mk2

Love it! Nice. The only thing that let's it down is that you have declare that it's an import. Bloody stupid rule. Insurance always costs a lot more and when or if you have a claim, they'll always give a much lower value. It sucks. Even when you have a SVA certificate (meaning the car complies with all uk/eu rules), it's always treated differently. I'd love to know why. Nice looking car. One of the best I've seen for sale for about 3 years now. If it were a UK spec car, I'd have already paid the money. 👍🏻

That aint right. The loom fuse should have popped. Burning red hot wires means at least 30A. The fuse is rated at 10. The ECU turns off output drivers at about 2.5A. The HT feeding back into the loom reminds me of a cluster i fried in a polo breadvan. Checking the plug leads, a spark jumped straight onto the rev counter feed; Dead instrument cluster.... d'oh.

Yeah, @imaparana is right. Same for me. A job I don't like doing... I use a pair of mole grips to grip the rack, with a piece of thick ali or copper sheet to avoid scratching it. Then a large adjustable on the ball end. It's not usually that tight. Just be careful you don't twist the rack, as it can damage the pinion gear if you try to rotate the rack against it. 👍🏻

The most time consuming (and therefore expensive) part is removing and replacing the box. If you can get the box out and take it to a place complete with a rebuild kit, they'll probably charge you just £50 (which is what I paid). It takes about an hour. They might even let you watch... I heard that "Mr clutch" charges £200 for a new clutch in a Lupo, complete with pressure plate, bearing and clutch plate. Which is worth doing once the thing is out. So "they" could pull it out, you could bring the gearbox round to your prearranged rebuilder, back to mr clutch. All good... maybe £250 all in, for another 10 years of trouble free, cheap motoring.

Nice! I also do mine once a year and then get a valet guy to wet wash everything inside and detail it (for £45). The resukt really does look like a brand new interior. And that's after nearly 20 years. Trouble is you don't want to use it once it's that clean!

Yeah reason for our Lupo boxes going I think we discussed in detail further up this thread or in the pedal box one. From memory, this was done at about 100k miles a couple of years back. It was working perfectly, with no noises, perfect changes- basically like a new gearbox. Oil was down a little when I first bought the car, but only by about 1/2 a litre. I did a full flush and refill after getting it and posted the residue photos on here. Look further back. A fair bit of brass in the oil, which suggested that there was a possibility of bits getting jammed in the rollers (bearings). The photos speak for themselves I guess! All my Lupo gearboxes were pretty much in the same state- at average 105k miles. After the rebuild, there was no noticable change. Exactly like before, but now with nice new bearings (and clutch, which had lots of life still in it). SDI 085 boxes are so difficult to find, I'd decided it was worth the money to be safe. I've seen so many SDIs get written off because their gearbox had gone and they simply couldn't source a replacement (for a reasonable price). After all, they were originally designed to work with 40hp power from the old Polo (VW Derby).

Just had a thought... in one of the measuring blocks, you can see the % throttle applied when you put you foot on the pedal. Do you get 0-100%? If it's intermittantly 0 then a value, it could be that the voltage on the power rail to the sensor is dodgy. Most common cause is fuse/relay or a plug. This is an unusual fault...

Ok, the biggest problem you'll have is the width between the two front crash (chassis) members. So I'd start with the gearbox - maybe the TDI box (same as polo)? It has cables and can handle decent torque. And has a big clutch. So then you'll need to find an engine with different sump / oil pickup and valve cover options, as the engine will be tilted at a different angle to usual. The rest is up to you. See if you can find a crossflow euro 3 emissions based engine, as you'll be able to tune it to a higher level. welcome to club lupo!

Yeah, could be a temp sensor also. Should be around 15-20 when cold first thing in the morning. From memory, there are two temp sensors- they should provide the same reading when cold. Ah, just thought- it might be a power bus fault- often caused by a dodgy power relay (that provides engine loom power). Or even ignition switch - also a common fault. You'll need a voltmeter for that.

Here's a small selection of the 75 pics I took! The tricky bits are removing/reassembling the selector/reverse mech and 5th. And the inner/outer bearing sleeves. I still don't get it after he explained it to me at at length (the selector mech bit).

I completely forgot about this thread. On my last box refurb (I don't have the tools to do it), I asked if I could hang around and take pics while they were working. I'll post them when I have a mo. It shows the most common failure point, and the parts that are in most need of refurb. Bearings...

still taxed and has an MOT according to .gov

yeah leave the loom alone. rewire the cluster. Means you can swap Lupo lights back in again later... :)

Most vdubs of that era have the exact same. Golfs, Boras, Passats... loads on Ebay. Still used on new vdubs in China, so yeah they're still making some sort of equivalent flavour that is a perfect replacement. Go for the clear type and use a metallic silvered amber bulb for the coolest looks

Nah, I hate to say it, but there must be a fault. My guess is it's running lean- possibly caused by a dodgy temp sensor. The only thing you should notice is with a lower octane fuel is lower power at WOT and slight knocking. Higher octane fuel burns slower at a specific compression pressure, developing high combustion pressure later in the cycle (think crank pedal being horizontal - instead of at a slight angle- on a bicycle gives max push for a given pressure). The additional of ethanol actually improves octane rating and slows down the burn. The only thing that it's not good for are copper or zinc metal alloy based components, once the fuel goes stale (it becomes acidic).

It's a fairly standard filter that fits loads of cars... The only things to watch are the direction the hose connections face and the total length of the filter. You can get different length filters- they all will work perfectly. I'm pretty sure it's the same as polo, golf, passat and bora of that age. But they last a 'very' long time (lifetime). I wouldn't mess with it unless you think it's blocked. And when you do change it, it's worth changing the two little 'O' rings on the one way valve that clips into the filter. Smear some silicone grease on them first

Check your crank sensor. Unlikely, but one of the most common causes for engines to sputter and die is a dodgy crank sensor. But ultimately, it's either no fuel or no spark. The symptoms sound like fuel starvation, but I don't think it is.

If it is the pedal sensor, it might simply be a loose plug...? I'm pretty sure ALL Lupos and Arosas are drive by wire, as in there's no physical link between the engine and the pedal. (ok, i think there were a few early skoda factory versions that have a regular cable throttle). The throttle pedal (accelerator) sensor is above the pedal box and IS a right pain to get to.

I can lend you a pair of rear springs from one of mine just for MOT day. I'm in the process of getting them sand blasted and powdercoated. Quick job popping them in or out. The best place for Lupo replacement bits is from https://www.qp24.de/de/ but they told me they've stopped selling to the UK, which is annoying. However, you know someone in Germany... (I need a few bits)

Whoever buys this car (assuming nothing in the deal is split), if you want to sell me the worst rims, I know a place that can do them up for £30 a pop. Please PM me... I've been looking for a set for a while now. Also there are a few people on here desperate for front headlights (can't remember who), but they do go for very good money as no-one stocks them anymore. I reckon that repair to the wing and door would be about £500 all in- at a 'decent' body shop. Selling all the extra bits would cover it This sale should go to sealed bids...!

¡Qué sorpresa! ¡Buen trabajo! Muéstranos más fotos mientras lo vuelves a armar. 👍🏻

I'm interested in the spare set of rims/wheels... could come round and pay cash? Got any pics by chance?

Split all the parts from the car you will... (Yoda). Much more money you will get. Many more people happy you will make

Fotos?

In case anyone missed it... (by the way, this is the average age of the core design team in car companies!)