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Hello guys, Just wondering is anybody else has suffered from a leaky fuel tank on their GTI? I noticed that mine started stinking of fuel last weekend. Sure enough there is fuel on the outside of the tank, so the car is now off the road I've no idea how the hell it happened, but needless to say tanks are 158+VAT at my local supplier. Has anybody done a tank replacement on one of these? Anything to look out for? Best, Alex

UPDATE: Well having received a replacement fan relay #1J0919506K I set about changing it, only to find a 1J0919506Q on the car. I've tried both relays and in both cases the compressor kick in just fine because I can see it engage/disengage. However: - the radiator fan doesn't cut in at any point. - the aircon is never cold (not even a little bit) Can somebody with a GTI confirm if their rad fan spins when the aircon is on? This is getting a bit tiresome For what its worth I can't ever seem to get my rad fan to come on, even after a thrash up the motorway, then letting it sitting stationary in a carpark with some throttle input. The temp gauge sits at perfectly half and never goes any higher...

Ordering a new 1J0 919 50K "fan control relay" then... whats the worst that can happen Good to hear your views. I'm going to look into it maybe later in the year.

I did indeed check the fan while the air con was "running". Might take a punt at this ominous fan control relay then What I find odd is that I'm sure the rad fan kicks in when the car gets warm... maybe not!!! OT: How did the Cooper S compare to the loop? I've been tempted before... would expect the S to be quicker etc... but is it more fun? (an older super charged one seems to be about Lupo money these days). I kinda love the little VW for its looks and quirky character.

Cheers Defcon! What I've done since collecting the car... - checked fuse tray (7.5A fuse is fine) - compressor clutch engages as expected When you say fan do you mean the radiator fan? ...I'm a little confused. The fan in the engine compartment doesn't run when the air conditioning is turned on. The interior fan works just fine, its blowing lovely warm air at me

..well that was short lived. The garage now suspect the fan control relay, but according to the parts place these don't have anything to do with the AC compressor? Part code is: 1J0 919 506 K Does anybody know where I can find a wiring diagram? I've knocked it on the head for now. Contrary to what they said yesterday, I now owe £420 for no result. meh! Due to the location of this relay I wonder if I've splashed it with screen wash at some point, which has caused a fault.

Thanks danoid. It seems odd that its now engaging the compressor, but then cutting out. Presumably the pressure switch tells the compressor when it needs to start/stop to keep pressure in the system? (my understanding of the system is only basic). Also one assumes that the pressure switch cannot be changed without another gas change...?

Hello gang! What with the weather getting warmer, I thought trying to use the air con on my loop! To my dismay I found that it wasn't cold at all, so I took it for a re-gas at a local Volksline. Unfortunately their technician found that the compressor wasn't working, and after some deliberation I gave them the go-ahead for a replacement - quoted £410 for the lot. Fast forward to the end of the day, the report is that its now running cold, but only for 30 seconds Now to the garages credit they've said they won't charge for the compressor or the labour because the problem isn't resolved. What I'm left wondering is if there are any known electrical issues with air conditioning on these. I guess its a shot in the dark, but I figured somebody on here might have come across it before... just maybe.

OK I was being a complete dumb ass. I simply pulled the tensioner towards me by sticking a ring spanner over the bolt that holds it to the bracket. Belt came off really easy

Hi guys, Can anybody give me a quick pointer on how to back the tensioner off so the aux belt is slack enough to remove? Its quite tight down that side of the engine bay, I'm struggling to see what I'm looking at. Thanks

Well this is the thing! For what I paid for it the car was in great nick (body work wise) and they refurbished the wheels etc. It drove lovely on the test drive so it seemed like 'the one'.However, then it gets sticky. Apparently the belt and pump kit were replaced before it was taken part ex at the dealer. It was one of those situations where I was told there was proof of work in my paperwork (garage knew the previous owner), however when I came to collect from PDI... of course its not there! I kicked up a fuss, but the bottom line was that they knew I'd be going home on the train, so I took it begrudgingly :/ In their defence there were gates boxes from a Lupo gti belt kit in the boot.. sooo I don't know anymore. I guess I'll just end up buying the kit, timing tools and a pump so it doesn't cause me a heap of expense. I had a quick look under the cover and the gates logo was pretty damn fresh, but its no guarantee. Furthermore the engines from these look to be rare on a good day!

Thanks for the reply dude. I don't have a manual for this, but assuming the aux belt is self tensioning? It looks like a case of support the engine, remove the mount, push the tensioner and pop the belt off. As for the gearbox, all I've really found online are suggestions that the 5 speed was poor, but the 6 speed box is generally considered to be a little more solid. Bloody cars eh! The silly thing cost me enough, I hope its not about to start turning into a problem car

Hi guys, A bit of a long shot, but I wanted to ask if anyone had come across either of these issues. I've had my GTI for around 6 months now and its developed a couple of strange noises. 1) From a cold start I've got an odd noise coming from the cambelt/aux end of the engine. This goes away when it gets properly hot on the motorway etc, but it is quite loud, particularly on a cold morning. It sounds to me like a dry idler/tensioner somewhere, but is hard to hear over the sound of the engine running faster. The car had its belt done when I bought it, so I hope its nothing on the cam belt side of things. So I guess I'm wondering if its common for the alt belt tensioner to go on these? Of course I can remove the aux belt at the weekend and turn it over to see if the sound is gone, but I guess it seemed worth asking around first. 2) In reverse I've got a pretty nasty sound when the wheels have a bit of a lock on. In a straight line there is no issue and the box is generally very smooth (BTW its a 6 speed). Are we reckoning a knackered drive shaft, or am I potentially looking at a poorly box here? To be honest I was hoping my days of owning cars with crappy gearboxes were over. The old pug used to really cause problems, so fingers crossed my Lupo isn't going to be a repeat situation. I've had plenty of cars in bits, but since I'll be doing this at kerbside motors, seemed worth asking the folks in the know Cheers

I hadn't even heard of that until now! We have aonther lupo in the household too, so that will no doubt come in handy. Cheers

haha, burglary capital! That made me laugh dude I'm from the area (Otley/Ilkley), so just back seeing friends and family. Miss the roads, specially' going over summerbridge way up past the golf balls. Little Lupo did alright on the drive up, much nicer than the car I just replaced it with. Brimmed the tank, only just managed 280 before the light came on - not sure if thats good or not?