Purdue University

[pballpromasta]

Well, ive had some leakage in my trunk as well. I thought everything was just water and rain. My passenger front and rear is wet. Im thinking that this is a combination of two problems. I have a leak in the trunk where i failed to bolt the tails in completely, and my spoiler hole is leaking because the grommet and bolt broke taking it off before paint.

I didnt really care to smell the liquid, so im actually not sure, but it didnt look green or anything. Again, i wasnt looking at a pool of it. My carpets were just wet / soaked. Like i said, i looked up at the box and it had drops of liquid coming from it. Looked like condensation.

Does a line run from front to rear carrying liquid? The only thing i could think of is the air tubes for ac / heat. Looked like in the rear the wettest area was right below the tubing under the seat. Someone mentioned the sunroof line, and since it runs down the a-piller (i think) then it would make sense, but only for the front.

[vw fiend]

Quote, originally posted by pballpromasta »

My passenger front and rear is wet. Im thinking that this is a combination of two problems. if the front and back on one side are wet, and you said the passenger side sunroof drain was majorly clogged; i'd still bet on that being the problem Does a line run from front to rear carrying liquid? The only thing i could think of is the air tubes for ac / heat. Looked like in the rear the wettest area was right below the tubing under the seat. Someone mentioned the sunroof line, and since it runs down the a-piller (i think) then it would make sense, but only for the front. i dont think there are any liquid carrying tubes that run inside the car. one slight(?) possibility would be a clogged rain tray that caused water to come into the car through the heater vents and out under the passenger seat where the rear passengers feet would be

[pballpromasta]

Alright, ill look harder on the sunroof drain deal. Was i correct in saying that the drain runs down the a-pillar? I might pull that away tonight or something.

I doubt as well that theres a line inside the car, but what i meant was by the spot that the shop bent. That might have ruptured a cavity where a water drain is causing water to leak into the car.

I changed my rain tray last month when the car got painted, and everything was clean before i put the new one on.

[heysuperman]

It would be pink not green if it was coolant. You sunroof doesn't have rear drains?

[pballpromasta]

It does. where do they come out of though?

[heysuperman]

Either the trunk or hatch depending on model.

Use a paper towel and dab the floor, let us know the color

[pballpromasta]

Well then thats my trunk problem. Location of the outlets so i can look? i checked and didnt see anything earlier. Ill let you know the color next time i look.

[PurdueME]

if that much coolant was coming out then i would imagine your coolant light would come on, you could check your coolant tank level too in case you have too much dirt to tell the paper towel color

[farfromugen]

yeah, I might have jumped a little too quick on the heater core train, you may not have enough leaked to turn on the coolant light, but checking the bubble is one way, plus the carpet will feel a little slick if its coolant. If you pull your raintray, you may want to check and make sure leaves are not clogging the drains for the raintray (big square hole on either side). If it is completely clogged, in theory it could flood it and cause rain to come in over the sides of the fresh air inlet (raised plastic black square with grid on top), which would cause a leak inside. The sunroof drains down the a pillar and out the doorframe/fender area, not sure about the rear in the Jettas. You should be able to snake clogs out or use compressed air to clean it out. The tailights will cause horrendus leaks in the trunk/hatch. Seal that up as tight as possible.

PS if it turns out to be the heater core, you can bypass it to stop the leak, but of course you will loose your heater. Just join the 2 coolant hoses together that go into your firewall.

FYI for .223 users, ***** has Remmington UMC for 7.98 per 20 pack right now, pretty good for a local in stock (and they had lots in stock as well).

And, weather looks decent for next Sunday...who wants to come to Linden, I have a CMMG .22LR conversion and a new toy to test out.

[pballpromasta]

Thanks everyone for the help. Ive come to realize its not the heater core. I have no green / pink / slick liquid on the carpets. My ac pump seems to be working pretty hard. The condensation seems to be part of the issue. I still need to follow some lines, but it was FREEZING when i touched it and the minute i turn on the air, with heat i get drip after drip.

The sunroof lines seem to be fine. Poured a bottle of water down each hole up top on an incline and it ran out fine in most all.

