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Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Golf mk2 gallery => Topic started by: Ben Lessani on 31 October 2006, 01:18

Title: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 31 October 2006, 01:18
how to's buried in here
headlight loom (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg410777#msg410777)
electric window support repair (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg497202#msg497202)
engine removal (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg576761#msg576761)
fitting pas (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg624991#msg624991)
alloy wheel refurb (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg682416#msg682416)
heater matrix replacement (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg851895#msg851895)
glovebox removal (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg853417#msg853417)
fitting front discs and pads (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg871824#msg871824)
pas belt tension adjustment (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg877119#msg877119)
sound deadening (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg389549#msg389549)
delocked handles (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg853426#msg853426)
gear linkage (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg497188#msg497188)
refurbishing tappets (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg886430#msg886430)
valve steam seal renewal (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg902396#msg902396)
vdo gauges (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg939943#msg939943)
handbrake tightening (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg1000233#msg1000233)
wishbone replacement (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg1381183#msg1381183)
gearbox mount replacement (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg1382353#msg1382353)
rear top mount replacement (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg1383398#msg1383398)
distributor replacement (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg1512898#msg1512898)
is my starter faulty (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg1520086#msg1520086)
spark or fuel (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg1520084#msg1520084)
replacing coilover front top mounts (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg1562006#msg1562006)

prices!!
I thought I'd do a price rundown of how much I have spent so far on this automobilo, and here goes?

£100 - Road Tax (6 Months)
£100 - Road Tax (6 Months)
£180 - Road Tax 12 Months
£180 - Road Tax 12 Months
£370 - Insurance
£430 - Insurance
£624 - Insurance

**

£0   - 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf
£0   - Exterior respray (Black metallic)
£12 - Clutch Cable
£41 - Alarm/Immobiliser
£7   - Haynes Manual
£4   - Windmirror Gromets and Handles
£20 - New heater fan
£22 - 4awg Wiring Kit
£38 - Sunroof Seal
£6   - Condensation/Water Trap
£18 - Bonnet Lifters
£17 - Leather Handbrake Gaitor
£12 - Smooth MK3 Door Handles
£13 - Inner Boot Cover
£25 - Debadged Grill
£30 - MOT
£30 - Rear Discs
£5   - Rear Bearing
£12 - 5l Quantum Semi Synth Oil
£6   - Big bag of 4awg and 8 awg Crimps
£1   - BatAid Battery Restorer
£4   - Rain X AntiFog
£4   - Duct Tape
£20 - HT Leads
£10 - Plastic Underbonnet Scuttle
£25 - Fuel Pump
£13 - Accelerator Cable
£60 - Sound Deadening
£10 - ARB Bush
£5   - Seat Covers
£20 - Front and Rear Lights
£35 - Electric Windows
£5   - Ring 80w/100w Rally Bulbs
£10 - Front Door Speakers
£40 - Fuel Line
£10 - Uprated Headlight Loom
£12 - Door Cards
£225- Coilover Suspension
£170- Creme Leather Interior
£200- Chrome 15" 7J Alloy Wheels
£130- 4x Uniroyal Rainsport 195/45/15
£5  -  Exhaust Clamp
£1  -  Exhaust Sealant
£10 - Steel Cable Ties
£25 - Full Stainless Steel Exhaust
£50 - Power Steering Setup
£40 - Gearbox
£25 - Sunroof Parts
£3  - Rubber Rocker Cover Grommet
£22 - 4 Gallons 10W40 Oil
£3   - Oil Filter
£5   - Ball joint lock plate
£2   - Manifold studs and nuts
£7   - PAS Belt and Fluid
£10 - PAS, Water pump Pulleys, HT Leads
£5   - Bottom Ball Joint
£30 - Battery
£15 - Wiper Mechanism
£30 - MOT
£15 - Wheel Alignment
£1  - Wire Wool
£12 - 6" Farecla Compound Pad
£5  - Farecla Paint Repait Kit  (used it for my alloys)
£40 - 4 Wheel Alignment
£20 - Metal Coolant Pipe
£40 - Radiator
£35 - Heater Matrix
£5  - Coolant
£20 - Heater box housing, Sunroof panel, Passenger door handle, Rear seatbelt, Glovebox, Interior boot trim, PAS bracket, Weighted shift rod, 99 Relay
£24 - 2x Front wheel bearing kit
£8 - Ball joint
£18 - 2x PAS Steering arm gaiter
£5  - Spark plugs
£10 - Forté engine flush
£30 - 25l 10w40 Engine oil
£5  - Rear top mounts
£5  - ARB bush kit
£25 - 4 Wheel alignment
£50 - Front pair grooved and vented Brembo disks
£20 - Front pair Pagid fast road pads
£25 - 8 New tappets
£11 - 8 Valve stem seals
£5  - 1L ATF
£10 - Rubber sump gasket
£8  - Rocker cover gasket
£4  - Oil filter
£3  - LEDs for Dashboard
£45 - VDO Gauges
£35 - Braided brake lines
£30 - MK4 callipers
£13 - 5l Fuchs XTR Oil
£3   - Oil filter
£10 - Thermostat housing (genuine)
£15 - 5 litres concentrated coolant
£20 - Drivers wishbone
£12 - Gearbox engine mount
£1   - Wishbone rear bolt sleeve
£100 - New windscreen
£12 - Rear top mounts
£8   - Tappet
£22 - Valve stem seals
£11 - Timing Belt
£16 - 2x Front flexi hoses
£18 - Rear engine mount
£25 - MOT
£40 - Front engine mount
£35 - Bosch coil
£80 - Bosch distributor
£30 - Rear beam poly bushes (Poly Sport)
£35 - Front op mounts (Lemforder)
£15 - 5l Car lube Dot4 brake fluid

I will keep this post updated, but so far...

Grand Total: £4656

Holy crap, but bear in mind that includes tax, mot and insurance.
Without them... it is

Grand Total: £2532

service checklist

Customer: Engine Size: 1800
Make/Model: Mileage: Golf MK2 GTi / 178K

Pre Engine Checks
D 2. Check timing belt replacement interval* miles. Replaced at 178k
D 6. Check operation of interior and exterior lights. Bulbs and Loom fitted January 10, 2007 - H4 connectors replaced April 10, 2009
D 9. Check windscreen washers and wipers. Washer Jets Replaced at January 10, 2009
D 11. Check operation of suspension dampers. Replaced with coilovers at May 03, 2007
D 12. Lubricate all door hinges, locks, and bonnet catches. ***
D 13. Apply treatments to remove internal contamination. Engine oil flush at February 21, 2009  :: Oil change at July 26, 2009

Under the Bonnet
D 16. Check and record Anti-Freeze protection °C 50% dilution, Replaced at December 19, 2010
D 17. Check and record brake fluid condition. Changed at April 17, 2010
D 18. Check all auxiliary drive belts (not timing belt). Replaced at 155k, PAS belt at January 09, 2008
D 21. Check power steering operation and fluid condition. Fluid changed at April 17, 2010
D 23. Check battery level and lubricate terminals. Bosch Silver Fitted at January 09, 2009
D 25. Replace air filter Cleaned February 20, 2009
D 26. Replace spark plugs. Bosch Super fitted at April 10, 2009
D 27. Replace fuel filter. ***
D 28. Check coil pack. Replaced at 179k, August 2010
D 28. Check distributor. Replaced at 179k, August 2010

Tyre Report
Tyres Fitted at May 08, 2007
Spare As new
Tread mm ***
Pressure (Setto) 30 PSI at January 03, 2010
Tyre Size: 195/45/15
Torque Nm: 110Nm at April 17, 2010
Wheel Alignment: Set at April 17, 2010


Brake Report
Discs Rear disks replaced at November 14, 2006, Front disks replaced at January 12, 2009 (171,500), Slide bolts refurbished at January 12, 2009 (171,500), Rear callipers replaced at April 10, 2009 (173,000)
Pads / Shoes Rear pads plenty of meat, Front pads replaced at January 12, 2009 (171,500)
Brake Fluid Condition: Changed at April 17, 2010

Vehicle Raised
D 29. Change oil, filter and fit new sump plug washer. Changed at 171,500 January 09, 2009
D 30. Check fuel lines and brake pipes. Replaced fuel line at January 10, 2007, Replaced rear beam unions April 10, 2009, Replaced rear beam flexi's April 10, 2009
D 31. Check the condition and security of the exhaust. Refitted November, 2008
D 33. Check and top up gear box oil level. Filled January 09, 2008
D 34. Check all steering and suspension joints, mountings and gaiters. Replaced gatiers, offside ball joint at January 09, 2009
D 36. Check all wheel bearings for excessive 'play' and noise (adjust if required). Both front replaced at January 09, 2009, Rear nearside bearing replaced at November 14, 2006
D 37. Check CV gaiters and joints for wear or splits. Both fine
D 38. Check clutch cable/cylinder* Replaced at October 31, 2006
D 40. Check operation and condition of front brakes. Ok
D 41. Check operation and condition of rear brakes. (including handbrake) Ok
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 31 October 2006, 01:19
right, where do i start, well for one, expect poor punctuation - ive got a new laptop and the shift key is microsized to touch type on, so expect all lower case posts. :D

heres a little history of the car
so the golf i have was given to my step dad by his mate, he had left it stationary on his driveway for 2 years, never used it. so my step dad asked for it, and he just did the basics to bring it back to life, oil change, new leads, sparks, dizzy, rad flush. then after about 1 days work, it was a runner, 2 days later it passed its mot. i've not really had anything to do with the maintenance (as i was only about 14), my step dad (chris) and his mate (graham) did most of the work, he drove it for about 2 years before he'd gotten bored and needed something a little more practical, which turned out to be a 2lt 16v passat, and now an audi coupe 20v :D . so, again, the poor golf just sat on our driveway for another year rotting.

by this time i was about 18 and i had my licence, so my plan was, whilst at uni, to bring the car back to life - on the cheap of course ;) it was in a faded metallic green with a grey bonnet, with dented rotten wings and dodgy bumpers. so first, i got in touch with a body shop to get it all sorted - i was going to do the work myself, but i didnt realise how much time uni would take up, and i didnt have the facilities (garage/parking) to do any work. kindly, the body shop let me leave the car in their yard over the year.

the project started
so, the car now had a home and someone willing to spray it up for me. in exchange for me being their IT technician, they were going to work on the car for me. so i had the front wing, bonnet and both bumpers replaced (with pattern big bumpers from euro - bit of a regret now). it was all fitted up and sprayed in the new metallic black (spare paint left over from another mk4 vw)

the pattern parts, well, the rear bumper isnt sat straight, i fought the mounts for ages, but just couldnt get it to sit nice - neither could the shop, when its light i will post photos of them.

whilst the car was at the garage
all the dents were filled
it was sprayed black
i tinted the windows (£2 a film - did it for a laugh, but looks quite good)
i tinted the indicators, repeaters and rear lights
i changed the clutch cable
fixed a lot of electric wiring issues, faulty hazard light switch, broken wire for fuel gauge, heater controls were dead, broken earths everywhere, dead battery

excuse the phone photos, but these are the only ones i have...

(http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/5973/010ff6.jpg) (http://img105.imageshack.us/my.php?image=010ff6.jpg)(http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/7082/011po9.jpg) (http://img105.imageshack.us/my.php?image=011po9.jpg)(http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/428/012dg8.jpg) (http://img163.imageshack.us/my.php?image=012dg8.jpg)(http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/4320/013eg8.jpg) (http://img122.imageshack.us/my.php?image=013eg8.jpg)(http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/4657/014wv8.jpg) (http://img122.imageshack.us/my.php?image=014wv8.jpg)(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/5343/015yt0.jpg) (http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=015yt0.jpg)(http://img280.imageshack.us/img280/764/016ax8.jpg) (http://img280.imageshack.us/my.php?image=016ax8.jpg)

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 31 October 2006, 01:20
this weeks work
the car wasnt starting, and i managed to trace it down to the fuel injector pump, i got it off, and ordered a new shiny - well, not shiny, used, fuel pump for £25 from ebay, which should come tommorow. apologies for all the night photos, but im always working late night on the car.

(http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/313/minicimg3194ks1.jpg) (http://img122.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3194ks1.jpg)(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/6561/minicimg3196gc7.jpg) (http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3196gc7.jpg)(http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6073/minicimg3197za1.jpg) (http://img158.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3197za1.jpg)(http://img280.imageshack.us/img280/5628/minicimg3198xf2.jpg) (http://img280.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3198xf2.jpg)(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/1921/minicimg3199ma6.jpg) (http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3199ma6.jpg)(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/7682/minicimg3200gj8.jpg) (http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3200gj8.jpg)(http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/7924/minicimg3201if0.jpg) (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3201if0.jpg)

when the car was being sprayed, they removed the plastic door covers over the doors, and as a result, when it left the garage (it closed down) it sat on my uncles driveway for about 10months. subsequently it was about 2 inches deep in water. mould was everywhere and there was this weird growth on top of the lake of water. took a few hours to clear the water out, and then took about 45 mins to pressure wash the seats, they've taken 3 days to dry. the carpet is still slightly damp in the car, there is still water lingering, i'm going to put a big heater in there overnight to dry the whole lot. i have a fear i might have rot issues now, so i need to lift the carpets to double check, it might be worth just laying down a coat of hammerite.

as mentioned above, i cleaned the seats, and i noticed one of the door cards is slightly torn, so i need a new drivers side door card (rainbow style). i ordered a new set of rubbers for the wing mirror controls - im not going to bother making these electric as i never re-adjust my side mirrors, only important one is rearview.

todays alarming work
so, i got my new car alarm off ebay this morning (remember, everything must be cheap), its got...

immobiliser
central locking interface (so now the car has remote central locking)
ultrasonic sensors
shock sensor
2nd'ary function button
automatic door locking after starting driving
automatic alarming

the list goes on, and it was only £35, so i love it.

i popped it in, went in and i managed to blow a relay with a bit of stupidity, so i'll need to buy a new one, but thats me sorted then.

(http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/8541/minicimg3202dm9.jpg) (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3202dm9.jpg)(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/4773/minicimg3203ub3.jpg) (http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3203ub3.jpg)(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/7005/minicimg3204ir5.jpg) (http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3204ir5.jpg)(http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/1209/minicimg3205jc9.jpg) (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3205jc9.jpg)(http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/3797/minicimg3206oo4.jpg) (http://img73.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3206oo4.jpg)(http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/9987/minicimg3207ap2.jpg) (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3207ap2.jpg)(http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9890/minicimg3208lt1.jpg) (http://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3208lt1.jpg)(http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/2671/minicimg3209jt5.jpg) (http://img66.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3209jt5.jpg)(http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1866/minicimg3210up7.jpg) (http://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3210up7.jpg)(http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/4863/minicimg3211nh0.jpg) (http://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3211nh0.jpg)

would you believe i took those photos after i wired it all up :0 im going to leave the dash in pieces for the time being so that i can get some brighter bulbs in the dash, im either going to stay with green, but just go brighter, or fit white ones, blue looks a bit tacky for my liking.

what do you think about a retrim, im either going to keep the interior standard, or retrim it in a nice tan/cream leather....the only thing i wouldnt really be able to pull off is the seams. but it wont stop me trying.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 31 October 2006, 01:20
degrease, wash and wax
so today, for the first time in 2 years, the car was washed, and the paintwork really needs some attention. i gave it a good clean, then a good wax on top of that, but the paintwork still feels really rough to the touch, so i need to get some farecla g10, or megauirs paint renovator to try and smooth it out. im talking hours of polishing here, so i need to get hold of one of them 1800 rpm industrial mops - i used to have one but i lost it.

the engine has a leak (i remember) coming from somewhere, so i degreased most of the oil, well, without removing any parts, so when i get it running, i can spot the oil leak. i think its coming out between the rocker cover and head - is that the valve cover gasket on gsf's website?

so heres the before....

(http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/8679/minicimg3215sz1.jpg) (http://img170.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3215sz1.jpg)(http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/5007/minicimg3216km4.jpg) (http://img170.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3216km4.jpg)(http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4176/minicimg3218hv7.jpg) (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3218hv7.jpg)(http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/5996/minicimg3221uf8.jpg) (http://img170.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3221uf8.jpg)(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8106/minicimg3223ja3.jpg) (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3223ja3.jpg)(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/6467/minicimg3227mp5.jpg) (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3227mp5.jpg)(http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4426/minicimg3237fg9.jpg) (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3237fg9.jpg)(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/1134/minicimg3237sk3.jpg) (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3237sk3.jpg)(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7639/minicimg3238ge5.jpg) (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3238ge5.jpg)(http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6662/minicimg3239va7.jpg) (http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3239va7.jpg)


and heres the after....

(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/3541/minicimg3240sp4.jpg) (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3240sp4.jpg)(http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9162/minicimg3241nh4.jpg) (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3241nh4.jpg)(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8629/minicimg3246vp1.jpg) (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3246vp1.jpg)(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8160/minicimg3247de5.jpg) (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3247de5.jpg)(http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/5122/minicimg3249uj4.jpg) (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3249uj4.jpg)

water, water everywhere!
so the bodyshop did a real bad job on the seals, the sunroof is leaking badly and theres this other super leak, which is coming out the centre console (see photo) and has just flooded the passenger footwell. as far as i can tell, its just coming out the dash? so i have no idea how to remedy that - could not having that plastic baffle under the bonnet (just in front of the windscreen) be the cause, and its entering through the fan vent?

(http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7067/minicimg3228qa7.jpg) (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3228qa7.jpg)(http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3227/minicimg3229wk6.jpg) (http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3229wk6.jpg)(http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7885/minicimg3231ut9.jpg) (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3231ut9.jpg)(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3002/minicimg3232ff7.jpg) (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3232ff7.jpg)(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9852/minicimg3236vq5.jpg) (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3236vq5.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 31 October 2006, 01:20
first time the car was started in 10months!
yey, my ebay fuel pump arrived, and without tempting fate, it appears to be a minter. the housing he sent me was slightly damaged - the bracket that held on the fuel filter had broke. so i just swapped all the components onto my existing housing, and when i took it apart, the fuel pump looks BRAND NEW, i know the petrol will keep it cleanish, but it was sparkling shiny. good news eh?

i fitted it up and low and behold, it started! so it put a big smile on my face, now just to sort the niggles. i managed to damage the fuel line to the engine, put a small crack in the plastic pipe, so i need to make a bridging pipe between the two, as just a jubilee clip is applying too much pressure.

i checked out the sparks because the idle was a bit uneven, it was hesitant upon acceleration, and they were powdered black, i had cleaned them before starting the engine. hopefully its just decoking itself. i also noticed a small leak coming from the 2nd cylinder spark plug, its a tiny trail, not sure what, but it only appeared when i started the engine - investigation to follow!

the exhaust is completely buggered, so i'll definately look into a new one. but im not going to buy one, thats too mainstream for my liking, im going to make one myself. use some 2" steel pipe, a pipe bender, a welder and a bit of patience, and i can make up a straight though exhaust which will still use original fittings, and if it needs more backboxes, i'll add them until i like the sound.

the interior fan isn't working - i think its because of the amount of water that came in through it, so that needs a looking at. but aside from that, all seems well. the best thing is the battery is super ancient and wouldnt even hold a charge, i bought some, whats it called? battery something, comes in a blue tube with loads of tablets inside. i whacked a pill in each chamber, stuck it on a deep charge overnight, and its like new! it cranked for about 40mins before it started to struggle, so im completely impressed! saves me another 40 quid on parts anyway.

so its now back on 4 wheels and no more axel stands for the weekend, so its going to get a bit of peace whilst im at work. sorry no photos this time but my cousin has borrowed my camera.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 November 2006, 22:16
just ordered a new plastic scuttle from Arnold Clark for £21+VAT - he couldn't tell me if its the hard plastic or thin plastic, but I'll be able to tell you on thursday.

i managed to bridge the two fuel lines with a bit of old pipe, and it seems fine :D but an interesting thing is that the car definately wont ever, remotely, even slightly start if the rubber air feed isnt connected to the air box - i can only assume its because the MAS is part of the airbox.

so the leak was definately coming from the fan, which is now goosed. i stripped the fan apart, but the copper contacts had gotten quite bad, i tried to get it apart so that i could sand the contacts down, but i just couldnt. i tried for about 1 hour before just cutting it apart with a hacksaw, cleaned up the brushes and contacts and then couldnt get the welder out the garage to put it back together, so i just bought a new one ;) then i tried to address the other leaks, i relocated the sunroof seal, untrapped the overflow hoses for the sunroof and then tore out all the carpets. so all the carpets are on the washing line, and the sound deadening was completely sodden, and to be honest it smelt of sulphor - eww. so i need to refit some new sound deadening too, time for some knock off dynamat.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 November 2006, 22:16
more parts
so i got a couple more parcels in the post today, my new shiny 4 awg wiring kit, a new fan motor and my plastic scuttle. great bargins actually, i think the wiring kit was only £20 and its pretty good, the fan was £20 delivered and the scuttle - i managed to get the hard plastic one, from the dealership for £10+vat !!! its only one side (the longer side) so im going to order the other side too, because the old thin plastic one looks out of place.

but the bad news is the fan, it worked for about 5 mins before it died one me, its not my controller, its the fan itself, it was grinding until it just stopped working - bit gutting really, so i emailed the ebay seller to see if he will send me a new one - as it was sold 'like new' and 'working'.

the sunroof is leaking like crazy, i cleaned the drains and its no longer coming out the front, but because the felt seal on the sunroof itself is quite small, there seems to be a little gap between the bodywork and the seal, so its just happily dripping in - do they make a rubber air tight one? i'm going to call the dealers to see if they can get me one. and hopefully with the new scuttle, there wont be the lake of water in the footwell anymore.

i got totally fed up with all the water, so the carpets are out drying at the moment, until i've sorted all my leaks, then im going to source some cheap sound deadening to make the car as quiet as poss. whilst maintaing bass :D the door membranes seem to be holding up alright, so really, once ive sorted these leaks, i can actually refit all the seats back in and start driving it, but theres no way im doing that till all the leaks are gone!

photos are below, as always, note the old green colour it used to be...

