Mk2 GTi 8v with a few issues

[jakesmith]

Hi, been offered a very nice condition Mk2 GTi 8v with some issues. Price is just under £3k, body / interior is all sound condition. 3 issues & I haven't got time to have a pre purchase inspection

1 - revs take a second to drop off on releasing throttle (pedal action is fine)
2 - coolant light occasionally blinks despite level fine
3 - idles at 1200

Are these likely to be major costs to sort out, I can live with a few hundred quid but not £1k for a new engine etc. I can work on the car myself in theory but have absolutely no experience whasoever but wouldn't mind learning on something & this seems like a good simple car to get started on?

[Aphex]

check vac lines and give the isv a clean with petrol.

you'll soon find that the more you find wrong the more you replace and you eventually end up replacing everything anyway

[jakesmith]

More to the point... would you?

I am used to spending £1000-£5000 a year keeping my 997 on the road and an getting sick of it to be honest, I don't mind a car that costs a little bit here & there but don't want any more stupid big bills or constand niggles / issues to sort out

[benters]

jakesmith said:

More to the point... would you?

I am used to spending £1000-£5000 a year keeping my 997 on the road and an getting sick of it to be honest, I don't mind a car that costs a little bit here & there but don't want any more stupid big bills or constand niggles / issues to sort out

think you maybe best heading for Jap ownership then. . .i do know what you mean by the way, I find on certain days a Civic type R or similar looks very attractive just as I sign for another parts delivery !!

[Aphex]

jakesmith said:

More to the point... would you?

I am used to spending £1000-£5000 a year keeping my 997 on the road and an getting sick of it to be honest, I don't mind a car that costs a little bit here & there but don't want any more stupid big bills or constand niggles / issues to sort out

Personally, yes but I have alot of love for the old volkswagens. They have driven me absolutely crazy in the past with niggles etc sending me into jap territory for 2 years whilst I got over it

[aka_kerrly]

jakesmith said:

H

1 - revs take a second to drop off on releasing throttle (pedal action is fine)
2 - coolant light occasionally blinks despite level fine
3 - idles at 1200

Welcome to mk2 ownership.

I'd suggest the problems lie with the throttle body and throttle cable. There is a sensor on the throttle body which activates the isv which assists the idle - number 1 in this pic


Make sure that when you open the throttle and let go of it that there is enough force to shut the throttle body combined with a audible 'click' from the switch. This may be caused by the throttle cable being too tight and/or the throttle body mechanism gunked up.

Have a read of this as it talks about the 8v Digi idle set up procedure which helps ensure that the engine's ECU is happy.
[url]http://tech.bentleypublishers.com/thread.jspa?messageID=402797/[url]

This should sort the idle out.

The flashing coolant light even when the fluid level is fine is going to be either a dodgy sensor inside the expansion bottle which is the cheap easy fix by cleaning up the contacts on the connector or replacing the bottle. If this doesn't work the slightly more annoying problem is with the clocks which requires removing them and checking the contact strips and possibly replacing the clocks.

Also very worth signing up to the MK2 Golf Owners club - http://www.vwgolfmk2.co.uk/forum where we will enjoy seeing your new purchase and can help with any troubles.

Dave

[jakesmith]

Thanks! I haven't bought it yet but think I'm going to, such a beautiful car. looks like these issues aren't that major.

[P-Jay]

Frankly compared to modern cars they unbelievably simple cars, in fact compared to cars from the mid-90's they're simple.

If the engine runs well (doesn't smoke excessively, revs to the red line etc, not too lumpy at tickover) it's probably fine, running perfectly serviceable replacement engines go for a few hundred quid on eBay / the VW forums and you might have to pay a garage the same again to swap them over "worst case" - there are usually loads available from people who've swapped them out for later engines.

But I suspect it's nothing serious, there will be a lot of very well written how to guides you can follow online to fix it, or failing that most towns will have a VW Specialist that's into a mix of Air Cooled and older Water Cooled stuff that will sort it for you.