MK4 Golf GTI Project
Discussion
I have been given a free MK4 Golf GTI from my Dad as he has now upgraded his vehicle. I am going to run this as a daily and keep my other car, an R56 Cooper S for weekend duties. It is a 1999 'T' reg GTI in the ever so 'rare' Reflex Silver (EDIT: Its actually Satin Silver) with steel wheels due to losing its Alloys a few years back. It has had 2 owners from new and has been well kept and serviced over the years. amongst the folder of history there is a receipt for work carried out in 2013 for over £1400, which must have been more than what the car was worth! It has 112k miles on the clock, which I don't think is a lot for a well looked after 1.8T. This model is the "Exclusive" which I think refers to the fact that it features Recaro seats which are in great condition and do make it a nice place to sit on the daily commute - they are even better than the seats in my R56. The interior requires nothing more than a clean but there are a few jobs to do on the outside and under the bonnet. A quick list of faults/issues:
- Drivers wing suffering major rot
- Coolant Temp Sensor needs replacing as bringing up an error on VAGCOM (plus temperature not sitting at 90)
- Alternator belt needs replacing
- Sidelight and number plate bulbs need replacing for its upcoming MOT
- Brake lights don't work
- Broken Diverter Valve
The GTI after a clean (Mini in background):
Decent seats for a daily:
Bumper off and remove headlight to change the sidelight bulb and fix broken cap:
Old belt looking tired:
Coolant temperature sensor change. This takes an earlier square type connection rather than the common rounded. More than likely still running the original:
New sensor fitted:
Bought replacement brake switch. Fitted to the bar and was too short resulting in the cars brake lights being on permanently. A cut down furniture slider fixed to the top bridged the gap perfectly. Result! Working brake lights:
The drivers wing is suffering seriously from rust. I'm on the lookout for a cheap second hand wing to replace it with. For now and to pass its MOT, a good patch of duct tape will do:
- Drivers wing suffering major rot
- Coolant Temp Sensor needs replacing as bringing up an error on VAGCOM (plus temperature not sitting at 90)
- Alternator belt needs replacing
- Sidelight and number plate bulbs need replacing for its upcoming MOT
- Brake lights don't work
- Broken Diverter Valve
The GTI after a clean (Mini in background):
Decent seats for a daily:
Bumper off and remove headlight to change the sidelight bulb and fix broken cap:
Old belt looking tired:
Coolant temperature sensor change. This takes an earlier square type connection rather than the common rounded. More than likely still running the original:
New sensor fitted:
Bought replacement brake switch. Fitted to the bar and was too short resulting in the cars brake lights being on permanently. A cut down furniture slider fixed to the top bridged the gap perfectly. Result! Working brake lights:
The drivers wing is suffering seriously from rust. I'm on the lookout for a cheap second hand wing to replace it with. For now and to pass its MOT, a good patch of duct tape will do:
Edited by Chrismawa on Monday 26th March 16:29
Edited by Chrismawa on Wednesday 6th June 14:38
Jakg said:
You don't need to remove the headlight to change a sidelight bulb. Or at least on my girlfriends 2.0 GTI.
Maybe not but it made it a lot easier and also I should have stated, the headlight cap was broken so this was also fixed when the headlight was removed. Edited by Chrismawa on Friday 23 March 11:21
Paul S4 said:
Nice free car you have there...!
It looks a bit of a Q-car with the black steel wheels. I imagine that engine could be made to go quite a bit quicker if you wanted !
Thanks. My initial plan was to find some standard alloys, but I quite like the look with the steelies on. My plan now is to give them a mini refurb with a lick of black Hammerite to tidy them up.It looks a bit of a Q-car with the black steel wheels. I imagine that engine could be made to go quite a bit quicker if you wanted !
Had a bit of a result with the front wings. Managed to source 2 new pattern wings in boxes still for £30. I will spray these when I have a week off work a at the end of the month and should no doubt improve the appearance massively.
The car was driving pretty poorly and the constant sound of air hitting the turbo due to the broken DV meant is was time to replace! New old stock part purchased off ebay:
What should of taken 5 minutes ended up taking nearly 40 due to those awful OEM single use clips! Refitted using jubilees.
Car drives noticeably better now, smoother and more responsive! Surprisingly can hear the air being dumped by the DV inside the cabin! Don't remember this with my AUM years ago.
The car was driving pretty poorly and the constant sound of air hitting the turbo due to the broken DV meant is was time to replace! New old stock part purchased off ebay:
What should of taken 5 minutes ended up taking nearly 40 due to those awful OEM single use clips! Refitted using jubilees.
Car drives noticeably better now, smoother and more responsive! Surprisingly can hear the air being dumped by the DV inside the cabin! Don't remember this with my AUM years ago.
Edited by Chrismawa on Wednesday 11th April 15:21
Chrismawa said:
Had a bit of a result with the front wings. Managed to source 2 new pattern wings in boxes still for £30. I will spray these when I have a week off work a at the end of the month and should no doubt improve the appearance massively.
The car was driving pretty poorly and the constant sound of air hitting the turbo due to the broken DV meant is was time to replace! New old stock part purchased off ebay:
What should of taken 5 minutes ended up taking nearly 40 due to those awful OEM single use clips! Refitted using jubilees - forgot to take picture once finished!
