Fred's GTi
- Thread starter Fred
- Start date
IT`S DONE! 
Everything is back together, with no funny noises, but, on the way down the bypass to the jetwash, the fooking clutch started slipping slightly, with a very strong smell of clutch dust (no going above 4k for the time being)!
I jetwashed it without the interior in, to finally pinpoint where the leak from the O/S rear light was coming from (I assumed it hadn`t sealed properly when I fitted the P2s), so, imagine my surprise to find out that it`s been rear-ended at some point in its life, & had a complete new lower rear panel put in (which I`m sure I haven`t got a receipt for) & the water was actually coming through a gap in the sealer on 2 seams, 1 behind the light & the other through the join to the quarter panel above the bumper.
I removed the light, removed all the dodgy sealer, applied new stuff, painted it & refitted the light & should hopefully have no more leaks.
Only got crappy `phone pics of the completed rear suspension & the lower brace/cross beam thing that goes below the mid-section, as that was flaking to fook, so took that off & gave it a going over as well! :lol:
Everything is back together, with no funny noises, but, on the way down the bypass to the jetwash, the fooking clutch started slipping slightly, with a very strong smell of clutch dust (no going above 4k for the time being)!
I jetwashed it without the interior in, to finally pinpoint where the leak from the O/S rear light was coming from (I assumed it hadn`t sealed properly when I fitted the P2s), so, imagine my surprise to find out that it`s been rear-ended at some point in its life, & had a complete new lower rear panel put in (which I`m sure I haven`t got a receipt for) & the water was actually coming through a gap in the sealer on 2 seams, 1 behind the light & the other through the join to the quarter panel above the bumper.
I removed the light, removed all the dodgy sealer, applied new stuff, painted it & refitted the light & should hopefully have no more leaks.
Only got crappy `phone pics of the completed rear suspension & the lower brace/cross beam thing that goes below the mid-section, as that was flaking to fook, so took that off & gave it a going over as well! :lol:
Update time.
My Easter break has been a total nightmare!
I finally got it back on the road yesterday (Sunday), after a week of it sitting in the air, so I fitted the solid front mount & fitted the Prothane to the gearbox mount, then went for a drive/blast about, got home no probs.
Had to shoot out to the shops 5 mins later, as I get to the end of the road I can`t get any gears, so I`m thinking the selector has come loose, finally manage to get into reverse after alot of crunching, but then it jerks violently, before I`ve released the pedal, so get it out of gear, then there`s no resistance from the pedal, so I`m thinking fooked release bearing!
WRONG!
What actually happened, was the clutch plate had decided to totally disintegrate (never seen that before)!
So, after getting the box off, & finding half the friction material sitting inside it, I was left with a rather distorted looking clutch housing & a plate with friction material only on the fly side of it.
So it`s now in the air AGAIN, but with no `box or shafts this time.
It could`ve been a very expensive weekend, if I couldn`t do this stuff myself.
Crappy phone pics below (sorry for quality).
My Easter break has been a total nightmare!
I finally got it back on the road yesterday (Sunday), after a week of it sitting in the air, so I fitted the solid front mount & fitted the Prothane to the gearbox mount, then went for a drive/blast about, got home no probs.
Had to shoot out to the shops 5 mins later, as I get to the end of the road I can`t get any gears, so I`m thinking the selector has come loose, finally manage to get into reverse after alot of crunching, but then it jerks violently, before I`ve released the pedal, so get it out of gear, then there`s no resistance from the pedal, so I`m thinking fooked release bearing!
WRONG!
What actually happened, was the clutch plate had decided to totally disintegrate (never seen that before)!
So, after getting the box off, & finding half the friction material sitting inside it, I was left with a rather distorted looking clutch housing & a plate with friction material only on the fly side of it.
So it`s now in the air AGAIN, but with no `box or shafts this time.
It could`ve been a very expensive weekend, if I couldn`t do this stuff myself.
Crappy phone pics below (sorry for quality).
^ flywheel seems fine to me, no bluein' on there. just crazy amounts of dust clearly. great work fella, your right would have cost mucho dollar if you could do the work yah self. least it went the pressure plate side and not taken out the flywheel, you upgrading the clutch/flywheel too?
stop tryin' to save on g/box oil haha
dd
stop tryin' to save on g/box oil haha
dd
Yeah, didn`t fully remove the box, just removed all the bolts, & was about to split it when it started raining, so thought "Fuck it, put it back together!" as it was only just slipping above 4.5k, so was liveable with until the new kit arrived.
