Lupo-dreams

Interesting Arosa you have there, like it. I pass a parked up Mk1 Arosa every day on my way to work - but yeah, a pretty rare sight nowadays. Are those 14'' Sport Rader alloys? I've got some to put on mine, but they're well tatty (still silver), I might just do what you've done and paint them black! Thanks for the idea. Don't suppose you've got a couple of spare centre caps to flog do ya? For some reason two of mine are too small. Worth a try

Originally from Scarborough, but I live in Pickering, and work 13 miles from Thirsk. Big-up the MOJO posse!

Cracking first car! Get some pics up

Nice touches there, all on my 'want' list! I have your car's relative by the way...mine is also an S spec Lupo with reg Y2** MJO...and I call mine Mojo too. Ha ha. Funnily enough I'm only down the road in North Yorkshire. Where is the new stereo from, I like!

Interesting about this 'magic button'...will bear it in mind. I get 430 miles out of 28-29 litres (I don't go into the reserve). That makes it 67-70mpg. Well impressed, as it's not all easy going on my roads to work. I'm willing to forgive the limited power of the engine for that kind of return...I still love the quality feel of the drive and it keeps up with everyone else, so that'll do. Although, it makes my 1.6d Mk1 Golf feel like a turbo'd rocket! Would love a 45 litre tank though, like most other cars have...less visits to the pump. Hey ho

A Mk3 1.9 TDI would be coded AHU or 1Z (90hp engines). Don't know about the gearbox though!

Photos always help, especially if someone's not confident or experienced with dismantling things. But for me the text was enough to get the job done.

The Lupo 3L has a 1.2 (61 hp) TDI engine, the 'normal' TDIs are a 1.4 (75hp) engine. Like Lupo3L is saying, a lot of the body parts and materials used to make them are different on the 3L to make it lighter with better aerodynamics. It has a tiptronic gearbox and automatic engine start/stop system too I think.

It's deffo come off my car as it wasn't there before I parked up and appeared as I backed away. Jacking it up at the n/s/f corner in the meantime is a major suspect for dislodging this little bar steward. I've checked the rest of the underside of the car and all the rubber bungs of the floor seem to be there and are little round ones, nothing like this bulky thing. Does 'AVR 8.8' ring any bells with anyone? Whatever was pushed into the round recess must've said that on it's head, 'cos it's imprinted in there backwards. You can also see a discoloured patch around the hole in a bell sort of shape. Maybe it's a vibration rubber out of the engine bay somewhere?

Not off jack or axle stands, no, good thinking though. It's doing my head in now. I've been looking through some exploded diagrams of the suspension on Vagcat and can't see anything like it there. I'm hoping it's nothing important, but it was there for a reason so I'd prefer it to go back from whence it came! Car drives fine without it so far, but it's playing on my mind now. Arrrghhh...

Thanks for the reply, but I can't see where it's come from if it's from around the bootlid area. I've already got little rubber stoppers around the boot frame. This rubber thing I've got is a pretty heavy block of rubber, about 3x3x1 inches. It says AVR 8.8 in a circle on the recessed bit (it's written backwards, so must be an imprint of what was sat in it?). My main concern is that it's from the suspension or something because I jacked the front side of the car up just before I found it on the floor. Had a really good look around the suspension and all over the underdside of the car and can't see where it might have come from.

I jacked my car up to change a wheel and this morning as I backed off the drive I saw this rubber thing where my car had been. I've photographed it next to a pen. It's flat on one side and has a round recess on the other. I presume it's 'popped' off or fallen out of wherever it was when the car was jacked up. I can't see any obvious location when I look under the car. Just wondered if anyone knows where it goes, it would help a lot. Thanks.

A 51 plate tdi will only be £30 a year road tax. I think my VW SDI is a group 7 insurance, so I can believe a tdi would be a bit higher on insurance (more power etc). But I've heard conflicting stuff too, like that they are actually group 4E! The best way would be to get the reg number of the car you're interested in and use it to get some insurance quotes. It will definitely have power steering. Fuel economy is the same as the 1.7 SDI, up to 70mpg in the right conditions/with the right kind of driving.

Hi, Fine choice of car. Was looking at those myself but didn't have enough funds. Should serve you well. Get some pics up.

