VW Golf Mk2 Owners Club

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #150 – September 10, 2022, 10:22:39 PM

After seeing Tim's subframe bolts I decided it wouldn't hurt to have a quick spanner check over mine this weekend. Fortunately everything seems to be good in terms of subframe, ball jointed, arbs, engine mounts etc.

However my power steering belt has come lose, think this is the 3rd time since pas conversion was fitted a few months ago. Jacked car up this afternoon to have a look and see if I can work put what's happening. I am wandering if I have over tensioned belt and stretched it if this is possible?
Found a selection of belts in the garage although they were all too big 🤦‍♂️

As you can see it has pretty much been on it's maximum adjustment. I gave up on those tension bolts a while ago, the teeth on my bracket are almost none existent at the part I need them for anyway.

This was after I'd loosed everything off faffing with the belts

This was refitted and tightened back up, very little adjustment left. Maybe I have the wrong belt?

The microswitch on my throttle body was making me suspicious as it had a cable tie on it! My car would sometimes stutter when you start it up but wasn't consistent. I bought a pack of spare microswitch some time ago as I know these are prown to falling but I noticed I have 2 complete tb's in my abf spares box so cleaned one up for a test. I know you can check them with an ohm meter but the chances of me finding tester and the batteries not being flat were minimal and certainly by outweighed by the 10-15mins of fitting a spare throttle body.

Dirty old throttle body. I forgot to photo the clean tb but I can assure you it was. I think you can take some metal out of these and match to the gasket and inlet but that's maybe something to think about another day

Also I sent my demobilised ecu back for some tweaks incase thus was linked to my stutter, so this was refitted too. Carrier bag for added waterproofing 🤣


Probably should have tested microswitch and ecu separately to determine which made an improvement but went for a nice little blast and it feels back upto 100% I'll keep an eye on the pas belt situation but may pickup a new belt to measure against mine if it does come lose again.

I'm off to Retrorides at Mallory Park next weekend with the mk2 owners club. So brimmed it with fuel and check my levels, its a wash away from being ready now.

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #151 – September 10, 2022, 11:34:03 PM

I've also found my PAS belt is near the end of adjustment too.
If I remember correctly I had to loosen the PAS pump so the pulley flange was in the V of the water pump just so I could get the belt on it was such a tight fit. Only to find that when the belt was tensioned there is little adjustment left.
Have you tried adjusting the bracket 2x 13mm bolts to the left of the crank pulley to ensure the cog and rack mesh properly..although it looks like one of your teeth has a chip out of it 😕

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #152 – September 11, 2022, 09:13:20 AM

Yes I had to push the pump all the way in to get the belt off so maybe that just how they are.

I didn't adjust the bracket no. I didn't realise there was any adjustment in the bracket itself. Yes some of the teeth have chipped off mine but I'm finding it easier to tighten using a regular bolt and tensioning the pump and belt by levering it with a large screwdriver. Hopefully it will hold up this time 🤞🏻

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #153 – September 12, 2022, 12:21:45 PM

I remember going through several belts before I finally found the right one for me.
I remember having to really stretch the belt to get it on with everything loosened right off.

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #154 – January 14, 2023, 10:55:47 PM

The golf hasn't had much attention recently other than taking a beating on the winter roads. I've neglected it abit due to house renovations which has consumed all of my time and money! It was filthy so definitely needed a decent clean, otherwise it's going well except for the powersteering belt issue which is still bothering me.
I've found so many screws on my driveway from the building work, typically got one in the side of my new tyres

 I left it jacked up for 3 or 4 days whilst I left my wheel and new tyre with a mate. Strangley when I put it back on the ground the rear calipers had seized on. Not sure if this was because I'd left handbrake on? I managed to release then and found my brakes were juddering, this gradually got better over a few miles and brakes seem absolutely fine now. No idea what happened there?

Something else I had stumbled across on YouTube was throttle body porting. I did some reading up and you get mixed feedback on whether its a waste of time or worthwhile. I decided for the cost of some carbide bits and some flap wheels what have I got to lose.

You can see how much material there is inside of the gasket, where as it seems pretty well matched on the intake manifold mating face when you offer the gasket upto it.

Marked it up

I think this was a during photo before I got the flap wheel on it. I seem to be missing a finished photo of this side. It didn't end up perfect significantly better than where it started.

For the otherside, I had read some more info by this point which suggests that there isn't much point taking any material off other than the ramp at the top (bottom in my photo) initially I was going to try and knife edge but I'm glad I didn't as I didn't enjoy any part of this little project 🤣

I was quite worried about making sure I got all metal grindings out of throttle body before refitting. I used a whole can of carb cleaner on it 😅
Fitted back on car

I was quite eager to take it for a drive to see if there was any noticeable difference. I tend to agree with some of the feedback I had read online- part throttle feels more responsive than before. it seems keener from low revs but once the revs start building I can't really feel any difference.

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #155 – January 14, 2023, 11:16:09 PM

I think I've found some good advice on my powersteering issue. The issue is definitely more obvious when the weather is or has been wet. I think this is causing the belt to slip and then in turn maybe heat and stretch 🤷‍♂️
 
The solution is try and protect the belts from the weather and see what happens. I didn't realise that there should be a lower v belt cover until the other day. I sourced one of these 2nd hand which arrived today.
Soggy conditions to be rolling around but ideal to see if it make any difference. Part number for big bumper mk2s is 191825250A or 191825250 for small bumper.
It fixes to the front cross member and under the wheel arch lining.



I went for a test drive but I think this is one for those things where time will tell. I got alot of response on Facebook about this and it seems that is solved the same issue for others. Fingers crossed its going to solve mine 🙏

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #156 – January 14, 2023, 11:25:24 PM

I've had some polo gti stub axels and calipers for some time now. These allow you to do away with the taper bearings. They been in a box in the garage waiting to be fitted. I've just noticed that someone has grinded some of one of the calipers away! I'm guessing for wheel clearance?
I'm planning on fitting all of this when the new bearings and discs arrive but not sure what I think about the calipers now? Maybe I'll source some mk3s that don't require a conversion hose.

I've heard the bleed nipples seize on these so I thought I would try amd get these free whilst I make a decision on what to do with them


Also ordered some Sayner Works 10mm stub axel spacers and longer high tensile bolts. I think sometimes standard wheels can become a little lost on the rear of mk2s when you start to lower them. From what I understand these put less stress the wheel bearing compared to a normal spacer?

Also ordered some of these coilover socks to protect my other new purchase- some BC Racing coilovers. Really excited to get these fitted. I was so impressed with some of the mk2s at Curbourgh on track, everyone was either using BCs or KWs. They've been on my wishlist for sometime amd I've watched the prices creeping upwards. It was a hard decision on what to go for but the BCs offered more adjustment for the comparable priced KW V1. Obviously V3s would have been nice bit I just couldn't bring myself to spend twice the money of the BCs and 2nd hand sets just didn't seem to come up.

Sadly no photo of the coilovers yet but I shall be booking a day off soon to get them fitted and setup and maybe get the stub axels on too.

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #157 – January 16, 2023, 08:53:46 AM

Great idea with the Coilover socks, I have seen them before and thought they looked useful. I should have got them for mine when I got the car. It's only cheapo JOM ones I think, but they had only been fitted a couple of month prior to me buying the car. So would have kept them serviceable. Needless to say, 3 and a bit years later, they're not awful but I doubt very much I'd be able to adjust them if I wanted to.

Shame about the shaved caliper, could you not do tidy it up a little and fresh paint, I'd doubt you'd notice. But if you do stick with these, you can use Passat hoses, they have the flat end for the caliper end but mate up with the mk2 pipe the other end and can be bought in OE rubber if you don't want the expense of the Goodridge conversion set. But my preference would be Mk3 ones anyway and I expect you could pick up a pair for not much more than the Goodridge hoses.

The reason for the bleed nipples seizing if the ally body of the caliper and the steel bleed screw. It's the corrosion of the ally, although it's not rust, it creates a chemical reaction and bonds the 2 metals. It can be like a chemical weld. It's common on sports motorbikes with aluminium frame. I've had my fair share of nightmares in the past, drilling and tapping frame lugs. But have an old steel frame bike now so it's just plain old boring rust I'm up against now.

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #158 – January 16, 2023, 01:29:39 PM

I asked the question on the mk2 owners Facebook page and the consensus was coilover socks are definitely worthwhile. And like you said hopefully will protect them for future.

