The Monkey's Daily - Mk2 Golf GTi 8v [straight through MOT]

[boost monkey 0]

So I picked up Willow (name TBC) today, and was pleasantly surprised!

 

G reg Mk2 8v GTI, just hit 165k on the drive back from St. Neots in Cambs with 4 previous owners.

 

Bodywork was in really good condition, just some rust around the rear screen washer rubber, and a couple of small dents and scabs. I think the rear rust may creep towads the glass in which case I will get a new tailgate for it. It shouldn't be too hard to find a black one, or even respray a good one black.

 

Engine is the PB i think, deffo is Digifant. Started easily and idled without effort although the rev counter didn't work (I have spare cables, you know me) so I thought it wasn't a big issue really.

 

Let the car warm up, checked the MFA worked which it does and allowed the fan to kick in and I signed the papers and gave over my money

 

First surprise was that the car was actually still in MOT (until Monday 25th but advertised as expired) which is great news and means I can use the car over the weekend! Also there's a ton of paperwork including a lot of new brake parts such as lines, cylinders and the BPR at the back. It had recon PAS rack at a cost of £140 2 years ago. VWSH until 134k. Car's had a lot of suspension problems and now sits on Spax adjustables (with adjuster!) and unknown -40mm? (I can just 2 finger the arches) springs. Black Diamond discs and uprated pads (unknown) at front too.

 

The ride back was pretty uneventful, and everything worked as it should. The spax were harsh and I was aware that they may not all be on the SAME setting the front brakes need some heat into them also, I thought it was the surface rust but it wasn't :-s so I'll have to look into checking those out. Managed to get the rev counter to wake up when I gave it some beans out of a layby on one of the A roads (A421 iirc) which was quite nice, and surprise #2 Also the MFA was telling me 99.9mpg the WHOLE time so I'll have troubleshoot that at some point.

 

I think the car needs a tune. It doesn't feel fast, and I know it's just 115hp but I was expecting more. Blue coolant sensor?! LOL. That's the only thing I know about on 8valve engines But the car ran spot on, no problems of any kinds.

 

Well, actually I did have one problem. I snapped the MFA/Wiper stalk clean off. I couldn't believe it. The guys said the washers didn't work so I tried to use them and SNAP. Insane. I got back to Oxford, and took the steering wheel off followed quickly by the stalk. Seems it had been glued once before. SO I'm looking for another (early not late) MFA stalk for a Mk2 (early corrado no good - I tried robbing the plum already but different electrical connectors) ASAVP as I have new MOT booked for Monday and it will fail without the stalk. Funny that.

 

But it was a great drive, I will have a little play with the suspension, probably set to fully soft and then midway. There was still a fair amount of bodyroll (as the scattering of biscuits throughout the passenger footwell attested to!) but that is also down to the springs of course. I don't think I could handle fully hard. Not on oxford's roads.

 

All in all, not a bad little car for £400.

 

---------- Post added at 06:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 PM ----------

 

I noticed some more stuff today. The car seems to have the rainbow (can someone confirm?) interior, and none of the seats have any wear at all, not even bolster wear on the drivers side! I'll try to get some more pics:

 

 

 

 

The rear bench was missing the peg which it locks into when you lay them flat, so I pinched that from the plum (Sorry Cazza!) to ensure no MOT issues. It also has a hole-free parcel shelf which must be at least 72 scene points :lol: It does need a shelf strap though.

 

The tailgate is a bit rusty. A couple of scabs and a parking ding, plus a LOT of rust around the rear washer rubber:

 

 

 

 

I'm starting to think this is a standard mk2 thing? Looks like someone has wacked black silicone on it, but prob won't last for long. I think I will replace the whole tailgate when it gets really bad, which will be a shame as this is the original item, unless someone paid to have the reg plate etched into another tailgate.

 

Apart from this, the body is quite straight with just some minor dings etc:

 

 

 

 

And an overview:

 

 

 

 

 

And a random dashboard shot (shows the right stalk before I broke it. Obvious superglue line!)

