Bought a Cheap 2005 Golf GLS TDI

[Fastbird]

Was NOT looking to buy a car. I have my 2012 Passat SEL TDI that got the emissions fix a few weeks ago and still knocks down 42 on average and I can get around 47 highway. Wife is driving a 230K mile tired 2005 Chrysler Pacifica, but it's been the best most reliable vehicle we've ever owner. It's biggest flaw is the lack of fuel economy. Its age has dragged it down to 15/19.5 city/highway. And it's showing some rust and it's age in general. Worst this mechanically is the front cradle is rotting.

So anyway, there's a little diesel car lot near my house. I got familiar with them when I was looking for a car, so I swing by on occasion. Went with a buddy to look at a different car, and the owner was showing me this 05 Golf GLS he recently got. REALLY clean car, 225k miles, manual transmission, he said it only needs a new turbo. Showed it to another buddy of mine who has a 325K mile 01 Golf that's falling apart at the seams, figured it would be a cheap upgrade for him. He ended up passing on it (and I was in Chicago yesterday and looked at a 15 Golf S TDI for the same buddy that he IS buying), but I kept thinking about it because of how well kept the car was.

So yesterday I told my wife to go peek at it. She liked it, said she could see driving it. We talked about it, about the adjustment of moving her and the kids from the Pacifica to that. Biggest issue is vacations, as there's FAR less room to bring the dogs along. But we're sick of the poor fuel economy of the Pacifica, and at 230K we feel it's a ticking time bomb.

Today I went and had the owner of the lot start the car. It's a BEW motor so there's potential cam wear issues, and that's why I wanted to run it the most. It fired right up with no strange sounds at all. Big plus. Even better, there were NO fault indicator lights at all on other than the wiper fluid low light which is empty. Even the AC worked.

So we settled at $2140, $2K for the car and the $140 is sales tax. I'm going to bring cash on the 12th and he's going to tow it home for me (it's POURING oil out the tail pipe, so better to not take a chance). We're going to put a VNT-17 turbo from a PD150 European spec car on it, which is a direct bolt on. Delete the EGR and cooler, and do a Malone stage 4 tune. Call911 is the guy buying the 15 Golf, so I'm getting the short shifter from his 01 Golf he's going to get rid of. Should be a good little driver with about 160 WHP and 275 WTQ after the tune. Going to cost us about $3500 total, but after selling the Pacifica, hoping to only be out of pocket $1500 to $2000 on it. And if my wife doesn't like driving it before we sell the Pacifica? I'll sell it for a tidy profit.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i177/Fastbird93/Car%20Stuff/06231712231_zpsydq0uavi.jpg


http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i177/Fastbird93/Car%20Stuff/0623171223a1_zpsxni6bemo.jpg


http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i177/Fastbird93/Car%20Stuff/06291712211_zps6gkza4wa.jpg


http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i177/Fastbird93/Car%20Stuff/06291712201_zpsyhklud07.jpg


http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i177/Fastbird93/Car%20Stuff/0629171220a1_zpslz6xyryw.jpg

[popo8]

Nice... keep us posted as u bring it back to life... pics pics pics...

Im not only an LTXtech member... Im also the Owner.

[Sahara54]

Looks really clean!...We love our MKVI GTI. It's been flawless so far. (It's made more LTx events than my own car) I've thought about picking up a MKIV GTI VR6 or 1.8t more than a few times as a work/MPG car.

[Fastbird]

Nice... keep us posted as u bring it back to life... pics pics pics...

Im not only an LTXtech member... Im also the Owner.

Oh but of course. I'm getting it to the house on Wednesday the 12th and will immediately begin pulling the intake and turbo off. Ordering a new turbo at the end of this week so I can hopefully get right on it after I get it home.


Looks really clean!...We love our MKVI GTI. It's been flawless so far. (It's made more LTx events than my own car) I've thought about picking up a MKIV GTI VR6 or 1.8t more than a few times as a work/MPG car.

The MKIV's are great cars, IF they get maintained. Most of them anymore are ragged out, rusted out, etc. Kind of why I coudln't pass on this one. The 2015 Golf S TDI that my buddy is buying is an amazingly nice car. I really find I'm liking VW's offerings on their newer stuff, and REALLY want to get my wife into a Sportwagen TDI just for a bit more room. I have a buddy here in Fort Wayne that has a 2012 Golf R with a bit of work......that's a VERY pleasing car to drive.

[Fastbird]

First, screw photobucket and their ransom. They broke the damn internet with this 3rd party hosting thing. There are so many insane numbers of write ups that are USELESS now because of no pics. Anyway.....

