T5 Transporter Project: Now with Photos (Bandwidth Warning)

[DawieBotes]

Project Status: Investigating
=================

2019-07-30: I've renamed this thread because it's a really nice place to document the whole project, not just the one issue. If needed I will ask specific questions in other threads, but in this one I'll be documenting the process.

Keeping the rest of the thread as is below:
==========================


Hi all,

New to the VW clan. Used to drive a Rabbit in 1999 to 2004 though, but have been off the grid until a couple of weeks ago.

Got a 2011 Transporter T5 DSG 2.0 TDI 4Motion with 160000km at a decent price (albeit, stretched my budget quite a bit), and I could see she's got a lot of work to be done, but I've got time to be patient and work on her. I'm mostly a DIY man. Got most issues on her sorted now, all electronics back to work, displays, all lights, etc, etc. Engine is running beautifully, and the space........

What bought me over initially was how smooth the ride is with the DSG! My first ever auto, but wow.

So, from the start, there was this grinding/humming noise starting from around 30km/h up to about 100km/h when the road noise drowns it out. From the driver's seat it sounded like the left front wheel. The sound just increases in volume consistently, no matter if the gears change, or even if I let her roll in neutral. I though it was the wheel bearing (hub) and replacing that isn't an issue. Took it to my local guy and he checked everything, and it wasn't my wheel bearings, but the front diff. (Which I saw now in the Service Manuals is called a Bevel?)

Anybody had this experience before? The sound is a bit unsettling, and I wouldn't want to do too much highway driving with it in this state, but the car drives smoothly...

I called a Gearbox place nearby, but they said they don't work with Automatics. Gave me a VW approved (read expensive) number and they said it could be around R19,000 (excl VAT) ... which is a bit more than the R0 in my pocket at the moment...

[panic-mechanic]

Of course failing to supply a location means it's not simple to refer you to somebody who might be able to help you.
Welcome otherwise.

[VGTI]

It could be completely "not applicable" but I have had a similar noise on the Polo... also replaced a wheel bearing and it turned out to be the tyres.

You never know...

[DawieBotes]

Of course failing to supply a location means it's not simple to refer you to somebody who might be able to help you.
Welcome otherwise.

Heidelberg - South of JHB - Close to Vereeniging.

[DawieBotes]

It could be completely "not applicable" but I have had a similar noise on the Polo... also replaced a wheel bearing and it turned out to be the tyres.

You never know...

Thanks. Also thought bearing because it sounded like a turning type noise. But Mechanic was adamant it's the diff... I guess one could lift the car and run, but with 4motion, that would need to be all the wheels. Wonder if the local HiQ would mind if I do a quick test on their lift

[panic-mechanic]

Try this guy in jhb to fix it : perkins 0837874564. Yeah putting it on a lift will be a good place to start.

[DawieBotes]

Try this guy in jhb to fix it : perkins 0837874564. Yeah putting it on a lift will be a good place to start.

Will give him a call tomorrow. Thanks!

[PeterTech]

It could be completely "not applicable" but I have had a similar noise on the Polo... also replaced a wheel bearing and it turned out to be the tyres.

You never know...

I have had a similar problem on a Corolla and on a Citi Golf and it turned out to be the tyres. If you put the car on neutral going down hill you will swear the bearing are stuffed up.
When it was time to replace the tyres, the sales person told me to note that these kind of tyres make noise as you drive. I unfortunately forgot the make and size of the tyres.

Sent from my G3312 using Tapatalk

[VGTI]

It could be completely "not applicable" but I have had a similar noise on the Polo... also replaced a wheel bearing and it turned out to be the tyres.

You never know...

I have had a similar problem on a Corolla and on a Citi Golf and it turned out to be the tyres. If you put the car on neutral going down hill you will swear the bearing are stuffed up.
When it was time to replace the tyres, the sales person told me to note that these kind of tyres make noise as you drive. I unfortunately forgot the make and size of the tyres.

Sent from my G3312 using Tapatalk

Directional tyres, in my case Yokohama S-Drives... Their wear looked like a feather on the shoulders and this caused the noise! Before them I had Yokohama A-Drive R1s and they were quiet.

[DawieBotes]

Thanks. I'll do a bit of a tyre check this weekend. Will make a recording of the sound.... Wonder how it will sound if one straps a GoPro below the car

[DawieBotes]

I checked all the tyres, and it seemed OK, but noticed that there are oil coming out at funny places below the car. So I've opened up the bottom "Noise insulation" to check what's happening.

Oil everywhere. Below the engine, below the gearbox, on top of the gear box, below the power steering pump... etc.

I think it's going to take a while before I take that first camping trip... But I did know she's going to be a bit of work, so here goes....

* So nice to get under a car without even having to jack it up! *

Biggest worrying discovery. Oil on TOP of the Gearbox, right next to the Oil filter:



I did feel below the oil cooler and it was dry, so my hope is that a previous tinkerer didn't replace the oil seal correctly on the filter.....

CV connector to the right front wheel..... That angle looks really off....



