Golf VR6 Track Car Project

[IanH26 0]

Steph update: 20th Feb 2008

I got away from work a bit early today and spent a little time on the golfy

1st job was to finish off the corner work and weld another plate on. Turned on the welder and the bottle to find the gas empty angry.gif , a 20 minute hunt in the workshop was fruitful and I managed to find a roll of gasless wire.

There were a few gaps between the plate and the chassis to build up and fill but other that that it was pretty quick work.

With the plate welded up I gace it a quick clean up and then sprayed the metal.

Rollcage Done

Next Job on the list was to relocate the battery to the rear.

The old battery tray came out eventually, all but one of the bolts was corroded so the had to be persuaded.

I then sorted out the chassis earthing and the live wirings. The cable I used was something I got for nothing. Although its yellow it has a 10mm core and a pretty decent skin so it will do the job well.

In the end I decided on putting the battery in the wheel well, it was low and central so does the Job, the battery is held down with 2 brackets and has a drain fitted. I have a plastic battery box type cover to go over the battery and that will be strapped on top.

Me: "That battery was soooo heavy ohmy.gif

Every little helps with the weight distribution on the nose heavy VR6 biggrin.gif"

Steph: Well Look what eventually turned up today after 3 months of waiting.

A tampered with suspect looking package, I recon someone had a good look inside.

fully of lovely blue things

Feb 22nd 2008

Spoke to Steph earlier, some progress for tomorrow done today wink.gif

Some of the water hoses have been replaced, Steph can tell more a_whistle.gif

Slight bodywork change and the CV boot replaced.

Hopefully all ready for Bedford now thumb.gif

Feb 25th 2008

A quick update following Bedford this weekend.

Went out on the sighting lap and first corner there is knocking sound on the left driveshaft ohmy.gif

Drove it very carefully round and every left corner there was the sound sad.gif

Back in the pits, car up in the air and we find the NEW rose jointed drop links had failed angry.gif

The lower join had separated from the outer ring (No photos sorry).

Two large washers later either side of the ring to keep it all in place and we had an ARB working again.

Out again to do some warm up laps and we were having trouble selecting gears. We had looked at the clutch system before and bled it. So back to the pits and we bled the system again to rule out air bubbles.

This was to no avail and we kept having troubles. Had to put your foot under the clutch to get it to return to normal position blink.gif

Steph diagnosed it was the clutch slave cylinder.

After a bit of questioning we heard of a VW speciast shop 12 miles away that Steph had heard of called "Not Escorts" biggrin.gif

A quick dash over in the support car, my Audi a_whistle.gif and we eventually found the place. Walked in and asked the question if they had a spare one...... of course mate was the reply that will be a tenner ohmy.gif

We dashed back to the pits and 15 mins later it was swapped over, missing the N/L photo shoot in the process sad.gif

On inspection of the old clutch slave showed the problem, the seal was knackered and the shifter bar came away in our hands nono.gif

Once this was sorted we had a great time in the afternoon, the car is great thumb.gif

Steph noticed a possible problem with a slight intermittent clicking sound on the driveshaft at the end of the day which may be a dodgy drive shaft.

I am going down for a final weekend before I take it out to Germany at Easter.

Jobs to do (no particular order):

1. Build and fit gearbox with a lower final drive

2. Get and fit radiator hoses (not in kit we ordered)

3. Refurb the driveshafts

4. Fit gauges

Nice to do:

Rear Strut brace

Fit bucket seats

Fit an LSD

[IanH26 0]

Feb 28th 2008

Steph:

Some bits and bobs done on the car.

fitting a new boot, a pretty messy job

This is the lifting points we put on the car, they work amazingly well.

Sanding down and repainting the scratched & marked door

Oh and for Ian, the dodgy slave cylinder that gave up the ghost at bedford.

March 9th 2008

A few wee things done over a couple of hours and captured on my new phone.

The 10 row cooler was a tight fit where it was, so I opened up the front to allow the bigger cooler.

Old and new

After a few alterations to the brackets its now mounted in and secure.

Next up was sorting out the bonnet pins. I opted for the lockable hidden type , fully TUV'ed a_whistle.gif

And lastly, I replaced the temporary Grill ie, piece of chicken wire for something more fitting and apt.

Oh and the driveshaft seams not to be the offending noise, it looks like its a wheel bearing, no squealing noise or anything, but when the wheel is spun there is a reverberation coming from the hub to the strut, first time ive had that before.

May 7th 2008

update: The VR6 went to Germany this weekend.

A small report to follow soon wink.gif

But for now, I will say it was great fun and went well with a fantastic soundtrack thumb.gif

[IanH26 0]

May 2008 First Ring Trip

Well the time had come to finally get the Golf VR6 Shared car project over to the Ring.

Up early on the Sunday morning, quick freshen up and off to the Ring Car Park.

Got my ticket and straight out to do the first lap in the VR6!!

To say I was a little nervous was an understatement.

Last year had been nothing but problems and to be honest I had started to question my love for the place.

As I went through the barrier I heard myself saying please make it round in one piece with no issues over and over again.

Off we went very gently, up shifts were at around 5 to 5 ½ k revs taking each change smoothly. Braking was done early and took each bend carefully.

Yet, I was actually enjoying myself, the car felt great and sounded fantastic. The R888’s made the car feel so stable and precise leaving you feeling very confident particularly at only probably 60% effort.

I picked up speed through the lap but still was not charging yet as just wanted to complete the first lap. Even though of not pushing we still went past slower cars which always feels great.