...will upload photos later, have to go to work ;)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 November 2006, 22:17
so, as promised, here is the video of my poor dead fan...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiFUQFtJT0k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiFUQFtJT0k)

the guy i bought it off seems stellar and agreed to post me out a new one - yey!

and the photomographs...

(http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4300/minicimg3295ej2.jpg) (http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3295ej2.jpg)(http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/1827/minicimg3296ob8.jpg) (http://img119.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3296ob8.jpg)(http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/2867/minicimg3302vl9.jpg) (http://img120.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3302vl9.jpg)(http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/3923/minicimg3304yl1.jpg) (http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3304yl1.jpg)(http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7929/minicimg3305ji7.jpg) (http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3305ji7.jpg)(http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/4005/minicimg3306dt3.jpg) (http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3306dt3.jpg)(http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/3595/minicimg3308ks6.jpg) (http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3308ks6.jpg)(http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8981/minicimg3309pu7.jpg) (http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3309pu7.jpg)(http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/8665/minicimg3311zm1.jpg) (http://img93.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3311zm1.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 November 2006, 22:17
wiring
so today i emptied all the parts out of the car into the garage, so that i could install the wiring for the stereo. my beautiful 4awg wiring was popped in, and i ran new speaker leads down to the boot for the amps (although i think im going to mount them under the rear passenger seat). its a shame the wiring has to be hidden because it looks awesome! nice and tidy install, ran the 2 rca's on the drivers side, and the remote and +ve feed on the passenger side.

i tried to get a start on redoing the membrane on the doors, then it started chucking it down, big time. so i threw a big sheet of tarp over the roof and had a try anyway, but it was just awkward and annoying, so i got bored and just covered the whole door with duct tape, but i'll sort it properly tommorow. the sunroof seal is definately the problem bit, as you can see light coming through it! so i got a new seal off the bay, and if that works, great, if not, pants!

i'm going to clean up the whole floorpan (its full of broken glass - must have been broken into a few times) and put down some sound deadening, im stuck for what i want to buy, because i don't think that a couple of layers will actually make a drip of difference.

i'll post some photos of my glorious wiring when it is light. oh and i covered the wires for the central locking and speaker wire going between the door and body with some trunking - looks smart :D

(http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9724/minicimg3314cb9.jpg) (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3314cb9.jpg)(http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7701/minicimg3315ym9.jpg) (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3315ym9.jpg)(http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3968/minicimg3316jm5.jpg) (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3316jm5.jpg)(http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9503/minicimg3317xi2.jpg) (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3317xi2.jpg)(http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1726/minicimg3318fh7.jpg) (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3318fh7.jpg)(http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/886/minicimg3319cp8.jpg) (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3319cp8.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 November 2006, 22:18
holey god
today i finished preping the car for the sound deadening, cleaned the floorpan, dried it completely, gave it a quick clean with white spirit and i noticed a few things. i may or may not have fitted underfloor neons when the car was completely screwed, and one of the screws may or may not have gone straight through 2 wires, one - the fuel tank gauge sender and another - fault yet to be found.

(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/729/minicimg3326wh7.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3326wh7.jpg)(http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/3250/minicimg3327sg6.jpg) (http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3327sg6.jpg)

after patching up that wire i went to bolt the whole bunch back down to the chasis when i noticed a bit of surface rust, so i poked it, and bad news, my finger went straight through. so i got out my hammer and beat out the rest of it until i was back to clean unrotting metal. so it looks like the MOT will be put back a little, i need to buy some sheet steel and then angle grind a square section out - gutted, but it was to be expected, it had been sat with a inch deep pool of water in the footwell.

(http://img290.imageshack.us/img290/9978/minicimg3335ch6.jpg) (http://img290.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3335ch6.jpg)

i then turned the car around for the first time, without a seat in it - its a bit scary driving whilst propped on your ankle, especially since you only have one spare foot to clutch, brake and accelerate. so i equiped myself with a coolbox seat.

(http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1734/minicimg3320ep9.jpg) (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3320ep9.jpg)

i then taped up all the electrics, wired in a new ISO connector for my HU, and tidied the inside up in general. grounded the amp wire to a seatbelt bolt and used some spare trunking to tidy the misc wires leading from the cabin to the engine bay. i was having difficulty trying to find somewhere to mount the siren for the alarm and the fuse for the amp, as the body panels are harder than granite - and i didnt have a drill. so i just welded everything, a small bolt was welded to the wing, to clip the fuse holder down, and i welded the siren just next to the battery bay.

(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/3347/minicimg3334ch9.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3334ch9.jpg)

i was testing the window wipers and found that the splines had completely smoothed off, so i welded a notch onto the wiper arms to give them something to bite onto.

i also noticed the heated washer jets weren't wired to anything, so i hooked them up to the coil pack and the rocker cover top for a ground.

(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/8233/minicimg3333zw5.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3333zw5.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/792/minicimg3336pl3.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3336pl3.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/5445/minicimg3337ww3.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3337ww3.jpg)

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 November 2006, 22:18
after everything had pretty much been done, i setup an old stereo and a few old speakers to test it out. it was all perfect, i was super suprised actually. the earth was only attached to the chassis, not the engine, and it was just touching the battery terminal, not bolted on at all. the +ve was just lying on top of the +ve terminal (not screwed on yet) and it made good enough contact. i was going to redo the alternator +ve and grounds along with terminals, but the headlights weren't dimming at all and it was all working perfect, so much for needed super wiring :( cant wait to tell the talkaudio boys.

(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/3852/minicimg3338ki5.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3338ki5.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/2701/minicimg3339ev2.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3339ev2.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/4816/minicimg3340vk2.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3340vk2.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/7950/minicimg3341bp0.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3341bp0.jpg)

the car is getting closer to completion - if you notice from the photos it has a bit of tarp propped over the top to stop ANY water getting in. the door membranes aren't done yet, the sunroof is leaking and the passenger window seal is completely wrecked! so its still leaky, until i've sorted those bits i wont be taking the tarp off the top.

(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/9176/minicimg3321qt1.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3321qt1.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/728/minicimg3322ym8.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3322ym8.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/5139/minicimg3323zg9.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3323zg9.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/9738/minicimg3324ev6.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3324ev6.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/125/minicimg3325iu9.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3325iu9.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/2815/minicimg3328gn7.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3328gn7.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/135/minicimg3329et3.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3329et3.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/5427/minicimg3330uh8.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3330uh8.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/4778/minicimg3331sg2.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3331sg2.jpg)(http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/2081/minicimg3332dx5.jpg) (http://img420.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3332dx5.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 November 2006, 22:19
silence
or at least thats what i plan to achieve with all my glorious deadening....the business post van arrived carrying my goodies.

(http://img318.imageshack.us/img318/8091/minicimg3343ez8.jpg) (http://img318.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3343ez8.jpg)(http://img318.imageshack.us/img318/3446/minicimg3346aj1.jpg) (http://img318.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3346aj1.jpg)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/2179/minicimg3347nc4.jpg) (http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3347nc4.jpg)

at first glance the stuff seems pretty thin (but ive never messed with deadening before), but the back is super sticky! its slightly flexible but if you push it hard enough it will crack. i got it from bodyshopwarehouse (google it) and its made by a company called bodyline.

about 10mins in, i had got pretty far, but i needed to move the car because  we decided to empty the garage (and im talking A LOT of stuff in there). as theres no seat in the golf, i had to improvise.

(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/6662/minicimg3348qw8.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3348qw8.jpg)(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/8742/minicimg3349ud8.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3349ud8.jpg)(http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/3360/minicimg3350rz3.jpg) (http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3350rz3.jpg)

after i moved it, i got cracking and about 40mins later i had got to here...

(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/4540/minicimg3351eq3.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3351eq3.jpg)(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7528/minicimg3352bm8.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3352bm8.jpg)(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/142/minicimg3353vl7.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3353vl7.jpg)(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/861/minicimg3354qb8.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3354qb8.jpg)(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/6078/minicimg3355ic7.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3355ic7.jpg)(http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/3338/minicimg3356at4.jpg) (http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3356at4.jpg)(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/3024/minicimg3357ki5.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3357ki5.jpg)

then after deadening the doors, which i managed to do with super skill - i didn't cut the 50x50cm panels at all, i managed to slide the whole thing up and stick it to the door, so that didnt take long at all - 2mins max. i then made some new membranes out the backing for the deadening, and taped it all up with some duct tape. fingers crossed they'll do the job.

(http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/4664/minicimg3358ck7.jpg) (http://img116.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3358ck7.jpg)(http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/6568/minicimg3359bp8.jpg) (http://img116.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3359bp8.jpg)

and now i have found this magical new space (whilst listening for rattles). behind the rear door cards, well, cards. its pretty massive and i dont know what to do with it now, i must fill it full of speakers or put computer equipment in there or something! i'm already putting the subs above the rear wheel arches in the boot, but now im wondering what i can put in there.

(http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7947/minicimg3362qx6.jpg) (http://img264.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3362qx6.jpg)(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/3909/minicimg3363nj5.jpg) (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3363nj5.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 07 November 2006, 01:03
the car went for its MOT the other day and failed on....(fanfare)

n/s front shock
arb bushes
pitted rear disks
corroded rear brake lines
siezed calipers (front and rear)
dead registration plate light
no horn
hazard lights non functioning
un-aligned n/s headlamp
leaking exhaust

and out of that, i managed to sort the majority, but somewhere the wire leading to the horn switch has broken, so im going to need to run a new one, but im dreading trying to get in behind the fusebox.

and now i managed to waterproof the doors, i replaced the sunroof seal and the car appears to be 99.9% leak free. so much so, im leaving it outdoors tonight as a test of faith.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 November 2006, 00:21
so much to post, i've missed loads recently, so where was i, the mot failure.

so the mot failed :( but it wasnt on mega huge things soooo, i refitted all the interior, carpets, seats, dashboard, clocks ;) and the car looked proper again, then i went about sorting the car out.

n/s front shock - still not technically fixed as im lowering the entire car soon, so he let me off.
arb bushes - was easy enough to fit, with a tonne of brake cleaner as lubricant and a 3 foot pry bar  :o
pitted rear disks - stripped them off and managed to goose one of the bearings whilst i was at it, so replaced a bearing too
corroded rear brake lines - weren't that corroded at all, but i will still replace them in the next few weeks
siezed calipers (front and rear) - the front left caliper needs replacing, the seal is away, but it is still sliding, it just seized up. the overall braking went up 10 fold after cleaning up the pads and calipers
dead registration plate light - put a new bulb in
no horn - the wire to the steering wheel is broke (i will replace it) so i just bodged a quick switch up to the relay
hazard lights non functioning - the relay was loose, pushed it harder, works fine ;)
un-aligned n/s headlamp - the headlight had just come loose off an adjustment bolt, pushed hard and sorted!
leaking exhaust - lots of exhaust gum fixed this, i will be getting a new exhaust shortly

so the car then passed its super mot and i was a happy chappy, until i drove to the post office and found out road tax was £100 for 6 months - WHAT THE HELL, i almost died! then taxed and mot'ed i was dead chuffed with the car, apart from the fact the heater was pants :(

i thought i'd sorted the leaky roof with a new sunroof seal, but it turns out i hadnt, and a short drive to the shops, me and my cousin ended up being super drenched, it wouldnt be so bad but it dripped out the front corners onto my damn crotch! stupid car, so i left it parked on the street to find it really did leak and just pissed water into the car  :angry:  :angry:  :angry:

i took it into the garage and stripped down the roof and realigned all the seals, poured water on it, and to no avail, it still leaked, so puzzled, i thought i'd leave it.

i went down to the wholesalers and bought loads of car goodies, so i cleaned the windows, gave em a coat of rain x anti fog (worked a treat!!!) and cleaned the dash and upholstery (again). the heating issue was going to be an issue, so after a blob of searching i found that removing the valvey things would help, and as the water was a brownish sludge i thought it might be a good idea to flush it. i bought some radflush and went to work, cleaned the whole lot, ran radflush for about 30 miles, and flushed 2 more times after, the water is almost clear now (still slight brown tint). i flushed the matrix thoroughly, removed the valves and put two lengths of straight copper pipe in. the car is now hotter than a swedish sauna - awesome!
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 November 2006, 00:22
i dismantled the entire sunroof now, cleaned all the crap out. after some advice on a forum, i dropped the rear bumper off, and attached a footpump to the rear drain hoses and gave it a swift pump. a shed load of crap (mainly rust) flew out the sunroof. i grabbed the hoover and attached a little bit of hose to it (what a mistake). you know them little footpumps for inflating airbeds, the ones that whistle when you blow through them? i hooked one of them to the hoover with some gaffa tape, and the noise it made - christ! i couldnt actually hear my tapping on the door panels 5 minutes after i turned it off, or maybe that was the sound deadening doing its job. but it did help remove all the crap from between the outer and inner skin. i rebuilt the lot and was still puzzled as to why VW relied on the sunroof vinyl lining to deflect water out the rear....then i realised. i jumped onto etka, looked at the sunroof breakdown and saw that i was missing a reasonably important part...

(http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/5058/sunroofxb2.jpg)

im still trying to track this down as the dealers want £20 +vat for it...and i refuse to buy any more things from them (cant afford it). i refitted the sunroof running gear but left the actual sunroof off until i get this bit.

so with the sunroof problem half resolved , i went to work on the noisey stereo....lots of interferance. so firstly, i upgraded the alternator +ve to some nice 4 awg, i redid the chassis and battery grounds too, and shorted the amp ground to about 6" . but there was still noise, so i pulled the stereo out and used a spare rca set to investigate, low and behold the noise was gone. so there was interferance somewhere along the rca lines. i pulled up the carpets, lost the drivers seat (which was soaking anyway), and removed the cable, i left the engine running whilst i did just to figure out where it was coming from. turns out one of my many immobilisers was causing the issue, the one that fed the fuel pump, put an rca anywhere near it and it really does pump out some noise.

so i went to reroute the wiring down the centre of the car, but i soon found out that my brand new rcas were faulty, only one channel worked :( and even worse, is that my set i just removed out my peugeot had the same damn problem - super annoying! so im waiting on a new set before im going to rebuild the car, plus i need the sunroofy bits before i can park it outside anyway.

im a bit annoyed actually, i left my jacket at the mot place and it has my car keys for the peugeot in it, so i cant really drive any car at the moment. i keep wanting to go for a blast in the golf because i havent really driven it yet but theres always something wrong, eugh. till another day!

photos will soon follow, but my camera battery has totally died on me.

ps. to make things even more annoying, the duct tape has come unstuck and the door membranes are leaking again. ARGH!
pps. im loving the fact im the ONLY person in this forum who has started his own thread, not JV, i rock!
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 16 November 2006, 11:53
............
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 10 January 2007, 02:44
right, its certainly been a loooooooooong while - "where should i begin, to tell the story of how great my golf can be..."

the sunroof saga

i never managed to sort out the sunroof really, I just duct taped where the water catchment plate should be to stop it dripping on my head, and then I bought some waterproof seat covers for the front seats (love curing the symptom!).

alternator wiring stuff
cant think of a title for this section. but, i refitted the alternator +ve wire and the battery > chassis, and chassis > engine grounds. the wire is massive because i used my leftover 4 awg, i couldn't think where to put it, so i just improvised and cable tied it onto the back of the radiator mounting plate. i didn't have any alternator crimps, so i removed the old one, pried it open a little, and re-crimped it onto my giant 4 gauge wire, seemed to work perfect!

(http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/7365/minicimg3494yr6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/7828/minicimg3495sh2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4247/minicimg3497cn5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

(http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/6274/minicimg3493eg5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

lights, camera, action

after winning a barginous auction for what should be crystal front and rear lights, it turned out it was just crystal rear lights and ordinary fronts, but at £20 delivered it was still a bargin.

(http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/4417/minicimg3501zj3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5606/minicimg3499rh3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

all blow and plenty of go
my exhaust finally gave up on me and fell off, so whilst i wait for the backbox i want (twin square tips), i went down to my garage and just made an exhaust out of some tin exhaust pipe. i made a straight through from front to back, and the noise was so unbelievably loud i had to leave it there for the night and take another car. i went back the next day and fitted one muffler, hooked up the centre straight and made a twin exit straight exhaust. the car actually sounds pretty good, not crazy loud and has a nice rasp to it. its all air tight and is only a temporary fix, but i might just get some square tips for it and then at least let it look like a proper exhaust. (the photos are from it being on for about 1 month - super rusty though!)

(http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1863/minicimg3503jg1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/8518/minicimg3504pq9.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4080/minicimg3506vx9.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 10 January 2007, 02:45
im all electric baby
finally i managed to win an auction for electric windows, i got the loom and switches and both motors and regulators for £35. i pulled out the old windows and found a way to fix the new electric ones in. they were off a mk3 polo, but still fitted perfect. i couldn't work out where to put the switches themselves, so i settled with the blank spaces under the hazard light switch. its a temporary fix (as it looks pants), but until i make the panel for the centre console (or buy one) it should do.

when refitting the doors, i made the membranes out of an old camping mat, so it sound deadens the doors, and waterproofs them, and its reusable to a certain extent - not like every previous membrane which ive had to bin after removing it.

i then managed to refit the door cards (which have totally lost their shape) for the first time in 2 years, so its a reasonably quiet car to drive now - wooo.

(http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/5082/minicimg3490na6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2482/minicimg3491pa3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8058/minicimg3492ah7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

fueled up

my fuel line has been leaking since I replaced the fuel pump because I bent and split the stupid plastic line, so I had to snip it back and bridge the two bits of pipe with some braided fuel line. but if anyone here knows, the fuel pressure on a k-jet is out of this world and can easily blow off the tightest of connections! i had been driving the car with a tiny leak for about 1000 miles, and i went on my way to manchester for christmas. i made the entire journey just fine, pulled into my grandmas driveway to see that the line had blown off completely and was throwing fuel EVERYWHERE! i lost almost a whole tank of fuel (thanks to capillary action) until i pulled the fuel lines out of the lift pump.

so i went ahead and booked a new fuel line at £40 and set about fitting it, which was much easier than i expected. i know i can strip the fuel pump off with my eyes closed, it was just my fear of pushing it through the chassis leg into the engine bay, but it went through 1st time with ease. i tightened everything up and tried to start the car, i tried until the battery was flat but there was still no fuel pressure. i thought that the line they gave me was a dud, until i started testing stuff. there was no fuel pressure from the lift pump...after scratching my head for a long while (mainly because of all the petrol that had soaked it when fitting the fuel line). i removed the lift pump to find the motor just hanging loose and not connected to the little rubber fitting, i wedged it back in, and then presto - the car started!
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 10 January 2007, 03:12
(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/7844/halfspannerqh6.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)
Tools Required: Crimp Tool, Wire Cutters, Wire Stripper, Multimeter

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/LOOM-2.png) (http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/LOOM.jpg)

headlight loomage
this update has a crazy amount of images, so it needs its very own post. i was getting fed up of driving round without even being able to see the road, so i went out to buy some bits to upgrade my lights a little - which turned out to be a little bit of a disaster, because trying to find relays appears to be impossible in glasgow, heres the list of places i went to (which didnt have any in stock) before i managed to get some.

maplin
rs components
city electrical factors
tait components
dunlop motor factors
lucas automotive
...then finally got them at maccess - who NEVER seem to have them in stock.

so i went to work fitting them up. i would have bought one off ebay, but i really wanted to have an individual relay for dip and beam for each side, if i was going to upgrade them, i may as well do the lot. i got some thick wire rated at 27.5a - which was twice as thick as maplins wire rated at 30a - which has me a little concerned. at the moment, the relays are just pretty bare, but i will grab some hobby boxes to put them in, and bolt them to the wings properly for a nice tidy finish. i will also tidy up the whole engine bay soon and trunk every wire, because im fed up of the wirey mess and crappy battery terminals.

you can try and make sense of the photos, it shows photos with one side fitted, and two different types of bulbs, the philips blue vision (on the passenger side) and the ring rally 100w on the right. i will annotate each photo to show how good the loom and bulbs are!

(http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/7015/minicimg3507km3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/3898/minicimg3508bd5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/9484/minicimg3509kp2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Dipped Beam
Left Bulb: 55w/60w Philips Blue Vision with Uprated Loom
Right Bulb: 80/100w Ring Rally with Standard Loom

you can definately see the improvement on the beam pattern where it slopes up to the left way more on the left bulb.

(http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3683/minicimg3510ym1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/5531/minicimg3511mw5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)


Main Beam
Left Bulb: 55w/60w Philips Blue Vision with Uprated Loom
Right Bulb: 80/100w Ring Rally with Standard Loom

there is still a mild improvement on the main beam as it does illuminate bigger on the left, so success, but the best is yet to come.

(http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/3623/minicimg3514ej3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Main Beam
Left Bulb: 55w/60w Philips Blue Vision with Uprated Loom
Right Bulb: 55w/60w Philips Blue Vision Standard Loom

this is with the same philips bulbs in both sides, for a proper comparison (not sure why i didnt just do this the whole way through)

(http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/217/minicimg3515zs5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Dipped Beam
Left Bulb: 55w/60w Philips Blue Vision with Uprated Loom
Right Bulb: 80/100w Ring Rally with Uprated Loom

now you can really see the difference. with the loom in place on both sides and the brighter bulb on the right, there is A LOT more light than on the left, so just shows how much better the rally bulbs are.

(http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/2378/minicimg3518rx3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/4192/minicimg3521aw8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Main Beam
Left Bulb: 55w/60w Philips Blue Vision with Uprated Loom
Right Bulb: 80/100w Ring Rally with Uprated Loom

i think the photos seriously speak for them self here, right hand side is mega bright!

(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/9273/minicimg3519ul8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/518/minicimg3522us8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)


the wiring is a little messy at the moment, but it should do until i get the hobby boxes. everything is crimped and then wrapped in insulation tape and is rock solid. each light has a new earth straight to the chassis, and the relays are just driven off the original light loom and grounds.

