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

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

heres a picture http://the-corrado.net/microclassifieds/photos/d3a9594bc73b1c5f9b6f62ab12572fac.jpg

[boost monkey 0]

Circular part is definitely different. Mine doesn't have that white toothed piece, it's built into the housing and there are contacts in the straight black bit that goes above the white teeth on yours.

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

aghh well! it seems your stuck then! There are a few on ebay for £15 but I would just try your dremmel approach first! see what you can make!

[tony_ack 0]

Just get yourself a second hand stalk - they're not that expensive, and not being able to use the MFA will just bug you after a while...

 

Dash blanks shouldn't be pricey either - anyone asking more than a couple of quid for one is having a laugh!

[boost monkey 0]

that's the problem guys, there are no early MFA stalks left (I need the one which DOESN'T have the hazard light on the column) and there are none on ebay. Only a couple of non-MFA stalks hence my modding plans.

 

---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:56 PM ----------

 

My current stalk (thanks to Prodigal for the pics!):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it's been pinned by a brass bolt, and held in place with Araldite 2-part slow setting epoxy and cable ties to secure bolt whilst drying. I think only one tie is left on it now and it works great!

[boost monkey 0]

I fixed the horn and bulb tonight :D :D :D

 

Horn was very very straightforward. Out of the 3 thin bolts which hold the two stalks in place, the bottom one had come loose and was sitting proud and at just the right distance to hit the steering wheel ring contact! :lol: on closer inspection it's rounded off the thread in the ally bracket thing it attaches to, so I'll have to look into filling that (chemical metal perhaps?) and then drilling and retapping the hole. Prodigal says you can replace the big ally bracket thing, but I thought it was part of the steering column :-s

 

The bulb was a bit harder. Firstly the seal had died as one corner of the plastic bulb cover was cracked. Second, the screws were rusty and started to round off :-( I got one out and I thought it would be a good idea to hammer the screwdriver end whilst it was in place to undo screw number two as this would break the rust. This ended up shattering the plastic cover.

 

So I have one screw out, and chunks of the cover left. Luckily there is still enough of the screw tabs to reattach later. I pull the bulb out and am met by green contacts. Ah, the oxide. I unplug the bulb housing, and quickly realise that I can remove the copper contacts from the housing. I get them out and attack them with a wire brush. To make sure they still work whilst they are out of the housing I plug them directly into the wired connector and directly onto the bulb. They work! Good. I reassemble the bulb housing with copper contacts, reattach the wiring connector and kinda gingerly recover them with half a housing. It'll do for the retest in the morning, and then I'll replace them. It seems the tailgate rot spread further than I thought.

 

Another good thing I found out recently, I have zero battery tray rot :D so that makes 1 out of 2 then... :lol:

 

Lastly, coolant guage didn't get above the lowest edge of the first white block tonight, ambient was 8-9 degrees. Is that normal or is my sensor still playing up? Oil didn't get much above 70.

Edited April 27, 2011 by boost monkey

[davidwort 0]

result! knew it would be a short up there somewhere, my aftermarket wheel boss is a bugger for that if you don't get the contact ring in just the right place when you refit the steering wheel, you get either permanent or no horn :lol:

 

if oil and water is that low you might have a stuck open stat does the rad/bottom hose get warm as soon as the engine starts to?

[Supercharged 2]

Yeah, knackered stat - won't be helping fuel economy

[boost monkey 0]

The oil has been up to 94 on the day I drove home, and the guage reached about halfway. Perhaps it was just too cold last night.

[boost monkey 0]

So it seems like I have collected the set of VOSA certificates now, adding a fresh green one to the red and orange I already had :lol:

 

The OTHER numberplate bulb went this morning, and even though it was just the filament, I thought I might as well clean all the copper contacts as before. A quick trip to halfords also and I had a new bulb, and shortly after a new MOT.

 

The restest was free despite the fact I took the car away from the test centre and the fail was issued 2 days ago, so I appreciated their leniency :D

 

I have now added two of those numberlight bulb covers to the "trim to buy" list :/

[tony_ack 0]

Good work.

 

MK2s really are simple creatures, and if you look after them, they'll look after you.

 

The water/oil temp definitely sounds like a stuck thermostat - It should definitely be getting up to 80+ for the oil temp, and coolant should at least be out of the first white block, even in freezing conditions. The housing bolts may not make the changing it easy! May be worth considering a cambelt change and new water pump at the same time if you don't know when they were last done.

 

Try not to go for the GSF number plate light lenses/holders if you can help it - they didn't fit properly for me.

[boost monkey 0]

How long is a typical warmup time for the MFA to start showing oil temp above 50? The golf seems to take 15 mins of elderly driving.

 

Perhaps I will do the blue coolant sensor at the same time as the stat. I was wondering about the cambelt last night, but the car has VWSH up to 130,000. Isn't the belt supposed to be done at 80k? In which case it is due again as I'm on 166k now. I wonder if the KR water pump is the same, the Plum has a brand new VAG one on which has only seen about 10 miles use.

