project 2006 Golf 2.0TFSi GTi - Bargain Basement 197k miles TFSI Club Member

[MAF260]

I suggest trying an odour bomb to help eliminate the smells. A friend used one to great effect in a car which reeked of cigarette smoke. Meguiars do them, I'm sure other brands are available.

[SiC]

On 21/03/2024 at 10:21, purplebargeken said:

A sensible and well thought out plan of works there Si. The carpet might just be easier to bin and replace, highly unlikely to get rid of the accumulated odours tbh. The degrading foam on the headliner is a ball ache to do just by resticking. Take it out strip it down and scour off the old foam with a couple of those really coarse metal pan scrubbers will usually suffice, then make sure it’s dust free before attempting a refoam, etc. Anything else will be a bit shit.

I'm not sure if I want to go that far with replacing the carpets. A big job that would need most of the interior stripping out. Still need to sprinkle down that powder stuff you said about.

I think much of the smell is coming from the headlining. It wasn't too bad when the headlining was stuck up but the smell has come back quite badly now its dropped.

You'll need to have words with Mrs SiC when your next down (really need to get you down again soon!) as she was about to put the headlining back up with her staple gun 🤣

 

On 21/03/2024 at 17:00, MAF260 said:

I suggest trying an odour bomb to help eliminate the smells. A friend used one to great effect in a car which reeked of cigarette smoke. Meguiars do them, I'm sure other brands are available.

I've got a odour bomb that I need to run around. Hopefully it'll clean the vents too. That said, the smell goes away once you get air flowing through it! Which suggests its in the materials.

I have run my o-zone machine a few times which should eliminate it. Its helped but still not completely removed it all.

[SiC]

Both my wife and myself have noticed the rear brakes scrape when they're warm. I know it's perfectly fine but it upsets Mrs SiC. Basically the rear disc is warped and when hot it expands enough to just catch the pad. The discs and pads are barely worn so very likely a manufacturing defect on cheap parts.

Anyway I needed a fix without replacing unnecessarily parts that aren't worn.

The root cause is basically this.

Turning up the radio louder doesn't really work very well at the moment.

 

I still need to pick up the bits from @dan95x but just not had the time recently. I saw one going on eBay cheap that came with a radio code. These radios pair with the car and only need the code once. But if you move cars you need the code again. I threw in a last minute bid that was cheaper than buying a code and won. 

I also dug out my Parrot Bluetooth adapter. Ironically I think this was last in a Golf mk5 that Mrs SiC owned nearly 10yrs ago now as the Quadlock cable was still attached to it. Handy!

 

This looks like a lot to remove but it's only a handful of torx screws and pulling plastic trim

These cars don't have a ignition switch live feed on the connectors, so you need to wire one in for the Parrot. I'd usually go to the effort of adding it in properly on the fusebox. However as this car is basically one step away from scrap fodder, I went all bodgy.

Yes that is an evil scotchlock on the cigarette lighter plug feed. Not even a genuine 3M one. Hateful things. But it'll work. Rarrrr.

I put the little display here and attached the microphone onto the A-pillar internal trim. Bluetooth-ing like the 00s. 

 

Having a radio here now rather than a gaping hole really improves the cabin. 🤣

This is actually for a Golf Mk6 (the one after) and looks much smarter than the standard original (RCD300) that this car would have had. At this age car you do need an updated CAN control module for it to power down correctly and not drain the car battery. This looks like to have it and likely someone has changed it. I suspect a previous owner had a fancy aftermarket unit with a switched CAN interface box that needed the updated module. They can be had for under a tenner now but at least it saved me the arse of having to fit it and then code it in. 

 

Also bought a cheap new stalk to get cruise. The existing indicator stalk was getting a bit ropey anyway and this Meyle unit was only £20 after eBay discounts.

Fitting involves removing the airbag, steering wheel, cowling, steering wheel control module, clock spring and steering angle sensor. Sounds a lot but it's a piece of cake.