As we came round Galgenkopf and saw the gantry on the Dottinger Hohe straight I physically breathed a sigh of relief. Coasted down to the car park and put the override on the engine fan… We had made it!!

It was like doing your first lap again.

Went in to the car park and let the temps drop, which they did very quickly and went to have a well earned cup of coffee.

The car had been everything I wanted it to be.

It was fun great to drive, sound fantastic and had lasted the lap, if I could keep doing laps and build up speed and confidence then I had achieved what I’d set out to 8 months previous.

Through the rest of the day I continued lapping. Each time increasing the pace a little bit and getting used to the car and how it worked.

The oil cooler Steph had upgraded to had worked very well. Even in the hottest part of the day up Kesselchen, pushing on, it only hit 120 degrees C.

The gearbox is too long geared, which we knew and will look to change another time, we already have a new donor box ready to be built with a lower final drive. It meant having to use 2nd gear in a few places to get the most out of car. Taking 3rd just bogged down too much as the engine works best above 4k revs. Wehrseifen in 3rd the revs were down to around 2 ½ - 3k, in 2nd they were around 4k. For now it just means a few more gear changes and lots of H&T.

I deliberately avoided timing as the weekend was about testing the car and getting me back up to speed with driving the track. Jude did do a stopwatch check on an early lap and told me it was a 9min 25sec. That was using 3rd gear not 2nd and in a little traffic. Later I reset the car display clock to zero and it changed to 9mins as we came round Galgenkopf onto the straight so I am happy that it will be close to 9mins when I really start using the car properly and get my lines right, more than quick enough for TF!!

We had a fantastic weekend which reminded us why we go the Ring!!

Not all of it is about the Driving, the people make it.too.

The VR6 was fantastic and it’s a credit to Steph (and Me) for such a good build and to VW for making strong cars.

[IanH26 0]

July 2008

Well, where do I start... a_whistle.gif

As some of you may have seen Nige and I went to the Ring the other weekend for a short trip. Fly out Friday night, fly back Sunday night.

Due to some issues with collecting the car early on the Saturday morning we arranged for Gary (GVK) to collect the cars for us on the Friday before we arrived.

On collection of the car, he drove away towards adenau and the bonnet flew up and cracked the screen ohmy.gif

I will not go into details of what followed but this meant that the car was totally out of action for the weekend.

Saturday was used ttrying to sort stuff out.

This left the Sunday, where Dale from RSR stepped in to help me out with the rental of an Alfa 75.

I can't recomend Dale, and RSR, highly enough for his help on the Sunday, the Alfa's are great fun thumb.gif

So, due to the issues with the VR6 plus a couple of other jobs that needed looking at it was decided to get it back to the UK.

Which has now occured.

On Tuesday, Autoglass replaced the windscreen.

Also on Tuesday a new Battery was delivered, the other one had apparently failed to charge anymore and was flat.

Last Saturday I sourced a replacement bonnet from my local scrap yard (happens to be one of the largest in Europe wink.gif ) but they only had Dark Blue, the black one I reserved could not be found. still its a good condition one from a 1994 plate car.

I have spoken to Steph about me respraying it with some nice white Viper stripes biggrin.gif he said something that isn't repeatable on here... he doesn't like stripes laugh.gif

So this Saturday I will be collecting it from my Brothers in Kent and setting about getting some jobs done.

New battery going in first.

The front bushes are wearing so we have some new wishbones, with standard bushes already in, to bolt straight on (bought to do in Germany) sure Pooky will be pleased they are not Polybush a_whistle.gif

We are going to change the bonnet pins to a different type when replacing the bonnet.

The rear off side strut has developed a leak, which Steph has now arranged for Gaz to replace.

Need to track down a possible water loss problem, think its from the new coolant pipes not seating fully somewhere.

The exhaust bracket at the rear has come lose so need to secure it again.

So a few jobs to get done tongue.gif

Once all the jobs have been done it will be hopefully going back out in August for a weeks holiday from 24th to Sept 1st.

July 28th 2008

Got the car home yesterday from my Brothers, via a stop at Darren & Maddies. Very nice it was too thumb.gif

First job was to get the rear shock out so that I can get it to Gaz to have a look at.

It does look to be weeping oil from somewhere.

Right side

Left side

Next job was to remove the old bonnet and replace with the blue replacement ( When I get some time I will paint it black).

Replacement bonnet

Then change the bonnet pins for a different design.

New compared

Update: July 30th 2008

I have now had it confirmed from GAZ directly that the Shock is 100% working correctly with NO ISSUES what so ever!!

[IanH26 0]

August 4th 2008 update

Brief update from the weekend:

After being ill all week I started on some more jobs over the weekend.

Re-fitted the rear suspension

Fixed the exhaust rear bracket which had come loose

Started on the front wishbone replacements.

All the bolts were loosened ok on the OSF.

But I found one of the bolts is restricted by the sump, looks like the sump is going to have to come off angry.gif

On the other side the rear frame bolt is seized on badly and won't come loose angry.gif angry.gif

After trying for some time on both sides I leave it to do some other jobs.

A couple of wires were damaged ion the ABS on the NSF brake...

Short time later, one fixed cable with no warning light any more.

Then I cleaned the sunroof seal up (gaffer tape) laugh.gif

Was looking a bit messy so new tape on wink.gif

Next was to finish the bonnet pins.

Plates lined up and holes drilled

New self tapping screws, the original ones were a bit shite.

