Therusterman

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I've seen the mk4 golf and bora badged with the vr6 logo in the US

Window regulator replacement fail
 
In short a total waste of time. The replacement part barely moved the window up or down. 
 
Someone's been here before-
 

 
Suspected reason for knocking noise I get when the window closes fully-
 

 
News parts, which were promptly repackaged and returned-
 

 
To be fair to Volksbits (who supplied the part) they emailed a return form and refunded the money with no quibbles, so they still get a thumbs up from me. The old regulator was refitted after the cables sprang apart from the reel they wind around, and It works well enough for the time being. 
 
On a positive note I was able to install some sound deadening material on the door skin-
 

 
Rear demister button
 
One little touch I preferred from old mk3's I've had was the round style demister button, found one on the 'bay for a couple of pounds-
 

 

 
Wonky exhaust
 
Noticed this becoming progressively worse over the past few weeks. The different parts of the exhaust need realigning and one of the hangers could do with replacing but one of the bolts holding it on has rounded off.
 

 
Because most of the joins on the exhaust have pretty much fused themselves together, trying to free them off lying on your back on the drive is no fun and impossible, unless your the hulk. Next option I'm considering is having an exhaust place refit the system and maybe fit a resonator after the catalytic converter as I'm getting tired of the drone at around 2k rpm.
 
Only other thing to mention is I finally have a working radio! Managed to track down another old skool Sony the same as the one I'm using where everything works, brings my total of cdx-c5000's up to 3 now.

the parts came in 

and head came back cleaned and skimmed ,checked valves ,springs etc...

and bought new rings ..... for the pistons which i had send to be inspected,.........
and after i inspected carefully the block (crankshaft etc.) then i started to paint the block
  i let it dry like 24 hours and then i painted it with the color i wanted
i did the same thing to the head also
and this is how she came out   
had the gasket in and ...........
after checking or replacing the guides i proceeded with the covers



she looks nice     

 
for now i'm done ,i'm gonna paint the trans and some other staff 

Pick your toys up mate, no need to throw them all out of the pram.
You've been offered a low mileage block and crank minus pistons and rods and people have said there's plenty of running engines on ebay for sale.
To be fair these cars have been knocking around for 20+ years now, not gonna be many low mileage ones out there, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Your best bet if you've got a fresh head and chains would be to get that low mileage block and crank off six appeal get some new pistons and rods and build it up and hey presto brand new engine or as near as your gonna get to a brand new one

Seems a reasonable price. Would need to find out what the service history is like as there could be a few big bills lurking, to name a few;
 
Timing chains+tensioners Clutch Cooling system overhaul Suspension; bushes, track rod ends etc Heater matrix maybe Double double check for rust. Popular areas are the sills, around the rubber bungs in the floor and of course the bottom of the front wings. Most of the above is ripe for replacing around the 100k mile mark

Seems a reasonable price. Would need to find out what the service history is like as there could be a few big bills lurking, to name a few;
 
Timing chains+tensioners Clutch Cooling system overhaul Suspension; bushes, track rod ends etc Heater matrix maybe Double double check for rust. Popular areas are the sills, around the rubber bungs in the floor and of course the bottom of the front wings. Most of the above is ripe for replacing around the 100k mile mark

From memory I just can't remember and my cars at home under a cover or I'd have a look. Ill google it for you.
The last one I did had a really random relay pattern, in such that it double clicked. Clicked to activate pump and instantly clicked again. From there the 12v bypass to pump top confirmed a duffer, and £60 later it purred like a kitten. That had been stood idle for nearly 2 years which in my experience is fatal for some components.
I've seen it no end of times in work, pull a wagon from the nettles, spend a fortune on it for test, and 3 hours up the motorway the turbo spits itself. The office don't seen to realise that I simply haven't got the time or the manpower to be recovering things that should of stayed in the bloody nettles.
Rant over, see how you get on. Think basics before the computerised bits, fuel and spark etc.

Leave it silver, will look fugly if it was all black.

6 Month service
 
Its getting close to 6 months now since I completed the last oil service. Since that time I've used a lot of the spare oil I had from the last oil service, requiring top-ups every couple of weeks. I don't think I'm burning much as I haven't seen any blue smoke. But I know I'm dropping oil from a persistent leak which I tried to eliminate back in May by replacing the oil cooler and seals.
 
My suspicion is that the leak is coming from the timing chain cover plate, which I was hoping was not the case but that area is always damp with oil, especially around the join of the two parts. So unfortunately the gearbox and clutch will be coming out again
 
I've got my next tour off work so I'll have a run of 12 days to get it all sorted (hopefully) and have started the obligatory parts haul. This has included new    
 
Flywheel bolts  Clutch pressure plate bolts G13 Coolant Clutch operating lever Drive shaft bolts Sump gasket Oil and oil filter  
The flywheel and pressure plate bolts have to replaced as a matter of course, and the drive shaft bolts I started to round some of the heads last time I refitted them, so opted for a new set. I also keep reading its a good idea the replace the clutch operating lever and at £11.43 for a genuine one I thought it would be rude not to. The clutch itself should be fine as its only got about 10,000 miles on it.
 
