Beaus' 95 Mk3

[beausuf]

Sadly the golfs been out of action for a while due to a dead clutch. I've been waiting on parts for about 3 weeks and finally at least one part arrived.

Massive thanks to those who helped with narrowing down the problem, it was indeed a split arm.



I'll admit I was a bit scared to pop the cap off but it was actually really clean inside

Can see the split here



And the new one



Still wanting on the new gearbox end cap to arrive before I can actually drive it. That should be here by the end of the week. I'm planning on fitting the coilovers though while I still have the car that I've borrowed.

Thanks again for the help guys,


Beau

[drucejnr]

Same thing had happened to my old Mk3 when it had the 1.8 in it - p/o knew that was the cause and even supplied the replacement part.
Glad you got yours sorted!!

[HaydEn]

Where'd you get the new one from?

[beausuf]

Where'd you get the new one from?

Took me a little while to find, eventually found it on www.germanautoaparts.com ~ but the costing on there plus shipping because it's in the states seemed way more than what I thought it was worth. I managed to get the part number form there and started googling. Found an auto parts store via eBay - I think it was based in Brussels from memory? - was about $35 delivered and then got a new gearbox end cap from eBay UK for around the same. All in all about $80-90 to fix then $40 for oil to service the box while I was at it, shifts much nicer than before.

I finally fit the coilovers on Saturday as well. The FK's actually ride quite well, the front has been lowered approx 2" (about half way in terms of the available thread for adjustment) and the rears are wound down about 85%, there's maybe another 1" or so on the rears but I can only just get my jack under the car. I may raise the rear a touch, will see how I go, the front I would like a touch lower but I do like my sump in one piece.

This was when I first fit them, I took them down a bit more after playing around with them.



I replaced the sturt mount rubbers while I was at it,



After my drama with spliting/stripping the strut mount bolts on my parts car I bought this 12V car jack + impact drill combo. Way cheaper than air tools and works well. The jack was super handy as well for offering up the strut as I was working alone.



Gave it a clean as it was off the road for about 4-6 weeks. The whitewalls are white again ha





That's about it for now,

Cheers!
Beau

[beausuf]

Hey guys,

This thing is actually still alive. I've been overseas since March so the golfs sat neglected under a car cover for a while but I'm back in Aus now for a few months. Changed fluids the other day and also did the break pads as I had a feeling they were running thin.



Also got a replacement hook/paddle thing for the drivers side door, lock snapped clean off about a week before I flew out so I had to unlock the car on the passenger side which was getting super annoying.



Other than that basically the same for now accept I have the original bonnet back on. Not sure of any future mods, I was thinking of lowering the front more but I can't get a jack under the front cross member as it is.

Cheers
Beau

[beausuf]

Forgot to mention I have a mysterious coolant leak. The car seemed to drop a decent amount while I was away but when I was underneath the car the other day I couldn't find an obvious source.

The green circle - What I'm assuming is the thermostat housing which I thought may be the source but there's no build up or visible leak from any of the hoses or the housing itself.

The red circle - There's a build up behind the distributor but I don't understand where it would be coming from to be in that location. The only fresh coolant I found was under the gearbox where the bell housing meets the back of the motor, so basically right underneath the build up area behind the distributor. The car though, was parked on about a 20 degree angle while I was away with the "east side/drivers side" of the motor sitting lower than the "west/passenger" side. Which makes me think that if it was coming from the main hoses/thermostat housing it would have trickled it's way left with gravity rather than to the right and down under the gearbox.

Any ideas or common known leaks would be awesome!

[PassionGarage]

this coupe is super clean dude !!! the paint is awesome !!!!
love the chill vibe you've gone for on it dude !!

[feenix74]

Good looking ride.

I usually have problems where the radiator hose meets the engine block (green circle). In 19 years of ownership of my 97 CL, the plastic flange has cracked and been replaced twice. Both times have seen a reasonable loss of coolant when it has occurred between discovery and when I have had it replaced (usually a top up every fortnight of the coolant). I do not believe that the thermostat is actually located there. I believe that the thermostat is located down near the coolant pump (down low on the left-hand side engine block).

[beausuf]

Nothing much has changed with the golfwagonmobile. I've wound the front end back down to where it was before, it's about 4/5th's of how far it can go and the rear is just about maxed out. Gave the car a proper clean since getting back to Australia. The original bonnet is back on and the rusty one is out the back collecting more rust from the winter. Will be staying off the car for a while as I'm heading overseas for the entirety of the Aussie summer.

I reeeally want some venetians, I've scoured the internet and can't find any thing except for mk1 tailgate only. I might tint the car instead but that's a bit boring!

this coupe is super clean dude !!! the paint is awesome !!!!
love the chill vibe you've gone for on it dude !!

Thanks man, was a decision based on trying to do something a bit different and also money haha. Whitewalls and hubcaps are cheaper than BBS!

Good looking ride.

I usually have problems where the radiator hose meets the engine block (green circle). In 19 years of ownership of my 97 CL, the plastic flange has cracked and been replaced twice. Both times have seen a reasonable loss of coolant when it has occurred between discovery and when I have had it replaced (usually a top up every fortnight of the coolant). I do not believe that the thermostat is actually located there. I believe that the thermostat is located down near the coolant pump (down low on the left-hand side engine block).

I cleaned everything up and there's build up again around the plastic flange section (green circle) so I'm 99% sure that's where it's coming from. Where abouts did you buy your replacement from? It's only a small leak at this stage and I should probably fix it sooner rather. Most of the time I've got my parts from UK ebay

[feenix74]

Both times I had the Canberra VW Centre in Belconnen replace it for me. It should be a simple job but lack of time and a decent garage/workshop set up means it is easier for me to send it them to get it done then trying to struggle with it in the driveway while supervising the kids.

ebay (especially UK) is where I am getting a lot of the bits I need to get my Vento roadworthy.