Polo G40 1,2+3

[sleag40]

Finally got round to doing the cambelt on this today. Embarrassingly​ it's not been done since the engine was built in late 2007!



It's a hell of a lot easier to do when the engine is on a stand - the job was more of a faff than it should have been due to the toothed belt lower pulley being wider than a standard one. It's done now anyway, just needs a quick buff up and it's ready to enjoy again!

[sleag40]

Still getting occasional use out of this one from time to time.





It really is a shame that I don't get to use it more. I've been thinking about selling it, but I know I'd regret it soon afterwards.

[sleag40]

Just had these powdered for the grey car, same size and offset as the BBS jobbies on there.



Came up pretty well considering their age



I don't know if they'll suit it or not - I guess I'll have to try them out at some point.

[ozzy]

been a good read from the start. love both cars you just don't see them about much anymore

keep up the good work

[sleag40]

Not been back to this thread for a while! Not much has happened other than regular(ish) light usage, and a bit of maintenance. The blue one has only needed servicing.



It was gifted a new tailgate badge too!



The grey one started to leak brake juice early last year - it was the load compensator valve.
The standard master cylinder always had a little too much pedal travel due to the MK2 Golf 16v discs and calipers used, so I thought this would be a good time to upgrade it.

Old M/C just before being jettisoned.



Alloy Golf spec item installed.



The replacement of the load compensator valve would have been a lot easier if the previous owner hadn't spaffed the whole thing with grease. It was a very messy job, and as a result of not wanting to besmirch my phone, there are no pics of the job in progress! I did take this shot of my questionable method of safely suspending the rear end of the car at a height that allowed the operation to take place.



And this is the failed valve with 99% of the grease and shiz removed so you can almost see what you're looking at.



Once bled up with the help of my nephew's right foot, I now have a nice short pedal travel. It still needs to be stood on pretty hard to effect the rapid shedding of speed compared to a modern braking set up, this being down to the teeny tiny servo fitted to the RHD cars - there's simply no room for a bigger one without some bulkhead surgery.

[polo6n1600i]

You going to the Social with one of them this year? We are back at Billing!

[sleag40]

Jan 28, 2019 13:12:02 GMT polo6n1600i said:

You going to the Social with one of them this year? We are back at Billing!

Theres a fair chance - grey one was at Billing in 2015, blue one was at "not Billing" in 2017 - looks like I'm due another visit.

[polo6n1600i]

Look forward to seeing you there! (I'm still one of the staff....)

[clh92]

Any updates on these ?

[sleag40]

Aug 21, 2019 19:29:22 GMT clh92 said:

Any updates on these ?

Nothing to report yet chief. Still getting out and about in them from time to time.

[sleag40]

Bit of a milestone in the blue one the other day.



Only doing a thousand miles a year in it - should last me out at this rate.

[sleag40]

Had a bit of spare time today after a job interview, so with everywhere being nice and dry, I dug this out.







Whilst driving I couldn't help but notice a rhythmic miss fire every 10 seconds - as though the ignition switch was being flicked off then on again. A quick root around under the bonnet revealed that the plug on the knock sensor had disintegrated, effectively unplugging it. I cobbled it all back together again, and the weird miss fire was gone - I guess I'd better order one up! 

Had a good ride out in it, then put it back in the garage until next time.  

[sleag40]

MOT'd the grey one today - first time its been driven on wet roads in my ownership! Hadn't even done 800 miles since the last test, I really need to get out in it more.

[polo6n1600i]

My new purchase still refuses to run! New injectors going in at the weekend! Hopefully that will sort it!

[clh92]

How's the stonechip holding up on the engine bay of the grey one ?, my engine bay needs a good tidy up

Also... the three captive spire type clips that hold the front bumper on, you wouldn't happen to have any of them spare would you ?, also after a tidy set of ra's if you know of any about ?,

Cheers

[sleag40]

Apr 29, 2020 21:07:46 GMT clh92 said:

How's the stonechip holding up on the engine bay of the grey one ?, my engine bay needs a good tidy up

Also... the three captive spire type clips that hold the front bumper on, you wouldn't happen to have any of them spare would you ?, also after a tidy set of ra's if you know of any about ?,

Cheers

The stone chip seems to be holding up well, when current projects are completed, I'll be painting the engine bay body colour, and refinishing the engine and ancillaries.
The front bumper should be held on with 3 bolts with spikes on to aid location, they screw into clips on the steel bumper reinforcer that's bolted to the ends of the chassis legs. Is it those clips you require?

The blue one shat its ECU at the back end of last year. It was behaving a bit strangely - if you gave it a little throttle when out of gear, the rpms were fluctuating by about 1000rpm. It drove OK to start with (other than the fluctuations) then started misbehaving differently. Sometimes the engine would die as soon as the throttle was touched (it always idled perfectly throughout the shenanigans) Sometimes when driving it would behave as if the ignition was flicked off then on again.

I removed the engine loom for testing and, found no issues. I removed the temp sensor, lambda probe, CO pot/air temp sensor, hall sensor, coil etc. and everything tested up perfectly. Only thing left to check was the ECU.

A kind chap off of the G40 forum loaned me his spare ECU, and once it was installed, the car ran perfectly. Now I knew what was required, I just had to find one! I kept hold of the loaned unit for a few months so that I could carry on using the car while I tried to find one for sale. Typically, there were none for sale when I needed one, and by April, the bloke wanted his ECU back.

I eventually found one on ebay.de, but when it arrived and was fitted, it was found to be differently defective to the original one. Fortunately I was able to return it and get a refund, so the search continued.

Last week I got in touch with a bloke in the UK who was selling one earlier this year for too much money. As it had not sold, he thankfully halved his price, thus making it viable. (I could get my ECU reconditioned for £250+VAT which wasn't much different from his original asking price) It arrived this week, and I tried it out this evening - Success!



I might just get the original one repaired anyway - electrical stuff for ageing obscure vehicles probably won't get any easier to find as time marches on.

[mbusby993]

Nice to see an old Club Polo face here! Been a while since I was active there but have all the time in the world for a G40. Cut my teeth on the old Polo's.

[sleag40]

The clutch pedal on this has been requiring more and more effort of late, and today it started to get noisy too. After changing the oil and filter, I changed the clutch cable too - no jacking or lifting required, just a little entry level contortionism and in it went. The difference is incredible - I probably should have done it last year!



Time to put some miles on it.

[sleag40]

Fitted some new brake cylinders to the back of this today. It rewarded me by getting a puncture.

[sleag40]

Because the puncture was cheaply dealt with, it replied by sh1tting its hall sensor.



One new distributor later, and we're back in business.

This one thankfully continues to continue without problems.