1992 VW Golf 1.8 CL

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LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Friday 28th June 2013
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After the swift departure of my BX GTi, I tried to be carless. Failed miserably after seeing this in my street, advertised for €750. Emailed the guy (19 year old lad, it was his first car), strolled down the street to have a look. Clutch is shot but drivable and it's a bit... mouldy smelling inside but it will clean up. Offered €500, he accepted, job done.











Drove it to work this morning and it seems to be pretty good apart from the clutch which will need doing - once on the move it's ok but pulling away especially up inclines (thankfully there are almost none in the entire country) it gets a bit hairy/slippy. I shall attempt to make this a decent attempt at bangernomics. Employing the Brown 100 rule states the following...

Brown said:
If you lose less than £100 a month on your car in depreciation/non consumables you are doing OK.
...and means I need to wait a little bit before doing the clutch. Also got a house move coming up so need the car mobile to assist with that.

Operation "Get rid of mouldy smell" started last night by removing the boot carpet and giving it a good clean with household cleaner (already purchased for the home so not counted in costs). It was still a little musty this morning so I reckon it needs another going over or two. Then the boot side carpets will get the same treatment and the interior too.

Edited by LeoZwalf on Friday 28th June 12:58

320touring

1,428 posts

198 months

Friday 28th June 2013
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Good stuff!

Used to have the same engine in a Seat Toledo.. its a torquey little thing.

For the musty smell, febreeze is the best bet, or some G101 cleaner (50/50 dilution) and a scrubbing brush.

I'd advise checking the front pads/discs and the anti squeal clips- they can rust fairly readily


I currently ahve a mk3 TD with the AAZ engien, and its not much more economical, and nowhere near the fun to drive!

The Nur

9,168 posts

184 months

Friday 28th June 2013
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Awww, my heart sank when I saw the Cloggy plate. I miss Holland frown

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Friday 28th June 2013
quotequote all
320touring said:
Good stuff!

Used to have the same engine in a Seat Toledo.. its a torquey little thing.

For the musty smell, febreeze is the best bet, or some G101 cleaner (50/50 dilution) and a scrubbing brush.

I'd advise checking the front pads/discs and the anti squeal clips- they can rust fairly readily


I currently ahve a mk3 TD with the AAZ engien, and its not much more economical, and nowhere near the fun to drive!
Indeed it is pretty grunty, much more so than its 75bhp suggests.
I'll try the Febreeze, reckon it might need a gallon or there abouts though. What's G101? I was using the typical household cleaner kind of stuff mixed with water and a scrubbing brush last night - lots of muck came off but it still wasn't fully clean.

Front discs and pads were done a few months ago so I'm going to assume they are OK.

The Nur said:
Awww, my heart sank when I saw the Cloggy plate. I miss Holland frown
Aww, sorry! We're only here since January so still in the honeymoon phase. Haven't done much exploring, the weather has been (and still is) terrible and does not encourage outdoor mooching and exploration frown When were you here and did you own an NL car? Having a car is stupidly expensive here frown

The Nur

9,168 posts

184 months

Friday 28th June 2013
quotequote all
LeoZwalf said:
Aww, sorry! We're only here since January so still in the honeymoon phase. Haven't done much exploring, the weather has been (and still is) terrible and does not encourage outdoor mooching and exploration frown When were you here and did you own an NL car? Having a car is stupidly expensive here frown
Don't be sorry! My ex-girlfriend is Dutch so I have spent a lot of time in Holland (Arnhem specifically) and have come to love the place. I didn't have a car over there as I didn't live there but I was due to move over before everything went pear shaped, although I was aware of the incredibly high cost of motoring.

Still, a wonderful country and somewhere I shall return to in due course. I wish you many years of happiness there smile

320touring

1,428 posts

198 months

Friday 28th June 2013
quotequote all
LeoZwalf said:
320touring said:
Good stuff!

Used to have the same engine in a Seat Toledo.. its a torquey little thing.

For the musty smell, febreeze is the best bet, or some G101 cleaner (50/50 dilution) and a scrubbing brush.

I'd advise checking the front pads/discs and the anti squeal clips- they can rust fairly readily


I currently ahve a mk3 TD with the AAZ engien, and its not much more economical, and nowhere near the fun to drive!
Indeed it is pretty grunty, much more so than its 75bhp suggests.
I'll try the Febreeze, reckon it might need a gallon or there abouts though. What's G101? I was using the typical household cleaner kind of stuff mixed with water and a scrubbing brush last night - lots of muck came off but it still wasn't fully clean.

