[Torqu3]

Howdy y'all! As many other new members here, I'm a transplant from the VW TDI community, and am loving it so far! Aside from 2 unexpected repairs(Vibration Dampener and Engine Cooling Fan), this car has been a blast. The mixture of power and gas(diesel) mileage is absolutely amazing.


Big shout out to everyone on this forum that has put up with us transplants and all of our questions. I know y'all have been nothing but helpful to all of us, and hopefully now that I know more about these cars, I can be of some help to others. I thought I would really miss the TDI community, but you guys are simply amazing.


This past weekend I installed Dave's EGR block kit and it all went perfectly. I consider myself mechanically inclined but this is the most involved thing I've ever done I noticed some strange things, but more on that later. On to the purpose of the post!


I should be paying this car off here in the next month or so(whenever VW cuts me a check for my Jetta). After that, most of what I would be making in car payments is going to a car fund. From there I'll draw funds for maintenance and upgrades(BPC Stage 2+ and installing turboback exhaust). First things I need to buy are tools and a jack. Keep in mind I usually just went with the walmart/harbor freight special, but am looking to step my game up in the service department.


I'm driving a sport package D and the ride height is pretty low, so getting my current jack to the front lift point is impossible unless I drive the car up on some 2x4s. I don't want to deal with this, and am looking for recommendations for a low profile jack that will easily fit under my car and can lift it nice and high. I plan on doing the DPF delete and a turboback exhaust install on jack stands, so at least enough space for that. What do you guys use/recommend? I'm not a mechanic or anything. I do the work on my family's cars, and that's it so no need for anything super expensive. I'll also be buying a second set of jack stands and possibly a third set just in case. I was planing on purchasing the Torin 2 ton jacks seeing as they haven't failed me yet. Any other stands I should be looking at?


I also need a torque wrench. I've been postponing this way too long. Just want some recommendations on a good wrench.


As far as bits, I have a range of Torx and Hex bits of all sizes, and more than enough sockets, all from Kobalt so I trust them. Any obscure bits or tools I may end up needing for this car?


Also, I was planning on buying the Schwaben Professional BMW/MINI scan tool from ECS for changing the fuel filter, battery, and rear brakes. Has anyone used this tool? Is it any good, or should I be looking at something else for coding?



Now onto some other questions I had:

1.) When installing the EGR block I had to take the entire air intake off, all the way down to the turbo. There was some oil buildup down by the turbo underneath where the intake attaches to the turbo. There was also some oil inside that attachment. Should I be concerned about this? It wasn't a ton, and at 76k miles, it doesn't look like an obscene amount of buildup, but I digress. Thoughts?


2.) My headlight lenses(covers?) look like they're cracking at the top. I have the xenons the adjust up/down and left/right. It's the plastic part that usually fades due to oxidation, but mine doesn't look like oxidation, it looks like tons of miniature cracks. The headlights also seem to be a little foggy as well. I've tried compounding and polishing to no avail. Would a proper headlight restoration kit work? Anyone else experienced this issue? Thanks!


3.) Those with the alphabet delete running Dave's turboback exhaust, how is the smell? I can't seem to find a really solid answer. Is it really bad, tolerable, not so bad. If I drive with the windows down often am I likely to notice the smell? Is it tolerable or is it miserable to inhale?


4.) My engine seems to be really loud. Maybe it's just because it's a diesel but pulling up to a drive through window you can really hear the car rumbling. Note: It isn't sound out of the exhaust pipe, it's sound coming from the engine bay. Is there a way to cut down the noise. It's not that bad really, just curious if there's a way to cut it back.


I believe that's all for now. Sorry for the long read. I just want to be sure to do this right.

[rulonger]

The jack question comes up every so often. Here is the latest response from BB_Cuda in another thread.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...8&postcount=21

[BB_cuda]

Howdy y'all! As many other new members here, I'm a transplant from the VW TDI community, and am loving it so far! Aside from 2 unexpected repairs(Vibration Dampener and Engine Cooling Fan), this car has been a blast. The mixture of power and gas(diesel) mileage is absolutely amazing.


Big shout out to everyone on this forum that has put up with us transplants and all of our questions. I know y'all have been nothing but helpful to all of us, and hopefully now that I know more about these cars, I can be of some help to others. I thought I would really miss the TDI community, but you guys are simply amazing.


This past weekend I installed Dave's EGR block kit and it all went perfectly. I consider myself mechanically inclined but this is the most involved thing I've ever done I noticed some strange things, but more on that later. On to the purpose of the post!