The sump gasket threw up a few queries. When I look at Vagcat it only lists one for engines up to number 255785 and to use a sealant after that. This is what I did when I had it off to replace a wishbone but wasn't convinced it would seal 100%. I've since spent more time looking into this and Elring list 2 sump gasket's one for models made between '92 and '93 then for models up to '97. I've already got one of these but neglected to fit it. The plan is to whip the sump off again and fit the gasket using a better sealant that I've found.
 
I'll also be inspecting the crank seal in case this is letting by any oil. Fingers crossed this will solve the oil leaks, and bring the oil consumption under control! 
 
Front splitter
 
Just to mention, touch wood it so far has been fine and hasn't split or come apart. But that said the car isn't low enough to cause many clearance issues.
 
Mot
 
Passed the mot back in September. Had a couple of advisories around some slight corrosion of the brake pipes at the front of the car and some corrosion on the hard lines for the power steering. I'll address these when I have the gearbox out.
 
For the mot I decided to remove the quad headlamp and go back to the original units. This turned into another massive pain in the arse because one of the adjusters had broken. I ordered a total of 3 replacement headlights, all of them having the same problem-broken adjusters. I understand this is becoming more of a problem as the plastic become old and brittle from the heat of the headlight bulb.
 
Eventually I found a headlight for sale locally which I collected as I didn't think the couriers chucking them around helped much. This turned out to be a after market reproduction anyway and the wrong side! It did however have part of the adjuster I needed and was able to rebuild it using bits of the broken one and finally had it fixed. At this time I also fitted some Oram Nightbreaker bulbs which were an improvement, but not as good as the HID's, shame these can't be used properly in the mk3 headlight.

Seems a reasonable price. Would need to find out what the service history is like as there could be a few big bills lurking, to name a few;
 
Timing chains+tensioners Clutch Cooling system overhaul Suspension; bushes, track rod ends etc Heater matrix maybe Double double check for rust. Popular areas are the sills, around the rubber bungs in the floor and of course the bottom of the front wings. Most of the above is ripe for replacing around the 100k mile mark

May be better saving a little longer and refurbishing another engine. If it were me, I'd be looking at how well the engine has been maintained over mileage. As Paceo said, it will benefit from a head refresh and chains, both of which would be worth doing as a matter of course as the engine will be apart.
 
As you said, its difficult to find low mileage engines for sale, and considering how old the mk3 is now you'll do well to find one imo.

Doh! Keep at it, turning into an interesting build.

Nice work refurbishing the pulleys and tracking down what bearings you need, must have been satisfying!
 
I've looked into getting the gearbox brace before, didn't know it was obsolete. Seems odd it was never fitted to Golf's despite the gearbox having the mounts for it. I've read its supposed to stop the gearbox twisting, will be interested to hear your feedback on whether it makes any difference.

Window regulator sticking
 
As long as I've had the car I can remember the drivers side front window sometimes stopping part way up. This has got gradually worse now, and despite lubricating the runners earlier in the year when I replaced the door cards the problem still persists. Added to this one of the clamps that hold the glass in place appear to be past their best and make a slight knock when the window is closed.
 
I've ordered a replacement regulator from VolkBits via eBay and expect it to be a simple fix. I'll also keep my eyes peeled for any broken clips on the door card as they tend to get fragile, especially in this cooler weather.
 
Suspension overhaul impressions
 
Now I've put a few miles on the new suspension, I can say I'm much happier with the Sachs shocks over the Bilstein B4's. The ride is still firm, but the damping is slightly softer on the Sachs units which I much prefer. Plus, the wheel alignment I had done has made the car a real pleasure to drive now, everything just feels right. And the icing on the cake is the rattle I was getting from the rear of the car has been silenced by the anti rattle tape I fitted to the parcel shelf supports-finally no more rattles! Just the beat of the AAA up front   

Seems a reasonable price. Would need to find out what the service history is like as there could be a few big bills lurking, to name a few;
 
Timing chains+tensioners Clutch Cooling system overhaul Suspension; bushes, track rod ends etc Heater matrix maybe Double double check for rust. Popular areas are the sills, around the rubber bungs in the floor and of course the bottom of the front wings. Most of the above is ripe for replacing around the 100k mile mark

Window regulator sticking
 
As long as I've had the car I can remember the drivers side front window sometimes stopping part way up. This has got gradually worse now, and despite lubricating the runners earlier in the year when I replaced the door cards the problem still persists. Added to this one of the clamps that hold the glass in place appear to be past their best and make a slight knock when the window is closed.
 
