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Topic: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor (Read 4634 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #15
Looks much better with a proper grill! 8)


Yes it does! Need to source a big bumpers somewhere, I'm not a fan of those small ones, they make car look so old :D

Small bumpers are they way forward, big bumpers are for 90s people with shoulder pads ... small bumper side mouldings and big bumpers are just wrong as well ... Well done on the -20 mechanics , we had a frost today



I actually decided to go with the small ones, though I still need to buy a new front one because some dickhead has drilled massive holes on top of it when installing auxiliary lights... Makes me mad!

I'm used to work in the cold, just need to be a bit more careful with the plastic parts but otherwise it's not a problem for me :cheers:
Just a Finnish dude.

Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #16


Found a pic of when I was doing the timing belt replacement and thought I'd share it with you guys!

Can YOU tell me what is wrong in this picture, I can say it took a moment to realize what is going on when assembling  :))
Just a Finnish dude.

Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #17
......someone has put Tip-ex graffiti all over your nice new timing belt?  :D
But seriously I can't tell 'cos the marks aren't lined-up to tdc. But that might be because you've rotated the engine to check all is good before starting up.
1991 Tornado Red BB 8v GTI Moredoor
2008 Skoda Octy Scout aka dirty diesel

Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #18
......someone has put Tip-ex graffiti all over your nice new timing belt?  :D
But seriously I can't tell 'cos the marks aren't lined-up to tdc. But that might be because you've rotated the engine to check all is good before starting up.

I'll let more people to guess before I reveal what was wrong :-) I can say it was not the timing that was put on wrong hehe..

And yes I like to mark the old belt + pulleys and transfer the marks to new belt, so I know I have installed it exactly the same way.
I don't even know if I removed it at TDC but its back the same way and the ignition timing did not change so I guess it went as planned :D
The flywheel mark was in centre of the checkhole and cam sprocket mark on the inside was leveled with rocker cover, this is the right way if I understood right? :thinking:
Just a Finnish dude.



Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #21
I give up.
I only changed mine to keep the cost down. I'm no expert. I followed the Haynes guide to line up the cam sprocket inner mark with the top of the head and line up the marks on the cam and distributor drive sprockets. But I guess so long as you mark every sprocket, the old belt and the new belt you could just swap it out without lining those factory marks up....and just to be extra safe rotate the engine by hand before commiting to full start-up!
1991 Tornado Red BB 8v GTI Moredoor
2008 Skoda Octy Scout aka dirty diesel

Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #22
If the white mark is highlighting the factory TDC mark, it's not in the right place, should be lined up with the top of the head casting.

So I'm going for not at TDC?
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Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #23
If the white mark is highlighting the factory TDC mark, it's not in the right place, should be lined up with the top of the head casting.

So I'm going for not at TDC?

It's not factory mark, I made my own marks to the old belt which I transfered to the new belt so it could be installed at exaclty same way :-)

I gotta reveal the mistake I made:

It's the tensioner pulley which I turned the wrong way (anti-clockwise) when tensioning the new belt. I fought for like 15 minutes with the lower timing cover and sweared a lot because I had no idea why it was hitting the tensioner pulley :D Then I realised that the tensioner had to be turned clockwise so it sits higher and the timing cover fits below it..   :P
Just a Finnish dude.

Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #24
Some work done:

Washed the interior from top to bottom, what a job...:


I found a antenna to fit the existing holes on C-pillar!!

I'm so happy that the holes are in use now and not pointing out ugly :)

Changed plate lights into led ones, looks nicely modern but not too much imo:

The new non-euro plates arrived too, happy with how they look now!

Also going to dump the 3rd party pooty topran thermostat, replacing with a new BorgWarner/Wahler OE-spec:


I've now driven about 2000km with the Golf and it has worked flawlesly! Only problem I can say is that the drivers (left) front tire is slowly deflating and has to be filled every 3rd day  :-X Going to change the valve on friday and see if that helps.

Any thoughts on anything? Feel free to suggest modifications and changes  :P
Just a Finnish dude.

Re: Finnish 1.8 '89 Carby moredoor

Reply #25
Looking good. Hope you manage to dry the interior out. I'm not having too much luck with mine being parked on the drive.
Re the tyre losing pressure. Assuming you are taking it to a tyre fitter? In additoon to a new valve it might be an idea to get them to break the tyre seal on both sides of the rim, clean both the inner wheel rim and tyre then re-inflate. The seal may have been broken by either scuffing the tyre on a kerb or some alloy corrosion on the rim.
1991 Tornado Red BB 8v GTI Moredoor
2008 Skoda Octy Scout aka dirty diesel