LC5F's Graphite Blue GTI - Pilgrimage to Caffeine & Machine

[LC5F]

Just upgraded from MK4 Gti to a DSG Graphite Blue Mk5 Gti - Really like the changes VW made

[LC5F]

So a bit more about my Mk5
Battery was struggling - considering its condition and it was genuine VW it had to be replaced:

Gave it a service - eveything but oil:

Spark plugs looked really manky - how often are these meant to be changed?
couldnt see any record of it happening...along with brake fluid.

Now for something really random hiding in the boot, still struggling to understand why whoever it was did this??:

to my displeasure they had even scotch blocked ito the cars loom:

Powering this thing was a red cable tucked under the sill cover to the fuse box:

Now binned:

All thats left is the fuse holder, will tidy that up next time the battery is off.

The other thing that happened was the thermostat, reading up it said it was a 3 hour job, it took me and a friend 7 hours in the rain to sort, the good news was this allowed the engine temp to sit at 90 and high fuel consumption improved.

Things still to sort -
Big cooling fan is on all the time, going to look into that this weekend.
It came with a non-resonated 3" Cobra exhaust fitted, the pops and bangs and DSG shifts are great, but it just dronnes on the motorway + its missing its exhaust tips (WTF?) - so its booked in to get resonated and new tips start of next month.
Passenger slide and tilt - I have the plastic clip, just need to work out how it fits

No real plans to make changes, but these popped up on ebay and were too good to ignore:

[Mark_DF05]

What was that in the boot?

[LC5F]

It was a trailer light plug - think a PO had a bike rack, this screwed up the panel gaps on the hatch too.

[LC5F]

Swapped out the crusty hatch:


Think its had replacement glass at some point, the sealant doesnt look OEM, probaly cutting wire knicked the paint:


Replacement hatch on - I was having a few issues with condensation, I assume a PO had a bike rack that pulled the hatch out of alignment and making a leak - this seems to have been solved with the new hatch. Just need to remove the super glue someone stuck badges on with:


Cat back Cobra was ridiculously loud and was missing tips, a morning at local stainless exhaust shop, resonator and tips added - a lot more civilised now

[burtz]

Nice work!

[LC5F]

Nice work!

Cheers!

Busy morning, after getting the correct filter housing socket I got to flush and renew the oil + reset the service setting, found out the sump is slightly cross threaded, but it going in with care and feels tight.
This was followed by a modile tyre fitter turning up to fit new boots:

Rainsport 5 - never tried them before, it rains a lot in Scotland so makes sense.
Coming off were Conti Sportcontact 5's, they seemed to have lots of meat still on them, but were under steering and wheel spinning everywhere.

Replaced these with jack pads -I didnt take pictures it was minus 2:

I was thinking of fitting these to my Mk4 but never got round to it - some garage numbnut managed to damage a sill. So I decided for the mk5 I would invest in some OEM jack pads.
Not sure how old the prices are listed in the forum mods list, but from TPS they were super pricey.
Fitting was awkward and they don't feel as solid as I was expecting and the front ones are a long way inboard.
Maybe I need to experiment, but my jacks wheels block getting axle stand under the rear control arm globe housing.

[LC5F]

One one thing I need to do is rebuild the front calipers - under repeated heavy breaking it feels like warped discs, just something binding.
Rather than disable my daily by take the current calipers off, strip-down, repaint & rebuild I like to get another set to do off the car.
I managed to source a set, with cariers and pads off ebay, looking at the condition, I have to say I had a double take on the listing and I cant believe how good they are in the flesh:

They look like they are very nearly new! carrier bolts nearly new, pads maybe done a couple of hundred miles, no rust! -and a complete bargain, cheaper than proper "rebuild only" ones. These I confidently say they do not need rebuilding

[kodirl]

Great work so far. Recently purchased my second mk5 GTI 7 years after selling my last one. Will be following this , keep the updates flowing

Sent from my Mi A2 using Tapatalk

[LC5F]

@kodirl -Thanks for the kind words

Minor updates -
Sourced some rear calipers to rebuild, sadly they in a lot poorer state than the fronts:

Not exactly classically pretty, more fugly!

They were a struggle to strip down, but they both came apart, even the bleed nipples came out in one piece.
Pistons were jammed, there was some slight scratching of the bores as I encouraged them out- they will need a hone to tidy up - by sheer coincidence I got a hone tool for Christmas!
Need to strip the last of the paint, remove the oxidation, paint and rebuild with new pistons and seals.

Another Christmas item to myself:


Neuspeed P-Flow  - Would have preferred boring black, this has been mucked around, has an AEM filter and the silicone hose to the turbo is not Neuspeed.
First impression is a restriction has been removed, even at low speeds
No cover now means I will have to get busy with the TFR on the bay.

[terrier]

do you have the Rainsport 5 fitted and how are they doing.

[LC5F]

do you have the Rainsport 5 fitted and how are they doing.

Yes - I recommend, they are very good, I find them to be very sure footed in the wet - last time I felt this level of grip in the wet was 4 wheel drive in my old ur-quattro back in the 90's!

They claim to have shark skin technology, this is a rough surface at the base of the grooves that helps cut through the standing water  -I was sceptical- but it works very well, none of the steering being wrenched as you hit a puddle, loss of traction or wheel hop, it just keeps gripping.

Another plus is they seem to produce a lot less spray being lifted up - if you are by yourself the rear screen keeps pretty clear - but sharing a motorway on the commute you get everyone else's spray! HTH

[LC5F]

After an impromptu trip to Wales Golf was looking pretty grim:


Return back to Scotland, with pressure washer is packed away for winter, so out of convenience I committed car guy heresy by chucking it through the automated car wash:


Thought the result was pretty good.

Rear calipers finally got sorted, biggest problem was getting rid of the old powder coating, didnt want to dig out the my sand blaster + the finish after blasting isn't that great.
Nitromors didn't work - so I invested in something more industrial, Starchem Synstrip - this worked, but very slowly.
The alloy corrosion also wasn't shifting, after trying all sorts of stuff I found Mr Muscle drain cleaner - the oxidation just fizzed off.
Halfords red brake paint was disappointing, it took several layers to build up to actually cover the bare alloy, liked to drip and after several days it just started dissolving with brake cleaner!
Still got to make the short pipe from the caliper to flexi, but I am reasonably happy with the result:


 

[terrier]

how did the rainsports perform on the trip to Wales

[LC5F]

how did the rainsports perform on the trip to Wales

They performed very well - they highlighting the bush wear in front control arms - Superpro anti lift bush set on alloy arms will be incoming once the weather sorts itself out.

Rain stopped this morning, managed to replace the perspex plates for pressed plates and fitted a turbo heat shield under the induction kit.

Finished off the rear calipers:


It seems a shame to go to the trouble of fitting brass fittings with Cunifer pipe onto a really bad paint finish - half tempted to strip them back down and get them powder coated.