What have you done to your mk4 (golf/bora) today?

[dubster99]

My net optic interior pieces arrived today! will write up a DIY about making it into brushed aluminium trim el cheapo way

[RubAVeeDubDub]

Well Dylan - I've joined your defect boat! ...it's my first time (been pulled up but never given one) and thankfully the cop went easy on me. No fine. Just a minor. And no canary - yay!

Out of all the illegalities on the car (too low load rated front tyres, stretched tyres, too low, too loud and missing 3rd brake light), I got done for the wheels sticking out from the guards and the tailligihts being too dark. Got a month to clear the defect. I suspect being late at night and still having the canberra plates helped with getting less of a paling.

Nonetheless, it's an awful experience. It's why I never illegally modified my last car.

And to finish my night when I got home the engine was billowing out smoke from around the throttle body area (with fluid spitting out), coolant bottle was bone dry empty and my dash was buzzing with a temp guage sign and a (achtung) "STOP" signal. Before the smoke started, the car was vibrating under acceleration from 2000-3500rpm. I first thought it was the exhaust that got loose as the temp gauge did not move from 90C (middle) during the last 2km stretch to home I'm tipping and hoping it's only the throttle body coolant line(s) that have leaked out all my coolant. The STOP warning and the smoke is a concern and I hope no permanent damage has been done to the engine.

What coolant (red/green?) do the Bora 2.8L 4mo's need? I usually do a 50:50 mix with concentrate.

[kendog]

That's a real f$@#er of an evening mate! At least you got it home before it did any major damage!!

Coolant: All VAG cars should be on the 'red' coolant, which is actually called 'G12', 'G12+' etc. BUT.. You really should flush the coolant lines with water first, as some lazy mechanics put the green stuff in, and when mixed with the red, can thicken up into a gunk and cause all sorts of problems!

I'd flush it with water, then run only water in the system while you're stuffing around with it trying to find the leak.. Otherwise, you'll just end up leaking out a heap of nice new 'G12' coolant all over the place.. Then empty it all out once you've fixed the problem, and fill it up with 50:50 G12.. (I've been through it before when a seal leaked out all my new coolant, and it was late on a Sat night, no more shops open for days..)

[undisclos3d]

Got a wheel alignment done.

Holy smokes.

8.2mm total toe, 6.2 mm on the left alone! Have only driven it for about 3 k's since picking it up but it already feels more 'sure footed' thats for sure.

dylan8, what lights and from where? i want to get some uber cheapies to build some LED arrays in to.

How good is getting an alignment done! I remember after I installed my coilovers I left the alignment for aaages. When I went in and got it done they said the front was toe in around 12mm....... It was like night and day after. haha chewed through some tyres too

[PranK]

How good is getting an alignment done! I remember after I installed my coilovers I left the alignment for aaages. When I went in and got it done they said the front was toe in around 12mm....... It was like night and day after. haha chewed through some tyres too

Yikes happy mine wasn't that bad. I've had the passenger hub off and everything. Surprised it wasn't worse.

[RubAVeeDubDub]

That's a real f$@#er of an evening mate! At least you got it home before it did any major damage!!

Coolant: All VAG cars should be on the 'red' coolant, which is actually called 'G12', 'G12+' etc. BUT.. You really should flush the coolant lines with water first, as some lazy mechanics put the green stuff in, and when mixed with the red, can thicken up into a gunk and cause all sorts of problems!

I'd flush it with water, then run only water in the system while you're stuffing around with it trying to find the leak.. Otherwise, you'll just end up leaking out a heap of nice new 'G12' coolant all over the place.. Then empty it all out once you've fixed the problem, and fill it up with 50:50 G12.. (I've been through it before when a seal leaked out all my new coolant, and it was late on a Sat night, no more shops open for days..)

