Author Topic: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration  (Read 36114 times)

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #20 on: 18 April 2015, 16:32 »
No pictures yet, but a good/bad day once again! Replacement brakes turned up from eBay and after being told by the seller that they would be checked and I was assured that all bolts would be tested to make sure they weren't seized before dispatch. Even said they'd find me a nice, low milage set.

Did they f**k!

So now it looks like I will have to do a complete re-build on the fronts, which means I've wasted £50 on something I didn't need as I could of just waited and pulled my current ones off the car. But still, means I can get them re-build and looking good while I'm waiting for workshop space to come about. Also, I have no locking wheel nut so I need to find one that fits from someone else to get the wheels off. Which is why I'm happy enough to have a second set of front calipers to work on while I wait!

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #21 on: 24 April 2015, 16:35 »
Well I thought I’d try and make a little progress with the V5 today, mainly focusing on the wiring loom which arrived this week:


Can’t be that hard if it’s in such a small box, right?


Bugger. Still, can’t be too hard as the connections only go in one location each and only reach certain points in the bay so easy enough to work out. I started by laying to new loom out to mimic the position of the engine bay by location each connection, starting with the end of the loom itself. Got about 3 connections in before I spotted a problem. Look as the new loom and you’ll see there’s 2 connections quite close (about 40cm) from the start of the loom:


But looking at the same part of the loom which is in my engine bay and that connection is actually about 100cm away from the start, it’s out of shot but you can see the connections leading off in the bottom right of this image:


All other connections seem to be in the right place and correct for this engine bay, just got to figure out why there’s a slight difference. Starting to wonder if the eBay seller listed it for my engine but it’s actually for the V5 20 valve 170bhp engine…

In other news, the locking wheel nut is missing which means my wheels are stuck on for now. Decided to see if I could use a spline tool bit to crack the locking wheel nuts off to allow progress anyway. Before continuing on, spot the missing thing in this picture:


It’s missing a locking bolt completely! And on inspecting the other 3 wheels, the locking nuts are not even finger tight, so thankfully I can remove the wheels and get on with the brakes when it gets into the workshop next month. Just go to source a new set of locking nuts with tool bit now! On the subject of brakes, the eBay seller apologies for sending me crap items and is sending me another set for free which, I’m assured again, will be personally checked by the guy I messaged to make sure they’re fit for purpose. Now I’ll have two sets of 288mm front brakes, which I’ll refurbish myself and hopefully sell for a little money back. Whether I’ll have discs and pads for each spare set remains to be seen, would be nice though.

So now I need to investigate the wiring loom issue along with waiting for a decent set of front brakes to arrive. Also sourced a set of BBS Montreal 2 16 inch alloy wheels for £50 which are half way through a refurbishment so will finish them myself to keep costs down (unless I plan to keep the car, then they’ll get powder coated gloss red with the calipers). I’ve not bought any new items for the V5 yet as waiting to get it into a workshop and really assess the state of the engine. If it looks like it’ll need even more work than it currently does now, I’ll upgrade the engine to something with 20 valves. Whether it’ll be a 1.8 litre turbo lump or 2.3 V5 again, unsure…

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #22 on: 01 May 2015, 19:34 »
So I had almost lost hope on the current V5 engine and had begun researching the possibility of putting a 2.8 litre V6 from the 4motion into this car, teemed with a 6 speed manual gearbox from a GTI and the possibility of using an R32 stainless steel exhaust system mixed with the 4motion cat back to create a mk4 VR6 so to speak. I’m still looking into it and may well do that at a later date, building the engine up from the bare blocks for a laugh.

However, I managed to source a replacement engine loom from a local breakers yard, been to visually inspect it in the car it’s in now and it looks like a good one so getting it removed from the donor car this week and will go back to collect it when it’s ready next weekend. Also, the car is getting trailered tomorrow to my new workshop where I can really get cracking. I thought I was hiring just a plain floor space but it turns out I’ve hired a workshop bay that has a ramp, shot blaster, presses and industrial air compressors, so basically everything is available to me now so this is definitely turning into a built not bought project! Also, while in the breakers yard I picked up a replacement wing mirror and rear wiper motor plus arm:



Later revision motor I believe, which is a winner. Last weekend I also managed to strip down the replacement calipers completely:


Also have a second set and the ones on the car, so I plan to strip them all down, paint them all black or red, rebuild with new seals and bleed nipples then sell two sets on to recover some costs and put a replacement set back onto the car. Also I may strip of the rear brakes and rebuild then fully too, seems stupid to put all this effort into the brakes to leave them as they are.

