Update: Finally got the chance to finish the box off. 5th gear went on, followed by the plastic casing, new output shaft seals, new clutch guide, and the 100mm cups bolted in. There’s no denying I couldn’t have done it without some help, but it definitely feels good to have been part of the process again. Loaded in the footwell for the 1 mile drive home and to get it fitted Probably bread and butter stuff for most, but for me, lifting the box over the flywheel was a pain. I got there eventually with a bit of help from the wife on the jack! After previously getting slightly stuck under the car with the box on my chest, I was a bit reluctant to pull the jack away until I knew it was properly bolted up 😂 In hindsight, I doubt it would’ve come down on me once it was nearly home, I just spent far too long faffing when it wasn’t really needed! Started on the mounts but ran out of time. Still, it feels great to have it this close to running again. I’ll probably make the most of it being jacked up to sort a few other bits and pieces — planning to trim and refit the Powerflex topmounts, add the camber bolts and alignment, and finish off the induction kit.
A little bit more time spent on the gearbox. I took the crown wheel and open diff down to a mates and used their neighbours pillar drill to drill out the rivets. I snapped the drill bit on the last one 🤦♂️ so ground the rivet down with a finger file and tapped it out. Also tapped my hand in the process! Went to Dan's and fitted the Quaife to the crown wheel and torqued the ARP bolts to 54 lbft. Gave the casing and gears a reasonable clean down with brake cleaner. Sealant applied to the casing and bolts all torqued down. We stopped for a cheeky burger before calling it a day for other commitments. Just needs 5th gear fitting, the new seals and cups and selector I think. Then it can go back in. I'm not looking forward to lifting it again!
28/09/25 – 02A & 02J Gearbox Stripdown for Quaife Swap
After a few months of it sitting at Dan’s place, I finally went over to strip down my old 02A gearbox with the Quaife LSD(with help). I'd swapped this box out for a 02J with a 3.9 FD a while back, but now it’s time to move the Quaife across to the new box.
I also brought the replacement 02J gearbox with me — this one had never been opened before. Stripping both boxes down was actually easier than it probably looks in the photos, but the 5th gear on the 02J was a nightmare to get off. Took a lot of persuasion and finally came off with a puller.
The diff rivets can now be drilled out that’ll be the next job.
Since the seals have been disturbed, I’ll be replacing:
Input shaft guide sleeve 02A141180A
2x Output shaft seals 084 409189B
Interestingly, the input guide has an 02A part number and a late 1999 date stamp, which is interesting to see, maybe a crossover period for early 02J parts?
I’ve ordered the new seals and bits and should be collecting them on 30/09/25, with a view to rebuilding the box on 01/10/25, if all things align.
After that, it’s just a case of getting it fitted back into the Mk2 and seeing how the 3.9 FD and Quaife feels on the road.
I took it for its MOT on 20/9/25 as it had ran out for the 1st time since my ownership. Glad to say it passed with no advisories
I only drove it too and from the garage about 8 miles all in but car drove fine. Coolant needs topping up which i really hope is just some air left in the system!
Later in the week I decided i was going to get ready for the Quaife to be fitted. So back in the air and gearbox off. Although its been in and out more time than i care to remember, I've never done it alone. Mainly due to a lack of confidence and the gravel driveway. I felt that it needed to be done at home so I'm not leaving it somewhere other than my own driveway to remove the need to get it back driving asap. I was amazed the time i took the first photo with the bonnet up and to the time i took the photo with the box on the floor was 1hr 20 mins. The hardest part was lifting the box at enough of an angle to get the cup over the flywheel. I have to admit when the box came down onto my chest i got myself a bit stuck 😂 the weight combined with the car sitting fairly low to the ground meant i didn't have much room to actually get myself out from under the car. After a short struggle I freed myself and dragged the box out- had to remove the splitter for it to come out the front! Started 11:50 Finished 13:10 There was 1 casualty - gearbox bracket collared bolt m8x92 which i need to get hold of a spare if anyone has one?
As i had some free time I decided to fit the missing flaps of the fan cowl and my new Febi fan. I know the cowling needs a paint but this is way down the list of priories at the minute!
