T4 DIY & How to.

[Transporter]

I thought that it would be nice to have DIY thread for T4.

1996 - 2003
2.4 SD

Engine oil ......... 5.5L (Penrite HPR Diesel15 or HPR Diesel5)
Oil filter ...........
Air filter ...........
Fuel Filter ........
Polen filter .......
Gear oil ........... 2.0L (Penrite Transxle 75)
ATF ................ G 052 162 A2
Coolant ........... 11.5L (VW G12)

TOW BAR QUESTION

Aftermarket Catalytic Converter http://www.microfreshfilters.com.au/

ENTERING THE RADIO CODE 1998 EURVOX CASSETE RADIO


Feel free to add more information.

[Transporter]

D.i.y.

How to replace drive shaft and rebuild CV Joint.

Automatic Transmission Repairer VW & Euro cars specialist http://www.abautomatics.com.au/

T4 Gear Stick Selector (discussion and repairing it) http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/...tml#post927499

1999 Automatic transmission service procedure.
See also AT service

Installing automatic transmission filler tube and dipstick from the earlier type 098 transmission will allow the monitoring of the fluid level, odor, and color without a VAG Scan Tool. This metal fill tube will replace the existing plastic fill pipe which is standard on the type 01P transmission.
More about it in here

SHOCK ABSORBER GUIDE

Air con parts

Bleeding Clutch Hydraulic Circuit

Sound and heath insulating ideas and materials (DIY instruction for Golf 1) that could be used for any vehicle.

Feel free to add more.

[jets]

This thread is not from this forum but I found it very useful & it gave me the confidence to do a belt change on my T4.
HOW TO: Diy Cambelt Change - All input welcome 2.5tdi - VW T4 Forum - VW T5 Forum
More useful stuff from the Brickworks: Vag-com
Vag Com stuff. - The Brick-yard
Removing front door trim
Door trim
Usefull link to Eurovan[T4] web site particularly for Auto Trans & Service Bulletins.
netfev.org -&nbspnetfev Resources and Information.
PR Codes,not just for T4, found inside front cover of service booklet.
Not found - Nenalezeno
Another slightly different T4 Gearshift Selector [Discussion & Repairing it]
T4 gear shift linkage repair.

[Deeceer]

How to remove T4 dashboard speaker grilles

Not exactly high tech but useful to know if a T4 stereo loudspeaker goes kaput.

[Seano]

Of Doors and Dust

Here's a couple of little problems and solutions that I've identified with the opening of hinged doors in your average T4.

As my T4 is of the slightly rare double cab variety I am blessed with four hinged doors. None of this sliding malarky.

Volkswagen in their ingenuity designed and engineered a fully encapsulated door handle mechanism for their hinged doors. They are attached to the door frame with just two machine screws located above and below the latch pocket. Undo these and the entire door handle literally falls off the door. If nothing else, this makes it easy to clean & detail around the door handle!

Behind the handle, within the door itself, is the latch. The handle activates the latch by way of a lever mechanism that converts the horizontal handle movement to a vertical downward plunge.

All very simple......

...and yet.

Dust sealing and resistance to vibration are not the door mechanism's strong point. Over time, the dust gets in and the vibration moves stuff about.

On the front doors.....the link between the inside door handle and the latch can get 'sticky'. Pulling the handle doesn't fully unlatch the door and if you are impatient then it's easy to apply too much force for no benefit. Dust has proably got into the latch pocket and I've found a light application of silicon spray works wonders.

Greater problems are manifest in the back doors of a DOKA. A simple design with limited dust protection means the doors can accumulate a fair load of material in a very short time. And the handle mechanism is easily moved by vibration. The dust makes the door lock button very difficult to deactivate. And the vibration moves the door handle mechanism sufficiently to prevent the internal lever contacting the latch mechanism. This means that these doors can get very difficult to open. Often hand pressure has to be applied to the door skin beside the handle to get the latch to open!

Solution? Remove the door handle from the door via the two screws and give it a good clean-up. Apply silicon spray or some other DRY lubricant to the latch mechanism via the access left by the absent door handle. Try to also get a dose to the door lock button pivot that you'll just be able to see well below and to the inside of the latch mechanism. Make sure the internal door handle freely operates the latch. Refit the outer door handle (making sure the latch is both unlatched and unlocked) and lightly do up the screws. Get a soft jawed clamp (like an Irwin Quik Clamp) and clamp the handle into the door until the screws threads abut up to the inside of the holes in the door frame - tighten the screws up. Remove the clamp and test. The latch should now operate like it was new.

This problem has only manifest itself three times in the last seven years of ownership and mainly because conutry driving and dirt roads are our playground.....but I suspect its inevitable for any T4 DOKA or any other variant with the vertically mounted door handles.

So hopefully this is a useful speil...

[Deeceer]

Removing Door Liners including Window Winders

Found this thread and thought it was brilliant:
Removing a T4 Door Liner

Two types of window winder crank removal - very handy to know!

Thanks for the diagrams, Jets!


Edit: After posting this I realised Jets had already included it in a group of stuff above. Silly me.
Would like to let this one stand though - the thread is so good and the need so common it deserves to stand out.

