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

[vag 10]

nice find :) i have 2 mk2 gti's 8v & 16v

 

if your rev counters still intermittent it will effect your mpg reading.

[boost monkey 0]

cheers vag :D yeah not had an 8v before, I quite like it.

 

very good point, I forgot about that one time and watched the MPG on #1 creep up into the 50s before I realised the tacho wasn't reading!

 

annoyed I didn't fit my spare stalk this weekend, as the DIY'd one is playing up again and I had no washers on friday. Ugh.

[boost monkey 0]

So the car was running like ass yesterday. It was really down on power, and didn't even have enough go for overtaking on the A34!

 

I put it down to the air temp of 22deg before 8am :-o - these 8valves really are night and day with cool and hot intake air aren't they? I wonder if the two manifold locations has anything to do with that.

 

I also picked up a mint steering column upper and lower trim panel (to replace the one which was siliconed together and after my stalk fiasco remains sellotaped!) for the princely sum of £1.04 plus postage. Gotta love it :D

 

still on the lookout for a rear box in VGC as i'm still sure mine is blowing there. SOunds a bit too raspy with the windows down at the mo. I think i might goop some firegum over it though and see if it improves.

 

I still have no front washer so I'm gonna have to wipe the windscreen clean tomorrow - god forbid I should wash the car! :lol: seriously though I will wash it when i have more than 7mins of free time.

[boost monkey 0]

I got the car washed and the new MFA stalk on last night. Gave it a quick clean and a lube of the mech and contacts and all seems to be well again!

 

The steel pin OEM+ version may be for sale :lol:

 

Hoping to take a long weekend soon and do the Cambelt, stat, water pump and PAS/fan belts.

 

Also need a centre box as it's blowing at the front end where the pipe goes into the silencer.

[boost monkey 0]

using the tacho reading of 317 whole mile units, and doing the sums of how much petrol I just filled up with, the golf is still doing 34mpg average.

 

Considering this is 98% on ring roads and motorway, shouldn't I be seeing a bit more? I'm planning to order a bunch of stuff soon to see if that will increase the mpg. tbh, I do give it the boot now and again when the traffic eases up, perhaps the mini hoons drink more than I think they do.

 

I've BIN'd a 2nd hand centre box as I managed to track my exhaust hole down to a rusty weld between pipe and box inlet. Hopefully this will quiet things down and give me a bit more merpurguh (mpg). I'm holding off doing the stat until i do the belt, but tbh maybe I should just get the stat done.

 

---------- Post added at 01:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 PM ----------

 

I am playing with the idea of taking it up to DG (75 miles from Ox - anyone recommend someone closer?) for a tune up and seeing if they can discover something up with the engine.

 

I really wish I had the time to do it, but I just don't at the moment. I need the car as a daily too so it'll be a weekend jobby.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

So the car was running like ass yesterday. It was really down on power, and didn't even have enough go for overtaking on the A34!

 

I put it down to the air temp of 22deg before 8am :-o - these 8valves really are night and day with cool and hot intake air aren't they? I wonder if the two manifold locations has anything to do with that.

 

 

Not to that extent they're not :D My MK1 8V used to fly in all weather conditions! I have gone back to see what age MK2 it is, but I'm betting it's a Digipants? K Jet 8Vs are the mutts.

 

Oh and congrats on your grad job mate!

Edited July 1, 2011 by Kevin Bacon

[boost monkey 0]

Yeah it's a digi kev. Never had one before, but it does seem to vary between days with how responsive it is. I think a basic diagnostic will help. So why have they got the nickname digipants? I remember a couple of people mentioning it!

 

tbh, I never recall my Kjet 16v moaning about air temps, it just used to go whatever the weather. Is it due to the MFA sensing thinner warmer air and so the ECU backs off the fuelling?

 

got a stack of pics to upload, will try to do them tonight.

[boost monkey 0]

^^^ found those pics and got them uploaded. Just some basic pics - forgot the early mk2s had tiny brakes!! scary.

 

 

-General piccy after I took front wheels off - stealing ALL of Prodigal's drive! Aha! Ok ok, he was out... :/

 

 

 

That's right, HERO tyres. I think they're so called after the amount of driving skill you need in the wet with these equipped. Underrrrsteeeeee...*BANG*

 

 

 

Black Diamonds on the front. The last owner wasn't lying...! Piddly little 239s. Awwwww.

 

 

 

Spax Krypton Gas adjustables all round - another thing last owner didn't lie about. Hard as Héll though. I've got them on the 6th softest setting and still quite bumpy.

