Drivetrain overhall

[-Neil- 0]

My VR handles like a bag of poop.

Basically Im wanting to spend couple of hundred quid to get it all renewed and sorted so its much more pleasurable to drive. Plus i dont have a full history so no idea how long ago, if at all, anything has been replaced.

Im buying the equipment and giving my car to a garage for a week or two to fit it all.

 

So far i have spent £180 and brought from GSF :-

 

New discs and pads all round (they have me brembo front discs :) )

One ball joint (needs replacing as its bust), but ive heard VAG ball joints are better and i might aswell replace both at once??

Track rod end (one is bust), again, should i go VAG or just replace both at once from GSF?

 

I need to replace a rear ABS sensor as my brake peddle fights back when braking, is it worth replace both at back, or all four or anything?

 

Has anyone got an ideas what else i could / should replace, like wishbones or anything whilst im at it and giving my car to a garage for couple of weeks?

 

Cheers guys for any help!

 

Neil

[Neil VR6 0]

I think you might want to look at taking it to someone who can more accurately diagnose what the source of the problem is. I assume you

[dr_mat 0]

...you could need ball joints, wishbones, bushes, track rod ends, rear beam bushes, top mounts etc Also new dampers if they

[dinkus 10]

The bits I'd replace (in order of difference they'll make to the handling)

Anything that's broken (ideally both sides of the car at once)

Rear axle bushes (£50 the pair)

Shocks/Springs/Coilovers

Track rods/tie rods (same thing, just called different names) - it's a single piece from VW with both ends, but £55 each.

Front wishbone bushes (you get the whole wishbone with bushes from VW - £55 each)

Ball-joints (can't remember how much)

ARB drop-links (can't remember how much)

Top-mounts (about £15 each I think)

 

I personally wouldn't touch any GSF stuff, but depending on your VW dealer, the above can get a bit expensive (I've given list VW prices). If you're lucky, you'll have a nice local dealership that will do you a discount and/or parts club prices on that little lot.

 

Obviously if you're not doing the jobs yourself, then it'll get considerably more expensive too. The rear axle bushes is probably the worst job and a VW specialist will charge £300 to swap them (inc the bushes).

 

Otherwise checking your tyre pressures and a 4-wheel alignment (including camber) on a proper 4-wheel laser alignment rig will do wonders... (you'll need to get it set up every time you change anything to do with suspension or bushes).

 

Edit: Added suspension in there too :D

[herisites 0]

If you only have a 'few hundred quid' to spend and not planning on doing the work yourself you wont get it done as its all labour especially if you have any troublesome bolts! I helped do Mic_VR's bushes few weeks back, took us about 8-10 hours all in to do all front bushes. We replaced the whole wishbones, ball joints, drop links and arb bushes but we had to hacksaw and drill a wishbone bolt, the ball joints were a pain, the arb bushes took ages! So its all labour. We still need to do the rear axle bushes and thats an axle off job so you could potentially run into more problems, but it can be done with the axle on the car which is how we are doing it.

 

As said GSF stuff isn't supposed to be that great. I was on a bit of a budget with mine so i used some gsf parts but only the small parts like drop links, track rod ends etc, the wishbones and any bearings i have done have all been VW, as will my axle bushes when i come to do them!

[bruny 0]

Hey Neil, have just done the same on my white Vr, basically new bushes suspension brakes and pipes all round. Trust me once you start its difficult to stop, ended up sandblasting and powder coating rear beam and subframe! Looks the dogs b*****ks now though. 8) You arent far away if you need a better look see what wants doing bring it over get it on the lift. Give me a call on mobile if you want. see pm :DImage027.jpg[/attachment:z1qcl33o]

[-Neil- 0]

cheers guys,

well ive already spent £170 on brake discs, pads, and few other bits for a good service.

 

Im buying all the parts then giving my car to a local garage to change everything over, let them have it for couple of weeks, im kind of accounting £100-150 for just the laybour..

 

I have a full Weitec coilover kit with new top mounts anyway i fitted 6 months ago.

I am thinking of new wishbones, tie rods, ball joints. then get it lazer lined up so its all running straight.

 

By the sounds of it i just cant afford the rear beam bushes to be done.

 

cheers guys,

 

P.S Dave, i might contact you if i have any free time off work.

[bruny 0]

Be nice to see another white Vr Neil :)

[boost monkey 0]

I personally wouldn't touch any GSF stuff, but depending on your VW dealer, the above can get a bit expensive (I've given list VW prices). If you're lucky, you'll have a nice local dealership that will do you a discount and/or parts club prices on that little lot.