(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3870/minicimg3524hx0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/665/minicimg3525rk2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1281/minicimg3526tw9.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 23 January 2007, 16:13
no wonder my friends call me static hands
ok, so where are we, last update was how great my wiring loom was - so now this is going to be how troublesome the wiring loom is :( it was working perfect for a couple of weeks, then it started doing some bizzarre things.

my alarm was also causing my car to do odd things too, because of the rush job i did to install it. i stripped out most of the dash again, undid all wiring in place, and routed loads of new cables for it. a fresh 12v constant from the fusebox, a new 12v ign from the fusebox, and a new chassis ground - this way it stopped odd things like the stereo turning on when the alarm armed (because of the potential difference over the ign wire). so, after relieving the cigarrette lighter from being the ground, i sorted everything out nice and tidy, with some clean crimps and double taped insulation.

(http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/471/minicimg35354ln.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/9408/minicimg35364dn.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3696/minicimg35373om.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/9909/minicimg35412ds.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/9285/minicimg35420zq.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/2602/minicimg35436tp.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

oh and this last photo is my battery boosting baby, it can start a car with no battery, or a completely flat battery, 320A of power!!! it also has a super duper current sensing charger built it. every home garage needs one, but i dont think they are that cheap.

(http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3418/minicimg35450kc.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

also, you may have seen my posts about it, but i was having a fairly large parasitic drain on the battery when the engine was off, after testing with an ammeter there was a 0.35A draw, after cleaning up all the wiring, it reduced down to 0.02A. i also added another immobiliser, so im running 3 now :D. i also wired in the door switch to the alarm, so it doesnt arm itself until all doors are shut (boot, bonnet, doors), because i hadn't gotten round to doing it before when i first installed the alarm.

however, this is where my static hands come into play - when i fix one item, another does something weird. like now, after about 10mins of the alarm being armed, the left hand headlight turns on. the only way i can figure this out is that the alarm is drawing enough current (and as the fusebox ign spades on rear goes through the main beam fuse) to flick the relay on - odd, but i need to take a look. and now, about 500 miles since installing the loom the left beam and left dip don't work anymore, but the bulb itself is fine, so i need to double check that again, the wiring should be sound as a pound, not really much room for error - but i'll review it anyway. even on one headlight, its still plenty bright to drive about anyway!

soon to be a beauty

i only started using the golf as a cheap fast runabout, but now im starting to like it and im going to be buying less than practical mods for it, but it should look smart as now ;)

if you've seen the drivers side door card, the beading got tore off, so i was driving round with insulation tape over it, but i got fed up of how crappy it looked, and got some new door cards. i picked them up from a fella in swinton for £11.50, now they dont flex at all, and look much smarter - yey!

(http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7545/fbed12wp.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3716/eefd12tj.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/369/0e0b11qr.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2580/18bc11bj.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 23 January 2007, 16:14
...but then i got offered some even more exciting items

yellow/creme leather seats and door cards, they're from a 5 door, but i'm sure i'll be able to find some way to make them fit (maybe removing the back off my reclining seat and swapping the covers over).

(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/8010/da5f11sz.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3483/dc6213sh.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/1913/ecc219ye.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1584/efd516li.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

i am also going to try and remove the quarter light windows i have now, as i have been told, i should be able to fit the one piece glass in instead without a giant amount of bother. the guy im getting the leathers says he will throw in the windows for me, i know i will be left with a hole in the door where the mirror was, but i can fill that, and its much easier than replacing an entire door.

the newer windows should make the car look 100 times better, i can't wait. also, when it gets the new seats in, i think i will be removing all the window tints (although they are completely perfect - not sure if they'll look good or not). if anyone wants them, i would be happy to swap for standard glass plus £100. also, my step dad knows a guy that makes up car carpets pretty cheap, so i might even replace the whole carpets in the car in a yellow/creme colour (though i dont think it will age well).

its all starting to look for, as my friends and family have dubbed it - "the death wagon"

oil based madness
i drove to manchester at a rather honest and conservative 65mph, and only used 25l of fuel, which ended up equating to 40mpg - which is good! but driving about town its using up a fair whack, about 17mph - so ive got to try and figure out whats going on exactly (probably just my lead foot). also, its burning a lot of oil, from a full sump to bone dry in under 1000 miles, i know its an old car, but its still a fair amount of oil to be burning up. i might strip the head off and replace the valve stem seals if i can be bothered, but i dont want to muck about with it too much as its working perfect-ish right now, no performance hang ups.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 23 January 2007, 16:28
im soon going to be a scrubbin dubber
after my drivers front shock decided it didn't want to dampen anymore, and the rear opposite corner decided it couldnt be bothered compensating for it, i had to buy new shocks. i was going to get some half used avo's off my mate, but he mucked about too much and i couldnt be bothered waiting. so, as i dont figure myself as much of a performance driver, i thought i'd go and get some cheap and nasty coilovers.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=001&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=110081485873&rd=1&rd=1

(http://i12.ebayimg.com/05/i/06/3b/d6/9f_1_b.JPG)

i'm thinking its worth grabbing some new top mounts for these too, so i will pop those on aswell, and no longer will i be terrified going 90mph on the motorway with the car dipping and wallowing all over the show.

£Â£Ã‚£ this car owes me big time!
Title: Its been a long time coming
Post by: Ben Lessani on 03 May 2007, 01:10
How should I start this, after the shocks sitting in my living room for 3 months before fitting them I really have been lazy with the car. Last few posts I had just bought the leather seats and the coilys.

I fitted the leather seats the same night as picking them up, they dropped in reasonably well, front seats were easy, but the back seats were a total pain in the arse, I'm pretty confident they didn't come from a MK2 at all seen as though there were pins in the bottom of the seats to retain it on either side. The door cards would never fit because they are way smaller - so at the moment, I'm puzzled as what to do with the doors, maybe put black leather door cards on.

I got the coilovers fitted just last week, dropped them on, bought new front top mounts, rears seemed to be peachy. I fitted the whole lot and managed to get the height right about first time. It not only looks awesome, but the drive has just been changed completely. Its a little stiff, but my god does it grip, I've got the worst tyres in the world on it and I can fire round bends at 40+ now, I love it, its like driving a go-kart. Best purchase I've ever made, its totally transformed the car.

(http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/1463/minicimg3984xd0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/1720/minicimg3985vz7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

I've been without music for a long time, so I started going about making the boot build. I've got 2 cones, but for a start I'm just going to use one side of the boot. Its a fibreglass build inside the wheel arch, with an MDF face, I only had time to get a start on the fibreglass, but next week I will finish the MDF too.

Heres my handy box of glassing bits, along with a few car cleaning products,

(http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4383/minicimg3981gt3.jpg) (http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg3981gt3.jpg)

I started by masking off the carpet with tonnes of masking tape, then I applied a second layer, a binbag (which was pointless and caused me more bother than its worth) and more tape. The bag just made it awkward to follow the shape of the car, more tape would have done the trick just fine I think.

(http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9652/minicimg3982yd4.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/7698/minicimg3983eg7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8192/minicimg3989ef8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/3244/minicimg3990ar8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/3111/minicimg3991js5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5804/minicimg3992sh1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2263/minicimg3993am8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

So overall, the car is looking pretty tasty, I've got loads of small things to clean up, but to the normal person its beautiful! Thankfully, the engine is mint, but the g/box is starting to cause a few issues and is looking to be replaced within the next few thousand miles.

(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/306/minicimg3986yu0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2905/minicimg3987kt3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7895/minicimg3988ta5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 07 May 2007, 10:23
new wheels!
After a super last minute decision, i bought some new wheels shortly before leaving manchester to go to glasgow. i stopped off in carlisle to meet up with the fella and managed to secure these little beauties...

(http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2639/whee1yk5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/4057/whee2ac5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/8670/whee3ls8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3392/whee4tx1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/6641/whee5rp5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

and they will be wrapped in some nice new rubbers. buying some 195/45/15 uniroyal rainsports at a bargain of £43 per corner. i'll be very finely polishing the crap out of the wheels to get them looking super amazing before i fit them. then i'll have the joy of re-adjusting the coilys....i can't wait, my little death wagon is going to look amazing, i just need to finish the interior and consider actually sorting a stereo.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 08 May 2007, 22:59
you spin me right round
i still haven't gotten round to fitting the wheels yet, but i did manage to take a good look at them, i was a little bit disappointed really because the last owner had really badly resprayed the inside of them in a really tacky black. im going to have to spend a lot of time polishing the crap out of them to get the wheels back to the bare metal, but it should be worth it. then i'll try and find some chrome center caps and bolt covers.

in the mean time, because i still need to work on them, i test fitted them on the car to see how they would look, and if they will rub etc. they seem to be fine, but i couldn't check turning clearances because i only had a single jack and the car was on a slope - so it wouldn't have been a bright idea to go spinning the wheels. but i'll get it up on the 2 posts to check anyway. so a quick chop gave me an idea (the car normally doesnt sit so uneven, its just that the other side was jacked up).

(http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/340/silverwheelsmo1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3057/image004ap0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6563/image011ch1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

oh, right, so anyway, i was thinking what would it look like if i sprayed the inside black - i seriously doubt i would do it, but its worth a quick bash

(http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/7796/blackwheelskd8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 08 May 2007, 23:05
i'm on a road to nowhere, nowhere being the wholesale tyre shop
i know i've been really lazy with my posting on here (apologies guys and girls), i've got a few more photos now. i have been working full time to generate some extra dollars over the summer and my hard work has paid off with some rather barginous bits. my new glorious tyres, uniroyal rainsport 195/45/15, set me back a massive £129.20 - in total. i got an amazing deal, dont ask me how, but i just did. so i got my new rubbers strapped on and got my new wheels balanced up.

(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/9515/0050qu2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/3571/0049rk1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/2737/0048vk6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)


i fitted them then went about double checking the tracking (with them being a different width/size/offset), just incase it went askew. but the tracking was still spot on, what still concerns me is the camber on the drivers side wheel - i dont have any equipment to check the camber, anyone know a good *cheap* place to go in glasgow that could sort me out?

"solid....solid as a rock....do do do-do dooo"
also, as my front engine mount is 21 years old and basically completely shot, if i drive it remotely hard, it rattles the exhaust loose. and if anyone has been tracking my exhaust - its all homemade :D. so i have to re-tighten it every 3 weeks as it starts dragging on the ground. i have just bought a solid front mount to combat this and also had a big re-sort of the pipe work. i used a 2tonne van exhaust rubber (cut in half) to support the rear end, with an exhaust 'u' bracket heated up and flattened out, then welded onto the pipe and two nuts (with the thread flattened to lock the nut) and washers to hold the rubbers on. it seems solid as a rock, and hopefully, as long as i take it easy, it will last long enough until my mount arrives.

(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/765/0051ke7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/8420/0052hu8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6219/0053ie9.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6042/0054ph2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

sticky, but no mess
is the only way to describe the tyres. they are amazing, even though the camber is gubbed on the o/s wheel, its glued to the road, the roads were soaking tonight, and i could hit tight roundabouts at 40+ without any hint of understear (or overstear). im in love with them, my straight line braking is much better too. i should really have taken a photo of the state of the wheels before - 1mm tread left on the fronts :o

(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5905/0055cf3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8150/0056sc2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 30 June 2007, 23:38
more to do
future plans still include

then i'll probably just sell the car cos theres no more to do to it...
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 July 2007, 23:20
rock solid
in a bizarre decision, to cure my exhaust rocking woes, i got a solid engine mount from joe, it came without bolts (bit dissapointed about), but i did happen to have the right bits kicking about.

if anyone has bought one from him, the bolts needed are

2x m10 (1.5 pitch) - 17mm
1x m8 (1.0 pitch) - 13mm

i dont know if i went about it the right way, but to change it out, i slipped a jack under the gearbox and jacked it up a tiny bit, mainly just to support the weight. then i undid the top nut off the front engine mount, then i had to remove the front lower valance to get to the two bottom bolts. the m8 wasnt even there! to get the old mount out, i had to drop out the front subframe, the front bumper was removed and two 13mm bolts, one on each side and it dropped straight out. the old mount was removed and the new one was fitted up, it was easier to line up the mount with the subframe loose, then bolted everything up, then torqued it up. 60nm for the top 17mm bolt, 70nm for the bottom 17mm bolt and 35nm for the 13mm bolt, each subframe bolt (13mm) was torqued to 70nm and then the bumper was refitted with each 17mm bolt at 82nm.

in my most honest opinion, as always, when you start the engine, the whole car kicks and its like being punched in the kidneys (albeit lightly), on idle the car vibrates, at 1500rpm it settles, whilst driving the vibration is not noticeable at all. the most noticeable thing so far is the fact when accelerating and decelerating suddenly in the same gear, the car doesnt chug about or throw like it used to.

i'll need to reseal the exhaust again, but that should be it sorted out for sure now!

...next mod on the cards is a big brake upgrade to 280mm.......
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 August 2007, 11:50
early morning fixation
so i was up super early today and took a bash at going over a few things on the car. i popped the bonnet and for some reason i just started dismantling the gear linkage. about 6 pins and 6 bolts later i pretty much had the thing in pieces. i'd always struggled to get reverse (i put it in, and it would pop clean out 2s later) - so i can't reverse without burning the clutch out. fifth was becoming a little bit of a struggle too.

i found a few things that were causing my problems..

(http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/3641/minicimg4118zt5.jpg) (http://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4118zt5.jpg)
(http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/3504/minicimg4120yo0.jpg) (http://img394.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4120yo0.jpg)
(http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/3449/minicimg4119th7.jpg) (http://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4119th7.jpg)

Most of the bushes were in good condition (apart from the big red one). I bought a bush repair kit from GSF, but the foam doughnuts were a piece of rubbish  - its best sticking with the oem parts. as you can see from the photos, part of the linkage was twisted and the relay shaft bush was seriously worn.

after removing the gear lever, i stripped the ball and housing from the bottom and replaced it with a new one, but whilst tightening the retaining bracket i managed to strip the bolt off the main support plate. so i had to drill off the old stud, and fit another bolt in its place.

(http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/1024/minicimg4075dg3.jpg) (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4075dg3.jpg)
(http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7990/minicimg4072wn9.jpg) (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4072wn9.jpg)
(http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7448/minicimg4071hp7.jpg) (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4071hp7.jpg)
(http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/8048/minicimg4070al5.jpg) (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4070al5.jpg)

alignment was the next trick, the white reverse bracket was all bent out of shape - so the alignment tool wasn't going to work, so i went with just doing it by eye. i did it a couple of times, first starting with holding it in place with duct tape - but that was no use. i managed to just wedge different shaped objects around the lever to stop it moving at all, i put it in 3rd, and aligned it to 3rd......however, even after all these new parts, 5th is still a struggle and reverse still pops out. so basically i threw £27 down the drain on new parts to achieve nothing.

(http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/7919/minicimg4094ti2.jpg) (http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4094ti2.jpg)
(http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1507/minicimg4093ox2.jpg) (http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4093ox2.jpg)
(http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2536/minicimg4092rc9.jpg) (http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4092rc9.jpg)

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 06 August 2007, 12:09
this just winds me up
next up on the list was to fix the drivers window (again). the little metal bracket that holds the window to the actual moving wire just keeps breaking. it broke a while ago, and i managed to get a couple of small welds onto it - very careful not to melt the wire! but it had given way again, so now i was forced to try something new. i'm not sure whether you can buy the support from vw and i lost my manual window winders, so i had to improvise. this was the state of it before...

(http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1232/minicimg4100lo1.jpg) (http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4100lo1.jpg)
(http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/307/minicimg4096lp4.jpg) (http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4096lp4.jpg)

and after...

(http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/4508/minicimg4104rs8.jpg) (http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4104rs8.jpg)
(http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/2114/minicimg4103vs7.jpg) (http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4103vs7.jpg)
(http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/7590/minicimg4102vf3.jpg) (http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4102vf3.jpg)
(http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/7660/minicimg4101nl6.jpg) (http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4101nl6.jpg)

i just made it up out of cut alluminium and then steel cable tied it together. it seems pretty sturdy, so i'll see how long it can hold up for.

then after that, i finally got round to making up the doorpods for my front speakers, i have a couple of spare speaker trays, so i remade a new one out of fibreglass. i started by making speaker rings then screwing them into place, then pulling cloth over the top, and laying glass resin over it. it will need about 2/3 layers of glass before its perfect and airtight, but then it should be perfect.

(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/7262/minicimg4113hl7.jpg) (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4113hl7.jpg)
(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/1341/minicimg4111bq2.jpg) (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4111bq2.jpg)
(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3661/minicimg4106xw9.jpg) (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=minicimg4106xw9.jpg)

after all this i thought i would take a quick look at the scrubbing issues i've had whilst taking hard right corners, i didn't want to wear the tyres out, or damage the arches, so i brought the car up at the front by about 1cm and that seems to have cured the problem quite nicely.

so until next time ...
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 15 December 2007, 20:03
(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)
Tools Required: 8mm XYZ Key, 17mm Sump Key, Jack, Axel Stands, Full Socket and Spanner Set, Engine Crane

its been a long time
well, its been close to 4 months since i last updated my thread, turns out that i'm getting well lazy. its not that i have fixed the car, quite the opposite, i've done a fair bit of work, i just didn't have my camera handy to document it. over the past few weeks, i've had to...


but then recently, i needed to get the car MOT'ed and after a quick check, i found that the steering rack was slack - it could have been an easy fix just by tightening up the adjuster bolt, but i wanted PAS anyway so i figured i would replace the lot. also, given that my engine bay is green, and my car is black, i wanted to paint it. so the easiest thing to do was to remove the engine and paint the bay and the block itself.

so after a rough day of dismantling stuff i managed to get the engine out single-handed and went about painting bits. i went with yellow for the head and ancillaries, and black for the block. the yellow is a bit of a pig and needs about 3 coats to look good, whereas the black is pretty much single coat.

(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/2442/minicimg4342vu3.jpg)
(http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1220/minicimg4343eo7.jpg)
(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6299/minicimg4344cu6.jpg)
(http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3411/minicimg4345mm8.jpg)
(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/51/minicimg4346db6.jpg)

every bolt i removed, i labelled up to make sure i dont end up with spares at the end.

(http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5405/minicimg4347mm5.jpg)

then i got out my dremel and polished the alternator back to a crazy shine, but because i couldn't be bothered going over it with 2000 grit to get it to a mirror shine then lacquering it, maybe next time. i wire brushed the inlet manifold too and it looks awesome in the photos, but its no-where near as shiny in real life

(http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1024/minicimg4348nv1.jpg)
(http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/6047/minicimg4349fe8.jpg)
(http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1511/minicimg4350il9.jpg)

my last fight, and the reason i've given up for the night is because i cant remove the tie rod end from the track rod. the boot is damaged and needs replacing, but i need to get some heat to try and separate the track rod end from the rod.

(http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/581/minicimg4351zh8.jpg)
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3630/minicimg4352ig4.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 19 February 2008, 01:19
fitting PAS guide...

I've posted a tonne of useful information and diagrams here (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=100369.msg852748#msg852748). Should come in handy for a steering woes.

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

PAS Pump
Pump Bracket + Bolts (2x 6" and 1x 2" which replace the water pump bolts. 3x 1" and 1x 4" for those which secure the bracket to the lower and rear of the block)
Hoses
Resevoir and Bracket
Rack
Belt
UJ joint from lower steering column to rack
Pulley Setup - Depending on the year of your car it could either need
* Double crank pulley, a water pump pulley, slip pulley for water pump and PAS pump pulley
* Double crank pulley, shallow depth water pump pulley (to prevent belt rubbing) and PAS pump pulley

In terms of tools, its all 13mm bolts, with varying levels of access (ratchet spanner, deep and shallow sockets). And the hoses themself bolt onto the rack with 18mm heads (spanner). The tie rod ends are held on with a 17mm nut (socket).

I changed mine with the engine out, so it was very straightforward, although putting the hose connections on was still awkward.

With the engine out - as a sidenote, the instructions below also apply with the engine in, but it requires the rear subframe to be dropped out (something I don't have experience of)
Put the car on axle stands and remove the front wheels.
Pull the rubber sleeve back and remove the 13mm bolt on the UJ on the rack, then repeat the same with the UJ on the lower steering column (it is easier if you remove the lower dash to access it).
Undo the 4 nuts from the captive bolts in the rear subframe, each two pairs are located at each end.
Loosen the tie rod end ball joint, 17mm nut, on both the passenger and drivers side and gently tap it out the wheel bearing housing (or use a ball joint separator to push it out). If you find the ball joint itself is spinning whilst trying to undo the nut - hit the top of the ball joint with a hammer reasonably forcefully, then proceed to undo the nut.
The manual rack and now be removed without the need to remove the track rod arms, just slide it left, then lift the right side out, followed by the left side.
Putting the PAS rack in is basically the reverse - Inspect the rack as it is now the time to replace any boots, ball joints etc. it is much easier with the rack off the car!
Remove the hoses from the PAS rack, then proceed to slide it in, in the same manner the manual rack was removed.
Put the 4x 13mm nuts onto the rack itself and torque to the correct setting (I can't remember offhand).
Re-locate the track rod ends in the wheel bearing housing
Tie the hoses back onto the rack and tighten appropriately, just above hand tight is sufficient. The hoses run across the length of the rack, pass over the brake lines and rise underneath the expansion tank
Tie on the UJ joint on the lower steering column, then fit it onto the rack
Mount the resevoir bracket to the engine bay somewhere appropriate
Release the belt tension from the alternator by loosening the 13mm securing bolt and 13mm pivot bolt (it may also be neccessary to loosen the 8mm allen bolt at the lower pivot)
Remove the upper right, lower left and right bolts from the water pump
Fit the PAS pump to the bracket
Bolt the bracket to the engine with the two 6" bolts to the lower left and right of the water pump
The 2" bolt is applied to the upper right of the water pump
The 4" and 1" bolts are driven through the lower part of the bracket into the bottom edge of the block
The remaining 2" bolts and secured to the rear left (when facing oil filter) of the block, these holes may require tapping depening on the block age
The belt can be fitted and is tensioned by undoing a series of bolts. The tension mechanism on the PAS bracket is clearly visible, slightly loosen the slide nut, also loosen the lower left bolt on the PAS pump, and a further slightly hidden 13mm bolt accessed through the right hand gap of the PAS bracket.
Tighten the belt until appropriate (I usually do them until there is less than 10mm flex between pulleys)
Then tighten all the bolts loosened prior to the tensioning.
Re-attach the hoses and fill the PAS resevoir with fluid (Dexron II is suitable, also used as ATF)

Thats basically it, enjoy!

steering in the right direction
no pictures at the moment, but i did manage to remove the tie rod ends, and i fitted new gaitors to it, i also got a new uj gaitor as mine was very brittle. i got the rack fitted up to the car and went to fit the uj and it seemed about 2cm too short? after scratching my head for a while, i started dismantling the steering column and found most of the bearings were out of place and that last time i took the steering wheel off, i forgot to replace the spring. basically, my steering rack was never damaged, the slack was in the column - which is very annoying, as i could still be MOT'ed and driving the car. the bonus i suppose will be that im getting PAS, fingers crossed.

