Mk2 Golf GTI 16v
Discussion
I must be slightly mental. I've bought another car just as the weather turns cold, which just so happens to need more than a quick service... Two years ago I did the same with my £50 Puma shed which I'm still driving and is totally reliable and not at all borked really. So why the hell do I want another car? I'm asking myself the same question really... I saw it, it was on that online auction site that all PH'ers get addicted to, I went to view it, I ended up buying it. Just because it was in good condition and it took my fancy. Plus my Escort RS Turbo (which I've not yet made a Readers' Cars thread on) is not occupying my garage while it's away for welding and paint. The perfect storm of spare money, Ebay, and just fancying a running retro motor!
The intention was to press this car in to daily service. It needed slightly more work that I thought it needed but that's par for the course when the car in question is 30 years old. The problem is that the Puma is still excellent to drive and I actually quite like driving it still. So I'll fix this Golf up and have a bit of a think along the way. Unfortunately, the Escort RS Turbo won't be away being welded and painted forever so there will come a time when I have too many cars and not enough space. Again. I'll need to either sell a car or find a drive/garage/field somewhere that I can dump a car for a while!
Anyways, while I despair over my first world problems I'll show you the car and what I've been up to with it:
Exhibit number one. 'An Golf' in 16v flavour with random Borbet wheels:
Not too shabby, generally used and abused though. More or less everything is present and correct. I think the doors have been changed for later versions as I've got no quarter windows by the door mirrors. Not complaining though, the early quarter windows look gash if you ask me! There are a few shades of Jade Green in those pictures but it's presentable enough, and most importantly there isn't any rust. Not too bad for 20 owners and 180k miles. Yep, really.
Engine bay. Looking reasonably tidy. Evidence of recent work like a service, timing belt, water pump etc. Which was nice:
Confirmation that the water pump was definitely new, along with a thermostat too:
Ooh a shiny exhaust manifold. Except it touches the steering rack and makes a nasty vibration if you even think about turning right...
The front engine mount was shot to pieces. Probably explains some of the vibration above. This was the first job. As you can see I've changed it and it's now new and shiny:
Top view of same mount:
The wiring was a bit of a mess. I removed the lower dash part and pulled the fuse box down and was greeted with this:
Passenger side wasn't a lot better!
While I'm here, I'd better check behind the stereo and the dash clocks. Luckily that lot wasn't too bad at all. The usual stereo wiring butcher had been practising, but nothing too bad. Behind the clocks was all as VW intended:
Much dead wiring removed! One alarm/immobiliser and another seperate alarm install just for the hell of it! None of which were working:
Much better! I went out and bought a decent soldering iron just for this job:
Let's inspect the front end in a bit more detail then. Wheels off. Brake discs and pads are recent and in good nick:
Roll bar drop link not looking so good though:
Things escalated slightly, necessitating the use of my engine brace:
Sub frame is now on the floor!
Jack under the sump just for good measure. The brace above is doing most of the work though:
Old parts in a pile. These include lower arms, rear engine mount, gearbox mount, steering arms and rod ends, drop link bushes:
New bits built up and attached to sub frame. I cleaned all the mounting points for the frame to the car as well. At some point I'll clean the whole sub frame properly, but right now that's not a priority:
Here is a random drive shaft picture too:
Now here's where it gets really serious! On the way home from collecting the car I discovered it had a wierd judder when you pull away. Quite a big judder. Which explains the knackered engine mounts probably. It felt like metal on metal resistance somewhere. I decided to take the path of least resistance and change the inner CV joints as they're a possible cause, more than likely need changing anyway, and are cheap! In the pic below you'll see what I found in amongst the grease in one of the drive shaft flanges on the gear box. A dirty great lump of metal (right of pic):
I stripped down the old CV to see if I could find a missing part of ball bearing cage, but this CV joint was all complete. Looks like it was from the joint before that one then! Anyhow, I was quite happy to find that and fitted up my new inner CV's thinking that would be the end of the problem. I put the car back together, and went for a small test drive. Find out what happens in the next installment...
The intention was to press this car in to daily service. It needed slightly more work that I thought it needed but that's par for the course when the car in question is 30 years old. The problem is that the Puma is still excellent to drive and I actually quite like driving it still. So I'll fix this Golf up and have a bit of a think along the way. Unfortunately, the Escort RS Turbo won't be away being welded and painted forever so there will come a time when I have too many cars and not enough space. Again. I'll need to either sell a car or find a drive/garage/field somewhere that I can dump a car for a while!