 

I can understand the reason to want to buy genuine parts, but there are sooooooooooooooooooooooo many parts that are identical between GSF and VAG, the difference being the mark-up.

 

And people moan about the price of genuine parts....? just do some research! :D

 

It really isn't hard to shop around and find out that (for sake of an example) VW use Febi Bilstein for their mounts, therefore I'll buy from Febi Bilstein direct or a supplier of and save £££. Prodigal and I were talking about this just the other day. If parts are identical, why pay more?

 

Ok, in my case I bought the following for my H-reg 16v. None of the parts are genuine VW (don't have a VW stamp on them):

 

ARB Drop links,

ARB inner mounts,

Wishbones,

Strut Top Mounts,

Tie Rod Ends – sell on, bought complete tie rods,

Cross-member,

Engine Mount Front,

Engine Mount Rear,

Gearbox Mount,

PAS Rebuild Kit (Tie rods w/ ends, tie rod boots).

 

And all in it came to ~£150 plus delivery. (The Crossmember was £20 s/h if you're wondering)

 

 

If the GSF/Pattern parts literally are crap (i.e. ignition switches, radiators, other parts that elude me) that I have experienced or someone else tells me about, I have no worries about it at all and I'll get VAG parts, but on the whole it's a false economy *IMHO*. I do appreciate that sometimes VAG parts are engineered so much better, like oil filters, which have the special non-return valve in that stops swarf

 

But then again, I wouldn't have been able to buy half of ^^^ that stuff if I got it from the dealers, discount or none :? :(

 

Just my 2p really, if offended please consider it a rant of a student wishing his Burgundy was fixed and move on! :lol:

[benkitcher 0]

Neil,

 

I'm in sheffield and have similar thoughts on replacing steering parts on my VR. Before I splash out though i want to compare cars with someone else so if you want to meet up and have a comparison one day let me know.

 

Oh and I work with jim needham, he told me about you when i bought my rado. Maybe we can get him out in his Mingi and show him what real cars are like?

 

Ben

[Dec 1]

It really isn't hard to shop around and find out that (for sake of an example) VW use Febi Bilstein for their mounts, therefore I'll buy from Febi Bilstein direct or a supplier of and save £££. Prodigal and I were talking about this just the other day. If parts are identical, why pay more?

 

Same brand name as VW parts and I've used the Febi parts without having any problems with them, but they definitely aren't 100% as good quality as genuine VW parts. Same pattern, but the quality of the materials used isn't as good.

 

Having said that, the quality of Febi parts is generally very good, and I'd have no problem using them for anything bar the likes of rear axle bushings etc.

[boost monkey 0]

Good to hear your experiences, Dec.

 

Considering the MASSIVE price difference between Febi and VAG, would you recommend that people use genuine parts in general or only on those critical areas, such as as the rear bushes you mentioned?

 

I guess it's each to their own at the end of the day.

 

VW stamps in the service book just don't mean the same these days as they used to, way too many dealers offering apprenticeships to incompetent school-leavers imho.

[Walesy 0]

Through years of using GSF parts to only have to replace them within a short period of time i'd say the same as Dinkle - Feck 'em.

 

There's nothing more annoying than trying to find a fault by replacing parts and ruleing them out, only to find out after hours of labour and countless other replacement parts that weren't needed, that the first part you replaced was the one that caused the fault but the sh1tty GSF part you used as a replacement wasn't up to the job :confused: I really see it as a a false economy.

 

If you intend on keeping your car long term, use genuine VAG parts IMAYONAISE111!1

[boost monkey 0]

Interesting points...But if you replace a part from a factor and it doesn't fix your issue, you don't have to re-mortgage your house! :lol:

 

I too think GSF can be rubbish, but only some of their items. The BQ (Best Quality) stuff isn't miles off VAG quality as Dec pointed out.

[boost monkey 0]

Plus, if you order the wrong part from VAG they WILL NOT take it back. That has always been the case with everything I've bought from them incorrectly.

 

Most factors will take back incorrectly ordered parts.

[Walesy 0]

That would depend on which dealer you use I suspect, I used to have to pay for parts in advance back in Cardiff but that isn't the case here in Cornwall. Even so I wouldn't see that as a reason to buy sub-standard parts from GSF- just make sure you order the right thing! :eek:

[poll250 0]

Plus, if you order the wrong part from VAG they WILL NOT take it back. That has always been the case with everything I've bought from them incorrectly.

 

Most factors will take back incorrectly ordered parts.

