GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: Red8v on 26 April 2006, 13:01
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Hi
I have a weird leak on my 8v Digi. I have notice a few times now that when I get in the car in the mornings there has been something dripping onto my drivers side mat. Thought nothing of it as i get a small water leak on the passenger side through the heater inlet when it rains heavily.
Then last night after driving home form work I noticed an weird oily stain on my shoe! Checked it out this morning and can't see where its coming from as I haven't had time to remove the interior trim. I then looked under the bonnet and I do have a small leak in the petrol hose connecting the main feed and fuel rail? Haven't fixed this yet as i couldn't find anywhere that had the hose on the way to work today, gonna pop out soon and find sum.
So do u think these could be connected? Could the fuel be somehow getting into the cabin and running down the clutch peddle? The stuff doesn't look or smell like petrol. Could it be something worse like a brake master cylinder? If so an easy fix?
Any help appreciated!
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check the drain holes just below the A pillars they usually get gunked up and then the only place for the water to go is into the cabin. Could just be oily/greasy water from all the sh!t thats in there.
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a leak here is almost always caused by a leaky bonnet release cable grommet, combined with blocked drain holes either side of the scuttle area under the plastic tray.
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Cheers guy's thats put my mind at rest for a bit. When I get escape fromt he office i'm gonna get some fuel pipe and check the drain holes! Really hope it is just that, although from the colour texture of the liquid (feels like a very thin oil no smell browny colour) it does look at bit more sinister. What's brake fluid look smell like?
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hmm could be old brake fluid, in which case your master cylinder will be dead! Follow the brake pedal up to where it pushes against a piston arm thing through the firewall, if theres more oil round this then you need a new MC!
Not that expensive truth be told, but make sure you get a 16v one. It might be worth replacing all the flexi hoses with braided ones as well as uprating the front brakes and fitting late MK3 rear calipers at the same time ;)
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Well had a look at the drain holes and they are fine so def not that! Haven't had time to remove the drivers side dash undertray but i suppose all thats left is the master cylinder, nothing else around there :angry:!
How easy is it to change and what's the dif in 16v one? Just had new pads and discs front and rear so prob won't upgrade the front. Will I have to change these if i get rear Mk3 calipers? Also it is a 1990 8v, thought I read somewhere that the later MK2's already had the same calipers as MK3's?
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Also do the handbrake cables differ for the MK3 calipers. Need to replace these anyway, just wanted to check which ones to buy!
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Really need help now. Had the dash under tray off and it looks very clean around the master cylinder where it comes through the bulkhead! I had a look further up and it seems to be coming from the middle of the dash :huh: There is quite a lareg amount of oily water stuff on the sound deadening material is stuck on the underside of the dash and it then runs towards the pedals and down the back of the clutch pedal.
Really stumped now anyone got any ideas what it could be/had a similar problem?
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oh dear, that sounds like the heater matrix thats leaking :sad:
if your car is a later model, after 87 I think the handbrake cables for MK3 calipers are the same. The 16v master cylinder is bigger than the 8v one so gives more brake force.
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Hey Jonny, I was starting to think the same thing it's the only thing near there that holds any fluid! Looked on German and Swedish and it's only £36.50 for a new one, so not as bad as the master cylinder, I assume it's a b*tch to get out though? What other clues would point to heater matrix? Loss of coolant, no hot air? (had neither of these so far!) Have you replaced a matrix before? If so, is it a whole dash out job? How long am I looking at?
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Loss of coolant and water dripping out of the lower air outlets (that blow on your feet) are the signs of a matrix failure. Also a bit of steam from the vents occasionally.
You can change a matrix with the dash still in but you have to strip away the complete lower half. It's not difficult, just a little fiddly at times and requires some patience. When I changed one it took about 4hours but I also took out the stereo and all the controls etc to improve access to the top of the heater box.
Here's a link to the guide I used:
http://rapidshare.de/files/18315848/Changing_a_mk2_golf_heater_matrix.doc.html
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usually you would notice your screen steams up once the car is warm and you try to defrost your screen, coolant loss, coolant smell through the vents (only if your coolant actually SMELLS of coolant though :grin:)
As said you remove the bottom half of the dash, but where it mentions to remove the staples from the vents you don't need to, and rather than uncliping the cables from the heater box, simply unscrew the heater pannel after removing the facia and it will all drop down together.
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Ah yeah as jonny said removing the heater controls rather than disconnecting the cables will save a lot of time. I thought I had been back and edited that document, maybe not!
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maybee you did, I didn't use that one, I used the one off cgti ;)
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Cheers guys that a great help! Got the guide of of CGTi and a going to German and Swedish this afternoon to buy the new matrix. Any difference in them, one is a few quid more? Then gonna take off as much as I can at work and keep it driveable until I can do it at the weekend. That will piss the girlfriend offif I do it all at once and not take her shopping, she already thinks I spend to much time fiddling with my old heap (her words) :grin:
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I'd go for the more expensive one, probably a better quality part. Trust me when I say, you do NOW want to do this job again ;)
Oh, and get 2 new heater matrix feed & return pipes, as you no longer need the bypass valves:
18004 HEATER HOSE (FEED) 9.45
18005 HEATER HOSE (RETURN) 9.45
Or you could use lengths of copper pipe, but if you're doing a job... etc ;)
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Wicked cheers jonny, one last question! I was thinking of join the heater matrix feed and return pipes so I can do as much as I can whilst skiving at work and keeping the car drivable. This way I thought i could take a few days and do a decent job rather than rushing and f*ucking it up. If i wanted to do this what diameter copper pipe would I need to join these together?
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The normal stuff you would use for taps n stuff will do :)
Though if you pull the feed off the heater feed pipe you might have enough slack to join it straight to the metal pipe the return goes too. Dont stretch it though, I did this when bypassing my oil cooler and it soon split!
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Right cut off the supply to the matrix using a copper elbow joint. :wink: Have got most of the stuff out that I need to but can't remove the plastic air distribution unit. I have pulled the vents out and unscrewed the housing but can't get unit or housing out without removing the staples. I know you said that I don't need to remove them but can't see any other way of removing the unit!
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hmm ok, perhaps you do! Its just when I took the dash out of mine I didn't need to touch any of the staples all the vents just popped off...
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Well managed to get the air distribution unit out after getting the staples out. Then removed the vent housing, as i removed it the vents popped off the back! Guess I didn't need to remove the staples in the end :laugh:
Anyway last question for today, struggling with studs and nuts that hold the airbox in on the engine side. They are rusted to buggery tried cleaning them up but the nuts won't budge, could I just remove the studs all together and then when the air box is out screw them back in? Seems like this would save loads of time and i'll be able to give them a proper clean up then and not round off the nuts?
Seems simple but it didn't say you could do this in the guide!
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Someone did say if you turn them enough they should pop off the airbox, but it never happened for me, I just yanked the fecker off the studs :grin:
You can then either drill out the old ones (or get a spanner either side, and they'll likely shear off) then fit new studs or just shove the housing back on the old stud. I actually only had 1 stud when I refitted mine as one sheared off and I couldnt drive the car anywhere to get a new one. Once everything else is bolted in the housing isn't going anywhere, I just put a grommet in the hole :)
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Cheers jonny, sounds like my usual style :laugh: Just didn't want to f*ck it up then not be able to get the air box back in and suffer with a frezzing cold car forever!
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Yeah basically by that stage I was completly f#cked off with it so decided to show the car who was boss, brute force & ignorance all the way :grin: