davidwort

A healthy 1.8 16v set up on a rolling road with Optimax/Tesco99 etc. should see over the 139bhp VW quoted, approx 110bhp at the wheels. The actual figures you see will vary from one rolling road to the next but it's worth doing, particularly from someone like Stealth Racing who know the injection system well and can get the most out of it. Make sure the plugs, leads, distributor cap and rotor arm are in good nick, clean air filter and if you have the kit, do a compression test and check the injector spray pattern and system pressures. Make sure all the timing marks are aligned, it's not uncommon for 16v's to be a tooth out on the cambelt after a belt change. If the wheel alignment and wheel balance are all OK and the car isn't running hot, the exhaust system is not partially blocked or blowing and you've preferably changed the oil and filter recently, then get it booked in and set up. There's not much that can be done as the ECU has a fixed ignition curve, (unless you fit an aftermarket plug in unit like a V-SAM or K-Star) but the base ignition timing can be advanced a bit to give a bit more power and the warm up regulator can be adjusted to make the engine run a bit richer. I've seen a number of cars gain 10-15bhp in a rolling road session, so it's definately worth doing. BTW, don't waste your money on anything other than OEM plugs and leads.

nope, there isn't

can be difficult to pinpoint, those frequency sounds seem to travel through the body of the car, sometimes the only thing to do is investigate each bearing to see which one is visibly worn, very tiny pits can make quite loud noises too.

rear wheel bearing usually makes a groaning sound that gets noisier/quieter when changing direction as there are two bearing races, inner and outer, and it depends which one has the pitted surface.

recent thread about calipers

roughly a similar percentage increase, 200-210lb/ft ish.

I'd have thought possibly up to the 220bhp mark, but less peak torque than the modded 1.8T's.

had a GSF one on my 1.8 16v for years now, absolutely no problem even with over 175bhp engine conversion.

I know it's personal preference to some extent, but I've been in a C with Koni coilovers set to soft and the ride was pretty good, even lowered right down.

If you loose a bit of coolant, just make sure you check the level in the header tank after the engine has cooled down after your first few journeys, sometimes trapped air can take a little while to work through the system, just top up as needed.

Jim, the rear calipers changed to the mk3 style ones on a very late chassis code (after 50-P-009 000) for the difference in price I'd suggest the mk3 ones, they're not apparently quite as reliable long term as the mk4's but I've had mine on since 1996 now and they're fine, when you factor in the extra cost of getting new (more costly) hoses as well as the more expensive mk4 calipers the mk3 ones look like a pretty good deal to me. When I went to exchange mine, GSF let me exchange the mk2's for mk3's for the mk2 price, as they'd run out of mk2 ones. Worth asking them. David.

I'd start with a haynes manual, should be able to pick up the passat manual 1988-91, purple/pink one (now discontinued/replaced) from e-bay for a couple of quid. that has all the torque settings etc in it although as usual some of the diagrams, figures and descriptions for doing work is a bit sketchy, it does at least cover the 2L 16v 9a engine to some degree and a lot of the other mechanicals and electrics are identical. not seen any of the other stuff off e-bay and the USA Bentley manual which is expensive (IRO 80 quid) in printed form has a lot of USA specific stuff in it which can be a little confusing, best for VR6/G60 cars.

BUGGER!!!!! I take it the crank does not have a keyway in it? it does, but can be damaged if the bottom pulley works loose (which is why the bolts are so critical) damaged crank end thread

you don't need to remove the cam belt pulley only the two v belt pulleys, the big v belt pulley with the damper ring built in can sieze a bit to the toothed cam belt pulley so it can sometimes look as if you need to remove the crank bolt. Now you have undone this bolt you should really replace it with a new VAG one as they are stretch bolts I believe, or you can buy a non stetch type too.

only if it's distorted, which is usually from overheating when you loose all your coolant.

