Passat B5 what to look out for?

[slackerTHEpinstriper]

Seen a nice looking B5.5 I fancy, what do I need to look out for, common issues?

[HARDCORE]

DMF

[misteralz]

Oil pressure switches go, water leaks in everywhere and kills the body control modules, front wings always seem to be rotten, and if it's a 1.8T make sure it's had regular oil changes as they sludge up.
Unless it's a W8, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole...

[stealthstylz]

They're curse word compared to the B5. My dad replaced his B5 with a brand new 5.5 and it always had niggly issues, he still owned it for 17 years and it never stopped working fully but he ended up scrapping it as he couldn't bring himself to pass it on to somebody else knowing how much money/work it'd taken to keep it going that long. On paper it was the "perfect" car too, FSH, all the old receipts for parts etc etc.

[b3nson]

Had 2, both well over 100,000 miles and both were great. (PD engines)
Door latches fail so won’t open on central locking.
Both needed a coolant temp sensor and thermostat.
6 speed boxes can get noisy, 5 speeds are more robust
Rust on front wings like all VWs of this era.

[craig1010cc]

I had a tdi110 sport which was a pretty decent cheap runabout (had 170k on it).
The suspension is over complex and likes to eat bushes in the many suspension links.
The drains in the scuttles block which causes water ingres to the passenger footwell where one of the ecu’s are (the alarm, body module from memory).

Only rot is normally the front wings (vw would replace them up to 10 years old), but you can buy them pre painted new fairly cheap.

[philsford]

I prefer a B5, I run one as my current daily (tdi 90) I have done 7k in it so far without incident. I keep an eye on fluids and the first job when I got it was removing the grommets under the battery that are the most common cause of water ingress that causes ecm problems. They are well put together and in my opinion are the high point of vw quality. I have previously had a couple of 1.8Ts in both b5 and b5.5 although the 5.5 was short lived as a lorry took me out on the motorway. All 3 I have had have been low miles at sub 90k and they are getting harder to find without big miles. A low miles one may cost more but if you were to do 10k a year my current 80k car has a potential to last alot longer that one with 180k without major work. Clutch and dmf costs are the common one that sees them broke for spares. Find one that's had a clutch kit and you could be preventing a £500 bill which is what a well used one is worth with mot.
Go for it I say but buy a more expensive one is my advice like 1000-1500 should buy a decent one.
Mine

[tonycocacola]

I had a 53 plate one, PD 130 with almost 200k, had none of the above problems, but it seemed to eat drop links every week.

😃

[slackerTHEpinstriper]

The one I have my eye on is high mileage at 180k but looks to be in great condition, MOT history is good too.

[astranaut]

Friend of mine had no issues at all with his PD130 for 3 years, and he's the type that will only put fuel in and nothing else.

[sarkie83]

Avoid autos...I had a 1.9tdi that wasn't on that many miles (115kish) and the box died.

Shame as it was a nice car apart from that. Like others have said, front arches go crusty, but they do on my current mk2 focus, so yknow....

Lowered on the cheapest coilovers I could find:



Oh, and get used to changing front suspension components...whoever designed it obviously had a fetish for balljoints

[slackerTHEpinstriper]

Jun 15, 2021 15:13:07 GMT HARDCORE said:

DMF

Any tell tale signs to look out for?

[mrbounce]

When I had my Bora, the local VW/Audi specialist had a TDi estate which had belonged to a customer which they bought from him and used as a courtesy car.

Well serviced examples do last, because this one had 330k on it.

[hkr91]

Having had a B2, 2 x B3, B5, 3 x B5.5s and 4 x B6s I can say you can't really go wrong with a B5.5.

PD130 in these are generally bullet proof, as long as they've been serviced with the right quality of oil (505.01 for normal intervals and 507.00 for long intervals) they're usually good to go.

Cambelts need to be done at regular intervals (as with any car). To do the cambelt on these is a front end off jobby; easy once you've done it a few times.

Plenum drains (under the battery tray) get blocked and cause water to ingress, as do the door regulator seals. The first can be rectified by pulling the bungs out and cleaning it (I never replaced the bungs after) and the second is usually rectified by pulling the door cards off and sealing the regulator panels up. I'd also double check the pollen filter housing as they can also leak.

The result of the above can cause the passengers foot well (amongst others) to flood. Under all the carpet and lovely sound insulation is the CCM module which can get wet and cause it to become troublesome.

As others have said, DMF can cause issues but they usually start to rattle and vibrate before they go.

Between the wings and the wheel arch will be a sponge type material that causes the wings to rot. Remove the inner wings, give it a good clean and replace the wheel arch covers (without the sponge).

Front suspension can be daunting as its a multi link set up and the top pinch bolt can get seized. Heat/drill/easy out and I've usually had them out.

Door lock actuators can go but they're cheap and readily available. Rear boot handles can stop working but there's a key lock next to it if it ever does go.

Rear subframes can rust/rot on these, none of mine were bad but I've seen some near the coast/Scotland have a bit more rust than inner land models.