So the short term plan is to get the car back on the road for use while I overhaul my mk5 GTI. I still need to replace the thermostat housing and coolant pipe, tempted to put the ECS Tuning metal pipe in as it seems replacement V5 pipes are about £30 and the ECS Tuning is only £55 and will outlast the car. Also, get the replacement wiring loom in, inlet manifold painted (for a laugh) and a full service (including changing the gearbox oil) and then an MOT. Provided it gets back on the road straight away and ready for duties, the longer term plan will be to completely redo the interior (ICE, new trim, Bora illuminated vents, possibly some nice seats but giving no clues away!), possible the engine swapped mentioned at the beginning of this post and maybe air ride (don’t hate me). Depends how much spare cash I have after the mk5 GTI has been worked on, but at least time and space are no longer an issue. Stay tuned, and as always, feedback or comments always welcome.

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #23 on: 02 May 2015, 17:25 »
Got the car trailered away to the workshop today, but discovered a nice little puddle of water in the passenger foot well this morning:


Another problem to investigate when I get through the other jobs. But it’s in and jacked up on stands, finally:


Decided to get one with pulling the front brakes off to get them all sorted and finished so I can sign off the braking fault. Naturally, things went wrong. Passenger side disc screw is completely buggered so going to have to drill it out or weld a bolt onto it and wrench it free. Also, someone’s done a poor job of repairing the wires to a broken pad wear sensor. So need a new sensor and to re-do the rubbish wiring repair that is currently in place. Driver’s side dust shield, one of the bolts has rounded, ripped the rotten shield off like it was cardboard but need to get the bolt out as I may bother to put replacement shields in but personally don’t like them as the just cause issues in the long term. Currently looking a bit like this:


Bit tired and fed up of the car today, but I won’t be beaten. Just annoying that I could break the car now and make double what I paid for it, but for now I plan to keep at it and save it from the scrap heap. No updates now until next weekend. But I have ordered a new thermostat housing, cooling pipe and some paints along with picking up the new wiring loom next week. All the parts that I need are now sourced, that is until something else throws in the towel.

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #24 on: 10 May 2015, 10:53 »
So yesterday I got a little bit more work done. Managed to remove the last bolt left in the driver's side hub for the dust shield, I don't like them so they come off whenever I get a chance. So the driver's side is now all but stripped completely for new brakes. Passenger side still has the disc on, need to drill the positioning screw off and then get the remains out using grips. Also stripped down a second set of front brakes ready for refurbishment:



While working around, I noticed the passenger wheel arch liner was damaged, so out that came along with the remains of the damaged under engine covers:





Found a nice build up of mud in the front wheel arch! Needless to say, I shall now strip of the drivers side and clean up under there too:



I made a good go at shot blasting the first set of front calipers down, but after 6 hours of blasting and 2 hours of being locked out the workshop, I didn't get them completed! Going to purchase myself a nice power drill, wire brush set and maybe some acid cleaner to completely strip them to bare metal and smooth ready for spray painting bright red. I will get some pictures next weekend of the brakes, but I also need to invest in a tool cabinet and top box, power tools, work bench and various other tools and supplies to build my work space up. Things are getting serious now in terms of work space!

If anyone has any suggestions to good little suspension mods other than a set of decent lowering springs, please let me know. I've heard R32 wishbone bushes are a good, cost effective little mod to improve handling a bit? Not looking to break the bank, about £250 on suspension is the budget. Maybe more if I sell some refurbished calipers for profit.

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #25 on: 16 May 2015, 17:00 »
Another weekend, another round of problems arise to challenge this "quick fix" project. Decided to remove the front end completely as it'll make life far easier to replace the wiring loom, clean the inlet up and replace the coolant housing and pipe work plus the thermostat and sensors. Immediately discovered yet more poor workmanship of previous "mechanics" (term used very loosely):


So out came the damaged driver's side wheel arch lining, not as much mud as the passenger side but still worrying amounts of build up:


Off comes the front bumper to add to the pile of bits destined for the skip:


But during taking off the bumper:


Yes, one of the big ass bolts has sheared completely in two, so the body of the bolt is well and truly stuck inside the main frame that it's all bolted too. Not overly bothered, but my options are try and drill it out from the other side once the front end is off the car, or drill it from the side on show, but maybe I'll visit the scrap yard again and just get a whole new metal frame and start again from scratch, seeing as I'm headed to the scrap yard again next week. More on that in a bit...