Cleaned the area up and sprayed some protection on.

Then cleaned the rest of the bonnet including removing the scrappy sticker with a hair dryer.

Carried on with sorting the bonnet colour out and tidying up some marks etc

Started spraying the bonnet black

Also did the NSF wing where there were soome marks, just blew over them.

When I get some more time I will finish the bonnet off and get the wishbones done

Quick update: August 10th

Wishbones are done with a little help from a local VW specilist as the bolt was seized on like dried sh*t to a blanket.

Also had the geometry set up with 2 degrees neg camber wink.gif

Quick update: August 15th

Went to collect the car from the VW specialist who has done the Geo set up and helped with the wishbones today.

Car feels better, the old bushes had split slightly and were the original ones from the 1994 ohmy.gif

Car felt better for the 2 degs of camber as well thumb.gif

Big thanks to PSI Tuning of Stoke for all their help in getting the wishbone off and setting the car up wink.gif

[IanH26 0]

Sept 21st 2008

... today I started some service work for the VR6.

First job after checking all the fluids , which were all OK, was to do a coolant flush.

The flush has been added to the coolant system, run, leave for up to 48 hours, clean through the system with fresh water, then refill with water and anti-freeze for the UK winter. Only got water in at the moment from running on the Ring.

Then I gave the car a good clean, and I can't believe I am admitting to this is, with the TWO bucket method ohmy.gif

First time I have ever used it and ...... what a lot of dirt comes out in the second bucket laugh.gif

Car looks lovely now, no photos sorry tongue.gif

Couldn't admit to this on the General forum laugh.gif

Might keep this up to date with all the service jobs etc but not sure yet.

Sept 25th 2008

Coolant system now fully flushed wink.gif

Couldn't believe how much orange water and silt came out blink.gif

Kept filling system, run the car for a couple of minutes until warm then refill and repeat. Kept doing until clearish water.

Then ran, got hot, let cool down and final refill with anti-freeze.

Test run to make sure all ok.

Will check tonight for levels thumb.gif

Will pick up an oil filter later and do a full oil change next.

Got a month before the MOT.

Nov 2nd 2008

Quick update...

Did a few jobs the other weekend.

Decided to change the F.N.S. hub bearing and CV boot for the MOT.

Jacked car up on axle stands to be safe.

Used spring compressors to take the load off the suspension.

Was going to take the hub + susp off but ended up stripping the hub off as couldn't get the suspension top nut off. Made sure I fully marked the setup for re-alignment later. I know it will move but will get the alignment done again next year, maybe with Nige's help / method biggrin.gif

Hub removed

Even though this was replaced in August the non OE boots are quite shite!

Popped down to PSI Tuning, local VW specialist to me, who did the Hub bearing removal and re-press for me while I waited thumb.gif

Back home and refitting the new CV boot and hub.

One new OE boot, much better than the after market stuff.

All fitted.

Hub was put back on with no issues and job completed.

As I had the tools out and the dirty clothes on I did an oil filter and oil change.

Only photo I took laugh.gif

Oil replaced and checked for leaks, job done.

Now the bad bit

Got the car booked in for the MOT last week and it failed. angry.gif sad.gif

But the good news was only on the front brakes not coming up even. Got some new pads and can get discs if needed as they are looking a little worn.

If its the callipers got some 288mm upgrades available from PSI if need be.

The other item was the exhaust that needs to be replaced due to some leakage and a couple of other points.

Other wise all was ok so quite happy wink.gif

Just need to find some money to sort it all out over winter for next season now tongue.gif

[IanH26 0]

Update: Feb 15th 2009

After some discussion with Steph, I am now looking to take this project forward on my own and so buying Steph out of his share.

With a couple of large projects of his own this year he can't spare the cash to put into the VR6.

He will still be there for advice and help from time to time, or at least I hope it will a_whistle.gif

Can't thank him enough for all his help so far thumb.gif

Well thought it was time to start to get some jobs done. biggrin.gif

First was to some out the oil cooler position to lower down and hopefully to get some more air. This was in conjunction with re-fitting a new grille.

Following on from some threads and discussion I did place the cooler close to the radiator --> Oil cooler thread wink.gif

I have closed the large gap at the top to prevent air escaping around and hopefully ensuring it all goes through cooler and rad... time will tell!

Moved the mesh down to help protect the intake on the Rad/cooler.

Next, was to sort out the exhaust due to a failure on the MOT.

Now I know why... blowing from the join to the back box!

In the process of fitting a new rear section and utilising the mid section pipe.

Need some original fixings, some nuts and bolts and a join pipe to finish.

Not quite as big as the old one and only a single pipe, but nice and shiny at the moment

Feb 20th 2009

Picked this little lot up on the way home today from work.

All the bits required to do a brake upgrade thumb.gif

Later VR6's ran the 288mm set up.

Ours has the 280mm, as used by Mark 2 Golfs for upgrades, more on that later a_whistle.gif

So a common upgrade is to put the later spec brakes on.

This gives a good increase in braking and is a straight bolt on, hopefully.

The discs and pads are in better condition than the pics may suggest.

The guy I got them off was in the process of refurbing when he got some Brembos so decided to sell these on the VR6 Owners Club.

Included are the new seal kits from VW (not shown).

I am going to finish the refurb and then put them on the car.

Will get some new EBC Yellows for track use but these will do to get it through the MOT and have as get me home spares.

Also needed to get some new braided hoses as the caliper fit is a banjo type rather than the screw in type. Does mean I will have a spare set..... see later!