Front discs and pads were done a few months ago so I'm going to assume they are OK.

Thats good about the discs, g101 is this stuff http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Autosmart-G101-Multi-Pur...

You sure its only 75bhp? was 90bhp in the toledo..

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Friday 28th June 2013
quotequote all
The Nur said:
Still, a wonderful country and somewhere I shall return to in due course. I wish you many years of happiness there smile
It is a lovely place smile Thanks for the kind wishes.

320touring said:
You sure its only 75bhp? was 90bhp in the toledo..
Yup it's registered as 75 anyway so I'm assuming that is correct. Seems a really puny number for a 1.8 doesn't it!

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Sunday 30th June 2013
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Operation 'get rid of the mouldy smell' is underway.
I'd already cleaned the boot carpet which was a little manky but not too bad. The smell had not retreated at all so more investigation was needed. Had a good feel of the front passenger side carpet and it had a very slight feeling of not being totally dry.

Pulled it up and found wet and mouldy under carpet insulation. Really wet, like sopping.






Ripped that out and threw it away, it was unsaveable. Gave the floor a bit of a clean with a clean sponge and dried it as best I could with a cloth. I hope it will dry out enough to not have to remove the carpet to clean/dry it but let's see.

Did about 40km in it today, a nice drive. Clutch is definitely ropey but it's quiet and smooth. Tyres may well need pressures checking as it felt slightly wayward on long curves like motorway exit/entry sliproads. Filled it up, tank seems really small at about 40-ish litres.

The Nur

9,168 posts

184 months

Sunday 30th June 2013
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My mother had one but it was a GL and had an auto box. Exactly the same problem, passenger side footwell soaked, the cause was the heater matrix. Hope this helps smile

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Monday 1st July 2013
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Cheers Nur. Hope it isn't the matrix, I had that happen on a previous car a LONG time ago (Rover 214 in about 2002) and it was a beast of a job to remove the entire dashboard. I had thought about the cause and considered the heater matrix but this water doesn't have the greasy consistency of coolant so I think it might be rain water coming in from somewhere. There were LOTS of dry leaves in the scuttle area where the interior fan blower is so I wonder if a drain hole is or was blocked.


LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Thursday 4th July 2013
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It totally rained the cat and dog rods last night. So much so the noise woke me up at 3:30. Thought I'd open the Golf to find a mini swimming pool in the footwells but the passenger side was dry. As that was the worst of the two I was a bit surprised. There was however a water drippy mark on the rubbery plastic part of the carpet under the pedals on the driver's side. Apologies but I did not photograph this.

Research suggests a blockage (dead rotting leaves and similar detritus) under the windscreen scuttle area. Easy to investigate, just remove the plastic panel and have a mosey around. Clean all crap, unblock drainage channels and you're laughing.

I've now done about 220km in it. Fuel gauge reads 1/2 so considering the small tank the MPG seems reasonable. Most of the driving has been urban including so far 4 car loads full of possessions for our house move.

Further discoveries:

There is a slight (so slight I'm not sure if I am imagining it) lilt to the right under braking. Rear shocks were done not long ago so I wonder if the fronts are iffy too.

Twice today I felt a distinct misfire under slight load. Will have to monitor that as although it was slight, I don't fancy the thought of it getting worse.

Still debating of course which way to go with it. 1) keep going without fixing anything or servicing it cos 500 isn't THAT much to lose next April if it fails APK or 2) give it a bigass service, do clutch, cambelt etc and turn it into a bit of a keeper until a sensible amount of wonga us available for a decent car (or, as probably will happen because I have this illness, buying another stbox).

anomaly

459 posts

172 months

Thursday 4th July 2013
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Good luck with this. Two flavours of 1.8 engine were available at the time in these Golfs. 75 bhp in the CL and 90 bhp in the GL. My mother had a GL and it was memorable for feeling very solid but rusted terribly even when quite new. I think VW paint quality was at a low point.

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Thursday 4th July 2013
quotequote all
Cheers. Mine is the 75 (CL) version. You can't drive fast in Netherlands (low limits and scameras all over the place) so it's ok to have such low power. Mid and low range it picks up perfectly well enough for urban driving.

I have heard horror stories (well, one!) of rusting chassis on these. A colleague has a mk4 Golf and keeps reminding me that he used to have a mk3 which had huge rust issues underneath when the top half looked perfect. Running gear, interior and bodywork were perfect he says - as soon as his mechanic got it on a ramp he just shoved his hand through the floor! The rust was even hidden by the underseal so no way you'd have seen it by looking normally.

