bens ... 1986 MKII 1.8 8v K-Jet Golf ... project

[Ben Lessani]

mot day
... this morning, I went over the car 1 more time to check it was all ready to go for the MOT. i look under the car and one of the petrol tank straps had snapped! I could not believe it. i filled the tank up last night and must have hit a pot hole particularly hard and the corroded piece of crap just broke free.

so an emergency repair was in order so i could make my 2.30pm MOT appointment. It is ultimately a little bit of a bodge, i cut some 6 gauge steel sheet into a strip, then folded the sharp lips in on itself (with great difficulty!), measured up and bent to the curve of the tank.



now I'm sat in the waiting bit again hoping for a green flag!

[Ben Lessani]

it passed
went through with flying colours and even passed its emissions test legitimately - i'm well chuffed whilst it was in kwik fit, i got it tracked up too as they had a nice shiny hunter ds600 there.



after some initial messing about, i got the wheel alignment set up perfect. their printer was out of toner, but i was stood by the car and screen the whole time and i can happily report the settings are:

Camber: -0"30 both sides
Toe: 0"00 both sides
Caster: 1"30 difference, but not really much I can do about that.

not bad for throwing a £10'er in the fella's pocket

[Ben Lessani]

caution: raised ironworks
after just having the alignment set up perfect on the car, i think its shafted now !

i was driving down a road that was having a little re-surfacing done, i had one car stuck on my bumper and another that pulled out in front of me suddenly to dodge some raised ironworks, then swerved straight back - to reveal another grid poking about 12" off the ground. i couldn't brake as the car behind would have hit me and i didn't have space to manoeuvre out the way, so the car smashed over it and whacked the chassis leg twice.

well, its started to show signs of broken-ness. a pretty nasty knock coming from the front end has appeared and after having a look this morning - the top mount is loose. on my car, the shock top nut is 19mm and there is a 7mm allen to prevent the shock from spinning. given i don't have a buzz gun, some improvisation was required.

i grabbed a 19mm impact socket, pushed a 10.9 bolt through the hole and wrapped mole grips around them. the 7mm tool i bought from halfords.



i tightened it up as much as i could, and as much as the bolt could tolerate!



i'm hoping the top mount isn't damaged and that it is tight enough, but i must say, i don't feel confident!

[Ben Lessani]

some old photos

i came across some old photos from a while back ... not sure why i didn't post them back then. they're only taken on my poor little point and shoot - so might be a little out of focus, but no judging!

[Ben Lessani]

tackling the rear - again
a few weeks ago i replaced the rear engine mount, but in the process, i managed to shear a bolt. i didn't have time to mess around fixing it, so i threw it on 1 bolt short and got my MOT. well, it still needed fixing, so off it came again.




access is tight, but i could just about get to it with the airbox removed, i could loosen off the bolts on the block and withdraw it from beneath ...



whilst i was at it, i also wanted to replace the captive nuts on the bumper irons - as i was curious to if they were what was causing my "loose" engine feeling.

so i pulled off the bumper, removed the skin from the irons ..




the bolts were in a sorry way, so these were wire-brushed clean



i pulled the old captive nut off the iron as it was pretty threaded ...



then refitted with some copper slipped bolts and a new (non-captive) nut

[Ben Lessani]

in a spin
the car randomly stopped working earlier this week with no real warning. i was happily driving down the street and it stalled. i started it and only the momentum of the car was keeping it running. it backfired and hopped the next 200m whilst i moved over to the side of the road.

when i got home, some poking and prodding got me all confused as to what the issue was. when i turned the IGN, there was no fuel pump priming, so i swapped the fuel relay out for another, but the same issue. so then i bridged the two pins for the fuel relay and could hear both pumps priming.

i had bought a new fuel filter, but after finding that the fuel pumps were not getting power, i didn't think that flow was the issue.

something was causing the fuel pump not to run. k-jet fuel relays have a 555 timer inside that takes a pulsed input which tells the relay to keep open, the pulsed input comes from the coil. so, up next was the coil. given how cheap the coil is to replace, i grabbed a new bosch one from GSF and fitted it.

unfortunately, there was still no spark. i removed the king lead from the dizzy, popped it close to the head and cranked the engine and it was only sparking intermittently. the only thing that can cause this is the hall sender not sending a correct signal to the coil to spark.

i made sure the wire was connected to the hall sender, pulled the rubber boot back and put a multimeter on the middle pin and grounded the other end. i put the engine in 5th gear and rocked the car back and forth and there was no fluctuation of voltage/resistance on the multimeter.