So anyway, decided that rather than plough on with doing the coolant housing (after spilling half the coolant on the floor when draining it),thought I'd attack the brake disc that's stuck on. Plan was to drill the head off and use grips to pull the threaded shaft left behind out. Easy, right?


Another drilling job. May look at taking the hub apart as if I was changing wheel bearings (may even just replace them while I'm here!) and then drill that bolt out as well. Or get a replacement part from the scrap yard.

A final note, the engine management wiring loom I had won't fix the hacked wires that short the fans out to stay on the whole time, the cooling system appears to have it's own loom so I need to get that from the scrap yard as well. So my list currently looks like this:

Replacement cooling system wiring loom
Both arch liners
Under engine covers
Possibly new frame for radiator
Possibly new parts to hub

Another productive day.

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline Simeon

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #26 on: 23 May 2015, 09:24 »
Seems to be one step forward, 2 steps back on this project mate, but keep at it, you'll get there in the end! Plus once you're done at least you'll know its been done right, dread to think what bodges there are on my Octavia, best not to look too closely :P

Offline th3_f15t

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Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #28 on: 28 May 2015, 17:22 »
So I've got this week off work and spent the last 4 days over the workshop making some progress with the V5 by taking more things apart. I swear one day I'll write an update about putting something back on the car. Anyway, starting with the brakes and suspension as a whole, things have gone with the theme of the car and a simple fix or inspection resulted in needing all new parts! But first, some shots of the refurbishment of the front brakes:




They're currently getting their top coats of bright red at the moment, but a second set have been sent to the powder coating place I use to get their treatment and whichever set looks better I'll use on the car and sell the other set of eBay to get some money back. I plan to get a cheap set of 256mm vented rears on the car now at this stage, eventually I may put on some 334mm 2 piston fronts as well for some loveliness but depends how I feel about adding weight to the wheels. 334mm brakes would also require a set of 17 inch alloys too, I don't plan on 18 inch as I want to retain ride comfort.

On the note of ride comfort, discovered that the driver's side hub has about 1mm of play so safe to say that the wheel bearings are naff and require replacing as well. £66 on eBay later:


Thought I could be cleaver and pull the hub out without dismantling everything. Turns out I shouldn't try and be clever at this stage:


What I've gone and done right there is damage the CV joint a little bit. So I'll also replace those items as well as ball joints as it'd be rude not to while the hubs are dismantled. I am toying with the idea of poly-bushing everything and fitting anti roll bars too at this stage as it'll be a perfect time what with over half the major work of dismantling the front suspension done to do the hubs and bearings. I looked at the cost and can get all the bushes and roll bars up front for under £300 and I reckon a weekend of work should sort it. I've already cracked all the nuts off ready to swap the hubs, nothing rounded which was amazing. Soaking it in WD40 the night before really paid off, a lesson learned right there!

In engine news, as you may of seen in the previous post, the current V5 engine has been deemed beyond saving and a replacement V5 sourced and delivered this afternoon:



Ordered an AQN 170bhp engine and gearbox instead, for a little better economy and performance. It'll be the main engine until I get a V6 sorted, but needed to accelerate the project and it makes more sense to just swap the whole lot. I have one issue to sort with the new engine and that is that they cut a few wires from the battery which feed off to the cooling fans and systems so will have to splice in my existing ones but everything else looks perfectly in tact, no cut pipes or butchered ends. Not a bad little find, it's covered just 69K miles according to the advert and I have the clocks and ECU to prove this as well.

So that's it for now sadly, preparations for an engine swap are under way and the suspension and braking repairs/upgrades are on hold until it's done, I fancy only one major job at a time to be honest! And I haven't even done anything to the car back from the front wheels so who knows what other major jobs I'll uncover later on! Stay tuned folks...

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline jase16gti

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Re: th3_f15t Mk4 V5 "Teeth Cutting" Restoration
« Reply #29 on: 28 May 2015, 23:44 »
dude iv never actually owned mk4 golf (Cpl of mk1 leons lol) so not sure why I read the whole of your thread!
but good look and I hope it gets sorted.
My other love atm is a 1990 sapphire 2000e. restored over winter. so I spotted cossie looks pretty tidy. yours?