Also picked up an induction kit for noises! I'm not sure if i will keep it yet but it's a bit of fun. Its meant for a mk4 golf with an 80mm maf. I've trimmed down the heatshield and used the off cut to make a temporary bracket to secure it the the chassis leg and removed the lower blank to allow some more cold air through. I've got a cleaning set from Rami Air so will do that when i get the opportunity. the ABF intake is 70mm so fitted and 80>70mm reducer and some alli pipe to join them together. The intake temp sensor has been mounted to the heatshield for now. I still need to trim the pipe down but i might see about replacing the whole intake with 90 degree silicone elbow for a nicer look but so will hold on for now.
At the weekend i'm hoping to rip the old 02a apart to remove the Quaife ATB and maybe take the new 02j apart to ready to remove the diff rivets from the crown wheel (horrible job). I've got new diff bearings as well. All of this is best done with some help if i ever want it to work again! So going to rope in Dan, hopefully for guidance more than just taking all of his spare time.
This was the state of my heater matrix when it came out:
The foam flaps I replaced about 10 years ago haven’t held up too well although the clouds of steam probably didn’t help!
I wrapped the edges with foil tape for extra stickiness (and because I may have accidentally ordered non-sticky foam…).
Went for a Mahle matrix decent brand and hopefully means I won’t be doing this job again any time soon!
Perfect chance to flush out the rest of the pipework too – the grime that came out was disgusting. Not what you want blowing into the car.
All back together:
Cleaned the remaining ducting with the pressure washer while it was out.
Carpet dried and wrestled back in. I still hate refitting the foot rest!
Collected the cylinder head from Knights:
Started the rebuild. Lapping the valves was tedious and my hands weren’t thanking me either! I got some help from Dan as i hadnt done any of this before and was highly likley to do something wrong unsupervised!
Cams and chain back in. Vintage cutting paste I dug out of my dad’s old toolbox.
Made a bit of an impulse buy . I’ve wanted a set of these for ages but refused to pay new prices. Found a bargain set from a really nice chap in Rugby who used to race in the Teekay Mk2 Cup and was selling off spares. I couldn’t say no.
Back on the engine – blasted the head bolt threads out with compressed air to prevent hydro-locking when torquing down. Glad someone mentioned this, as they were full of oily coolant or coolantly oil.
New expansion tank and cap. The old cap didn't releasing pressure when the matrix went?
Block face cleaned up:
With kids and dogs constantly distracting me, I wrote down each head bolt tightening step to keep track of the sequence.
Head torqued up:
Timed up:
Rocker cover back on – fingers crossed for no leaks this time, it’s given me grief in the past.
Exhaust manifold back on. This was more of a fight than expected – ended up supporting the exhaust with blocks of wood to get the manifold lined up.
Collected the wheels from powder coat and had new tyres fitted. Went for gloss black with Accelera 651 Sport – I ran them on the Sebrings before and they were great for the price. Not AR1 or R888R level, but half the cost, so no complaints.
Test fit:
Cleaned, ceramic coated, and new centre caps fitted:
Had to wait for the stud and taper nut conversion. Annoyingly, the studs only came with 19mm nuts, which makes it tricky to get a socket on without risking the fresh powder coat. Ordered a spare breaker bar and thin wall 19mm socket for the boot, plus a set of radius nuts for the spare wheel.
One side done – wasn’t sure at first, but they’ve really grown on me.
Saw this on Facebook – type in a certain command with a photo of your car and it spits out a toy version. Couldn’t resist.
Back to the engine again. Started bolting things back on before I forgot what went where. Even managed to get the heat shield on (needed a bit of trimming to fit with the 4-1 Milltek).
Stopped taking photos at this point, but basically got the rest bolted up, timing belt back on (was only 12 months old) replaced oil and filter, then cranked it without the coil lead to build pressure.
Good news: no leaks, ran up to temperature, and fans kicked in! The fan itself wasn’t happy though – catching on the cowling. I’ve ordered a new OE unit anyway as it didn't sound too happy either. Briefly looked at 2x 10" slim-line aftermarket fans but the wattage/CFM ratings were down on OE, especially without the cowling.
