway, a couple weeks later the exception comes back approved, so my boss transfered it to me since I'm the only one who hadn't opted out of the fleet vehicle plan yet. So at the end of this whole car drama, I end up upgrading and getting a truck like I promised 2 years ago when I got the job. Just another instance of me falling ass first through life, and having it all work out.

Just want to say thanks again to everyone who spent their time to help me lean about TDI's. Who knows, it might come in handy in a few years when I have to turn the truck in.

Save the ants, get a TDI anyways

SCORE!!

Big Blue has arrived! Cost $90 to fill her up, but who cares, ain't my money. Goodbye Malibu. You were fun, but I was driving other cars on the side!



Sorry for the crappy phone pic.

thats not a tdi!