 

Edited April 21, 2012 by boost monkey

[tony_ack 0]

Ouch - looks like a bit of a bodge on the wiper stalk!

 

Is it flat black, or metallic? The Le Castlett alloys and rainbow interior (yep it is to answer your question!) are the hallmarks of the 1 in 10 million campaign edition. But it does look like the flat black, so maybe not.

 

It could be that someone retro-fitted the interior - only the campaigns and the very last runout 8v (92 model) came with the rainbow interior. It was standard on 90 spec 16v

 

As you suspected, that tailgate has gone beyond saving already - they tend to rust from the number plate screw holes, and from the number plate lights/pinth (like a Corrado I guess..). Pretty easy to change with two people, and tailgates aren't too expensive.

[boost monkey 0]

Ha ha yeah!! Funny thing is the washer pump is the WRONG one too! So I think what happened was the contacts in the stalk corroded for some reason, the owner decided that it was the washer pump (without testing) so swapped that one (part number starting 1HO i think?) and spliced the loom to fit (!) and then pulled on the stalk so @#!*% hard trying to make the washers work that he snapped it off!! Insane. We had tried a lot of things, before my bro (who actually understands about electronics) decides to pull out the dremel and clean up the contacts just in case. And there you have it, one working switch. I have some stalk rebuild pics coming soon! :lol:

 

It's the flat black I'm afraid. I was getting excited then! I thought that maybe someone might have added it as an option at the dealership, but actually they're in much too good a condition for that and must have been a recent thing. Also, the manual mirror adjuster nobs are going a bit funny. The right one seems to have a giant nut behind the doorcard (unless I'm seeing things). The alloys came up pretty well although are still scuffed and peeling. I'm thinking some gunmetal grey paint?

 

Fair enough, I'll add it to the list along with a clutch. Will I be able to buy a base model tailgate and move over the spoiler, or is it best to just find a gti 'gate?

 

Today's jobs included cleaning and greasing the main battery earth, and the braided strap earth at rocker cover end (couldn't get to the coil end, so much stuff there) in a bid to fix the rev counter. Seems to have worked so far. I tried to do the coolant guage too (little 1-pin sensor on gearbox end of block by the coolant flange?) but when I turned the nut to undo it and access the wires the whole lot turned, sensor and all! So I cleaned it up and slapped some grease on it anyways. Probs didn't do much.

 

Also, the horn went spastic tonight. I was driving along and took a beanz line through a big roundabout, and just at the other side of it the horn started shorting out. It did it for ages, and seemed to be connected to the indicator activity along with very slight clockwise steering wheel movements. I pulled over and pulled the horn switch off the steering wheel, and carried on my journey. That didn't stop it! I pulled over very soon after to yank the fuse as I was going through residential streets and the Mk2 horn ain't exactly subtle.

 

So, any ideas of why the horn is now possessed? I could actually hear the horn relay going crazy and clicking its contacts off on the journey home after I pulled the fuse, I'm guessing this points to a short circuit at the fusebox? But then why would it do it under certain steering inputs? Odd.

 

Pics from today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2011 by boost monkey
I'm awesome.

[davidwort 0]

nice buy! small bumpers but with single piece front door glass, my favourite vintage mk2 :)

only problem I can see is having the dreaded dodgy-digi, otherwise known as digifant :lol:

I can sympathise though, that's what's on my 8v corrado, with a few tweaks from the mk2 golf version.

Actually it's not that bad, you should get pretty good mpg, it's just got a few quirks.

[bcstudent 0]

I believe you can use any Mk2 tailgate. You just have to swap the GTI glass over if you want to retain the spoiler. Then there's the issue of the black window-surround sticker.

[boost monkey 0]

If my MFA was reading right, I was doing high 30s / low 40s MPG last night cruising the ring road at 50 in 5th. Perhaps that has resolved itself.

 

Yeah I was wondering about the nylon surround. I've found a black tailgate but it's £90 which is a bit strong. Others are not black but alot cheaper. Decisions decisions.

 

---------- Post added at 09:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 AM ----------

 

Also despite the car feeling sluggish the other day, I took it out last night with ambient temp of 14 degrees according to the MFA and it seemed so much faster. Definitely pulled through the gears faster.

 

---------- Post added at 10:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:40 AM ----------

 

Just dropped it off for MOT. I left the horn fuse out and mentioned the problem. I'm hoping it's just a wire somewhere that has come loose and playing up as we've had the column apart to fix the stalk.

 

I have no idea whether it will pass easily or not. I hope it will, but I've only had it for the weekend and I just haven't had enough time to go over it properly. I guess time will tell.

 

---------- Post added at 10:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 AM ----------

 

Items on my parts list:

 

The little brackets that hold the sun visors to the roof (both passenger and driver),

one of those fiddly little bulbs which illuminates the dash when the lights are on,

Parcel shelf strap,

wheel centre caps of some variety,

tailgate,

clutch.

 

I dug out my set of VW mats from the parts pile too and will be putting those in at some point.

Edited April 27, 2011 by boost monkey

[boost monkey 0]

Just heard from the garage that I need a numberplate lightbulb and to sort the horn out properly then they can pass it. I thought that's a pretty good result considering it was one of my classic blind Ebay purchases from about a week ago! :lol:

 

they've given me 10 days grace to get them fixed, so I think i'll run down to the plum and pull a bulb and then have another look at the horn.

 

Anyone got any ideas why it's tripping out all the time?

[davidwort 0]

result!

you'll have to trace the horn feed,

as the wheel boss is used to complete the circuit to earth, my bet is the wire that leads up to there is shorting to earth somewhere along it's length, probably trapped or rubbed through by previous escapades under the dash.

[boost monkey 0]

Yeah, I think you're right. We've had the wheel off a lot over the weekend mending that stalk (which is now pinned with brass!)

 

I still feel like a complete newbie for getting a fail due to a lightbulb, and if the horn hadn't started playing up it would have been a clean pass. Never mind.

 

I'll have the wheel off asap and check what's going on under there.

[Wild-Animal 0]

While your steering wheel is still on you can look on the underside of the steering wheel between the wheel and the indicator/wiper control stalks, there should be a copper strip that has to make contact with the the brass ring on the back of the steering wheel to allow the horn to operate, if you have had the steering wheel on and of alot it may have been bent so there is no longer any contact.

 

Worth a wee looksy before dismantle

[CazzaVR 0]

As above with the contacts- if that doesn't work, try changing the loom (should be short if it's the same as the Rado). My current VR did the same thing, checked and cleaned the contacts. Finally fixed by changing the loom. The one I took off had no visible defects :shrug:

 

---------- Post added at 06:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:05 PM ----------

 

Lovely car by the way ;)

[boost monkey 0]

Anyone know if i'm allowed to drive the car as usual over this 10 day grace period, or is it strictly a fix and return for MOT asap kinda thing?

 

---------- Post added at 11:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 PM ----------

 

Caza, I don't think the loom will be the same. The stalks definitely aren't. Seems 1989 was the crossover between CE1 and CE2 based electrics (Central Electric 1/2)

[CazzaVR 0]

Yep, you can still use the car as normal AFAIK :)

[Dox 23]

If the wire was earthing after the horn the horn would sound, IMO you're looking for a short between the fuse box and horn for it to blow - to check this out connect a fused wire direct from the battery pos terminal to the horn pos terminal and press the horn button on the wheel.

 

HTH

 

Sorry. I didn't read this properly, ignore my post

Edited April 26, 2011 by Dox

[boost monkey 0]

lol no probs :D

 

It must have something to do with the steering column, the only reason I have gone anywhere near the fusebox is to unplug the MFA molex connector but that's just in the vicinity.

