Marticus' Red GTI

[Marticus]

Hi,

You're doing great on the subject, keep it up!✌🏻

Pozdro 🇵🇱.

Hej, dziekuje!

[Marticus]

Had the weekend to myself so got stuck into the brakes.

Hiw it started








And the end



That was a decent amount of work, made a huge mess bleeding everything, but it seems to have turned out right in the end.

[Marticus]

I just realized it's been a whole year since I've updated here, and unfortunately no exciting pictures, but a ton of updates, so it would be good to keep everything here I guess.

Firstly since the last post, the car developed a gearbox issue with the box jumping into neutral and the lights on the dash flashing.

Initially it was very sporadic but gradually it got worst and seemed to happen at the worst moments like going down single lane roadworks, or halfway round a busy roundabout etc...

That issue has been taken up a lot of my mental capacity over the last year.

First I took it to my local mechanic, who said it's an electrical problem and he can't help.
Next I took it to an electrician who checked everything and said it's fine..must be a gearbox issue.
So off to a dsg specialist I go hoping that if anyone can help they can.'no problem' they say ' it's just the connectors on the harness' £150 later for diagnosis and cleaning of electrical connections I get 1 mile from home and bam..it's gone again!
Back to the gearbox specialist who I just paid £150, 'dunno we can check it after christmas'.
So car sits for a month or two, and in the meantime I'm recommended a good local electrician, so I figure ok might as well try.
Wait a few week for an appointment but drop the car off, they confirm that the harness and electrical installation is fine, kept the car for over a week while they tested things, but could get to the root. Said that it must be either the selector lever or mechatronics
So I'm thinking f*ck not the mechatronics it's gonna cost a fortune, I'll do the selector first. Start looking for one, nothing, nadda, not a whiff of a used selector unit from a mkv dsg anywhere. And new, only from Germany £500, sh*t.
So mechatronics. And as luck would have it there is a specialist 10miles from me who deal with mechatronics, call them up and average repair cost is around £500 exactly the same as selector.

So I get on the phone to my local mechanic, to see about removing the mechatronics unit for me, can get a visit for three weeks. Ok fine I've waited this long, what's three more weeks.
Turn up on the agreed date and get told 'sorry I over booked it will have to be after easter, I'll let you know'

Wait a week after easter.. then two...f*ck this.

Found instructions online, talked to a mate back in the UK who's a VW mech, and did that f*cker myself. Took a couple of hours to get it out, and would have been less if not for a stripped bolt.

Sent it off, and one electrical board replacement, some connections resoldered, two valves replaced, and £500 later it's fixed! Hallelujah!

What a drama. But cars been fine since me and my friend got it back together.

[Marticus]

Aside from the gearbox dramas I managed to get a few other jobs in.

Gave the car a service, nothing special but whilst I was under it I figured I would swap out the diverter valve, and sure enough the old one was completely f*cked. The moment I pulled it off the whole center peice fell out and the diaphragm was split in half.

So now I've got actual power that I didn't realize I was missing 🤣.

Also went for an MOT and the guy immediately turned me out because of the tinted front windows. I'm not a fan of limo tint anyway, do wasn't gonna fight him on that, went home and took out the wife's hardryer and ripped it off.

The look on the testers face when I turned up again 20 minutes later with no tint was hilarious, for a minute I think he was questioning reality. I might have played into it a bit with some 'what tint?' comments 🤣.

Most recently I managed to get a couple of other small jobs done. Firstly I upgraded the can gateway, as I want to get a more modern radio.

This was another job I had been putting off like the mechatronics, because I thought I wouldn't manage. But 10 minutes with OBD11 transferring the correct long coding and correct modules and it seems fine now.

Lastly Tonight I decided I would try and deal with the creaking from the front subframe, which has been gradually getting worst and worst.

I picked up a pair of replacement bolt from the audi / Passat models as I found recommended on vortex forums, but once I got under the car I found one of the outer bolts between the wishbone and subframe was finger tight!
And when I went to replace the two subframe bolts I had bought the ones I took out where neither the originals, nor the replacements I had bought, in fact they were about 10mm shorter.

So someone had be f*cking about down there in the past I guess. Anyway got everything torqued up and no more creaking subframe! Happy days.

[Marticus]

Last post for tonight, I've split it into several posts be cause there was a ton to write about and there's still plenty to do.

Between dealing with all the stuff I mentioned in the last two posts, I found a load of issues with the body. The front right wing is rusting out after rubbing on the wheel, so that's to be fixed or replaced. But more importantly, the sills are on their way out with a decent amount of bubbling under the paint, and rust showing under the wheel liners. So that's on the list as well.

I bought myself a small compressor, and a LVLP gun, with the idea of doing some painting myself, and I've already prepped and primered the side skirts as they're off the car ATM.

So the plan now that the car Is mechanically sound, is to focus on the body work a bit. I'll try and get the sills done before winter, and would like to spend a bit of money on some upgrades rather than repairs for once. So I'm one the look out for a rear spoiler and maybe a diffuser / r32 exhaust conversion. Along with a new front lip that got smashed within. 6months of fitting it, and then ran over by my wife when I left it on the driveway 😆.

And when the car goes into the body shop to have the sills done I might try and deal with the sagging headliner and door cards.

It never ends I swear.

[RBS]

Great work👍🏻

[Marticus]

Updates updates.

So after loosing oil pressure during a track day some 8 months ago, I have been saving money and deciding how to proceed. I spend a long time with my heart set on buying a CDL block but after looking at a lot of expensive engines with no guarantee, or service history. Or 'rebuilt' engines that seem to have been assembled from random used parts and cheap new parts. Iv'e given up on that idea.

So I got a loan, and started spending money.




Got the car out of the garage for the first time in months to make space for this:



Used BUL engine from an A4, high mileage but the seller did compression and oil pressure checks and all good (according to them)

Plan is to spruce this up a bit, and throw it in while I rebuild the old engine for powaaa!



Workshop tools purchased, there's an engine stand and lift still in boxes.

And alongside the engine there are a few other goodies to go in:

New upgraded radiator & silicon hoses
S3 intercooler
New AC radiator on the way
Strut brace
Downpipe with 200cel sports cat

Plan is to check and replace any bushings, maybe fit alloy (Passat) wishbones, and uprated engine mounts/ inserts etc.

Lastly I'm tired of looking at the stock rear end:



This just arrived from ingo noak in Germany.

It's going to be a busy couple of months!

[Marticus]

Downpipe arrived, and I also ordered a set of white line ARB's as there is a sale on in the UK store right now.

[Marticus]

Making some slow progress, mostly because of the weather.

Got the car up on stands outside, and got the battery, battery tray, and intake off.

Then the arch liners and front bumper / undertray.

I'm trying to be organised and started getting a good workflow.

All hardware removed, got photographed in place:



Then got thrown into the ultrasonic cleaner:



Then got wiped off and dried before getting a spray down with rust convertor:




And finally getting bagged labeled and thrown in the hardware crate:




That's where I am today, right now I'm stuck on the headlight wiring because the clips are broken and I can't get the poxy things off!

[Marticus]

Bit more progress today:



Finally got the rest of the front end off.

Some of the bolts are too rusty to recover I think, and the front impact bar is also pretty grotty, so I'm thinking I will probably just replace that.

Plan is to organise and inspect everything that's off at the moment, and put the new cooling stack together to ensure everything fits.

Then I will pull the motor.

I'm still conflicted about what to do here l, I would like to move all the newer ancillaries and timing chain to the 'new' engine, but I feel like I should get it in the car and run it first to make sure it's solid before I invest any effort.

Of course that's going to be harder in the long run.

[Marticus]

Started playing with the new cooling stack today:











All looks compatible, but the old screws that are looking self tapping screws going into the plastic end tanks, are not going to work with the alloy S3 intercooler and radiator.

So now I'm off to ETKA to try and find the correct bolts..

[Marticus]

Ok, another small update, but progress is still progress.

After a quick check with some calipers and a trip to the hardware store I came home with some m6x20 bolts and washers.

It turns out that the intercooler is threaded for these but the radiator will take the old self tapping screws.

The only real issue was getting the new AC condenser to fit to the intercooler as it didn't want to line up. But after extending one of the holes in the brackets I made it work.

So after all that the new cooling stack is together: