Looking for some advice - 97 Golf CL

[feenix74]

Did the oil and oil filter change on the weekend, also changed the air filter. Vento is driving much better with the replaced front wheel bearings and the engine was running smoothly after the servicing.

However, I noticed that the coolant temperature warning light was flashing. When I quizzed Daughter No. 1 she said it had been flashing for a week (ever since I topped up the coolant after she said the coolant temperate warning light was on). I checked the coolant levels and they were good (I a little bit over Max while the engine was still warm). The engine temperature gauge sat comfortably on 90 the whole time I drove the car. So this leads me to believe that the coolant level sensor is unserviceable.

I also noticed that the odometer/tripmeter are not reading correctly - said I had travelled 0.2 km when I had driven close to 3 kms. The instrument cluster is on its way out (the speedo has been doing the death dance intermittently for a while and has pretty much stopped working completely in the last couple of weeks). So when I can get the car off Daughter No. 1 for another servicing day, I will swap in the replacement instrument cluster I have and see if that fixes everything, it not then I will have to source a new coolant expansion tank and try and trace the odometer/tripmeter reading fault (I get a bad feeling that it is a wire with perished insulation somewhere between the sensor and the instrument cluster).

[James Quin]

Flew down to Melbourne and picked up the '96 Vento GL from my brother's mechanic (he was good enough help me pick up the Vento from the auction yard and get it ready for the ferry trip back to Canberra). Here is a photo of it in the auction yard:



I got it for a good price but needs a bit of work to get it roadworthy then a lot of work to get it into good condition.

It did the 700 km trip back without missing a beat and much more effortlessly than my Golf CL. Note to all, do not buy HiFly HF201 tyres (I asked my brother's mechanic to get two cheap tyres to replace the bald front tyres). They were decent around town but when you are doing 110 kph up the Hume Hwy they give you some white knuckle moments as you crest hills and exit curves.

Nice choice man. VOLKSWAGON fan here too. 700 km without any problem is impressive for old cars.

[feenix74]

Yep, it is currently Daughter No. 1's daily but it still needs a lot of work to get it to being a reliable daily for her. She has had a problem with it not idling properly and stalling over the last week. I did some searching here on the forum and some investigations around the engine bay yesterday.

It starts, but then will not hold idle (struggles at about 500 rpm then stalls), but if you start it and give it a bit with the throttle it will keep turning over and after it has warmed up for about 30 sec it held idle (bounced around a bit around 800 rpm but did not stall). I took it for a quick drive around the block and it behaved itself. So in my thinking could be the ECU relay playing up, a problem with an throttle body/inlet manifold vacuum tube or engine sensor (possibly MAF, oxygen or crankcase but beyond my limited mechanical ability to diagnose further) or a Idle Stabilisation Valve (which I have yet to locate because my workshop manual seems to be showing the ISV for a 2E and the ADY engine seems to have a different throttle body setup).

I have ordered a replacement ECU relay, as the first simplest troubleshooting fix. There is a vacuum tube that is showing some wear and tear that runs from the throttle body to a black plastic device mounted on the chassis near the airbox. I taped it up with some electrical tape but will replace it to see if that makes a difference. If neither of those two fixes help then I will have to take it up to CVWC to see if they can diagnose the problem for me.

I took the opportunity yesterday to swap out the dead instrument cluster for a spare one, so it now has a working speedo. A new fuel sender unit is on its way from the UK which should mean that the fuel gauge will soon be operational.

It certainly drives a lot better with two new front wheel bearings, an oil and filter change and a new air filter.

[feenix74]

Red Vento back on the road after CVWC installed the brand new throttle body and new fuel sender unit. Took it to the tire shop today to get two new rear tires to replace the cheap dodgy ones and a full wheel alignment.

Noticed that the replacement speedo is temperamental already (sigh) and odo/trip is not reliable. I will have to send old instrument cluster off to get properly fixed so I can swap it back in and I think I might have to grab a new distance sensor (if I remember correctly it takes a reading off the transmission to work out the odo/trip distance, so that is probably either a dodgy sensor or dodgy wiring).

