90VWG60 10 Posted April 5, 2011 (edited) Well, just picked up a 1990 G60 for 1800 (not in best shape outside as the clear coat is peeling, interior is in great shape however. Power windows / etc... work great). A bit high on miles (200k) but seems to drive just fine. Anyhow, looking to see what I should look out for on these cars. Previous owner replaced water pump, alternator, rotors and pads all around, put new KYB shocks on the rear, and new tires, and timing belt. About that timing belt, looks like on the cam sprocket it (the belt) looks too small and like it was about to slide off (but it looks like the correct size on the bottom pulley). I tapped it over and drove the 60 miles home and it didn't budge. Worried about it though. Any ideas? Also, previous owner replaced the stock super charger with a reman'd unit... Do the stock units make any whine? Car seems sluggish off the bottom but picks up nicely (the rubber is dry rotted and I'll be replacing it with some extra silicon hoses I have). Speaking of which, any upgrades for the stock IC? Edited April 5, 2011 by 90VWG60 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
90VWG60 10 Posted April 5, 2011 Just picked up a new 1990 G60 1.8 S/C today. Concerned about a couple of things. First, when sitting in the drive way if I rev the motor up and let the RPMs come down they drop below 1k RPMs and the car stutters as if it's going to die (and almost does). What would cause this? Second, Previous owner said he replaced timing belt, it looks like it's too small and only covers half of the cam gear, and looked like it was slipping off the side. I tapped it into place and it hasn't moved but it just doesn't seem right with it being so narrow. Should I replace this? Thanks in advance! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted April 5, 2011 Just picked up a new 1990 G60 1.8 S/C today. Concerned about a couple of things. First, when sitting in the drive way if I rev the motor up and let the RPMs come down they drop below 1k RPMs and the car stutters as if it's going to die (and almost does). What would cause this? Second, Previous owner said he replaced timing belt, it looks like it's too small and only covers half of the cam gear, and looked like it was slipping off the side. I tapped it into place and it hasn't moved but it just doesn't seem right with it being so narrow. Should I replace this? Thanks in advance! Might just need setting up post cam belt change... Pic would be good, the G60 belt is not that wide so sounds very dodgy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JMC 0 Posted April 5, 2011 1st thing to do if you don't know the history of the charger is to get it rebuilt. They all whine to some extent, but if it hasn't rebuilt for 40k miles chances are it'll need it. The last thing you want is for it to go 'pop' on you. If you are within driving distance, get yourself booked in to G-Werks at Littlehampton for a charger rebuild and general health check. Idle should be around 750rpm when warm. Mine used to try and die when it was running rich. The right chip sorted that with me (mine originally had a Jabba chip when I got it which ran very rich - I got rid and got an SNS chip). Easiest (but not cheapest) upgrade to the stock IC is a Golf G60 one or a Rallye one (some slight modification needed for that one though while the Golf G60 one is a direct fit). A lot of people fit generic ebay ones as well though, but it depends on whether you want it to looks stock though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
90VWG60 10 Posted April 5, 2011 1st thing to do if you don't know the history of the charger is to get it rebuilt. They all whine to some extent, but if it hasn't rebuilt for 40k miles chances are it'll need it. The last thing you want is for it to go 'pop' on you. If you are within driving distance, get yourself booked in to G-Werks at Littlehampton for a charger rebuild and general health check. Idle should be around 750rpm when warm. Mine used to try and die when it was running rich. The right chip sorted that with me (mine originally had a Jabba chip when I got it which ran very rich - I got rid and got an SNS chip). Easiest (but not cheapest) upgrade to the stock IC is a Golf G60 one or a Rallye one (some slight modification needed for that one though while the Golf G60 one is a direct fit). A lot of people fit generic ebay ones as well though, but it depends on whether you want it to looks stock though. I probably need to update my profile (I'm from the States) would be nice to be close to G-Werks though haha. Ok, so uploading the pics now. New problem creeped up this morning. Went to go take the son into school in the G60 and I was letting it warm up and I noticed smoke coming out of the hood (uh oh). Popped the hood and I saw fuel coming out (at a good rate, not spraying or anything) just to the right of the fuel pressure regulator (the brass thing right?) at a connection that goes into a black plastic housing of some sort. I'll post pics up once they transfer over, but not a good start to the day hah. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