Oil below the power-steering pump (Photo after cleaning it with a cloth, so can't see the oil, but there was quite a bit)



Odd connector below the engine without any cables



A chump sitting in a new project... No idea yet what he got himself into:

[Sebz]

Nice to see the detailed documentation of your trials and tribulations... Keep it up!

[DawieBotes]

Thanks I am determined!

[Rudi46]

Awesome hope you get it 120%, I am in Meyerton if you ever want a VCDS scan or so done.

Cheers

[DawieBotes]

Awesome hope you get it 120%, I am in Meyerton if you ever want a VCDS scan or so done.

Cheers

Great! Will definitely let you know

[DawieBotes]

Quick photo update and nice DIY tool

Decided, while I'm trying to find out what's wrong with the Diff/Gearbox etc., want to make sure everything is swimming in the right oil at least. Got this from Goldwagen at R300 a bottle:



Now, the filler hole is below the car.. so tipping a bottle into the hole is impossible:



So how to get the oil in there..........

Got some clear pipe and made a plan. Drilled 2 holes into the cap of the oil bottle, and pushed one pipe through about as long as the oil bottle is high. Added a second, long pipe that only protruded the cap a centimeter or so. Epoxied them in place. Thus, by blowing on the long pipe, I create pressure in the oil bottle that pushes the oil up the fill pipe. All while the bottle sits on the ground:

[DotDubb]

Hi there and welcome.

Very interesting thread, pity about the diff noise, hope you resolve it quickly.

[Howie-WP]

Just a FYI re: fluid transfer, bought this from Adendorff:

https://www.adendorff.co.za/product/mac ... phon-pump/

Your solution is free and works, but above is also good to have and at R80 is cheap enough to have one for diff oil, engine oil and T/C oil

[DawieBotes]

OK, a bit behind on updates.

First update, fixed it a while ago. The blowers (front and back) did not work on setting 1 and 2, little on 3 and then full blast on 4. Did a bit of research, and found that the issue was the Blower register. Opened up the blowers and found this (Screenshot, didn't think of taking photos...):



Now, the quotes aren't too bad, around R200 to R300 for one. The problem is, can't find them anywhere.

So after some more Googling, I discovered that the main culprit in these units (in almost all car types) is that little top piece, called a thermal fuse resistor (or something). Went to Rabtron in Vereeniging and bought 4 loose resistors at R16 each:



I then removed the old ones using a side-cutter, and using some sharp-nose pliers, I just bent the new one in place (no soldering, as it may damage the fuse).

Now both blowers are working perfectly!

[DawieBotes]

Back to the Gearbox / Diff issue.

After a lot of reading, and some more shocking quotes, I've decided a couple of things. Firstly, these DSG gearboxes and the Bevel / Diff are supposed to be strong (I mean GTI Spinning strong) so I'm not going to expect any of it to just fail without some real torture from my side.

Secondly, I will, from my side, make sure that they are swimming in oil correctly... So using my tool, I did fill up the diff a bit with the correct oil. About 300ml.

Then, having gone through the manuals, I wanted to tackle the Gearbox itself, replace the filter and fill it up.

Now, to get to the Filler hole (also the Oil level checking hole) you need a 14mm Ellen key... Now that is difficult to find. The only shop that actually had one charged me R300 for it.... Just a normal Ellen key, with the bend in it... So I went and scratched around in their old stock, and found this funny tool:



Used a grinder to grind off a nice piece and now I can use my LONG torque wrench to open the bolt. No sweat.

I followed the manual guidelines in how to prep the car for an oil check, and opened the bolt...... Oil just started to flow out (and this is oil that VW charges R600 for!) It just kept going... I had to close the nut and get some more Yougurt 1lt tubs to catch more oil! At the end 3 liters of Oil came out! Crazy!!!

I made sure the level check pipe is fitted and everything.... So that gearbox was overfilled with more than 3 liters of R600/lt oil!

Next up, needed to change the oil filter. Got replacement filter from GW for about R350. However, after taking out the old one, wrong part.... :



Filter A came out of the car. Filter B from GW. A is noticeably longer than B. I thought, maybe just different makes, tried to fit B but it would not latch. The pipe is not the same size.... At least I used the new O-ring, as the old one was definitely gone. Most expensive O-ring replacement I've ever done....

Anyway, after removing the 3 liters of GB oil, and fitting the new O-ring, she's no longer pissing oil everywhere. So there's that at least. Grinding sound is still there, but will investigate further.

[VAG Fan]

Nice going.

I also had the problem on the ventilation fan's resistor pack. I decided I want proper thermal conductance, for the thermal fuse to blow at the right point, so I didn't trust crimping only. Rather, I soldered the new thermal fuse on, while cooling it down with a moist rag. Worked perfectly.

By the way, check your cabin filter / pollen filter. They're not that expensive. When they become dirty, there is less air flow, especially on stage 1. The resistor pack is cooled down by the air stream. So I think that part of the problem with the blowing thermal fuse is insufficient air flow.

[DawieBotes]

Thanks VAG Fan, will do!

[VGTI]

Whatever you do... just never touch that green thing when the fan has been running for a while!! Hy word FOKKEN warm

[DawieBotes]

Whatever you do... just never touch that green thing when the fan has been running for a while!! Hy word FOKKEN warm

Sounds like experience