Mk2 Golf 3.2 VR6 Kamei Edition + GTI 8v Mini Resto

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More parts:



New fuel filter, dipstick housing, indicator (amber) and clear dual filament bulbs, vacuum line in red, some rubber to make gaskets for the front strut brace I have, brake seals, bleed nipples, front lines and disc retaining screws. Also got a new front down pipe:



Painted it then thought about fitting it. Removed the front driver's side driveshaft completely and tried to use the old downpipe with the heat shield still attached to work out if it'd work or not. It didn't fit, so I was planning to remove the steering rack to give even more room but decided to try the new down pipes as they didn't need as much room without a heat shield on. They fitted in nicely so quite pleased with only having to remove the drive shaft to get it fitted.

Sadly, went to fire the engine up and it cranks over just fine but will not fire up. Read enough posts on forums to suspect it's an ignition problem so next month I shall be replacing almost everything, that is:

Ignition module (on top of ECU)
Ignition coil
Ignition leads
Distributor cap and rotor arm
Ignition switch
Battery (got a Bosch S4 spare)

I'm not overly worried that it didn't fire, it didn't before I took the engine apart so I suspect that on the drive home from getting the car, some part of the ignition system said farewell and as I parked her up and left it to cool off it decided to leave and go to the special place. If it doesn't fire after replacing all those parts (and probably re-doing all the earth wires for good measure) then I'll be at a loss. It's not the sparks though, those are brand new Bosch super 4 jobs...

As usual, any thoughts or comments greatly appreciated.

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Got some more parts, because why not? I got a new distributor cap, rotor arm and ignition leads as I wanted to eliminate that as a reason for the engine not starting. When I removed the old cap, the centre pin fell off so at that point I suspected the cap was at fault.




Certainly looks like the head's been worked over now in my opinion. Bit of an interesting situation when I tried to fire it up though... Certainly turns over a lot better, seems to sound happier with the new parts but still refuses to fire. So here's the situation...

- All wiring is connected and good, checked every earth lead. The battery is fully charged.
- Fuel pump primes for a second or two at ignition, then stops. Fuel is pressured and in the fuel rail (tested). No fuel leaks.
- Tried two different ignition coils now, one from the Driver which I know was working fine and the one that came on the car (which actually looked newer)

The only things I can think of that are stopping things now are:

- Faulty ignition amplifier on top of the ECU
- Timing is way out
- Oil pump blocked

Reasons for the last two options mainly comes down to that I fear I've put the timing so far out it can't fire, but I have no idea what an engine with incorrect timing would sound like when trying to fire up..?

As for the oil pump, I remember driving my brother's Driver years ago when that had a loose oil pickup pipe to the pump and it would stall and die when coming to a stop. I'm wondering if mine is blocked with sludge like everything else was, and can't pump oil around and preventing the engine starting. After cranking it a fair few times, I noticed that there's no sign of fresh oil around the filler cap... I'm going to try heating the oil pan up with a blower heater to get the oil well up in temperature and try again, see if that helps. Thinking if I thin the oil by warming it, it'll also loosen any build up in the pump (if that's the cause of my problems).

Any other suggestions would be most welcome right now.

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Also going to replace the ignition coil with a brand new one and also replace the relay for the fuel pump in the fuse board (currently has an 80 relay in position 12). This should then hopefully be all the common hardware issues sorted.

Also tested spark today, getting a good, bright spark, but looking inside the combustion chamber I can see fluid (fuel) in there? Suggesting that it's flooded or not igniting properly (again, timing out?).

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Decided to put everything back together now, ready for the new parts that are on order. Fitted the Pipercross filter and air box back:



Also forgot I bought some screws and holders for the front grill, sadly the screws are too big so will need to find smaller ones. But all in the details:



All back together bar some small bits:





Did replace the vacuum lines with red silicon ones but can barely see them now, I still need to work out exactly how to plumb all the vacuum lines up so the cold start feature in the air box works as well, just for the sake of sticking close to originality. Currently have a T-piece connecting the front left vacuum port on the throttle body to the fuel regulator and off to a line into the clocks. The other front and rear vacuum port on the throttle body are currently blocked off as these are for a carbon canister which I don't have (I believe, anyway). There is a third fuel line running to something that sits under the air box, there once was a jubilee clipped line coming off it but no idea what it's for..?