I won't explain how to do it as there are a bazillion guides around on how to do it. 

Interesting to note that there is no yellow warning sticker on the control module at the bottom. I think someone may have been in here before.

The key things in this job are to ensure that you put the wheel back in the right place. There is a dot and line to ensure it is in the right place. Interestingly the dot and line didn't line up when I removed the wheel - again suggesting someone has been in here before. Or the factory misaligned it. 

It's now like this. Scantool says the wheel is at 0 degrees when in the middle. Which suggests this is definitely correct. However the wheel is slightly off now when in a straight line, so it's going to need a wheel alignment job. 

 

Other things of note is that you need the right steering control module and matching slip ring for this to work. There is a page on RossTech website (company who makes VCDS/VAG-COM) saying which work. Thankfully mine does. I did test it before I bought the stalk and pulled it all apart. Again these control modules can be had cheap on eBay and just need coding in. Simple job if you have VCDS. 

 

Also the connector to the steering control module needs a wire at pin 13. This is the fourth pin across from the bottom left - the yellow and black wire. I believe all Golf Mk5 from 2006 have this. If it doesn't then you need to buy a wire with connectors on the end and fit it. I had to do that on the TT. Not hard but a pia job as it's tight up behind the dash to get the wire up. 

 

Once it was all back together and the steering wheel torqued up (I went 50nm), I coded it in with VCDS. Now I have that magic green indicator light on the dash to say all is good. 

Test drive showed it works great. And I badly need a wheel alignment! (Tbh it needed one anyway)

 

Next up will be to replace that saggy headlining. Struggling to find the right colour as it's not very standard creme/black/grey/etc. Closest I can find that isn't really expensive is Ivory. Not too bothered if it's a perfect match as it's on the ceiling and this is a scrap fodder car anyway. At £10 per metre (either 2 or 3 metres - I haven't decided), it's pretty cheap. Not sure how hard a job it'll be but tbh I can't make it any worse than it is!

 

Oh and I'm pretending I haven't heard that the chain is having a brief rattle on startup. Given the chain timing readings are saying it's out of spec, that might be a job I'll have to do sometime. It doesn't rattle when running so for now I'll just ignore it. Will be about £200 for all the bits (including replacement seals) for the chain. Then another £100 for the cambelt+water pump that also needs doing. 

Debating whether it's even worth doing given it's not exactly the best of examples? That said the engine is in a pretty fit state apart from the chain and the miles on the clock. 

[SiC]

Went for an alignment check at lunchtime.

Way out. 

However it wasn't adjusted as they reckoned the tie rods are seized solid and likewise the rear arm bolts are too. TBF the rear arm bolts are steel bolt into aluminium bushing so that's completely fair. 

Question is what do I do? They did quote for them to do but as this is a project car and I want to learn (I've never done tie-rods), I'll DIY.

Front:

 a. Leave the front as is and just live with wonky steering wheel.

 b. Replace just the front outer tie rods but might be a fight. (£25 for both Febi)

 c. Replace the complete inner and outer tie rods on both sides (£50 for Febi on both sides with boots)

Rear:

 a. Leave as is

 b. Replace just the bolt and maybe the bush. I have a press but the arms are crusty. (£25 in bolts)

 c. Replace the complete rear arms and bolts on both sides (£80 for both arms+bolts as NAPA)

 d. While the arms are off, replace the springs (£40 for pair as NAPA)

 e. Hell, replace the dampers while there too (£40 for pair as NAPA)

Going all the most above I'm looking at £202 in parts. I also need a inner tie-rod tool too and possibly a tie-rod splitter (no idea where mine is). 

I probably need to check the condition of the springs+dampers to see if they've been done or if OEM and likely original.

Problem is where do you stop? After all it's a 200k welded up Golf mk5 with a slight chain rattle. 

 

[Popsicle]

Therein lies madness.

56 minutes ago, SiC said:

Problem is where do you stop? After all it's a 200k welded up Golf mk5 with a slight chain rattle. 