Anyways, while I despair over my first world problems I'll show you the car and what I've been up to with it:
Exhibit number one. 'An Golf' in 16v flavour with random Borbet wheels:
Not too shabby, generally used and abused though. More or less everything is present and correct. I think the doors have been changed for later versions as I've got no quarter windows by the door mirrors. Not complaining though, the early quarter windows look gash if you ask me! There are a few shades of Jade Green in those pictures but it's presentable enough, and most importantly there isn't any rust. Not too bad for 20 owners and 180k miles. Yep, really.
Engine bay. Looking reasonably tidy. Evidence of recent work like a service, timing belt, water pump etc. Which was nice:
Confirmation that the water pump was definitely new, along with a thermostat too:
Ooh a shiny exhaust manifold. Except it touches the steering rack and makes a nasty vibration if you even think about turning right...
The front engine mount was shot to pieces. Probably explains some of the vibration above. This was the first job. As you can see I've changed it and it's now new and shiny:
Top view of same mount:
The wiring was a bit of a mess. I removed the lower dash part and pulled the fuse box down and was greeted with this:
Passenger side wasn't a lot better!
While I'm here, I'd better check behind the stereo and the dash clocks. Luckily that lot wasn't too bad at all. The usual stereo wiring butcher had been practising, but nothing too bad. Behind the clocks was all as VW intended:
Much dead wiring removed! One alarm/immobiliser and another seperate alarm install just for the hell of it! None of which were working:
Much better! I went out and bought a decent soldering iron just for this job:
Let's inspect the front end in a bit more detail then. Wheels off. Brake discs and pads are recent and in good nick:
Roll bar drop link not looking so good though:
Things escalated slightly, necessitating the use of my engine brace:
Sub frame is now on the floor!
Jack under the sump just for good measure. The brace above is doing most of the work though:
Old parts in a pile. These include lower arms, rear engine mount, gearbox mount, steering arms and rod ends, drop link bushes:
New bits built up and attached to sub frame. I cleaned all the mounting points for the frame to the car as well. At some point I'll clean the whole sub frame properly, but right now that's not a priority:
Here is a random drive shaft picture too:
Now here's where it gets really serious! On the way home from collecting the car I discovered it had a wierd judder when you pull away. Quite a big judder. Which explains the knackered engine mounts probably. It felt like metal on metal resistance somewhere. I decided to take the path of least resistance and change the inner CV joints as they're a possible cause, more than likely need changing anyway, and are cheap! In the pic below you'll see what I found in amongst the grease in one of the drive shaft flanges on the gear box. A dirty great lump of metal (right of pic):
I stripped down the old CV to see if I could find a missing part of ball bearing cage, but this CV joint was all complete. Looks like it was from the joint before that one then! Anyhow, I was quite happy to find that and fitted up my new inner CV's thinking that would be the end of the problem. I put the car back together, and went for a small test drive. Find out what happens in the next installment...
Edited by Gallons Per Mile on Monday 6th November 22:48
Edit as above for poor spewl-ling...
tumble dryer said:
Love it. Bookmarked.
(next year's project, build myself a proper man cave)
I desperately need more space to practice the dark arts of tinkering. I dream of garages big enough to house a ramp and a work bench. Probably good that I don't have one though - I'd only surface for food and to go to work unless I was actually out driving the car(s) (next year's project, build myself a proper man cave)
I've had five mk2 Golfs GTIs, which I've mostly modified:
1.8 8v
2.0 8v
2.0 16v TSR Snetterton
1.8 20vT BAM with 02J gearbox and Peloquin diff
1.8 16v - wish I'd kept this one, it was very solid and I bought it on a whim and then gave into the wife's demands that I sell it again
I'd really like to build something with a VR, perhaps an R32T.
Your car looks like it is in very good hands, good work!
1.8 8v
2.0 8v
2.0 16v TSR Snetterton
1.8 20vT BAM with 02J gearbox and Peloquin diff
1.8 16v - wish I'd kept this one, it was very solid and I bought it on a whim and then gave into the wife's demands that I sell it again
I'd really like to build something with a VR, perhaps an R32T.
Your car looks like it is in very good hands, good work!
As your wipers are set up for rhd that means it is an ‘88 model so is correct not having quarter lights. I had a late 87 E reg car (which was an 88 spec car) about 20 years ago and it was the same.
Like a lot of people I have had a few mk2’s over the years and there are a couple I wish I still had. Would happily have another but need more garage space too.
One day.....
Like a lot of people I have had a few mk2’s over the years and there are a couple I wish I still had. Would happily have another but need more garage space too.