I should be paying this car off here in the next month or so(whenever VW cuts me a check for my Jetta). After that, most of what I would be making in car payments is going to a car fund. From there I'll draw funds for maintenance and upgrades(BPC Stage 2+ and installing turboback exhaust). First things I need to buy are tools and a jack. Keep in mind I usually just went with the walmart/harbor freight special, but am looking to step my game up in the service department.


I'm driving a sport package D and the ride height is pretty low, so getting my current jack to the front lift point is impossible unless I drive the car up on some 2x4s. I don't want to deal with this, and am looking for recommendations for a low profile jack that will easily fit under my car and can lift it nice and high. I plan on doing the DPF delete and a turboback exhaust install on jack stands, so at least enough space for that. What do you guys use/recommend? I'm not a mechanic or anything. I do the work on my family's cars, and that's it so no need for anything super expensive. I'll also be buying a second set of jack stands and possibly a third set just in case. I was planing on purchasing the Torin 2 ton jacks seeing as they haven't failed me yet. Any other stands I should be looking at?
Answer from BB_cuda: I really like the ESCO 10499. Fred from Reverse Logic sold them to me with the custom machined rectangular blocks that perfectly fit our jack points. Each stand is rated for 3 tons. Fred recommends them over the Torin ones he sells. Link below.
http://www.reverselogic.us/jack-stands.html

I also need a torque wrench. I've been postponing this way too long. Just want some recommendations on a good wrench.

Answer from BB_cuda: I use the Sears Craftsman, 1/2" drive one that clicks wen you get to set torque. I got it on sale for $40. I finally broke ( it was free wheeling within the head) an identical one that i've had for 14 years. There may be better ones out there but it has worked for me.

As far as bits, I have a range of Torx and Hex bits of all sizes, and more than enough sockets, all from Kobalt so I trust them. Any obscure bits or tools I may end up needing for this car?
Answer from BB_cuda: You need a nice set of E torx and also a set of security torx. The security ones are very similar to normal torx but they have a hole in the ends of them. The undertray has a couple of these type screws on the back edge where another under panel overlays.

Also, I was planning on buying the Schwaben Professional BMW/MINI scan tool from ECS for changing the fuel filter, battery, and rear brakes. Has anyone used this tool? Is it any good, or should I be looking at something else for coding?



Now onto some other questions I had:

1.) When installing the EGR block I had to take the entire air intake off, all the way down to the turbo. There was some oil buildup down by the turbo underneath where the intake attaches to the turbo. There was also some oil inside that attachment. Should I be concerned about this? It wasn't a ton, and at 76k miles, it doesn't look like an obscene amount of buildup, but I digress. Thoughts?
Answer from BB_cuda: Its normal. It is from the crank case ventilation system. Go search on catch can. Many threads discussing this.

2.) My headlight lenses(covers?) look like they're cracking at the top. I have the xenons the adjust up/down and left/right. It's the plastic part that usually fades due to oxidation, but mine doesn't look like oxidation, it looks like tons of miniature cracks. The headlights also seem to be a little foggy as well. I've tried compounding and polishing to no avail. Would a proper headlight restoration kit work? Anyone else experienced this issue? Thanks!


3.) Those with the alphabet delete running Dave's turboback exhaust, how is the smell? I can't seem to find a really solid answer. Is it really bad, tolerable, not so bad. If I drive with the windows down often am I likely to notice the smell? Is it tolerable or is it miserable to inhale?
Answer from BB_cuda: It's not the exhaust's role to scrub this smell. The OEM DPF is what makes the smell better. The DOC ( its a diesel specific CAT) within front of it is doing this job. There are some aftermarket down pipes out there with a CAT option available.

4.) My engine seems to be really loud. Maybe it's just because it's a diesel but pulling up to a drive through window you can really hear the car rumbling. Note: It isn't sound out of the exhaust pipe, it's sound coming from the engine bay. Is there a way to cut down the noise. It's not that bad really, just curious if there's a way to cut it back.


I believe that's all for now. Sorry for the long read. I just want to be sure to do this right.
Answer from BB_cuda: The top covers of the engine actually quieten the noise down some. Are you driving without the cover on? If your car is factory at this point, I'm surprized that you say it is noisy. People that rode in my car thought it was a gasser until I explained.

[Torqu3]

Thanks for the reply Cuda! Always appreciate your input. As for the noise, it's really strange. I don't know if I'm being picky or what, but it seems really loud to me. All of the stock sound deadening is in place, including the engine cover. I have no clue what it could be.

