Sausage

Well, time to get a learnin' then. I'm sure there must be some good guides out there on the internet to gain an understanding. Just start with the basics and build up from there, knowing how things work will save you a fortune over time.

It wont be worth the effort and expense of having to pay someone to do the work to convert it, plus it will devalue your GTI as no one will want one with the weak 085 gearbox in it. Whats up with your GTI engine / box?

You are right it has been asked and answered many many many times over the years (but likely not millions of times though..) I know the answer and i could just type it in a few words, but then catch a man a fish and all that.... There is a button with the word SEARCH on it somewhere up yonder, it does work because i use it myself from time to time. This isnt one of those times.

True, but he's buggered off and not told us anything like enough info to be of much use. This reminds me, I need to get on sorting out my 14s as i didnt want to be running 15s in the first place ....

Injector 3 isnt happy, could need a clean (diesel purge or whatever) or it might need some mechanical intervention. Do a compression check. It could be worn cam lobe(s) or bearings. I would try and get the number of codes down though before fixating on the misfire too much. Get the MAF and the charge pressure out of the equation.

Torque the bolts up in that area, check the oil level and fill if needs be and just keep an eye on it. Unless it is losing enough to be a problem it wont be worth the effort of doing anything more.

I had some weight (50kg?) in the back of my lupo today and the rear standard arch rubs the tyre wall a bit. It would only need a bit of bending to sort it though. I might roll them, but i need to work out what i am doing with the car longer term 1st.

Lupo TDI is less common now then? 777 on the road 50 odd SORN.

Yeah clean that all off and around the selector seal and go a for drive and have a look see again. Although zooming that photo it is wet on the joint between the gearbox casings (end cover?), the bolts gets it worse as it is the lowest point. Have a look higher up the gearbox for any wet too.

That's quite a small leak so it could be a pin hole in the radiator, most will evaporate so you dont get a handy puddle to help you find it. A garage should be able to do proper tests to find it, pressure test, coolant and exhaust gas analysis. If not then you will have to do some sleuthing of your own to track it down.

if it was necessary then it would be there from the factory. The idea of insulating exhaust is to speed up flow and also keep under bonnet temps lower. The proper way is using ceramic coating but that is expensive so the poor mans choice is wrap. It's more of a statement these days "i haz performanz wrapz" than any cost effective benefit i reckon.

No, I'm Phil...

I run 195 50 15 at the mo as they came on the wheels, depends on offset and how low you are though. Mine are 7x15 and if i remember right my offset is 35 and i am dropped about 50mm.

if you cant see any obvious leaks then check the cap on the expansion tank for a good seal and also the carpets around the heater matrix and the exhaust for excessive white smoke (smell it for antifreeze) you'd probably have hard coolant pipes and bubbles in the expansion tank too if head gaskets going. Take the top of the cambelt cover off and have a good look at the water pump for drips too.

The tapping is probably your tappets (the name fits right) or also known as lifters, yours are hydraulic oil pressurised self adjusting things, so if they are tapping then they are not working properly, it's usually the oil holes in the tappet are blocked by carbon deposits from poor maintenance. There are treatments that can be put in the engine oil to free up a sticky tappet, (i've never tried them) or they can be removed, stripped down, washed and cleaned up to free up the oil holes and make them work again. An exhaust will do nothing to fix the problem.

I thought is was probably the bolts strength just before clicking submit reply lol, You wont be able to reuse them unless you have the suitable tool that fits them. Hammering on a suitable socket will probably be your quickest and cheapest option.

Those are RAD locks you could either try the company in germany and see if they can supply a key, (the 109 might be a key code) or else try a more basic approach of buying a removal tool for this or hammering on a close fitting bi-hex socket (you may have to dremel some key ways on it). http://www.radgmbh.com/eng_about.html

I dont think the effective surface area of the paper filter will be anything close to the actual surface area as it's tightly packed. I did rig up a test involving a vacuum cleaner, a restrictor and a carb balancer to measure air flow, the restrictor was to limit the airflow right down to the measurable range of the carb balancer which was 0-30 kg/h. I got it down to a steady 20 kg/h empty air filter case, the very dirty paper filter dropped it to 16, the k&n was 20 and so was the paper one when i had bashed it out and blown it off with air line. The low air flow required to get a reading didnt give any meaningful data as it was basically the equivalent of only low revs.

K&N is in, given the state of the paper one in the air filter case

What's left or missing? What year is the car? I'd be interested in a GTI more or less complete, engine / box unimportant as i want to do a diesel conversion.

Try this one then: http://workshop-manuals.com/volkswagen/polo-mk3/power_unit/4-cyl._injection_engine_(4-valve_roller_rocker_arm)_mechanics/engine_cylinder_head_valve_gear/servicing_valve_gear/

Polo info here (likely very similar): http://workshop-manuals.com/volkswagen/polo-mk3/power_unit/4-cyl._injection_engine_(4_valve)_mechanics/engine_cylinder_head_valve_gear/servicing_valve_gear/

Are these made to measure Honda specific wheels then as rota standard CB is 67.1mm (possibly)?

M14 x 1.5 with radius seat it looks like. Mk5 golf bolts.

I agree they are a rip off and the hype is quite likely just that, hype. Most research is biased anyway by whoever is set to gain from it, so all those glowing reviews and tests I take with a pinch of salt, same goes for the negatives. What cleaning and oiling kit? I make my own. I've only done about 400 miles in the lupo so i'll see what the score is when i take the filter off. Another consideration is flow rate, can the paper filter work at higher HP (think double)? Probably as it's a big filter, but i'd like the headroom.