Bringing Back A Valver From The Brink

[Sonicriot13 0]

Well picked up the 2l 16V last night. And boy does it need some work. Body is in very good condition apart from a scratch to the rear drivers side arch and some bad rust on the front driver's side wing. Basically all I need to do to the outside is get a new wing and give it a good clean. Easy sh*t. I don't know how long this car had been sat around for but guessing quite a while judging by the inch thick layer of dust over everything.

 

The main problem is the engine. Barely runs at all. And when it does I'm lucky if I get more than two cylinders. It's idled once, every other time as soon as you take your foot of the pedal it dies. Looking at it briefly there is so much tree detritus in the bay I'll be very surprised if the air filter isn't completely blocked which isn't gonna help matters.

 

The box on the drivers seat has the cam belt cover and various other bits of trim from the bay and the trim from under the steering wheel and fuse box cover and stuff are all in the boot. There are spark plugs in the passenger foot well. Looks like someone has had the intention of fixing but didn't get very far at all. Which is a shame cos it's a lovely car. Only thing it's missing on the add ons front is the leather interior.

 

I might be looking at a new engine but I only paid £360 for it.

 

Believe in or not but there's a black corrado under there somewhere....

 

 

Check out the Marigold top left!

 

 

My only question is why do people let perfectly good cars get in this state in the first place?

[GTi.Si 0]

Looks like it'll clean up well. My pearl grey G60 was about that dirty when I got it. I would never let it happen to a car which could be worth a bit.

[Sonicriot13 0]

Well, the paint work is breathing a sigh of relief already. Just treated it to a good old hose down and some triple wax shampoo. Vast improvement but will get some T-cut during the week.

 

 

Also a selection of the artifacts I found left in the glove box.... :lol:

 

 

Also don't suppose anyone's got a front driver's side wing in black?

[andy 0]

Looks like a nice project that. Its a lot of car for £360.

[Sonicriot13 0]

Yeah, couldn't really go wrong with it at that price. Have started reconstructing the interior. Can't get my hands dirty on it properly until next weekend though unfortunatley. Will update once I have located the fault/faults with the engine. Am bracing myself for the worst though. But hey, if I have to find a replacement engine then so be it. I'd rather do that than let it languish how it was before I got it only to end up on the scrap heap.

[Sonicriot13 0]

Think I may have found part of the problem anyway. Just taken out the old air filter and it was black as the night! Couldn't believe it. Also that piece of paper that looks like it's stuffed down the left hand side of the box in the picture of the bay was actually half in the box with the lid closed on top of it! It had soaked up loads of rain water which it kindly transferred to the filter. Which meant for a very wet filter indeed. So air flow to the cylinders was obviously greatly impeded and no air means no combustion which means no engine. How much am I going to laugh my ass off if a new filter solves the problem?... A lot!!!! :lol:

 

But lets face it I'm not that lucky.

[gezza 0]

hope it is air filter!! good project there mate at the right price too lucky git!!!

[Sonicriot13 0]

I know mate! When I look at it sat in my front garden and I think about how much I paid for it I have to keep pinching myself. And now I've fully reconstructed the interior out of the trim jigsaw puzzle that was left for me in the boot, and dusted, polished and vacuumed it, it looks stunning. Can't wait to get it running properly.

[Sonicriot13 0]

Well, just finished vacuuming Thetford forest out of the engine bay (trust me, it was the easiest way) and it's all ready for the new air filter to go in. Also found that the warm air pipe was completely disconnected.... Finding more and more things wrong every time I go out there. The windscreen wipers only work on one setting and the rain we've had over the last few days has proven that there is a leak in the sunroof. :lol: Which not only doesn't slide but doesn't work at all. And there is a stain that just won't quit on the driver's seat. It's gonna take forever to get it out. You spray the cleaner on it, wipe it with a cloth, and the cloth turns black but the stain hasn't faded at all. My god this is fun... and it's bringing out a masochistic side I never new I had!

[Paulr1980 0]

I love these sort of projects.. I just never seem to find them.

 

I quite fancy hunting down a slightly mistreated mk2 golf and seeing what I can get it like.

 

keep the updates coming.

[vwdeviant 0]

For the interior, see if you can borrow a VAX, they have small upholstry heads and are ideal for this type of thing... Just try and wait for a sunny day to do it! It'll clean it up a treat!

 

A to the running, I take it apart from the air filter you're going to stick new plugs, new fuel filter and fresh fuel in there...Gas goes off after six months or so.. if it's been sitting for a long time you may want to drain the tank before adding new fuel filters.... Also replace all the stupid service parts such as Plug leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm.. can help in chasing problems down if you know they're all good.