[Yozh]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Thanks for the reply Cuda! Always appreciate your input. As for the noise, it's really strange. I don't know if I'm being picky or what, but it seems really loud to me. All of the stock sound deadening is in place, including the engine cover. I have no clue what it could be.

Did you replace your Harmonic Balancer yet?

[Torqu3]

I replaced it just after I got the car because it spontaneously failed. That was 3 months ago.

[Yozh]

Best is to post a video of your engine running. Do idle and then 2000 rpm.

[BB_cuda]

I recall a little while back a guy had a loud ticking problem and it ended up being a leak out of the injector from the combustion chamber. We never heard back from the other guy who showed us a video. Video wasn't his car but he claimed it was identical noise as his. Noise was close to the vacuum pump area of engine.

Torqu3, I agree with yozh. A video may be in order.

[DieselOG]

Cheers man! Im in the same boat, Patiently waiting for that check to fund my build. Gotta appreciate the irony of putting that emissions restitution to good use

[Torqu3]

So I took a video like y'all said. At first it's just a walk around the hood at idle with the hood closed. Then I set my phone down and went up to 2k RPM. Then I opened the hood and did a video of that. Like I said, I might just be over sensitive to the sound, so if that's the case please let me know. Here is the link: https://goo.gl/photos/47SxbsjzDbyiBtw48

[dmanb2b]

Hard to tell, from from vid... while it does sound a bit loud...I would agree the 335d is much louder than a 2.0 CR TDI. It has more "growl". That said if you are standing in front of my car, it does not have that distinct loud diesel sound like i'm getting from your vid, but a bit milder.

[Torqu3]

Listening to that video it really sounds like a diesel truck at idle. At 2k RPM the sound is more masked by the turbos and other moving parts but it's still there. But yeah, standing by the car at idle it gives me a very distinct diesel sound. It's not that I think it sounds broken, just rather loud IMO. At my high school everyone had a straight piped cummins diesel and my car rivals those as far as sound at idle goes. Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive. Thanks for the reply dmanb2b!

[DieselOG]

Although its hard to gauge from the video I would agree that it sounds more like a diesel then mine. I don't think mine is that much louder then my 2.0cr was at idle, however that was deleted and piped so its hard to remember what it sounded like stock. It almost sounds like your missing some of your sound dampening from somewhere. Ill grab a video of mine tomorrow and post it so you can compare.

[Persian Whisperjet]

+1 on the top cover -- I was a little surprised by how much difference that made.

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by Persian Whisperjet

+1 on the top cover -- I was a little surprised by how much difference that made.

I have all of my sound deadening/insulation intact, as far as I know. In the ownership of my car, I have not removed anything. It is fully stock aside from an EGR block and some puddle lights. It sounded the same before the EGR block as it does now.

[nicklockard]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Listening to that video it really sounds like a diesel truck at idle. At 2k RPM the sound is more masked by the turbos and other moving parts but it's still there. But yeah, standing by the car at idle it gives me a very distinct diesel sound. It's not that I think it sounds broken, just rather loud IMO. At my high school everyone had a straight piped cummins diesel and my car rivals those as far as sound at idle goes. Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive. Thanks for the reply dmanb2b!

Ummmm, I'm looking for ways to make mine louder, growlier, and more diesel-y, lol. Plus I'd love to hear the turbos spool. Mine's way too quiet.

[Torqu3]

Remove the engine cover and the heat shield/insulation on the hood. Those are the easiest ways to make it louder. As for turbo spool, I think that requires a full exhaust.

[nicklockard]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Remove the engine cover and the heat shield/insulation on the hood. Those are the easiest ways to make it louder. As for turbo spool, I think that requires a full exhaust.

Tried that. Made it sound like 2 rocks rattling around a 6" diameter, ten foot long pipe. Crappy sound. I want growl, turbo spool, and roar, not kids toy, lol.

Question: is this one of those cars that amplifies engine noise and plays it through the speakers like a lot of modern cars do?

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by nicklockard

Tried that. Made it sound like 2 rocks rattling around a 6" diameter, ten foot long pipe. Crappy sound. I want growl, turbo spool, and roar, not kids toy, lol.

Question: is this one of those cars that amplifies engine noise and plays it through the speakers like a lot of modern cars do?

Yeah, you're gonna have to do a full exhaust to get the sounds you're looking for, and that will likely have to be accompanied by the alphabet soup delete and a tune.


I don't think these cars amplify the engine noise in any way.