Mk2 Golf GTi 20v Turbo Soon To Be Daily.....
Discussion
Long time since I've done it but am fairly sure you can loop the dimmer part of the switch at a push/bodge/temp fix. Might not want to leave it that way but it should help you diagnose the switch.
I've a vague recollection of doing so at a No-Rice meet at Guildford services to get me home!
I've a vague recollection of doing so at a No-Rice meet at Guildford services to get me home!
This evening I was meant to go running after work, however while walking home I got a phone call from the company that has my V5 van. Apparently the engine mounts are all done and it’ll be ready to collect tomorrow! That’s great, however it poses a slight problem in that there’s only space for one car on my driveway! This means getting the Golf into a half roadworthy state so I can drive it to work and stick it in for an MOT. Then it can sit at work and I can use a ramp instead of the floor 
As soon as I got home I headed straight to the shed to put the rear suspension together. That way it can all be chucked in the car and fitted at work. Again, it was lovely to work on brand new bits that weren’t covered in crap
I had to find a picture online of what order it all went together but once I had that it only took ten minutes and they were together.
Once that was done I figured I better get the dash back together. Oh, I took the headlight switch to work today and got one of the techs to have a look at it. He found the dimmer contacts were rather furry so gave it a good clean up and told me to try it out. I got the (really crap fitting) LED bulbs back into the instrument cluster, plugged in the headlight switch and hoped for the best!
We have light
I’ll have to buy some better bulbs because these ones don’t fit well at all, but they’ll do for now. I got the rest of the dash in and then started the engine (which sat and idled quite happily straight away) and tested all the lights. Amazingly, every single light works!
Tomorrow I’ll get back on it after work, I’ll check and top up the levels and then give it a run around the block. Then Wednesday I’ll drive it to work!
As soon as I got home I headed straight to the shed to put the rear suspension together. That way it can all be chucked in the car and fitted at work. Again, it was lovely to work on brand new bits that weren’t covered in crap
I had to find a picture online of what order it all went together but once I had that it only took ten minutes and they were together.
Once that was done I figured I better get the dash back together. Oh, I took the headlight switch to work today and got one of the techs to have a look at it. He found the dimmer contacts were rather furry so gave it a good clean up and told me to try it out. I got the (really crap fitting) LED bulbs back into the instrument cluster, plugged in the headlight switch and hoped for the best!
We have light
I’ll have to buy some better bulbs because these ones don’t fit well at all, but they’ll do for now. I got the rest of the dash in and then started the engine (which sat and idled quite happily straight away) and tested all the lights. Amazingly, every single light works!
Tomorrow I’ll get back on it after work, I’ll check and top up the levels and then give it a run around the block. Then Wednesday I’ll drive it to work!
Seeing as it’s now a bit of a panic to get the Golf on the road I took another half day from work! It got me away from audit stuff as well which was definitely a good thing!
As soon as I got home I had some lunch (a beef, cheese and mustard bagel if you’re interested) and then headed straight outside to crack on. First thing was to get the rear suspension swapped over. In a moment of thinking ahead the other day I had drenched the lower shock bolt in plus gas to help it free off. It worked and they came undone pretty easily I had a couple of scary moments where HUUUUGGEEE spiders suddenly appeared while I was tucked up under the wheel arches but otherwise it all went nice and easily
With those fitted I decided to get the rear arch trims off and see what horrors met me underneath. They came off with a little persuasion and I was pleasantly surprised that the arches weren’t completely rotten. They are slightly crusty but a quick going over with a wire brush and some rust converter will sort them out ready for the GTi arch trims to go on
There was plenty of double sided foam tape and black sealant stuck to the arches so the heat gun came out and slowly but surely I got it all scraped off. I will admit it doesn’t look pretty but it’s all going to be covered up again so it’ll be fine.
The next job was to replace the rear light clusters. This took a whole five minutes including cleaning all the crap off the body behind the old clusters
Once they were changed I got the back wheels back on and dropped it on the floor. The rear suspension needs to settle a bit but I’m very happy with the height
Another job I got done was to replace the front lower window seals. It was starting to get dark at this point so I forgot to take pictures, but I can promise you all that they look good and I’m happy with them haha.