I also poured 2 quarts around the trunk lid and the rubber grommets to see what would happen inside. Seems like that was fine 2. One thing i did notice regarding that is i am missing a grommet on the left side where wires go through the sheet metal attaching to the trunk release. This would cause a leak if the water level got high enough

I think that the tail lights were a big part of the trunk problem. We will see when i go wash the car sometime this week. Ill try to really soak areas of weakness.

The bubble is still something im worried about. Im going to have a shop try to heat the area and bend it back to check out the area. Then im gunna have some rubber sprayed underneath to prevent seepage. We will see from there.

[PurdueME]

Quote, originally posted by farfromugen »

FYI for .223 users, ***** has Remmington UMC for 7.98 per 20 pack right now, pretty good for a local in stock (and they had lots in stock as well).

Im guessing you were talking about Dick's, without the apostrophe it doesnt like it, but I'm still at a loss to why it doesnt like the word rice r when there is no space between rice and r

[n0rdicalex.]

alright, i scheduled an appointment for friday at dubbers. does anyone with experience mind PMing me? i forgot to ask to the price they charge to diagnose, and i really need to budget for the rest of the semester. and also just curious about their operation; ie: stories/experiences.

[farfromugen]

Quote, originally posted by PurdueME »

Im guessing you were talking about Dick's,

yeah....silly censor

[pballpromasta]

Alright, yet again another problem. It should be minor though

When i turn off my car, my accessory power still stays on. My radio still plays when the key is out and the car is off. Not sure why it just started happening but it is.

Any suggestions? I dont want a dead battery by the end of the week.

[blue70beetle]

When did VW stop doing that? I have my radio wired so the key has to be on, but sometimes I wish I had done it the other way. Back in the day, that's just how they did it - you had to turn off your radio separately from the car, because there was no accessory position.

It's either a problem with your ignition switch or related wiring, or it's always been like that, but if that were the case, I suspect you would know that.

[heysuperman]

That is normal. At least on a mark IV pretty sure mk3 do the same

[pballpromasta]

hmm. im not sure...

I replaced the ignition switch last year. Doubt its that. But accessory normally is on, just not the radio. By that, i mean my 12v cig lighter works when the key is out, ect. This is just the first time ive noticed the stereo like that.

[blue70beetle]

The cig lighter is wired hot in a lot of cars...I think our Subaru might be the first car we've had that isn't.

[pballpromasta]

The honda cars my family has owned have the lighter on accessory, which i never understood the reasoning for. If the lighter is for emergency, shouldnt it be wired hot? Anyway, hmm. I dont know what the issue is.

[farfromugen]

They radio should turn off when the key is pulled on MK3s, MK4 was the first introduction to retained accessory on the radios, and they require an adaptor to work with an aftermarket radio. Most likely your ignition switch is sticking, happened to mine once or twice. Maybe try shooting a little graphite down in the switch?

I'm not sure on the lighter 100%, but I'm pretty sure it shuts down with the car, I could be wrong though.


Modified by farfromugen at 7:26 PM 10-27-2009

[blue70beetle]

I can't think of a situation where you would need the lighter in an emergency, so I'm going to say that's why it's not wired hot...

In other news, my knock sensor is TRASHED! I'm ordering a new one right now...hopefully that fixes the problem. This thing is almost impossible to drive, but since it's what we have available, Aimee was trying to drive it to get to things she had to do today, and on at least one occasion where it acted up particularly badly, she was bucking and sputtering through an intersection after a light changed, and people were actually stupid enough to honk at her! If the car is lurching and the engine is audibly surging, isn't it obvious that the driver really doesn't intend to operate the car in that manner? And the sound of a horn is going to get the CAR to respond? Awfully nice that they've had everything handed to them their entire lives, and so have never had the misfortune of having to drive a car that isn't really fit to drive...

And before anyone goes off about how I shouldn't be putting her in a car in that condition...well...you REALLLY don't want to go down that road...

/rant

On a happier note, we picked up the WRX from Denny's this afternoon. They took good care of us, and at least from what I can see in the rain, it looks perfect. The only bad thing is the left headlight assy is just the slightest bit cloudy, so you can tell that the right was replaced if you're picky. I don't have $200 to spend to replace a functioning headlight assembly (if I did, my wife wouldn't have been driving around in a barely motive car while hers was under the knife), so it's just going to stay that way.