One day.....
Nice Post Op.
i love the 16v's!
Love the mk2's, ive had a handful, i have a thing for old volkswagens! currently have my mk2 and a t3 in the stable, although the missus dosent seem to appreciate them as much as i do mind :lol:
heres a pic of my current toy
originally a 1600 driver, its now a fire breathing VR6
lightened and balanced flywheel, decapped injectors and a chip
PAS added
widetrack
refurbed rear beam with polo 6n2 stub axle setup to convert to discs
cupra interior and a few other bits and bobs.
theres still lots i need to do to it, and its currently in the bodyshop before winter
i love the 16v's!
Love the mk2's, ive had a handful, i have a thing for old volkswagens! currently have my mk2 and a t3 in the stable, although the missus dosent seem to appreciate them as much as i do mind :lol:
heres a pic of my current toy
originally a 1600 driver, its now a fire breathing VR6
lightened and balanced flywheel, decapped injectors and a chip
PAS added
widetrack
refurbed rear beam with polo 6n2 stub axle setup to convert to discs
cupra interior and a few other bits and bobs.
theres still lots i need to do to it, and its currently in the bodyshop before winter
Another former owner here.
Had an 8v initially taken to 2L & big valve head with Schrick cam. 16v eater
Then a 16v- quaife diff, 2L block, schricks, DTA management & Jenvey ITBs- ~195hp.
After that a Jetta 16v (2L converted naturally!) & an oak green 16v (2L converted)
Great fun cars- koni dampers /eibach springs, decent ARB’s, 280mm brakes & the obligatory 2L block & away you go. Fast, fun- very capable on track
Had an 8v initially taken to 2L & big valve head with Schrick cam. 16v eater
Then a 16v- quaife diff, 2L block, schricks, DTA management & Jenvey ITBs- ~195hp.
After that a Jetta 16v (2L converted naturally!) & an oak green 16v (2L converted)
Great fun cars- koni dampers /eibach springs, decent ARB’s, 280mm brakes & the obligatory 2L block & away you go. Fast, fun- very capable on track
Wow! Thanks for the replies everyone!
I'm not a stranger to Mk2 GTI's - a few years back I had a 2L 8v that someone had converted. Great fun that car was. I also had a standard 1.8 8v and loved it. Really eager to rev and went quite well for only 112bhp. I remember the previous owner to me was a middle aged lady and she'd had it forever. She obviously never pressed the throttle hard enough for the 2nd butterfly to open because it was stuck shut! I had to free it up using slip roads and a lead foot.
dandam - Cheers for the info. Mine's a late '87 so yes I guess that means it got the '88 spec bits. The doors have definitely been changed though as the paint is a shade different, and the electric windows have gone missing! I've got keep-fit ones at the mo and a cut/taped bit of wiring loom under the dash...
I'm pretty sure I've found the cause of my juddery problem as I had a bit of free time this morning to crack on with a bit more work on the car. I'll leave you all in suspense a bit longer while I sort out the photos. Oh and I've actually got to go to work in between all this!
I'm not a stranger to Mk2 GTI's - a few years back I had a 2L 8v that someone had converted. Great fun that car was. I also had a standard 1.8 8v and loved it. Really eager to rev and went quite well for only 112bhp. I remember the previous owner to me was a middle aged lady and she'd had it forever. She obviously never pressed the throttle hard enough for the 2nd butterfly to open because it was stuck shut! I had to free it up using slip roads and a lead foot.
dandam - Cheers for the info. Mine's a late '87 so yes I guess that means it got the '88 spec bits. The doors have definitely been changed though as the paint is a shade different, and the electric windows have gone missing! I've got keep-fit ones at the mo and a cut/taped bit of wiring loom under the dash...
I'm pretty sure I've found the cause of my juddery problem as I had a bit of free time this morning to crack on with a bit more work on the car. I'll leave you all in suspense a bit longer while I sort out the photos. Oh and I've actually got to go to work in between all this!
Another former owner here.
Had an 8v initially taken to 2L & big valve head with Schrick cam. 16v eater
Then a 16v- quaife diff, 2L block, schricks, DTA management & Jenvey ITBs- ~195hp.
After that a Jetta 16v (2L converted naturally!) & an oak green 16v (2L converted)
Great fun cars- koni dampers /eibach springs, decent ARB’s, 280mm brakes & the obligatory 2L block & away you go. Fast, fun- very capable on track
Had an 8v initially taken to 2L & big valve head with Schrick cam. 16v eater
Then a 16v- quaife diff, 2L block, schricks, DTA management & Jenvey ITBs- ~195hp.