Finally I got the front end up on stands, removed the front wheels and chucked them in the back of my BMW ready to take to work tomorrow. I’ve had two new tyres sitting there for a week and kept forgetting to take the wheels in so tomorrow is the day. Once they’re fitted the car can go for an MOT and see what else is required
As soon as I got home I had some lunch (a beef, cheese and mustard bagel if you’re interested) and then headed straight outside to crack on. First thing was to get the rear suspension swapped over. In a moment of thinking ahead the other day I had drenched the lower shock bolt in plus gas to help it free off. It worked and they came undone pretty easily
I had a couple of scary moments where HUUUUGGEEE spiders suddenly appeared while I was tucked up under the wheel arches but otherwise it all went nice and easily 
With those fitted I decided to get the rear arch trims off and see what horrors met me underneath. They came off with a little persuasion and I was pleasantly surprised that the arches weren’t completely rotten. They are slightly crusty but a quick going over with a wire brush and some rust converter will sort them out ready for the GTi arch trims to go on
There was plenty of double sided foam tape and black sealant stuck to the arches so the heat gun came out and slowly but surely I got it all scraped off. I will admit it doesn’t look pretty but it’s all going to be covered up again so it’ll be fine.
The next job was to replace the rear light clusters. This took a whole five minutes including cleaning all the crap off the body behind the old clusters
Once they were changed I got the back wheels back on and dropped it on the floor. The rear suspension needs to settle a bit but I’m very happy with the height
Another job I got done was to replace the front lower window seals. It was starting to get dark at this point so I forgot to take pictures, but I can promise you all that they look good and I’m happy with them haha.
Finally I got the front end up on stands, removed the front wheels and chucked them in the back of my BMW ready to take to work tomorrow. I’ve had two new tyres sitting there for a week and kept forgetting to take the wheels in so tomorrow is the day. Once they’re fitted the car can go for an MOT and see what else is required
The Golf had its MOT today. It passed
It had some advisories but they weren’t unexpected.
The advisories were;
A very perished N/S outer CV gaiter - Not quite split but very close.
A very perished N/S steering rack gaiter - Nearly split as well.
Both wiper blades perished - Already replaced them.
Both front brakes fluctuating slightly when applied - This is due to surface rust.
All brake discs corroded - These should clean up with more driving.
O/S/R tyre close to the legal wear limit - I’m replacing both rears on pay day.
Corrosion to the bodywork on the rear - Slight bubbling around the O/S corner.
All in all these advisories are nothing. I’ve ordered a new CV gaiter which I’ll replace over the weekend and then start driving the car to clean the brakes up etc.
Annoyingly, but not surprisingly the aftermarket GTi arch trims I bought don’t even come close to fitting so I’ve just ordered a set of used genuine VW arch trims in good condition.
Here’s a picture of the car in the workshop this morning having a track rod end freed off before the tracking was done
It had some advisories but they weren’t unexpected.
The advisories were;
A very perished N/S outer CV gaiter - Not quite split but very close.
A very perished N/S steering rack gaiter - Nearly split as well.
Both wiper blades perished - Already replaced them.
Both front brakes fluctuating slightly when applied - This is due to surface rust.
All brake discs corroded - These should clean up with more driving.
O/S/R tyre close to the legal wear limit - I’m replacing both rears on pay day.
Corrosion to the bodywork on the rear - Slight bubbling around the O/S corner.
All in all these advisories are nothing. I’ve ordered a new CV gaiter which I’ll replace over the weekend and then start driving the car to clean the brakes up etc.
Annoyingly, but not surprisingly the aftermarket GTi arch trims I bought don’t even come close to fitting so I’ve just ordered a set of used genuine VW arch trims in good condition.
Here’s a picture of the car in the workshop this morning having a track rod end freed off before the tracking was done
Yesterday morning I dropped my daughter to her dance class and then rushed straight to Eurocarparts to pick up a CV gaiter.
Then it was a quick dash to work to get it replaced. Because I was pretty short on time I called ahead and got one of the techs to get the car on the ramp and in the air ready for when I got there.
After the MOT was done on Friday one of the techs had asked if he could take the Golf for a drive. I told him to crack on and carried on with my work. He obviously took it for a spirited drive because the rather perished CV gaiter that had been advised on the MOT was now destroyed
Anyway, off came the driveshaft and into the vice.