GSF/ECP don't sell the hall sender or even the dizzy, so it was an eBay job. a quick search turned up part number 026905206A and this item http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/vw-reconditioned-Distributor-MK1-AND-MK2-GOLF-GTI-/170521048068?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27b3d8b404

a week later, the new dizzy arrived and it was time to fit it.

fitting my dizzy



Tools required: 13mm spanner, tipex, spark plug tool

i'm only making this 2 spanners, but if it goes tits up - it could be way more difficult. as my timing was fine, i just needed to make sure the new dizzy went in the exact same position as the one i am removing. if your timing is out, then this guide will be useless.

1. get the engine to TDC on cylinder 1, easiest way to tell is to remove your spark plug in cylinder 1 and remove the distributor cap. put the car in fifth and pull the car towards yourself until the arrow on the rotor on the dizzy points at the mark on the distributor body. poke a straw in the spark plug hole and it should barely go in. chock the wheels and put the handbrake on - leave the car in gear!




2. now the dizzy is lined up, you need to mark the block/engine itself so you know the distributor body position relative to the engine. the caveat is that nothing is close enough to this mark to make a mark! i used a couple of g-clamps and bolted them to the block and positioned it right next to the dizzy body - just make sure there is enough room to withdraw the dizzy without moving your mark.




3. that was all the marking i planned on doing, so it was time to remove the clamp that holds the dizzy in place. it takes a 13mm spanner (ideally a ratchet spanner).



4. after the clamp is gone, you can withdraw the distributor. it will be sat tight and effectively screwed in thanks to the gear, wiggle wiggle wiggle, out it comes.




5. compare your new dizzy to the old one, make sure you count the teeth on the gear at the bottom. strangely, my dizzy was missing its oil seal, i have no idea where that could have gone, but it wasn't in the hole.



6. refit new dizzy and line up the mark to the engine/block/g-clamp mark, put the c-clamp back on, put the washer, rotor and dizzy cap back on.




7. brace yourself, start the engine and hope for the best

[Ben Lessani]

changing the wheel
i have been waiting on ebay for over 18 months for a cheap sparco steering wheel, but cheap and sparco do not go together. so i have had a temporary wooden - yes, wooden, steering wheel on.



i was getting really fed up with this and managed to poach another steering wheel off an audi coupé. the splines off the coupe wheel actually fit the golf, but the rest of the body doesn't. so the audi boss wasn't going to drop on like i hoped.

so, i experimented a little and stripped down the steering wheel ...




it looked like the same 6 stud pattern on my wooden momo wheel, so i stripped the boss off the momo wheel ...

and lo-and-behold ...



its still too big for my liking (350mm), but it will do for now

[Ben Lessani]

spark or fuel



this is just for a little guidance with those getting stuck at - my car doesn't start!

check for spark

1) remove fuel pump relay.
2) remove king lead - place near head and check for regular spark. if the king lead sparks evenly, go to 3, if not, go to 4.
3) re-connect the lead and remove a lead from cyl 1 and check for interval spark, if even, go to 5, if not, go to 6.
4) turn the ignition on, then off, there should be a single solitary spark, if there is, go to 7, if not, go to 8.
5) repeat step 3 with the next cylinder.
6) this is either a ht lead, rotor or distributor cap fault.
7) this is either a hall sender or wiring to coil fault.
8 ) this is either a coil pack, hall sender or wiring to coil fault.

coil pack, hall sender or wiring to coil fault
testing the hall sender requires pulling back the rubber boot on the wiring (ensuring it stays connected), connecting a voltmeter to the middle pin and the other end to ground. put the car in 5th gear and rock the car back and forth (around 1-2m) and watch for fluctuation on the voltmeter. if it doesn't change, then replace the hall sender/distributor.
testing the wiring/coil pack is using your voltmeter and common sense (wiggle wires, check for continuity etc.)

ht lead, rotor or distributor cap fault
to test the leads, swap the faulty lead with a known working lead and test again.
to check the distributor cap/rotor, remove and inspect for signs of arc'ing, ensure contacts are clean with plenty of material.

sometimes just replacing parts is the easiest way to test unknown parts (but not necessarily the cheapest).