After that a Jetta 16v (2L converted naturally!) & an oak green 16v (2L converted)
Great fun cars- koni dampers /eibach springs, decent ARB’s, 280mm brakes & the obligatory 2L block & away you go. Fast, fun- very capable on track
Misterv said:
Nice Post Op.
i love the 16v's!
Love the mk2's, ive had a handful, i have a thing for old volkswagens! currently have my mk2 and a t3 in the stable, although the missus dosent seem to appreciate them as much as i do mind :lol:
heres a pic of my current toy
originally a 1600 driver, its now a fire breathing VR6
lightened and balanced flywheel, decapped injectors and a chip
PAS added
widetrack
refurbed rear beam with polo 6n2 stub axle setup to convert to discs
cupra interior and a few other bits and bobs.
theres still lots i need to do to it, and its currently in the bodyshop before winter
Looks good and great that it is a VR6, now just for a turbo kit. i love the 16v's!
Love the mk2's, ive had a handful, i have a thing for old volkswagens! currently have my mk2 and a t3 in the stable, although the missus dosent seem to appreciate them as much as i do mind :lol:
heres a pic of my current toy
originally a 1600 driver, its now a fire breathing VR6
lightened and balanced flywheel, decapped injectors and a chip
PAS added
widetrack
refurbed rear beam with polo 6n2 stub axle setup to convert to discs
cupra interior and a few other bits and bobs.
theres still lots i need to do to it, and its currently in the bodyshop before winter
Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think if it is going to have the big bumpers it should have the 90 spec door trim too.
unfortunatley ( or fortunatley) it was like that when i purchased the car.
its something thats on the list to do, although i have pretty much changed everything on the car so far!
i have a friend with a set of G60 arches and trims im hampering after!
and yes... turbo is on the cards... just finding time and funds for it..
its something thats on the list to do, although i have pretty much changed everything on the car so far!
i have a friend with a set of G60 arches and trims im hampering after!
and yes... turbo is on the cards... just finding time and funds for it..
aka_kerrly said:
Good work especially sorting the wiring, sadly there are a lot of mk2s that have iffy wiring looms.
I'm a massive mk2 golf fan, had loads of them but cut my collection down to just 1 now.
Have you signed up to the mk2 owners club?
Cheers! Only stereo wiring and speaker wiring left to sort really. Talking of which - is there an ignition live wire behind the stereo anywhere? Mine is currently wired to stay on permanantly unless you switch off manually...I'm a massive mk2 golf fan, had loads of them but cut my collection down to just 1 now.
Have you signed up to the mk2 owners club?
Also - dodgy fuel gauge. Works with ignition on but crank the car over and in running position it reads 0 petrol. Sender and gauge must be ok as I'm getting accurate readings, but only when you first turn ignition on. Answers on a postcard please!
Not signed up to the Mk2 owners club. Are you talking about vwgolfmk2.co.uk?
Time for an update now I've sorted out all the pictures. This brings us up to date with how the car currently sits.
Once I'd got the car back together I went for a test drive as mentioned above. I'd cured about 90% of the vibration from the manifold touching the steering rack with the new engine mounts, though clearance is still very tight so I'm going to remedy that soon. The car drove much better with all new bushes and ball joints on the front end, but it was still pretty juddery... The inner CV's and removing that bit of metal obviously helped but there was something wrong still. Mentally prepared for a gearbox problem, I did a bit of research and realised gearboxes aren't that difficult to rebuild. I've never needed to rebuild one before so it sounded like fun. I'd better get the car back apart and see what's going on then! Pulling everything apart was really simple as I'd only just built it back up and cleaned threads on bolts and copper greased everything. I love it when being slightly anal about general maintenance pays off!
The pics pick up after I'd taken the sub frame off again and wiggled the gearbox off the side of the engine. I decided to drain the box of oil for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the car's done 180k and it was probably in desperate need of a change, and I'm going to crack the gearbox casing open and have a poke about inside anyway, and secondly I needed to remove the driver side drive shaft flange to make it easy to get the box off.
Gearbox on the floor. Hmm, that doesn't look right! Shiny bits from metal-on-metal contact and some bits of metal I picked out of the bell housing:
Interesting. What's the clutch looking like then?
I was laughing to myself at this point. Only one spring left in the clutch and those bits of metal in the bell housing are what's left of the other three! I think I found the problem... Looks like no gearbox rebuild needed in that case, just a new clutch and gearbox oil. I bought an LUK clutch kit anyway because I'd planned on changing the clutch while I had a box off. Result!