 

Cheers Cazza, I'm hoping to fix it all in the morning but it's nice to know I can still go about my student laziness :lol:

[boost monkey 0]

Yep, you can still use the car as normal AFAIK :)

 

I don't think I can actually, because the MOT was up yesterday and all I have is a fail sheet!

[Supercharged 2]

You can only drive it to a booked MOT appointment / retest

[boost monkey 0]

I'm going to pick up the car soon. I'm not really sure how to do it, as all my tools are at my bro's house which I don't have access to at the moment. The bulb is easy, I can drive to halfords and do that if I have to, but the horn is a different kettle of fish. It must be a short, there's nothing wrong with the switch in the middle of the wheel. I like the cowling idea, and it could be easy as my upper and lower cowling are held on with an elastic band! This is cos whoever had the column apart last time broke the lugs for the screws and used silicone to hold it together.

 

Perhaps I should go pick it up and see what's what.

 

---------- Post added at 10:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 AM ----------

 

Cheers Steve. Perhaps I should take tools up to the garage and do it there! :lol:

[Supercharged 2]

Horn wiring is easy enough to chase on a MK2, also see if the relay clicks

[Dox 23]

You can rewire it to a switch on the dash until you can investigate further. A fused wire direct from the battery + to the horn, a wire from the - of the horn to a labelled switch on the dash, and the other side of the switch to a good earth point behind the dash.

 

I had a volvo 740 that had the horn disconnected because the column had partly collapsed (like its supposed to do in a head on crash), there was a measurement in the haynes manual for the correct length but I only found this after replacing the column with a second hand one.

[boost monkey 0]

Horn wiring is easy enough to chase on a MK2, also see if the relay clicks

 

Yeah the relay goes crazy when turning right, or indicating right. Which makes me think it's something crossing over or touching and shorting out.

 

---------- Post added at 11:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:57 AM ----------

 

I really don't wanna cut up any trim panels :( I'm wondering what the easiest place to mount the horn is, I'm thinking one of the dash blanks but I know they are money.

 

I have a pikey little switch someone had in the Plum which i could use for now.

 

Have got the car back now. Advisories:

 

- Play in N/S/R wheel bearing,

- Rear Exhaust Box Corroded and blowing slightly,

- O/S/R coil spring not seated centrally in lower cup,

- Play in O/S Inner tie rod,

- Signs that the front engine mount lower bolt may be loose,

- N/S/F CV Joint may be incorrect for car as there is very little clearance around it.

 

Wheel bearing is easy, I'm guessing a new rear box at some point, relocating the spring is easy too, replace tie rod and do tracking(?), tighten up engine mount lower bolt(!) and possibly swap NSF driveshaft.

 

---------- Post added at 11:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 AM ----------

 

Ok, here's what I'm thinking with regards to the MFA stalk being dodgy (VW confirmed today they were deleted in 2008 ). Buy a new non-MFA washer/wiper stalk for the Golf:

 

 

Then, remove the end of it (I'm pretty sure these have lugs on the back of them) and replace with the MFA end of my current one. Then refit and everyone is happy.

 

Anyone know if that will work?

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

don't see why not... the mfa is run from a separate wiring loom and doesn't have anything to do with the mechanism of the switch... The MFA style handles have a groove down the back of them to run the wiring down though.. Will you have that on a non-MFA one?

[boost monkey 0]

Not sure mate, I guess it will be a test. If not, I don't mind securing the wire another way so it's not in the way of anything. May have to drill a small hole through for the wire also, but these are mods I really don't mind doing!

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

Not sure mate, I guess it will be a test. If not, I don't mind securing the wire another way so it's not in the way of anything. May have to drill a small hole through for the wire also, but these are mods I really don't mind doing!

run a dremmle down the back.... OR! buy my MFA stalk for £5 and swap the handles over from the golf mech... would that work?

 

edit: sorry for the shameless plug

Edited April 27, 2011 by Alex_G60_Fanatic

[boost monkey 0]

That may work.... i'm not sure the circuits and contacts will be in the same place though.