I wasn't too concerned about the actual appearance of the caliper but more from a safety point of view. I guess if I'm doubting it I already know I shouldn't bother and either find an alternative or just stick with the existing mk2 calipers for now.

How's progress with yours?

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #159 – January 16, 2023, 01:41:14 PM

Quote from: ianmac86 on January 16, 2023, 01:29:39 PM

How's progress with yours?

100% stalled, haven't touched it in ages now. As it's still dark in the evenings I'm restricted to weekends and the weather has been awful and I only have an outside space. Although it was mostly dry this weekend, but my wife has insisted on some decorating so I spent the weekend peeling off paint in the lounge, whilst longingly looking out the window at the dry/bright weather thinking I could have got the beam re-fitted!

I just looked again at the caliper, at first I thought it was just the cooling fin that had been shaved off, but now I see that lip has been carved out of it and it's quite a bit of material removed from the top. You can get a brand new (recon) pair rear mk3 for less than £70

P.S. I did get the r-click remote locking kit for Christmas. A low-priority part, but looking forward to getting that in once the car is back on the road.

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #160 – January 16, 2023, 02:22:51 PM

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393889333417?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=phGO5gCfSti&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=FpWnKlj5TtW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
It's worth ordering one of these when you do fit the remote locking. They old ones are very brital!

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #161 – January 16, 2023, 08:38:29 PM

A good tip Ian. Bearing in mind You, Monkey and I all needed one last year!
It's annoying/awkward when they fail.

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #162 – January 19, 2023, 12:21:38 PM

I need to get some just for stock!

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #163 – February 11, 2023, 09:47:19 PM

I still haven't managed to fit my coilovers, hopefully I'll get them fitted towards end of Feb or early March.

I've noticed a slight knocking noise coming from my exhaust recently. So found a bit of time to roll around on the driveway to inspect.

It seems the bracket has come loose as everything else seems fine.

Gave it a little spray and snap 🤦‍♂️

I drilled it through so I can nut and bolt the bracket back on. Looking at the rust I decided to stop and try and tidy this area up before I refit the exhaust. Also might see if I can open the hole out a bit larger so I can replace the m6 for m8.

Does anyone want to swap a 2.25 comfort trackslag for a performance one?

Something I've wanted to do for a long time is replace the bush on the side of my 02j shifter. Mine has some play which is making 1st gear a little harder than I should be. This cost a ridiculous amount (for what it is) from the USA so have asked a mate whos an engineer to make me a few for spares or to help friends

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #164 – March 03, 2023, 10:55:12 PM

Golf progress has been slow. Work, family and finishing house after extension have all taken priority over the mk2. I have bought a few more parts. No idea when I'm going to get any of them fitted, BCs are still in the box 😕
I've bought mk4 rear calipers and conversion hoses, polo gti discs and wheel bearings for the stub axel swap, some r32 rear lower arm bushes (not happy with poweflex ones fitted) amd some new ball joints as one of mine has a split



I have wanted a nicer set of wheels for a long time. I've been watching a few sets of rm's bit in reality I would ruin them as I use my car all year round and the cost are getting too much for me to justify. So I've been looking for a set of bbs rc321 (like mk4 anniversary but 16 inch) or bbs rx214, 16x7 4x100 et 35 57.1 cb. Which has been hard work! Finally found a set but they were in Morecambe and in poor condition. 167 miles each way and I had a set of rx 214, these were my 2nd choice behind the rcs but were cheap enough that I could hardly refuse.I trail fitted them just to check clearance before sending them off for a refurb


Back to the exhaust. I removed all the lose corrosion with a knot wheel and put some rust eater on the area. How good this stuff is and how long it will last I don't know but its got to be better than nothing?




They came with genuine centre caps but the stickers are way past their best so will need to do something to make these look more presentable

New tyres 195 45 16. Not much choice of in this size, I went for accelera phi r, arguably the cheapest option but they look like continentals! 😅 I've kind of lost my way with premium tyres, I've got through so many expensive tyres on our other cars that have had loads of tread left but cracked terribly within 2-3 years. Or I've picked up an irreparable puncture etc.

All dropped off for refurb. I liked the black but have opted for silver to try and keep the car as subtle as possible.

A bit of primer went on and some waxoyl



Exhaust back on with a new gasket. It's been sat for a while so I shouldn't have been surprised that the battery was flat. That's now on charge and looking  forward to driving it again after what seems like forever