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Some useful part numbers:
4 pin housing used on fuel tank, for lift pump and fuel gauge and also on the gearbox to control the 4WD: 357 972 754
Rubber grommets that go around the wire, to keep water out of the gearbox connector: 357 972 741
Wiring tails which have the proper clips on them (one on each end of the tail) to suit the connector: 000 979 225
That little lot will save me a fair bit of hassle!
Also worthy of note:
Seat Toledo ABF clutch cable for cable-change ‘box with cable clutch: 1L0721335G
Tensioning bracket to hold the end of the cable outer: 357199356Onwards into tidying up and ‘Snagging’. I still have a few daft things like the top mounts on the radiator to finish, so I managed to grab a couple of hours in the workshop last night. This saw one of the top mounts for the rad done, also a rather nice (if I say so myself) bracket for the accelerator cable, which bolts to the top of the inlet manifold. I also had to fit the fuseboard back up in place – note to self for Danny’s car additional relays etc cannot be fitted on the left most position on the fuseboard – there’s wiring in the way!
After the battle with the fuseboard was won I fitted the dash back in the car, not before taking off the stalks – there’s only so many times 20 year old plastic can take being pressed down HARD and I don’t want to have to find a new set right now….. h’mmmmm, I wonder if the Toledo set will fit….
One thing you need to consider before looking to the VC is whether you were just hosing the power away through a spinning front wheel. I mucked about with my Golf Syncro in snow, as you described and was surprised at how little power there was on the ground when you accelerate. However the car still moved about just fine, until you booted it when most of the power was deployed spinning a front wheel (and sometimes a rear one too.).
VC units do wear out. The T25 units seem to go a lot more regularly than the Golf ones. This is partly due to age, but it’s my considered opinion that it’s mostly due to the freewheel, which substantially reduces the stress on the drivetrain, vs the T25. On the T25 there is no freewheel and it’s unusual that the VCs last over about 150k miles. I have a T4 Caravelle Syncro outside with 190k on the clock and my Golf is an F-plate. Maybe the Golf’s VC is about to pack up, but it’s fine at the moment.
The way VCs ‘break’ is that either they lose fluid, the fluid loses it’s viscosity, or the micro-abrasions on the plates become degraded. The symptoms of a VC failing can be a mixed bag. If the fluid goes then you’ll have no drive. If the fluid remains, but the micro-abrasions degrade then you’ll have the symptoms described in this post – when you test it the system appears to be working, but when it’s under load there is not sufficient ‘grip’ in the VC to transmit any meaningful power.
Some VCs in T25s have been known to fail ‘aggressively’ which is where they lock up way too early, which can lead to failed CVs and gearboxes – I’ve not heard of this sort of failure on a T4 or Golf.
One key factor you need to take into account when testing a VC is that that performance of the device changes with temperature – as it gets hot the fluid normally becomes less viscous, thus if you test your system at cold there may appear to be good drive, but as soon as it warms up this will stop.
With the T25s I’ve often tested VCs using the VW sanctioned method – this is done on a flat surface, using a trolley jack. You place a piece of 4″ by 2″ timber flat on the ground in front of the front wheels and you lift the rear wheels off the ground (normally on the tow-hitch). Now with the engine at idle the driver lets the clutch in with first gear engaged. The vehicle should strain at the wood, but only climb over it when the engine is revved.
Translating this test for the Golf is not difficult. Lift the front wheels of the vehicle off the ground instead and place the wood in front of the rear wheels. The biggest challenge is finding somewhere to lift the front of the car with a trolley jack!
Bear in mind if the car has been run with unequal-sized tyres, or oddly worn tyres the wear on the VC may have been accelerated.
I hope you find a solution to your problem soon
Erk. That was a long session!
Danny got here just after lunch and we piled into it. I’ve had a number of things that I wanted to get sorted, so had been fiddling through them slowly. The dashboard came back out and some of the wiring doen previously also came out, so we could try and get a nicer set up sorted.