Difference in pad from current to upgrade.

Now, as for the kit coming off....

These will be cleaned up and ready for someone else to use as an ideal upgrade for a Mark 2 Golf GTi or similar. They are the 280mm and will come with braided hoses. I can and probably will source some 4 stud discs for the lucky purchaser wink.gif

Almost finished the refurbishing the calipers yesterday except I had a little problem with one of the the new seals on the piston. Got a very small tear in the outer ridge as I was refitting the piston... bollox, new one required.

Other one I tried a different method an straight on with no tears, typical.

As its just the dust seal I am going to look at superglue first, it is just a small tear, before getting a replacement one. (Although realistically I will probably just get a new one from VW, but they are not cheap).

Feb 27th 2009

Picked up some new EBC Yellow stuff pads today for it biggrin.gif

Also got these through which I ordered for the exhaust mounting for the rear box ....

Mar 1st 2009

Tried to get a couple of jobs done today.

Started with the exhaust again and came to the conclusion that I need a new centre pipe. Did get the rear box brackets on but need a box section for the front and rear or some kind of spacers.

So it was on with Brake upgrade.

There is quite a difference with the 288mm set up compared to the old one.

Yes, I did clean them up after wink.gif

As you can see the disc material goes closer to the hub on the 288mm.

Old kit removed.

New kit on.

Yellow Stuff pads will be going on for track days but for now the pads that came with the callipers are going on as they are virtually new.

Brake bled all round, including the rears.

No fouling on the 15" BBS wheels thumb.gif

Tested to check all ok thumb.gif

Hhmmm is this a contributing factor to the MOT brake issue, along with the dark mucky brake fluid in the callipers...

[IanH26 0]

Apr 10th 2009

The exhaust is quite quiet at low speed. Not had chance to try it on the road as SORN.

Here it is finished.

Exhaust on idle --> http://www.vimeo.com/4012909

Apr 18th 2009

Well the car went in for the re-MOT on Thurs following its failure in Nov 08.

Last time failed on uneven braking blink.gif and the exhaust was blowing - main issues.

So, after replacing the front brakes as discussed above and the exhaust I am pleased so say the VR6 has passed the MOT thumb.gif

Although, the brakes were still reported as only just passing the imbalance test th_dunno.gif

And the front offside strut had slight movement, believe it may be the top mount on the way out.

Insurance was sorted the other day with a different company than previous Adrian Flux / Highways as they now exclude the Nurburgring in the general exceptions angry.gif

Six months tax went on at lunchtime today to separate the bills next time.

This afternoon I took it for a spirited run, first time in 6 months biggrin.gif

Great fun cool.gif

Noticed some uneven breaking but nothing major on the front.

Will try bleeding the brakes again before Silverstone to see if that helps.

Apr 26th 2009

No photos today but just a bit of an update...

Disconected the ABS pump yesterday to test the braking balance.

Found the rears locking up very easily and uneven braking on the fronts.

Would pull up more on the right causing the car to start to turn clockwise ohmy.gif sad.gif

Then remembered I had the newish Yellowstuff on the rears!

Hence the better braking and causing to lock before the fronts.

But it shouldn't be unbalanced on the fronts.

This is what was coming up on the MOT.

So decided to swap the standard pads over today to the Yellowstuff for Silverstone.

Took the car for a run to bed the front pads in.

Much better, rears only just locked on hard braking and after a good run yesterday plus re-bleeding the fronts seemed alot more balanced.

Sure the tyres will play a part as they not the same all round, make and tread depth.

Will see how Silverstone goes with the R888s on hopefully, not sure if will use ABS yet.

Will put another post up about best way for checking brake balance.

Also looked at putting the bucket seat I got months ago.

Will have a look at this next weekend if I have time as I have a base frame and a seat. Just need to fit the seat to the frame then install.

Would like to fit similar to Nige's etc as a fixed postition onto 2 bars lowering the height plus saving weight as the base plus buckt is about the same as the standard fitted seat.

Other jobs to do are to fit a kill switch,fit front strut brace and replace front top mount at some point.

Got the strut brace, just need to source a kill switch.. any suggestions?

Oh and also replaced a bulb on the heater controls so I can now see them at night biggrin.gif

May 5th 2009

Spent Saturday getting the seat ready for the Silverstone track day.

Original seat in position

New seat base

The way to make the two fit!

"L" shaped for strength.

Cutting and fixing the strips.

Completed seat base

Seat out

Base fixed to the seat

Then as I test fitted I found the left hand harness was too short to fix to an older fixing we had made.

I need to reposition the eye bolt, been using one fitted to the original seat so far.

As I didn't want to mess around with something last minute I left the original standard seat in for the Monday.

I will reposition the eye bolt and get the seat fitted shortly.

[IanH26 0]

As for the track day itself the car ran brilliantly, really pleased with it smile011.gif

The brakes were a great improvement from the 280mm setup.

Suspension was a little soft but very progressive and predictable.

Power was good, sounded great

Oil temps seemed good and water temps very good.

Many thanks to Louise, Gary for these photos so far.

Jobs to finish:

Fix seat/harness

Fit front strut brace

Some jobs to look at next, when I have some money:

Fit a oil pressure gauge

Fit a battery cut off switch

Need to look at fitting a bias valve to shift the balance to the front.