Got the car home yesterday. Left a nice trail of oil up my driveway from the oil dumping out the exhaust. But what's better than one TDI? Two TDI's!

http://i.imgur.com/oRyxCuH.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/NdrHpjP.jpg?1

Found out some information though. First, and shockingly, it's a freaking one owner car. Literally. Dude that bought it originally, donated it to some charity when the turbo went, charity sold it to the local lot guy I bought it from, title has two transfers on the back but has only been titled to the original owner. He donated it on 11-20-13, the lot I bought it from got it on 11-23-16, and he has sat on it since then because he didn't want to put the work in. Cool, score for me. I found the previous owner, even a good phone number, and called him yesterday. Hoping he calls me back, I'd like to know if he has records or anything. Left him a polite message saying "got your old car, it's in great shape, thanks for taking such good care of it, etc." Hoping that was enough to get a call back, lol. Older gentleman too so I'm thinking it was probably dealer serviced.

Got right to work yesterday. Started removing the intake manifold and everything in order to get the turbo out. Got as far as getting the EGR cooler out of the car. Thank god that's not going back in. Going to put in some time today, should have the intake manifold off and be close to removing the turbo/manifold.

New parts are ordered. VNT-17 turbo from the European PD150 cars, 3Bar MAP sensor, EGR block off plates, new shift knob and boot (torn boot), new drivers door switch plate (old one was all hacked up), pair of key fobs, and parts to do a braided feed line for the turbo. Total cost was about $950. Will still need to do a tune which is going to cost me another $450 but with the new turbo, will pump power up to around 160/280 at the front wheels. Plenty to get around in.

More to come.

[Fastbird]

Got the intake manifold out today.

Did some more sleuthing, and found the dealership where the car was serviced. It's ENTIRE life. Records are being mailed to me. Best news, timing belt is only 60K into a 100K cycle. And I inspected it last night and the belt looks brand spanking new.

[harner]

First, screw photobucket and their ransom. They broke the damn internet with this 3rd party hosting thing. There are so many insane numbers of write ups that are USELESS now because of no pics.

Who needs write-ups when I can go to my favorite Facebook groups and ask noob questions?

Awesome to hear about the service history! My V was the same way, serviced its whole life at one dealership.

[Fastbird]

Who needs write-ups when I can go to my favorite Facebook groups and ask noob questions?

Awesome to hear about the service history! My V was the same way, serviced its whole life at one dealership.

I get ya, but those facebook groups bring out the worst of the worst too. At least you can mitigate that on a forum.

Turbo is off! Actually had no problems removing it. Worst thing was three exhaust studs came out with the nuts. Surprised how painless the removal was considering the mileage.

[Fastbird]

All back together.

http://i.imgur.com/2ZBcQir.jpg?1

Going to do the start tomorrow. Hoping for no issues and to make it driveable for a little while until the clutch goes. Praying the rusted over brakes aren't fried because according to records they were brand new late last year when the car stopped being driven and sat until I bought it.

[Fastbird]

It lives!

[Fastbird]

Ugh.....I drove it around the neighborhood and left a thick trail of oil out the exhaust. By the time I got around the block it started smoking......badly. Turns out there was a metric ton of oil in the exhaust that needs to be burned off. So now I wait for the evening to progress so I can take it out and burn some off. It was bad enough to completely cloud out the street behind me, so totally not safe at this point. Kind of expected, but not to the degree it was. Fortunately it seems to be only oil in the exhaust burning off and not more being added, as the oil level in the motor hasn't been dropping. Other than the smoke, everything seems copacetic with the car.

[popo8]

Ugh.....I drove it around the neighborhood and left a thick trail of oil out the exhaust. By the time I got around the block it started smoking......badly. Turns out there was a metric ton of oil in the exhaust that needs to be burned off. So now I wait for the evening to progress so I can take it out and burn some off. It was bad enough to completely cloud out the street behind me, so totally not safe at this point. Kind of expected, but not to the degree it was. Fortunately it seems to be only oil in the exhaust burning off and not more being added, as the oil level in the motor hasn't been dropping. Other than the smoke, everything seems copacetic with the car.Were u able to blow it all out?

Im not only an LTXtech member... Im also the Owner.

[Fastbird]

Yeah, took a few miles. After about 10 miles of running/driving it quit the majority of the smoking, and two days later it was fine. Ran into some other.....needs......along the way too.

Drove it to work once I was comfortable with the car as it sat. Got to work and first thing I hear is a clunking in idle. DMF (Dual Mass Flywheel) was failing. Ok, no biggie, figured it was going to need a clutch soon anyway. Also gave me opportunity to replace the rear main seal that was leaking.

Drove it some more after ordering the clutch and found out the hard way the fuel gauge wasn't working. From the previous owner he said the dealership had the pump out for something and it never read full after that. It was stuck on like 1/8 tank. Ran it out of gas as I got into my development. Parked it at this point until the clutch job was to happen (after putting a gallon of fuel in to get it around the block and home). Removed the fuel lift pump assembly in about 10 minutes (gotta love factory installed hatches for accessibility) and found that One, the level sender was just caked in old gunk, so cleaned that, and two, that the pump when put back in wasn't oriented correctly, causing the no full condition. Works perfectly now. Seriously like a half hour job to remove, clean, and reinstall.

So, got a Sachs G60/VR6 Single Mass Flywheel conversion clutch and new rear main. Had to CUT the DMF out of the car. It had shifted on itself so far I couldn't force it back into alignment. Had to cut the center section out in order to get to the flywheel bolts. Got the original clutch out, and it looked FANTASTIC for having 225K miles.

https://i.imgur.com/iMLB7kT.jpg?1

Got the new clutch in and everything went back together fine. While in the air, noticed the major portion of the oil leak was coming from a cracked pan (these are thin aluminum pans and any type of impact will crack them apparently). There was a knuckle sized indentation with a crack right at the edge. So had to do a new pan ($45) and VSS which I broke dropping the trans.

All seems copacetic now. I've been driving it, my wife has been driving it, and no problems have shown up. Runs great and is reasonably quick (with the stage 4 tune it's making somewhere around 150-160 WHP and around 270-290 WTQ). Getting pretty solid fuel economy so far. Took 120 miles of driving just to tick off of full. Hoping to see around 600 a tank once I mod the neck so you can fill it with 15ish gallons.

Cleaned up nice too.

https://i.imgur.com/fyOjbIl.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/CUZjoNS.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/4Jp4SyR.jpg?1
I've since removed the remnants of the "Golf" logo on the left side. Will be getting a new one eventually.

https://i.imgur.com/XGjPRrC.jpg?1
My biggest complaint is the big dent in the rocker on this side.

https://i.imgur.com/2ZBcQir.jpg?1

Plan to get a new front bumper since the bottom of this one is cracked, and have it, the hood, and front fenders all painted along with a pair of side skirts (to hide the big dent). Need to get wheel caps for the wheels, and next spring after winter is gone (these are NEW snow tires on it, still have the nubs on them) will be getting some 18" wheels and stiffening up the suspension.

All told, we're in the car for $4000, but we sold the Pacifica in a day for $2200 so net in on the car is only $1800 at this point. Now that the market is coming back for the 09-15 stuff with the approved fixes for the Gen II motors, we shouldn't have this one for more than a couple of years TOPS before upgrading to a larger and newer Sportwagen TDI. But this works for the time being (especially considering the skyrocketing price of gas from Harvey) as a stop gap.

[popo8]

First of all that is impressive for a clutch... 225k!!!!

Im also impressed with the tq numbers. Does it feel powerful?

As for the rocker dent... i had one similar on the ta when i got it. Was hidden by the ground effects... maybe there is a side skirt u can put over it... hide it and give the car a lower look???

Im not only an LTXtech member... Im also the Owner.

[Fastbird]

It really doesn't feel powerful until you want it to. The turbo doesn't get spooled until around 2000-2200 RPM, and just driving around in it I'm shifting at 2K anyways. But if you lay into the throttle and let the turbo eat, it'll take off on you real quick. That's the nice thing about these little turbo diesels. They make a crap ton of tq all over the power band. You can see the incline my main driveway has. I can let the clutch out and the car will happily pull itself up the driveway with no throttle input at all.

Plan is for a set of side skirts to hide the dent after massaging the upper crease down a little bit as it's bowed up into the door jamb. Probably do those at the same time I have the front end repainted.

[popo8]

Thats great about the tq from the lil diesel.

And good call on the side skirts...

Im not only an LTXtech member... Im also the Owner.

[Fastbird]

Well, this changed quickly. After a few weeks in the car, we found that it's simply not big enough for what we need it to do. So.........

Selling it to a co-worker tomorrow or Thursday for $4K (just a LITTLE more than what I've got into it, but definitely NOT taking a loss), and I dropped a deposit on this tonight, and will drive with a friend on Friday up to Minneapolis to pick it up and bring it home:

https://i.imgur.com/QNJTkxq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Nsg9g62.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7ZuEzn8.jpg

A fully loaded 2015 VW Golf Sportwagen TDI SEL. Every available option, was a dieselgate buyback currently on the Stage 1 Fix (software). 31K miles, one owner, got it for $18K flat. It popped up in my search this morning and I pounced on it. Turns out the dealer IT guy mispriced it, was supposed to be at 20K, but they're honoring the $18K. Deal!

We test drove one locally and found it to offer exactly what we need in terms of size without being too big.

It's a shame about the 05 Golf. It's actually a fun little car and a hoot to drive, and got EXCELLENT mileage for the motor it has (BEW). My wife just went to Delaware and back over the weekend, and averaged 48.6 MPG at 70 with the cruise control and air conditioning both on the whole way. Fortunately, the 15 has a significantly more efficient motor (Call911 bought a 15 Golf and has been averaging 56-58 MPG with it) so that should improve some even with it being a larger heavier car.

[popo8]

Well congrats on the new wagon! I know it wasnt the plan, but it looks great, and well.... everything happens for a reason.

Those mpg numbers u posted are insane man!!!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Fastbird]

Well congrats on the new wagon! I know it wasnt the plan, but it looks great, and well.... everything happens for a reason.

Those mpg numbers u posted are insane man!!!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Yep, the TDI's are insanely good for MPG's which I'm ALL about.