 

 

 

Random front arch trim crack. How would you even manage this?

 

 

 

Dying knock sensor - must change this asap. Anyone know if VAG still trade these?

 

 

 

Bonnet came up nice after a quick wipe down.

 

 

 

Dead old numberplate lights. Now swapped. I had to dismantle both connectors which were FULL of copper oxide to get the bulbs to work for the MOT!

 

 

 

Rear panel seam rust. Would be nice to treat this sometime. I think there are enough little dinks and dents to warrant some light bodyshop action. Glad it's just black!

 

 

 

Golf has seen a hard life - slightly buckled jacking point :-(

 

 

 

dented chassis rail :-/

 

 

 

Dead exhaust downpipe - why wouldn't you change the clamps when you replace the centre pipe? insane.

 

 

 

denteder chassis rail :'(

 

 

 

Deja vu.... are you thinking what I'm thinking? >:-D

 

 

 

Any ideas why the chassis where the subframe bolts vertically into is bare here? Ran out of underseal VW? :-/

 

 

 

Rusty hole by other jacking point. Deary me. Need to get it stripped back and welded over!

 

 

 

So much for GSF's 2 year old replacement PAS rack (according to paperwork!)

 

 

 

Yes I am very tempted to put the Corrado's goodness on here. Yes I know you will all kill me.

[boost monkey 0]

 

New front mount pinched from the Corrado collection. I still get judder when pulling off so I wonder if the back 2 are going.

 

 

 

Exhaust mid pox blowing point. It's a tiny hole, but the compression out of the 8v exhaust is SO high that it's enough to make a difference! Now patched, awaiting a time I can swap for the replacement box. Two small pin prick holes on the other end also, easily noticed by the ring of black soot around them.

 

 

 

Ernst centre pipe. I hear this is an OEM/ good replacement item. I hope it lasts :D

 

 

 

More random arch trim damage..... How......?

 

 

 

My fuddling of the CL system. Boot doesn't open on the system but at least all 4 doors do! If anyone knows how to fix, let me know. I have twixes.

 

 

 

Fuel pump 1. Nice. Pumps stuff. I think it's petrol.

 

 

 

Fuel pump 2. Here you can see the injector flange, in close proximity to the evaporation hub.

 

 

 

crusty hub stuff which was holding the NSF wheel on all by itself!

 

 

 

Scrubbed it back and added some copper grease. Yum. Scrubbed the wheel too. Must be those Veyron spacers I've been using....

 

 

 

And finally, the wheel back on. Isn't it supposed to droop right about now? Actually it is in droop but only by 25-30 mm!

[boost monkey 0]

Steering wheel cowling and centre box came today. They cost £1.04 and £15 respectively. Gotta love ebay! It's getting so hard to find early mk2 spec stuff. Even my early corrado is late mk2 spec (aka 90 spec).

 

I'm watching a CLEAN tailgate at the moment (gti too, comes with glass and spoiler) so I really hope I get that as it's easily the worst panel on the golf.

 

tailgate is black also so i'd just have to mount it, and swap the wiper and lock :D

Edited July 8, 2011 by boost monkey

[tony_ack 0]

 

 

tailgate is black also so i'd just have to mount it, and swap the wiper and lock :D

 

Haha... 'just'...!

 

Easily an afternoon's job, take a full day to be on the safe side. I did this a while ago and wrote a step by step guide on the MK2 forum.

 

Digifant isn't as bad as people make out, mostly it's just badly set up. Digifant should offer the same power as k-jet throughout the range and return a better MPG. Knock control is also a very welcome addition over k-jet :-)

 

There is a fair difference between hot and cold ambient temperatures, though yours does sound a bit extreme. The digi has an air intake temp sensor in the airflow meter which I don't think the k-jet has. Also a busted knock sensor would really affect the running as the timing may be constantly retarded.

 

From the pics though, it looks like your priority may be sorting out that underbody rust! That hole near the jacking point looks ominous - may be time to get the carpets up and check the state of the floorpan on that side. VW Heritage do replacement floors for relatively cheaply though, so all is not lost.

 

---------- Post added at 09:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:49 AM ----------

 

I also indulged in a few e-Bay bargains recently... MK2 16v rad cowling and cooling fan for £1.04!

[boost monkey 0]

Ok ok, maybe I was being a bit ambitious. I lost the tailgate in the end. Javascript died on me right at the crucial moment, and it went for £43 :/ never mind.

 

I think mine does indeed need a good seeing to. I doubt anyone will want to tune it whilst it needs a cambelt though. I will order a knock sensor once I'm back from honeymoon.

 

Wow, new floor panels! That's good to know. I'll have a look on their site and see what I can find! I'm guessing they're weld in items?

 

---------- Post added at 11:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 PM ----------

 

if anyone knows of someone who will tune bosch digi (pref VW specialists) I'd be interested in contacting them. Perhaps I could get them to do my belt at the same time. I imagine they'll need to check the timing to tune the digi, so why not do it at the same time as a fresh cambelt!

 

Only thing which stops me is labour - £££. Haven't paid for it in years!

[tony_ack 0]

You can do most of the tuning yourself!

 

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=33253.0

 

Basic principles are...

Unplug blue temp sender

Set timing to 6 degrees BTDC at 2-2.5k rpm (this is where most people go wrong and set the timing at idle

Set the idle speed to 800-900rpm, then set the CO to 1.8% at idle (you'll need a garage for this unless you have your own CO meter)

 

Reconnect the blue temp sender and the timing should advance by 30 deg, if it doesn't then your hall sender is indeed kaput

 

You can also do a test on the AFM to make sure it is working correctly by measuring the resistance over it, but I can't remember exactly what the tolerances are (it's in the Haynes)

[boost monkey 0]

Reconnect the blue temp sender and the timing should advance by 30 deg, if it doesn't then your hall sender is indeed kaput

 

Ok cool. One question: would a dead BTS also show this error and not advance when reconnected to the loom? Just a thought really!

 

Thanks for the continued help - i should pay you an hourly rate! :lol:

[tony_ack 0]

Ok cool. One question: would a dead BTS also show this error and not advance when reconnected to the loom? Just a thought really!

 

 

Yep, it's all in the link! If it only advances 20 degrees the hall sender needs adjusting or replacing, if there is no advance, then blue temp sender could be to blame.

 

 

Thanks for the continued help - i should pay you an hourly rate! :lol:

 

I'd only spend it on the Corrado anyway :-)

 

TBH there are loads of very very helpful guys on the VW Golf MK2 forum and GolfGti forums, who know a lot lot more than me!

[boost monkey 0]

So, i'm back in the UK now after having married my south african lady in Africa :D was a great time, ad even though there weren't many people from m side there, it was great to share the occasion with Jo's extended family.

 

So, as I have no time to do the cambelt (and nowhere!) I have booked it in to a garage opposite the office in Newbury. They were more than happy to fit the kit I supply, Gates Powergrip, and I also talked to them about tuning the digi a little bit. From our phone convo they seemed to know their way around it, but i'm sure if they just swap the belt and retime the engine I will be able to do the rest thanks to some new sensors and tony_ack's guide.

 

I feel a little sad about chequebooking this job as I'm a huge advocate of doing any and all work yourself as much as possible. The corrado is still on bro's drive as our flat is quite small and has no real space to work on a car, so trying to work on the daily means farming it out unfortunately. I'm hoping to put the new centre box on soon though, and have also ordered some bits and bobs from VW Spares (brake pads, wipers, stat housing and seal, etc etc) so will be nice to get those little things done.

[boost monkey 0]

So the golf is in the garage opposite my work today. They're mainly doing cambelt, but i've asked them to put on new drive belts for alt and PAS and also swap the stat for me (with new housing and seal) as I have all the parts kicking about and if they have that side of the engine apart anyways they might as well do it at the same time! Shouldn't be extra labour really. As they will be retiming the engine, I asked them to have a little fiddle with the tuning (saves me buying a strobe and CO analyser) and if they come back saying the sensors are dead, then it's easy peasy for me :-)

 

 

I also asked them to do the centre exhaust box and front brake pads if they have time, otherwise it's not important.

 

So there it is, I'm officially a chequebooker and no longer know anything about cars :/ it's a bit miserable not having space to work on your own car, but even the Corrado is on borrowed ground at the mo!

 

I will update later.

[boost monkey 0]

Hey everyone, so I had the cambelt done on Friday and it went really well! I got the car back, and they said it was running lean also (could just be a digifant standard thing, I hea they do run lean) so they richened it up a bit and told me to inform them how it runs.