And I'm currently browsing CL in the LA/OC area for a nice E28 535i, which I believe is going to be my Jetta's successor. My brother and I are planning for him to pick up one out there and "export" it here. I came to this decision after looking around and realizing that for less than $3k or so, the absolute coolest thing I can get here with outstanding reliability and seating for 5 is a mid-to-late '90s Camcordtima with a sweet automatic, and I said that's not happening. Rather than wait until I can get a WRX like I wanted, I figured I might as well get a really nice car, shipped, with a 5-speed, for the same price as said Camcordtima. Having owned an E28 previously, I know exactly what I'm getting into. Now it's just a matter of finding the right one.

[OstTrefftWest]

Knock sensor seems like a plausible culprit for A2 driveability issues, whether CIS-E or Digi. Hope that smooths things over -- and in the meanwhile, rotten tomatoes for the bozos Aimee encountered.

I've always been a sucker for E34s (and would've bought one back in about '02 if I hadn't been beaten to the punch), but an E28 ain't bad....

EDIT: And speaking of E34's, someone needs this professionally V12-swapped 535.... :drool:


Modified by OstTrefftWest at 9:39 AM 10-28-2009

[farfromugen]

Quote, originally posted by blue70beetle »

The only bad thing is the left headlight assy is just the slightest bit cloudy, so you can tell that the right was replaced if you're picky. I don't have $200 to spend to replace a functioning headlight assembly (if I did, my wife wouldn't have been driving around in a barely motive car while hers was under the knife), so it's just going to stay that way.

You could try one of those headlight lens rejuvenation kits they sell. If it is plastic, a little wet sanding and buffing might get it to match closer.

And people honking at her sputtering is super lame. Generally, I only honk when someone does something that causes me to hit the brakes hard, or those people that will sit at a green light stopped for an eternity. I once had a guy honk at me while I took it slow through a rough intersection (after the light turned green), it was a 2 lane road, he could have gotten around me if he was so impatient. I waved him around me and somewhere the bird was flipped (by him), the guy actually took the time to turn around and "case" where I turned off (maybe he thought I turned off to fight him? I dunno) whatever, some peoples minds do not work correctly. I often wonder what percentage of Lafayette's population makes it outside of the city limits to drive. Peoples actions would get them straight up shot in some areas.

[OstTrefftWest]

In today's paper:

Quote, originally posted by Journal & Courier Classifieds »

VW '67 Beetle Project car - shell, no motor, transmission, or rust. $500 obo.

I won't put the phone number online, but anyone interested can look up the ad. Sounds like potentially a good deal.

[blue70beetle]

Saw that Beetle...the way it's advertised, it would be an easier project than mine, but it lacks IRS...and that's not a bolt-in swap. But still, if I weren't planning to use my cash for a DD, I would just buy that and swap my motor/trans into it - it would take almost half a day to do it, and that's because I would have to pull them out of my car first!

I talked to Sean at Denny's about the headlight restoration products. He said from what he has seen/heard, the results are mixed at best. Probably worth a try, though - it can't hurt.

[heysuperman]

Got an emergency guys. Ethan has decided he needs a costume and well...it's 3 days before Halloween and 2 days before this costume party he wants to go to. He wants to go as vader as he still have pieces from his kindergarten vader costume. We need the deluxe vader outfit and places like Walmart just don't have it so does anyone know of any costume places around town I can check out?

[pballpromasta]

Quote, originally posted by heysuperman »

Got an emergency guys. Ethan has decided he needs a costume and well...it's 3 days before Halloween and 2 days before this costume party he wants to go to. He wants to go as vader as he still have pieces from his kindergarten vader costume. We need the deluxe vader outfit and places like Walmart just don't have it so does anyone know of any costume places around town I can check out?

Party at travs is across the street from sears at the mall and next to payless
HalloweenUSA is in the same shopping center as Michaels and Hollowood video?

Both sell childrens costumes

[heysuperman]

You sir, are a life saver. Thanks man

[pballpromasta]

Quote, originally posted by farfromugen »

They radio should turn off when the key is pulled on MK3s, MK4 was the first introduction to retained accessory on the radios, and they require an adaptor to work with an aftermarket radio. Most likely your ignition switch is sticking, happened to mine once or twice. Maybe try shooting a little graphite down in the switch? Modified by farfromugen at 7:26 PM 10-27-2009

\

Got back into the car today and the car was dead because of the radio. I took off the stereo faceplate so im going to try that overnight. Im not sure how to stop this problem. That graphite solution you spoke of?

