Shirley Knott

After a couple of months of putting up with continuous knocking from the drivers side of the V70 I decided yesterday afternoon would be the time to replace the OSF drop link as I had the parts in hand. How hard could it be, right? New drop links assembled (Meyle 'HD', popular in Volvo circles and supposedly better than OE with a 4 year guarantee). To be fair they ARE fairly beefy looking items compared with the originals... This is where the fun stopped and what ensued was a 4 hour (Not kidding) fiasco that had me seriously questioning why I even bother doing stuff like this myself. The drop links looked to be as old as the car (20 years young) and immediately I knew it wan't going to be a lot of fun I'll work on a system of bullet points to break down the steps of this depressing process... Step 1- Realise that the torx counter holds that live within the threads are completely stripped Step 2 - Destroy boot on the top side of the link and counter hold with constantly slipping vice grips for around 60 minutes working the nut slowly backwards and forwards to remove it Step 3 - Move to the bottom joint and realize that the nut looks like a blob of ginger biscuit Step 4 - Realise that even with the back of the joint clamped mole grip stylee as with the upper one, the nut has rounded Step 5- Apply an 'easy out' nut remover only to learn that even my 650NM gun cant shift it Step 6- Attempt to cut from the joint side with a Dremmel and cutting disc to find out after 30 minutes that too much of the old ball joint remains and it won't pop through the hole in the anti roll bar Step 7 - Drive to the (Now close to closing) local Screwfix and buy metal blades for the reciprocating saw to attempt a cut off from the other side of the lower joint Step 8 - Spend the next 30 minutes slid underneath 2 tons of Volvo lifted a foot from the ground using a noisy vibration-tastic electronic hacksaw to remove the other side of the now completely destroyed bottom link, rust constantly raining down and light failing Step 9 - Learn that even after cutting from the other side, a small disc of the stud/bolt remain, and thus still the remainder of the link STILL won't go through the ARB Step 10 - Throw things around the garage in a rage, and then use brute force pulling on the remainder of the now completely ruined bottom joint to find that it eventually pops through, but not without my hands flying back to hit myself in the mouth full force. Step 11 - Fit new drop link and decide to pay someone else in future. MUCH later and now very dark, all done... And the aftermath this morning... Frankly, it baffles me that I can complete a full timing belt change on this car in an hour and a half, but a single drop link takes me FOUR FUCKING HOURS!

I had a Cobra system removed from a 1989 eunos roadster courtesy of 'Tony's Audio' in Sunderland back in the day... Mine was a particularly nasty system in that it was designed to lock both doors around 60 seconds after start up (Presumably to avoid being car jacked at traffic lights etc?) Basically this translated to a situation whereby if you weren't careful, you'd find yourself locked out of your own car (Such indignity) and having to wreck the hood or a window to get back in. It took them a good hour and amazingly there was literally about a stone in weight of wiring and parts once all of the gubbins were removed and piled up. Not envy.

The V70 wheels returned from the powder coaters this afternoon looking grand, I've gone for factory silver because I'm dull like that. Nice wheels always lift an old car's appearance a bit I recon. Couldn't resist some Ebay special replacement centre caps to finish the job. For £8.50 it would be rude not to really!

Top work there young master hedgehog. I've looked over the brim of my undersealing goggles at the lanolin products for a while now, mostly because of social media adverts/spam. I'm still struggling to move away from the traditional stuff TBH. The days of me having access to a pit and a compressor are long gone and I've shifted from dynax UB to comma wax seal to save money, but in aerosol form it's still £16 for a litre and a half... £35 for a gallon does appeal.... All that being said, I'd be slightly perturbed that they've chosen to produce their product in EXACTLY the same colour as actual rust (Maybe that's just the flash?) Only time will tell eh? It would be interesting to run some side by side tests on unprotected metal to see which product works best.

Oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter all changed on the ropey Golf SDI this morning at 177,768 miles. Eurocarparts really seem to be taking the piss with their pricing these days, so I'm making a note of part numbers here for safe keeping ( WK853/3X, HU726/2X, and C37153) This jobs a joy to do on the Golf, I've got it down to less than 30 minutes these days.... With the Pela it can all be completed 'topside'.