Car drives noticeably better now, smoother and more responsive!
These are what you need !The car was driving pretty poorly and the constant sound of air hitting the turbo due to the broken DV meant is was time to replace! New old stock part purchased off ebay:
What should of taken 5 minutes ended up taking nearly 40 due to those awful OEM single use clips! Refitted using jubilees - forgot to take picture once finished!
Car drives noticeably better now, smoother and more responsive!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BERGEN-reach-clamp-pliers...
Done some jobs on my TT and they make life much easier, like changing the N75 in the dark.
Sold the R56 and will be using the MK4 as my only car so have been busy tidying it up.
First up was to replace the standard tape with a more modern headunit. Found this absolute bargain on Facebook marketplace
Fitted. Missing bluetooth microphone but will order replacement. Can't complain for bargain price.
A common problem MK4 problem is broken parcel shelf clips
A friend at work kindly printed some replacements using his 3D printer
Bought some OEM BBS Montreal 2s, quite battered but had four matching good tyres
Dropped them off at a friends for a refurb
The rear discs had seen better days so ordered a new set of discs and pads
Keeping busy on a bank holiday
All fitted with new centre caps
As it was a nice day, once I'd finished the brakes I treated the car to a clay, polish and wax
The car is a vast improvement already over when it first arrived and I am enjoying working on it. I have a painted wing on order which should be arriving this week to replace the badly rusted one on the car.
First up was to replace the standard tape with a more modern headunit. Found this absolute bargain on Facebook marketplace
Fitted. Missing bluetooth microphone but will order replacement. Can't complain for bargain price.
A common problem MK4 problem is broken parcel shelf clips
A friend at work kindly printed some replacements using his 3D printer
Bought some OEM BBS Montreal 2s, quite battered but had four matching good tyres
Dropped them off at a friends for a refurb
The rear discs had seen better days so ordered a new set of discs and pads
Keeping busy on a bank holiday
All fitted with new centre caps
As it was a nice day, once I'd finished the brakes I treated the car to a clay, polish and wax
The car is a vast improvement already over when it first arrived and I am enjoying working on it. I have a painted wing on order which should be arriving this week to replace the badly rusted one on the car.
Edited by Chrismawa on Wednesday 30th May 20:37
Chrismawa said:
Lots of stuff
Brilliant effort. I don't really get the reputation these have for being the blandest golf's, a friend's dad had a new GTTDi 130 in 2003 with Recaro's and it felt like such a premium piece of kit compared to its rivals of the time.I can think of far worse places to be for a daily driver!
D4MJT said:
Chrismawa said:
Lots of stuff
Brilliant effort. I don't really get the reputation these have for being the blandest golf's, a friend's dad had a new GTTDi 130 in 2003 with Recaro's and it felt like such a premium piece of kit compared to its rivals of the time.I can think of far worse places to be for a daily driver!
I owned an early V5 mk4 Golf a couple of years ago and I don't quite understand the vicious hatred for them amongst some people. It was no sports car, and it had a bit of a drink problem, but overall I liked it. It had not had an easy life and I was about the fifth owner but the interior and mechanicals had held up well. It was quiet, comfortable, brisk enough to be useful, seated four in comfort, never let me down whilst I owned it, was fairly easy to do routine work on and I liked the sound of the V5 engine. I could park it anywhere, the build quality seemed pretty solid and there was never any problem getting parts. Someone broke one of the rear light clusters in a car park and I found a new one on ebay for about £5. I would have another.
Tidy! Nice to see another MK4 on here.
Would you mind me asking where you sourced the new wheel centre caps? My Montreals need refurbing too and the centres are ruined - I'm pretty sure VW parts wanted £45-£50 for the set of 4...
(edited to also ask what colour you chose for the refurb? Ta!)
Cheers!
Would you mind me asking where you sourced the new wheel centre caps? My Montreals need refurbing too and the centres are ruined - I'm pretty sure VW parts wanted £45-£50 for the set of 4...
(edited to also ask what colour you chose for the refurb? Ta!)
Cheers!
Thanks for the comments guys 
I just asked for the brightest silver he had for the wheels. I'm pleased how they turned out.
Hopefully my new wing arrives this week and I can get it fitted at the weekend. Getting sick of driving around with a duct taped wing
timmymagic73 said:
Tidy! Nice to see another MK4 on here.
Would you mind me asking where you sourced the new wheel centre caps? My Montreals need refurbing too and the centres are ruined - I'm pretty sure VW parts wanted £45-£50 for the set of 4...
(edited to also ask what colour you chose for the refurb? Ta!)
Cheers!
Believe it or not the caps were a fiver off ebay and the were delivered the next day. Unbelievable bargain. Here's the link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Alloy-Wheel-Centre-C...Would you mind me asking where you sourced the new wheel centre caps? My Montreals need refurbing too and the centres are ruined - I'm pretty sure VW parts wanted £45-£50 for the set of 4...
(edited to also ask what colour you chose for the refurb? Ta!)
Cheers!
I just asked for the brightest silver he had for the wheels. I'm pleased how they turned out.
Hopefully my new wing arrives this week and I can get it fitted at the weekend. Getting sick of driving around with a duct taped wing
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