hardmonkeys - mk3.5 Cabrio 2.0 8v auto to 2.0 16v manual conversion

[jv]

[hardmonkeys]

Thank you...feel like I'm in the spotlight now 

Right, here is my little project.. I've no clue what I'm doing, I have a Haynes manual..tools....and you lot..and I trust you guys...a lot..don't let me down...

Some of you in the Mk3 section have been bored to tears about my Golf Cabrio Avantgarde 2.0 8v Auto,







I bought it for £310 off ebay, the gearbox is knackered, it stalls in drive and reverse from cold, when warm, it almost kills you by launching forward or backward, when it does sort itself out, it goes from 1st to 2nd fine, it jolts into 3rd then slips, revs high, makes a squealing sound, then jolts into 4th, (good job the seat belts work!!) and does the same,

Bodywork is fine, just needs some TLC, roof has a slight split that doesn't leak...yet





It just needs some TLC, all over..

Engine runs lovely, slight oil leak from rocker, but nothing that can't be sorted...
Interior was grubby, previous owner basically didn't care once the gearbox threw a wobbly, pay and display tickets, crisp packets and hadnt been hoovered for a while



So!! I've tried to fix this gearbox problem, either by fixing it, or replacing it...I put a few requests on the various savage sites..1st part breaker etc etc, all I got was

Quote for your 2.0 VW Golf AvantGarde Reconditioned Auto Gearbox with TorqueConverter, can Supply zero mileage and Fully Fit for £1595; comes with a 2year unlimited mileage warranty and diagnostics.            Kind Regards. www.jbecompany.com. Please contact 07********* to book in; or with any queries or questions you may have, thank you.

Cost.....a WHOPPING £1650 

Look on eBay, AGG engine and auto box...£440, I ring the guy, ask if it runs..well...basically does it work, couldn't 100% say it did, it might of he said, so I decided to keep looking, I can hear the missus saying  ' i told you so

Now, as i was looking I went through the idea of swapping the engine..really wanted to go VR6...but didn't wanna spend to much on one, then break it, seems a waste, so toyed with the idea of converting to manual, I'm not a mechanic, but think I know my way around a car..I did 2yrs (ish) at college doing a city and guilds in Light Vehicle Mechanics, but that was 12yrs ago now, possibly longer.

I read through the Haynes (they make it sound easy!!) i understood the jargon, so figures I'd give it a go, I decidedmto buy a donor car, as all the bits will be there, rather than buying bits and pieces and then realising I need the other bit,

So after a few days of searching for a mk3 with minimum 2.0 8v engine and manual box, I found this,






Cost me £260 off ebay, it's a Golf GTi with 2.0 16v (ABF) lump and manual box, 132k, full service history and receipts, 12 1/2mths mot! Drove it 70miles home, it's sweet as!! The bodywork is a little tatty, and there are a few rust issues..but it's the engine I was interested in.

This project is going to be a slow burner, I have no idea what I'm doing, but with a little research and I fo from you, I'm gonna make this a good one, hopefully!!

[hardmonkeys]

Booked the time off work, so 18th April onwards is the week it WILL be done!

Previous owner of the gti has found all the receipts for all the work he had done and sent them on.

Can't wait to get cracking now!

[hardmonkeys]

So...here we go! The time has come, make or break (literally)...

Just got the small matter of last day at work to do before I can start this. Pictures later!

[hardmonkeys]

Well I got started at around 1pm yesterday, started to strip out the Cabrio to get to the auto ecu and loom and also stripping out the dash to swap the pedal boxes, I really should of researched it a bit more if it honest, I didn't realise it was such a big job, still, in for a penny in for a pound, I've started so I'll finish.




Pictures of the half stripped dash.






Crud from under the scuttle!

I'm going to be giving this a good clean before it all goes back together

I've had some help from madmanmart off of here, through text,  he has been a a godsend, a wealth of information

Today is going to be much of the same, as all of the manual stuff needs to be removed from the GTi, so that's where my day lies, after I finish work(why did I volunteer I do not know!!!) engine hoist being delivered tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be starting to prepare for that soon enough.

I hope this Weather stays for the time I've got off it reall is helping a lot.

[hardmonkeys]

Well, today didn't go as planned, I didn't even start the GTi strip down, the Cabrio has tested me today,

I had to remove the steering column today to get to pedal box, everything was going ok, until I met the shear bolts, when tightened at the factory, the head snaps..so you can't remove them...using some handy advice from madmanmart, I used a  chisel and hammer, to knock it round, 1st one came out ok, the other....well...it took an hour of chiseling, drilling, sawing...and swearing!!



It finally came out!!

I then had to remove the steering column from the intermediate shaft, this confused me as I couldn't see where this was, after removing the connecting plate,  and smashing my knuckles off the fascia mounts it came free, out came the column



Then it came to whipping the dash out, oh yeh it was soooo easy!! NOT!! It took me a while to make sure it was all free and loose before I removed it, had to label all the wires, so not to forget what goes where, there is an alarm that has been fitted...not sure if at factory or dealer fit, as its VW marked, but the wires are all over the place, and some of the plastics behind the fascia are cracked, whoever did it wasn't that great at their job!



But it finally came out, this is where it's left, as I need to now strip the GTi, which is a job for tomorrow, the engine hoist is coming tomorrow so then it all systems go

[hardmonkeys]

Removed the dash from the GTi!!! So now we are stuck in!!

Engine removal now!

[hardmonkeys]

Hey, I've finally got the 8v out the cabrio, it was a bit of job for novice like me, but my excuse is I have done it all on my own, none of the 'mates' that have said they'd be round to help have shown their faces...obviously under the thumb of the missus haha

Anyways,




I throughly enjoyed it, despite going in completely blind! The gti is almost ready to have its engine removed, just a few little things to remove, then its out and ready to be transplanted, I'm going to clean it up when it's out and also scrub up the bay of the Cabrio,

Next jobs:-

to completely remove the engine from the gti
Remove the looms from the cabrio and replace with the looms from the gti

[mjb]

Nice work

[hardmonkeys]

It's going ok, I've lost a day today tho, my little one was admitted into hospital today, so I'm up here with her tonight,