Save up for some coilovers

Fit a race battery

Nige quote: Went really well at Silverstone thumb.gif

Ian, is the angle you`ve fitted for the new seat aluminium or steel ? if it is aluminium, isn`t it a bit weak between where it bolts to the old subframe and the new mounting points for the seat huh.gif

Me:

Hi Nige, yes it is Aluminium but used large steel washers either side of the bolt.

The seat actually rests on the bolt head attaching the supports to the base and overall seems to be very solid but will find out shortly no doubt.

Was trying to save on the weight as the seat bases are already very heavy construction.

May still go for removing the Pax seat and just fix the bucket in there instead like you have.

Got these on order after Monday, as was having problems with the blades lifting at speed and not clearing a drop off the screen during the drizzle we had. Not confidence inspiring at 120mph biggrin.gif

Hopefully will help reduce lift, but may also look at using some rainx as discussed with Duncan wink.gif

Will fit them over the weekend.

[IanH26 0]

May 9th 2009

Last week as I wanted to set off to Silverstone the drivers door wouldn't open.

It had started to play up a few times but this time its not opening at all.

The outside handle works ok as does the inside door release.

I can lock and unlock the car ok.

I guess the mechanism has gone inside the door assembly but I can't open the door to remove it HELP!!!

May 17th 2009

Decided to order a replacement off ebay as presumed the reason for not opening was it was fooked. Had previously had issues with it sticking more and more over the last year until finally it stuck completely angry.gif

After a bit of persuasion I managed to get to the inner mechanism and release the door, which isn't easy as it was quite tight and surround by some sharp edges.

This also meant is was not really usable again a_whistle.gif

Old one removed...

Where it came from...

New one in comparison...

Refitting was straight forward.

The old mechanism was broken, but all works again and the door opens and closes as it should now smile011.gif

So no more climbing over seats or Dukes of Hazard style window entrances biggrin.gif

Also means I can get out quickly should the need arise.

Following Silverstone the other week and some issues with s slight brake imbalance I decided to bleed the front brakes.

While doing this I gave the suspension etc a quick check over.

Only thing was that the ARB droplink bolt had come slightly lose where it bolts to the ARB. Tightened it up and will .

[IanH26 0]

May 17th 2009

Due to issues at the Nurburgring about catches fitted the Arocatches today.

Old pin

Stencil

Outline marked

Test fit

Cut holes with a dremel

Catches fitted.

Just need to finish off final adjustment and clean the bonnet

May 28th 2009

These have arrived in the last few days...

May 29th 2009

Rear ARB fitted tonight thumb.gif

But it was a real PITA to get those clamps on angry.gif

Photos so far...

Took it for a quick drive to Badminton just to give it a run so can check its all ok.

Will check the clamps tomorrow to make sure they are tight wink.gif

Could tell a difference on the roundabouts but not sure if its psychological. Car seemed to turn in much better and hold the corners tighter th_dunno.gif

Be interesting to see what its like with the front done.

Bit apprehensive to start the front now before H4H's next weekend, thoughts??

If I snap a bolt I'm screwed as away all week.

[IanH26 0]

Front ARB fitted today smile011.gif

All bolts were thoroughly soaked with penetrating spray before attempting to loosen.

ARB released

Old and new

Took the opportunity to renew part of the rose jointed drop links.

Took the car for a run to bed the bars in, will check all bolts for tightness tomorrow.

Very happy with the result.

The car does feel more stable and had great fun on some roundabouts and some tight left hand bends.

Be interesting to see how it all goes next weekend at the H4H event wink.gif

[golfrabbit33 0]

proper

[IanH26 0]

Thanks, getting there with the thread to bring it up to date.

Ian

[IanH26 0]

Aug 14th 2009

Little update:

Following watching the 24hr at the Ring the other weekend I had an idea about helping to be safe on busy TF days, such as the upcoming couple of weekends.

Wired in a relay to help flash the headlights without taking my hands off the wheel, activated by flicking a switch. Won't use it all the time just when approaching cars with a suitable speed differential a_whistle.gif

Video link - http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a175/ianh26/?action=view&current=ed96b59e.flv

Last Saturday did Cadwell Park with Circuit days.

Had a great day and the Golf ran well all day except when Darren got in for some tuition biggrin.gif

Suddenly the car wouldn't idle at all, stalling if I didn't keep revving it.

It died a couple of times and wouldn't start again, unless I turned the fan overide off blink.gif (well it seemed to coincide with that)

Then it cleared up and came back again th_dunno.gif

The only time I have had that before is with the 200sx when the boost pipe came loose and it lost the vacuum.

The other issue was the car ran a bit hot towards the end of each session, with outside air temps around 26 degrees. Hottest was peaking at 130 oil temp on the DIS and around 105 water temp ohmy.gif

First Job was to check and I found one of the vacuum pipes had come loose.

Cleaned the pipe, re-fitted and re-crimped and all sorted.

Next Job was to fit cut out switch.

While I was at it I had been recommended to use some thicker battery cable to help with the cranking off the car as it was a bit slow. It also seemed to drain the battery if left for some time so it was easier to have switch rather than taking the lead off the battery each time. Put a new end terminal in the front of the car too.

Will take some pics tomorrow.

Noticed a difference straight away when turning the car over, instant response now thumb.gif

Tonight I replaced the thermostat for a lower temp one.

Removed the housing after draining the water and anti-freeze out.

Removed the old one, kept as a spare for later.

New one in place.

Put it all back together again with some sealant.

Topped up with just water at first to test for leaks and all seems ok so far.

Will run again tomorrow before putting the wetter-water in.