After lots of changing to and fro Danny eventually found a solution which means the car runs safely and sensibly – if the motor stops running the fuel pump shuts off too. This was important to me (rather than jerry-rigging the system) – if I have a big off at some point the last thing I want is fuel everywhere!
So, when did it finally run? I think about 9ish, but it might have been a bit later. As this was the first fire-up it sounded like a bag of spanners, but with every start and test run up it sounded better and better. I’d screwed up on the dizzi timing (180 deg out) and the lift pump wiring was back to front, but once these were sorted it fired up relatively easily. The timing has currently been set by (Danny’s) ear and there’s quite a lot more to do putting things back together and ready for a first test run out.
The Toledo in the front garden has been really helpful – it’s donated a couple of relay holders and wire, as well as it’s washer bottle and power steering fluid return hoses, which means the resevoir is tucked neatly away out of harm’s way. The hard-line return hose is also in a lot better condition than the original one!
In the next session I need to finish off the top mounts for the radiator. I already drilled a new hole at the cambelt end, as G2s never had such a large radiator fitted. This was an 8mm hole, then punched into a nice recess with an M12 head bolt and then an M14 bolt
The 8V leads were too big for the recesses on the head, so the motor is now running Bosch Super4 16V plugs, with leads to suit an Audi A3 1.6, on a 2E dizzi cap.
Pictures of various parts (note descriptions under them in the gallery) are here, as ever:
Trev – I’ve been quite guided by Chris and Pascal on the spec for this motor. The more advanced (development, rather than ignition timing!) closed loop lambda system just seemed to make a lot more sense in terms of optimised mixture, rather than the open loop system run on standard G2s.
My aim is to have something with a step up in power from the 90-100bhp my car was running before. I didn’t want to get over-complicated, or heavy. The 8V motor should ensure I have something that won’t monster through fuel too badly, while providing good fun out on the tracks and B-roads. It’s also key that if it does let go it won’t cost the earth to get back on the road. I’m happy with how things seem to be shaping up. I think I’ve got a lot to learn about this set up before I feel the need to install something pokier. The car also has a lot of development needed to get it really performing and effectively using what should have now.
Thanks for the interest!
trev16v :- for a 16v running megasquirt the easy option is the throttel body off a passat 16v it allready has a TPS inbuilt
Good heavens, we got a lot done yesterday.
DannyP came down and got right into the wiring. In the spirit of international collaboration that underlies vwsyncro.co.uk I then hooked up a webcam on my laptop (sitting on the strut top in the engine bay) and opened a Skype conversation, so Chris S could thrash out a few issues with Danny. Chris then pulled Pascal in over Skype, to help out with a couple of other issues.
I did grab a couple of pictures, but it’s a reflection on the times that I was working in my workshop, with a guy I met through this website, with a couple of other people in another country helping out (with no call charges!). I think it’s bloody amazing and this is a great community, with some fantastic people in it.
Many thanks to all for the help!
Sadly we stopped just short of starting the car – at Midnight Danny and I called it a day, but there’s very little to do before the key gets turned to fire it up.
Photos later.
Big update, short post. Engine and ‘box now in car and being hooked up (gradually). Myriad small issues unearthed, which are being worked through bit by bit (with thanks to ChrisS and DannyP!
Pictures from a big session today are here: http://diamondhell.com/component/option,com_rsgallery2/Itemid,29/page,inline/id,954/catid,38/limitstart,7/
More in the next couple of days.
I didn’t interfere with the end of the exhaust on my Jetta, I’m afraid. I would agree with you that you’re likely to need to weld an extension on the end of the box. Hopefully that should be all though.
*ahem* looks like Combe is going to be a bit frantic for this event.
If I’m still struggling to get tickets the shakedown will occur elsewhere.Got tickets – they’re late afternoon ones, but it should be possible to pick up a couple of earlier sessions closer to the time, as people drop out.