[Seano]

Short shifting mod for T4's

Here's an absolute cracker of a mod for the manual T4's from Baxter at the Brickyard

http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/t4-short-shift-how-to_topic43348_post334494.html

In an attempt to try and quell the amount of phone calls I keep receiving about the short shift modification I thought I would write a FAQ so people can understand what's going on and how to do it.
I used to modify old T3 gear levers for short shifting, but it involved welding, cutting and drilling the gearlever, not rocket science but out of the realms of most DIYer.
It wasn't long before short shift kits came on the market and they made the job a simple, quick, easy operation taking around 15 minutes to fit.
Once I bought a T4 I was a bit disappointed about the shifting, nothing like what I was used to so it went on the ramp, I had a look, had a look at ETKA to see how it worked, took some bits off, drilled a hole, put it back together, bingo!
It's only when people drove my van they commented on it and asked for theirs doing.
You must be aware that there are 2 types of gear linkage set up.
The earlier style is fitted on all 4 cylinder models and the 2.4D
The later style (which was revised in 2000) was used on 2.5TDI and VR6 models, and obviously came in around 1996 when the 2.5TDI did.
The same principles apply to modifying the linkage, there are just 2 slightly different ways of achieving the same result on the different set ups.
I will confess that I have not modified the earlier system personally, but I will show you the principle and then give you a few pointers from good old brick-yard user “Elvis” who has come up with a good method, but like I say, i've not done it personally.

Early style - 1991 to 2003



The parts we are interested in are the "Relay lever" marked in Orange.
As you can see, this converts a Forward motion on the Blue rod to a rearward motion on the opersite end of the relay lever.
I have marked the ball joint to the end of the lever with red, the idea is to fit another ball joint further inboard of the original to mess about with the leverage of the rod, the effect is that you reduce the amount of movement you need at the gearstick to achieve the same amount of movement at the gearbox end.
I am told, and this is open to verification that you can buy a ball joint from VW (Part No. 701 827 439 B) drill the relay lever and fit the ball joint further inwards. I'm not sure of dimensions but I would say 30mm further in should do it. The balljoint costs about £2.50.

Later style - TDI and VR6 engines.



This one is simple!
Same principle as the other, move the hole on the relay lever inwards!

You will need.
10mm spanner.
13mm spanner.
drill with a 14mm bit.
Under van.
Unbolt the 10mm nut and 13mm bolt through the bottom of the gearlever.
Unbolt the relay lever (Orange)
Remove the bush from the end of the relay lever that was connected to the rod from the gearlever.
Find the hole centre, mark 35mm further inwards.
Drill to 14mm.
Refit bush.
Replace relay lever!
That's it!
Soooooooo easy.
Great time to replace the bushes, they are usually sloppy, we have spares on the shelf as we use a few of them, due to popularity of these at the moment I have put them together into kits, I'll upload those to the webshop shortly.

Here is a customers van we did recently, you can clearly see the old hole! (2.5TDI)



Either of the methods above will only shorten the throw in the forward-Aft plane and will not affect left to right movement.

If you increase the distance between the hole centres the shift will become shorter! I wouldn't go more than 35mm though, reduce the distance and the shift will become longer.

[jets]

Changing coolant temperature sensor on 2.5 TDI

The fault symptom I had is the temp. gauge that had always remained pegged at 90 C started moving around.
I knew it could be a no of things including a bad earth,thermostat, gauge or sender. I connected up VAG COM & noted that while that showed 90 C coolant temp. the gauge on the dash was going down. A bit of research revealed that the senser is 2 parts [4 wires]. One half drives the temp gauge, the other the ECU.
I now had to find where the sensor was as these are a known common problem. I knew roughly were it should be but a quick look with a torch revealed a dirty mess of oil, obviously spilt by a careless mechanic. [Another reason to service your own vehicle]
After jacking & removing the belly pan/sound absorbing panel, moving the radiator forward & covering the alternator, the area was thoroughly cleaned using brake clean & a brush.
Just to the right of the alt. & between no1 & 2 injectors is a plastic housing bolted to the engine. There are a couple of sensors there, the one we need is in the front & is normally green. Mine still had the original black one.
Next step is to drain the coolant using the drain plug.
It's easiest to remove the sensor with the wiring plug still connected.
Just removing the connector proved a challenge. The one on the Polo, that I had just done, came away easily. I probably fiddled for around 10 mins. before it came off. By inserting a small screwdriver into the slot & turning it releases a plate inside. If you turn it too much it reingages the hook on the sensor again.
Others have said it is an easy job to change the sensor but I found it quite fiddly.
I finished up using a broad long nose pliers gripping the edges of the plastic clip at the bottom of the U shape. By pushing the sensor in enough to compress the soft O ring, the clip is slid upwards into the slots in the housing. If you are blessed with 3 hands that could be an advantage.
Replace or renew the coolant, run engine with heater in hottest position & open bleed screw on hose at the top to remove any air.

