Another VW Golf Mk2 16v

Another VW Golf Mk2 16v

Author
Discussion

Dr.Hellno

111 posts

15 months

Friday 28th April 2023
quotequote all
Been a great thread to follow; thanks for taking the time to show us the peaks and troughs so far.

Liking all the changes you’ve made since ownership, and looking 10x better on the lower eibachs.

Hoping to have my Mk2 back out this summer after a few years tucked away. Seriously fun cars!


rickygolf83

290 posts

161 months

Saturday 29th April 2023
quotequote all
drewwa said:
A bit more progress made today. The awkward metal coolant pipe has been replaced!

This required removal of the oil filter...



And this little box on the side of the head (fuel accumulator?)



Then, with a liberal dose of swearing, wiggling and strenuous negotiation it came free. It's not quite a match with the replacement one, as the take off to the expansion tank is in a different place, but I can run a longer hose to cater for that.



Old pipe was in a pretty shocking state, quite likely the original item from 1988! Absolute accident waiting to happen. Will give the cooling system a thorough flush through before filling it back up.



Still, progress is progress!

Cheers,

Drew.
Sorry to quote an old post; what did you do with the additional outlet on the water pipe? I have a bung and jubliee clip on mine which is really annoying as it does weep a dribble at times....

thanks in advance :-)

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Monday 1st May 2023
quotequote all
rickygolf83 said:
Sorry to quote an old post; what did you do with the additional outlet on the water pipe? I have a bung and jubliee clip on mine which is really annoying as it does weep a dribble at times....

thanks in advance :-)
My car already had a third outlet from the original pipe... (can't remember where it went to without looking I'm afraid). The replacement pipe has the outlet in a different place, so I just lengthened the hose and connected it back up.

I know that there are various versions of the that pipe, some with the outlet and some without, not sure why they are different - but you might be able to find a version without the outlet.

Sorry I can't be more help!

Cheers,

Drew.

rickygolf83

290 posts

161 months

Monday 1st May 2023
quotequote all
Thanks for reply, only ones i can find have that 3rd outlet... would have been ideal for to replace again now after just completing matrix job this morning 😁

Bung and a weep it is for now biglaugh

VeeReihenmotor6

2,175 posts

175 months

Tuesday 2nd May 2023
quotequote all
Just an idea - the spring clamps on VW coolant hoses allow the pipe to expand and contract with heat to keep a seal - maybe try one of those instead of a screw on jubilee which doesn't allow the same sort of movement. Might work / easy fix if so.

rickygolf83

290 posts

161 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2023
quotequote all
Good idea 👍 will give that a go! Thanks biglaugh

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Tuesday 6th June 2023
quotequote all
A fun little day out for Florence. She got a role in a film. smile

A thriller set in the late 80s, a call had gone out for cars from the 1970s and 80s, with the 16v being the "new car" in a particular scene, an "establishing" shot introducing that appeared to be the villain of the piece in his "Jag" wink - A rather nice V12 E-type.

Nice to have a chat with all the other owners, a brace of Fords and an unusual air-cooled 600cc Honda.









Cheers,

Drew.

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Tuesday 3rd October 2023
quotequote all
Haven't been doing too much with the ol' Golf recently other than attending a few meets and shows.

Here she is at "The Stag" a car themed pub in Kent.



She back SORN for the winter, so hopefully more adventures in 2024. smile

Cheers,

Drew.

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Wednesday 4th October 2023
quotequote all
Thinking back on it the only update I've really done this year was fixing the sagging headlining. That made quite a difference to the inside of the car. smile

It's not quite finished yet as I need to add material around the sunroof and visors, but it's no longer flopping on my passengers heads or blocking the rear view. wink





Cheers,

Drew.

missing the VR6

2,323 posts

189 months

Wednesday 4th October 2023
quotequote all
Fantastic car, glad to see it getting used.

Whereabouts in Kent is The Stag pub?

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Tuesday 12th March
quotequote all
missing the VR6 said:
Fantastic car, glad to see it getting used.

Whereabouts in Kent is The Stag pub?
Sorry for late reply - it's near Challock.

Cheers,

Drew

missing the VR6

2,323 posts

189 months

Wednesday 13th March
quotequote all
drewwa said:
Sorry for late reply - it's near Challock.

Cheers,

Drew
No worries, thanks for the details.