I refitted the balljoint lockplate, and the suspension strut, which basically completes the wheel aspect of the car, i just need to drop the engine in. i went over the engine bay with a wire brush and a drill and got it all nice and clean, but there was still loads of adhesive, so i got out my pressure washer, turned it to 130 degs and went about steam cleaning it, i also did the g/box so i can paint it and what a difference! it removed all the crap that had built up over 21 years in an instant!

when i went about sticking the PAS pump and brackets onto my block, i ran into a couple of hurdles.

1 - where the two bolts go into the rear side of the block for the support bracket - i had to tap threaded holes in as they didn't have a thread before.
2 - how on earth do i get the pulley's sorted, I don't have autodata installed, so i can't see the belt configuration, but the PAS pulley is about 2cm further out from the alternator, crank and water pump, the guy i got the bits off gave me another pulley - its got 4 holes so i can only assume it goes in the crank - but it sits about 4cm away from the PAS pulley?

so i went to the scrapyard today and found a MK2 golf.......shell. i checked the MK3 but thats an entirely different pulley system, ribbed belt, not toothed. then i saw a lonely looking Corrado sitting in the corner, popped the bonnet and there was a nice little 16v K-Jet engine in there, pulley system looked similar, so went about stealing it.

a lot of swearing and bodging and 2 hours later, yes 2 hours! i got the water pump pulley and the crank pulley off, but there is 1 issue. the water pump pulley was slightly damaged, there is two, the inner and outer. it looks like the inner pulley serves no real purpose and just spins freely and its the PAS belt that drives the water pump. as the inner pulley was damaged, i doubt i can stick with my original pulley, as the water pump will be driven by two different belts, not to mention it probably won't fit, so it looks like i'm back to square one!

I will test fit the components tommorow and see how it looks.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 20 February 2008, 23:25
paint fumes, what paint fumes - damn talking tyre always harrassing me
i had a little agenda to get the car finished in 3 days, yesterday i went to the scrap yard and got the pulleys i needed and fitted them all up - not with a lot of initial success, however...i got my super dooper pressure washer and steam cleaned the engine bay and gear box ready for painting,

(http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/4369/minicimg4764wf9.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

the reason for painting the engine bay was because the car used to be green, and the engine bay still was, so i thought i'd quickly go over it and just paint some black hammerite on - i'm not after show condition, just want it not to be rusty and green.

heres how it used to look

(http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/4487/minicimg4766xl9.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7744/minicimg4767kg8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9930/minicimg4768fv2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

then after about 3 hours or so of painting it started to look like this

(http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/2655/minicimg4773wr3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5976/minicimg4774kc5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/7434/minicimg4775mq4.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/9615/minicimg4777mf8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/474/minicimg4785ey0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1056/minicimg4786vi0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

just incase you were wondering about the amount of space i've been working with heres a quickie at my workshop/garage.

(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8018/minicimg4778oq5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2779/minicimg4787hv3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8783/minicimg4789tu5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

rather stupidly i left my chrome wheels on for 2 months whilst the car was on axel stands, they do not look too good .... :(

(http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1526/minicimg4788bk3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

and just because i haven't posted a pic about it - heres my bargain stainless steel exaust.

(http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8061/minicimg4790wy7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

i managed to keep myself busy just adding the ancillaries onto the block and generally sorting all the loose ends before the big install. one problem that i faced was getting the pas pulleys sorted, after a long discussion with rubjonny (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=75721.0) i tried all possible methods of hooking up the pulleys without any real success. in the end i just cheated and i hope it wont put too much a strain on the bearings. i spaced out the 2nd crank pulley with 3 washers, and the pas pulley to line up. stuck a small belt on 675mm if memory serves and tensioned it up, and fingers crossed it all seems to be fine.

(http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/4128/minicimg4780kz5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/2208/minicimg4815vz3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/8313/minicimg4816lz8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)


the pulleys of success are turning
today was my most productive day of all, i finished up my work and went about putting the engine finally back in the car, i had my reservations about a couple of things which i later found out to be true. i bolted everything together, then rather gently and awkwardly slipped the engine back into the car.

before the big lift

(http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/3686/minicimg4782bk0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/6771/minicimg4813bu5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

the big lift
so heres a quick few shots of the final step, its all single handed, so it took be about 8 hours to get the engine back in, wired up and bolted down, you can see in the photos the rad going back on, front grille and finally the bonnet.

(http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/9484/minicimg4818bf0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/7414/minicimg4824yr5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/9208/minicimg4828ci8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/3238/minicimg4827te2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4219/minicimg4829hp7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 20 February 2008, 23:35
always listen to your instinct
when removing the bottom hose off the water pump, i managed to shear a bolt, i tried extracting the snapped stud - but with no joy. so i drilled a hole, tapped it and then put a stud in it. when i put the water pump back together again, it looked like the hole i drilled was a little off centre, and so made the thermostat and hose not sit 100% flush. i hoped it was ok and that it just 'looked' loose - i was wrong. i went to fill the engine so i could try to start it and almost imediately water started pissing out of the water pump.

annoyed isn't the half of it - not only do i have to buy a new water pump, but i also need a new bottom rad hose, thermostat, rubber seals, and worst of all - have to take all the damn pulleys back off so i can get to the friggin water pump. its a pain in the arse with the engine out the car - but now its back in, feffin balls! just another expense to add to the flipping list.

is it so wrong that i just want to drive my car!
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 21 February 2008, 23:46
ready, steady, go
so where was i, oh year, my water pump was leaking. it was the bottom flange connection that wasn't sitting flush because the hole i re-drilled in the pump was about 2mm out of place, which meant the plastic sat ever so squint. unfortunately, this meant i had to retire an otherwise perfect 22 year old water pump, for a new silver counterpart. i got new seals and a bottom flange with the waterpump and fitted it all up in less than 30mins - dismantling a golf is easy!

after a quick test run, i started the engine, made sure it was okay, no leaks etc. and everything seemed ok. so i bolted the rest of the parts back onto the car, front bumper, grille, sorted out the wiring for the headlights that i had to snip, re-did the grounds and tidied up the bay a little. i stuck my old p slots back onto the front so my drive to the MOT place with completely mal adjusted tracking wont shred my tyres.

i kinda guessed my gearbox alignment again by estimating the central position and wedging cardboard around it, then sliding under the car and tightening the mech up. i just bolted the exhaust on quickly, before i put it on my mates ramps tommorow where i can line it up and add sealant.

the car was sat about 16" off the ground at the front subframe, and as i only have a little 2t jack, i had to lower the car tyres onto bricks, then reverse the car off them.

(http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/5599/minicimg4831zb3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

and we have lights...

(http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/4568/minicimg4832tv0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6534/minicimg4833ka2.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

heres a quick snapshot of the new water pump and PAS pulley in action

(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/240/minicimg4834ky6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2879/minicimg4835ng4.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

and now heres the mess i need to tidy up. as the neat freak as i am with my tools, i have to polish each one clean before i put it away incase the world explodes.

(http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/5749/minicimg4839vt6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

so with my MOT booked for tommorow at 3pm i'm in a race against time to get the last few things done...

make window wiper sweep entire window width
put orange indicators in rear lights so they flash amber
put indicators in the front bumper as i seem to have lost mine
put a switch in for the horn as the steering wheel contact snapped off
tighten up the exhaust and seal it
fill PAS resevoir with fluid
hammer the brakes so that the rust comes off and the car has sufficient braking power
secure front offside headlamp as plastic cap fell off
secure back seats properly (sh!t, i forgot about that!)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 23 February 2008, 19:41
i figure i really need a list of things to do, scary thing is, it would probably be as long as my arm leg driveway.

replace nearside bumper indicator bulb holder
give the car a thorough clean, mop and polish
fix scraping noise when steering wheel turns 30/03/08
weld in proper brackets for split rear seats
re-make fibreglass sub box, recover and fit
replace both front doors with 90 spec units
get proper centre console for leccy windows
finish door pod builds, sand, paint/recover
use loom tape on engine bay to tidy it up
recover the door cards to match the seats
fix all dents/scratches/chips in bodywork
give the carpets in the car a full valet 01/04/2008
find and fit boot interior plastic trim
make some kind of new front wiper mech 28/03/08
re-spray chrome strip on dashboard
get proper central locking button
replace offside up and over seal
replace top starter support bolt 28/03/08
clean leather seats up properly 01/04/2008
replace passenger door membrane 01/04/2008
replace parcel shelf supports
put new seat runner bushes in 01/04/2008
smooth over rear wiper hole
replace parcel shelf straps
replace speedo cable gasket
smooth nearside wiper hole 28/03/08
buy new front components
fix chip in windscreen
replace steering wheel 01/04/2008
fix bouncy rev needle
replace parcel shelf
fit boot rubber seal 01/04/2008
secure PAS resevoir
refurb alloy wheels
replace back window
re-code alarm fobs 01/04/2008
fix noisey tappets
get wheel spacers
get hid lights
get MOT 28/03/08
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 28 March 2008, 22:56
glorious green piece of paper
so as you can guess - my MOT went through first time, no worries - so my baby is back on the road again - yey! But, as in the true style of old motoring, not 5 minutes after driving, it develops a fault - a pretty big one. I lost all gears! My fear was that it was the new box I fitted, but after popping the bonnet I saw the gear linkage had just come apart. It was a quick 2 minute job to pop it back in place - and away I went home to investigate further.

After spending a good 2 hours tidying the garage and polishing my tools, I jacked up the car, and started work again...

(http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/5749/minicimg4839vt6.jpg)(http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/1922/minicimg4840il7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

So I pulled the selector mech off the car and low and behold - the reason it was popping out was because the GSF part was simply too tall,

(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/8152/minicimg4847rs0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1769/minicimg4848rm8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

...and it had caused the bottom of the relay ball to foul on the metal plate simply wearing it away.

(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3627/minicimg4850xs8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

My OEM shaft was bent - so I based it a few times with a hammer to straighten it up. I popped the ball off the GSF shaft but it wouldn't clip back on to the OEM. So, as a temporary measure I drilled a hole in the middle, tapped it and put a bolt in, with the ball upside down. I managed to judge the hole dead centre with a hand drill!

(http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4451/minicimg4845oa3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)(http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5449/minicimg4851cm5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 12 April 2008, 21:17
musty, mouldy and wet
and that's the only way i can describe the interior of the car, it was minging. over the past few months, the water had slowly been dribbling in through the fan hole in the bulkhead, to the point where it was about 3" deep. so my only solution was to empty the entire car, out came the seats and carpets so i could see the damage. well, thankfully, i'd already painted the floorpan - so no rust there, but - in my infinite wisdom, i went stuffing sound deadening material in every nook and cranny, which was now just waterlogged and mouldy. so i pulled all that out (an entire binbag full!), tore up the sound deadening i have put down (adhesive bodyline stuff). dried out the car, hoovered it up, sprayed it over with industrial grade disinfectant, and sponge cleaned it all up. and it started to smell nice and clean.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4855.jpg)

whilst the carpets were out, they got sprayed down with disinfectant, steam cleaned with disinfectant, shampooed, steam rinse. i hung them up to dry and they were done in about 2 days. the boot carpet however was all malformed and misshaped because it had gotten wet and sagged around the spare wheel. i put it between two big pieces of wood, and placed a few wheels on top to apply pressure. i left it like this for about a week (still wet), and when i lifted the stuff off, the carpet was completely flat - just like new, so i hung it up to dry too. the trouble with the boot though, even though i fixed the seal - its still leaking from somewhere, but i'm yet to figure it out. i know its not the rear light clusters, but i have no idea where it is.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4853.jpg)

after everything dried, i refitted it all bar the passenger seat - only because it didn't have the recliney lever on it, so i took the seat cover off to have a look, and there wasn't any place for a bracket to go, i stripped down a spare rainbow seat - and its bracket is welded on.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4856.jpg)

looking at it, its pretty different to the standard seat - so it must have been off a newer model, i'm not really sure how to go about fixing this, but i'll be sure to find out. for the time being, i've just popped the seat back into the car.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4857.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4858.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4859.jpg)

winding me up and driving me up the wall - part 1
i was on my way to manchester and...after a 180 mile drive in the Golf, I'd built my confidence back up again (bear in mind it was off the road for 4 months, and only got its MOT 3 days ago). Then I hear an almighty clunk, I immediately pull onto the hard shoulder - give the car a quick inspection and all seems fine. I drove cautisouly for the next 35 miles.

I pushed it up on the axel stands this morning and spotted the culprit,

(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6519/minicimg4780kz5ns7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)

The rear bottom PAS bracket bolt had come out. I had trouble with this originally because the block itself didn't have threads in it for the bolts, so I tapped them as best I could - but it simply wasn't very deep. I hoped the tension alone and the fact the bolt was torqued to around 10NM should suffice, but it popped out it seems. Don't worry - my belts aren't setup like that, they are like this, that was the only photo I could find.

(http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/8313/minicimg4816lz8.jpg)

I got under it and there was enough width to get away with boring the hole wider, so I drilled it out to a M10, 8.5mm drill bit mixed with a M10x1.5 tap. Re-drilled the bracket to 10mm, and stuck two new bolts with plenty of loctite in its place.

It seems rock solid now.

winding me up and driving me up the wall - part 2
i was on my way back from manchester and...my wiper linkage had chucked it and I ended up sitting on the M6 embankment in the pouring rain for 1.5hrs waiting the AA to turn up (hoping my Relay policy would get me a lift home). the linkage had seized up, mostly the nearside spindle had seized. i didn't have the balls to try and fix my car at the road side at 11pm, so i waited for the AA fella to work his magic. after driving home with 1 wiper, i stripped off the mech today and took a look, and the passenger spindle was all rusty around the top 1cm - hence it sticking. so i got my trusty dremel and cleaned it up, including the column too, put tonnes of grease in there, gave it a quick test and it seemed fine, popped it back on the car, and sure as anything, it works perfect - woo. but i have only put 1 wiper back on, so that i can re-spray the wiper arms.

beep beep, who got the keys to my......vw
after driving for almost 18 months now without a horn - i've got to say, its the most annoying thing in the world, you can't demonstrate any level of anger or frustration to fellow drivers! so i finally got round to fixing it today, the trouble was with the metal contact on the stalk unit - it snapped off a while ago. so using a metal cable tie, i ground it a little bit narrower, so it would fit into the electrical plug, put some insulation tape round the back of it and bent it a little bit. difficult to describe, but i have no photo unfortunately. but it works a treat, steering wheel back on, and now i have a nice little push button horn - its awesome!

i managed to score a few more things off my list, but i've still got a lot to go...
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 13 April 2008, 23:31
somewhat clean and shiny
after seeing techie's car - something like that, all clean and shiny i thought maybe it would be appropriate to give my old motor a clean - and that i did, for about 5 hours. only a five part clean,

90 degree hot jet rinse
hot jet shampoo
autoglym sponge shampoo
cold rinse
turtle wax

heres the before shots

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4992.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5051.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4996.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG4997.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5001.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5003.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5004.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5006.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5007.jpg)

the wheels have definately seen better days, and i'm afraid they are a  bit beyond a simple polish, its going to need machine polishing with abrasive - so off to b&q tommorow to find some polishing pads.

...and after the rinse, shampoo and sponging

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5008.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5009.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5010.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5014.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5014.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5015.jpg)

a wash alone helped 10 fold, but it needs a little wax protection, ideally i should polish it too - but i don't have any at the moment.

...then i got busy with the wax...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5020.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5022.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5024.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5031.jpg)

the bonnet alone deserved 3 shots because of how shiny it looked

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5025.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5027.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5028.jpg)

and the overall look...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5039.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5041.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5034.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5046.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5047.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5048.jpg)

even more puzzled about the paint code
so if any of you know by now, the reason i still can't do any of the small touch up jobs or swap out the front doors with 90spec ones is because i have no idea what the paint code is for my car. to add more confusion to the mix, heres a couple of close ups after polishing, at this point - i don't have a scooby doo! but it looks bloody good though!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5035.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5038.jpg)

after spending a good little while on detailingworld.co.uk, i've found a few new products to try out and they should arrive within the next few days...

meguiars quik clay detailing kit
autoglym super resin polish
collinite No. 476s

should be interesting to see how the car turns out after this, i've already got bottles of farecla g3/g10 to do initial paint prep, tonnes of microfibre towels, polishing cloths etc.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 April 2008, 23:05
pin striping belongs on a car - not on clothes
so after seeing (golf 8v's) project thread, and how they sprayed the red stripe onto the grill, it looked awesome, and i always missed mine after spraying it body coloured. so a few p'shops later and i was here...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/carwithnotrim.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/carwithredtrim.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/carwithyellowtrim.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/carwithbluetrim.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/carwithgreentrim.jpg)

i've gotta say, i'm loving the red stripe round the grill, it looks pretty good, breaks up the 'all black' on my car (everything is colour coded!). i doubt i'd ever do yellow - just interesting to see how it mixes with the interior. after a pretty convincing vote of 'yes to red' from my golfgti boys and girls, i grabbed some pin striping tape from halfords and went to work, and 5 minutes later i was here...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5094.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5092.jpg)

the look is growing on me, so i'll see how it goes over the next few weeks - and if i like it, i'll spray it. but i have to say, the badass in me is tempted to do it blue - given most people don't have it because its of a limited version of the golf, but it does look good  :evil: we'll see...
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 15 April 2008, 13:53
bling bling baby
so, as promised today, the wheels came off 1 by 1 to get their clean. i took about 1 million pictures, so i will try and remain calm  when posting - i have a habit of going image crazy. i cleaned all the wheels in the same fashion, after realising that plain old autosol couldn't manage the job on its old, i went to the car bits shop and picked up a few things...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/34934-group1ww-s.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/A60105.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/FAR016.jpg)

farecla 6" compound mop, farecla 2" compound mop, poloshing mop and backing plate, fine grade steel wool

i first scrubbed the wheel down with a sponge and some diluted fairy liquid (not neat), rinsed it off, applied some farecla g3 cutting compound and went over as much as i could with the 2" mop, i cut the surface until the compound had disappeared (keeping the mop moist at all times). then i rubbed the surface down by hand in the hard to reach areas with the g3, cleaned it off with a clean rag, then used a diluted mix of about 1/10 water and autosol in a spray bottle and went over it with the polishing pad until all the liquid had gone, then just gave it a quick wipe by hand in the hard areas again. because the wheels weren't in great nick when i first got them, i always meant to spray the gaps between the spokes black again, so now was my chance. i masked off the centre and rim and primed with some zinc 182 and then sprayed it in halfords matt black spray paint.

i started with the drivers wheel - which fortunately had been kept dry and warm in the garage for the 4 months the car was off the road (shame i can't say the same about the two rears  :cry: ). it wasn't in too bad condition, but i worked over it the same as the others to ensure a consistent result.

front offside before

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5052.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5053.jpg)

after

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5059.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5063.jpg)

now the sad ones, the rear offside, it had been sat in the winter weather for 4 months taking a beating, it was badly corroded with pitting, and discolouration of the metal. i, against my better judgement, had to attack this with wire wool (the sponge wasn't shifting anything). it did score the metal - but i hoped to be able to buff this out with the g3 (and i did :D )

rear offside before

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5058.jpg)

after

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5064.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5065.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5067.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5070.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5076.jpg)


front nearside after

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5078.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5079.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5080.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5081.jpg)



rear nearside before

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5072.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5073.jpg)

after

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5085.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5087.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5088.jpg)


i started it at about 12pm and finished at 8pm, so about 2 hrs per wheel to clean it up and give it a primer coating (i will put the final coat on tomorrow and put about 5 coats on over the next few days to be safe). i don't expect the paint to last very long (6 months +) but at this point, i can always get the wheels professionally refurbished. look at my poor car teetering on the edge on a sloped driveway on 3 axle stands. i slapped myself, came to my senses and put the old p-slots on at this point.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5068.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5083.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5089.jpg)

when the paint is all done drying - i will post the photos of them finished, fingers crossed i masked off well enough and they don't come out looking crap! wish me luck.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 17 April 2008, 23:53
whats black and chrome with 6 legs
...and here's how they turned out post-painting. 2 coats of primer and 5 coats of satin black hammerite and this is what it looked like.

from

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5058.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5072.jpg)

to

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5099.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5104.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5109.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5110.jpg)

got to say - it looks pretty damn smart, a hellish improvement if i do say so myself. i was a little bit curious about whether i made a mistake doing it in satin black - rather than matt. so i used the remainder of my matt spray and did half a wheel in that for comparison...but i'm torn, i don't know whether i prefer the satin or matt, time will tell...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5106-1.jpg)

spot the difference  :cool:
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 19 April 2008, 02:32
i cleaned my car, again
this wasn't just a car clean, but a chance to go nuts with my new kit. so as mentioned before i got...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/0d52_1.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/d773_1.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/5584_2.jpg)

meguiars quick clay kit
autogylm srp
collinite 476s

and applied them in that very order. i'll let the pictures do the talking - but if i recommend anything to anyone - claying your car has to be the (slowest) best thing in the world for old rough paintwork. it went from making mine feel rough and gritty to glass smooth. the srp added a brilliant wet look and the collinite sealed it all up for the next 6 moths  :grin:

before

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5124.jpg)

washing

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5129.jpg)

claying

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5141.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5157.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5158.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5166.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5169.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5174.jpg)

polishing

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5177.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5176.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5178.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5180.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5182.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5190.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5196.jpg)

waxing

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5211.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5200.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5207.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5202.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5206.jpg)

i polished and waxed my chrome rims, put them back on the car, and will do some nice photos tomorrow. if you were wondering, i started cleaning my car at about 3:30pm - and finished about 1:30am, 10 hours to clean your car....sure is slower than a drive-thru.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 23 May 2008, 23:34
hit rock bottom
or rather, just the pavement. i had to do a three point turn when i spotted a nice open driveway, pulled onto it, and before i realised, it was very steep, and the moment i went for reverse, the weight of the car shifted and it sat its ass on the floor. i tried to back out and the car was stuck fast, i did manage to almost tear the exhaust off the head before a kind person with a massive jack helped ramp my car into the air and put big sleepers under the tyres to slowly back the car back out.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5291.jpg)

4 wheel laser alignment
so yeah, as per a botched alignment from kwik fit, i took my dollars and my baby elsewhere and got it aligned. it happened to be pro-grip in bonnybridge. i'll let the pictures do the talking on this one.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5292.jpg)

a rather unlikely location

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5295.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5302.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5287.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5297.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG5296.jpg)

so after looking at what looked like a 1980's sci fi film prop set, i got my results from the fella - and what looked pretty shocking, i was reassured quite a lot of hatchbacks were squint and only really mercs and bmw's tend to be found 99% spot on.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/document2008-05-01-103841_0002.png)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/document2008-05-01-103841_0003.png)

as per what everyone here, and i, thought - the rears can't be aligned. the best you can do is just put new poly bushes in to square up the rear end, other than that - there's not much you can do. although the rear beam is off, cumulatively it was fine, which is the figure you need.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 13 December 2008, 19:54
Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 30 days.

