Author Topic: Help - only had car 1 week & needs new catalytic converter/centre & rear box?  (Read 3333 times)

Offline james_biscuit

  • Not said much yet
  • **
  • Posts: 15

We have owned our Mark 3 Golf Gti 16V for only a week and are having loads of problems.

It has been misfiring a lot and eventually went totally dead. The RAC towed us to the local VW dealer who diagnosed a faulty ignition coil and replaced it (£200 for diagnostic, labour & parts). However, the misfire continued so we took it back to the dealer who then diagnosed a hole in the catalytic converter.

We took the car to another garage to replace the catalytic converter (as the VW dealer quoted £800 compared to £170 at the other garage!). However, they said that the baffles on the centre box were completely gone, which had contributed to the catalytic converter problem, but they also said that the rear box must be replaced at the same time as its part of the same unit as the centre box. Another £220 on top of the £170, so thats nearly £600 all up for a car we have only had for 1 week.

Basically, can anyone here tell us if it is indeed true that the rear box must be replaced at the same time as the centre? Also, is that about normal price for the rear/centre box - it seems odd that it is more than the catalytic converter which is a more complicated piece of kit.

Thanks in advance for your help. Hopefully once this is all sorted we can start enjoying the car :)

Offline Agreeable Slick

  • Global Moderator
  • Serious forum addict
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,074
  • Unit
I am presuming yours is the 150BHP version of the mk3.

In which case the guy would be pulling your strings.



As shown above the exhaust setup of the mk3 is all in sections not one whole peice as he describes.

Go to a autofactors and ask for the relevant parts then just give them to the garage and ask them to fit them. It should be loads cheaper and you will begin to learn about the car aswell.


Offline gibby

  • Forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 5,675
  • Champions of Europe,ooh ,just the five times then!
Welcome to the forum.  :smiley: Good work Slick !  :grin:

Just a thought, don't a lot of mk3 owners have problems with mis-firing and it turns outto be one of the sensors MAF or something ?  :undecided:

Have a search through the mk3 section or stick a post in there as I think this is a common problem.  :smiley:

EDIT: Are your problems similar to this post ---> http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=9093.0 If so ECU maybe  :undecided:
« Last Edit: 17 May 2005, 22:00 by gibby »
......now officially dubless.

Dinky

  • Guest
welcome to the forum...

dinx :kiss:

mrwotto

  • Guest
welcome to the forum mate

Sorry to hear the about your problems.

And its nice to see gibby not having a pop about mk3's lol

Offline gibby

  • Forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 5,675
  • Champions of Europe,ooh ,just the five times then!
lol - I know wotto, what ever next !  :laugh: I can be helpful sometimes, I don't like to see people ripped off and james_biscuit looks like he might be if he's not careful.  :angry:
......now officially dubless.

Offline james_biscuit

  • Not said much yet
  • **
  • Posts: 15
I am presuming yours is the 150BHP version of the mk3.

In which case the guy would be pulling your strings.




Yep, it's a 1995 2.0 GTi 16v ABF Engine - 147 Bhp. From that diagram it looks like I'm being hoodwinked. I'll give them a call first thing and double check I haven't misunderstood and see what the guy says.

Thanks very much for everyone's help.

Offline Bronze MK1 Cab

  • I live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 716
Welcome to the forum mate, hope you get it sorted  :wink:

Offline james_biscuit

  • Not said much yet
  • **
  • Posts: 15
EDIT: Are your problems similar to this post ---> http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=9093.0 If so ECU maybe  :undecided:

Cheers Gibby, this is really useful stuff. It sounds just like my problem. I've had a new cat put on which hasn't solved the problem, going to try the expansion box which is blowing, if that doesn't work then I'm off to buy a couple of relays.

As for the saga with the dodgy quote - it turns out the cheap after market parts this garage uses don't fit the original VW ones in places. So you have to fit the middle and rear box at the same time as the cheap middle box doesn't fit the original rear box........

Offline gibby

  • Forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 5,675
  • Champions of Europe,ooh ,just the five times then!
No worries, I remember Len having a nightmare with similar problems and it took a while for him to get to the bottom of it.  :smiley: I think I'd look at the relays and ECU first though before looking at the exhaust etc as that will be more expensive.  :undecided:
......now officially dubless.