Either leave well alone and class it as 'charm/character' or replace the lot. You'll not be happy with a halfway job and mission creep will always rear its head, 'I'm changing the bush, might as well change the spring while I'm there'.

[dome]

I'd get the plugas/MAPP gas out and see if you can free off things yourself before throwing cash at it. 

I've no idea of the setup on the rear of these and the chances of shearing off something expensive but the tierods are worth a try.

[SiC]

26 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

Therein lies madness.

Either leave well alone and class it as 'charm/character' or replace the lot. You'll not be happy with a halfway job and mission creep will always rear its head, 'I'm changing the bush, might as well change the spring while I'm there'.

Steering wheel is at about the 10 to 15 degrees point when driving straight.  I definitely need to do something.

12 minutes ago, dome said:

I'd get the plugas/MAPP gas out and see if you can free off things yourself before throwing cash at it. 

I've no idea of the setup on the rear of these and the chances of shearing off something expensive but the tierods are worth a try.

Independent rear suspension on these. The rear bush is aluminium with a steel bolt. Hence the two usually become one. 

This still from the Autodoc video makes it look so easy when it's not rusted to bits. 🤣

I suspect the camber adjustment bolt is probably not in that fit a health either. 

[beko1987]

If the access to the inner tie rod joint is good around the subframe, do the lot! 

The main reason my Xsara mot fail turned into the job it did was I thought I'd be able to get the track rod end off the tie rod with no proper clampy tools... Was seized together as one. 

Changing the inner rod was really easy, doubly so as I've got the fancy tool from doing it on last cars, although waterpump pliers work too. But my access is very good, if it wasn't it might be less fun, but once you've removed the gaitor removing a nice clean machine thread over a rusted to fuck outer one is more fun. 

If I'd just done that to begin with it'd have been a quick job. The alignment cost dwarfed the parts cost though

[SiC]

Rear springs definitely are not what you'd call pretty. Definitely not touching that camber bolt either without a replacement to hand. 🤣

I am thinking maybe leave the rear end for now. But then new springs/dampers/arm bushes would really tighten things up in the rear end. Also that toe is way off. 

Camber I'm less bothered about as that's still in spec and it really only buggers up tyre wear on the back if out. 

[RayMK]

If it requires steering input to actually run straight, I'd at least do the tie rods.  If it's just the steering wheel being a few degrees off whilst running straight, the tyres are not shredding themselves and the car handles ok, I would leave as is.

 It depends whether you want to go ahead with significant expenditure for 'training' purposes, at the expense of using valuable time which could be spent on your other projects.    

[SiC]

1 minute ago, RayMK said:

If it requires steering input to actually run straight, I'd at least do the tie rods.  If it's just the steering wheel being a few degrees off whilst running straight, the tyres are not shredding themselves and the car handles ok, I would leave as is.

 It depends whether you want to go ahead with significant expenditure for 'training' purposes, at the expense of using valuable time which could be spent on your other projects.    

It definitely is a bit squirrelly on the road. While the car feels tight and lively, it requires constant correction to keep it straight. Now some of that is likely my head trying to straighten the steering wheel when going straight. But also it's definitely not missile locked on straight. 

Its a combination of learning how to do it but also I want to track day this at some point. So I would like it reasonably well put together. I'm unlikely to notice the difference between bang on new and worn but still in spec as I'm not an advanced performance car driver.

However right now I definitely can feel it could be a lot better. 

[Tickman]

Did you notice the steering being off when the wheel was one spline out?

If no then put it back where it was so it looks straight, if yes you know you are going to do the lot at the front anyway!

[SiC]

I should point out that it's this rear lower arm that's hanging in this picture that I'm thinking of replacing. There are other bushed bits on the rear that could do with a refresh but I'm going to say they're fine for now. 

But it's whether I spend the extra £80 doing the springs and dampers while I'm there...

The wheel alignment is a £75 job for both axles or £35 for front. So I don't really want to be doing it twice. 

