Looking for some advice - 97 Golf CL

[stefcio007]

congrats!

[feenix74]

Thanks mate.

Father-in-law registered it today and our next priority is to get Vento watertight - the rear windscreen is leaking due to perished plastic surround and seals. So will try to get it to a windscreen bloke later this week to get a quote to reseal the rear windscreen. If it proves to be too expensive then I may just have to buy some auto silicone sealant from supercheap and do a temporary patch-up job until we can afford to fix it properly. Also, need to silicone up the base of the roof antenna mount and gutter at the base of front windscreen which has perished.

[feenix74]

My growing collection of Mk3s . . .

Thanks to a lead and then some great encouragement from beale187 (top bloke, to whom I now owe beer).

I managed to pick up a white, manual 96 Vento GL at a damaged vehicle auction.


The damage appears to be a mistreated right rear door (paperwork with the vehicle indicated that when previous owner returned to the vehicle in the shopping centre the door was damaged by another vehicle, to me it looks like the door has dropped on its hinges, is not closing properly and the previous owner has tried to kick it shut), the window of the right rear door will not fully close (stops about 20 cm from top, the electric window regulator works but I think it is stuck due to the dent on the door), a missing stereo (I assume the previous owner wanted to keep whatever aftermarket stereo unit they had installed) and hazard lights that intermittently turn on for no apparent reason (I am hoping it is just a faulty hazard light switch). Initially it refused to start because the battery was low on juice, a jumpstart kit fixed that but then it would not idle properly and kept stalling but with revs the engine was goo. I found the source of the problem was that the air intake hose from the airbox had been pulled off the fuel injection body, so a few minutes standing in the rain with my multi-pliers, a bit of cursing and swearing later, it fired up and held idle perfectly after I got the hose back on.

Original plan was to take this one as parts for the red Vento but it is actually in overall better condition than the red Vento. So slight change of plan. Father-in-law is going to take this one because he prefers the white and it has a towball. The red Vento is going to passed to Daughter No. 1 (she has been carless for the last 9 months after Son No. 2 blew up her car after blowing up his own). So now need to find time and money to fix the red Vento, its needs a new aircon compressor as the bearing has died, it is making a terrible rattle and is threatening to launch itself out of the vehicle, to fix the power steering rack that is leaking again and seal up the leaking back window plus the aerial mount on the back of the roof.

[beale187]

I prefer Jack Daniels

Wow I'm looking at those images again it really does look like it's been well kept, got some more pics?

btw, am I right in reading that no.2 son blew up 2 cars? haha sounds like you need a new son, not a new car.

Glad it worked out for you mate

[feenix74]

JD it is.

I have not had time to take a really good look at the Vento yet. I drove it over to my in-law's place, threw a car cover on it on the Friday and have not had the chance to look at it since. However, first impression was that the car was well looked after by an original owner then subsequently passed onto or sold to a young adult who has actually maintained it reasonably well. Interior was in good nick, engine bay is well presented (other than the intake hose being off), the battery looked almost new. Wife is not working this weekend so I will get a chance to have a go at fixing the door this weekend. Just need to fix the hazard lights switch (replace ordered from ebay and on its way from the UK) after which it should be ready for a roadworthy inspection.

Yes, Son No. 2 managed to blow up two cars in two days. First his own Golf Mk4 GTI, blew an engine oil seal after he got his dad's mate (I am his stepdad), who is a mechanic, to do a service on it, I assume that his dad's mate is not a VW specialist mechanic and put the wrong oil into it. The next day he borrowed Daughter No. 1's car to take his gf to the airport, did not notice the warning light on the dash after one of the ancillary belts broke, drove it for extend period without an operating water pump. Daughter No. 1 jumped in the car later in the day noticed the warning light, queried Son No. 2 about it, he reassured her that there was nothing wrong with her car, she drove it and then rang me when the engine head was cooked.

I have tried to trade him in for a new one but my wife indicates that with the mileage on him that the dealers will not accept it as a warranty claim

[beale187]

I have tried to trade him in for a new one but my wife indicates that with the mileage on him that the dealers will not accept it as a warranty claim

haha love it.