No idea if mine is like that underneath but it passed APK (Dutch MOT) in April with the previous owner so I'm going to assume it is OK. Bodywork is mostly fine, just a couple of rust spots on the tailgate around the window. But that's cool right? Rat look tailgate and all that nonsense :P

Edited by LeoZwalf on Thursday 4th July 14:22

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Saturday 27th July 2013
quotequote all
Bit of an update - we bought a house and the Golf moved EVERYTHING. Everything fitted, it took around 10-15 trips but it did it.

The slip-o-matic clutch continues to perform slippily but it's perfectly drivable. All urban driving is returning 29 MPG with a slightly sticky openey thermostat.

The roof lining decided it didn't want any part of this warm weather with window open business and detached itself thus:

At first:


After it sagging onto my head for two days, I become too enraged and "removed" it":


Which leaves this:


Retro-chic / ratlook.... right?!


Edited by LeoZwalf on Saturday 27th July 00:31

Toaster Pilot

14,615 posts

157 months

Saturday 27th July 2013
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thumbup

I have a '96 1.4 at the moment that I'm trying hard to keep on the road for peanuts (MOT is looming though) and actually quite like it when it works! smile

bassett

242 posts

187 months

Saturday 27th July 2013
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have a mk3 myself and although somethings always broken its the cheapest car to fix and find parts for.

Few tips i picked up on mine
Stick the rooflining back on with pritt stick, sounds stupid but worked on mine although only sagging at the front
If its still wet inside check the sunroof drain holes - 4 in total in each corner, they exit in front of front door shut and at rear arch. Flush with boiling water and should sort it out.

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Sunday 11th August 2013
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Thanks Toaster Pilot (what a name!) and bassett.

@ Toaster Pilot - thankfully mine is staying on the road for peanuts so far. It has only owed me fuel so far but the other day the clutch started slipping again so I caved in and ordered a new one along with a couple of other bits:

Prices in €

Clutch kit 93.84
Clutch release bearing 8.07
Rear wiper blade 3.48
Thermostat 7.43
Postage 3.95


I'm really trying to stick with essentials only so hesitated with the wiper and stat. But the water temp on cruise is under 70 C so over time I know this won't be doing engine or MPG any favours, so it's getting changed. Rear wiper, well it was cheap and does need doing.

Grand total of 116.77 and honestly I'm not so much looking forward to doing the clutch in the driveway. It's been a very long time since I did that but now I have space and the Golf looks pretty easy to work on so confidence is high...!

Today I did something I've wanted to do for ages. I wrote before that there was a mouldy smell and showed pictures of the destroyed under carpet insulation. Since then it has dried out nicely but there was still an insistent whiff of mould. The insistence of SWMBO to purchase a carpet cleaner for the house has turned out to be a good move and today I finally had time to use it. Not in the living room, hallway or bedroom, but in the Golf biggrin

I'll leave you with this pic which says it all. Carpets and seats now cleaned (reckon it'll need a second run):



Bleugh!!!

Private Pile

754 posts

194 months

Sunday 11th August 2013
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Hi Leo, good bargain ruabout. I had the TDI version, think it was the first of the TDI's (90 BHP?) a few years back. Cheap and comfy motor to run. I'll check my garage for odds and ends.

Nice area you stay in. I used to work in Sloterdijk.

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Sunday 11th August 2013
quotequote all
Private Pile said:
Hi Leo, good bargain ruabout. I had the TDI version, think it was the first of the TDI's (90 BHP?) a few years back. Cheap and comfy motor to run. I'll check my garage for odds and ends.

Nice area you stay in. I used to work in Sloterdijk.
Hi Pile (again, another great name, what a movie!),
Bargain so far. Hard to say as it's still fairly early days but it seems to be a solid motor so far. It has earned its keep already.

Wasn't the mk3 TDi the one which had a TV advert showing a petrol station and a UFO type story? The idea was the Golf did so many miles between fill-ups that they were an unseen sight at the pumps.

Ah yes, found it. "Vee... errr... Veee-dubyah...."
http://youtu.be/lso-fQIR_M8

891 between fill-ups - wonder if anyone actually managed that...?

And yes I have to agree it is a nice area. We just bought a house in the south part of Amstelveen and are, so far, very happy here smile

LeoZwalf

Original Poster:

2,802 posts

229 months

Wednesday 14th August 2013
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Clutch, thermostat, rear wiper and release bearing just arrived. Not really looking forward to the clutch job.