I had the same window problem as you (click but no movement). A £5 can of Lithium grease spray sorted it straight away for me, so well worth a try. Below is the guide I used. If you've got it all stripped already you're nearly there and can start at number 9... 1/ remove door top trim by prising of the interior handle cover using a flat bladed screwdriver inserted at the small gap at the bottom of the handle cover. Then remove the two crosshead screws. Carefully pull the trim panel away from the door. Some of the plastic clips may break. Release the door lock cable and unplug the wiring for the warning light (on driver’s side). Tear off the grey interior waterproof cover. These are no longer available from VW so can be replaced with a sheet of plastic stuck on with silicone. Unplug the wiring for the electric window switch and door lock. 2/ remove lower door panel by undoing the 4 screws at the bottom of the panel and carefully pull away by pulling out at the sides and then lifting up to clear the top fixings. Remove grey interior cover as above 3/ undo the 10mm bolts holding the motor in place (2-3). Undo the 10 mm bolts at the bottom and top of the regulator arms (2 for each arm). Note one of these has a spacer that may fall into the bottom of the door. 4/ Take a 10mm spanner and reach up inside the door and loosen the bolts on the clamps holding the bottom of the glass. This is very awkward. I managed to pull the window and regulator arms down a cm or two which allowed slightly easier access. On the left bolt I could even get a mini ratchet and socket on it, which helped. 5/ Place a piece of cloth on the top of the door and then putting strong duck tape from one side of the glass, over the top of the door (and cloth) and stick onto the other side of the glass. Use at least 2 pieces of tape. This is to stop the glass falling and breaking once motor has been removed. 6/ The regulator arm can be gently pulled down and towards each other. With some gentle manipulation this will allow for the clamps to come away from the glass, leaving the glass in place - held by the duck tape 7/ Everything is now free except for the wiring to the actual motor. It is possible to remove this connector without removing the door speaker but just not worth the effort. Use an electric drill on the 4 rivets holding the speaker, unplug and move out of the way. The multi plug connector is used for cars that have the one touch up and down option. A two pin connector is used for those cars that do not have this feature. The connector is held in place by a plastic clip that needs to be pressed to release. 8/ Now everything should be released and the motor, complete with regulator, can be eased out of the space at the bottom of the door. 9/ Place the complete unit onto a clean surface. The motor has a metal fixing bracket on one side. Place with the other side up and remove the 5 crosshead screws from the plastic cover. Gently ease off the plastic cover but do not fully remove. Inside you will see the metal cable wound around a plastic spindle. Spray plenty of grease into this area. I used a spray lithium grease from Halfords. Refit cover and tighten 10 / spray all of the wheels around the regulator and spray into the area where the cables enter the spindle area mentioned above. Also spray the metal frame of the regulator where the glass clamps slide up and down. 11/ Carefully plug the wiring loom into the motor and plug the wiring back into the window switch. Switch on the ignition and try the switch to ensure that the motor now moves the regulator. Switch off the ignition and remove the wiring connector. 12/ refit the regulator and motor. Refit the bolts remembering the spacer. Reconnect the switch. Switch on ignition again and move the regulator to half open position. 13/ Now carefully remove the duck tape from the glass and lower the glass gently into the clamps. With the window in the half open position you can then easily retighten the clamps. 14/ Use the button to lower the window completely. Now spray silicone lubricant (also available from Halfords) on the 3 surfaces of the window opening to ensure that the glass does not stick against the door felts when in the closed position. 15/ Refit your speaker with a rivet gun or other suitable fixings. Refit door cards and job is done

I've only heard about a couple of quite common problems with Lupos. Electric windows failing, side doors sagging because they're so long and heavy on the hinges, and pedal box clutch problems. I've only experienced the electric windows failing...in my case it was just the window regulators and cables had seized up and needed re-greasing (DIY job costs about £5 for some lithium spray grease). I think the clutch/pedal box issues could be more on the older models pre-2000 ish I'm not sure, I've certainly had no such issues at all (mine's a 2001). Have a look around the forum for info. If you test drive a Lupo, I would just check it doesn't have : the clutch pedal sitting lower than brake pedal, stiff gear change, crunching into reverse, hard to engage first, clunky when moving 5th to 4th, 3rd to 2nd or a very low bite point. As far as corrosion goes, I think you don't have much to worry about compared to a Ford Ka. Even the oldest Lupos should be solid. Although, have a look at the roof as some develop strange rust patches in the gutter area, could be easily missed. I think this is very rare though? If I didn't do too many miles I'd get the 1.4 petrol model, nice balance of power and economy. I hear the 1.0 petrol doesn't like very cold mornings, could be a myth. I think it's safe to say the only way is up from a Ford Ka though! Good luck with your search.

I'd say so, yes. It says it's multi pin for the 'one touch' system so should be spot on for a Lupo S.

Hi Kenny....get a thread up in the Cars/projects section, would be good to see what you're up to with it.

Good choice! I think that's a good price too. Nice first car!

Welcome back to VW! I agree, a 2001 Lupo feels so much younger than it is. Would've got a black one too if I could, good choice.

Big-up the Dubchick posse!

I think Lupo 'S' spec needs multi pin because it has the 'one touch' up/down function. This guide may be helpful if you're removing/refitting it all yourself or want to try the lithium greasing as a last resort before you spend money on new parts? http://forums.clublupo.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=85980

I used this guide : http://forums.clublupo.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=85980 To get to the clamp bolts, all you can do is undo all the other bolts for the regulator arms and motor, then pull it all down including glass(pushing the bottom of the reg arms towards eachother). You can only gain an inch. I managed to get a spanner on one and a mini ratchet/socket on the other. The nuts are sunken into the clamp too just to pee you off more. You just need patience and small hands!

I had the same thing (switch clicks but no movement on either window, no matter what you do to help it). I did this whole procedure in the link and hey presto as soon as reassembled they work fine! Worth a try before spending money on motors and switches as the lithium spray grease is £5. Mine were stuck in the up position but it's still possible to get a spanner or mini socket on the regulator clamps with patience (you can drag the window and regulators down an inch once the motor and reg bolts are off, so this allows slightly better access to the clamp bolts. http://forums.clublu...showtopic=85980

Ahh, gotcha, thanks. No I haven't PM'd anyone...I was just gonna add some more constructive info because I've sonce done the work described in the 'how to' post myself.