dirk1978

So my GTI has done 132,000. It's 17 years old. Old wisdom is that it's 10,000 a year average. Nowawadays it's more like 12,000. So my car is still a fair bit below the average. But it's got too many miles to be collectable. What are my options? If I sell the car it'll be devaluing it compared to cars with maybe 50,000 less on but haven't gone over the magic 100k watermark in people's minds. But if I keep it and keep spending money to keep it working well, or improve it towards factory, is it worth doing that? Will it ever be worth it? Or when you get to 130k ish, will it always be a dead duck, even if the steering and suspension is replaced, the interior is perfect, the bodywork has no rust, and the engine has been rebuilt?

I was getting confused and my roofbox is the Thule Pacific 200 which is 410L https://www.thule.com/en/be/cargo-carrier/car-top-carrier/thule-pacific-m-_-631215 Probably won't be that different to the silver one above. That's got a maximum load of 50KG anyway. The roof box is 13 KG and the wing bars weigh almost nothing. I think I'd be OK with 37 KG in the box.

Thanks but I've already got most of the bits. Good finds. Thanks for the info. Looks about a metre to me. I might try the 500L roof box for a laugh.

Does anyone know the measurement between the feet or bars on the roof racks on Lupos? I've already got various bike racks and a 500L roof box and some 961 wing bars (apparently the right ones for Lupos?) but I need to get a foot pack and fitting kit. Just wondering if my Thule 500L box and bike carriers will fit.

Resurrecting this thread. Is it fairly safe to run without a tray for a week or so? Judging by the replies here some people run without them anyway? Isn't the aluminium sump a bit exposed?

I've put oil back in and a guy offered to tap it for me but it seems a waste to drive it there with new oil, drain it, tap it, new oil and it may need the sump off anyway. It isn't leaking now with oil in so I'll leave it to dry properly overnight and see what the leak is like in the morning then just book it in somewhere to helicoil it. Cheers for the help.

The sump doesn't look that difficult to get off to me? Looks like dropping the exhaust off, 2 gearbox bolts then a good number of bolts around the outside? There's maybe 2 long recessed bolts also? Now stuck wondering whether to just take the sump off now and get it sorted somewhere or leave it on, try to seal it enough to get it somewhere and let them sort it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/1sw9HZ2AX6Ju2ku49

I don't have access to anything 🙁 I've put some PTFE around the plug and used some instant gasket so I can at least drive it to a garage so they can retap it or whatever they do. Sumps look really difficult to source for the AVY?

Or rather, about the thread on the oil sump plug, not a thread about GTi oil sumps 😃 Anyway, just come to change my oil and as I was undoing my sump plug, bits of the sump thread were coming off with it. Then when putting it back on, it got to tightening it and it went very loose. Undone and pretty much the whole thread has disintegrated. Can anyone point me in the direction of where to source a sump? Or is there any way to do a magic fix (I doubt it I can't think of anything). Anyone else had this happen?

The camber looks much better. Not sure if this is already accepted as fact but the 3 bolts on the wishbone to balljoint are definitely camber adjustment. There's way too much movement for it not to be. I shoved mine all the way back when locking up.

Every time I work on cars I swear I'm never doing it again.

@Rich gave me some motivation to ignore my finger hanging half off and give it another go. After loads of perseverance with a c clamp managed to stop it spinning. Now just need 1 of those nuts. Cheers all.

I've tried loads of things to put pressure on it from above but the nyloc nut is just too stiff.

Cheers mate. Now to get the ends off 😖

And if anyone could answer quick I'd appreciate it. There's a thin metal plate wedged in the caliper piston. Is that part of the old brake pads or does it stay with the car? I've lost one. 🙁

The threaded bit of the track rod end is just turning anyway so looks like a new one, then might as well do both. Starline or lemforder? GTi isn't specific is it?

Front wishbone, rear bushes.

Great help guys thanks. Helped me get the next one off a lot easier. Has anyone got any idea where I can get a 19mm track end nut? I had to hacksaw one off when the spindle kept turning. I've got loads but not the correct pitch which is quite fine on this one. Left is a good one, right is one that doesn't fit.

Doing the discs, pads, ball joints and thought I'd put some polyflex rear wishbone bushes on. Crazy job. Those old bushes take some ****ting to get out. Then the new ones are a pain to get in.

Resurrecting this. I may as well swap my ball joints, one seems to be knocking a bit. There seems to be loads of places to buy this part now, is this right. Or is it still the stealers only? Any particular decent make or place to get them?

Hmm yeah they would have been

Morning all. The mechanic said that once he managed to get the tie rod nuts undone he was able to track it fine. Said it's all OK now. Got some new tyres on and it feels much better. These were the tyres that came off 😮

Sounds like the ball joint thing might be a goer TBH.

Thanks I'll mention it to him. Something I could do myself but it's at the garage now.

Sorry I didn't explain very well. The car is absolutely bog standard from the factory. Definitely no messing from anyone but perhaps the previous owner had track rod ends replaced with wrong ones accidentally? Anyway, when I say pointing outwards I meant they're toeing out. Ignore me saying the camber, that was a bit of an afterthought. It's toeing I'm talking about, left wheel wants to go left, right wheel wants to go right. Pure guess maybe 3-4 degrees out. Also - it clunks when turning and hitting a bump. So I think somethings broken somewhere. Hopefully it'll become apparent when the mechanic starts stripping it down. For reference, this is it. Camber looks OK on this pic though?