The CV joint came off nice and easily which makes a change, I cleaned everything up and then got the new gaiter on.
And then the joint when back on
At this point I suddenly realised it was almost time to go and pick my Daughter up so I stopped taking pictures and just got on with getting the shaft fitted. It’s all back together but the car has now decided it’s going to misfire! I’ve still got to service the engine, change the cambelt and clean everything out so hopefully I’ll find something that’s causing the misfire while I’m at it.
Then it was a quick dash to work to get it replaced. Because I was pretty short on time I called ahead and got one of the techs to get the car on the ramp and in the air ready for when I got there.
After the MOT was done on Friday one of the techs had asked if he could take the Golf for a drive. I told him to crack on and carried on with my work. He obviously took it for a spirited drive because the rather perished CV gaiter that had been advised on the MOT was now destroyed
Anyway, off came the driveshaft and into the vice.
The CV joint came off nice and easily which makes a change, I cleaned everything up and then got the new gaiter on.
And then the joint when back on
At this point I suddenly realised it was almost time to go and pick my Daughter up so I stopped taking pictures and just got on with getting the shaft fitted. It’s all back together but the car has now decided it’s going to misfire! I’ve still got to service the engine, change the cambelt and clean everything out so hopefully I’ll find something that’s causing the misfire while I’m at it.
Usget said:
I must admit I'd be pretty upset if I lent someone my work-in-progress car with instructions to look after it, and it came back with a hanging CV boot and a misfire...!
That’s a shame that something like that can get you upset. I couldn’t care less. The CV gaiter was going to be replaced anyway and the car has been sitting for 4 or 5 years so I’m fully expecting things like misfires to crop up. I don’t blame the technician for any of this and I hope he absolutely ragged the granny out of it Agreed on a car that has stood for so long, you are bound to find bits that need looking at as you go.
We used to clean up brakes, by doing 50mph <brake hard> down to 10mph runs.
Keep the car moving, other wise it will heat soak the system.
2 or 3 of them will clean up your disks.
Keep us updated, how you are getting on with the car.
We used to clean up brakes, by doing 50mph <brake hard> down to 10mph runs.
Keep the car moving, other wise it will heat soak the system.
2 or 3 of them will clean up your disks.
Keep us updated, how you are getting on with the car.
I think i recognise the plate off the old No-Rice forums.
I'd have kept the Azevs myself and gone back to silver with them, and gone 16v rear lights and quad grille like you are, would also have kept the G60 arches as they fetch a few quid and some back-to-black and they'd look sweet...
The MAFs like a non-oiled filter, and the MK4 airbox will want to go where the battery is, you'll be better off going to a non-oiled foam filter and a heat shield.
Also stuff to look out for on 20vts:
Coils
Oil Pickup
Cam chain tensioner
Waterpump (fit a revised plastic)
MAFs
N75 valve
Turbo Intake Pipe (TIP)
I'd have kept the Azevs myself and gone back to silver with them, and gone 16v rear lights and quad grille like you are, would also have kept the G60 arches as they fetch a few quid and some back-to-black and they'd look sweet...
The MAFs like a non-oiled filter, and the MK4 airbox will want to go where the battery is, you'll be better off going to a non-oiled foam filter and a heat shield.
Also stuff to look out for on 20vts:
Coils
Oil Pickup
Cam chain tensioner
Waterpump (fit a revised plastic)
MAFs
N75 valve
Turbo Intake Pipe (TIP)
Congrats on the MOT pass! 
From my ownership of 2 x 20v T Audis (A3 1.8T 180 & S3 225) coil packs can be flaky.
(I was surprised that, even after >2 years on my S3, when a coil pack, err, packed up, the local stealer replaced all 4 under wannraty, and they used to be right gits to get anything done in the 1st year from new.)
From my ownership of 2 x 20v T Audis (A3 1.8T 180 & S3 225) coil packs can be flaky.
(I was surprised that, even after >2 years on my S3, when a coil pack, err, packed up, the local stealer replaced all 4 under wannraty, and they used to be right gits to get anything done in the 1st year from new.)
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