Yeah was a pretty **** night that's for sure. I was just settling down after getting the defect (one of the officers was really aggressive too but it seems the other officer settled him down) and then I get into my driveway and see the horror of the engine smoking and the car buzzing at me to stop. So lucky it happened in the driveway and not kms away from home.

I'm attentive to the temp guage, but mine shown no signs of overheating. The engine althought was spitting out steam wasn't as hot I'd expected it to be for one getting no coolant.

Thanks heaps for that advice on the coolant. Really helpful
I swung past a VW wrecker today (Unique Auto Parts) to replace my broken glovebox and other broken dash panels and the guy there told me the exact same thing. Here I was thinking I just needed to buy a bottle of Nulon coolant like I have in my other previous cars.
He was asking $22/1.5L bottle of the purple G12 coolant. Reasonable? Can I get it cheaper somewhere else?

The guy from the wrecker suggested that the plastic coolant fittings on the throttle body may have gone brittle and now leaking.

I'm very reluctant to put distilled water in the system but at $22/1.5L's I don't have much choice. Do you think running just dist water and a bit of fabric/food dye in the system for a few weeks could do any damage? I've never done that before. Always ran Nulon high perf. coolant at a minimum. Car doesnt get driven much (weekender) and I'd like to spend my time getting it ready for a rwc instead and worry about the leak in a month or so. The car's done 3000kms since I bought it and only now has the problem surfaced.
When I fill with G12, I'll probably do a 70:30 mix due to water already being in the system. Any recommendations on how to flush out the old water ?

[RubAVeeDubDub]

Can anyone tell me what are these wheels?

[theOctopus]

Look like Audi flat fives, correct me if I'm wrong. Dylan had or has a set

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

[kendog]

Answer: AWESOME!

Seriously though, I think they're commonly called 'fat fives', but I always get them mixed up with 'flat fives'.. Dylan will know..

They're awesome, but also VERY rare I believe, especially in Australia, almost non-existent here. I'm also pretty certain that they're a 5x112 bolt pattern too, so you'd have to run adapters.

[RubAVeeDubDub]

Look like Audi flat fives, correct me if I'm wrong. Dylan had or has a set

Thanks for that!

Answer: AWESOME!

Seriously though, I think they're commonly called 'fat fives', but I always get them mixed up with 'flat fives'.. Dylan will know..

They're awesome, but also VERY rare I believe, especially in Australia, almost non-existent here. I'm also pretty certain that they're a 5x112 bolt pattern too, so you'd have to run adapters.

No thanks for that
Damn it >.< ) Iz lovez them so much.
Not a fan of adaptors. I find that it's good for wheels to be attached to a hub. When they're free from the hub not the ride can be a bit uncomfortable you know. Plus the suspension system makes an awful noise when its dragged across the bitumen.

So depressed Lol.

[kendog]

He was asking $22/1.5L bottle of the purple G12 coolant. Reasonable? Can I get it cheaper somewhere else?

Probably, I think I paid about $12-$14 for mine from a Euro parts supplier like HSY. Probably good to find a euro parts supplier near you for other things you'll need anyway, consumables like filters, oil, sensors, etc, common engine parts,..

HSY has 4 locations in Melb..
Contact

The guy from the wrecker suggested that the plastic coolant fittings on the throttle body may have gone brittle and now leaking.

Sounds about right, that's the only part I've needed to change in the engine bay, was a brittle coolant hose connector..

I'm very reluctant to put distilled water in the system but at $22/1.5L's I don't have much choice. Do you think running just dist water and a bit of fabric/food dye in the system for a few weeks could do any damage? I've never done that before. Always ran Nulon high perf. coolant at a minimum. Car doesnt get driven much (weekender) and I'd like to spend my time getting it ready for a rwc instead and worry about the leak in a month or so. The car's done 3000kms since I bought it and only now has the problem surfaced.
When I fill with G12, I'll probably do a 70:30 mix due to water already being in the system. Any recommendations on how to flush out the old water ?

