TRUCK STUFF! (actually its just a passat) - Page 4

A//// Guy · 11-19-2013

Rack for skis or bikes or more hauling of building material? Haha

Looks good

**scheides** · 11-19-2013

I started with a universal ski/snowboard rack and will use the crossbars to hold my dads 'roof rocket' Sarris box for long/full trips.

Asking for REI gift cards for Xmas to put towards a pair of bike mounts, this stuff adds up fast!

TkrPerformance · 11-19-2013

Very nice.

**cmspaz** · 11-19-2013

Torn CV boot on the driver's side of a VW you own? NEVER.

polishmafia · 11-19-2013

You can replace the whole axle, or you can buy a new boot and slap it on. That shouldn't be too difficult for someone with your experience. Stop beating on the truck and you won't rip open axle boots!

**scheides** · 12-10-2013

Last update for 2013 on this hog?

Got the roof rails mounted, easy peasy. In case anyone cares, the factory rails are narrower at the back than the front, so you need a Thule 7502 for the front and a 7501 for the rear. These are the aeroblade rails so they don't make a fairing that fits them, sigh. Oh well, saved some cash

Thanksgiving marked the first official ski trip for this thing...I'll post the full-size pic so you can see what I was actually carrying...it's a 200cm 5-banger shotski!

Ordered a boot to fix my little oopsie I made when installing the springs....what a PITA but I did it with the axle still in the trans:

Once I got it 99% back together I couldn't get the axle back into the hub, just like the first time...so instead of pounding on it I decided to get clever...all I needed was a M16x1.5-90mm bolt with a big washer on it to pull it through w/o pounding. I looked at Fleet Farm, Menards, Home Depot, and all the local Fastenall dealers and NOBODY has one even close. What a PITA. So, I ordered from fastenall.com and $30 later a few different lengths showed up 2 days later and voila the car was back together

original axle bolt on the left, 80 and 90mm on the right:

Then of course the snow and cold-as-eff temps hit, and I've been enjoying this car even more...with the bald-ass tires and FWD I got to experience first-hand what I am sure a LOT of other drivers experience on the road...pure terror from complete lack of traction! This was topped off by sitting in the drive-through of Popeye's on West Broadway (hell yes ghetto style) for 30 minutes last night in pure comfort and the nuclear-heated front seats are perfect for keeping the food warm on the ride home.

So this morning I loaded up the Generals I ordered a few weeks ago and visited Jeff The Alignment Guy today. As always, there was no shortage of entertainment and lickity split I was set to rock for many snow days to come

I got 205/60R-16's so the sidewalls are good and donaughty....perfect for more TRUCK STUFF!

**cmspaz** · 12-10-2013

Nice! I was still on the HTR ZIIIs the morning of that first snow, so I know exactly how you felt. Shit was nuts.

**scheides** · 03-01-2014

Shyte haven't updated this in a while! I've just been driving this thing through this frigid cold-ass winter we've been having. The heated seats in this thing are absolutely fantastic, they warm up before the engine does when its super cold and keep me comfy.

Zero issues through any of the snowstorms we've had or the weeks and weeks of hardened-ice roadways we've had lately. Even with FWD the thing does fine. It's not AWD awesome but with these General snow tires the thing can scoot just dandy. It's plowed its way in/out of my alley with 6-8" of snow no problem and hauled more stuff than I really should share...here's some highlights:

Found an 'umbrella cubby' in the back edge of the door...so many sekret hiding spots on this car, its nuts:

Ski trip, 4 so far this year:

Xmas haul, first big road trip...3 people, 2 dogs, week of luggage + xmas presents:

Inside nice & comfy for long haul, my brother chillin with Turbo in the back seat:

My dad has a roof-top box, fitted it to my Thule rack just fine! Will be going to Montana with 4 people (total) in the car in a month just like this:

And now, more truck stuff! I ordered a set of Alzor 18x8" wheels online...these things are usually on backorder around this time of year since they look nice and are SO cheap...but ordered Thursday and voila they show up at my house Saturday....only like 6 weeks early for spring, LOL. I honestly thought I'd be waiting a month for them!

(Cameo by Jilly--she's 14.5 now)

I have some 245/40-18 Fuzion ZRi tires off of project Black ValentNine to put on here, or I also have two used-but-not-too-abused Sumitomo HTR ZIII's off of my X (fronts wore out prematurely due to alignment issues a few years ago) that I might order matching tires for....anyone have two used tires in this size?

turbotalon1g · 03-01-2014

dem wheels!

A//// Guy · 03-01-2014

Pimp wheels that will look great!

rose0529 · 03-02-2014

Sexy. I love those wheels. Same that we have one the A3. Let me know when you want help dipping them

**scheides** · 03-09-2014

Mod sunday for the truck!

First off, checked the oil--looks good! Check tire pressure, yup good!

Next up, ebay clear corners. $30, woot! Fit great, look decent.

Also, couple of ideas for when the weather gets nicer, just want to cut down the mega-chrome up front a bit. First one looks quick/easy with some plastidip, audi-esque look:

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/74...out-grill.html

Second one is a full color match...either way I want to keep the vw logo silver. This one has the same style rims I bought:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...1#post71450721

Also, found a sweet deal on new TPMS sensors for the new wheels. And apparently you can just bolt them in, swap the new wheels on, and after 15-20 minutes of driving the car figures out that there are new sensors for it.