There's a vac simplication mod that can be done on these. EGR deletes are everywhere and a remap would take these from 130 to 165-170ish BHP. FADR do off the shelf mapped ECUS with popcorn/launch control/deletion of the EGR.

Within the PD130 range came the AWX which was a 5 speed and had the smaller 228MM clutch, the AVF was the 6 speed and had the 240mm clutch. The 240mm can handle more torque and was usually fitted to the "Sport" models - earlier 5 speed gearboxes were supposedly stronger however. They're easily changed too along with some other bits needing.

They did however do a 2.5V6 TDi and a 1.9TDi PD100 towards the end of the B5.5 range but I'd always go for the PD130. As a side note, they also produced a 2.0 TDi in the B5.5 which not many know about - I've only ever seen one personally.

I'd stay away from the petrols and the Autos but that's a personal preference. My B5.5 saloon gives me 64MPG on an easy run (48-52 when booting it) and my estate gave me 57MPG.

Iirc VCDS lite and a clone lead work on the B5.5 platform.

Wheels are 5x112 so tyre choice is everywhere, if you do fit Mercedes alloys you'll need spigot rings.

You will have to add a decent set of torx and spline sockets to your toolbox, along with some 18mm spanners etc.

[hkr91]

Also forgot to say... mine are on 175k, 180k and 280k. The 280k probably drives better than my 175k!

The 175k suffered from head lift, 150BHP head bolts sorted these. Was loosing water and pressuring the coolant tank when cold.

As some are becoming uneconomical to repair, people are breaking these left right and centre, there's a few guys on Facebook who only break B5.5s so worth joining a few groups (B5.4 group, UK PASSATS etc)

As others have also said, coolant switches can be a pain. If your gauge isn't going up to the middle, it's new sender time (not hard to do) but don't skimp on brands.

[slackerTHEpinstriper]

Cheers for that.
Having now spoke to the owner it's been well looked after.
Mapped to 180bhp for fuel economy rather than poke, also had EGR delete.
Going to view it today so wish me luck 😎

[slackerTHEpinstriper]

Just back, knackered from the drive, didn't help my eye was staring from removing a rust deposit from it.

It's ridiculously clean, barely any marks on the paint (apart from a couple of usual wing blemishes).

It's obviously been looked after so I believe the maintenance has been kept up with.

Only issue is there is a whine on the gearbox that he says has been there all the time he's owned the car.

It's a 6 speed pd130 btw

[ChasR]

Jun 18, 2021 17:46:07 GMT slackerTHEpinstriper said:

Just back, knackered from the drive, didn't help my eye was staring from removing a rust deposit from it.

It's ridiculously clean, barely any marks on the paint (apart from a couple of usual wing blemishes).

It's obviously been looked after so I believe the maintenance has been kept up with.

Only issue is there is a whine on the gearbox that he says has been there all the time he's owned the car.

It's a 6 speed pd130 btw

What year is it? I’m going wondering if it’s a friend’s car he sold.

As said, go off what hkr91 said. Mileage is not important, but maintenance is.

They IMHO are a far better car than the B6 which replaced it.

There is little to gain between a 5 ad 6 speed.

Cheap coil overs ruin the ride on 17” wheels or above. A mate had one in FKs, and most of the coils were coil bound when sat down. On 15s it wasn’t too bad but it still drove nicer on a lowering kit and springs.

[slackerTHEpinstriper]

Jun 20, 2021 8:30:23 GMT ChasR said:

Jun 18, 2021 17:46:07 GMT slackerTHEpinstriper said:

Just back, knackered from the drive, didn't help my eye was staring from removing a rust deposit from it.

It's ridiculously clean, barely any marks on the paint (apart from a couple of usual wing blemishes).

It's obviously been looked after so I believe the maintenance has been kept up with.

Only issue is there is a whine on the gearbox that he says has been there all the time he's owned the car.

It's a 6 speed pd130 btw

What year is it? I’m going wondering if it’s a friend’s car he sold.

As said, go off what hkr91 said. Mileage is not important, but maintenance is.

They IMHO are a far better car than the B6 which replaced it.

There is little to gain between a 5 ad 6 speed.

Cheap coil overs ruin the ride on 17” wheels or above. A mate had one in FKs, and most of the coils were coil bound when sat down. On 15s it wasn’t too bad but it still drove nicer on a lowering kit and springs.

2002 reg is GY52 OTT
The guy that has it now has had it 2 years, previous owner was a mechanic and had it 7 years and apparently it wanted for nothing, as soon as anything made a noise it got replaced.
As said with how clean the car is I'm lead to believe this.
Car has been to Nurburg Ring also

[bl1300]

My 6 speed box got noisy at 250k and the gear linkage had to be rebuilt which is a fiddly job. The engine was strong and in every other way the car was a good strong car. I did find that the part leather/suede interior was not very hard wearing.

The front suspension is a complicated setup and changing the upper ball joints can be an absolute pig as the pinch bolts that hold both upper ball joints in place seize in place and the air turns bright blue as you try and get them out!

Saying that my 04 PD130 Sport Estate was a far better car than the Octavia I bought to replace it as I felt it was getting long in the tooth. That is a decision I bitterly regret.