mk2

Most likely the interior heater blower motor bearings... Common issue in vdubs. But it might be the radiator fan motor (less common).

What do you get from the various "measuring blocks" readings on VCDS? Need lots more info TBH. It's probably completely unrelated.

Ah, sorry. No. Forgot you're rebuilding after the, ahem, little mishap. What a pain. Deep respect. And using soldering sleeves. Doing it properly 👍🏻 I bet that front seat bolt mounting bracket gets annoying real fast.

Can you measure it? If there are 8, it might be instrument lighting, like door swicthes, mirror controls that sort of thing...

Yeah, that'd be excellent. If you document every step with pics, we can lock it into the how-to list... 👍🏻

A mk2? What is it?

Yeah, if you look at my "wax thread", I cut mine out with a grinder. Doesn't serve any purpose except to rust.

It's not usually the rack. Most common faults are the ball joints having worn out at the ends of the rack. They simply unscrew using a big pair of mole grips. Not a hard job. And the joints are cheap. If the rack is worn, you can usually tell because the power steering fluid level goes down - and if you loosen a rack end rubber bellows seal, the fluid drips out (that's when it IS terminal), although can be fixed with new seals (big job). Polo is the same, you're right. Welcome to club lupo pics of car?

Go for it... We'll help you.

Check for rusty sills and subframes. Everything else is easy....

I'll agree with that. I think we're one of the friendliest forums. Almost to the point of going off topic for all sorts of stuff. I'm on quite a few car forums, but this one has the best banter. I think it's because we have owners from a very wide background. Small car enthusiasts all the way to first car owners to "I need a really cheap car". And the Gti crew. And the "green team" with their 3L. Lots of different points of view, which you don't get on a Bentley or Maybach forum.

Yeah, the trifecta of you, @danno or @mscherryviolet always amused. I think you've calmed down a bit now @Rich. Even Ray allows all your posts these days... You need to meet a guy I know that is also a 6N2 wizard (he's also an MOT inspector/examiner). He has a rare 1.4 AMF and has properly GTi'd it. Very nice...

Clock spring swap is really easy. Obvious once the steering wheel is off. See pics in the indicator and wiper switch how-to. if you drove it home and the rear wheels turn ok, i know exactly what the problem is- The handbrake levers on the rear brake shoes each side sieze. The shoes will still be fine, and so are the drums I'd guess. A no cost fix. You need to takes the shoes off and clean them. Then you'll see a rivet which is used as a pivot for the handbrake lever- part of the shoe. Work it loose with some penetrating fluid until it is loose enough to flop about. Then clean again using some degreasing stuff and put a tiny drop of oil on that rivet/lever pivot. You'll have perfect brakes forever. I actually do it for brand new brake shoes. I suggest everyone cleans out the inlet plenum and ram tubes. There's another how-to... And block off EGR and divert the blow by gasses. The engine will run much cleaner. Also when you change the oil next, use CF4 grade oil (high detergent), as it keeps your diesel engine running way cleaner. I use 5W40 mannol extreme. Service the gearbox- change the oil after a run - drain it straight after stopping to flush any particles out. Or you can be dangerous and do it with the wheels turning (you get everything out then!). 3L of synth 75W90 GL4/5. Yeah, the alternator... i tried the brushes, but if you can measure any current coming out of the battery with the engine off (through the alternator cable connection), the one or more of the diodes inside has failed. That is what happened to me. I had to change it. Horrible, awful job. (They last about 200k km) I'm very impressed with your English for a Belgian. Better than mine! 👍🏻😎

Airbag issues are most commonly the little yellow plug on the back of the steering wheel or the clockspring unit (=the spiral wire assembly). You can also trick the airbag control module by placing a resistor across the two wires that lead to the airbag (and leave it disconnected!). I can't remember the value of the resistor, but I think it was 22ohms (I might be wrong- and VCDS will tell you if too high or too low again). It might be the airbag, but unlikely. Locked up (stuck?) drums are a pain to release. If you take the wheel off, you might be able to get to the auto adjuster pin thing to back them off. @Rich What do you think? There might be nothing wrong- just rust making the shoes stick to the drums. But you'll need new drums and shoes. And bleed the brakes when you've finished... Not a big job. And not expensive either. The alternator is probably the most difficult job on an SDI! It is easier to take the engine out... You have to remove it through the hole in the front, after releasing it. And releasing it is also tricky. You can see bolt details on the cambelt change how-to pics. The official way to get it out, it is to dismantle and remove the whole front of the car. If the rest of the car is good, I would keep it. Things like alternators, brakes and bearings are common things.

Oh bloodyhell noooo! I had a similar thing happen to me and one of my mk2s.... Not as bad as that though. Burned the rear seats. Cavity wax generally burns like kerosene, so I now always expect an ignition somewhere when welding waxed bits. I bet your heart sank when you sat back, staring and swearing. But not as bad as that team that set fire to the WW2 bomber they'd just rebuilt in the remote wilderness (in greenland?), and were about to fly out having just refuelled it. But OMG, that's going to be a pain to repair. Whole dash out I'd say. But one consolation, at least it is less effort than bodywork. And it's really a case of swapsies, which is relatively straight forward. I think it's also happened to @Rich and @danno in the past. Welcome to the set-fire-to-your-car club!