mk2

Dunno without seeing it.... Cleaning with something like brake and clutch cleaner fluid and a rag would take seconds, but most people don't bother cleaning it. It gets dirty again very quickly (with dry dust). Only reason I investigated the problem thoroughly is because I was curious to know why mine was so damned heavy- I thought that I'd either snap the cable or break the pedal box again! I originally suspected that one of the spring 'tines' (i think they're called or fingers?) had snapped causing the release bearing to function at an angle on the sleeve- leading to binding in exactly the way it does with gunge. Obviously in my case, absolutely nothing needed replacing, other than a really good clean. There was wear, but even a completely worn out clutch could never ever cause it to be heavy. But for good measure, while the box was out, I changed all the bearings, seals and syncro number 3. And cleaned the magnet and then flushed it properly. Smooth and light as' now . It needed it too.

Something that is rotating is my guess. Wheel? Tyre? CV joint? Half shaft balancing weight (if fitted)? Wheel bearing (again)?

I dunno if anyone has ever been so bored that they've sat on the forecourt watching the tanker driver doing his thing... They use the same hose to fill all the tanks. And when they get lazy, they don't bother to completely empty the hoses between fuel changes. Like 20m of 100mm tube sitting on the ground half filled with diesel, being emptied into the unleaded tank. Diesel is heavier than petrol so will sink to the bottom of the tank (yeah eventually it'll disperse). Fuel is sucked up from the very bottom of the forecourt tank, so there'll be a whole load of cr@p in there. I never ever refuel just after or during a tanker recharge... But your power problem might just be complete coincidence. Something may have fallen off during starting? oh, and welcome to club lupo!

Pic would help, but sounds a bit like a mk1 golf cable...? I recently refurbed the box on one of my SDIs and also had a very stiff or heavy clutch. I can conclusively say that the heaviness comes from friction between the guide sleeve and the release bearing. It looks like what happened was that gunge built up in the small gaps between the steel sleeve (attached to the gearbox with 3 bolts) and the inner plastic part of the releaser. ALL the clutch components were absolutely fine. Just gunge. The friction material dust from the clutch plate has to go somewhere, and if everything is nice and dry, it eventually gets blown out through gaps in the bellhousing. No problem. But what I'd noticed is that the primary input shaft seal, which is meant to keep the gear oil inside the gearbox, starts to weep very slightly as it gets old. The rotary action of the spinning shaft or maybe just capilary action allows a very small amount of oil to build up around the guide sleeve. Some of that oil makes its way between the sleeve and the releaser which naturally starts to collect clutch dust. Which then turns into really thick sticky gunge. The gunge has properties best described as very thick sticky toffee like tar, with fine grit in. Such a high viscosity substance between the sleeve and releaser simply jams the action, resulting in a heavy clutch. It doesn't help that the clutch release bearing lever that presses against the springs moves in an arc, which naturally tries to twist the release bearing when you put your foot on it. When you release, it gets pushed straight back by the springs, so engaging is not a problem- only releasing... so my guess is that fine metal in your gearbox oil has worn the seal, which is weeping, collecting dust and causing the releaser to be sticky.

Welcome to CL! yeah, the auto box needs regular maintenance, just like the engine. All auto boxes do. Every 20k miles minimum. I'd suggest a full fluid change along with the internal oil filter and magnet clean. And as well as the fluid, you could change the oil in the diff section (and magnet clean), which everyone forgets. I bet it's never had its filter or fluids changed... noise= damage no drive= low fluid quiet= all good.

I'd return it and use the old one which still looks like new..... then go down the local for a curry and a cold beer with the money you just saved I bet the old clutch and releaser are also still good.

Unusual, but fine I'd say. Probably some odd way to make sure it's assembled the right way in the factory. Or maybe for balancing?

Looks ok to me. That pressure plate is still servicable by the looks of things. Just a new friction plate?

If the handbrake works evenly both sides no problem. Oh, and check there's no binding on each side (check the back wheels spin freely when jacked up).

You can test the pedal box to gearbox link system by placing a piece of wood or similar between the cable flange and the clutch lever on the gearbox- in effect preventing the cable from moving. Then press on the clutch pedal. It should be rock solid, as in no movement other than the cable flexing a bit. If it moves more than a few mm or goes to the floor, it is 100% broken.

They're just standard metric bolts. Can't see the grade on the back, but I suspect 8.8? Ebay's your best bet. M8 by some 25mm length I'd guess. And washers and shouldered bolts.

Yeah already fixed. Seam welded five 2mm thick plates all over, all nicely shaped to fit perfectly. Can hardly tell it's been welded till you look closely. Rich has a spare subframe in his shed I might have if I can't find a donor car. Ideally I'll swap it. And I honestly thought my silver SDI was just about perfect. Even the rear arches and sills are still like new (ok so I stripped and resprayed them just in case a while back...). The other side of the subframe is still like new, with tiny amounts of surface rust. When Fritz in the factory was pumping in the wax, I think he forgot the LHS! I'm now paranoid about rust...... I hate welding above my head. No amount of protection keeps the sparks out 100%.

Nice. What's it all like underneath? Rear beam, front suspension, sills... I discovered this to my horror the other day while doing a gearbox refurb just for fun. I thought my car was mint! Once you see a tiny pinhole and you start poking about this is the result-

Google how a narrow band Oxygen (O2) sensor works, then it will help you find the fault. The voltage oscillates around lambda when the mixture is stoichiometric. Higher for rich mixture and lower for more O2. Around 0.45V average when perfect.

Watch the lambda sensor voltage... it is a really good way of diagnosing fuel/air problems. In vcds, you can plot the voltage with time and temp.

Is it possible to measure your sensors with your diagnostics? They will tell you if the temperature is correct... if engine is hot, but sensor says only 30C (for example), then no fault found, but sensor is faulty You can do it with all the sensors.

I'll second that. Thanks for the info people. This Lupo forum is great! 👍🏻

You have diagnostics?

He wants to do it properly does that pin push out? I want to repair the little rubber strap securing the fuel cap that clips onto the fuel door, but can't figure out how the fuel cap dismantles... anyone? oh, by the way, you can still get genuine replacement fuel door stickers, if you're trying to make it concours. 👍🏻

Check the power supply to the speedo sensor. It usually has 5V and 0 and a 5v output square wave signal. You should be able to see the same signal in the dash. If you turn the sensor spindle in your fingers and connect up a voltmeter, you should see that output signal.

About £50 a year maintenance parts costs on my SDIs... reliable, cheap to run, get you A to B cars, with no style or comfort whatsoever. I like buying cars with descriptions like "there is a major problem with the engine, so buying as spares and repairs." Means it's just a wire that's fallen off. Done that a few times. Stuck EGR valves are a good fault too... oh and "check engine light is on"

Kite string and nail polish remover. Then finish up with some T cut and meguire's polish.

When you sell it, don't just sell it as a cheap small runabout for a new driver. As there are fewer than 10 left on the UK's roads, you need to make that a selling point. It's like Mk2 golfs... even the nastiest poverty spec "Golf C" now goes for very good money as there are so few original one's left!

Yeah, it's too big. Needs to be smaller than the gti bit.

Wow, I have to be honest and say that that's the first 16V version I've seen. There can't be many about. Personally, I'd fix the broken bits which like you say are all superficial and take it from there. Don't worry about the bonnet stone chips. Get the interior properly valeted for around £40 (or do it yourself), give it a good wax and polish and you could get as much as £1200. Get it running...