[Sonicriot13 0]

For the interior, see if you can borrow a VAX, they have small upholstry heads and are ideal for this type of thing... Just try and wait for a sunny day to do it! It'll clean it up a treat!

 

A to the running, I take it apart from the air filter you're going to stick new plugs, new fuel filter and fresh fuel in there...Gas goes off after six months or so.. if it's been sitting for a long time you may want to drain the tank before adding new fuel filters.... Also replace all the stupid service parts such as Plug leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm.. can help in chasing problems down if you know they're all good.

 

Thanks for the advice mate, and I agree It definately helps to be systematic. I have been slowly accumulating parts from various different sources so I can spend a whole day (thinking of pulling a sicky as have other commitments over the next few weekends) just overhauling things like the plugs and fuel filter. I just always start at the air filter with engines that aren't running. The set of plugs I found in the foot well were used ones so they have probably been changed at some point but I'm still gonna do it again. Defo draining the fuel tank. Gonna flush out the cooling system as well as that's been overfilled by captain bodge or whoever it was who last worked on this car. And god only knows how old the oil is. I'd rather not think about it, am just gonna change it when it gets to that point. Am trying not to get too far ahead of myself though.

 

I was so lucky to find this car. It was literally two miles from my house. I've been on the look out for a project like this for ages but was looking at golfs as they are bit easier to come by. I did a mk2 last year that my girlfriend found advertised on a notice board in a hospital for £50, so they are out there. You just have to keep your eye out. And a mate with a trailer helps too!

[Sonicriot13 0]

Well, new air filter has gone in and reconnected the warm air hose with a proper hose clip that will hold it in place. Unlike the plastic cable tie that was used before. Already noticing an improvement in the running of the car but still not perfect and not all cylinders are firing. Upon closer inspection of the HT leads I found the one connected to cylinder 4 is completely different to the other three. When I remove the one from cylinder four it puts up a fight and there is an audible click when I reinsert it as you'd expect. The other three don't appear to connect very well at all. They fall out if you merely shout playground taunts at them, let alone the kind of language that comes out of my mouth. When I compared them I found what you can see in the picture below. The top lead connects to cylinder four and the other is from three.

 

 

Now, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but should they not all be the same? I've never worked on this particular engine code before so I might be wrong.

 

So, new HT leads are on order anyway and should arrive tomorrow or monday.

[Sonicriot13 0]

Hey guys,

 

In need of some help. Car is still running as it did when I first got it but have narrowed it down I think to the fuel distributor or the injectors. Am just about to go outside again to have another play. I can't see any fuel leaks anywhere but there is a smell of fuel, not overpowering and localized around the distributor. I haven't got around to draining the fuel tank yet.

 

The ignition system has had a complete overhaul, even changed the battery. Thought I might as well while I was at it. Don't know what was up with those HT leads. They're either completely wrong or just poor quality. There's no manufacturers mark or part number on them at all, but anyhow they're gone now.

 

I'm a bit concerned because I am starting to run out of ideas. If anyone can think of other things I can be checking that haven't already been mentioned I would be very grateful. Basically when I start the car the starter motor turns the engine perfectly, then it starts and sounds a bit like a lawn mower starting up. Really just sounds like it's on one cylinder, sounds terrible.

 

One really disheartening thing is just how badly this car was treated by the people who had it before me. The cam belt cover is smashed where they've just wrenched it off, the same goes for the rad cover. Look at this picture of one of the alloys (it's on the space saver at the moment, pas side front):

 

 

Is this likely to have been a result of or the cause of the flat tyre? Also is it fixable or am I looking for new wheels?

 

Also here's the fuse board:

 

 

What's missing from this picture? No seriously....

 

Anyway, the more things I eliminate the closer I get to fixing it. And the closer I get to bankruptcy.... :roll:

[vwdeviant 0]

Wow... yep that'll be a flat tyre for sure! By looks of it those leauges are 1-piece? If so see if there's a wheel refurber nearby as they might be able to alloy weld it up... but TBH once you've spent on that and teh refurb you maybe able to pick up a tidy set of standards for teh same....

 

Not sure about the fuse board.. doesn't look to me like anything missing.. but maybe?