I've ordered a replacement regulator from VolkBits via eBay and expect it to be a simple fix. I'll also keep my eyes peeled for any broken clips on the door card as they tend to get fragile, especially in this cooler weather.
 
Suspension overhaul impressions
 
Now I've put a few miles on the new suspension, I can say I'm much happier with the Sachs shocks over the Bilstein B4's. The ride is still firm, but the damping is slightly softer on the Sachs units which I much prefer. Plus, the wheel alignment I had done has made the car a real pleasure to drive now, everything just feels right. And the icing on the cake is the rattle I was getting from the rear of the car has been silenced by the anti rattle tape I fitted to the parcel shelf supports-finally no more rattles! Just the beat of the AAA up front   

So on Thursday evening we got back to work and managed to get the crank bolted back on and all the new rods attached to the old pistons. We got 2 of the pistons back into the block and left it at that for the night.
 

 
Last night got back to work again but it has come to a stop as we managed to break one of the piston rings and not having any joy with getting some more quick so looks like I can't do nothing until next week now!

Well this just turned up
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Wheel alignment-done!
 
Had the car booked into a local firm called 'Wheels in Motion' who specialise in steering and suspension geometry. As per usual they have done a great job in bringing the alignment back within spec after I changed the shock absorbers. On that note, from the short drive I did today the Sachs struts appear more compliant with the road, so the drive to work tomorrow should go some way to confirming this.
 
Had the afternoon to myself and gave the Golf a wash and took this opportunity to get a layer of durable wax on;
 

 
One application usually lasts a couple of months so should help keep the winter salt at bay, and looking out tonight the rain water is beading nicely all over the car, better than the Meguiars NXT wax at least.
 
So that just about wraps up the suspension work, after battling with stuck nuts and wrong sized fittings I've got there in the end, hope the effort (and expense!) was worth it!

Shock absorbers replaced
 
Spent another day on the car and was much more successful compared to my last two attempts. I've spent the week getting some extra parts I needed and some new ideas how to approach the stuck nut on one of the front struts. 
 
Today started where I left off previously, working on the strut with the stubborn nut. Pulled the strut off the car and thought I'd try clamping a pair of mole grips around the strut to stop it spinning. This was enough to break the nut free  The other side came apart with no drama in comparison; had the strut off, transferred the spring and upper mount onto the new strut and had that side refitted in about 10 minutes.
 
Next up was the rear suspension. The problem I had when I previously tried to fit the new struts here was the different thread pitch on the upper part of the strut. I ordered some appropriate m10 x 1mm pitch nuts from eBay and a die which cleaned up the threads nicely after getting chewed up by forcing the wrong nut on. The fitting of the rear struts went smoothly and proceeded to get everything buttoned down nicely. 
 
When working at the back of the car I also located what I'm pretty sure was the source of an annoying knock I'd been getting over the past week. I thought it was the exhaust hitting the rear beam-which I pre-empted by ordering a new hanger. But, when removing the o/s/r wheel, all the wheel nuts were loose...I'd forgotten to torque them up when I tried doing the rear struts last week  Needless to say, I double checked all the wheel bolts with the torque wrench this time.
 
On the subject of wheels, I've waxed and fitted the winter wheels which are shod with some Nankang SV-2's and have performed well the past couple of winters for me. Thought it made sense do fit them now as the wheels were all coming off and the temperatures are dipping lower and lower either end of the day, which is when I do most of my driving.
 
Misc jobs
 
Had a few outstanding jobs to do, first of which included replacing the oil filter housing drain bolt+washer. The old one was pretty chewed up from over tightening;
 

 
It looks to be milled out of a single piece of aluminium billet, which I thought was nice. Anyway, new one was installed and torqued to 10nm and has stopped any leakage.
 
Another long term gripe I've had is from an annoying squeak coming from somewhere around the boot area. When I test drove the car after fitting the struts I left the parcel shelf out and this stopped the squeak which I'd usually get when going over small bumps/undulations. I'd already bought some anti-rattle tape and fitted some to the trim which the parcel shelf sits on;
 

 
I'll be taking the car to get the alignment readjusted tomorrow or Tuesday so will wait until then to see how effective its been. 

Wheel alignment-done!
 
Had the car booked into a local firm called 'Wheels in Motion' who specialise in steering and suspension geometry. As per usual they have done a great job in bringing the alignment back within spec after I changed the shock absorbers. On that note, from the short drive I did today the Sachs struts appear more compliant with the road, so the drive to work tomorrow should go some way to confirming this.
 
Had the afternoon to myself and gave the Golf a wash and took this opportunity to get a layer of durable wax on;
 

 
One application usually lasts a couple of months so should help keep the winter salt at bay, and looking out tonight the rain water is beading nicely all over the car, better than the Meguiars NXT wax at least.
 
So that just about wraps up the suspension work, after battling with stuck nuts and wrong sized fittings I've got there in the end, hope the effort (and expense!) was worth it!