 

---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:40 PM ----------

 

Oops, timing belt is every 40k! :/

[KipVR 1]

Hope you're enjoying Mk2 ownership, I've done 40k in mine over a year and a bit, and it's been absolutely brilliant, 42mpg on the motorway cruise and so simple to look after. Mine takes about 4-5 mins (new stat) to get up to temperature in the winter, I haven't looked since we've had warmer weather though. I would just do your cambelt out of course buddy, only takes a hour and half at a steady cup of tea pace, and seeing as you've got the bonnet up to do the thermostat....well you might be under the car actually!

 

Best mod I did to mine though was fit power steering along with Mk3 alternator and pulley setup.

[boost monkey 0]

Cheers Chris :D yeah I am enjoying it. Even though 115hp isn't much these days, it's still a lovely car. I have heard from a family friend who has had many Audis (currently has C reg Quattro, RS4 for him and TT for the wife) who changes cambelts by slicing them in half down the length, which allows everything to keep in time, but also gives space to slip the new belt on. After the new belt is on, you just cut the thin half of the old belt off and bobs your uncle :D It means the belt takes about 10 mins to do! I was thinking about giving that a try and then checking the timing carefully.

 

Yeah Mine's come with PAS but i'd be happy without it, I've never really got past the Mk2 esque cars, although have been tempted by some Mk3 16v items in the recent past. I knew i'd be back in a mk2 one day.

 

So, mini service list includes:

 

cambelt,

thermostat,

coolant flush (i still have some VAG stuff somewhere)

blue temp sender just because,

probably a new stat housing (cos, you know)

probable clutch. I just don't like how high the biting point is. Makes me scared it's gonna go soon!

 

---------- Post added at 04:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:30 PM ----------

 

Apart from VAG, can anyone recommend me a good clutch kit?

 

I'm getting a bit pro at doing these on a mk2. My 16v one I did about 5 years ago I forgot to buy the plastic locator tool, so I cut one out of cardboard and centred with a screwdriver! :lol:

 

---------- Post added at 05:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:41 PM ----------

 

as far as I can see, water pumps are identical between both 8v and 16v engines as they are both 1.8 so I can use the new VAG pump off the plum on the Golf.

[davidwort 0]

yeah, pump is the same, as you probably know the stat is upside down so it's far easier to fit a new stat to a pump off the car then refit the pump with the stat and elbow already in place.

should get 50 deg on oil within a mile and 2 mins of driving, 15 mins and it should all be fully up to temp at 90 odd degrees.

I actually enjoyed doing the cambelt on the 8v Corrado, couple of plastic shields in the way that are not usually on the golf, only thing to remember on the 8v is that the intermediate pulley times the dizzy, so a split belt trick is not a bad idea :)

[tony_ack 0]

Sachs is the clutch kit to go for on the MK2 - OEM quality and will last forever. I've heard stories - and they are just stories to be fair - of some MK2s on their original clutch at 200k miles.

 

I think the PAS on the MK2 is beautifully weighted and you still get (almost) all the feel of a non-PAS rack.

 

The best OEM mods, if they haven't already been done are uprated headlight loom (of course!), weighted gear shift rod from a MK3, and the 99 wiper relay.

[boost monkey 0]

uprated loom....on a Golf? I've heard of the other 2. I'm not sure I'd get enough use out of the 99 relay to justify it's expense. That reminds me though, I should do the gear linkage bushes.

[davidwort 0]

uprated loom on my old jetta made a world of difference, that with 80/100W bulbs :) all 80's VW's had rubbish lights :lol:

[boost monkey 0]

Omg I am so happy, I found an early mk2 gti MFA stalk on ebay:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-Mk2-Golf-Jetta-GTi-wiper-mfa-switch-/280666934003?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item41590d8af3

 

it's not new, but it's the only one I can find and I bought it :D :D :D :D

[boost monkey 0]

My rev counter has got narcolepsy. It's official. I guess I have to wide into the wire and pipes by the coil and sort out the connections then :/

[KipVR 1]

Is the gearshift loose? If it isn't then I wouldn't bother!

 

As David says headlight loom makes a big difference, not quite as much as a Corrado but the power still runs through the headlight switch as standard.

[boost monkey 0]

Gearshift? I'm confused.

 

Ok, I'll talk to my regular electrowizard and see if he can understand all that voodoo nonsense for me :)

 

---------- Post added at 11:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 PM ----------

 

Oh the linkages. I get you now! Well I know the bushes are perishing because I checked them. It would be a nice preventative thing, but I think the clutch is definitely a priority at the mo :s

[boost monkey 0]

I was clearing out my Corrado and VAG parts store today, and found a set of new mk2 golf gear linkage bushes, and also the white plastic dish thing for the bottom of the gearstick! Happy days.

[boost monkey 0]

Ok so I'm looking at buying the clutch this week. Can anyone tell me whether it's worthwhile buying a new pressure plate (and 6 bolts from VW) at the same time as the clutch or if that's overkill? AFAIK I have no recollection of it being changed, so could well have 166k on it.

 

Thanks :D

 

Also, ordered a Gates cambelt. My current belt has a LOT of play in it, can flex it up and down by over half an inch. Little worrying.

Edited May 2, 2011 by boost monkey

[boost monkey 0]

Where's all the Mk2 love gone? :/