Tomorrow I am going to look at replcing the tie rod ends, lower ball joints and top mounts as they have been on the car for 2 years so won't hurt to replace.

Also going to check over all the brakes and suspension.

Got some 5w-40 oil off a mate so going to do an oil change as well as it got rather hot last week.

[IanH26 0]

Sept 4th 2009

Well after a fantastic holiday over the last 10 days at the Ring there are a few jobs that require doing.

Whilst there I joined the growing clique of outer CV splined shaft shearers blink.gif

We think that is due to the extreme pressures being exerted on the shaft and a failing bearing.

I managed to source a new one as the local scrappies were not use at all angry.gif

Capt Solo came to the rescue sourcing one at his motor factors (Big Thanks thumb.gif )

New part was fitted and car sorted to get us home but the bearing sounded horrible.

At the Eurotunnel check in I discovered another bearing issue from one of the drive belt pulleys. Thought it would last till home but alas no.

The next morning after staying at friends in Kent I left, got to the Dartford Tunnel and the tensioner wheel seized shearing the belt.

Pulled over, got recovered back to friends where I visited the local GSF and got a new belt and tensioner.

All working again we set off home again. This time I could hear what I think is the power steering pump whining. Part of the belt had wrapped itself the pulley when the old belt went.

Got home OK and yesterday started sorting the car out.

First job was to fit the new seat the Weeman had collected for me.

Cleaned the floor up a bit after removing the tar before the trip.

Stripped the power steering pump off to check but not sure once removed.

Ordered a replacement second hand one to see.

Next job was to remove the hub and look at the bearing.

I had got new lower ball joints and Tie rod ends before the trip so got round to fitting them both sides.

While I was at it I changed the rose jointed droplink design to a longer bolt as it had kept coming loose as the the nyloc couldn't seat fully, plus it helped the angle of the bar.

You can see the old one in the pic above.

Hopefully tomorrow I will get the hub back from my local VW specialist PSI Tuning in Stoke who are removing and re-pressing a new bearing and replacing the flange.

Next jobs to do....

Re-fit hub

Re-fit steering pump when it arrives

Move the oil cooler to first stage re-fitment place under the bumper

Sept 5th 2009

Got the hub back today with new flange and bearing fitted.

The old CV outer joint.

Re-fitted everything back.

Can't test it yet till I get the power steering sorted.

Next job was to sort out the oil cooler as I was still getting hot temps on the Ring.

After having a fun lap with another Golf out there with Nige we got talking to the guys.

They were running a 2.9 VR6 Turbo.

Apparently he only gets 108 deg max round the Ring.... blink.gif

We talked more and found out why... he runs two oil coolers in series, a 19 row initial one then a 12 row ohmy.gif

He also runs them in the front corners of the bumper rather than in front of the Radiator.

A few discussions lead to the agreement that by running the oil cooler next to and in front of the water rad may have lead to the water heating the oil cooler.

I tried moving the oil cooler to allow a gap between them but even though it made a small difference it still wasn't enough.

So I moved the cooler to a different location again today.

This time I have moved it to the front lower bumper with a clear airflow to the oil cooler and freeing up the water radiator.

So off with oil rad freeing up the water rad.

Drain the oil out...

The powder on the floor is special absorbent stuff for the steering fluid that pumped out as I turned the steering wheel with the pump disconnected a_whistle.gif

Test fit the new location..

Underside view...

Finished

Lets hope it helps improve things.

Next step will be to add a second cooler if not.

While fitting the pipes I started tracing some wires that were not connected to anything with an empty fuse holder. Had seen them before so decided to see what they were for.

I discovered a full alarm system in the glove box area that wasn't working.

As it was taking up valuable space and looked messy I removed it.

This is what came out...

And left a nice big space in the glove bow... ready for re-designing...

Finished the glove box today with some bits of perspex kicking around in the garage.

As they were spare bits its not meant to be a perfect finish just better than it used to be and will be replaced by a replacement glovebox at some point.

Removed some trim from the passenger door ready for the new panels soon to be fitted.

Gareth style door handle...

[IanH26 0]

Sept 6th 2009

Did a little bit more this afternoon.

Removed the heater blower tubes to the feet area as its not really needed and taking up space.

I mainly put the blowers on the screen or vents (as some will know from my recent trip to the Ring a_whistle.gif )

The blower still works but just blows out a single large tube now.

Cleared area

This left a small box exposed which also got pulled out...

It was the control box for the Airbags that got removed 2 years ago so no need for it.

Surprisingly heavy too.

Must clearer now, just need to remove the tar next.

Next job was to tidy up the switches, wires and steering column.

I have decided to replace them at some point for matching switches when money allows.

I have moved the starter button to the other switches and started tidying the wires up.

New switches to replace the old unmatched ones, looks tidier I think.

Sept 27th 2009

Got the replacement steering pump.

Fitted the old pulley.

Refitted to the car.

Replaced the steering fluid.

Tested the steering... OMG it feels so different as alot lighter now... must have been so fooked before.

Started making the templates for the door panels.

Some Aluminium plate courtesy of Simon thumb.gif

Finished cutting to a rough shape for the door.

Taped it in position, drilled some holes and screwed in place with self tapers.

Marked and drilled the hole for the door pull.

Cut a slot for the door release as want to be able to open the door from the inside but its not finished yet as not sure what to do with it.

Had a quick go at the checking the geometry setup using NigeP's method following replacing the hub bearing/flange as I was fairly sure I had got some toe in.