Man, where have I been for the last 7 months. Well, I have been driving the car and that's pretty much it, nothing has gone wrong :smiley:

... And then more recently, I hadn't had any antifreeze in the car and it has been exceptionally cold. So much so, that I lost a few parts to ice expansion. The radiator and the metal pipe cracked.

So after a few days of mucking in, I got everything fitted up, then had difficulties starting her, it kept backfiring in the intake. I checked and re-positioned the intake pipe, unplugged and replugged all the electrical contacts I had removed. Removed the dizzy cap and cleaned up the contacts then soaked it in WD40. Reseated the battery clamps and prayed to all the popular deities ...

... turned the key, and low and behold, SHE FIRED UP! She seems to run ok without any issues  :grin:

There was a small leak from  the water pump; I did remove it yesterday to check the impeller was ok. But I drove it to GSF to get a new seal, but by the time I got there, the leak had stopped. I drove round a load more and let it run on the driveway for 5 mins, but no leaky - so maybe the rubber seal needed to reseat itself....But I'll keep an eye on it.

After driving it for 5 minutes though - it was totally worth putting in a few hours labour :cool:

No pictures on this post, but I'll post some more later. But I've got more on my checklist to fix ...

replace nearside bumper indicator bulb holder
give the car a thorough clean, mop and polish
fix scraping noise when steering wheel turns 30/03/08
weld in proper brackets for split rear seats
re-make fibreglass sub box, recover and fit
replace both front doors with 90 spec units
get proper centre console for leccy windows
finish door pod builds, sand, paint/recover
use loom tape on engine bay to tidy it up
recover the door cards to match the seats
fix all dents/scratches/chips in bodywork
give the carpets in the car a full valet 01/04/2008
find and fit boot interior plastic trim
make some kind of new front wiper mech 28/03/08
re-spray chrome strip on dashboard
get proper central locking button
replace offside up and over seal
replace top starter support bolt 28/03/08
clean leather seats up properly 01/04/2008
replace passenger door membrane 01/04/2008
replace parcel shelf supports
put new seat runner bushes in 01/04/2008
smooth over rear wiper hole
replace parcel shelf straps
replace speedo cable gasket
smooth nearside wiper hole 28/03/08
buy new front components
fix chip in windscreen
replace steering wheel 01/04/2008
fix bouncy rev needle
replace parcel shelf
fit boot rubber seal 01/04/2008
secure PAS resevoir
refurb alloy wheels
replace back window
re-code alarm fobs 01/04/2008
fix noisey tappets
get wheel spacers
get hid lights
get MOT 28/03/08
fit new sunroof interior panel
fit n/s rear seatbelt
replace passenger door handle
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 19 December 2008, 00:33
mother f***ing stupid piece of ****, god-damn p***ing me off, ****

so, i was replacing the heater matrix after noticing a weird residue on the windscreen and a slight smoke coming out the dash vents. so i stripped the dash down and had the matrix out within 1.5 hrs. i had to grind off the lower 10mm stud because it had seized solid but most of the rest was smooth sailing.

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)
Tools Required: 10mm ratchet, flat blade screwdriver, posidrive screwdriver, wide grip pliers,

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6647.jpg)

i started by removing both sides of the lower and centre dash, all screws are plainly visible. ignore the steering wheel, its temporary until i find a bargain momo off ebay!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6648.jpg)

then pull the two levers for the heater controls off, they might be stiff, but just yank them off. then pull the selector for the fan speed. you then will be able to click off the bezel for the heater to reveal the screws behind, just go ahead and unscrew them. it does make it easier later on if you remove your stereo (if you have one).

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6649.jpg)

then remove the centre vents, this is really easily done. gently pry the side of the vent, as per below, then it will pop out one edge. then repeat on the other side of the vent. repeat this for the remaining vent. you now have access to the 2x screws that go through the vents into the dash, go ahead and remove these too.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6652.jpg)

to the left of your driving feet there is a big plastic cover that keeps everything together, you can remove this by again, undoing the visible screws. now go ahead and remove the lower vent section (that blows on your feets), its pretty tough because its wedged between the exhaust tunnel and the fresh air box, remove the retaining screw on the drivers side then just yank away gently and it will come out.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6650.jpg)

next up is tricky, you have to remove the pipe that goes to the face vents. this is a bit of a pig, and you will definately think you're doing it wrong, but just reach under the dash first and pry away (with your hands) the left and right vent connections. then you can begin to manipulate the pipe and pull it down, the middle vents have to squeeze between the dash and the fresh air box - its tough plastic, so dont worry. now, remove the two screws that hold the windscreen vent in place, one to the left, one to the right.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6651.jpg)

now you have exposed the fresh air box itself, congrats - go get some coffee and take a breather!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6653.jpg)

we're going to jump into the engine bay now, this bit is really easy and should only take a couple of minutes.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6654.jpg)

first remove the inlet and outlet pipes. grab your pliers and lean into the engine bay, reach your hands under all the wiring and ancillaries above the g/box and you have enough room to compress the hose clip and slide it backwards. repeat on the other pipe. remove the two host pipes by teasing them off the matrix, a little bit of antifreeze is going to leak out, but don't worry. prop the two hoses up in the engine bay to stop it leaking any more.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6655.jpg)

there is two 10mm retaining nuts that hold the matrix to the bulkhead, you can see one of them in the picture above, the other is about 12" lower down. i managed to remove the top one without bother, but the bottom one was seized and turning the nut was just mangling up the plastic on the fresh air box - i was getting nowhere, so i dremelled it off!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6656.jpg)

right, get back into the car now, there's only 5 metal retaining clips holding the matrix in place. these need to be pried off. removing the glovebox will *not* give you any better access, so don't bother - out of frustration i smashed mine to bits!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6659.jpg)

the metal clips are visible if you get level with the matrix, there is a pipe which runs from the blower to the matrix housing, where the pipe joins the matrix housing you'll see 2x metal clips, if you slip a flatblade screwdriver behind the right edge, you can flick it off. there is another underneath, which is quite easy to get to. there is another on top, which is tough to get to, i found putting my hand in the gap where the vents were i could get just enough leverage to flick it off. theres two left now, both on the back of the unit, if you reach underneath, you'll have to feel your way round - you can flick the lower one off, but the one at the top is nigh on impossible. i just wiggled the fresh air box until the clip pinged off.

now push the heater controls back and down to the right, because they are attached to the fresh air box, they're going to come out with it. pull the matrix forward and down, it will take a bit of effort to separate from the windscreen vent. try and keep it upright to prevent leaking in the car. once its out, just pull back the two retaining clips and lift the matrix out - easy peasy.

now on my car, my vent controls were busted, the gates were damaged and didn't work right, so i'm getting another from a scrapyard - yay, i get to repeat the whole process again !!! if the foam on the gates is mouldy take this opportunity to replace it with some self adhesive foam. when inserting the new matrix, remember to put the foam gasket off the old one (that goes over the inlet and outlet) onto the new one. drop the matrix into the fresh air box and installation is the reversal of removal. but whilst you've got access to the gears, put some grease on it to make sure its smooth flowing!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6677.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6682.jpg)

the guide isn't as comprehensive as i really wanted it to be, but i'm in a foul mood after having to replace the heater box as well. so i'm off to the scrap yard tommorow, and this is what i need.

Edit: so i refitted the fresh air box today and it was pretty straightforward.

first fit the windscreen vent pipe and screw it into place loosely, then grab the fresh air box and stick it in place. the only trick here is to line up the two studs, which to be honest, i managed first time. as soon as i lined the studs up and had the box snug in the windscreen vent i dipped under the bonnet and tightened up both studs and re-attached the hoses.

screw down and tighten the windscreen vent, then slide the feet blower section under the matrix and screw in the two screws on the drivers side.

first you need to position the controls in the right place, don't screw them down just yet as you'll want to get your hands in. this is the only bit i found tricky, getting the face vents pipe in place. you have to squeeze it up through the gap, i found putting the top right corner in first, then compressing the two face vents and pushing the left up. then when its roughly in place, position the drivers side vent tube, then locate the passenger side. this took me about 10 minutes and was a little fiddly - expect cut hands and arms! put the two 10mm nuts back on the pipe to secure it

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6689.jpg)

now, fit the face vents holder you withdrew and screw in the 2 screws. then just push the vents back in place - no leverage needed.

now just test the blower, make sure there's no leaks and that the controls work ok. if so, screw in the controls, then screw in the centre console, and the driver and passenger lower dash sections.

easy peasy!

scrapyard check-list

speedo surround
electric windows centre console
heater matrix housinng
glovebox and door
interior boot trim
rear o/s seatbelt
3dr up and over seal
parcel shelf straps
pas resevoir bracket
sunroof interior panel
passenger door handle
ashtray draw
99 relay
weighted shift rod
Title: Glove box removal (glovebox remove mk2)
Post by: Ben Lessani on 20 December 2008, 22:17
glove boxes are easy to remove  :laugh:

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)
Tools Required: 8mm long socket and ratchet, posidrive screwdriver

the only reason i'm posting this is so that no one else's glovebox ends up like this ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6659.jpg)

the glovebox is a bit confusing for removal because it's not obvious.

start by removing the lower dash on the passenger side.

then remove the door off the glovebox, there is two latches either side and two plastic hinge pins. squeeze the latches and lower the door a little more, then use your screwdriver and push the hinge pins out.

Then remove all the screws, there is two either side next to the latches, three on the top and three on the bottom iirc. then there's one last hidden one in the top middle but is about 1" in the glovebox.

now the glovebox will be loose, but you still won't get it out. you have to loosen the dashboard a little to flex it out.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6688.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6686.jpg)

remove the 8mm bolt on the left hand side of the dashboard, visible only when you open the passenger door. theres one more which is under the dash and slightly recessed just to the right of where the glovebox ends - remove that too.

now there is enough flex in the dashboard, grab the underside and pull it forward, but be gentle - you don't want to damage it. you'll give yourself just enough room to get the glovebox out from underneath the heating duct.

easy peasy
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 20 December 2008, 22:24
scrapyard success

this has put a smile on my face, which is nice after a frustrating few weeks. i ransacked a local scrappy and got the majority of my bits, realising i forgot my wallet, i drove 15 miles home, then got my wallet, then 15 miles back and paid for it - i'm a pleb!

heater matrix housinng
glovebox and door
interior boot trim
rear o/s seatbelt
pas resevoir bracket
sunroof interior panel
passenger door handle
99 relay
weighted shift rod
speedo surround
electric windows centre console
3dr up and over seal
parcel shelf straps
ashtray draw

first thing was to drop in my nice new old weighted shift rod, this took about 20 seconds, i did it in the dark with no light. just remove the two P clips on each end (don't drop them!), lift out the standard rod, then just slot the weighted one in place, grease up the moving parts a little, and pop the P clips back in.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6672.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6673.jpg)

my passenger door handle was dead too, it barely worked and i've never had a lock barrel for it, i just locked a bolt through it.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6664.jpg)

so when i was in the scrappy, i grabbed the rear passenger handle off a 5 door. i noticed that the lever was a different shape for the rear lock

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6666.jpg)

so i forced out the locking pin with a screwdriver, removed the lever and swapped it over, then pushed the pin back into place

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6669.jpg)

i then fitted it back on the car, and it works perfect, woo woo!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6670.jpg)

i finally got a mount for my pas reservoir, so instead of it holding in place by sheer luck, its actually bolted to the engine bay.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6674.jpg)

when i had half the dash out, i thought i may as well tidy up and go over the wiring, so far i've managed to remove about 10m of dud wiring. but, i did have a cause for concern. there is an amber wire which runs from the constant live on the fusebox, under the dash and disappears behind the fan blower pipe. it was too dark outside to see if it ran into the engine bay. the wire in question was in a sorry state, the insulation was worn away and most strands were broken. i don't think its part of the oem loom, i replaced the short length of the wire, but i'll have to trace it to see where it goes. i have a feeling it might be for one of the headlights?

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6684.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 10 January 2009, 21:45
lots of little repairs
a mini service was due, so i grabbed a new VAG oil filter and a can of forté oil flush. flushed it through, then stuck some new oil into it. i think the mileage is somewhere around 171,500k right now. i also stuck on a new set of bosch super sparkies. i also stuck on a new set of washer jets because mine were at the end of their useful life. i'm going to get some pressurised ones soon, but these normal ones will do the job for the time being.

there's been a few niggles annoying the proverbial poop out of me recently and another few things that have just decided to break on me.

when i hit 2k rpm there's a loud resonant vibration
turning lock to lock induces a slight knock
minor play in both front wheels
slight grinding on left turns
drivers window dead
central locking dead
slack pas belt

with the great help of my friend, he loaned me a ramp in his garage for a day.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6693.jpg)

after getting my car airborne, i ordered up

offside bottom ball joint
2x front wheel bearings
2x steering arm gaiters
2x rear strut top mounts (to be fitted at a later date)

after not very long, i had the front hub off

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6694.jpg)

i replace the steering gaiter, bottom ball joint and anti-roll bar bush. it was all straightforward apart from the stupid lower slide bolt for the calliper, the hex rounded out, so many minutes swearing and breaking my hands locking down vice grips, i managed to get it off - it was the same story on the other side. i ended up grinding two flats, to bring it to 11mm so i could use a spanner to get them back on. new pads are going on soon, so i'll replace all the slide bolts. talkin about pads, mine are boned, only half of the material is even on one of the pads! a new calliper is also needed for the passenger side as the piston isn't moving very freely and the seal is quite warped.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6696.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6700.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6701.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6695.jpg)

uber dead pad
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6704.jpg)

what's most annoying is that the parts places were shut, so i've had to put the dodgy pads back on for the time being.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6699.jpg)

replacing the wheel bearing was very straightforward - but fat chance doing it without a press.

one of the pressure pipes for the pas was supplied a bit busted, and it leaks ever so slightly, so i stuck a bit of silicone on it to maybe cure the drip. i don't really have a huge amount of faith, but it will do temporarily anyway.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6706.jpg)

my pas belt has never fit right, i've tried different sizes but can't seem to get the exact right one. because the bracket is located slightly differently on the block (i had to drill holes for it), it sits different to standard. i had the adjuster on full tension and the belt was still slack. so i removed the bracket, then drilled a hole in it a bit further down, to extend the tensioning section. so it went from this...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6707.jpg)

to this

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6708.jpg)

and this seems to have done the trick, i can tighten up the belt perfectly ;) that has sorted the play in both wheels, the knock on turning and the grinding when turning. now to sort the annoying vibration noise. it has progressively gotten worse, so i had a look around under the car and i found two things which were loose. the steering rack heat shield and the downpipe heat shield. i sorted the pas shield by adding a spacer in, which fixed it solidly in place. then the heat shield on the downpipe, which was rusted to bits, i wasn't even going to bother to tighten the nut as it would shear instantly, so i just tapped it further up the pipe and its nice and snug. now thats stopped my vibration!

now the damn drivers window, i think this is the fourth time (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg497202#msg497202) i've fixed this, i hope this is the last. the little bracket that attached the window to the wire that moves up and down always breaks. first time i welded it, second time i made an aluminium bracket and used a metal cable tie, third time i made another aluminium bracket and used pink grip to bond it together. this time, i made it out of steel and popped it together

the central locking on the drivers side also came loose, just days after the passenger side threw a hissy. so i changed the way it was oriented (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg386816#msg386816) from 45 degs to vertical. i had to drill a hole to do it, which is why i never did it in the first place (because i didn't have a drill handy)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 10 January 2009, 22:29
when's my service actually due
i've been thinking, i've replaced parts on such a regular basis that i'm not sure what's outstanding to do, so i have a checklist ... which is now on the first page ;)

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 11 January 2009, 16:34
full steam, straight ahead
after messing with so many aspects of the steering components, my tracking was out of whack, so it needed sorting. as the last place i used, Pro-Grip in Bonnybridge was shut today i had no choice but to find an alternative. www.alignmycar.co.uk lists all the 4 wheel alignment places, not that i can align all 4 wheels - but its the equipment they use, the hunter laser gear is far superior to everything else and gives a nice print out too.

i found a place in Edinburgh that does this for £25 for the two wheels (it doesn't include camber adjustment though, whereas pro-grips £45 did). the guys were all right and they did a good job, but it wasn't as professional as Pro-Grip. John measured the suspension height, checked all tyre pressures, hub nut and bolt torque setting and bushes for play and spent a good hour getting it perfect. the place i went to, farmer autocare in maindencraig set the toe and that was it (guess its all you get for £25). anyway, a little tweaking and a print out later, it now looks something like this...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/align.jpg)

luckily i, again!, got the camber spot on by eye in the garage, so it was just the toe that was out, and strictly it wasn't out, it was the steering wheel that wasn't straight - so i had done a pretty good job in the garage myself. drove home 40 miles and its peachy perfect - big smile on my face! but the stupid resonant rattle is back, when its light, i'm tearing off the downpipe heatshield.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 12 January 2009, 21:24
got the new stoppers on
after fitting the new wheel bearings, i noticed my pads and disks were in a very sorry state, so i grabbed some new ones today to ensure i'm nice and safe driving about.

here's what the old ones looked like ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6715.jpg)

eeeek! funny thing is, they still worked without fail!

fitting the front discs and pads

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)
Tools Required: 6mm allen key, 17mm wheel wrench, jack, posidrive screwdriver, wire brush, emery cloth, piston winder (optional), copper slip (not really a tool)

changing your brakes is really straightforward and i actually reckon you could do it with your eyes closed :tongue:

pop the bonnet and remove the cap from the brake fluid
loosen off the wheel nuts
jack up the car under the front jacking point and get it nice and high
remove the wheel nuts and the wheel

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/front-brake-assembly.jpg)

the calliper is now exposed, you need to remove the two slide bolts, these are both 7mm allen heads which are likely to round off - so make sure the allen key is in snug first. the larger slide bolt is for the top, smaller for the bottom. the two bolts are at the back of the calliper hidden behind rubber covers - they don't need removing unless you round the bolt head.

if you round the head, you'll need vice grips, a hammer and patience, give the head a few taps with the hammer to shock it, then grab with the vice grips - TIGHT! you will be able to get it off, it might just take a while, thats all.

now the two slide bolts are out, you need to support the weight of the calliper whilst we fiddle - you don't want it dangling on the hose. i popped mine on top of an old battery.

next up, remove the two pads, remember, the larger pad (with more material) goes on the outside, the smaller on the inside. now remove the retaining clips - you should have got new one with the pads, so ditch these.

nb. if you don't have a piston winding tool, then now is the time to pry the piston back, stick the outside old pad back in place (but not the inside) and use a lever through the hole in the middle of the calliper between the disk and piston and tease it in, be careful not to damage the disk if you are re-using it.

if you have a winding tool, wind the piston fully back - you'll know when this is as you'll hit plenty of resistance.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6716.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6717.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 12 January 2009, 21:53
if you are replacing the disk too the disk is held on probably by rust and a small posidrive bolt - unscrew this and pop it somewhere safe. if the disk is stuck on, rotate the hub whilst tapping lightly on the back of the disk with a hammer, it will free up within about 2 full rotations. the new disc should be cleaned with brake/clutch cleaner, then is bolted back into place with that same posidrive bolt.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6720.jpg)

now the disk is back on, we'll quickly check the condition of the slide bolts. the bolts you removed should be cleaned of rust/contamination with a wire brush. the slider is composed of the bolt you removed, a metal barrel inner section and a plastic wrapper. you can push this out from the calliper with your fingers, its the same hole the bolt goes through. basically stick your finger in the hole and you'll know what i mean.

mine were in a sorry state, here's one before and after cleaning ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6718.jpg)

i cleaned the outer with emery cloth and then polished it on a buffing wheel.

now, you'll want to coat everything with copper slip - apart from the friction elements, pad itself and disks. the backs of the pads should be covered, the edges at the top and bottom of the pad where it locates on the calliper carrier, the calliper in the place the pads locate, the metal barrel outer and inner (do the inner by putting a blob of slip on the tip of the slide bolt and move it in and out to work it in, from both sides). in my photo i've got some parts on top of a pad - THATS THE OLD ONE, dont do that on the new one! you'll now have something like this ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6719.jpg)

put the metal barrel back inside the plastic sleeve, then push it back into place - remember longer top, shorter bottom.

now pop the metal retaining clips in place as shown below and fit the pads over the top

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6722.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6721.jpg)

nb if you did round the inside of the head, then your best grinding a couple of flats onto it, or buying a new bolt. i ground two flats to bring it to 11mm

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6700.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6701.jpg)

pop your calliper over the top of the pads and bolt back into place. these bolts need to be moderately tight - don't go nuts though, as you'll never get them off again.

stick the wheel back on and torque up the wheels, drop the jack and repeat on the other side. remember to put the cap back on the fluid reservoir at the end, and before driving pump the brakes for about 10s with the engine running. then follow this guide to bed them in (http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm)

co2 is better for me and you
whilst i was at the garage on my mission to repair all the little things on my brum brum, my mechy friend offered kindly to set the co2 as the car was a bit stinky. i stuck the probe where the sun don't shine, grabbed an allen key and adjusted the screw on the pressure plate until it read 2.0 for co2. my hydrocarbons were well within normal bounds and co was at about 5 - just a fraction over the limit, but thats because i've done mainly short journeys recently. a long blast with my clean oil will sort that out ;)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 January 2009, 21:16
big grin, little grin, big grin, little laugh  :laugh:
not a fan of nacho libre - never mind. bit more of a bloggy post today that anything of any use. after having replaced a lot of the front end components, esp the ARB bush, the car feels like its on rails again! i forgot how well it drove, seriously tight into corners with plenty of grip and feedback :grin:

after doing some lengthy amounts of driving i drove by my local shell and topped the old girl up with some vpower. 31 litres later and she was full. i always note the mileage at fill up times to see what kind of mpg i've been getting, this time round, 265 miles on 31 litres @ 90.2p per litre comes to a pretty decent ... 39 mpg at 10.53p per mile! totally chuffed, especially the way i've been driving :evil: setting the co2 must have made a nice pleasant difference, feels more responsive too (but that's probably mental  :rolleyes: )

the only that has me mildly concerned is that the warter light came on and it took 500ml of antifreeze to fill it back up. half a litre is a pretty substantial amount for an air lock, so i must have a leak somewhere, when its light, i'm going to look over the car and see what's going on  :huh:
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 17 January 2009, 01:31
how to tension PAS belt

loads of people have been asking about this recently, so i'm adding my guide to it.