Ordered a new ignition coil, fuel pump relay, coolant flanges for the head and new temperature sensor (black one), will get a blue one soon too and double sort the wiring to the connector which looks a bit frayed and exposed. Hoping that next weekend with all the new parts added that it finally fires up and runs so I can begin tuning it up ready for an MOT.

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All the new bits fitted but still doesn't fire so checked the timing. Way out... Whoops! Will correct it properly tomorrow in daylight and then hopefully we'll have a running engine. To be honest, part of a restoration is replacing most bits anyway so a whole ignition system that's been worked over is never a bad thing. Should nip the usual problem areas in the bud for the next decade or so.

The next problem after this is the brake lines where the flexi lines join them, they're corroded and rounded so there's no way to get the lines off. I'm going to replace all the brake lines anyway as the previous MOT says they're all showing corrosion and you can buy the pre-bent lines as a kit (apart from the ones that connect front to rear but got line to make those myself) and will chuck on a new master cylinder, probably a 16v (22.2mm) one just because I can.

Only taken me nearly a decade to take a cylinder head off and put it back on and have a running engine... Progress is progress, right?

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Reset the timing but still didn't fire. Looked down into the cylinders with the spark plugs out and noticed a strong petrol smell and cylinders 2 and 3 are wet looking inside, so left the plugs out so they can air out and will try again tomorrow.

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Decided to get all new belts as well as a timing belt cover as the original one was damaged and looked rough. Also had to get a new camshaft pulley main bolt as the original one came out so I could inspect everything properly.



Fitted the new timing belt as well as a new tensioner:



Cleaned up the crank timing gear and fitted with the new bolt:



Also been making an effort to replace as many nuts and bolts with new, stainless steel items in order to make life much easier in the future when this all comes back off again:



All new timing belt covers which include the inner part at the top that sits over the cylinder head and has the O.T. mark for the camshaft on it:



Waiting on some new M8 bolts to arrive so I can refit the lower pulleys as a few of the ones I removed rounded off slightly and are rusty beyond worth saving. Also going to need a new alternator adjustment bolt:



Also wire brushed and sanded the main crank and PAS pump pulley:



Gave them a spray with Hammerite direct to rust spray just to tidy them up a little bit, will aim to do the water pump at a later date, probably if I replace it. I’m hoping the new bolts arrive Monday so I can fit the new auxiliary belts and try getting the engine running, finally. Been several posts since I first said “tomorrow I’ll fire it up” so I’m giving up making promises to myself at this stage, just being careful and checking over everything twice to ensure I’ve not missed something small but important.

After getting the engine up and running, next jobs to focus on will be the front anti roll bar, braking system overhaul and rear wheel bearing replacement as well as getting tyres for the alloys I want to put on her instead of the snowflakes. Then time for an MOT. Oh, after I finish rebuilding the interior… 2019, watch this space.

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Headline news:

It runs!

Let me go into a bit more detail of the past few days events, as they’re a bit of a mixed bag to say the least. To begin, I decided that instead of re-using the bend, rusty old power steering pump that I’d buy a brand new one. I also ordered a new alternator adjustment bolt as well as some brake line clips and new allen head bolts but those didn’t arrive in time so had to source them from a secondary supplier:



So been out and under the car (more specifically sat in the driver’s wheel arch) and started fitting everything back up and fitting new stainless bolts where I could:



New belts were going on as well, got the alternator on with new hardware nicely:



At this point I decided that I needed to confirm the engine would in fact start up and run despite the water pump not being connected up, wanted to justify carrying on with the engine at this point. Got the battery connected, turned the key and after just a few turns of the engine it fired straight up! Was really happy with it, even though the idle was WAY off (about 2500 RPM!) and no air flow meter connected she idled smoothly. Quickly adjusted the idle down to about 1200 RPM and it ran lovely, much better than before when it was lumpy and sounding like a muscle car. There was some smoke coming from the back of the engine where the manifolds are, not sure if it’s stuff burning off (grease, oil etc.) or whether I have a leak at the manifold somewhere on the exhaust side of things but didn’t bother me too much. Then I heard a horrible metallic rattling sound and panicked thinking something had gone massively wrong… Was just the bonnet stay fouling the fan on the alternator! Note to self, work tidy.

So, after this victory I wanted to fit up the water and PAS pumps and get everything running to check for leaks as I also replaced both cylinder head flanges as well as the two coolant temperature sensors (black and blue) for peace of mind. I re-used the old ones as a temporary measure but they leaked badly so stopped cutting corners now and doing things right from the get-go. Ran into a snag when I couldn’t move the power steering pump bracket enough to enable me to fit the new belt. First I tried to undo the bolt at the bottom of the bracket (bottom right in this image):



It wouldn’t budge at all, totally seized on and going no-where anytime soon. That and the fact the top allen head bolt is rounded means this bracket it practically welded to the block right now, so I removed the pump from the bracket (suspending it out the way securely) and tried wiggling the bracket by hand to free up the threaded bit that connects to the bottom of the water pump bracket…



FYI, this isn’t supposed to be like this! Sheared the bolt clean in two, with the lower bit left in the bracket. So now I’m going to have to figure a way to get it off the block and replace everything. Normally, a lot of people would agree this is a set back and a bit of bad news but for me it was just Hayley telling me she wants upgrades (she heard me say I have them):



This is the Mk3 Golf GTI 8v PAS pump and brackets I got originally for the 1.6 to 1.8 litre conversion on Harriet (the other Mk2 that I still haven’t worked on for ages) which was then destined to be transferred to the VR6 engine but now it looks like it’s going on this car. This means that she’ll now run the upgrade to PAS which is always nice as I’ve read that the Mk3 PAS pump is much better than the Mk2 one so just need to figure out what other hardware I need in order to connect it all up, including replacing the water pump and brackets too.

So there’s more (aren’t you lucky today, reader… or readers? Leave a comment and let me know who’s following this build!). Went to sort out the front brakes too as figured it’d be nice to have the car able to at least roll on its own 4 wheels should the need arise (like to move it outside while I burn off grime and avoid gassing myself out). Gave them a paint and got new seals for them:



As I was refitting one of the pistons, I must have snagged the dust seal and tore it apart so needed to replace it. Now, logic would dictate at this point that buying a £10-ish set of seals would be cheaper than upgrading to a complete G60 setup (hubs, calipers, master cylinder and servo, the works) but no logic here, decided that it was a sign that I should just fit the G60 brakes and 16v hubs I have sat under the bench and stop wasting time and money on the 239mm brakes. I also have all new pre-bent copper lines for the front setup and I have a 9-inch servo in the pile of parts back in Essex but will need to source a second one as I want to run one on Harriet for my RS2 twin piston brakes I have.

Going to send the calipers off for a professional refurbishment as theses are keepers so worth the investment now. Will also need new tie rod ends as the current ones are seized into the hubs (hammering and WD-40 was ineffective all 10 times I tried) so will take them off with the hubs. Going to replace the ball joints and wishbone bushings too, seeing as it’s all apart and makes sense to refresh everything in one hit. Will also press out the bearings and hubs to freshen the carriers up and fit new bearings and hubs too, no point leaving those out the party.

So that’s all for now but I’m off work for quite a while now while I job hunt for a new career so while I’m not sat sending e-mails and making calls, I’ll be trying to sort Hayley out ready for summer. Summer 2019 that is, at this rate…

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Couple of pictures of the G60 calipers just before I sent them off for a professional refurbishment:




Originally had these for Harriet to cope with her VR6 engine but shortly after found the RS2 ones so these were spare. Hoping they come back within a few weeks so I can get the car rolling and outside into the sunshine, mainly as I need to sweep my garage floor.