I was thinking about just running it with just tap water only, straight from the hose mate, cheapest option, and only running it like that 'in your driveway' for an hour or so while you find the leak.. It sounds like the water has emptied out pretty quickly, so the leak should be easy to find!

[RubAVeeDubDub]

Probably, I think I paid about $12-$14 for mine from a Euro parts supplier like HSY. Probably good to find a euro parts supplier near you for other things you'll need anyway, consumables like filters, oil, sensors, etc, common engine parts,..

HSY has 4 locations in Melb..
Contact

Sounds about right, that's the only part I've needed to change in the engine bay, was a brittle coolant hose connector..


I was thinking about just running it with just tap water only, straight from the hose mate, cheapest option, and only running it like that 'in your driveway' for an hour or so while you find the leak.. It sounds like the water has emptied out pretty quickly, so the leak should be easy to find!

Wow that is significantly cheaper!
Unfortunately it seems HSY only sell to wholesalers and do not sell retail.

I need to get this car back on the road though :/ that defect needs to be cleared withing a week or else it can only be driven to the mechanics/vicroads for until the 10th of Dec.

So now I have two cars that are currently undriveable. :/
At least my work car is going strong.

[kendog]

... No thanks for that
Damn it >.< ) Iz lovez them so much.
Not a fan of adaptors. I find that it's good for wheels to be attached to a hub. When they're free from the hub not the ride can be a bit uncomfortable you know. Plus the suspension system makes an awful noise when its dragged across the bitumen.
So depressed Lol.

Dylan can correct me here, and possibly will, but I've not heard of the uncomfortable ride from adapters.. I thought that adapters' only main downside was that they were illegal?! Maybe good branded hubcentric adapters are best for this issue? I know from the 15mm H&R hubcentric spacers I just installed, that there is no ride difference at all.. And the guy at Tempe Tyres where I went to get the bolts from, said I couldn't go more than 5mm spacers on my car because it would create wobble, but then I explained (and showed) him I was using quality hubcentric spacers, and not his ****ty ones that would move about, and he went aah, I see! (and I swear a lightbulb appeared above his head, although it was only about 20w).

[kendog]

Wow that is significantly cheaper!
Unfortunately it seems HSY only sell to wholesalers and do not sell retail.

They just say that, I've personally found that HSY will sell to me fine (I'm only a Photographer/Graphic Designer, not a Mechanic) if I just play it cool and make out I'm a freelance/weekend mechanic (don't lie and say you work somewhere they know). There is also other places like 'IMPARTS' that other people have success with, but personally, they (Rockdale branch) have refused to sell to me on several occasions when I say I'm not working for a mechanic/anyone that has an account there.. The best I can do with them is if I buy 'on behalf' of an account holder, but it still has to be sent to the account holder in question (like the mechanic's place the work is being done at).

Also, give your local VW $tealership a call, they're actually cheap 'enough' on some small things not to go running around elsewhere (I think my very specific door lock bolts were only like $1.60-$2 ea) (the starter motor however was quoted at around $600, and not purchased ).

I need to get this car back on the road though :/ that defect needs to be cleared withing a week or else it can only be driven to the mechanics/vicroads for until the 10th of Dec.

So now I have two cars that are currently undriveable. :/
At least my work car is going strong.

Seriously, I'd pump some plain water into the car right now to look for the leak.. and with a bit of research, you should have the faulty part number ready to order it on Monday.. then that potential engine killer is a weight off your mind and you can focus on getting the rest sorted for inspection..

[JustCruisn]

Y
The guy from the wrecker suggested that the plastic coolant fittings on the throttle body may have gone brittle and now leaking.

Do you think running just dist water and a bit of fabric/food dye in the system for a few weeks could do any damage?

Look for pinkish white powder. This is dry coolant. It will help locate the leak. It is common for the junction on the end of the head to crack and leak.
Running just water removes the lubricant that the G12 has. I killed a water pump in about 6 weeks with distilled water.