No problem. I do believe both places are open till 10pm on thursdays. Hopefully that helps


Modified by pballpromasta at 10:37 PM 10-28-2009

[blue70beetle]

Quote, originally posted by OstTrefftWest »

I've always been a sucker for E34s (and would've bought one back in about '02 if I hadn't been beaten to the punch), but an E28 ain't bad.... EDIT: And speaking of E34's, someone needs this professionally V12-swapped 535.... :drool:

I'm a big fan of BMW styling on the E12/21/24/28 models - IMO, those were some of their best designs ever. I love the forward raked grille; they lost that starting with the E30. I think it's interesting that the high-end models are typically the first to adopt new technology, but for BMW, the entry-level model was the first to adopt the "new" design language in the E30, which carried over into the E32 and E34. It's not bad, but it doesn't catch my eye as much as the prior 1-2 generations. That's why I've always felt like someday I would get another E28 - the one we had was such an great car, they're the perfect size for a proper sedan, the driving experience is as close to perfect as can be expected from a sedan, and they just look amazing.

I'm surprised they went with the V12 to get that kind of power...I don't believe it's all that strong in stock configuration, and just the complexity of that engine and its associated systems (two of everything) make me think the same result could have been achieved with a turbo, with far less complexity and expense. The V12-equipped cars were far more likely to come from the factory with an autotragic, and even something as seemingly basic as a manual swap is nearly impossible. Nearly.


Modified by blue70beetle at 10:49 PM 10-28-2009

[farfromugen]

Hey John, you might check out the old Circuit City building as well, I know a Halloween store popped up in there as well.

Andrew, try wiggling the key as you pull it out. The lock cylinder should kind of 'click' when you put the key in and pull it out. Theoretically the radio should turn on when you turn the key into the 'off' position, but turn off when you pull the key out. If the key pulls out and you don't feel a click so to speak, then it is most likely sticking and may just need something to lube it up (dry lube IE:graphite).

[pballpromasta]

Quote, originally posted by farfromugen »

Andrew, try wiggling the key as you pull it out. The lock cylinder should kind of 'click' when you put the key in and pull it out. Theoretically the radio should turn on when you turn the key into the 'off' position, but turn off when you pull the key out. If the key pulls out and you don't feel a click so to speak, then it is most likely sticking and may just need something to lube it up (dry lube IE:graphite).

Forgot about that one john.

Eric,
woke up this morning and dead to the world when i left for PT. needless to say, i was late. I dont recall hearing a click anymore. I could be wrong. Ill check next time i get into it.

Edit: Autozone has tubes for 2 bucks. Might as well try it for the hell of it. Any other suggestions while im on the subject?

When is the next winter gtg? Come thanksgiving, the winters go on, with some new brakes, a new steering wheel, and possible new audio set up. Just need the $$.

Edit 2: Expended almost an entire tube on the ignition. Still nothing. The stereo still fails to turn off. Im at a loss.

Modified by pballpromasta at 8:07 AM 10-29-2009


Modified by pballpromasta at 9:41 AM 10-29-2009

[n0rdicalex.]

since it's supposed to be sunny saturday and sunday, what does everyone think about a gtg either afternoon?

[pballpromasta]

This sunday ive got work. But next?

[farfromugen]

Quote, originally posted by n0rdicalex. »

since it's supposed to be sunny saturday and sunday, what does everyone think about a gtg either afternoon?

weeeellllll I am free Sunday afternoon, however I kinda wanted to go out and shoot, but, I could meet before or after...or we could meet out there?

I went out today and finally shot my AR...went through 90 rounds, no problems, however the .22 conversion didn't do too well. It shot one round, then it left the shell on the chamber (FTE) I just pulled it out and continued shooting .223. After a quick call to CMMG they suggested a .22 bore brush attached to a drill to "clean" it out. I did that and a bunch of black crud came out (post-production crap?). Now shells slide/fall right out of the chamber....soooo I need to go back and play with it some more!! I'll be ready for possom huntin' soon! J/K