Here's the pressure plate. Totally ruined!
Back plate was filthy. Better clean that up:
Cleaned the contact face on the flywheel. This looks ok to reuse. I'm glad about that: 16V flywheels seem impossible to get hold of:
While I'm here, as a side note, it's possible to remove the gearbox without dropping the sub frame, but as I've got limited space by doing this on the floor rather than a ramp it makes everything so much easier. Plus I needed to change the rubber boot for the steering linkage:
New one:
The garage has now got almost as much Golf in it as the Golf has! If you look hard, at the back of the garage you'll see a CVH turbo engine from my Escort RS Turbo. Can't wait to get on with that project!
Here's how I left things. The jack is now the only thing supporting the engine. I had to remove my nice brace from above in order to shut the bonnet. Really, I could have just dropped the engine too but time was against me and I'd have needed to lug the engine crane from my shed at the back of the house round to the front on my own. Sod that!
Unfortunately I had to leave the car like this for a little while as work got in the way. I should be able to make some more progress at the start of the week and I'll get some pictures up after that. I don't think I'll bother cracking the gearbox open now after finding the clutch in bits. Fresh oil once it's back in the car and fingers crossed we're good to go! Apart from the fact that I noticed a stud is missing from the exhaust manifold which would explain why it's blowing. I wondered why there was a manifold stud and copper nut in the car... The whole exhaust is falling apart at all the joins so that'll come off and go back on properly while I'm there. Can't wait to get this in to daily service!
Once I'd got the car back together I went for a test drive as mentioned above. I'd cured about 90% of the vibration from the manifold touching the steering rack with the new engine mounts, though clearance is still very tight so I'm going to remedy that soon. The car drove much better with all new bushes and ball joints on the front end, but it was still pretty juddery... The inner CV's and removing that bit of metal obviously helped but there was something wrong still. Mentally prepared for a gearbox problem, I did a bit of research and realised gearboxes aren't that difficult to rebuild. I've never needed to rebuild one before so it sounded like fun. I'd better get the car back apart and see what's going on then! Pulling everything apart was really simple as I'd only just built it back up and cleaned threads on bolts and copper greased everything. I love it when being slightly anal about general maintenance pays off!
The pics pick up after I'd taken the sub frame off again and wiggled the gearbox off the side of the engine. I decided to drain the box of oil for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the car's done 180k and it was probably in desperate need of a change, and I'm going to crack the gearbox casing open and have a poke about inside anyway, and secondly I needed to remove the driver side drive shaft flange to make it easy to get the box off.
Gearbox on the floor. Hmm, that doesn't look right! Shiny bits from metal-on-metal contact and some bits of metal I picked out of the bell housing:
Interesting. What's the clutch looking like then?
I was laughing to myself at this point. Only one spring left in the clutch and those bits of metal in the bell housing are what's left of the other three! I think I found the problem... Looks like no gearbox rebuild needed in that case, just a new clutch and gearbox oil. I bought an LUK clutch kit anyway because I'd planned on changing the clutch while I had a box off. Result!
Here's the pressure plate. Totally ruined!
Back plate was filthy. Better clean that up:
Cleaned the contact face on the flywheel. This looks ok to reuse. I'm glad about that: 16V flywheels seem impossible to get hold of:
While I'm here, as a side note, it's possible to remove the gearbox without dropping the sub frame, but as I've got limited space by doing this on the floor rather than a ramp it makes everything so much easier. Plus I needed to change the rubber boot for the steering linkage:
New one:
The garage has now got almost as much Golf in it as the Golf has! If you look hard, at the back of the garage you'll see a CVH turbo engine from my Escort RS Turbo. Can't wait to get on with that project!
Here's how I left things. The jack is now the only thing supporting the engine. I had to remove my nice brace from above in order to shut the bonnet. Really, I could have just dropped the engine too but time was against me and I'd have needed to lug the engine crane from my shed at the back of the house round to the front on my own. Sod that!
Unfortunately I had to leave the car like this for a little while as work got in the way. I should be able to make some more progress at the start of the week and I'll get some pictures up after that. I don't think I'll bother cracking the gearbox open now after finding the clutch in bits. Fresh oil once it's back in the car and fingers crossed we're good to go! Apart from the fact that I noticed a stud is missing from the exhaust manifold which would explain why it's blowing. I wondered why there was a manifold stud and copper nut in the car... The whole exhaust is falling apart at all the joins so that'll come off and go back on properly while I'm there. Can't wait to get this in to daily service!
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