Just inherited a gti!

[mk2mark]

Hi,

Just inherited a pristine 1991 gti, all I can say is wow! I can safely say it's the most fun I've had in a car in as long as I can think of, it just sticks to the road like glue

Anyway I have 1 or 2 questions for you guys - firstly there's a fair bit of white smoke and the exhaust pops a bit, is this normal or is it running rich? With it being an older car I'm sure it's normal to a degree, but also the idle is a little lumpy (you can feel it through the cabin), and coming up to junctions etc. it sometimes cuts out - hot or cold. I got ~150 miles on half a tank if that clears things up a little?

Also if it's a 1991 car does that mean it's 16v? There's only one pulley/camshaft but I've heard of engines with 16v on a SOHC, don't suppose golfs were one of those? Doesn't really bother me because this thing's plenty fast one way or the other. Thanks guys!

[tobz.]

Hey welcome to the forum. Glad to hear there's another golf convert in the fold, mk2's can be great fun, especially on the twisties.

First the easy one: 1991 could be either 8 or 16v, if it's a single cam then it's an 8v. All 16v were twin cam and the easiest way to identify one is the dirty great big 4-branch air intake on top of the engine with DOHC 16V cast into it.

White smoke is generally not a good sign as it's usually a symptom of a failed head gasket (it's a result of water being 'burnt' in the cylinders) Check your coolant system for oil contamination and check your oil for water contamination (it will go grey and sludgy). Get the compression checked on your engine and also a pressure check and gas analysis check on your coolant system. If it is the head gasket one of these checks should find it. Not the end of the world though as a head gasket shouldn't be expensive to replace.

As for the cutting out at junctions etc it probably just needs a good tune-up as it's a very common problem. Check all your vacuum lines for splits/leaks and have a read of this thread:

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=33253.0

that should help get things properly setup.

Cheers
Tobz

[finsg60]

inherited?!no way, i'm being buried in my dub!

[mk2mark]

By the way when I say white smoke I mean the petrol vapour that you can see and smell, not real smoke as such - at least I hope that's what I mean , thanks for the replies though,