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)
Tools Required: 13mm ratchet, 13mm spanner

There are a few variants in the way PAS belts are fitted, this is how mine is done though. Also, ignore the belt orientation in my photo, it doesn't go round the water pump, there's a second pulley off the crank that drives it on its own.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/pas-bolt3.jpg)

Start by jacking up the car from the front cross member with a block of wood to prevent damage to the x member. Stick axle stands under the left and right of the x-member where it bolts onto the chassis leg.
Look under the car and you'll see the PAS belt and pulley, you need to loosen 3 bolts, all 13mm.
Grab a 13mm spanner and a 13mm socket and loosen off the bolt shown below (and above, No. 14),

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/pas-bolt2.jpg)

Mine is always stiff, so get some penetrating oil on it (watch the belts!) and a few heavy hammer taps. Once this is loose, move onto the next nut.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/pas-bolt1.jpg)

You can't see it in the above picture, but that's where it is. Between the sump and the PAS lower bracket there's a nut you need to loosen off the slide bolt, to allow the bolt to slide up (top picture, No. 20).

Then once that's loose, go ahead and loosen the last bolt (top picture, No. 5) and when you've got plenty of slack, you can *gently* tap the PAS swing assembly towards the back of the block.

This will give you enough room to get the new belt on. Once its on, tighten bolt No. 5, then No. 20, then No. 14 and that's you all set. 10mm of deflection either way should be fine for tension.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 24 January 2009, 20:23
saturday afternoon
as you will have read, the lower exaust heat shield has been driving me mad because its rattling like crazy - but i couldnt get to it to remove it! well, i'd had enough today, so I jacked my little bugger up as high as the sky, got underneath with a grinder and cut the heat shield away.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6723.jpg)

5 minutes of cutting, swearing and bending, and it was off

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6724.jpg)

then for a little under bonnet check to see how things are going. i was rooting about and found a wire which went to a sensor which was broken and looks like its been broken for while.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6728.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6729.jpg)

no idea what it is, but i'll solder it back together and see how it goes :huh:

then the bad news! i lifted the oil filler cap to find a hell of a lot of mayo!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6732.jpg)

so then i took off the rocker cover and had a look at that, its real bad news, i have no idea what has happened here.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6733.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6734.jpg)

the entire of the rocker cover is covered in mayo! but there is none whatsoever on the oil baffle, and none at all on the cam/running gear.

after removing the rocker cover, i also found that the throttle housing breather was completed blocked with oily crud, and the breather going to it was torn.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6725.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6725.jpg)

i like this photo, its off the rocker cover, it has no relation to anything at all :laugh:

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6731.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 24 January 2009, 22:58
overhaulin' your tappets

there is a pretty good guide  (http://www.clubgti.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?s=63c27c8f9f839600c3a6d4764e6844f7&t=76499)on cgti too for this.

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)
Tools Required: 13mm ratchet, 13mm spanner, 6mm hex, 17mm socket, jack, 10mm socket, 15mm spanner, tip-ex

first things first, lets get the wheel off and the timing marks on.

jack the car up and remove the wheel
if you have pas, loosen off the belt and remove it (do the reverse of this (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg869371#msg869371))
get in the engine bay and loosen off the alternator tensioning bolt and push it down to slacken and remove the aux belt

the crank pulley needs to be cracked off now. odds are, you'll find the engine turning when you try to undo them - and you don't want to turn the engine over backwards! if you have a impact wrench you can get them off easy, if not, use the pikey impact wrench and put a socket & ratchet on it and tap it with a hammer - then engine won't turn but the bolt will.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6738.jpg)

once you've got the crank pulley off you can remove the timing belt cover, its 4x 10mm bolts/nuts that need removing. with the cover off, you'll now have access to the crank timing pulley. get your tipex out and mark the crank pulley against the block, the belt and the oil pump pulley. nows the time to take the car out of gear!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6740.jpg)

now we'll mark up the cam so when we put it back it, it ends up in the right place, in the right location. again, tipex the belt and tipex the gear in relation to the head. mark the belt once and only on one side, so we can differentiate the crank belt marking from this.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6739.jpg)

i had already taken the rocker cover off first - but that's becase i was doing something else. now we'll get the rocker cover off. ignoring the white crap in my photos (not a headgasket, just water sucked in through the airbox!), remove the 8/9 retaining nuts that are around the cover. you'll need to remove the coil earth and bracket too.

(http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/?action-view&current=mini-CIMG6733.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6736.jpg)

you'll now have something that resembles the above. removing the cam is easy peasy, there is 8 nuts to remove and you need to remove them in the correct order. they are not very tight, so just crack the nut, then work the next one and repeat.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/cam.jpg)

after the nuts are off, you need to remove the bearing caps - these are big metal horseshoe shaped brackets which are what hold the cam in place. mine wouldn't budge with hand power, so i turned the cam a little and it lifted a bit, so then i could lift the bearing caps off.

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 24 January 2009, 22:59
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6742.jpg)

now the tappets. these are only held in by gravity - but lifting them out is mighty difficult given how oily they are! i had to use a pair of grips to grab them gently and lift them out. i kind of deviated from cgti here, he reccomends whacking the tappet - open face down on a wooden bench to get the piston out the middle. i kid you not, this will take about 20/30 whacks with the tappet in your hand, repeat this over 8 tappets and you'll have a mighty bruised hand!

so, i cheated ....

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6751.jpg)

i got a piece of soft pine and a rag. i put the rag over the top and pulled it really tight, wrapped it round the back and tied it off.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6752.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6752.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6754.jpg)

then tap it on the desk, after each tap check if the piston has come out or if it has worked loose - you don't want to bash the piston. it only took about 3-6 taps doing this and the piston would move out enough so that it was flush. take the tappet out the rag and then you can use your fingers to pull the piston out.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6746.jpg)

the bucket is covered in crud, so this bad boy will get cleaned up, later. now we need to strip the piston down into its components, its made up of a bucket, spring and piston. now you have the piston in your hand, try and squeeze it - odds are it won't budge. this is the whole reason why the tappets are making noise. the piston comes apart relatively easily, just grab it softly with a pair of pliers and pull it apart.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6747.jpg)

now we have to take the little retaining cap off the piston. if you get your pliers, you can gently grab the cap and just tilt it and it will pop loose. do this slowly and carefully because the ball bearing and spring inside is tiny.

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 24 January 2009, 22:59
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6750.jpg)

i filled my magnetic parts tray with degreaser and chucked all the little bits in it, i let them sit for a little while whilst i started banging the next tappet.

You do not need to soak tappets in oil, but you don't put them in dry either. Give them a good coat of oil, then fit them. Never remove tappets from the head with a magnet. You will polarize the ball valve inside the tappet and prevent it from doing its job which is forming a hydraulic lock whilst under load.


after degreasing, clean it off on a clean rag, take this chance to really rub the black crud off the outside of the inner and outer piston. bang away excess degreaser and dry off, then re-assemble.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6756.jpg)

don't put the whole piston back into the main bucket yet, we need to clean that out. i used some foaming mr muscle oven cleaner, i sprayed load into the main bucket

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6760.jpg)

then i threw it into a bag

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6761.jpg)

then i lined up all my bags. when i removed my tappets i put them each in a numbered bag, so the right one could go back where it came from. now - all tappets are the same, but just incase one had worn differently to another i'd rather it go back in the same place it came from. if only those bags weren't full of mr muscle foam ....  :evil:

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6762.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6763.jpg)

12 hours of mr muscle later i came back to some pretty damn clean tappety parts. the buckets were full of a broken down oil sludge, which was easily rinsed out with thinners. 8 tappets later and it started to look something like this,

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6764.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6765.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6767.jpg)

fill the tappets full of oil before putting the piston back in. i'm not going to explain how to re-assemble, but tension the cam bolts in the reverse of the photo above to 20Nm.

after putting the tappets back in the car, i started putting the belts and pulleys back on. i lost my timing belt tensioning tool (a bent piece of metal), so i improvised by popping two drill bits in the holes and levering it with an allen key.

belts tensioned, wheels refitted and the engine fired up just fine, but the tappets are louder than ever, lol! just my luck. i reckon the oil needs to circulate a little bit, so once my air filter is clean and dry i'll take it for a drive.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6768.jpg)

i replaced the torn rubber pipe with a bit of spare fuel line and i re-crimped a new wire in place for the sensor on the inlet manifold (red), rubjonny says its for the fan switch when the engine is off - i'm dubious ...

until next time troops.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 07 February 2009, 19:45
tappets part deux
so, after rebuilding my tappets (as above), i also managed to kill them by using a magnetic parts tray. so i ordered up some new ones off the bay. i figured if i was dismantling the head again, i may aswell do the stem seals whilst im at it. heres a pretty handy guide (http://www.digitaldownpour.com/blog/maintenance/2006-09-05_valve_stem_seals.html?showcomments=y#comments) on replacing the seals. start by removing the cam and tappets from the guide above.

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)
Tools Required: valve stem seal pliers, valve spring compressor

get all your parts lined up first,

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6777.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6776.jpg)

then line up your tools,

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6778.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/31ZCJ3C9X4L_SL500_AA275_.jpg)

its actually very straightforward to do. start by removing the spark plugs in all 4 cylinders. now there is two ways of going about this, pressurise the cylinder with an air hose adaptor or fill the cylinder with about 2ft of rope and turn the crank until its at/near top dead centre. i went with the latter and shoved an old bunjee cord in the cylinder :grin:

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6781.jpg)

as i wasn't removing the cylinder head, i had a special compressor which mounts overhead.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6779.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6780.jpg)

after compressing the spring, get a watchmakers screwdriver and gently push the locking collects out of position. then use a magnetic tool to grab and remove them. with the collets out, when you release the spring compressor the springs will be easy to get to. there is two springs, an inner and outer with a cap on the top and bottom. the bottom cap is under the valve seal and doesn't need to come off.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6774.jpg)

get your pliers and grab the stem seal, give it a gentle twist and pull it up, make sure you dont grab the spring seat though.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6775.jpg)

get your new stem seal and give it a coat of oil so it slides down the stem seal without bother. push it down the stem seal until its in place. refit the springs the right way up, put the spring cap on, fit the spring compressor and then reposition the collets. i used a pair of needle nosed pliers to get it roughly in place, then kept poking it with the watchmakers screwdriver until it was in place. when they were sat right, release the spring compressor and go onto the next one.

as 1 and 4 are linked, and 2 and 3 - you can do 4 seals at a time, as long as you stuff both clyinders.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6782.jpg)

then you can view all the old seals and bin them. remember when refitting the tappets that you need the oil to prime the head. put the cam, rocker cover and timing belt back on, unplug the fuel pump relay and crank the engine. it won't fire and it will turn relatively easily, this should spin some oil around the block and head so its ready to go. refit the aux belt, pas belt put the wheel back on, then start her up and enjoy the lack of oil burning and new tappetly quietness.

its a real quick and easy job, i managed to do mine from start to finish in about 4 hours - and i was working slowly too, it was -4 degrees outside!

to recap
shadyP asked me recently how to go about this, so i thought i'd update my post with what i said to him.

I got my tools from http://www.pvrdirect.co.uk/ - it was a spot cheaper than eBay. Its a really straightforward job. Mark up your crank, aux and cam shaft thoroughly as you're going to need to rotate the cam to do the job. Its easy to put the cam back on 180 degrees out.

Remove the rocker, cam and spark plugs. I used rope to stuff inside the cylinder to stop the valve falling down (otherwise its a head off job). By moving the crank to just before TDC, stuff about 2 feet of (non-fraying) rope into the spark hole, then turn the crank until it hits TDC and you meet a fair amount of resistance.

Remove the tappets, use a cloth and some wide grip pliers to get them out. They're only held in by gravity but they're seriously hard to grip with your fingers.

Fit the overhead valve spring remover and put pressure down on it, if the valve starts to go down with the spring - then you need to just re-position the rope a bit. If you've got an air compressor you can get an adaptor to fit in the spark threads to pressurise the cylinder.

Once you've got the pressure on the spring, there is two metal collets that bite onto either side of the top of the valve stem. I used a telescopic magnet to grab the collets, but BPB disagrees with this method - DannyP says to use a cable tie with a blob of grease on the end. Either way, collets come out, then release tension on the spring compressor.

You'll have 3 bits, the outer spring, inner spring and spring cap - try and remember which way round these went in! Then you need to remove the stem seal, its at the bottom of the valve stem usually obscured by oil. Using stem seal pliers grab the seal and pull it upwards. It doesn't take a massive amount of force, be careful what you grab as its easy to pull the spring seat up too.

Replacing the seal is easy as coating it in oil, coat the valve stem in oil, then slide it down, using the pliers push it into the valve spring seat. Put the outer, inner and spring cap back on, refit the spring compressor and put the collets back in place - I found using long nose needle pliers to position them and a small watchmakers screwdriver to poke it into the exact position works well. Release tension on the tool and thats it.

Because of the firing order, 1+4 then 2+3, you can do Cyl 1 and 4 at the same time and 2 + 3 at the same time (as long as you do the rope trick / pressurise simultaneously).

Refit the tappets, cam, give it all a splash of oil, rocker cover on, timing belt on and away you go!


it snowed

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6771.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 17 February 2009, 09:55
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6783.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6784.jpg)

Well, I got my mits on a gauge, abeit an industrial one and I have some really perculiar results. I'm trying to diagnose what is going on with my stupid noisy tappets, so heres what I can confirm.

I've uploaded a recording of the engine running, listen to my tappets here (http://ben.sonassi.com/tappets.wav)

When engine is cold, cylinder pressures are:

1. ~12 Bar
2. ~12 Bar
3. ~12 Bar
4. ~12 Bar

When the engine is hot (90 C oil temp), cylinder pressures are:

1. ~11.5 Bar
2. ~11.5 Bar
3. ~11.5 Bar
4. ~11.5 Bar

Cyl Head cold engine oil pressure 1000RPM ~4 Bar
Cyl Head hot engine oil pressyre 1000RPM ~3 Bar

If I rev over 1500RPM the gauge maxes out at over 5 Bar

When I turn the key to IGN, oil pressure light flashes
When engine is running, oil pressure light is off
If I ground the blue wire to the head oil pressure sensor, the light flashes on the dash

If I remove the wire going to the oil cooler pressure sensor, nothing happens
When the engine is running, the sensor is grounded
When the engine is running the wire going to it, is 12V

Spark plugs are black around the base and grey at the tips

Exhaust was smokey, but did not smell of burning oil, car also hadn't been run in 2 days (photo taken immediately after starting)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6785.jpg)


Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 21 February 2009, 20:40
i'm really starting to give up
after replacing the stem seals and putting in new tappets, my engine was noise free for about 15 minutes of driving. then since then, it rattles like theres no tommorow. i tested the oil pressure and it was fine, so time to cross off the remainders.

i drained 1 litre of oil, then refilled with 1l of ATF, then had to run in the ATF, so i drove to blackpool and back ~ 140 miles. when i got home, i left the car overnight, didn't start it.

the next day i went out in my step dads car and picked up a new rubber/metal sump gasket from GSF.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6793.jpg)

i drained out the oil, there was nothing in it but oil, no metal filings/swarf. so then i removed the sump to clean it out and inspect the pickup.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6787.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6789.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6792.jpg)

there was only a tiny bit of dirt on it, which i cleaned off. i inspected the sump and that was clean too

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6794.jpg)

i refitted the sump, and put a new oil filter on. so now it was time to replace the tappets again with another set the seller gave me. off came the rocker cover, the only bonus was that the white crap had pretty much disappeared now

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6797.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6798.jpg)

so i removed the belts and pulleys for the 3rd time this month, and have taken a tonne of photos of the cam incase anyone can see anything out of the ordinary.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6799.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6800.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6801.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6802.jpg)

then i pulled off the cam and double checked the bearing caps - they look ok to me, but again, maybe someone else can see something out of the ordinary

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6803.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6804.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6805.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6807.jpg)

these are the 'old' new tappets (that were new, fitted 2 weeks ago), theres signs of scoring on the edges, but the oil did appear to be getting to them just fine

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6810.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6814.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6815.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6822.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6824.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6825.jpg)

i guess the only bonus is that the atf did thoroughly clean most of the engine - you can see where its cleaned up some of the valve spring caps

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6817.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6818.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6819.jpg)

and the oil feel holes for the tappets look fine

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6820.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6821.jpg)

my new tappets were bathed in oil overnight, they weren't springy though - the pistons were solid in the middle - should they have been?

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6827.jpg)

i fitted them, primed the engine, fitted the bits back on. started it up and ran it for 15 minutes whilst i tidied my tools.

end result - its not any better

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 21 February 2009, 23:18
oh my god

i hope i'm not speaking too soon, but its either great news or catastrophic news.

i think i've gone deaf, because i can't seem to hear any lifter noise :undecided: i just went and took the car for a drive as my last hope, a quick 10 miles up the m'way, 10 miles round some twisty bits and 15 miles home on the m'way.

not a hint of noise the entire way!?!?!?! i don't know whether they needed to bleed down, but leaving the car after running it before (immediately after fitting) appears to have resolved the issue (fingers crossed).

so all in all, it sems on my mission to solve my tappet noise, i've had to do the following

strip down engine to get to tappets
strip down each tappet and clean out
£3 mr muscle
rebuild engine
stripdown engine
replace valve stem seals
£11
replace tappets
£25
replace rocker cover gasket
£9
rebuild engine
fill engine with atf
£4
drive to blackpool and back to run in atf
£14
strip down engine
replace sump gasket
£10
replace oil and filter
£10

total £86 and about 400 grey hairs - was it worth it, hell yeah. i've never been so happy to hear the trim rattling, wind noise and my screaming passengers
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 07 March 2009, 22:31
here's what the postie brought me today
after my recent diagnosing debacle trying to figure out my noisy tappets cause, i decided its probably a safe bet to get a permanent oil pressure gauge, so i hunted eBay day and night to try and get a bargain - realised that was a lost hope as most vdo gauges were going for £60+ and by luck found a buy it now for only £45 delivered, bonus!

unwrapping 200 feet of bubble wrap releaved the gaugely greatness

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6848.jpg)

i've read the vdo installation guide and come to the conclusion that there was two types of pressure senders, the low and high pressure, the 0.3 bar version which should be on the head, and the 1.8 bar version, which should be on the oil cooler. a quick glance at the sender i recieved showed,

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6849.jpg)

well, not much, but some digital zooming greatness showed ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/gauge.jpg)

i had a 0.3 bar sensor, so on the head it went. this was actually a bit of a saviour as it meant i didn't have to try and get to the oil pressure sensor on the oil cooler. so i dinked it on and went about testing the gauges to make sure they worked ok.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6850.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6852.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6854.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6855.jpg)

i started up the engine and the standard dash oil pressure light was happy and the gauge appeared to be reading just fine.

now to start hacking up my centre console to see if i can bodge my gauges in. well, not so much bodge, i've got a litte bit of experience fabricating since my last car - here's some  photos from my pc install in my 306 ...

(http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5696/picture9965ee.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG2179.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG2186.jpg)(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG2198.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG2200-1.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG2203.jpg)
(http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/7657/cimg2249we6.jpg)(http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/1992/cimg2316ag9.jpg)

i'm not going to this much effort for the golf, well, not until i bother finishing the interior that is.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6857.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6859.jpg)

a mild bit of dremmelling later and i'd cut out my ashtray - its not like i smoke anyway.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6860.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6861.jpg)

the fella that sold me the gauges also included the panel from the audi they came from. this is what i'll be cutting up to fit my car, i lined it up for a quick test fit, looks like its a long waaaay off

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6862.jpg)

to get a nice neat edge, i clamped the gauge pod to a big ass piece of keybar whilst i sanded it back with the dremel

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6864.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6865.jpg)

after a bit of cutting and sanding, it started to look a little bit like this

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6866.jpg)

then a teeeny bit more trimming and some very sticky tacky gutter sealant later

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6874.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6868.jpg)

i got a load of sealant all over the plastic, so i'll clean that off tommorow after it sets - i can't imagine it being too diffcult (famous last words). the sealant needs to set overnight, so i'll continue tommorow ...
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 08 March 2009, 21:00
... vdo gauges part two
so after waiting a day for the glue to go off, i managed to crack on again this afternoon. removing the ash tray wasn't a big deal, but removing the cig lighter was, so i had to work that back into the console.

i removed it from the old plastic, then separated it into its parts, it was a bit tricky to separate the green ring, it was stuck fast. i just ended up sticking it on top of the vice jaws and gently tapping the barrel out. i gave it a quick blast with some sandpaper to get the corrosion off

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6888.jpg)

then, for the very first time, i got to use the red compound that comes with the dremel - wooo. i stuck the little polishing wheel on, span it up on the lowest speed, then plunged it into the compound to get it on the wheel. after about 3 minutes of polishing, the score marks from the abrasive were gone and it had polished up to an amazing chrome finish. its really tricky to take a photo of it, so take my word for it.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6893.jpg)

i stuck the green stone tool on again and buzzed a hole into the side of the centre console. then a little bit bigger until it was about the right size

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6894.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6896.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6897.jpg)

the bulb for the lighter socket was dead, so i went about replacing it with a spare LED. it was pretty easy to do, just yank the old bulb out and solder the new led in.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6899.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6901.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6902.jpg)

you can pretty much see how the gauges sit in the centre console, this is probably the most electronics my mk2 has :grin:

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6905.jpg)

then i got to sticking the wiring into the engine bay. i only needed to run two wires, the pressure sender and the temp sender, so i grabbed two lengths of spare wire and ran them through the engine bay. i wrapped them in some spare corrugated trunking and its all pretty discrete.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6906.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6907.jpg)

then all i needed to do was finish the up the loom for the gauges themself. as the connectors on the back of the gauges are tight, they'll be fitted permanently, and it has bullet/socket crimps to connect to the wiring on the car so they can be removed. its all colour coded and wrapped and ready to go into the car.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6909.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6910.jpg)

so now it was just time to put it all together. you can see how dirty my dash is in the photos - so it spurred me on to give the dash a quick clean and run the hoover over the car.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6916.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6917.jpg)

i've got to say, i'm well chuffed with the gauges, they look smart and work well!

i'm still undecided as to what colour to do all my switches and dash, so until then, i won't have any illumination on the dials (all three bulbs that came with it were blown). i dont want to do the blue or red everyone does, i was thinking either yellow, white or seriously bright green.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 09 March 2009, 10:03
gauge tastic
the gauges are awesome, well chuffed with them! i can see now that at first start (when the oil presumably is quite thick), the oil pressure on idle is near 4 bar. but the as the oil gets up to temp, its about 1-2 bar. i just want more gauges now - its the closest way of the car telling me exactly what its thinking.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 10 March 2009, 00:25
vdo gauge installation

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

Tools required: 24mm socket, 17mm spanner, crimp tool, soldering iron, wire snips

as I've had a few pm's about this - I'm sticking up a quick wiring guide. its seriously easy hooking up these gauges, i don't quite know where the confusion comes in. basically, a standard mk2 golf has

a low pressure warning light
a low pressure warning buzzer
oil temperature gauge built into the mfa

these are operated by 3 sensors,

one being in the head (the low pressure warning light sender)
the other in the oil cooler (the low pressure warning buzzer sender)
and the last in the oil cooler (the oil temp. mfa sender)

when you turn your IGN switch, you'll see the oil light flashing, that's a sign that there is low oil pressure - obviously as the engine isn't running. the buzzer doesn't start sounding however until the engine hits about 1800 rpm. ideally - you want both these fail safes operational to prevent the early death of your engine.

so, now we have a problem, we're going to have 3 different places the oil pressure is reported to

dash bulb
dash buzzer
vdo gauge

which basically means we need 3 senders, kindly though, the audi's have a twin pole (its got 2 connectors) sender for pressure. each pole is marked, WK for the standard mk2 loom wire and G for the vdo gauge. that's fine - but where do i put the twin pole sender you ask?

well, that's up to the gauge you get. on the spanner flats (see images above), it is marked as to what sender it is. the 0.3 bar twin pole sender needs to replace the original pressure sender in the head. if it is marked 1.8bar, then it needs to replace the pressure sender in the oil cooler. the pressure sender is easy to differentiate from the temp sender as its a 10mm x 1 thread (1/8 NPT), whereas the temp. sender is smaller.

if you've got your twin pole pressure sender and gauge from the same car - then you need not worry, but if you bought the bits individually, you need to match the parts. the 0-5bar sender *should* only work with the 0-5bar gauge, although as they as basically just resistance devices the 0-10bar sender is just as likely to work with the 0-5bar gauge - but don't take my word on it.

so where are we, you've fitted your pressure sender in the right location, you plugged the original dash wiring into the pole marked WK and you've run a new wire to the cabin for the pole marked G. now you've got to take care of the oil temperature. lets re-hash though. we have ...

the oil temperature digital gauge on the mfa
the oil temperature vdo gauge

you can see a theme appearing here, there's two gauges - so we'll need 2 senders. BUT there isn't a twin pole sender for oil temperature, so we have two choices. you can either just disconnect the wire for the mfa and just solely have the vdo gauge for oil temp. or you can go out to a shop and buy what is called a tee piece.

(https://www.plminishop.com/images/TP.jpg)

as you can see, its a really simple thing. basically a threaded splitter. so you remove the original oil temp. sender, screw in the tee piece, then you have two new holes to screw in your two senders, the original oil temp. one and the audi oil temp. one.

i couldn't be bothered fitting a tee piece, so i've just stuck with 1 oil temp. gauge - the vdo one. it happily works off the original mk2 oil temp. sender, so i didn't need to bother changing it.

now all you have left is wiring, which is really straightforward.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/vdogauges.png)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/vdogauges2.png)

you need 5 wires in total

blue/white illumination 12v live (you can share the one from the cig lighter)
12v + IGN live (run a fresh wire from one of the many available spades on the fusebox)
gnd (either run a wire from the fusebox, or share the cig lighter ground if your a pikey)
oil temp. sender wire
oil pressure sender wire

the diagram above pretty much speaks for itself, its obvious where the wires go on the gauges as they are marked. remember to only use the ign +ve though, otherwise the gauges will be on permanently.

now sit back and enjoy your new gauge greatness, and try not to crash the car admiring them whilst driving :tongue:
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 08 April 2009, 19:22
merry easter
a lot has happened since my last post, mostly that I am 23 now - a relative old man and it was MOT time again. well actually, that was about 2 weeks ago now - its been a saga!

the old girl went in for her MOT and unfortunately didn't do her best on the day and failed on me and failed herself. the breakdown was


so i had a few little jobs ahead of me over the next few days. i've had a right saga with the handbrake though! i didn't want to pay for a new caliper, but couldn't seem to get the handbrake working 100%, it was running at 50-60% of what it should be. i was faced with a choice, bribe the MOT man, fit a mk2/mk3/mk4 caliper. mk2 means i'd replace it next year, mk4 means i need hose adaptors and mk3 would drop on, but mean i need to find a mk3 (or buy new).

the quickest option was mk4 units, theres a decent supply of them kicking about scrappies nowadays and i found a fresh-un, about 1 month old. so i nicked the calipers off it, a right arse i might add, the stupid 18" wheels were still on because of locking nuts, so i was having to work around it!

so, onto the holes in the sills. i didn't have my camera with me, so its crappy phone photos, only a few too (otherwise my phone gets all oily).

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-SP_A0045.jpg)

it wasn't looking too good, so i marked up around the area with some tipex as to how far i wanted to cut to get fresh metal. a mild spot of grinding later and i had got to here ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-SP_A0046.jpg)

i cut a plate of 18 gauge steel, bent it into the rough shape, tacked it into place, then seal welded around it. if you're doing this yourself, remember to tack it at each end, then tack towards the middle with 1-2" gaps. this way, when you seam weld it, the panel won't distort and bend out of shape.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-SP_A0047.jpg)

after this was welded up, i gave it a base coat of terosol underseal, then just blasted over with some spray paint - not even remotely the same colour, but more as bare metal protection.

the other side was really bad, the jacking point on the sill itself had thinned right out, so i cut it away the sill, then i found the rear arch was holed too, so i cut that out as well. my welding wasn't that neat this time round because i didn't have the car on the ramp, i was doing it on axel stands, so it was a bit trickier.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6939.jpg)

the arch was plated with 18 gauge again, plug and seam welded. the sill was triple reinforced, plug welded at 1" intervals and seam welded between each layer, its stronger than factory now, so that's awesome. i got bored of grinding though, so the finish wasn't neat at all. when i actually spray this the right colour, i'll sand it back flat and use filler properly.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6940.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6941.jpg)

so, now the sills were sorted, its onto the brakes. as above, step one, make a floating car

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6937.jpg)

i settled with mk4's and ordered a set of hoses from TSR to get them to fit.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6930.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6932.jpg)

as i've got a pre-88 brum brum, i have handbrake cables which reach over the top, so instead of faffing with them, i just mounted the calipers upside down the wrong way round. there's not a problem doing this, it just means that you need to remove them to bleed them, so the bleed nipple is at the top. i just whacked a brake winder into the gap to hold the piston, so i could bleed it.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6936.jpg)

as the brake lines were looking pretty corroded, and mostly because i hacked them to bits to remove the caliper flexi, i made up some new ones and fitted them.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6931.jpg)

i still intend to do the rear beam pipes - but again, as the car was only on axle stands, i wasn't in the mood of really fiddling trying to get the pipes out. i'll replace them next year ;)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6934.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6935.jpg)

the hoses have plenty of room to move and i'm pretty chuffed with the result, the hoses look sweet!

but i've got to be honest, before the caliper change, the mk2 handbrake forces were

nearside: 60 kgf
offside: 120 kgf

and with the mk4 calipers

nearside: 120 kgf
offside: 120 kgf

the handbrake isn't particularly lighter to operate (probably as a result of the cable design/layout), its certainly not any stronger and the overall foot braking certainly isn't any different. the calipers were £30 and hoses £35, was it a waste of £65? in my opinion, yes - but it was a necessary evil for the pissin mot. my advice to others - don't expect miracles from the mk3/mk4 calipers :(

my pas was leaking from the pump where the metal elbow on the return feed sits, its an interference fit, and the fact i pulled it out with no effort at all pretty much means i should fit a new pump, but the pump's alright, so i just got a tonne of araldite, coated the outer surface on the elbow sleeve and slipped it into the pump and let it set overnight. it set rock solid and looks factory - so fingers crossed no more leak (its not like ATF is cheap nowadays!).

all that was left was the main beam then, its a funny one actually. i run stupid wattage bulbs, which have the power of the sun, the only downside was that running the power of the sun through the 23 year old h4 connectors took its toll and basically melted it to nothingness.

i jumped to the scrappy and chopped some h4 plugs off a nice 55 plate kia and soldered them back into the loom on both sides. the lights work perfect again and with everything ticked off, it was mot retest time.

... and as you can imagine, it went through no bother, all advisories cleared and the old girl running like a champ. i'm setting the co2 again tomorrow because its a bit off after fixing the stem seals. this should stop it running so rich (i hope).

until tomorrow ;)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 12 April 2009, 20:39
laziest photoshoot ever
I gave the car a wash the other day, well correction, my mate who owned the garage said he was ashamed of having such a dirty car at his garage, so he insisted on washing it, so i let him go nuts. i think i'm the worst car owner ever, last time i washed it was about 18 months ago - literally :grin: its a shame actually, as the paint job is mint. you can see how dirty it was here ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-SP_A0047.jpg)

 :embarassed:

here's a quick snap of the new calipers tucked under my wheels, i don't think they are gold from the factory, the last owner must have sprayed them.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6957.jpg)

i keep meaning to drive somewhere awesome to take some proper photos, but its either raining or raining - which doesn't make good for a photoshoot. maybe at some point i'll take some proper shots.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6963.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6966.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6958.jpg)

mk2 vs. mk5 - my sisters brum brum

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6949-1.jpg)

looooooooom tape
i found a roll of loom tape and just cleaned up a little bit of the wiring in the bay. when i was in the garage, it looked pretty tidy, but then when i brought it into the light, its still a big fat mess. nevertheless, it looks something like this ...

from (a long time ago) ...

(http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/7365/minicimg3494yr6.jpg)

to ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6954.jpg)

and my headlight loom was a wiring mess, so i just wrapped it up too. you can see the new connectors i dropped in.

from ...

(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3870/minicimg3524hx0.jpg)

to ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6956.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 21 April 2009, 01:05
not so much of an update
nothing new to report, the car still drives like a peach. i thought i'd take the old girl for a spin tonight and having my camera with my i thought i'd give it a bash at filming.

it didn't really turn out good. i just got some duct tape and taped the camera to my rear view mirror, but not very tight because i needed to push buttons and see the screen :laugh:

i've upped it to youtube anyway, but its like watching cloverfield on steroids. for legal purposes, i was under the speed limit the whole time :wink:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpBP4aCWOXs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpBP4aCWOXs)

it gives you a pretty good impression of what main beam / dipped beam are like in the real world too. but the funny thing is, because the mic on the camera faces forwards, you can't actually hear the exhaust at all - but its pretty loud when you're in the car!

and whilst i'm at it, here's an old one from 2006, me just jumping from 70 > 120 on a german autobarn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8ZwaH1bY-E (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8ZwaH1bY-E)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 26 April 2009, 02:08
how to: handbrake mechanism tightening

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

Tools required: piston winding tool, 16mm spanner, 13mm socket, big allen key

replacing/tightening the cables won't achieve anything short of bringing down the amount of clicks. it doesn't matter whether its 5 clicks or tightened to 3, when it hits the last click, the mech is still at its tightest.

the rear calliper handbrake mechanism is self adjusting for pad wear, if its not working right, it sounds like the self adjusting aspect has gone wrong.

you need to ...

1. jack and prop the rear end, release the handbrake and chock the front wheels whilst in gear. loosen off any cable adjustment back to almost 0
2. remove rear wheel(s) from offending side(s)
3. remove the callipers from the offending side(s)
4. grab a piston winding tool and wind the calliper all the way back in
5. refit pads and test fit the calliper, the slack must now be taken up
6. using a suitable sized allen key (big) wind the piston back out until you can only just refit the calliper around the pads
7. bolt the calliper(s) back on and pump the brake pedal 15-20 times
8. throw the wheel(s) back on then pop the handbrake on - see how many clicks you have now
9. grab a torque wrench and see if you can tighten the wheel nuts up to 110nm with just the hand brake holding the wheel - you should be able to
10. tighten/slacken the handbrake cable until you can only get 3-5 clicks

if it still isn't tight after the above, then try it again, if its still not, try it one more time. if it really isn't changing by the end, its new calliper time.

the above assumes the pads and disks are in good condition, pads and calliper slide freely and have plenty of meat on them. do not use a g-clamp in place of a proper piston winding tool!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6936.jpg)

Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 25 July 2009, 13:34
2 months on ...

its been a while since i last posted and in the mean time the old girl has been accumulating problems - i wonder if it would just be more practical to carry a notebook in the car to jot down the new faults that pop up each day.


its also burning oil a bit too much, so i'm going to try some other oil (fuchs xtr 10w/40) and see if it remedies it, otherwise, i'll just have to add using atf as a engine flush as a lesson learnt.

if i can kick this headache, these will be todays jobs.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 26 July 2009, 21:56
a few jobs down

i left the house, grabbed some fuchs xtr and a filter and went about some car fixage. as my step dads audi had been running like a dog, his car was also fixed up.


so i managed to tick all the boxes, the new oil actually has made a little difference, it runs a damn sight cooler - too cool for my liking. the oil temp is sat at about 85 on the m'way and the water temp gauge is only about a third up. it was still a little smokey and smelly in traffic - so we'll see how things go.

so much for my belief that oil was oil :|
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 November 2009, 00:16
winter blues

so she started to play up a little bit, I found out the whine was a leak near the water pump. I came to start the car last week and the little water light was blinking - popped the bonnet and the expansion tank was empty :( So I just topped it up with water and took a 5l bottle to work with me so I could get home again.

Last winter I got stung for not having antifreeze in - so I'm not making that mistake twice. I didn't really look at what was causing the leak, but it was 1 of a couple of things, so I grabbed 2 new ring seals for the waterpump > block and plastic flange > waterpump.

I replaced these, topped her up with plain water and let it run up to temp for 20 mins, not a single drip - so I drained the water and put in 50% coolant mix.

I came back the next morning to start the car and find that lo and behold - there was no coolant again! Stupid car, wasted about £8 worth of coolant. So I topped it up with water and grabbed a plastic flange from the dealers this time round (read: Parts you should buy from the dealership (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=133365.0). When I got home from work I replaced the flange and tested it, looked good again, so topped up with 50% anti-freeze again.

Well, the next morning I go to start her, and it was fine! No leaks. So lesson learnt, don't buy parts from GSF as they suck - well, most of them do!

Now its winter, the misty windows are starting to come back a little - so I need to sort the stupid leak in the boot, I have no idea where its coming from and I don't own a hose, so its a bit tricky to test.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 09 January 2010, 18:35
nothing to report

But just a few more snow photos! About 10" of snow over the whole car!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7552.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7553.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7556.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7558.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 08 April 2010, 21:13
i grant you 1 wishbone

... for the captive nut not to break free. there's a few odds and sods that needed fixing up, the windscreen (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=141051.0), the wishbone (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=150773.0), g/box mount and rear strut top mount rubbery bits.

ECP only had the wishbone in stock today (the rest is coming tomorrow), so I went about fixing it after work, fortunately, it only took 1.5hrs to swap out and that was at a nice leisurely pace.


how to: change a front wishbone

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

tools required: 13mm socket and spanner, 17mm socket and spanner, 19mm socket

this really is much easier than you think ... as long as the subframe captive nut doesn't break free (which it didn't for me :) ). if it does break free then read this guide! (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=119517.0)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7614.jpg)

start by jacking up the side of the car and supporting on the chassis leg and rear beam. i've got a few jacks, so i supported rear subframe and gently lifted the body a fraction to take the pressure (if any), off the rear wishbone bush.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7620.jpg)

then i removed the lock pin from the ball joint (17mm / 50 NM) and the arb bush nut (13mm / 10 NM), then tapped on the wishbone with a hammer to free the ball joint from the wheel bearing housing.

then remove the front wishbone bolt (19mm / 130 NM) and slide it free, then tentatively remove the rear subframe bolt (19mm / 130 NM). the only real thing holding the wishbone in at this point is just the tiny metal sleeve that is pushed in the bottom of the subframe bolt hole. grab this and remove it, then wiggle the wishbone free.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7607.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7608.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7609.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7612.jpg)

you can see how the subframe and bits look without the wishbone attached.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7615.jpg)

now it is a case of removing the ball joint from the wishbone (or replacing) and fitting it onto the new wishbone. there is 3x bolts (13mm / 25 NM) and a retaining plate holding it. remove these, remember the orientation of the wishbone, and fit to the new wishbone.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7616.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7618.jpg)

then installation is virtually the reversal of removal. slide the wishbone back into place, push the front wishbone bolt back in and turn it a few threads, then push the rear bolt in and centre up the wishbone with the hole in the chassis leg.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7619.jpg)

once its squared up, remove the bolt and pop in your new wishbone bolt sleeve and push it into place, then re-insert the bolt and tighten it up. locate the ball joint into the wheel bearing housing and the arb bush into the wishbone.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7620.jpg)

now it is just a case of torquing up the bolts and nuts (to the figures outlined above) and dropping the car back off the axle stands, sitting back and smiling.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 09 April 2010, 21:31
rubbering up the box

there has been a growing amount of play in the engine, and considering i have a solid front mount, it was one of 2 others, the gearbox mount or rear engine mount. given the gbox mount can be changed relatively easily with the engine in-situ, i went for that one first.

how to: changing the gear box mount

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

tools required: 13mm ratchet spanner, spanner and socket; 17mm socket

looking below, dead centre of the image is the g/box mount, that is what we are going to remove. we leave almost everything in place and just remove the gearbox linkage bracket to get enough access to slide the old mount out.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7622.jpg)

start by jacking the car, support on the chassis leg, then support your gearbox with your jack, as you'll be lifting it up to get the mount out.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7623.jpg)

next up remove the main retention bolt (17mm / 60 NM) that holds the gearbox bracket to the gearbox mount.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7624.jpg)

then jack the box up and you have access to remove one of the mount > subframe bolts (13mm / 25 NM). access is a little limited, so use a 13mm spanner with another spanner hooked over the end for leverage.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7625.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7627.jpg)

now you need to remove the gear linkage bracket to get to the other mount bolt. there is 3x (13mm x 30 NM) bolts that pass through the diff into the gear linkage bracket - it is pretty obvious which 3. remove these, pop the plastic linkages off and then remove the linkage bracket

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7628.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7630.jpg)

now, you can access the other mount securing bolt (13mm / 25 NM), and it you have about 2cm more clearance to fit the old engine mount out through. remove the bolt and extract the old engine mount

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7631.jpg)

you can see the golf 1.3 solid rubber mount (left) and the original 1.8 hydraulic mount (right)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7632.jpg)

then installation is the reverse of removal, pay attention to the torque settings specified above ;)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 10 April 2010, 21:18
mounting up the rear

on my list of bits and bobs to do was the rear top mounts. i've had a new set sat in my spare wheel well for about 13months now and was too lazy to get round to fitting them, so today i sorted them out.

looking at the photo below: comparing new (left), old (right) for both bushes below. you can see the old bottom part was totally worn out, the upper half was still like new - but i binned it anyway and fitted the new ones.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7639.jpg)


there was also my stupid door leaking and the wet footwell has been bugging me - so i checked out the membrane (i use a camping mat cut to shape), which looked fine - so I'm definitely confused. i'm tempted to dot some litmus paper around different areas of the footwell to see where it is actually coming from!

the tyres were also starting to wear a little, so the obligatory tyre rotation was due, there was 3mm on the fronts and 4mm on the rears, so i swapped them over.

the interior was also a state, i'm not sure how it happens, but it somehow gets covered in leaves - so i gave it a thorough hoovering, carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning and shined up the dash ... now its just the outside that needs doing.

when changing the rear mounts i noticed that the offside handbrake wasn't really doing much. pushing on the lever on the calliper seemed to work, so i guessed it was a snapped cable. just in case it was an easy fix, i removed the gaiter from the handbrake and noticed that the cable was just loose.

i went to nip it up when i noticed the pivot pin had pretty much fallen out of place - and it wasn't going to sit properly again - so a quick fix was in order.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7655.jpg)

so i removed the pin and tapped it so i could pop some thread bar inside and a nut on the end to secure it