Notes.As already said these sensors have a limited life, in my case around 9 years , in the Polo as well.
If the other part fails it will give erratic idling as I experienced in the Polo while the temp. gauge worked normally.
According to Haynes publishing " The sensor contains a thermistor, which consists of an electronic component whose electrical resistance decreases at a predetermined rate as its temperature rises. When coolant is cold, the sensor resistance is high, current flow through the gauge is reduced, and the gauge needle points towards the COLD end of the scale"
The part no of the green sender is 059 919 501A [suits most VWs] My van has the ACV 2.5 TDI engine. I have purchased two of these senders, the first [genuine] cost $ 58.35 trade without a new clip.
The second one that I purchased on Ebay UK was aftermarket [kit included O ring & clip] & cost just under $18 with registered post to the local post office. The brand is febi & looks like a Bilstein company.
I have just bought another from Amazon for $12.39 + $2.71 postage. This is a genuine part with the VW & Audi logos but made in China.
Although ordered from Amazon, it was posted from Hong Kong, hence the cheaper postage.

[Seano]

Tyres for 15" T4's

The tyre placard on T4's with 15" tyres gives you the option of two sizes: 195/70R15 and 205/65R15 with a load rating of 100 or greater. In real life, this load rating is often indicated by a C at the end of the size.

Neither of these tyre sizes is that common in this country which leads to limited availability and higher prices.

But there is another option. And it is still within state regs for variation from placard.

205/70R15C. The nominal rolling diameter of this tyre is 668mm. The 195/70R15 has a nominal rolling diameter of 654mm while the 205/65R15C is 647mm. This serves to demonstrate that the 205/70R15C is within the +/- 15mm of placard that has historically been a 'requirement' of tyre variations.

To this end, I have identified the various tyre brand and design options that are available in this size:

Bridgestone R623
Pirelli Chrono
GT Radial Maxway
Continental Vanco 2
Maxxis UE-168
Michelin Agilis
Yokohama RY818
Firestone CV3000
Goodyear Cargo G26
Nankang CW-20
Hankook RA08
Hankook RA14
Kumho 857
Toyo H08
Marangoni E-Comm
Falken R51

Now...yes...some of these tyres are available in the placarded sizes. However, it might be worth checking out the pricing...either way this list provides more options than the placard sizes do with respect to tread patterns - and the tyres themselves have a much stronger carcass with a 106/104 rating not uncommon compared to the typical 102/100 load rating. And the slightly taller tyre will bring the T4 speedo back onto about spot-on too.

Might be worth a consideration.

[EKjimmy]

I know you guys have probably figured it out already, but it took me about half an hour to find the bloody radio fuse in my T4.

Beneath the main row of fuses under the dash (behind the storage pocket) there's a little black box. This slides forward to reveal more fuses (in my case only 2) including the one for the radio.

Only reason i thought i'd post this up is they don't mention how to get to the bottom row of fuses in the manual, and on the side of the road i don't think it would cross anyone's mind to pull apart something that looks like it's not supposed to come off.

[Transporter]

Accessories, springs and shockers for T4, T5

I found this local business with springs and shock for our vans. Also they have a bull bar for T5 and rear bar.

4WD Accessories | 4WD Accessories by | Make and Model | VW | Transporter | 4WD WORLD - A World of 4x4 Information

[Transporter]

Making new keys incl. transponder

Pinched from MK4 section.

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/forums/f14/success-how-make-new-key-incl-transponder-61591-3.html#post810954

[MadMentalist]

Interesting fuel gauge issue...

This is for a 2.5 petrol AET engine but should be the same for most VAG vehicles that use a mechanical fuel sender unit attached to the fuel lift pump.

My fuel gauge has not worked since I bought the van (roughly 6 months ago), the other day the inevitable happened and I ran out of fuel.
So deciding it was high time to fix it up as I had an empty tank, well somewhere under 5 litres to get me home, and the flooring of the cab up I had a good look at it yesterday.
Initial testing of the cables showed I had continuity, so a broken cable wasn't the problem. After removal of the fuel pump (there is a handy inspection hole just in-between the seats, 3 screws to open the inspection plate then undo the two fuel pipes, marking in and out, the 4 pin connector and a big ring to seal the top of the tank then undo the pump turning anti clockwise to release) I set about checking the fuel gauge sender.
Looking innocently OK...


Initial checks were intermittent with pretty bad continuity between the two cables let alone a good ohms reading so a bit of playing around and BINGO, got it... A dry joint between one of the sensor cables and the resistor board. Out came my old soldering iron, a gas one so I had to be a bit careful! After re-soldering the joint everything was back working and I was getting good differences in ohms readings.
Empty tank: 277.9 ohms

Half tank: 103.3 ohms

Full tank: 36.1 ohms


And a picture of my bad soldering... I'm not an electronics tech honest!


After filling the tank the fuel gauge read full for the first time I just wonder how many people have had one replaced all for a dry joint! I hope this helps others and at least its worth a look if your fuel gauge doesn't read correctly...

[jets]

Well done, but I can't see the pictures.

[gecko2k]

wow. mate. I would have **** my pants doi8ng soldering near the fuel tank. haha.

btw you got pm!