How to guide --> http://z8.invisionfree.com/Northloop/index.php?showtopic=13449

Instead of bricks I used two wheels at each end as I could secure the line and have full flexibility on slight movements.

Results were as expected, I have some toe in on both front wheels.

Reduced the toe in to a more neutral/ slight toe out setting ready for Anglesey.

Need to recheck the measurements in the next day or so.

Was going to replace the cat on the car to a de-cat to help the performance a little.

Ran into a few problems.

First couldn't get the old Lambda probe off.

Put the replacement de-cat on only to find was too short, later to find out it is for the later model vr6). Sorted this with a spare flexijoint.

After getting a replacement lambda I set about refitting everything only to find that the probe fouled on the underside of the exhaust tunnel angry.gif

So not only was the de-cat the wrong length but also a different angle on the probe.

So it will be sold on with the probe as I have now, de-cat'd the cat a_whistle.gif

Everything back together and working fine thumb.gif

[IanH26 0]

Oct 25th 2009

Checked the alignment after re-setting the other day to change the toe in to a more neutral/toe out setting.

Replaced the gearbox oil as a friend sorted some out for me (works for an oil company wink.gif )

Not sure, if or when it was last replaced so hopefully will be a good thing.

Re-filled using a home made filling tube.

Idea taken from Nige when he did his over the summer.

Treated myself to a new tool to help with the drain/filler plugs.

Decided to freshen up the roll cage harness bar as it was looking a bit messy and still in primer grey from when we put it in.

So from this..

To this...

Did another coat after the photo and it looks better in the metal as light was fading and was using my iphone.

Hopefully all ready for Anglesey now.

Anglesey went well except for another wheel bearing issue due to a nyloc wheel nut failure on the NSF.

[IanH26 0]

After a little discussion I ended up buying Dave G's mates Golf VR6 as a donor car due to having a few new parts on it.

This weekend it arrived back to my place.

It was bought off ebay for a trip to the Ring then after driving it soon realised that it need some work.

The following list are the parts upgraded/replaced:

>Spax RSX coilovers (new)

>Powerflex full poly bush kit (new)

>Eibach anti roll bars front and rear (new)

>new lower arms

>new drop links

>new lower ball joints

>new uprated engine mounts (all 3 )

>stainless 6 branch manifold

>stainless de-cat

>full exhaust

>Induction kit

>morrette twin head light conversion

>carbon fibre wing mirrors

>engine was checked over by my vw mechanic friend and had new chain, tensioner, water pump gaskets and plugs and leads

>2 sets of wheels ( one 17" one 15" )

So this is the donor car...

The carbon mirrors cool.gif

Quad Headlamps

Induction kit

Stainless 6 Branch

Exhaust

[IanH26 0]

Found out that the auxiliary water pump wasn't working so decided to find out why and fix it.

This circulates water round the head.

When I took it out it was completely gunged up and guess that had caused the motor to burn out.

Sourced a replacement.

Replacement one put back in and rewired as the power feed connector was different but it came with it so just a bit of soldering.

As I had to move the HT leads to get to the Aux pump I started the swapping process from the white one.

Out came the new 7mm HT leads from the white and put on the black one, and vice versa with the old.

[IanH26 0]

Feb 7th 2008

Decided to finally get round to doing the suspension swap.

Started on the rears first as these were meant to be easier to do.

undo the top nut

undo next nut

that's pretty much the top free biggrin.gif

Next undo the bottom bolt where the ARB is joined.

rears removed from the Black car - bye bye Gaz.

Spax Coilovers off the white car, one of the struts cleaned and the threads greased with motor bike chain lube.

bit different to the GAZ

Fitted to the Black car.

Refitted the Gaz to the White car.

Next was the Fonts which did prove to be a PITA to start with!

First of all I couldn't get the top nut loose as had tried to loosen previously.

Ordered one of these after seeing it recommended by BCA.

Unfortunately the VR6 strut is too wide for it to work with the srews. Tried some longer ones but still no joy.

Called in to local Kwik fit and asked nicely if they could help.

Guy got the airgun out and off they came, no charge! thumb.gif

Two bolts hold the strut in place on the hub. Those off and out it comes.

I had used pen oil on the white car overnight and charged my impact gun battery ready to try to release the top nuts.

Success with these!

Off with coilover, bit different to GAZ again!

Cleaned and threads greased as before.

New top mounts and bearings put on too.

Refitting is straight forward.

For the near side I had the issue of the hub bearing going when at Anglesey due to the hub nut coming free. It was a nyloc type. Its a common fault due to the rotation of the wheel and the not having directional threads on the drive shaft.

I have a spare hub bearing ready to go on but not sure of any other damage done, and following on from the summer with the issues then, I decided to swap the complete hub assembly over.

Its fairly straight forward as long as everything comes free.

Same for the black car.

When I went to move the shaft out the hub a bit of metal fell out. As I fully removed I saw where from and why it was making a noise!

The bearing had failed big time!

I refitted the hub and coilover to the Black car and finished that car off completely including putting a second hub nut on to lock the first one in place.

Didn't drive it as it was dark and needed to get some other stuff done.

Just need to finish refitting the GAZ to the white Golf once I have got the hub repaired.

Really pleased to have got this sorted ready for Rockingham.

Need to get the Geo done next.

Will look to sway the exhaust if time permits but its more of a nice to do than a need to do.

[IanH26 0]

Feb 14th 2009

Car booked in for Geo this Thursday with PSI in Stoke.

