1992 VW Golf 1.8 CL
Discussion
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...
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.
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 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. 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!
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 
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 When were you here and did you own an NL car? Having a car is stupidly expensive here The Nur said:
Still, a wonderful country and somewhere I shall return to in due course. I wish you many years of happiness there 
It is a lovely place 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!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.
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.
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.
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 s
tbox).
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 s
tbox).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
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
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?!
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
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 €
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
I'll leave you with this pic which says it all. Carpets and seats now cleaned (reckon it'll need a second run):
Bleugh!!!
@ 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
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 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!),Nice area you stay in. I used to work in Sloterdijk.
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
fkbags. Well maybe it's not that bad, more of an Oh Bugger. Attempted thermostat renewal has failed, nothing terminal though just my lack of planning ;-) There are two very thermostat housing looking things on the cylinder head, one on the front, one on the side. Took off the front one as that looked like the one. No stat in there, wtf! Tried to remove the one on the side and it wouldn't come off because there are other nuts stopping it from being removed. To get those off needed more pipes taking off and the light was fading.
So I packed up the few tools I'd started using and came in to the internet. Turns out the stat is located UNDER the engine behind the PAS pump!! 2-3 hr job the forums reckon, again WTF! So if I'm lucky, I'm looking at perhaps 9 hours work on the thing, estimate 6 for clutch and 3 for stat. Rolls eyes, face palm and so on.
kbags. Well maybe it's not that bad, more of an Oh Bugger. Attempted thermostat renewal has failed, nothing terminal though just my lack of planning ;-) There are two very thermostat housing looking things on the cylinder head, one on the front, one on the side. Took off the front one as that looked like the one. No stat in there, wtf! Tried to remove the one on the side and it wouldn't come off because there are other nuts stopping it from being removed. To get those off needed more pipes taking off and the light was fading.So I packed up the few tools I'd started using and came in to the internet. Turns out the stat is located UNDER the engine behind the PAS pump!! 2-3 hr job the forums reckon, again WTF! So if I'm lucky, I'm looking at perhaps 9 hours work on the thing, estimate 6 for clutch and 3 for stat. Rolls eyes, face palm and so on.
She troops on. Did a 400km round trip to Belgium a few weeks ago and ended up on the hard shoulder. Smell of hotness and smoke from the back, very worrying! Gave it a few minutes and then continued, no more smoke and no more smell, weird. Got home, big rattling coming from underneath, it was the cat heat shield. After a few days of it rattling, it dropped off, thankfully at low speed in a private area. Problem solved 
Clutch continues to be borderline and some days is better than others. Eventually I will get around to replacing it.
Front right brake squeals once warm and stops when you press the pedal. I think it just needs a cleanup of the edge of the disc and pad/caliper.
MPG is averaging 31.5 from a mix of urban and motorway.
Done about 3,600km in it so far...
Clutch continues to be borderline and some days is better than others. Eventually I will get around to replacing it.
Front right brake squeals once warm and stops when you press the pedal. I think it just needs a cleanup of the edge of the disc and pad/caliper.
MPG is averaging 31.5 from a mix of urban and motorway.
Done about 3,600km in it so far...
No love for this thread but I'm going to update it anyway
Some weeks ago I got fed up with a slightly squeaky belt and the engine running too cool so decided to renew some bits. The thermostat is located behind the power steering pump so you have to drop that down first. Thankfully no bolts rounded or sheered off but it was a bit of a bh of a job.
Up on the ramps:
Old alternator/water pump belt was damaged:
Old PAS belt was perishing:
Old and new thermostats:
PAS belt on left, one correct and one wrong aux belt. This car has what I thought was an automatic tensioner but the belt for the manual tensioner was the correct one (the other was too long).
Total cost was around €45 for the parts.
Current stats:
Averaging 30.6 mpg (7.6 l/100km)
Done 8140 km since buying it at the end of June
Spent €1080 in fuel for that distance at an average of €1.67/litre
Insurance is a very cheap €11 per month (€132 per year) but road tax is €31 per month (€372 per year).
The clutch is still crappy, I still have the kit sitting in the shed but haven't had the guts to tackle that job yet. It's far too cold and stty weather to lay the car up while I do it so it will have to wait.
So far it's looking like a keeper but has its APK (Dutch MOT) due somewhere around the end of Feb or early March so will see how that works out.
Some weeks ago I got fed up with a slightly squeaky belt and the engine running too cool so decided to renew some bits. The thermostat is located behind the power steering pump so you have to drop that down first. Thankfully no bolts rounded or sheered off but it was a bit of a b
h of a job.Up on the ramps:
Old alternator/water pump belt was damaged:
Old PAS belt was perishing:
Old and new thermostats:
PAS belt on left, one correct and one wrong aux belt. This car has what I thought was an automatic tensioner but the belt for the manual tensioner was the correct one (the other was too long).
Total cost was around €45 for the parts.
Current stats:
Averaging 30.6 mpg (7.6 l/100km)
Done 8140 km since buying it at the end of June
Spent €1080 in fuel for that distance at an average of €1.67/litre
Insurance is a very cheap €11 per month (€132 per year) but road tax is €31 per month (€372 per year).
The clutch is still crappy, I still have the kit sitting in the shed but haven't had the guts to tackle that job yet. It's far too cold and s
tty weather to lay the car up while I do it so it will have to wait.So far it's looking like a keeper but has its APK (Dutch MOT) due somewhere around the end of Feb or early March so will see how that works out.
aspirated said:
Glad to see you're keeping it alive
Thanks - that's the idea, just to keep it going whilst spending as little as possible on it.spaceship said:
I'm enjoying this thread, keep it going.
Good job.
Thanks Good job.