 

Well.... the performance is back. it picks up a lot earlier in gear now. Noticably putting foot down at 60 in 5th, as it never used to pull well in 5th until 80+. So I guess the old 4th gear performance is now the new 5th gear performance... which is great! I still want to check the fuelling although it did 36mpg (calculated by me) on the tank we used over the weekend visiting family up in Leeds. So the performance is back and the fuel economy has gone up. I'm very glad I got the belt done, even though it cost me about 120 in labour.

 

They told me they couldn't do the front brake pads as the caliper pin hex-sections had rounded. I'm thinking about picking up some 256s as an upgrade and swapping it all over. Yeah it means I can't use the pads(!) but it would be nice to do a small upgrade from the 239s.

 

hey also didn't do the exhaust box as they said the rear box needs changing too, so no point putting just a centre box in. Fair enough, least they're honest! I'll keep an eye out for one of those soon.

 

Oh and they forgot to do the stat after putting that side of the engine back together! Guess i have a few little things to do myself after all :-)

[tony_ack 0]

Congrats on the wedding... we went to my missus' best friend's wedding in Cuba last year, and it was a great, if a little surreal experience, being abroad.

 

Good to see it's running better now. The 'official' Digi CO setting is 1.0-1.5, however 1.8 is where it's at as far as performance goes. You should be seeing 40-45mpg on the MFA on a long motorway run if you take it easy (65mph), and as the speedo tends to over-read, you're probably not far off that.

 

the 239 to 256 upgrade isn't completely straight forward as you need new hubs too, and ideally the larger 16v master cylinder. Depending on what wheels you're running, 280s may be an option - they use the same hubs and MC as the 256s. Good pads and discs will make a difference though - I had grooved vented discs and paigd pads on the 239 8v, and I found the vented dics/cheap pad 256 16v faded a lot quicker.

 

£120 isn't that bad for the cambelt, if you weigh up the time taken to do it yourself, and the cost/time taken to sort it if you do something wrong.

[boost monkey 0]

Thanks tony, just the info I needed. I will probably stick with the 239s then as I can't be bothered with swapping hubs just for the daily.

 

The mfa read about that today around 70 on the speedo so I'm glad it's a bit healthier!

 

I thought I had a gerbil in my dash this morning, I could hear a scratching sound but I soon realised it was related to speed! I think the rotating cuff of the mechanical speedo cable might be catching on something. I will probably take the panel out and check it, which gives me the chance to swap a dead bulb in there also.

 

I was dreading having to do the cambelt especially on a daily car, so I think it was reasonable that they did it for £120. IIRC they did the tuning/fuelling for £30 also.

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

 

I was dreading having to do the cambelt especially on a daily car, so I think it was reasonable that they did it for £120. IIRC they did the tuning/fuelling for £30 also.

 

Sounds about right to be honest. I'd dreading to think what MY garage would charge me to change a belt though :lol:

[boost monkey 0]

is it cheaper if you offer part payment in cake? :lol:

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

is it cheaper if you offer part payment in cake? :lol:

 

I really am going to have to give you a slice of Dundee Cake aren't I... just to placate your ever cake hungry comments. You know, folk in dundee don't even know that they're famous for this cake... they think they're famous for marmalade.

 

The fools....

[tony_ack 0]

Might be the speedo cable wearing also

 

Easiest way to get to the clocks is to take out the radio, switches, heater controls (just loosen them), switch surround, clocks surround and then the lower dash shelf on the driver's side, then remove the clocks screws. You can get to the clocks plugs from under the dash, then I found getting the speedo cable out is best done with one hand through the radio hole and one from under the dash, applying pressure to the clip on the cable plug with a finger from each hand then pulling the cable outwards. The cable might be very stiff if it's not been removed before. Might sound a bit weird when written down, but hopefully it'll become clearer when you're doing it! There's also a vac pipe in the back of the clocks for the MPG which just pulls off.

 

You shouldn't have to remove the steering wheel, though some do.

 

Right! I'm off to get some cake

[boost monkey 0]

Cheers tony.

 

It's official, my car is now averaging 36mpg based on the last 2 tanks of fuel. That's an increase of 4mpg up from 32, or over 10% increase! God knows how far my timing was out with the old belt!

 

Also, got a funny noise coming from NSF. It's like a heavy click noise, but not repetitive. It doesn't happen when I go over bumps (so ruling out suspension) but DOES do it when I change gear and the clutch is in (makes me think drivetrain).

 

My best guess is a bad outer CV or driveshaft? I think I had an advisory for that so I'll get it back up in the air sometime. If anyone would like to confirm/elaborate on possible causes that would be good.