seanl82

Are there any of the obvious indications of water in oil, or oil in water? Thats the most definitive test you can do at home without a compression or sniff test.

Maybe worth dropping the sump again. I had it for ages on my KR. Changed everything I could think of, cleaned pickup, renewed oil pump and all seals etc, only noticed the second time, that one of the clips on the sump baffle was broken off. Turns out as the pump was sucking up, it was making the pickup pivot a little and block the pickup very slightly, but enough to reduce pressure below the limits. Mine was happening when cold, when warm, below and above 2k rpm,but always randomly. Thinking back, it only really left the the pump and associated parts, and the clocks. Do that to yours to narrow down the possibilities, as there are two sensors for oil pressure. One for below 2k rpm, and one for above. Try it with the engine up to temp too.

Check for any dampness at all under your drivers side mat. The channels run back so any water that comes in the front will drain to the rear, hence creating the puddle in the rear footwell. This will give you an indication as to how far forward the water is actuallt coming in. Also, do you park facing downward on a slight incline? This could be why you dont notice it as much when the car has been standing......

Great cars but parts and servicing cost an absolute fortune. Friend of mine has a V, and the cam pulley sheared off as she was pulling out the drive! Lucky for her it was only pulling off at v low speed and nothing was seriously damaged! They are looking a bit aged now I think though, but still a belter of a car imo

Alright mate, sorry for late reply. I'm not sure if thats it, its hard to make out in the photo and I cant remember tbh. Its basically a damper with a rubber boot. When the throttle returns to idle on the tb, instead of snapping shut, it hits the damper and closes to idle gently. It was underneath towards the back of the tb iirc. It had the locking bolts that I can see on your pic though, and it was set too low iirc. A turn outwards sorted it.As said above, I think I inadvertantly turned it (or was just curious and fiddled!) when I took the tb off to clean it. You may have nudged it when cleaning I suppose. Hope this helps mate.

I had this on my KR so dont know if it will make a difference with yours being a 9a, but mine turned out to be where Id fiddled a little with the throttle damper. A turn forward and locked in place sorted it

As stonejag said, either a loose connection at the battery, a bad earth, or ignition switch.

I can vouch for poor quality from GSF for the droplinks. They should be offset, but when the arrived, they were not. I knew they needed doing, and changed them the day before MOT so had no immediate alternative. They passed MOT fine, but it looked a bit of a bodge and Im not surprised they fail within a couple of years either. Bushes seem poor, the welds were shocking, and without the offset, the sit at an angle slightly causing uneven and premature wear.

Unplug your MAF and go for a spin. It may cut out after a minute or so, but you'll notice the difference immediately if it is the cause. Thats what my money would be on.

I honestly don't see the point in "performance" oil filters. They don't filter any better, and they don't circulate any better. Just an oil filter with a brand name offered at an excessive rate imo. Personally I'd stick with a standard one, but its up to you, and its your money. If they seller isn't quite sure, seems a bit of a pointless exercise and a waste of money if it doesn't fit. Stick with standard 10w40 oil too, you'll only compromise lubrication when cold by using a thicker oil, and considering its gonna start getting very cold very soon, its not worth the worry.

You should be able to just solder the wire directly on to the old speaker contacts. It would only become an issue if you need to remove them again in future obviously, but will have no detrimental affect on the speaker itself.

Get a multimeter on the terminals for the light, and see if you get a voltage for the three seconds or so you should do when the ignition is initially switched on. I think the signal comes direct from the ABS ECU, so then you'll have to start tracing wiring, and buzz it out to make sure you have continuity between each end.

Think your talking about the front cross member. May be worth changing the fuel filter if there was only a very small amount of fuel in. All the sediment at the bottom of the tank would have settled, and could have caused a partial block. May just need a good blow out though. Get it up to temp, and give it a blast, it may just settle it. Other possibility is that a mouse/mice has/have crawled up your exhaust and died, blocking it around the cat! Just speculating there obviously!

I saw a documentary on it few years back. It was following a fella who busked in and around London, including the underground etc and he was making an absolute fortune! He'd go out at around 7am, and busk until about 7pm. He would then walk back to his 5 series bimmer, bung his "work clothes" in the boot, and drive home to his suburban semi to his wife! I don't remember how much he was averaging, but to afford a nice new car, and a nice big house on the outskirts, it must have been a pretty penny! He did say the income dropped drastically at winter though, apart from xmas, where it was the best time of the year!

You could get day insurance, and it will cover you on your way to the MOT. As long as its booked in for the MOT, your within the law. Remember you need the certificate and insurance details to tax it anyway, so don't worry about that. Worth sticking in some new fuel as well, as the old stale petrol won't be burning particularly cleanly, so that will also be adding to the rough idle.

I was gonna suggest the cat, and then you mention its blowing in your second post, so I'd deffo start with that. Check all the heatshield around the exhaust too. Obviously with the bang, it could have caused the exhaust to shift a little, and resonate off the heat shield at idle.

Bit of paint on the inlet, and a new expansion tank and it'll be perfect!

I just passed a length of fuel hose down the filler neck when I did mine, and drained it into a can. Other way is to disconnect the output hose, then open the filler cap and let it pour out under positive pressure. It was less effort to syphon it though, and you can regulate it better in case of spills/changing cans etc if you're doing it on your own.

I'm not 100%, but that looks a bit of a diy job to me. The coils usually self contained, so all connections/wiring is at the rear of the coil itself. It then bolts to the bulkhead by the clamp that goes around it. That bracket looks to have been bodged to take the wiring/connector, or its a coil off a different car? Like I said, I'm not 100% certain, but from the small amount of 9As I've seen, I've never noticed it any different. :D

With the flywheel lightened, I would imagine it will be idling a little high due to the lack of weight. I had it done to my Golf a few years ago, and don't remember it having a higher idle than normal, but I guess that could be the reason.

Change out your expansion tank cap. The old black caps are notorious and common for not venting pressure, a new blue one should solve your problems. Worth cleaning the contacts on the expansion tank where the plug is too, as it also gets a bit cruddy and causes the warning light to illuminate for no reason.

Its been on for months. Obviously not desperate for a sale, cos the price hasn't dropped at all in that time.

Check the part number against the kr and other engines of around the same era. I know the kr one is exaxtly the same as almost all the mk2 golfs, and is the cylindrical one like yours. Have a look on vw heritage as most of their stuff is genuine and bought up from suppliers near the end of production.

Unfortunately theres no diagnostics on the 1.8 valvers, so its a process of elimination. Get someone to rev it at idle for you, and listen with the bonnet open. My guess would be vacuum pipes split/collapsing under pressure.

Ignition switch if yours hasn't already been done, window control module, thermostat and seal (I know they are readily availabe but always nice to know you have one!) fuel pump and ecu relay, and whats already been suggested that you dont already have. That should set u up for most eventualities that could keep your car off the road for the short term.