Paz565 said:
Me too, I love reading about your smelly old Golf 
I remember when you got this as I had a Mk3 at the same time I think? Mine was a 1994 1.8?? automatic... loved it! I got it to see me through 3 months with a broken wrist but ended up keeping it nearly a year I'll admit I did end up going slightly rat look with mine but I was young and it was starting to get rusty anyway so thought why not 
Did the wet vac improve things smell wise? Makes me want to do both my cars, the other halfs car and any car I sit in from now on....
Please keep updating the thread, it gives annoying people like me (who read the threads but don't normally comment) something interesting to read. Good luck with the clutch, we believe in you
Smelly old Golf is not smelly anymore I remember when you got this as I had a Mk3 at the same time I think? Mine was a 1994 1.8?? automatic... loved it! I got it to see me through 3 months with a broken wrist but ended up keeping it nearly a year I'll admit I did end up going slightly rat look with mine but I was young and it was starting to get rusty anyway so thought why not Did the wet vac improve things smell wise? Makes me want to do both my cars, the other halfs car and any car I sit in from now on....
Please keep updating the thread, it gives annoying people like me (who read the threads but don't normally comment) something interesting to read. Good luck with the clutch, we believe in you
Since the first photos where I ripped out the mouldy soundproofing underlay stuff it started getting better. The wet vac did help and I would recommend it on any old car, the dirt which comes out is shocking. I'm still unsure where all that water in the footwell came from but I did find out why the rear washer was not working - the pipe had split in the tailgate. Replaced it with pipe I already had in the shed. I wonder if the water pumped out of there had made its way to the front footwell.You said "I remember when you got this as I had a Mk3 at the same time I think?" - maybe you're thinking about someone else as I've only had this since end of June which is when I started this thread.
Edited by LeoZwalf on Thursday 9th January 13:28
Fixed another little niggle at the weekend. Under braking it always seemed to dip to the right rather than equally. Bought a second hand replacement pair of springs and shocks for €60, spent a couple of hours fitting them on Sunday and it is much better now. Still seems to do it a TINY bit but I'm not sure if it's my imagination! Certainly it seems a lot quieter and less knocky/crashy at the front end.
Beefy 18mm 6 sided sockets needed:
Plenty of this: (penetrating oil/fluid)
Replacement in top of pic, weirdly has 5 coils when the one I took off has 6?!:
APK (MOT) expires 7th March so gives me a bit of time to sort at least one other niggle which is that the exhaust seems to be blowing a bit. The pipes all look new so I hope it's just a case of re-sealing with exhaust paste.
This happened last week, not exactly amazing milage at all but I like a bit of a landmark:
Clutch still needs doing...
Beefy 18mm 6 sided sockets needed:
Plenty of this: (penetrating oil/fluid)
Replacement in top of pic, weirdly has 5 coils when the one I took off has 6?!:
APK (MOT) expires 7th March so gives me a bit of time to sort at least one other niggle which is that the exhaust seems to be blowing a bit. The pipes all look new so I hope it's just a case of re-sealing with exhaust paste.
This happened last week, not exactly amazing milage at all but I like a bit of a landmark:
Clutch still needs doing...
Edited by LeoZwalf on Monday 27th January 14:17
Thanks. Not sure I'd call it an oldtimer but it is 22 years old so not far off
Camber - no. I just bolted everthing up and hoped for the best. The steering alignment is a bit off now but it's perfectly drivable, just the steering wheel isn't straight. It doesn't pull to either side.
On Friday I have a spare day so am planning to get a new set of all season tyres fitted to the 13's which currently have old, worn and perishing rubber fitted so I can sell the 14's which are on it, get the alignment done and get it APK'd. It isn't due to expire until the first week of March but I want to get it done sooner rather than leaving it until the last minute in case any time consuming repairs need to be done.
Camber - no. I just bolted everthing up and hoped for the best. The steering alignment is a bit off now but it's perfectly drivable, just the steering wheel isn't straight. It doesn't pull to either side.
On Friday I have a spare day so am planning to get a new set of all season tyres fitted to the 13's which currently have old, worn and perishing rubber fitted so I can sell the 14's which are on it, get the alignment done and get it APK'd. It isn't due to expire until the first week of March but I want to get it done sooner rather than leaving it until the last minute in case any time consuming repairs need to be done.
APK fail :-(
- Right inner CV boot, big hole
- Rear brakes not effective enough
- Left rear wheel bearing noisy (I could barely hear it)
Cost for garage to do this, fit clutch (I already have the kit) and 4 new tyres - over 1000€ !! Cost of the parts only to get it through the APK, about €150. This means I have to fit them all myself and it is pretty cold now.
Had a good old mull over what to do and even went to see a couple of local sub grand sheds at a dealer with the possible intention of part exchanging the Golf. But they were a bit too sheddy for my liking and it was clear that by going down that route I would probably be buying a load of other problems.
So the next stop was the motor factors to buy the bits. Most wasn't in stock and will arrive tomorrow at 9am so it looks like my weekend is going to be fun!
- Right inner CV boot, big hole
- Rear brakes not effective enough
- Left rear wheel bearing noisy (I could barely hear it)
Cost for garage to do this, fit clutch (I already have the kit) and 4 new tyres - over 1000€ !! Cost of the parts only to get it through the APK, about €150. This means I have to fit them all myself and it is pretty cold now.
Had a good old mull over what to do and even went to see a couple of local sub grand sheds at a dealer with the possible intention of part exchanging the Golf. But they were a bit too sheddy for my liking and it was clear that by going down that route I would probably be buying a load of other problems.
So the next stop was the motor factors to buy the bits. Most wasn't in stock and will arrive tomorrow at 9am so it looks like my weekend is going to be fun!
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