90VWG60 10 Posted April 5, 2011 Here is a pic of the timing belt, it'll move over to the left a good 1mm and then I'll have to tap it back... It didn't budge for 60 miles but this morning when I looked it had budged over again. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_9E2eGeUaIdA/TZs7G7gKXqI/AAAAAAAAAag/H-evz9pvRVo/s640/timing_belt_g60.jpg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
90VWG60 10 Posted April 5, 2011 https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_9E2eGeUaIdA/TZs_2V4MbJI/AAAAAAAAAak/_IrMRli2qJY/s640/timing_belt_bottom.jpg Another view of timing belt. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JMC 0 Posted April 6, 2011 I probably need to update my profile (I'm from the States) would be nice to be close to G-Werks though haha. Ok, so uploading the pics now. New problem creeped up this morning. Went to go take the son into school in the G60 and I was letting it warm up and I noticed smoke coming out of the hood (uh oh). Popped the hood and I saw fuel coming out (at a good rate, not spraying or anything) just to the right of the fuel pressure regulator (the brass thing right?) at a connection that goes into a black plastic housing of some sort. I'll post pics up once they transfer over, but not a good start to the day hah. Right, not close to G-werks then, lol. In the US you are best off talking with Bahn Brenner Motorsport regarding G60's. Also if you are not on there already check out the G60 section of VW Vortex. Yes the brass thing is the fpr. To the right of that is a solid plastic fuel rail - either the fpr has come loose (or the o-ring has perished) or the fuel rail has cracked. They do crack becasue it gets really hot back there and the plastic goes brittle. Either way get it changed/repaired ASAP as the alternative is a fire. The fuel hoses coming into the for also crack at the ends - make sure it isn't one of those. They typically leak worst when the car is cold. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted April 6, 2011 The belt itself is fine and it will naturally centre itself - just make sure it doesn't go any further than that and also check tension... I'd also check the bootm pulley is not loose and pulling the belt - well worth changing the crank bolt holding this on as it's a known issue with original ones failing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
90VWG60 10 Posted April 6, 2011 Right, not close to G-werks then, lol. In the US you are best off talking with Bahn Brenner Motorsport regarding G60's. Also if you are not on there already check out the G60 section of VW Vortex. Yes the brass thing is the fpr. To the right of that is a solid plastic fuel rail - either the fpr has come loose (or the o-ring has perished) or the fuel rail has cracked. They do crack becasue it gets really hot back there and the plastic goes brittle. Either way get it changed/repaired ASAP as the alternative is a fire. The fuel hoses coming into the for also crack at the ends - make sure it isn't one of those. They typically leak worst when the car is cold. Yep, went and bought some new fuel line after posting that up. Swapped out the screw clamps and threw some of the self tightening ones on. Now, the darn thing is leaking fuel out of the rear somewhere... Fixed the one problem, and now it migrated lol. So, I'm going to throw it on the jack and see what the problem is now. Ordered a timing belt kit, just in case this one goes. I just don't like how it moves over like it does, doesn't seem too stable. I'll check out the bottom pulley and change the bolt as well. Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
90VWG60 10 Posted April 6, 2011 Well seems the fuel tank is the culprit. Traced the leak back to it, about to drop it and see what the issue is but I can already see small cracks in the tank towards the top. Does anyone make replacement tanks? Hoping it's just a rubber hose that's cracked, but it stopped leaking fuel when I got it to half a tank. Also, at around 2500 RPMs in any gear under load (constant speed) the motor seems to miss or the clutch slips because you can feel the car kind of dip in power and then it'll kick back in. Not really sure it's the clutch like I had thought (really noticed it in 5th gear cruising around 55mph). Any ideas what would cause this symptom? Thanks again for all the help! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
90VWG60 10 Posted April 7, 2011 Ok, fuel tank is possibly cracked. Fun! Also, plug wires were old and came apart when I went to remove them to check the spark plugs, spark plugs are also pretty messed up. So, ordered new plugs and wires and all that jazz. Pics of the spark plugs: They all look like that. So, seems I'm running lean. So now I need to track down why I'm running lean. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