You know looking at that damage there doesn't appear to be any cracked painted or sharp edges (indentations) to that dent.

I bet it could be PDR. There's a guy we use here in Sydney, his the best I can put you in touch with him if you like, shoot him a pic and see what he says, or source a white door?

[feenix74]

I did not see any cracked paint and I am going to Supercheap to get a suction dent puller to give it a go myself this weekend. Depending how I go with the DYI job, there are a couple of PDR places here in Canberra. I was worried that a replacement door would be hard to source but it appears on closer inspection that the rear Vento door is the same as the Golf door on a Mk3 so I should be able to get one without too much trouble if it gets to that.

[feenix74]

Had no luck trying to get the dent out wih a suction puller today (could not get enough suction on the panel because of the shape of the dent). I will probably try getting a quote from a PDR place and a price for a replacement door and go with whichever solution works out cheaper.

I did manage to look at the boot lock mechanism in the white Vento which only has a small hard plastic cover which meant that after taking off the felt carpet cover on the red Vento I manage to finally pop the boot. Looks like only the lock mechanism itself is worn and when I can find a part number and get one ordered from ebay, I should be able to get the red Vento's boot working properly.

[feenix74]

Managed to get the white Vento to pass the roadworthy and registered yesterday. Still needs some work:
- a radio
- more work on the driver's rear door (I owe the brother-in-law some beer for helping push the dent out and get the electric window regulator working again)
- we found that there is some very minor damage to the driver's rear quarter panel (the wheel arch has been pushed forward just enough to touch the rear door), the rear door works but it will need to go to a good panel beater at some stage to try to open up the clearance properly
- the driver's front door has a slight bit of damage (a bit of chipped paint where the panel has been pushed out from inside)
- the driver's front quarter panel has a small scrape at the back of the wheel arch
- replacement gear shift linkages to get rid of the slop and play in the gear shift

Otherwise the Vento has come up well.

Now to work on the red Vento, reconditioned power steering rack will be fitted next week then get the replacement aircon compressor installed after that.

[dylan8]

Awesome! Good to see another hitting the streets.
If you need/want a stock radio, think I have a spare one.

[feenix74]

I would definitely be interested in a stock radio if you have a spare available at the right price. I will need to take a photo of the connectors for the radio and compare with a photo of the connector for your spare stock radio as well - the previous owner had an aftermarket radio in and removed it, it has two rectagular connectors and I am not sure that they are standard or have been fitted to suit the aftermarket radio.

[feenix74]

Red Vento has been driving reasonably well over the last couple of weeks since we had the new aircon compressor put in. New aircon is nice a cold but I tried to clear the aircon drainage pipe in the firewall today, so hopefully it will stop raining in the passenger footwell every time I have the aircon on for a cross-city trip.

I am getting a bit of a humming noise as the Vento gets over 70 km/h. I think it needs new front wheel bearings.

[dylan8]

I would definitely be interested in a stock radio if you have a spare available at the right price. I will need to take a photo of the connectors for the radio and compare with a photo of the connector for your spare stock radio as well - the previous owner had an aftermarket radio in and removed it, it has two rectagular connectors and I am not sure that they are standard or have been fitted to suit the aftermarket radio.

No worries. I'll try to remember to pull it out and take some pics

[feenix74]

Cheers and many thanks dylan, but no huge hurry.

Father-in-law picked up a cheapie JVC head unit from JB HiFi to throw into it but I would not mind having an OEM unit to put into it in future when I restore one or both of the Ventos.

[feenix74]

Red Vento went into CVWC today to get new front wheel bearings. Daughter No. 1 reports it now drives much better, no more bearing noise at 80+kph and much better acceleration. I warned her that it should now pick up speed downhill even with her foot off the accelerator and she will need to work harder on the brakes to slow it down to a stop.

Next step is a oil change this weekend and I will throw in a new air filter while I am at it. I am also waiting on a fuel sender unit from Latvia that is on backorder (so that the fuel gauge will actually work properly under 1/2 a tank). Then save up to replace the cheap chinese Hi-Fly tires on the rear wheels and get a wheel alignment done.