[SiC]

1 minute ago, Tickman said:

Did you notice the steering being off when the wheel was one spline out?

If no then put it back where it was so it looks straight, if yes you know you are going to do the lot at the front anyway!

Yeah it was definitely out and I could feel it. An alignment was always the plan. 

There are other bushes on the front that I could do like on the arms or the ball joints. But again I'm trying to stop the creep somewhere!

[Dave_Q]

I'd concur with @dome that it's got to be worth an hour or 2 with some plusgas and fire trying to see what you can get moving.

Certainly on the tie rods, they always look bad but I'd say you have a decent chance. 

The garage may have a very low tolerance on what looks "siezed" as it's got to be better to take the money for the alignment and send the customer for some suspension bits elsewhere than it is to risk even a slightly dodgy looking bolt/arm and end up with a customer's car stuck on the ramp for potentially days.

[SiC]

1 minute ago, Nyphur said:

Lets be real, you're gonna go through the front and rear suspension - and do the timing chain before it ever goes on track Start saving the pennies

If I had bought a bit nicer one (like @Petrolize sold and I hesitated), I'd be slapping this on it right now:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160962101695

 

I am half tempted to still get a nicer one. Just I don't fancy spending £4k on a Golf MK5 GTI and then spending all this on top.  

[purplebargeken]

Do the bits. You know it will drive you nuts if you don’t.  Soak everything in a mix of diesel and ATF for at least a week then have the heat to hand. You can do it.

[RoverFolkUs]

The tie rods might free off with plenty of heat, in which case you'd save yourself the cost of the parts. Strictly speaking it could be classed as excessive use of heat on highly stressed components but in my opinion that's a moot point! Just be sensible with it. 

Those rear arms will not come undone under any circumstances! You'll have to cut the bolt and replace the bush at the very least. If it was me, I'd cut them out and replace the complete arms. I would say leave the upper camber arms well enough alone!

I would imagine the rear toe being out is being caused by worn bushes on that arm anyway, so no harm done by destroying it. 

Personally I would reuse the springs and shocks if they are intact and show good dampening properties respectively. At least if you replace the arms you can grease the bolts so they won't be seized next time around. If you mark the position of the eccentric bolts with new arms, you can easily get away without doing an alignment afterwards if you have to undo them again in the future. 

If the front lower arm bushes are worn then I would recommend doing those as well before the final wheel alignment because they will affect dynamic toe (not always picked up on a static check) - if the alignment is adjusted with worn bushes then it will be even further out if you replace the bushes in future. 

I'd wager that the steering wheel "calibration" (!) expertly carried out in the past was a lazy solution to the seized adjusters

[SiC]

Yeah I strongly suspected too that the wheel might have been moved to correct any misalignment. Interesting that you say knackered bushes can affect alignment when moving too. Makes sense.

You've got me pricing up bottom arms now too. 🤣

If the ball joints look fresh then I can just do the lower arm bush. They may well do considering its had new (Sachs) shocks and springs on the front. But I suspect I should do the whole arm as they might be original...

 

[RoverFolkUs]

8 minutes ago, SiC said:

Yeah I strongly suspected too that the wheel might have been moved to correct any misalignment. Interesting that you say knackered bushes can affect alignment when moving too. Makes sense.

You've got me pricing up bottom arms now too. 🤣

If the ball joints look fresh then I can just do the lower arm bush. They may well do considering its had new (Sachs) shocks and springs on the front. But I suspect I should do the whole arm as they might be original...

 

Ha, didn't mean to put a worm in your ear over it 😅

I'm sure you can imagine if that rearmost bush is worn and allowing movement then the wheel will "throw out" as the suspension squats under acceleration which can contribute to inner edge tyre wear

Definitely just do the rearmost bushes unless the arms or frontmost bushes, or ball joints are knackered. 