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7657.jpg)

after cutting the bar to size, i popped a little threadlock into the pin and secured the stud, then added a nut to the end. i repeated on the other side and re-fitted, its a bit overkill, but at least it will stop the handbrake coming off in my hands!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7659.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7660.jpg)

there is a leak in the boot, but i cannot spot where on earth it is coming from, so i thought i'd just change the rear clusters back to the genuine ones. there is only 1 hiccup, my genuine clusters were tinted all black (i don't really like the look!), so i fitted them up anyway, but i plan to white spirit off the bottom half - so i'll have some nice half-tints!

the crystal rears were starting to look a little lexus lighty anyway!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7662.jpg)

(at least the reflectors are still visible through the tint)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 10 April 2010, 21:19
how to: change rear top mounts

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

tools required: 14mm spanner and socket, 17mm spanner and socket, molegrips

please note. i followed the first assembly picture when i wrote this guide, but the upper half featured is UPSIDE DOWN. make sure you install yours with the ribbed edge facing the cup

this article is pretty handy too: http://forum.performancevwmag.com/viewtopic.php?t=40697

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/rearstrut.jpg)(http://vwtech.no-ip.info/images/golf/rearsusp.jpg)

i got my new top mount set from ECP for £12, they should look something like this ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7637.jpg)

first, start by jacking the car, supporting with axel stands and removing the rear wheels. pop the jack under the rear beam to support it, as it will drop when we remove the securing nuts from the top.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7647.jpg)

start by removing the parcel shelf, parcel shelf supports and the rubber dust cap from the top mount. you'll see an exposed nut (17mm) and giant washer. you may need to pinch the flats with your molegrips whilst undoing the nut with a spanner. you do not want the shock to spin as it will damage the seals.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7654.jpg)

next up you'll see another nut and a large cup washer, no.1 and no.2 in the picture above. undo this, in my case it was 14mm but on an original shock i think it is 17mm

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7652.jpg)

lift out the top half of the top mount, it will have the large cup washer (no.2) on top and the small cup washer (no.4) on the bottom

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7651.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7650.jpg)

then finally you'll see another nut (no.6) that covers the large barrel spacer (no.7), do not remove this if you do not have coilovers -if you do remove it, there is a good chance your suspension strut will catastrophically explode!

once you have done both sides, lower the jack slowly and the struts will come out of the body, lower enough so that you can reach up into the wheel arch and pull the old bottom half of the top mount out. slot your new mount on, then re-assemble in the reverse of above :)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 16 April 2010, 21:25
mot time
yup, its that time of year again where i have to tediously present the car to a mean man bearing green or red paper. i took the car down for a quick pre-mot check and had a few jobs to do


the horn was an easy fix. the ring contact on the steering wheel had come loose - so i just popped a quick push button on the dash for the mot.

the rear beam hard lines were a doddle, old ones off, new ones made up and popped back on. front flexis were equally as easy. bled the brakes throughout and topped up with some fresh dot 4.

the rear sidelight was just dirty connections on the switch itself, i cleaned up all the spades with some emmery and i was good as new.

the car has been developing a little bit of engine play recently, so i thought i'd replace the last mount in the bay - the rear block engine mount. this turned out to be much more difficult than i hoped. i couldn't remove the engine bracket from the mount as a bolt sheared, so it meant access for removal was seriously limited. i had to remove the driveshaft - but to get enough clearance to drop that beyond the subframe - the front engine mount also had to be removed(!) typically, a bolt sheared off on that too just to ruin my day.

so many hours, blood, sweat and tears later - i drilled out the snapped bolts - re-tapped and replaced with some copper slip covered parts. a 1.5hr job turned in to a 6 hour job!

the last thing was emissions, the car has been burning oil since i flushed the engine with atf (bad idea!). i did replace the valve stem seals at the same time- but the parts were from ECP and i suspect, a pretty substandard quality. its either a toss up of crap seals - or crap workmanship (probably both).

but this time round i ordered up some valve stem seals from the dealers and went about changing them. the last one was in, a new timing belt fitted and i turned the crank by hand to check and all was good. until i noticed a spring seat sat lying on the floor! i could not believe my stupidity for managing to drop a spring seat - or for grabbing it in the first place! so i had to strip down each valve again to find which one was missing the seat. typically, it was the very last one i came to. but with the seat installed again, the engine was rebuilt - timed up and tensioned.

the old girl seems to be running a treat (touch wood!) and doesn't appear to be burning oil any more, or at least hopefully just for the mot.

tomorrow is d-day, but i can't imagine really having any difficulties. i also have her booked in for some 4 wheel tracking - for its annual set up.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 17 April 2010, 14:59
mot day
... this morning, I went over the car 1 more time to check it was all ready to go for the MOT. i look under the car and one of the petrol tank straps had snapped! I could not believe it. i filled the tank up last night and must have hit a pot hole particularly hard and the corroded piece of crap just broke free.

so an emergency repair was in order so i could make my 2.30pm MOT appointment. It is ultimately a little bit of a bodge, i cut some 6 gauge steel sheet into a strip, then folded the sharp lips in on itself (with great difficulty!), measured up and bent to the curve of the tank.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/17042010119.jpg)

now I'm sat in the waiting bit again hoping for a green flag!
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 17 April 2010, 18:42
it passed
went through with flying colours and even passed its emissions test legitimately - i'm well chuffed :) whilst it was in kwik fit, i got it tracked up too as they had a nice shiny hunter ds600 there.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/golfly-1.jpg)

after some initial messing about (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=151894.0), i got the wheel alignment set up perfect. their printer was out of toner, but i was stood by the car and screen the whole time and i can happily report the settings are:

Camber: -0"30 both sides
Toe: 0"00 both sides
Caster: 1"30 difference, but not really much I can do about that.

not bad for throwing a £10'er in the fella's pocket ;)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 04 May 2010, 19:10
caution: raised ironworks
after just having the alignment set up perfect on the car, i think its shafted now :sick:!

i was driving down a road that was having a little re-surfacing done, i had one car stuck on my bumper and another that pulled out in front of me suddenly to dodge some raised ironworks, then swerved straight back - to reveal another grid poking about 12" off the ground. i couldn't brake as the car behind would have hit me and i didn't have space to manoeuvre out the way, so the car smashed over it and whacked the chassis leg twice.

well, its started to show signs of broken-ness. a pretty nasty knock coming from the front end has appeared and after having a look this morning - the top mount is loose. on my car, the shock top nut is 19mm and there is a 7mm allen to prevent the shock from spinning. given i don't have a buzz gun, some improvisation was required.

i grabbed a 19mm impact socket, pushed a 10.9 bolt through the hole and wrapped mole grips around them. the 7mm tool i bought from halfords (http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_217824_langId_-1_categoryId_165469).

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/04052010124.jpg)

i tightened it up as much as i could, and as much as the bolt could tolerate!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/04052010126.jpg)

i'm hoping the top mount isn't damaged and that it is tight enough, but i must say, i don't feel confident!
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 15 May 2010, 20:51
some old photos

i came across some old photos from a while back ... not sure why i didn't post them back then. they're only taken on my poor little point and shoot - so might be a little out of focus, but no judging!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/OffsideCorner-KelvinhallGallery.jpg) (http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/OffsideCorner-KelvinhallGallery.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/CIMG5243.jpg) (http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/CIMG5243.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/CIMG5254.jpg) (http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/CIMG5254.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/CIMG5238.jpg) (http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/CIMG5238.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/CIMG5242.jpg) (http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/CIMG5242.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 August 2010, 19:35
tackling the rear - again
a few weeks ago i replaced the rear engine mount, but in the process, i managed to shear a bolt. i didn't have time to mess around fixing it, so i threw it on 1 bolt short and got my MOT. well, it still needed fixing, so off it came again.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7665.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7666.jpg)

access is tight, but i could just about get to it with the airbox removed, i could loosen off the bolts on the block and withdraw it from beneath ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7668.jpg)

whilst i was at it, i also wanted to replace the captive nuts on the bumper irons - as i was curious to if they were what was causing my "loose" engine feeling.

so i pulled off the bumper, removed the skin from the irons ..

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7670.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7671.jpg)

the bolts were in a sorry way, so these were wire-brushed clean

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7673.jpg)

i pulled the old captive nut off the iron as it was pretty threaded ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7675.jpg)

then refitted with some copper slipped bolts and a new (non-captive) nut

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7676.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 August 2010, 20:12
in a spin
the car randomly stopped working earlier this week with no real warning. i was happily driving down the street and it stalled. i started it and only the momentum of the car was keeping it running. it backfired and hopped the next 200m whilst i moved over to the side of the road.

when i got home, some poking and prodding got me all confused as to what the issue was. when i turned the IGN, there was no fuel pump priming, so i swapped the fuel relay out for another, but the same issue. so then i bridged the two pins for the fuel relay and could hear both pumps priming.

i had bought a new fuel filter, but after finding that the fuel pumps were not getting power, i didn't think that flow was the issue.

something was causing the fuel pump not to run. k-jet fuel relays have a 555 timer inside that takes a pulsed input which tells the relay to keep open, the pulsed input comes from the coil. so, up next was the coil. given how cheap the coil is to replace, i grabbed a new bosch one from GSF and fitted it.

unfortunately, there was still no spark. i removed the king lead from the dizzy, popped it close to the head and cranked the engine and it was only sparking intermittently. the only thing that can cause this is the hall sender not sending a correct signal to the coil to spark.

i made sure the wire was connected to the hall sender, pulled the rubber boot back and put a multimeter on the middle pin and grounded the other end. i put the engine in 5th gear and rocked the car back and forth and there was no fluctuation of voltage/resistance on the multimeter.

GSF/ECP don't sell the hall sender or even the dizzy, so it was an eBay job. a quick search turned up part number 026905206A and this item http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/vw-reconditioned-Distributor-MK1-AND-MK2-GOLF-GTI-/170521048068?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27b3d8b404

a week later, the new dizzy arrived and it was time to fit it.

fitting my dizzy

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

Tools required: 13mm spanner, tipex, spark plug tool

i'm only making this 2 spanners, but if it goes tits up - it could be way more difficult. as my timing was fine, i just needed to make sure the new dizzy went in the exact same position as the one i am removing. if your timing is out, then this guide will be useless.

1. get the engine to TDC on cylinder 1, easiest way to tell is to remove your spark plug in cylinder 1 and remove the distributor cap. put the car in fifth and pull the car towards yourself until the arrow on the rotor on the dizzy points at the mark on the distributor body. poke a straw in the spark plug hole and it should barely go in. chock the wheels and put the handbrake on - leave the car in gear!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7701.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7702.jpg)

2. now the dizzy is lined up, you need to mark the block/engine itself so you know the distributor body position relative to the engine. the caveat is that nothing is close enough to this mark to make a mark! i used a couple of g-clamps and bolted them to the block and positioned it right next to the dizzy body - just make sure there is enough room to withdraw the dizzy without moving your mark.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7704.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7706.jpg)

3. that was all the marking i planned on doing, so it was time to remove the clamp that holds the dizzy in place. it takes a 13mm spanner (ideally a ratchet spanner).

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7707.jpg)

4. after the clamp is gone, you can withdraw the distributor. it will be sat tight and effectively screwed in thanks to the gear, wiggle wiggle wiggle, out it comes.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7709.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7708.jpg)

5. compare your new dizzy to the old one, make sure you count the teeth on the gear at the bottom. strangely, my dizzy was missing its oil seal, i have no idea where that could have gone, but it wasn't in the hole.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7710.jpg)

6. refit new dizzy and line up the mark to the engine/block/g-clamp mark, put the c-clamp back on, put the washer, rotor and dizzy cap back on.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7726.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7725.jpg)

7. brace yourself, start the engine and hope for the best :D
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 14 August 2010, 20:17
changing the wheel
i have been waiting on ebay for over 18 months for a cheap sparco steering wheel, but cheap and sparco do not go together. so i have had a temporary wooden - yes, wooden, steering wheel on.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7714.jpg)

i was getting really fed up with this and managed to poach another steering wheel off an audi coupé. the splines off the coupe wheel actually fit the golf, but the rest of the body doesn't. so the audi boss wasn't going to drop on like i hoped.

so, i experimented a little and stripped down the steering wheel ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7717.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7711.jpg)

it looked like the same 6 stud pattern on my wooden momo wheel, so i stripped the boss off the momo wheel ...

and lo-and-behold ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7716.jpg)

its still too big for my liking (350mm), but it will do for now :)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7721.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7724.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 22 August 2010, 12:08
spark or fuel

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

this is just for a little guidance with those getting stuck at - my car doesn't start!

check for spark

1) remove fuel pump relay.
2) remove king lead - place near head and check for regular spark. if the king lead sparks evenly, go to 3, if not, go to 4.
3) re-connect the lead and remove a lead from cyl 1 and check for interval spark, if even, go to 5, if not, go to 6.
4) turn the ignition on, then off, there should be a single solitary spark, if there is, go to 7, if not, go to 8.
5) repeat step 3 with the next cylinder.
6) this is either a ht lead, rotor or distributor cap fault.
7) this is either a hall sender or wiring to coil fault.
8 ) this is either a coil pack, hall sender or wiring to coil fault.

coil pack, hall sender or wiring to coil fault
testing the hall sender requires pulling back the rubber boot on the wiring (ensuring it stays connected), connecting a voltmeter to the middle pin and the other end to ground. put the car in 5th gear and rock the car back and forth (around 1-2m) and watch for fluctuation on the voltmeter. if it doesn't change, then replace the hall sender/distributor.
testing the wiring/coil pack is using your voltmeter and common sense (wiggle wires, check for continuity etc.)

ht lead, rotor or distributor cap fault
to test the leads, swap the faulty lead with a known working lead and test again.
to check the distributor cap/rotor, remove and inspect for signs of arc'ing, ensure contacts are clean with plenty of material.

sometimes just replacing parts is the easiest way to test unknown parts (but not necessarily the cheapest).

checking for fuel

1) after testing the spark first, refit the fuel pump relay, crank the engine very briefly (or just flick the ign on/off) and release, you should hear the fuel pump(s) prime. this relies on all wires being connected to the coil pack - without the wiring connected, the fuel pump will not prime (on a k-jet). if it primes, go to 1a), if it doesn't prime, go to 3.
1a) Disconnect plug from main pump under car and repeat #1, you should hear the in-tank pump prime, if it does, go to 2, if not go to 6.
2) fuel flow needs to be tested.
3) remove the fuel relay and bridge the large pins with a suitably crimped piece of fused wire (rated 20a). if you hear the fuel pump running, go to 4, if not, go to 5.
4) your fuel relay is faulty.
5) replace the fuse for the fuel pump, then repeat step 1. if you have got here a second time, go to 6.
6) fuel pump(s) or wiring fault.

fuel flow needs to be tested
i can't be bothered writing fuel flow tests, check your haynes.

fuel pump(s) or wiring fault
you need to use a battery back and suitable wiring to connectors on the fuel pumps themselves to ensure they run. be extremely careful - any spark could start a fire. use your brain, be careful and figure this one out for yourself.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 22 August 2010, 12:09
is it my starter motor

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9986/spannerselectedee3.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

check your battery for 12.2v (car off)
check your alternator for 13.5v-14.4v (car on)
check your gearbox ground.
check starter motor battery +ve feed.

if you have no noise at all
check your ign switch
check the wiring again!
run a bridge wire from the battery +ve to the solenoid

if you have 1 solitary click
check the braided solenoid to to starter +ve feed

if it buzzes/turns slowly
check the starter armature/carbon brushes (11mm is the minimum iirc)
check the bell housing bush

only after checking all the above, should you go about changing the starter.
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 22 August 2010, 12:19
floppy rear end
the golf has felt a little ropey since the raised ironworks incident, grrrrrrrrr. there was a bit of a rear end knock (like an exhaust banging) and vague steering, so after lots of reading, i had put it down to worn rear beam bushes.

the drivers side front top mount was also shafted, so i ordered up a few new bits ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7772.jpg)

i had visions of changing the ream beam bushes in-situ (as others had said it was possible). given its such a faff bleeding the rear brakes, i wanted to try and avoid it. so the car was jacked up and prepped

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7775.jpg)

there was a few clearance issues withdrawing the pivot bolt, but these weren't really an issue

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7776.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7777.jpg)

the real problem was that it would never be possible to lower the rear beam enough to physically get the bush out - due to the short length of the rubber brake line unions

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7779.jpg)

no big deal, the beam had to come off :( don't ask why, but i made the job about 2x harder by not removing the rear struts from the beam. i had to tweak the rear top mounts (pop a little grease on them to stop the bushes squeaking!), so i thought i'd just drop the beam from the top and pull the lot out (fail!)

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7782.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7783.jpg)

once the beam was out, i popped it on another set of stands so i could remove the old bushes

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7784.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7785.jpg)

by far the quickest and easiest way to remove the old bushes was just pop a 10mm drill bit in my drill (which is just about the size from the metal inner sleeve and metal outer sleeve). its so tight that as you start to drill, it will catch ever so slightly on the two inner and outer surfaces - this is a good thing! as it catches, it will rotate around the inner sleeve and effectively eat up all the rubber in about 6 seconds of the drill being on! then just pop a stake in the inner bush and hit it a couple of times with a hammer.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7786.jpg)

then use a hacksaw to cut a fine line down the middle of the outer sleeve - this will release all tension and it only takes a few swift taps with a hammer and it will slide out.

now the poly bushes need to be fitted (this is easy!), lining up for a test fit ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7787.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7788.jpg)

i'm not keen on the idea of squeaks, so everything was covered (rightly or wrongly) in copper slip

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7790.jpg)

then with a quick makeshift press using some threaded bar, the poly bush was pressed in. you could probably do it with a hammer - but i'd bought the threaded bar, so i figured i may as well use it!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7791.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7792.jpg)

then the inner sleeve just needs pressing in ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7793.jpg)

with the beam all ready, its time to get it back on the car. admittedly, i did go for a food break and came back again to start at 8pm (so it was a little dark), meaning i had to work by little flood lights. if i wasn't so lazy, i'd paint it - but i'm lazy, so i didn't. i can't help thinking how sad the car looks without its rear beam :(

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7794.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7796.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7795.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7796.jpg)

i only have little hobby jacks, so i couldn't get the car massively high. which meant trying to fit the ream beam with the suspension still attached was a little bit of a fiddle

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7798.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7799.jpg)

i then bolted up the brake lines, re-assembled the bias arm+spring, popped in the 2x pivot bolts (60NM btw), hooked up the top mounts (with a little copper slip to stop the damn squeaking) and threw the wheels back on. i'll bleed the brakes tommorow ...

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7801.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7800.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 03 October 2010, 19:02
floppy front end
again, since the raised ironworks saga, the front drivers side top mount keeps working loose - which isn't particularly reassuring when you're scooting around. i was going to upgrade to the mk3 top mounts - but i couldn't be bothered faffing in a scrapyard to get the other missing bits i'd need, nor could i be bothered calling the dealers. for the price of two new units, i just bought two mk2 ones - this time they are lemforder (although they are stamped "made in brazil" - so much for german OEM quality!)

this job was so quick it wasn't even funny - it took just less than 5 minutes per side :)

replacing coilover front top mounts

(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)(http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3122/spannertp5.png)

Tools required: 19mm swan neck spanner, 7mm allen key

yes, this is 0 spanners, any idiot could do this in less than 10 minutes a side!

1. remove the plastic top mount dust cap

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7813.jpg)

2. loosen off the top mount securing bolt

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7803.jpg)

3. jack up the car as high as it can go and you'll be able to push the top mount out from inside the bonnet.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7811.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7805.jpg)

4. compare new and old one, pretend the old one is faulty to justify your purchase, then take obligatory photo

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7807.jpg)

5. reach up into the wheel arch and press the new top mount in

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7809.jpg)

6. line up the shock piston with the hole in the top mount and gently lower the car back down. do not be tempted to position the piston with your fingers - they'll get trapped in the spring when you lower it!

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7810.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7812.jpg)

7. put the washer on, nut on and tighten back up again, you obviously can't use a torque wrench, so you want to get it as tight as possible (within reason). i should have used new locking nuts (but i didn't have any), i'll fit some next week.

(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7813-1.jpg)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG7814.jpg)

super simples :)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 05 October 2010, 01:25
ready for testing
i'll post some pictures later, but I needed to wind back the rear caliper pistons and didn't have a winding tool to hand - so improvised and made one that worked pretty darn well! so i wound the pistons back, chocked the pistons, cracked the bleed nipples and bled the brakes. took 2 passes (and a 3rd for good measure), but i'm bubble free with a good firm peddle.

i only went round the block - so no idea if changing the rear beam bushes/front top mounts has helped anything, i'll find out tomorrow ;)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 01 December 2010, 22:54
its coming to an end

for sale link (http://bit.ly/gy76UK)

Well, gutted to be posting this, but I've got a new car now ... and although I really want to keep the Golf, I simply don't think I'll be able to, insurance and storage is working out quite costly.

The Golf is stored in Manchester (as its a bit more central for viewing). I've cashed in the tax and its MOT'ed until mid-April. I've sorted storage for 2 months, then after, I'm not sure where it will be going (probably covered long term storage).

I haven't had the time yet to put together a full for-sale ad, but I'm sure for any of you that have read this project thread, its an extremely well looked after car, starts fine, runs fine, no smoke, returns 30+ mpg all day long. But, that's not to say it doesn't have its niggles - I'm happy to be overtly honest to any potential buyer! If anything, the only thing I needed to replace was the suspension - as it was getting too hard for my liking. I'll gladly change it for any buyer if they bring it along with them.

It will come with all the odds and sods I've accumulated over the years - (as well as the parts currently fitted to it). So, the bigger spares included (off the top of my head):

Set of 4x 14" P slots (vgc but tyres are mostly bald)
Set of rainbow interior (vgc, rear bench a bit tatty on the back)

I'm not really sure what its worth, but I'd guess between £1,500 - £2,500. Offers welcome, viewings recommended. I could safely say about 60% of parts on it are new, this car is far from a dog (mechanically speaking!).

Oh, and the new ride, its this ...

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1186.snc4/150854_475626719939_507249939_5393143_8090848_n.jpg)
Title: Re: bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project
Post by: Ben Lessani on 01 February 2012, 01:45
Updated for sale link http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=221091.0