Going for 2degs negative on the front.

Not sure what to do with the Toe though, in or out???

While its in they are trying some new rear shims to give me some neg camber on the back. Going for 1deg at first to try them out. Only been doing them for a couple of months and not tried them on a track based car yet. Be interesting to see how it works.

Also done me a deal for a RR check to see how the engine is as never had one done on it.

Will also be removing and re-pressing the the bush on the hub for me

[IanH26 0]

Finally up to date!

Car back from PSI after having the Geo done.

Went for just over 2 degs negative camber and Toe in of I believe 2 mm.

The car was put on their rolling road, more for checking to see if there were any obvious issues, rather than to have willy waving competition

So here is the plot..

Quite pleased really with 186 BHP as its a stock engine with an induction kit and straight through exhaust.

Torque is good too with the level of around 186 Lb/ft and 160+ from 3500 revs.

Anybody following this thread will have seen that over time I have been concerned about the engine running quite hot.

After finding the aux water pump crudded up I suspect that the rad could also be not working optimally, even though I have previously flushed it.

So I have decided to swap the radiators over using the one from the donor white car.

At the same time removing the quad lights and sticking them on eBay.

Grill off.

Lights out.

Bumper off

Fluids drained

Radiator and slam panel removed.

Just need to remove the one from the Black car now and swap.

Other jobs include an oil/filter change.

Re-secure the seats as the runners have come a little loose.

[IanH26 0]

Update from March 2010

[blockquote]Continued with the radiator swap...

Front off the Black car

Rad etc off

Rad removed

This is the coolant from the Black car.... think it needs a flush.

This is the front bumper which I think will have some holes cut in them soon, but not before Rocky, for added air flow to the Rad.

Rads swapped over.

Front panel put back together.

Oil pipes re directed to the cooler.

Oil filter replaced and oil change done.

Everything bolted back up on the front panel.

Head lights put back.

Coolant topped up.

Engine started!!!!!!

Test run to ensure all OK and it was :thumb:

Might bleed the brakes before Rocky and do a coolant flush with some extra strong stuff from Holts unless people thinks its crap

If that doesn't sort it then its a second oil cooler.

Rockingham update

Can ran really well :veryhappy:

Hope to get some more pics up soon

This one taken by Matty Pinder

Suspension was a lot better. Had a slight rubbing on full lock. Gonna check the ride hide all round and raise it a little to see if that helps.

No over heating issues but it was cold. Will look to get the 2nd oil cooler for hot days.

Really need to get the pax seat replaced and get the drivers seat onto welded rails.

Kept spinning up the tyres in 2nd and 3rd bogged to much so going to look into getting a diff and final drive ratio changed.

Car passed its MOt today... after it failed last week on 3 issues.

Front tyres rubbing on the new coilovers, leak on the exhaust join and rear brake load sensor disconnected.

New 5mm spacers and slight adjustment sorted the tyres, exhasut putty sorted the join out on the exhaust and reconnected the load sensor on the rear brakes.

Steph called in to stay on Sunday night and brought me up a present of the spare oil cooler so I can try running 2 coolers to keep the temps at bay.

He recently had a nose around a VR6 race car than ran 2 so happy that is the right way to sort out the hot running.

To help with the road driving I have bought a thermostatic sandwich plate.

Tomorrow hopefully sees the arrival of the next big change to the car

[/blockquote]

[IanH26 0]

Update from June 2009

Gearbox was removed a few weeks ago using a very comprehensive guide on the VR6 OC (Many thanks Tony :thumb: )

Gearbox removal on VR6OC (have to be a premium member to view!!)

My car with clutch off

Flywheel was done by Martin Emment off ClugGTi

Returned it in a week and was very reasonable compared to buying one!

Contact him on ClubGTi if you want one doing :thumb:

Sent it away weighing 8kg, returned with it weighing 5.5kg, pretty good result I think.

The flywheel and clutch were refitted on Weds night with new flywheel bolts.

Last night I refitted the gearbox with Jude helping on the trolley jack (can't thank her enough as could not have done it without her :veryhappy: )

It was a real pig of a job but got it lifted and located eventually and bolted up.

Connected the the box and mounts up and got as far as the refitting the offside drive shaft (again with Jude's help).

Need to o the NS shaft and connect all the cooling and ignition stuff before its finished.

Finished getting the box back in and all connected up.

Only initial issue was the water housing on the side of the block that now dribbles water as the seal has gone (common problem.

D/S bolts all tightened up ( again with Judes help :thumb: )

Car was tested on Sunday and no apparent issues.

Felt quicker and the box felt smoother.

Car was then packed up ready for yesterday.

Went over to Anglesey on Tuesday night and car ran great.

On track the car felt a lot better with the diff helping getting power down earlier, although I did try pushing it.

Car seemed to pull better but checking some traces form when I did the International circuit looks like there wasn't much difference on the same sections :fish:

The box ran great all day.

Issues though were the water housing losing water.

Just before lunch the rear bearing went big time but thanks to Northloopers, Nige for parts, Ian Pye for helping diagnose initially, and Phil (stans mate) for helping to fit the replacement I was back on again for the start of the afternoon.

Came in on the last lap and the rad fans have stopped working so need to see if its the motor or another problem.

Usual running hot issues

Its ran at 96 deg C oil temp on way home and 65 deg C water temp on the motorway at 70mph ish.

Videos--> Following Nige for a bit

Following Andrew Stacey

Taken by Ian Pye yesterday on track