 

Hey Jon,

 

I asked Dave at VW kidlington about taking parts back I hadn't used and he said he was fine with it as long as you had the receipt?

 

Andy

[boost monkey 0]

:shock: :shock: :shock:

 

Awesome! to be fair, I haven't ever taken parts back to Dave (he is such a good guy!) but the Motorworld VW on Iffley Road is a 'tard house. Hotttttty receptionist though! :luvlove:

 

I would expect that Dave would so something like that, he's a quality guy. Having useful staff makes SUCH a difference!

 

Thanks for the tip too, I'll be using Dave exclusively from now on!

[dutchboy 0]

I too am also getting pissed off with poor handling so I've got my best friend Mr Mastercard out and ordered the following :D :

 

Fully refurbed rear axle off my mates car (loads of parts now surplus to requirements due to the mega rebuild!!!!!!!!)

FK Coilovers,

Track rods,

Front wishbones complete with bushes,

Ball-joints,

ARB drop-links,

Top-mounts,

ARB inner mounts,

Tie Rod Ends,

New Cross-member,

Engine Mount Front,

Engine Mount Rear,

Gearbox Mount,

Steering rack new (got one cheap :) )!

New discs and pads.

Had all my wheels balanced

 

Also treated myself to a upper strut brace.

 

Two questions: can you get a lower strut brace and can anyone think of anything else that needs replacing?

 

I seem to be getting a terrible vibration at about 70mph which is pissing me off!!

[davidwort 0]

Two questions: can you get a lower strut brace and can anyone think of anything else that needs replacing?

 

I seem to be getting a terrible vibration at about 70mph which is pissing me off!!

 

 

yes you can, basically a bar that fits between the front wishbones bush bolts on the subframe, but then the Corrado subframe is pretty well engineered anyway so I'm doubtful it makes much difference, unlike the old mk 1's.

[dutchboy 0]

oh right I'd probably be wasting my money there then. Cheers for the info though dude!

[pete_griff 0]

I too am also getting pissed off with poor handling so I've got my best friend Mr Mastercard out and ordered the following :D :

 

Fully refurbed rear axle off my mates car (loads of parts now surplus to requirements due to the mega rebuild!!!!!!!!)

FK Coilovers,

Track rods,

Front wishbones complete with bushes,

Ball-joints,

ARB drop-links,

Top-mounts,

ARB inner mounts,

Tie Rod Ends,

New Cross-member,

Engine Mount Front,

Engine Mount Rear,

Gearbox Mount,

Steering rack new (got one cheap :) )!

New discs and pads.

Had all my wheels balanced

 

Also treated myself to a upper strut brace.

 

Two questions: can you get a lower strut brace and can anyone think of anything else that needs replacing?

 

I seem to be getting a terrible vibration at about 70mph which is pissing me off!!

 

 

you should also get hold of a new steering rack bush while you are at it - they are inexpensive even from VW.

 

when i replaced my front wishbone bushes i used 3.2 TT bushes, as they don't have the cut-out's in like the original corrado ones. they ride just as nicely as the originals, but as they flex that little bit less, they seem to hold the car better round the bends etc - just a thought while you still haven't fitted them...

 

it has also been said on here previously that the standard top mounts don't fair too well when used with coilovers due to the increased stress. i'm honestly unsure as i've never experienced this myself as i don't yet use coilovers...

i will however be buying some KW V3's towards the end of the year and i will also be buying some bonrath (think that's how you spell it) top mounts at the same time. - you may want to look into that

 

if you google them then i'm sure you'll find something, but here's a quick link that i found if you fancy a gander...

 

http://modworld.co.uk/catalog/product_i ... 75d8f846aa

[-Neil- 0]

Ive found these wishbones on gsf..

 

42219B WISHBONE-FRONT LH+ BUSHES CO VR6 37.90

42219E WISHBONE-FRONT RH+ BUSHES CO VR6 37.90

 

They'll be ok wont they?

 

and a new front engine mount i think, can that be changed without removing the engine?

 

10146E ENGINE MOUNTING-FRONT CO VR6 8/91 > 26.50

[boost monkey 0]

yeah front mount can be down without an engine out.

[-Neil- 0]

ok, for my overhall and good service so far ive brought, to be fitted on thursday...

 

Wishbones with bushes already in them

Stearing track rod ends

Ball joints

Antiroll bar drop links

* Already got new top mounts already in the car when i fitted the coilovers.*

Discs and pads all round

Rear wheel bearings

Front engine mount

4 New Toyo tyres

Oil and Filter

New Plugs

Tracking will be done

 

Anything else before i send my car in to be fitted with all this?