checking for fuel

1) after testing the spark first, refit the fuel pump relay, crank the engine very briefly (or just flick the ign on/off) and release, you should hear the fuel pump(s) prime. this relies on all wires being connected to the coil pack - without the wiring connected, the fuel pump will not prime (on a k-jet). if it primes, go to 1a), if it doesn't prime, go to 3.
1a) Disconnect plug from main pump under car and repeat #1, you should hear the in-tank pump prime, if it does, go to 2, if not go to 6.
2) fuel flow needs to be tested.
3) remove the fuel relay and bridge the large pins with a suitably crimped piece of fused wire (rated 20a). if you hear the fuel pump running, go to 4, if not, go to 5.
4) your fuel relay is faulty.
5) replace the fuse for the fuel pump, then repeat step 1. if you have got here a second time, go to 6.
6) fuel pump(s) or wiring fault.

fuel flow needs to be tested
i can't be bothered writing fuel flow tests, check your haynes.

fuel pump(s) or wiring fault
you need to use a battery back and suitable wiring to connectors on the fuel pumps themselves to ensure they run. be extremely careful - any spark could start a fire. use your brain, be careful and figure this one out for yourself.

[Ben Lessani]

is it my starter motor



check your battery for 12.2v (car off)
check your alternator for 13.5v-14.4v (car on)
check your gearbox ground.
check starter motor battery +ve feed.

if you have no noise at all
check your ign switch
check the wiring again!
run a bridge wire from the battery +ve to the solenoid

if you have 1 solitary click
check the braided solenoid to to starter +ve feed

if it buzzes/turns slowly
check the starter armature/carbon brushes (11mm is the minimum iirc)
check the bell housing bush

only after checking all the above, should you go about changing the starter.

[Ben Lessani]

floppy rear end
the golf has felt a little ropey since the raised ironworks incident, grrrrrrrrr. there was a bit of a rear end knock (like an exhaust banging) and vague steering, so after lots of reading, i had put it down to worn rear beam bushes.

the drivers side front top mount was also shafted, so i ordered up a few new bits ...



i had visions of changing the ream beam bushes in-situ (as others had said it was possible). given its such a faff bleeding the rear brakes, i wanted to try and avoid it. so the car was jacked up and prepped



there was a few clearance issues withdrawing the pivot bolt, but these weren't really an issue




the real problem was that it would never be possible to lower the rear beam enough to physically get the bush out - due to the short length of the rubber brake line unions



no big deal, the beam had to come off don't ask why, but i made the job about 2x harder by not removing the rear struts from the beam. i had to tweak the rear top mounts (pop a little grease on them to stop the bushes squeaking!), so i thought i'd just drop the beam from the top and pull the lot out (fail!)




once the beam was out, i popped it on another set of stands so i could remove the old bushes




by far the quickest and easiest way to remove the old bushes was just pop a 10mm drill bit in my drill (which is just about the size from the metal inner sleeve and metal outer sleeve). its so tight that as you start to drill, it will catch ever so slightly on the two inner and outer surfaces - this is a good thing! as it catches, it will rotate around the inner sleeve and effectively eat up all the rubber in about 6 seconds of the drill being on! then just pop a stake in the inner bush and hit it a couple of times with a hammer.



then use a hacksaw to cut a fine line down the middle of the outer sleeve - this will release all tension and it only takes a few swift taps with a hammer and it will slide out.

now the poly bushes need to be fitted (this is easy!), lining up for a test fit ...




i'm not keen on the idea of squeaks, so everything was covered (rightly or wrongly) in copper slip



then with a quick makeshift press using some threaded bar, the poly bush was pressed in. you could probably do it with a hammer - but i'd bought the threaded bar, so i figured i may as well use it!




then the inner sleeve just needs pressing in ...



with the beam all ready, its time to get it back on the car. admittedly, i did go for a food break and came back again to start at 8pm (so it was a little dark), meaning i had to work by little flood lights. if i wasn't so lazy, i'd paint it - but i'm lazy, so i didn't. i can't help thinking how sad the car looks without its rear beam






i only have little hobby jacks, so i couldn't get the car massively high. which meant trying to fit the ream beam with the suspension still attached was a little bit of a fiddle




i then bolted up the brake lines, re-assembled the bias arm+spring, popped in the 2x pivot bolts (60NM btw), hooked up the top mounts (with a little copper slip to stop the damn squeaking) and threw the wheels back on. i'll bleed the brakes tommorow ...