A few jobs left todo: MOT runs out 18/9/25 Test drive Replace Oil and filter after a few hundred miles I want to re fit the Powerflex topmounts after trimming them down a touch Needs more camber adding so probably refit camber bolts and try my new alignment gauges I really want to get the Quaife fitted to the new gearbox
Hopefully then i w ill have a good car to enjoy... over the winter! 😂
Quick update after the 2025 National Meet (18–20th July):
As tradition seems to dictate great weather right up until the event, then a wet weekend! Still, it was a brilliant meet as always and it’s always a bit of a downer knowing it’s a full year until the next one. Great to catch up with mates new and old, though I was absolutely shattered for days after thanks to late nights, poor food and drink choices, and probably too much socialising!
The car behaved flawlessly all weekend surely I must be overdue a breakdown now? This year I ran slightly less camber at -0.5° after some faffing about with alignment, and I was on Accelera 651 Sport Extra tyres. They might’ve held me back just a touch compared to last year noticeably traction on the first corner after the straight, where I kept locking up in the wet. Once it dried out, confidence grew and I started pushing the car harder. No trophies this but there were some incredible cars and drivers this year that thoroughly earned them. To be honest i still have imposter syndrome from winning 2023 and 2024.
The gearbox is definitely showing signs of needing attention—1st gear synchro is crunching, and 3rd’s starting to do the same, especially when things get hot. An upgrade has already been sourced!
With the opportunity to change gearbox i took some time to research what others had done. I message a few mates that still run ABFs and did plenty of my own research as well. These are the boxes I have used myself previously: 020 AUG – Perfect. Short, punchy, ideal for how I like to drive the car but weak boxes and i have already converted to cable change and hydro clutch so not an option. Also quaife wouldn't fit . 02A AGC – From Corrado G60s and Passat 16vs. Crazy short 1st and 2nd, average 3rd, and overly long 4th/5th. Too extreme on both ends of the scale. 02A CDA – Nice for everyday use, more relaxed; actually the box VW fitted to Mk3 Golf ABFs. This is what i am using currently.
I came close to buying another AGC from a mate. It was a fair price and convenient but had to remind myself why I didn’t want it last time. Just not right for what I want out of the car now.
After plenty of searching marketplace and eBay, I rang Sandburns in Coventry and explained the situation and why my reg wouldn’t help and explained exactly what I was trying to achieve. To be fair, the guy got it instantly and said he used to supply gearboxes to Stealth back in the day, even marking the good ones with a red paint pen.
He came back with a few options, including ERT (4.25 FD—would’ve been mad, but just too much). I ended up with an EMR-coded box, which felt like the perfect compromise between better acceleration and a still-usable 5th gear.
At 6500rpm (mine goes to 7200, but I don’t often push that far), the gearing hits a nice sweet spot. The only thing not quite as the same as the AUG is the 2nd–3rd rev drop, but that’s being picky. What I loved most about the AUG was how quickly it came back into the power band from 2nd to 3rd, where most of the fun happens. This box gets very close.
Dan helped me fit it. Took about two hours, he works really fast! We set up the cables and went for a drive, no crunching, all gears select, no whine, no leaks. The box looked really clean and well stored. David at Sandburns said when he cleared 500+ boxes from his old place, he scrapped the crusty looking ones and only kept the best. He also gave me a 3-month warranty, which gave a bit of peace of mind but doesnt look like i will be needing it. Also the reason i fitted it before fitting the Quaife so it would be in returnable condition should there have been any issues. Gears select nicley from the gearbox end but a bit vague 1-3-5 from shifter which i am failry certain just requires cables playing with and /or the matching selector tower from my other box that came out.
Ratios are pretty much bang on what I was after, definitely more punchy without being tiring. I took it to work the next day… and then, a mile from home, disaster!
I heard a loud pop, felt heat on my feet, and watched steam pour through the dash. Stalled the car in shock, stuck the hazards on and opened the bonnet. My expansion tank was empty. Ideally I should’ve let it cool, topped up and limped it but impatience won. I drove it home one mile with no further drama. Not my finest decision in hindsight maybe.
That week I bypassed the matrix and tested the head gasket twice, it has definitely failed. I’ve never done a head gasket before, but with some encouraging advice from mates and a few Youtubes later I cracked on. Set the engine to TDC, stripped inlet and exhaust manifolds, distributor and other various plugs, sensors I was nearly there. I got Dan to check over what i had done, we removed the timing belt tensioner and then the head bolts -which were loose and off came the head. It wasn't completely obvious from the gasket where it had blown but the machine shop said it can be harder to find if exhaust gases have escapes into coolant and not the other way round?
