Kermit Girl

I forgot to mention that I fitted a VW Economy exhaust to our Lupo so can confirm that it is good quality and has lasted well.

TPS used to sell what was known as Economy Range for older VAG cars and I have an old catalogue from 2013 which lists a rear box for the Lupo. I assume that VW dealers also sell the Economy range but it is usually a fair bit cheaper from TPS if you know someone who has an account or if your local branch will sell to you. It is a fairly easy job to hacksaw through the original exhaust - VW even put marks on showing where to cut but you will need the clamping piece to join the new box if it has not been done previously. MAKE SURE THE REAR OF THE CAR IS SECURE - IF YOU ONLY HAVE AXLE STANDS RATHER THAN WHEEL RAMPS IT IS BEST TO USE SOME BLOCKS UNDERNEATH AS WELL.

Bit of a long shot but I once had this happen on my old MK2 Golf and one of the wires had broken where they run inside the rubber housing near to the tailgate hinge. I guess that constant opening and closing can stress the wires and it was not easy to find the problem - eventually tracked it down by checking continuity with a multimeter.

If it is the same as the Lupo it is really easy - there is a square section on top of the tensioner and you simply need to use a decent spanner on that to move it against the spring. You can then use a suitable drill bit through the hole on the side to lock it in position.

Can not help as I have never had to strip down the motor on our TDI - it is now on 106k and is running well other than the rattle from the EGR valve. Best bet would be to call at an independent VW specialist and ask them for an opinion as it is easy to get involved in lots of unnecessary work when the cause is something entirely different (I have made this mistake myself in the past)

Presumably you have managed to get the wishbone off the car and you now want to replace the rear bush? I have always found the best way to do this is to cut through the rubber with a Stanley knife (use a bar through the centre to twist and make it easier) and remove the centre portion - you can then use a hacksaw blade to carefully cut through the outer alloy portion in a couple of places - it will then just fall out! As Skezza says Plusgas is much better than WD40 and a fair bit of heat from a blowtorch also helps to free the balljoint.

I am looking for a driveshaft (offside) - do you have one?

I am looking for a secondhand driveshaft for a Lupo 1.4 TDI - the car is a 2001 model and I need a driveshaft for drivers side. Anyone got one?

One obvious question - where did you buy the bearings? There are some pattern bearings on sale which are of dubious quality. It is best to pay a little extra for quality bearings and make sure they are fitted properly.

If you have VCDS you can get a digital read out of the temperature. I did this when I had problems a few years ago and found it did not correlate with the gauge. It seems that the signal from the CTS goes to the computer which then (among other things) sends a command to the temperature gauge. I think the temperature gauge on our Lupo read 90 when the actual temperature was anywhere between 70 and 90 but can not remember the actual values. I have been told that the system was designed that way so that owners saw a nice steady temperature reading on the instruments but not sure if this is true.

Looks like the type of fuse that is used for a sub-woofer

Not just Lupo - all VW parts have seen big increases! Not sure why as the exchange rate is good at the moment

How many miles has the car done? There is no timing chain noise on our Lupo but it does have a distinct rattle from the EGR valve which I intend to check as soon as I can find time. If you take the engine mounts out remember that some of the bolts are stretch bolts which should not be re-used. I believe that Rich has rebuilt a TDI engine so hopefully he can give some advice.

Not really got an answer for you but our TDI is pretty much the same - I am sure I read somewhere that the TDIs are known to be fairly hard on the engine mounts due to the torque they have. Our car has done well over 100k and now has a fair bit of judder pulling away. Replacing both engine mounts plus the dogbone mount would add up to a fair bit of cash so am not willing to do it unless I was certain it would cure the problem. Hope you manage to get it sorted.

Apologies - brain fade! What I meant to say was the power steering pump pulley. Cambelt on TDI goes round crank, camshaft and waterpump. Aux belt drives all the other bits - would be surprised if the aux belt drives the waterpump on the SDI but as I say if you have the correct belt I would not think it is possible to fit it the wrong way

Not sure if the layout is the same as on our TDI but on that it is not really possible to fit it the wrong way - it has to go over the crankshaft, camshaft and alternator and then under the tensioner roller so providing you have the correct belt and have locked the tensioner in position with a suitable drill bit then it is pretty obvious how it fits round the other pulley.

The Lupo TDI that my wife runs has clocked up 110k and is still running well - it has needed the usual wheel bearings and suspension bits and pieces but the engine and gearbox seem to be pretty reliable on them by all accounts.

Try your local VW dealer - probably not as expensive as you think

best bet is simply to get them from your local VW dealer - may cost a little more but at least they will be correct for your car

Not sure just how many different gearboxes are used but our 1.4 TDI has done well over 100,000 miles and the box is still fine in that and it is a pretty torquey engine.

AFAIK all Lupos came with this in one piece. Mine was and you simply cut the rear silencer off and replace the rear box and a connecting section. Most will already have had this done by now - just look underneath and it should be obvious.

Had this happen on our Lupo 1.4TDI a few years ago and it was the airbag control module at fault but can also be caused by wiring defects - you really need to get it properly scanned.

Worth checking the dog- bone mount underneath as this can cause vibes when pulling away.

Can not help with detailed advice as I not done it on the Lupo but having done it on my old Mk2 Golf a while ago I can tell you that it is a fairly big job - not technically difficult but fiddly and time consuming. If you can not get the manual to work on your computer it may be worth getting hold of a Haynes manual for the Polo as the layout is very similar. Make sure that you disconnect the battery before you start and take photos to help with putting it back together.

Mark, that sounds worth a try. As I said I am fairly sure that these problems are due to an internal fault in the ECU and I considered sending mine away to be tested but decided that I did not trust any company to give me an honest answer (it is obviously more profitable to say that repairs were needed). If you look at the some websites eg http://www.ecutesting.com/vw_common_ecu_failures/edc16u_ecu_golf_caddy_touran_transporter.html you will see that one of the most common reported VW ecu faults shows exactly these symptons. Will be interested to see your progress with this.