They're really quick and easy to replace. I've found with them it's always worth choosing a quality brand one as the cheap ones don't seem to last 5 minutes

Obviously if it's not worn then leave it alone but if it's showing signs of seperating (normal light perishing is ok) then it's a good idea to catch them early before they chew up the tyres or cause a wasted wheel alignment 

[SiC]

Ha, didn't mean to put a worm in your ear over it
I'm sure you can imagine if that rearmost bush is worn and allowing movement then the wheel will "throw out" as the suspension squats under acceleration which can contribute to inner edge tyre wear
Definitely just do the rearmost bushes unless the arms or frontmost bushes, or ball joints are knackered. 

They're really quick and easy to replace. I've found with them it's always worth choosing a quality brand one as the cheap ones don't seem to last 5 minutes
Obviously if it's not worn then leave it alone but if it's showing signs of seperating (normal light perishing is ok) then it's a good idea to catch them early before they chew up the tyres or cause a wasted wheel alignment 

What would you class as a quality brand?

I'm currently looking at parts in motion as they're on the eBay 15% code.
Febi, blueprint, Napa, Apec, Kyb seem to be the major brands they stock in suspension parts.

If I go elsewhere I could pay more without the code to get Meyle or Lemsford (or however you spell it).

[RoverFolkUs]

Just now, SiC said:

What would you class as a quality brand?

I'm currently looking at parts in motion as they're on the eBay 15% code.
Febi, blueprint, Napa, Apec, Kyb seem to be the major brands they stock in suspension parts.

If I go elsewhere I could pay more without the code to get Meyle or Lemsford (or however you spell it).

Meyle, Lemforder (😅) , Optimal or Delphi would be my first choices

I like some Febi/blueprint parts but quality can sometimes be questionable so I prefer to choose other brands where possible. 

KYB would probably be most preferable out of that list. Napa is usually just cheap, poor quality rebranded stuff. To be fair Apec is probably ok as well

[Petrolize]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

If I had bought a bit nicer one (like @Petrolize sold and I hesitated), I'd be slapping this on it right now:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160962101695

 

I am half tempted to still get a nicer one. Just I don't fancy spending £4k on a Golf MK5 GTI and then spending all this on top.  

Keep going! You wouldn’t have as interesting a thread, and it’s satisfying to see an unloved one turning into a nice example. 

[Dave_Q]

The reality would be that even spending 2-3x as much as you did, you'd be working through the same list of issues.

[SiC]

1 minute ago, Dave_Q said:

The reality would be that even spending 2-3x as much as you did, you'd be working through the same list of issues.

This was the exact conversation I was having with Mrs SiC after the gym earlier when she asked "shouldn't you have spent more and got a nicer one?". 

I was looking on AT/eBay/FB. I'd be spending at least £3k and maybe £4k but still likely need a lot of the same work. Just I can't imagine spending nearly 4k on a 18yr old Golf. 

[SiC]

Nearside

Nearside bush

 

Offside

Offside bush

 

To me those inner tie rods don't look disastrous. Threads might be a bit of a pain. A fight maybe but possibly movable?

That said I can't really see the outer tie rod boots nor have I given it a wiggle. On my high res version the boots on them look starting to split. 

However those bottom arm bushes are definitely perishing and splitting to my eyes. But worthy enough of a replacement?

Going on the ball joints bolts, I think that may not have been disturbed in a while. Question is, should I just go balls deep and replace that complete arm with balljoint and both bushes or just that big bush?

 

[RoverFolkUs]

4 minutes ago, SiC said:

Nearside

Nearside bush

 

Offside

Offside bush

 

To me those inner tie rods don't look disastrous. A fight maybe but possibly movable?

That said I can't really see the outer tie rod boots nor have I given it a wiggle.

However those bottom arm bushes are definitely perishing and splitting to my eyes. But worthy enough of a replacement?

Going on the ball joints bolts, I think that may not have been disturbed in a while. Question is, should I just go balls deep and replace that complete arm with balljoint and both bushes or just that big bush?

