Yeeeeessssssssss! They Did It!

Congratulations to the 2009-2010 Lakers!  Whooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

Brake Check

Since I’m on a maintenance streak, I might as well write about the brakes as well.  Undoubtedly you’ve wondered about what type of awesome brake pads you should get once yours wear down.  If you haven’t well, you should.  Upgraded car parts are too awesome to ignore.

The stock GTI pads have decent stopping and low dust.  They do the job well enough.  But the response they give you is pretty vague.  Enter my recommendation.  If you’re looking for a mild upgrade from the stock pads, give the Hawk HPS pads a try.  Prices are not too bad for a set of front and rear brakes.  They are quiet and have decent dusting.  They add a little linearity to the braking process as well.  The stock pads are rather vague when it comes to communicating how much braking you’re actually doing.

If you don’t mind a little noise and occasional squealing, the Hawk HP+ pads are supposed to offer vastly superior braking performance, but with the aforementioned drawbacks.  I haven’t personally tried them, this is from the vast knowledge base of the interwebs.

A side note about the rear brakes.  The MKV has either a stronger rear brake bias, or the rear oem pads just plain wear out faster.  They wear at twice the rate of the fronts.  Unfortunately the rear pads don’t have any sensor warnings (unlike the fronts) so you’ll have to pull them to check whether they are worn down.  They usually squeal when they’re worn but sometimes the damage to the rotor is already done.

Service Interval Reminder – How to Reset

If you just finished up an oil change, you’ll need to reset the service interval display, lest you want the words “Service Now!” constantly blinking at you.  It’ll also help you keep track of when your next oil change is coming up.  Here’s how to reset it, just in case you forgot or can’t find it in the manual.

Step 1:  Keep ignition in the “off” position and press the trip meter reset button (0.0) on the right.  You will see the trip meter reset to zero.

Step 2:  Keeping the reset (0.0) button pressed, switch the ignition to the “on” position.  Do not start the car.  The display will read “Service Now!”

Step 3:  Release the reset button and press the “m” button on the left hand side of the dash cluster.  The display will reset.  Switch off the ignition.

And that’s it.

Vendor List

Need Parts?

I thought it’d be useful to have a list of all the vendors I’ve used so far.  These are all places I’ve used before and trust.  Just look up at the top heading and everything will be under Vendor List.  Or just click the word “Vendor List“.  That’s probably easier. Go find the part you need!

DSG Maintenance

Since I’ve hit around the 80,000 mile mark (82,000 to be exact), it’s time to do another DSG fluid change.  It’s relatively cheap to do it yourself if you already have a VAG-COM and the drain tool.  Otherwise, you might be adding a few hundred to the expense.  There are ways to make yourself a a fill tool, rather inexpensively I might add.  I’ll send the link your way when I find it.  The VAG-COM, which is used for measuring the temperature and resetting the adaptation, is harder to substitute for.  You might want to try to find a buddy or someone local that has one.

I might mention that the 40,000 mile interval DSG service is rather important and you shouldn’t skip out on it, especially if you’re chipped or modded.  It’s a small investment compared to the cost to repair the thing if it flakes.  You want the thing in tip top condition.

The fluid, filter and washers come out to 140 dollars shipped from DBC Performance.  I should be getting it today.  Expect at least a few shots and a writeup if you’re lucky.  Although TDI Club already has a very well written writeup, much better than I could write.  And since I’m so nice, here you go!  DSG Writeup (should be the first link)

DIY Series: Forge SuperSize Valve Cleaning/Regreasing

For consistent performance, the Forge (supersize) diverter valve needs to be regreased occasionally.  Otherwise the grease gets pretty contaminated from the oil flying through the intake system.  Here’s a little writeup on how to do it.

DIY Series:  Diverter Valve Maintenance

The pictures, as usual, are coming a little late.  They will be up soon, sorry!

Cam Follower and Oil Change Article

Since the MKV generation is starting to hit higher mileages, the cam follower wear problem is starting to pop up more often.  I see it being posted more in the forums.  Usually it’s by people who just bought the car used or simply were unaware of the issue.  That really sucks.  Anyway check out the page under the maintenance drop down or click this link.  Cam followers and Oil changes – Warning

Heres another article: Cam Follower Troubleshooting

Edit:  I see a couple of searches for “revised follower”  – Sorry there is none, this is what we have to deal with and the solution is constant awareness-

I borrowed this picture to show the possible damage.  If the original owner wants it removed, please tell me.

Drain Your Catch Can

I’m seeing a few searches for how to drain the BSH catch can. The absolute easiest way to do it is to take the can out of the engine bay itself.  Yes that means getting the tools out and wrenching in the engine bay for a few minutes, but it’s less messy.  We don’t want that crud draining in your engine bay do we?

Just remove the hose clamps and undo the bracket.  Then drain into your favorite container.

If you have one with a dipstick, or a method of accessing the can from the top, I’ve read of other people using a big syringe to siphon out the contents.

I don’t know how the other catch cans are designed but they all pretty much work the same way.  There’s limited space in that area of the MKV engine bay and it’s just easier to pull the thing out.  *that’s what she said* Oh Snap!

Updated! – Fuel Filter Installed, More Maintenance

I know this was supposed to be updated last week but since I’ve been sloshed this past holiday weekend, this post is just on time.  Can you say unhealthy?

My new fuel filter just went in over the weekend. Took maybe 15.365 minutes tops, give or take a couple of hundredths of a second.  Didn’t seem too dirty after all.  I’ve read reports of the fuel coming out of the thing being brown but the stuff that came out of mine only had a slight tinge.  I think for my purposes, changing at the suggested 40,000 miles might be a excessive.  I doubled the service interval and noticed no change with the new one.  Good news I suppose.

Those with dirtier gas, although I have absolutely no clue how you would tell, would probably do well to change it at 40,000 miles.

On second thought, changing at 40,000 mile intervals is not too much to ask for.  The filter is only 25 bucks.

I also did my oil change over the weekend.  I’m pretty sad to say that Lubro Moly 5w40 is hard to find in stores again.  They do have stock of the 0w40 Lubro so I just used that.  We’ll see how good the oil is compared to their 5w40.

I bought my filters at DBCPerformance.com.  Good company to deal with.  Or you can also go to germanfilters.com.  Similar pricing and free shipping on orders above 55 dollars.