Also going to need new rear brake pads and discs in the next 3-6 months and new front pads and discs in 9-12 months.

[feenix74]

Apologies, been away for a bit with craziness at work and at home. A quick update, the father-in-law's white Vento as been written off. Uninsured lady ran up the back of it coming out of the Bunnings carpark about 8 weeks ago, our insurance says it is not economical to fix so has paid us out the value of the policy plus given us back the Vento. After Xmas I will strip it for bits that I need for the red Vento. Really bummed because the white Vento was the one in the best mechanical condition of the three Mk 3. I could try to get it repaired but it would cost too much.



So as a result, I my Caddy is going to my father-in-law (the high driving position helps with his hips and knees, and it has the space for his hobbies) and I have just purchased a 2008 Skoda Octavia 2.0l TDI wagon as my new daily runaround.

[dylan8]

Apologies, been away for a bit with craziness at work and at home. A quick update, the father-in-law's white Vento as been written off. Uninsured lady ran up the back of it coming out of the Bunnings carpark about 8 weeks ago, our insurance says it is not economical to fix so has paid us out the value of the policy plus given us back the Vento. After Xmas I will strip it for bits that I need for the red Vento. Really bummed because the white Vento was the one in the best mechanical condition of the three Mk 3. I could try to get it repaired but it would cost too much.



So as a result, I my Caddy is going to my father-in-law (the high driving position helps with his hips and knees, and it has the space for his hobbies) and I have just purchased a 2008 Skoda Octavia 2.0l TDI wagon as my new daily runaround.

Sad to see another vento like that!
In before everyone is hunting the front end.
I might be interested in some of the internal boot trims too if it has them.

Do like those early Skodas though. Is it a 1.9 or 2l?

Sent from my HTC 2PZC100 using Tapatalk

[feenix74]

2.0l TDI BKD engine (same as in my wife's 2007 Golf TDI, but her's has a Oettinger Stage 1 tune). It is an Elegance, so it has a sunroof (I am not a huge fan, I might even silicone seal it shut so that it does not leak) but it has heated leather seats, front and rear parking sensors.

Yep, really annoying because the white Vento was the one that we really wanted to keep going forever. The worst thing is the lady who was not paying attention and ran up my father-in-law's rear in a Honda CRV was not insured. So it has been a drawn out affair with our insurance company who had to chase her down, she then tried to deny being at fault, and now is trying to ignore the insurance company. Our insurance company has coughed up in the end and I wish them the best of luck in making the lady's life hell as they chase her for the money.

Unfortunately, white Vento is a 95 build, 96 compliance, so no boot lining in the boot lid (the red Vento has the boot lining in the boot lid) but if my memory serves me the rest of the boot is lined, I will try to take a photo for you next time I am at the in-laws.

[brad]

2.0l TDI BKD engine (same as in my wife's 2007 Golf TDI, but her's has a Oettinger Stage 1 tune). It is an Elegance, so it has a sunroof (I am not a huge fan, I might even silicone seal it shut so that it does not leak) but it has heated leather seats, front and rear parking sensors.

None of those items were standard equipment on an Elegance. They all would have been +$$$ options as was the silver paint.

In the back of my mind $1850 for the roof; $250 heated seats; $500 sensors (front & rear).

The roof shouldn't leak if the front and rear drains are clear and the seals are lubricated. The mudguards fill up with mud where they meet the door and then block the drains (something like that).

Nice car, good spec. Check your speedometer as it's probably 10% wrong.

[feenix74]

Thanks Brad, it appears the original owner of the Skoda spec'ed it up then.

My girls already love the Skoda now (even though they were very unhappy when I first broke the news to them that I was handing over the Caddy to Pa). They like being driven around with the sunroof open, so I will not be allowed to seal it up. I will look for the drain points and try to make sure they remain clear and learn how to keep the mechanism and seals lubricated.

[brad]

My 2007 1.8tsi manual elegance hatch was $30k.
wagon was +$1500ish
Diesel was +$2000ish and they weren't doing deals on either of those options at the time
Metalic paint was $800
plus the other options made your car a street price of ~$35k on the road.