Due to a tight budget lately, I’ve run out of spare cash so no new parts can be sourced for a few weeks, so decided to clean up and beautify some more engine bits. Started with the small inner cam cover:




Alternator mounting hardware was also up for a refresh:




Forgot to get a close one of them painted as I left them drying a bit while I tackled the pumps. Got the pulley off the water pump, took it right back and re-painted it:



Will be getting the new water pump as well as a thermostat replacement as soon as I can afford to, I would of re-used the original one but it’s full of corrosion from the head so not worth it. Here’s everything that’s been painted so far:



Got the new power steering bracket painted up too, but this is a work in progress shot as I still need to flip everything and do the other side. Got the other mounts apart from the actual pump, they are going to be a bit trickier to clean up but I’ll find a way. Also have the issue that the Mk3 Golf setup on a 1.8 8v engine isn’t quite in line. I didn’t take a picture but when the PAS pump is mounted up it sits about 1 belt width out towards the chassis leg which is a bit of an issue. I knew you needed some Mk3 brackets but later found the forum post (over on Club GTI) that I read before which says you also need the alternator and mounts, plus different crank pulleys…

Had a bit of a think and so far, from what I can see, a Mk2 Golf GTD PAS pulley is offset slight from the mounting face so thinking of getting one and seeing if mounting it solves my issue as I want to retain the Mk2 Golf alternator now mainly for cost but also because I just painted mine before I discovered the above:



Plus, it means no wasted belts and reduces the amount of parts I’ve bought that don’t work with this setup. Worse case I’ll buy replacement Mk2 Golf PAS brackets and hardware and just re-build what was there. Another issue I ran into is that on the bottom of the cast iron block there are two tabs with threads which the bolts for the PAS pump bracket bolt into. One of mine (the outer one) is broken off so only one bolt holds it up! This means, as far as I’m concerned, that this block is on a limited life until the other engine gets built up, then all the ancillaries will get transferred over to the new block and head as well as any lessons learned from this current gas flowed head.

Essentially this is an R&D build right now to see what works and what needs further improvements. Mainly suspect that a 272-degree camshaft will be a bit lumpy at idle and top-end-focused for road use so may source a 268-degree camshaft for the next build. I toyed with a 1.8T swap which may come much later but right now, as the car is still in the “potentially sell again” area of priorities, keeping it close to original is my main goal for resale value.

That being said, my girlfriend keeps telling me we should keep it for the long term and go to town on it… She’s currently working on her Seat Arosa, retrimming all the interior and learning how to do all the mechanicals. We’ve re-done the brakes all round, lowered on Koni dampers and H&R springs, rear anti-roll bar and a load of service work. I’ll see about adding some pictures of her car once we get the new wheels this week and it’s a bit more sorted and once the new seats are in and interior trimming finished some of her work inside. She’s already done an upholstering course using some old Beetle seats and she wants to carry it on further for fun so could make for some interesting updates too.

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Made a start on preparing the power steering brackets:



They’re better looking now, need to get a picture of them built up ready to fit. Also ordered a new water pump, G60 thermostat which operates a lower temperatures, flange and an adjuster bolt for the PAS setup:



Came with a free water bottle. Nice! Something else arrived too…





The look alright, but I have messaged the refurbishment shop with some feedback as the finish isn’t that good to be honest, especially given the price paid for them. I’ve achieved better finishes with a rattle can in the workshop…

Next job is to sort out the brake lines up front, managed to source a 9-inch servo and 22.2mm master cylinder from a Corrado for a nice price so will re-condition that up and fit with the new copper brake lines to give ultimate confidence in the braking system. Also thinking of going for a wide track using Mk3 Golf 4-stud parts to keep the 4x100 stud pattern but increasing the track width by 20mm. Will use spacers behind the stub axles out back to achieve a similar widening.