I actually own two of the four cars pictured in your original post as I type this. MK4 Golf: I've had quite a few of these and the diesel ones are the pick of the bunch. Arguably the toughest/most robust would be the SDi models, although you pay the price for that with tepid performance (I'm running one of these at present). Even the youngest MK4's are now 20 years old, rust is starting to become an issue for some and even good ones now need regular intervention. All that being said, we've covered 16k in the last year and the only bits needed have been ancillaries, so think tyres, brakes, coil springs and exhaust parts. P2 V70: Cheap to buy but expensive (ish) to run. Ours is the NA 2.4 manual and the tax is expensive, the MPG isn't great and parts aren't that cheap either. All that being said, they're tough old cars and very comfortable. They also put you almost in van territory in terms of the ability to move large things about. There doesn't seem to be a 'right' choice engine wise, but auto boxes should be avoided like the plague if possible (IMO) unless you fancy a roll of the dice. RE other stuff, I suppose rust is the real enemy once any car starts to get older, and also availability of parts. Whilst I hear the suggestions of Volvo 940's (And they're a great car), there are various bits for them that are completely unavailable now (Ask me how I know!) and for a daily driver that's never going to work.

My mates mother used to have one of these and regularly drove us to cub scouts in it, at the time I thought it looked incredibly futuristic which probably shows how old I am! Looks great, and can't remember the last time I saw one of these. There genuinely can't be many left?

Up with the larks this morning to put another years MOT on our Golf SDI. After a cursory clean up of the engine bay we were off... This one's covered just over 16 K in a year, a fair amount for a car that's now clocked up 177,000 miles and is nearly 20 years old. Off the top of my head, the parts that it's taken to get it there have been a new (Used) calliper, new rear pads, new rear coil springs, drop links, track rod ends (Inner and outer)and a full exhaust (Cat included). I've fitted all of the above aside from the exhaust and track rods, and thankfully parts are tuppence ha'penny so it hasn't costed much. A pass was achieved with a single advisory for "suspension component mounting repair covered in underseal"...Odd as there's been no such repair! I am however fairly judicious with my application of Bilt Hamber UB/Comma Wax Seal so maybe suspicious were aroused? Meh, either way, a pass is a pass. After getting back I gave this sexy bastard a wash to celebrate.... The wheels I refurbished at home now, 2 years on have developed scabies unfortunately and are letting an otherwise smart looking car down.... So off to the powder coaters they'll go next week. I've tactically waited until such a time as tyres are required so I can kill two birds with one stone and avoid fitting fees by ordering new ones online, and having the powder coat lads fit them back to the freshly coated wheels once they're done- ~Man maths tells me this makes perfect sense.

Oil change completed on the trusty V70 14/10/22 at 98,237. It's only covered circa 3k since it's last change, but that was just over a year ago so technically due. Am I crackers? Probably. Comline filter and quantum synta z fully synthetic oil used! Meanwhile, front brake pads were changed for Blue Print branded items. Annoyingly one side was fine, the other side was badly worn due to a dragging brake caliper (Since resolved). Must sort out a way of uploading pictures again, new phone brings new problems.

It was great to meet you today man, always good to put faces to names. I'm glad to hear the Golf's behaving itself!

The Duster looks particularly handsome in that light. Definitely would. Bon chance @davehedgehog31, it seems we're in the midst of something of a boon RE collection threads at present!

I can definitely say with 100% uncertainty that your vibration/feedback at 65mph+ is either one of the two front wheels out of balance, or a slightly dragging caliper. Get on it and investigate 👍

@big_al_granviais spot on, get a stand under that! Also, it looks you're jacking on the rear beam, avoid this as I've seen them bend (Ignore me if I'm wrong) Otherwise- Good thread and a heartwarming read. The vibration at speed could easily be balancing, but also don't disregard the possibility of a slightly seized front caliper. Get the car in the air and spin both front wheels, even a very small drag on either of the fronts can and will give the exact symptoms you describe, I've seen this time and time again FWIW.