A few days later, I stripped the head down fully. Again, totally new to me but with help and the right tools it was surprisingly straightforward. Took it to Dan’s for guidance and to use his expertise and tools. Reassembly will probably be a bit trickier. You can see in the photos how much RTV I’ve used previously just to get the rocker cover to seal properly… A few parts have arrived already. Also ordered genuine oil filter and Quantum oil and a new expansion tank and cap
The head is now with the machine shop- Knights engine services. Dan reccomended them, they also do the machining for Man in the shed so i know I am in safe hands. When I dropped it off, they asked for the valves (which I didn’t know), so I had to post those after—a bit frustrating after a 45-minute drive. 7-10 day wait from 4/8/25. Turns out i need to exhaust Valve guide too so may as well be done while I am there. It was at this point I had considered a ported head and cams which found on marketplace. Listed as an unused Robert Cox ported head and regrind 272 cams with 12.6mm lift, but with standard ABF management it just doesn’t seem worthwhile. Without standalone, you’re leaving so much potential on the table and by that point of spend, I may as well have gone for 20vt or 3.2 v6. It’s just not cost effective for me chasing power this way in my opinion, as much as I want to . Head over heart moment😕
While the head’s away I also sorted the interior. heater matrix will have to be changed just waiting for foam to redo heater flaps, stripped the carpets, cleaned and dried everything properly.
Also got myself set up with some alignment tools—Mat Rhodes recommended the Toe gauge and to be honest, if it’s good enough for him, I’m confident it’ll do the job for me too. I also got an inclinometer for setting camber. I’ll be trimming down the excess material on my Powerflex top mounts soon and increasing the ride height a few mm to help prevent the splitter dragging under hard cornering or on speed bumps. I outright refuse to pay for another alignment as long as I live! Now that I’ve finally sorted the pulling issue, I’ll be increasing camber back toward -1.5° and refitting my camber bolts, which I removed earlier to rule them out as the source of the problem along with the topmounts.
Once the head’s back and rebuilt, the gearbox will be coming out again to fit the Quaife LSD and fresh bearings. It’d just be nice to make sure the head gasket job all goes smoothly before piling into the next job but there is a temptation to get on with it whilst I'm waiting 🤔
Noticed the dash illumination and number plate lights had both packed up recently. At first, I didn't realise they share the same fuse, so I wasted a bit of time messing around with bulbs with no joy. Got the multimeter out, no voltage then noticed a blown 10A fuse.
Swapped it for new, and the number plate lights came back on... briefly. Still no dash lights though 😕 Dug a bit deeper and pulled the stereo and heater controls. Turns out the dash light feed that runs behind the fan control was pinched between the dash trim and the metal bracket it screws into 🧐 Looks like I must’ve trapped it during previous faffing, which eventually caused it to short.
Freed the wire, wrapped it in some insulation tape for now, popped in another fuse and everything’s working again 😁. Got to love a quick fix, even if it was my fault in the first place. Definitely need to be more careful when putting stuff back together!
After the Ring trip, I noticed the brakes weren't quite as good as I remembered. At first, I put it down to being used to a more modern daily, but after a closer look, they're well past their best 😅
After weighing up a few options, I decided to stick with the setup that served me well previously – OE spec discs (Febi this time) and Ferodo DS2500 pads again. Briefly considered grooved discs, but in the interest of keeping costs sensible, I stuck with the semi-good pad + OE disc combo. Im told the pad is where the money is best spent anyway. Some of the setups I found would’ve easily doubled the cost and been complete overkill for how I use the car. Got a great deal on the pads DS2500 pads: £88 Febi discs: £50
Progress was the usual pace – one side per evening 😅
Also, on the way home from Germany I had a bit of a clunk and pulling issue that I finally got round to investigating. Turns out in my niavity I’d massively over-tightened my top mounts and bearings. One of the bearings had actually cracked, and the other was feeling rough. These were fairly new too, so definitely a case of too many ugga duggas 😳
Also noticed the deeper Powerflex mounts had been catching on the upper spring plate on the BC coilovers. At some point I’ll trim them down and refit, but for now I’ve reverted to OE rubber Mk3 top mounts.