I have to agree that it does seem like a bit of an over reaction by VW to a 'possible' failure point, but as it's safety related they would have been forced to issue a recall by law not to mention the legal implications of not doing anything about it and someone crashing due to a matrix exploding. I've asked my dad about this before, he worked only on VW's for over 13 years in the 80's and early 90's and he's never actually seen or heard of one directly that has burst, not saying it hasn't happened in the UK though.

If I've read correctly what you are considering doing then: rear axle bushes aren't the most pleasant job, even with the right VAG press you'd be looking at a couple of hours labour for them alone, VR6's tend to need a new rear brake bias valve too I understand, not sure if this is only when you have to remove the rear beam if you don't use the VAG press though, that would mean bleeding the brake system through afterwards. Front wishbones would probably be cheaper to replace whole rather than just fit new bushes due to the time involved in cutting out and pressing in the new bushes, think it took me a couple of hours even with the car on a two post ramp. Roll bar bushes and drop links will add another 1/2 hr or so and then there's the steering rack rubber mount, ball joints and possibly tie rod ends plus the final wheel alignment. I have done virtually all of this on my 16v, but taking my time, I reckon even if you took it to a VAG specialist like Stealth who know how to do the job most efficiently and have all the right tools you'd still be looking at a minimum of 4-5 hours labour, around 2-300 quid plus parts? It's definately all worth doing though as everything becomes more solid and responsive, only trouble is it then highlights the wear in the rack and steering column, which is my next job.

Chain driven cams on the Diesel BMW 4 pots too, so none of this cam belt change business every few thousand miles like the VW PD's. Have heard the turbo's on the later more powerful 4 pots are a bit strained though. Was looking at a 2003 320D touring a while back, nice cars and can be picked up for not much more than a VW TDI, but small luggage space because of the rear wheel drive. I can totally see why the 330 diesels hold their value as they do though.

sounds like a vacuum leak somewhere, if you spray carb cleaner (or WD40 is probably OK) around the area, if it get sucked in through a leak the engine revs will alter.

I've soldered a new bulb into mine before, fiddly but do-able. you may need to solder a strand of copper wire to the legs of a standard capless dash bulb to make them long enough to reach the flat contact pins. If you could get it to me I could do it for you.

I believe the passat ones will fit OK with a minor modification to the unit. Try a forum search. Actually, I have a passat one, but a couple of the cable clips have broken, if you want some pics taken to compare though I could send you some.

s'pose you could disconnect the in tank one (under the back seat?) and see if the main pump changes sound?

The way I see mk4's is the turning point for VW's, the 70's, 80's and early 90's they made cars with excellent chassis and handling and engines that were OK but not the best. With the MK 4 the engines improved dramatically but the handling didn't progress to match, in fact with the extra weight of airbags air con etc, etc. they feel like a step back. You may be impressed with a VW TDI engine but be prepared to be disappointed with the car, general reliability and build quality is pants, the soft touch plastics damage far too easily, trim rattles and squeeks are really annoying (it's not like the firm suspension can be blamed) the window mechs snap and some of the 'ergonomics' are far from ideal, there's nowhere to put 'stuff' the centre armrest gets in the way up or down and whoever decided the best place for the heater controls and stereo was behind the gear lever and under the cup holders should be taken out the back ... Oh, and the seats are the only VW ones that have ever given me back pain. :)

If the in tank one is not working it's going to put a strain on the under the car one so any wear in that pump or a partially blocked filter will be more noticeable. As long as it's heard buzzing I'd say it's working (the under car one), it's just that every dodgy one I've seen problems occur with starts to get noisy, then starts to warble then eventually dies altogether, the warbling has nothing to do with revs, it'll just do it while the car is sat there idling. Trouble is, the pumps aren't the quietest things at the best of times, but I'd say that the'es a problem on the horizon if it isn't making a continuous unwavering noise!

any one off a late 80's/early 90's vw with a bosch alternator will do, just unscrew one from an alternator in a scrap yard, will do until you can get a new replacement, if you have the 90A alternator as opposed to the 65amp one it shouldn't make any difference. GSF part number 91030 (£9.50+VAT) -look under mk2 golf starting and charging