Despite being built on 2004 my Golf SDI is slower than anything on that list (16.8 seconds 0-60). That really brings home just how SLOW it really is.

^ This came back to bite me in the arse big time. A month of ignoring the (Only very slightly) squeaky/draggy NSR wheel culminated in me stripping it down on Wednesday to find the calliper totally seized and the pads worn down to nothing... Fine I thought, I've got some pads and a good used calliper in stock... I set about the job and mid way through felt a sickening crunch as the hard brake line over the rear beam broke in two. Not good. Behold- Seized calliper and ruined brake line... Luckily ECP saved my bacon! For all of their sins, we've got a branch just around the corner and they had the exact section of brake line in stock (Including flexy) for £22.50 New line fitted and covered in a healthy dose of Dynax UB... Followed by a calliper I bought as part of a pair for £10 around five years ago. I knew they'd come in handy one day! For whatever reason a previous owner had painted my old calliper (Also second hand) red. There was clearly a stage, mid noughties, where the VAG lads decided painting brake callipers was the thing to do. This one was yellow... I joined in with the painting fad, this time opting for a coat of silver Hammerite. Much better... After this the system was pressure bled using my Sealey VS820 and normal service was resumed. Financial cost including brake line- Under £40. Emotional cost HUGE. I'm getting too old for this shit and thoughts are genuinely turning to a new car, maybe even on finance.

Don't count on it. It works a treat but DOES get messy, it also pongs. Excellent work going on here @rainagain, exactly the sort of thread I come here for.

Strange that it's worked it's way up to Northern england so quickly... The bloke selling it seems to be a small time trader with 2 or 3 other cars for sale too, he also runs a recovery business by the look (As is often the case with such types) I'm actually on the look out for another Mk4, it cropped up in one of my searches but as mentioned the colour/tax/PD115 head-lift fear put me off.

Interestingly this is now for sale on Facebook marketplace for£1195 just up the road from me in Chester Le Street. If it wasn't for the expensive tax/marmite colour/mysterious cooling woes described up thread I'd almost be tempted to go for a look... Almost. @Petrolize- I'm assuming you sold this outside of the site?

The trusty Golf SDI has spent the weekend in the garage for some minor rust treatment -Nothing serious, just the usual blebs starting at the bottom of the wings and along the sill flanges Position assumed... Products assembled.... Any areas of rust were rubbed back and treated with Hydrate 80 (I love watching this stuff turn black whilst it reacts.... Then 24 hours later a couple of coats of red oxide primer... And then 12 hours later several coats of final colour. I've learned through bitter experience that VW 'Refelx Silver' LA7W is a difficult shade to replicate. Many of the professionally colour matched cans are nowhere near, but strangely Upol's wheel silver is actually a near perfect match... Job jobbed, after which the car was pulled out of the garage for a quick hoover in readiness for being pushed into service again next week.

A week has now nearly passed. What's appertaining man? Is it everything you'd hoped/dreamed of?

Aye, that makes sense. My old man's doesn't even have air con.

Yep- That's a fairly vast price gap eh. Obviously joking RE WVO, but the rules are clear in that someone has to mention veg oil in some format at least once a day- So I spotted the opportunity and grabbed it. Happy Dustering man- It looks great as mentioned, I'm genuinely envious.

The orange colour looks good, I don't think I've seen them like that before. Much more exciting than silver/white. The 'proper' 4X4 versions of these seem to be a rarity.... Maybe one in every ten I'm parked behind actually has a diff/shafts on display. If it's not rude to ask, is there a big price difference between the 4WD and 2WD options? Also, have you tried it on WVO yet?

A week on from the last time- It's Mk4 Golf service groundhog day, only this time with the roffle win GTI Service completed on the 03/05 at 129,821 miles. Oil and filter only as other filters were changed during last service- Switched this time from 5W40 to 5W30 as that's what was handy Boots/bushes/bearings/levels checked and brakes cleaned up - Found to be in need of two new front tyres ASAP.

That's awesome- It's probably the perfect car for such things and the idea of it being used to bring people joy via the medium of pizza makes me smile. Good luck with running a P38 as a daily, WCPGW?