davidwort

don't cut it up, it works well as VW intended :)

yep, def, have a go, any questions and post up a pic explaining what you are asking about :) in fact have a look at it and do that before you start if anything doesn't look obvious to you you'll need a 10mm spanner for battery terminals 17mm spanner or socket for 2 bottom bracket bolts 13mm spanner and a big adjustable spanner for the top tensionner bracket bolt 13mm socket and a 8mm (iirc) for the cables to the alt itself oh, and a bit of WD40 and a good wiggle to free the alt from the bottom bracket when you've removed the 2 17mm bolts I also like to put a bit of threadlock glue on those when putting back in as they can work loose

is it a 1.8 or 2.0L 16v?

it could be the hub splines, bearings usually make a droning noise long before they start to break up. CV joints usually show themselves when turning on full lock slowly, the ball bearings jump out of the worn races and they click.

it really is a doddle, just make sure you disconnect the battery first as the live is a permanent connection to the alt. It really is just a few bolts, two 17mm it pivots on at the bottom and the tension adjuster on the top bracket, then the couple of electrical connections, It's not really and more difficult than changing a battery.

there's always a way :) the pins of the holder contacts have the bulb soldered directly to them IIRC, the old styleheater controls have a similar arrangement. you can heat the pins gently with a soldering iron, push them out of the plastic, solder on a new bulb and then push them back in. Bit of a fiddle, but it can be done, I'd probably fit a bright LED instead now, but the bulbs last years to be fair.

I could put mine up for sale on here at 3 grand and we could split the difference :lol: Have to say I'm pretty impressed they offered £1700 so quickly, seems very good. More importantly, I hope your mrs' recovery goes OK.

try the one with the 'D' suffix from the dealer instead, that's the clear version, used on loads of VW's up to Sharan, so they may still do that. or solder one of these in: http://www.maplin.co.uk/wire-endedfilament-type-1954

When you say 'tuned' was that actually on a rolling road or did they just set the idle CO? A 'healthy' 1.8 should see about 30mpg average, possibly more when the weather is warmer, on a long motorway run at around 70mph it should easily make close to 40mpg, short runs around town in the cold will kill mpg though. Things to answer/check: what tyres and pressures are you running are the brakes binding at all is the wheel alignment correct how old are the injectors when was the fuel filter last changed is the fuel pump noisy or warbling air filter clean? plugs, leads etc all in good nick is the engine and ignition timing set up correctly exhaust leaking, baffles broken? a rolling road session (probably only about 60 quid for an hour run) will provide a torque plot that can help diagnose any engine issues, it's easy to pick up 5-10 bhp and a similar amount of torque from setting a 16v up properly, which can equate to several mpg in efficiency from the engine pretty easily.

that reminds me, I think it was on toads Vr box that the tips of the selector forks partially broke off, I guess it's hard driving/changes from standing starts that does that???

If you're going to fit this I'd recommend buying the 2 or 3 nylon bushes that can be replaced as part of the mechanism, not sure how much they are now but a few years ago they were only a couple of quid each from VW. Just re-read you first post Dave, have you included these in the mechanism?

If you can engage and drive in other gears then it's not going to be the clutch, as for the labour cost for swapping I'd guess you're not going to get much change out of £150-£200, if labour is around the £50/hr mark. A recon box with a warranty, particularly if all the 1st and second gear parts have been replaced would be nice, not sure how thorough it would have been rebuilt for £500 quid though, individual parts for these boxes are pretty expensive. If you're lucky you might find a good mk3 vr box on reasonable miles.

Vw seemed to stop fitting them after 92 ish, they obviously don't do anything.

Length of the old one should be printed on the back?

somewhere I did a how-to, it's not difficult, but there are a few bolts on the pump body bracket you need to loosen and also the long bolt the whole pump assembly swings on, where it connects to the alternator bracket at the front

undo the two 13mm bolts and whack that slave out, if it has gone into the bell housing then your clutch could be shot too :( check it's not just the flexi-hose though, sometimes it's just that that goes Oh and brake fluid isn't usually pink, it's just regular yellowish, depends on brand a bit though.

a grand is way over the top, they're just trying to make their standard margin on a second hand car, trouble is at this price it's basically sold as seen, part-ex type buy, it's really worth half of what they are asking so bide your time.

couldn't believe this when I saw the pics, I imagine you are both shaken up by that, glad she seems fine, so weird you had just started this thread too.

Fuel pumps do buzz, generally getting worse if the tank level is very low, filters are clogged or they are just on their way out, as long as it's not overly loud or varying in pitch I wouldn't worry too much. Try removing the carpet from the fuel filler side in the boot and the foam cover for the CL pump, there are servos on the control board which could be noisy, that's the only other thing I can think of.

cool, glad you found it, I had a similar thing with a little cover plate on the gearbox, thought my new clutch was shot until I realised the cover was just scuffing the back of the flywheel. yeah, with the timing just get it up to temp, make sure the rad fan isn't running and point the timing light in there, best to paint the marks with tippex or white paint first, tbh the aux pulley mark on the cambelt end is pretty much as accurate, again just mark the notch in the pulley and the arrow on the plastic timing cover white first. I'd try the timing at 7 degrees advance rather than 6, and see if it pinks under load, if not, just leave it there and it'll feel a little bit livelier :)

yeah, gauges don't draw much current, so just take the power off something (ignition switched) from the dash. I'd imagine the old gauges are just way out, no harm in popping the needle off and on again, the exact position isn't too critical as you'll get to see what is 'normal' on the gauge anyway. By calibration, I guess you mean the range, not the starting point, you would need a different temp sender if yo uwanted a narrower range, not sure what sender that would be though.

no-more-nails? I've had some batteries come with plastic wedges for the front too, which makes for a snug tight fit of the battery clamp.

Absolutely, 8v appreciation society :) Although I have to say I bought mine by accident when I was really only after the spares, that was two years ago and it's been my daily car ever since.

It's true that 1980's era 8v golf GTI's do see a performance improvement from all-in-one manifolds and downpipes, particularly if the engines had headwork and cams, but I think that's where the performance exhaust myth stems from. It's in the same category as 'performance' air filters, i.e. most of it is bunkum but plenty of companies make money out of it, so there's plenty of reason to perpetuate it! A blowing OE exhaust or one that has broken baffles or rusted through sound deadening inside is also not going to help the problem, how many people actually compare a new OEM exhaust with a new aftermarket one? I've never actually bitten the bullet and shelled out for new VAG items, like a lot of people I guess it's easy to get blinded by shiny stainless systems for half the price of OEM ones, but looking back I wish I had gone for VAG ones on a number of occasions! I've quite a list of short lived pattern exhausts, cracked stainless system brackets and ill fitting parts and all the best rolling road plots were on OEM parts :lol:

nice little write up :) very similar to my old bus so made me smile even more, love driving it and on a reasonable run it's only a couple of mpg off the 1.6 mk4 we have. If the head ever gives out I think I'll just rebuild it, so simple and easy to work on too, but then they don't ever need it! I'm going to refurb the original alloys as they are a bit 'brake-dust-stained' but that's the only complaint I've had with it over 2 years, that and the 8 quid in spark plugs it's cost me :)