[Sonicriot13 0]

I can't help but feel there should be more on that fuse board. Oh well, am gonna get the injectors out and do the Haynes brand "stick them in a glass and see what comes out if anything" test at the weekend. Also will get the Fuel meter/distributor/metering distributor/metering valve/valve thingy apart and make sure that's functioning as it should. Am almost certain that's what the problem is now. There are no fuel leaks that I can see and fuel is getting to the above mentioned thingy cos I can smell it there when I turn the engine. Just not convinced it's getting to the cylinders for obvious reasons.

[Sonicriot13 0]

Right,

 

Turned the engine this morning with the injectors all in place. 3 and 4 clearly fooked because fuel just dribbled out where they are connected to the fuel line at the union nut. Thought I'd just pull them out to to see if they just needed a tighten or something and try again. This is what I found:

 

 

Right one goes to cylinder 4. I'm scared now because is there a chance the tip has fallen down into the valve and caused damage, or worse gone into the cylinder itself? And obviously I dare not turn the engine anymore to see if the other two injectors are operating properly as surely that must have come off as I was removing it? So maybe if I just take the inlet manifold off I'll be able to retrieve it? Why????!!!!

[Sonicriot13 0]

You want a fun start to your saturday evening? Try removing the upper section of a 9A inlet manifold in a thunder storm! :lol: Didn't really feel I could stop half way through so just carried on going. Got the cam cover off as changing the gaskets anyway and from the position of the cams looks like the inlet valves to cylinder four are closed. So fingers crossed. Anyway, have to stop playing now. Which sucks. Will get the lower section off later and update again later in the week. Take care everyone!

 

[Toad 0]

The bottom left of your fuse box should contain the intermittant wiper relay I believe, no. 91 or 19 for an early standard intermittant wiper or 99 for a variable intermittant one.

 

If you want new injectors, do a search on merc injectors, they're cheaper than the vw ones but have the KR pipe fittings on, so you'll need KR fuel lines too if it's a 9a.

 

You fitting a KR cam?

[Sonicriot13 0]

Ah, so that would explain why the wipers only work on one setting. Knew it! Where the hell has that gone then?

 

I may have to change the fuel lines anyway as I think part of the problem may be corrosion at the union, that may be why fuel was just p*ssing out at the connection. If I do change those anyway I can certainly look at getting the merc injectors. And as I'm replacing all four to be safe it would be good if I can save some money :roll:. I assume they're made by Bosch? Anyway, cheers for the tip :thumbleft:.

 

As for changing the cam I'll wait until I get the thing running first. Still haven't really decided what I'm gonna do with the car. If I'm just gonna sell it on I will most likely leave them alone.

[Toad 0]

Yeah they are bosch injectors.

 

Which end of the pipe? the metering head or the injector? If it was the metering head, were the copper washers installed ok?

 

I've got a standard relay I could send you if you want. I'll check the rest of my relay box too when I get a chance...

 

Actually, I'm breaking a H plater, so let me know if you want any bits [/not an advert mods, honest]

[Sonicriot13 0]

At the injector end. I've had a good look at the fuel metering head and all seems well. So am now sure it's down to the injectors. If you've got the fuel lines from that H plate (that would be a KR right?) I would be very interested.

 

The missing relay is a 99 (did some looking up). If you've got one going spare would be grateful mate. Let me know and I'll pm you my address and get you over some £££££.

 

Cheers again, you're a star! :thumbleft:

[Toad 0]

Cool. The bad news is that my injector pipes have seen better days, but I'll whip them off and try cleaning them up. I don't have a 99 either, just a 91.

 

Any other parts or problems give me a shout.

 

Just noticed your HT leads too. Have you seen the dealer prices ? :shock: GSF's Berus are good, and more sensibly priced...

[Sonicriot13 0]

Yeah, got some Beru HT leads from a site Jim recommended in another thread. They were perfect. Those old ones I've come to the conclusion were some kind of joke. I'll have a think about what I need mate. I've got to think about what I'm gonna do with the wheels as well. Am thinking I'll find a half decent set of standards. The ones on there would have been nice alloys if they weren't well and truly trashed, and the expense of getting them refurbed would be unjustifiable when I could just spend less money on a set that haven't been curbed to death.

 

Am thinking now that I might sell it on with the G60 and treat meself to a VR. I would be heart broken to see the G60 go but it would be worth it I think.

[Simon69 0]

Hi there,

 

I may be wrong but from the pictures of your injectors it looks like the one on the right is from an early 8v?

 

As I said, may be wrong but don't think you have to worry about "parts" falling into the motor

 

Cheers

 

Simon

 

(The reason I know an early 8v injector is my first 16v swap was into a MK1 GTi and I used the original (8v) K-Jet system)