98 Beetle TDI Resurrection

[gforce1108]

Funny how things turn out.... I've always had Beetles -too many to count right now. Everything from a 57 (still own) up to a 76. Back when the New Beetle first came out, no dealers around me would let you test drive without putting a deposit down. Every car was sold. A dealer in NJ had a TDI on the lot that was actually available - at sticker (remember the big mark-ups back then?). I was very impressed but didn't buy it.

Fast forward 10 years.....


(thread over on tdiclub.com detailing the work since most of the work is engine related: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=213677)

Bought it knowing the engine was damaged, assuming the worst and hoping for the best. It is somewhere in the middle, on the bad side.
Overheated and ran low on oil
Turbo blown (came with good used one)
Pistons scored, but no rods damaged (whew!)

Head is out being rebuilt, new pistons, rod bearings, rod bolts, timing belt kit, etc on order. New headlights arrived, pass window regulator repaired.

I have a bunch of pics in my photobucket album:
http://s292.photobucket.com/albums/m...ce1108/beetle/

Here's a couple highlights:

[callisto9]

Holy poop!

[BEETLETHIS]

wow!!!

[gforce1108]

Thanks, I think?!?!

Plan is to come in somewhere around $6k total.

So far:
car, good used turbo, pistons, rings, pins, rod bearings, head rebuild with new cam, timing belt kit, all gaskets, bolts, valve cover, all filters, oil, vacuum lines, passenger window regulator repair kit, pair good used headlights, 6 disk CD changer and a grill.

Puts me at about $5600 right now. I think I'm going to swap out the nozzles. Both for a little more power and because it's sat for over 2 years. I know I need to buy some G12, wiper blades and some odds and ends stuff, but I think I'll come in (maybe a bit over with the extra stuff it really didn't 'need')

[BEETLETHIS]

wow thats awsome that you are doing this not many would.

[Toad]

that piston, wow. jut wow.

[LadybugEwa]

That just makes my heart sing, so see a badly hurt NB brought back to life like that!
Great job!

[gforce1108]

Originally Posted by Toad

that piston, wow. jut wow.

All 4 looked like that and it was a bit of a surprise. From the top, there was no damage visable. I only pulled #4 (the one with the stuck lifter) because it wobbled a bit. When I saw how bad it was I decided to pull the other 3 and they were no better.

It overheated badly, melting the pistons and it actually bonded some of the aluminum onto the cylinder walls below where the rings ride.

If this works out as planned, I'll start looking for other 'blowed up' TDIs to bring back to life!

[dnyed]

Thank you, sir, for bringing this neglected New Beetle TDI back to life. Thank you.

[karn_porsche]

Saved bug life Awesome.

[D2Beetle]

Wow! And I thought my head gasket replacement on my 2.0 is a rough job. I can hardly wait to see how long it takes you to go from start to finish. Are you doing this by yourself or do you help?

[KatieBug27]

thank you for giving this buggy a second newer happier life... Keep us updated!

[gforce1108]

Originally Posted by D2Beetle

Wow! And I thought my head gasket replacement on my 2.0 is a rough job. I can hardly wait to see how long it takes you to go from start to finish. Are you doing this by yourself or do you help?

Pretty much by myself... Getting some pointers from other TDI experts, but mostly digging in on my own. I needed to borrow some TDI specific tools and make some others.

I might bring over a local TDI guru when I go to fire it up for the first time. It's going to take two people to get the injectors bled out (assuming everything else works!).

I will certainly continue to update.

I didn't mention the main reason I bought this car... I drive a TDI Jetta and have a powerstroke diesel ford (the white one in the pics). At 15mpg, I don't drive it too much any more. Mostly if I need to tow/haul or plowing in the winter.

My wife on the other hand, has her own powerstroke diesel (dually) that gets 12mpg and she drives it everywhere! She needs it to tow horse trailers, but it's overkill for 99% of her driving. It won't take too long for the Beetle to pay for itself getting 4 times better mileage!!!

[gforce1108]

New pistons installed!!! Almost got the lower end buttoned up, but the oil pump pickup tube is clogged up.

New grill comes in Tuesday, head gets finished up sometime this week.

For now all I have are internal pictures - once I get it running and cleaned up, I'll post exterior pics.



Getting closer! Another 2 weeks and it should (fingers crossed) be drivable.

[BEETLETHIS]

oh look at that. wow good work my man!

[gforce1108]

I should have the head back later this week. Frank's welder crapped out and delayed things. Everything is supposed to be straightened out by tomorrow...

In the mean time, I've managed to keep busy on it:
Done a lot of cleaning- interior, door jams, etc.
Ran all new vacuum lines throughout the engine compartment.
Did a ventectomy.
Pulled and cleaned the intercooler and all the plumbing (nasty).
I installed a set of sprint 520 nozzles since the car's been sitting dead for over 2 years.
Picked up a new license lens.
Ordered fuel door release cable.
Installed a red LED bulb in the left reverse light to use as a rear fog and ordered the correct connectors (VW repair wire) from the dealer to wire it in to the euroswitch.
It looks real sweet - clear until turned on then it looks like a red lens:

Original reverse light with red LED installed - OFF:


And ON:

[ShiftyTDI]

Nice work man, I just got my reborn TDI on the road this month it's totally worth it.

I dig the rear fog idea!

[gforce1108]

Originally Posted by ShiftyTDI

Nice work man, I just got my reborn TDI on the road this month it's totally worth it.

I dig the rear fog idea!

Thanks! I checked out your bug and it came out great! If my wife really likes this one, I'll give it a custom paint job next year. She saw a real nice copper color the other day.

I really like how the rear fog came out - it looks a lot better in person than the pics show. My Jetta has a clear lens where the rear fog fits and the red LEDs came in a pack of 2. I already had the euro switch to disable the DRLs and the bulb, so the whole thing really only cost me $5 for the correct wiring (VW repair wire). I could have made up a connector like I did on the Jetta, but I wanted to do it right.

I was checking out your headlights. I have one spare complete housing and a second with a broken lens. I figure I'll play around with the broken one before tearing into the good set!

[gforce1108]

got a lot done this weekend... Head installed with new timing belt kit. Turbo and intake installed. Glow plugs, injectors, etc.... Hopefully it will be running next weekend!

[D2Beetle]

IMPRESSIVE!