Torqued everything down to spec and went for a quick drive. Initial impressions are good – feels smoother and no pulling so far 🤞🏻 That said, jacking the car up always makes it feel better until it’s properly settled, so I’ll report back after a few more miles.
2/5/25 – 5/5/25: Nürburgring Road Trip! Just got back from a amazing and tiring road trip — took Laura and the Mk2 to the Nürburgring!
We set off early Friday morning with a group of mates in a mix of Mk2s and Mk5s and a stray e36, aiming to reach the Ring by early afternoon. I'd spoken to Nige Pinder previously, who was already out on track that day. He’d kindly offered me a passenger lap for my first Ring experience, if I got there in time — sadly, his car developed an issue, so that plan didn’t work out which was a really shame.
Before setting off, I did a spanner and fluid check and packed the boot full of tools and spares — but luckily, the Mk2 was nearly faultless the whole way and none of it was needed. Not bad for a 35-year-old car doing close to 1000 miles!
Saturday: Track queues were mental. I got out for one lap late morning, but after that it just got busier and busier. As first time experiences go, I was excited but honestly a bit nervous too. I’ve watched loads of YouTube laps, and the standard of driving there is wild — serious speed, and the consequences of a mistake are high. That was definitely on my mind, so there was no ‘full send’ happening this time.
I took Laura out with me as passenger — her only other track experience was at Curborough at the national meet, so this was… quite a step up 😅. Lots of urgent co-driver calls: BRAKE! CORNER! 😂 In fairness, she kept me well in check, which was probably for the best.
I met a nice chap called Ethan This one looked a serious track weapon!
What shocked me most were the forces — the compression in the undulations and the grip through corners really suprised me. The car itself didn’t miss a beat: temps stayed in check, the Acceleras were fine, and the brakes didn’t overheat — all probably a sign that I wasn’t pushing hard enough!
In a lower-power car like mine, it really highlights the importance of carrying corner speed. I found myself moving over for a lot of Porsches and BMWs, and with a couple of yellow flags squeezing the cars together, I spent a fair bit of time checking my mirrors.
Later that day, a big thunderstorm rolled in and ended play for many — some of the lads didn’t even get a lap in. I’d already made plans to move on to Brugge after Saturday, so left the group behind. They managed a few laps on Sunday once things cleared up. Brugge I covered just under 1000 miles over 4 days, and the Mk2 behaved near perfectly. Only downside: I thought I’d finally sorted the slight pulling issue, but when almost home after reversing out of a space and hearing a clunk, it’s back — and worse at higher speeds. Typical really… the car survives a lap of the Nordschleife but pulling out of a car park throws it out 🙃. That’ll need some further investigation when I find some time.
Only minor update and back to the window stencil! I noticed that my boot carpet was a bit wet as was the sound deadening in the spare wheel well. I got my daughter to spray the hose on the boot whilst I was sat in the boot and narrowed the leak down to the rear washer jet of all places. Not taken this apart before so undone the lock and pulled the washer fluid pipe away Old one (temp fixed) with a blob of silcone and the suppose new genuine one Fitted and climbed back in the boot and hosed down again and seems to have solved and a nice simple fix🤞
When clearing my garage late last year i found a new coil still boxed which was a nice bonus! I decided as mine was looking pretty crusty and quite probably original, it was worth swapping as preventative if nothing else. I've kept the old Bosch one as a spare as it was still fully functioning, Whipped the old one off i noticed the earth strap was showing signs of wear copper earth bits were cleaned up and replaced the earth strap this 12mm blank on the bottom of 1 way valve was looking pretty holey and brittle! Not sure if i disturbed it or if it was already like this. Got a new silcone blank off ebay for a few quid I've been giving some more thought on where i want to go with the car in future as progress feels very stagnant these days. I am re-wondering what i can do to regain my interest without chucking loads of money at it. Something that seems quite sensible is a gearbox swap, something with either a 3.9 or 4.2 final drive to liven it up a bit more? My current box has a Quaife lsd and it would be a shame to go back to open diff but that creates a much bigger job than just throwing another box in. I might be tempted to temp fit something short term to see if i can live with the ratios before going to the extreme of ripping mine apart for the Quaife. Having said that not sure i would want to commit to doing this over the summer when i hope to use it a lot more