Leins

9,468 posts

148 months

Wednesday 13th March
quotequote all
Great car OP, really enjoyed this thread


drewwa said:
A fun little day out for Florence. She got a role in a film. smile

A thriller set in the late 80s, a call had gone out for cars from the 1970s and 80s, with the 16v being the "new car" in a particular scene, an "establishing" shot introducing that appeared to be the villain of the piece in his "Jag" wink - A rather nice V12 E-type.

Nice to have a chat with all the other owners, a brace of Fords and an unusual air-cooled 600cc Honda.









Cheers,

Drew.
Did this make the big or little screen yet? Very cool to be a part of something like a new film

aaron-j9c9a

137 posts

36 months

Wednesday 13th March
quotequote all
Enjoyed reading this. I’m the owner of a tornado red mk2 16v too, although big bumper.
It’s a never ending project.
I’ve started my spring jobs now too, mainly KW v1 coilovers and novus exhaust. I’ve a few bits to do underneath but I need a week of dry mild weather because I’m too old to be laying on a cold damp floor.

After reading this I need to check my dipstick is seated correctly because my oil level isn’t reading correct and there’s a little white smoke until it warms up

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Friday 5th April
quotequote all
And it was all going so well. smile

Took the car to my one of my friendly local garages to get an exhaust leak fixed. All good. smile



Drove home, enjoying the now nice and quiet sound of a Mk2 Golf GTi 16v in fine fettle... it's due for its MOT tomorrow so I let it cool down and thought I'd do a quick check of all the necessary fluids....

Hello... that's odd... coolant level has dropped.

Have a quick look about and there are no leaks at all. Fire up the engine and...



We have a steam engine. frown

Looks like the head gasket has failed once again. I knew it was on borrowed time, but I was hoping it would hold until after my house move... no such luck! Off we go... first with the inlet manifold gubbins...



Then with the exhaust manifold. Fortunately since this has been recently done it didn't put up much of a fight.



Cams exposed... quite of a lot of mayonnaise about the place.



Next off with the injection manifold and we start to get a clue as to what's happened.



Coolant discolouration in cylinder 3.



Spark plug 3 shows the same thing.



All good fun. I'm expecting to see the head gasket gone in the same place as last time.

However - this time we're not doing this as an emergency at the side of the track, so I'm going to get the head skimmed and the block surface cleaned up properly. Hopefully it was some imperfection there causing the problem!

Cheers,

Drew.

Gallons Per Mile

1,887 posts

107 months

Friday 5th April
quotequote all
Oh no! At least you've got time to fix it properly now. I hope you can get it sorted quickly. Do you have a local machine shop?

gareth-88659

4 posts

67 months

Friday 5th April
quotequote all
Watching this with interest. Its good to see the Mk2 getting some love. a big scene for Mk1. not so much for Mk2.

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Friday 5th April
quotequote all
Gallons Per Mile said:
Oh no! At least you've got time to fix it properly now. I hope you can get it sorted quickly. Do you have a local machine shop?
Yep, it's not to far away and they can skim the head pretty quickly! smile

Cheers,

Drew.

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Friday 5th April
quotequote all
gareth-88659 said:
Watching this with interest. Its good to see the Mk2 getting some love. a big scene for Mk1. not so much for Mk2.
They're definitely on the up... see a lot of them at classic car shows now and they're always popular. I think it's a bit of "Gen-X" and "Millennial" car, rather than the "babyboomer's" favourite mk1. smile

Cheers,

Drew.

drewwa

Original Poster:

395 posts

147 months

Sunday 7th April
quotequote all
Head is off! smile



Cylinder 3 was the problem as suspected. with the bore, valve area, injection manifold and exhaust area stained with coolant.

Close up of the valves...



Head gasket went between a water channel and the cylinder.



We ended up taking off the water pump to find that was full of rust, so a replacement has been ordered for that too. I'm going to take the opportunity to drain the sump, clean that out and replace the gasket there as it was a little leaky.

There doesn't appear to be any other damage, but it's a bit of a mystery why the head gasket is going in that particular spot in quite such a dramatic way. Anyway... we will clean up the block and get the head skimmed.

With a better water pump, cleaned up install, a fix for the throttle body and a good setup, hopefully the car will be reliable!



Next step is taking out the cams and the inlet valves - as they sit slightly proud of the bottom of the cylinder head.

Cheers,

Drew.