Went for a blast about & everything was fine!
Got in it again abit later & that happened!
Pic was taken as soon as the clutch was removed, so had a tonne of dust everywhere, cleaned it up & it`s fine.
Nah, that`s a Fidanza flywheel already!
I would`ve got an exedy one, but, I could only just afford the £70 ebay one I`ve got, so that`ll have to do.
Nah, that`s a Fidanza flywheel already!
I'm glad i've seen this picture today Fred, when i was putting my Fidanza in yesterday i was puzzled why it has screws on the friction surface and an extra dowel for no aparant reason but yours looks the same!
You're not exactly blessed with a ton of luck Fred, but at least you get your head together & get on with the job. Good on ya ! :thumb:
Cheers Paul!
My dad was a mechanic, so I`ve been working on cars all my life (according to my mum, since I was 3 years old), so it`s in my blood!
I`ve got a pic somewhere of me in the back garden, with a spanner in my hand & the wheels off my trike! :lol:
I can`t play the piano anymore, after a nasty hand injury when I was 8, so this is what I do to keep me sane! :lol:
^ get in lad
Little update
Well, after the major fail of trying to get it on with a rope yesterday, & another 2 fails today, I decided to lose the rope, & try summat abit different.
Having used various bits of wood to get the car high enough, I decided to use them again, to get the `box high enough. :lol:
As I wasn`t using the car ramps this time, I decided that they would be the perfect way of getting the `box to the desired height, by putting the `box on a length of wood, (in my case an old wooden mantlepiece) :lol: then cantilevering it over the ends of the ramps & then using the rest of the wood on the jack, to support the `box.
Now, all was going well, until it was time to mount the `box to the engine, where I discovered that it wouldn`t go on straight, so had to be rotated backwards slightly, so, using 2 slats from a shelf of the old airing cupboard, :lol: I was able to rotate the `box just enough for it to slide straight in at the bottom.
I put both the 14mm bolts in at the bottom 1st, to make sure it wouldn`t move any more than I wanted it to, then put the 2 17mm bolts in at the top & it closed up perfectly.
Only took these 3 pics because I texted Stu, so had the `phone in my hand.
Lining up the gearbox mount.
You can also see how I got the `box to where it needed to be. :lol:
engine brace with Solid front & Prothane rear mounts about to go on!
So it`s now back on the ground, :thumbs: just needing the clutch cable adjusting at the pedal, the intake & battery refitting & then, it should hopefully be able to move again!
Well, after the major fail of trying to get it on with a rope yesterday, & another 2 fails today, I decided to lose the rope, & try summat abit different.
Having used various bits of wood to get the car high enough, I decided to use them again, to get the `box high enough. :lol:
As I wasn`t using the car ramps this time, I decided that they would be the perfect way of getting the `box to the desired height, by putting the `box on a length of wood, (in my case an old wooden mantlepiece) :lol: then cantilevering it over the ends of the ramps & then using the rest of the wood on the jack, to support the `box.
Now, all was going well, until it was time to mount the `box to the engine, where I discovered that it wouldn`t go on straight, so had to be rotated backwards slightly, so, using 2 slats from a shelf of the old airing cupboard, :lol: I was able to rotate the `box just enough for it to slide straight in at the bottom.
I put both the 14mm bolts in at the bottom 1st, to make sure it wouldn`t move any more than I wanted it to, then put the 2 17mm bolts in at the top & it closed up perfectly.
Only took these 3 pics because I texted Stu, so had the `phone in my hand.
Lining up the gearbox mount.
You can also see how I got the `box to where it needed to be. :lol:
engine brace with Solid front & Prothane rear mounts about to go on!
So it`s now back on the ground, :thumbs: just needing the clutch cable adjusting at the pedal, the intake & battery refitting & then, it should hopefully be able to move again!
My old man would've been proud of your ingenuity (or maybe that should read 'engine-oot-eh?') & for that reason you get my DIYer of the month award ! :thumb: Respect, Fred
True, it`s not, but, after a nasty injury to my right hand when I was 8 (it was crushed & I was very lucky to not have it amputated), I now have arthritis in it & cannot support weight with it for more than a few seconds before it gives out on me.
Also, I can barely hold a pen some days without being in agony.
I would`ve gone to the hire place at the end of the road & got a hoist, but had no funds to do it, so this was the solution I came up with.