 

Hmm, those certainly look passable, I've seen much worse. The minor perish cracks are ok but the large split forming that I have circled appears to be the bush starting to unbond/tear away from the centre so they are definitely not in their finest flush of youth. Typically with modern parts, it wouldn't surprise me if whatever replacement you may fit ends up looking similar in no time sadly! 

 

 

Looks like they've tried playing with that nearside track rod adjuster without even cleaning up the threads.. FFS 🤣

I would recommend you clean up the threads, soak it in plus gas or ATF or whatever, and then smack the lock nut with 2 big hammers towards each other to give it a nice shock, that might be enough to free the lock nuts off. Once they're slackened off, you may find the track rod end is seized onto the track rod as well. In which case its probably easier to replace the lot, or try heating them up to see if they will free off. 

I have had many in the past which seemingly weld themselves together with internal corrosion that no amount of heat could free off, so the only option to adjust the tracking would be to replace the entire inner tie rod and track rod end assembly 

Those lower ball joint bolts are prone to snapping but I usually have quite good luck by cleaning up the threads as much as possible and spraying with wd-40 or whatever. Personally I would say don't replace them unless they are worn, same goes for the rest of the arm - so unless the front bush looks worn as well and/or the arm looks corroded, it would only be a waste. The bushes are probably £20-30 each, the arms are probably £80 or so at a guess? So that could be the best part of £100 saved there. 

Although what I will say is that those lower ball joints can be incredibly difficult to check for play, I think it's due to the angle that VAG designed them at. I've seen them fail an MOT only because the shaker plates have revealed play that was otherwise impossible to find with a lever bar. Especially when the wear is only slight. So you might just want to replace them anyway! 😅

[Popsicle]

8 minutes ago, SiC said:

Nearside

Nearside bush

 

Offside

Offside bush

 

To me those inner tie rods don't look disastrous. Threads might be a bit of a pain. A fight maybe but possibly movable?

That said I can't really see the outer tie rod boots nor have I given it a wiggle. On my high res version the boots on them look starting to split. 

However those bottom arm bushes are definitely perishing and splitting to my eyes. But worthy enough of a replacement?

Going on the ball joints bolts, I think that may not have been disturbed in a while. Question is, should I just go balls deep and replace that complete arm with balljoint and both bushes or just that big bush?

 

I have the same setup with the front wishbone rear bushes on my Caddy, they go hard and perish like yours, changing them does make a marginal difference to comfort/noise. Due to my mileage it does seem to be a yearly (100kish miles) service item (advisory at last MOT). I've left the wishbone alone and took the easy route by replacing the bush with one already in the alloy casing. If nothing else it keeps the front end tracking true and stops uneven tyre wear.

[SiC]

10 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

I have the same setup with the front wishbone rear bushes on my Caddy, they go hard and perish like yours, changing them does make a marginal difference to comfort/noise. Due to my mileage it does seem to be a yearly (100kish miles) service item (advisory at last MOT). I've left the wishbone alone and took the easy route by replacing the bush with one already in the alloy casing. If nothing else it keeps the front end tracking true and stops uneven tyre wear.

Did you use Febi bushes? Just wondering how they held up with your usage as you're usage is a good longevity tester. 😅

I like the Febi ones as they come with replacement stretch bolts as standard. 

I'm pondering if I might just do those rather than the whole arm.  When I had it up last on a jack, I don't remember any noticeable movement on the ball joints when tugging the wheel. Third of the price to change just those bushes and a whole lot quicker to do. 

[RoverFolkUs]

19 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

I have the same setup with the front wishbone rear bushes on my Caddy, they go hard and perish like yours, changing them does make a marginal difference to comfort/noise. Due to my mileage it does seem to be a yearly (100kish miles) service item (advisory at last MOT). I've left the wishbone alone and took the easy route by replacing the bush with one already in the alloy casing. If nothing else it keeps the front end tracking true and stops uneven tyre wear.

That's good to know if Febi bushes are surviving your usage! Although I suppose 100k motorway-ish miles could be more kind to them than 100k urban miles 🤔