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

[h100vw]

this! they are as strong as any after market dv and they're like $50. i have one lying around d somewhere, i could just send it with the ecu free of charge, i can guarantee its tested up to 26psi

If I was buying one new, I'd go with my ebay special.... If you are having Lito's APR ECU and he is prepared to chuck it in with the deal, the choice is made.

On top of that, I'll buy you standard ECU if you want to sell it.

Gavin

[kendog]

this! they are as strong as any after market dv and they're like $50. i have one lying around d somewhere, i could just send it with the ecu free of charge, i can guarantee its tested up to 26psi

Sounds like a plan Lito

If I was buying one new, I'd go with my ebay special.... If you are having Lito's APR ECU and he is prepared to chuck it in with the deal, the choice is made.

On top of that, I'll buy you standard ECU if you want to sell it.

Gavin

Just out of curiosity, what is your "ebay special"?

[h100vw]

Just out of curiosity, what is your "ebay special"?

VW 1.8T Audi 1.8T 2.7T Diverter Dump Valve 007 DV | eBay

[kendog]

Thanks for that, I'll be in touch with Lito about his since he will be shipping me the ECU anyway.


This morning I TRIED to raise the front (suspension) of my car back up a good 10mm or so on the coilovers, (due to the new GTI engine being heavier), before I get a wheel alignment.

I could not wind the coilover collars 'higher' than it was before, even though there's over say 100mm of thread still to go. I'm pretty sure this is due to 'road dirt, grime & crud' dried & hardened on the thread that is stopping me wind the collars any higher. I can wind them lower fairly easy, just not higher, where the thread is behind the compressed springs & I can't get in there to clean them. Sound right?

Also, 'if and when' I get the thread cleaned in the areas I need (to wind the collar to), is it bad to spray a little "RP-7" / "WD-40" on the thread to get it moving easier and keep crud from drying to the thread??

Much thanks.

Also, massive importance... Where's the best place to get a GOOD wheel alignment in metropolitan Sydney?? I work in Alexandria, but can travel further than surrounding areas on a Sat...

[h100vw]

A brush with brass bristles would help if it's thin enough. Failing that a good shot with WD or whatever will help. Won't stop stuff drying over the top but if you wind the platform down first you can move the spring and it'll be easier to clean the threads.

Gavin

Thanks for that, I'll be in touch with Lito about his since he will be shipping me the ECU anyway.


This morning I TRIED to raise the front (suspension) of my car back up a good 10mm or so on the coilovers, (due to the new GTI engine being heavier), before I get a wheel alignment.

I could not wind the coilover collars 'higher' than it was before, even though there's over say 100mm of thread still to go. I'm pretty sure this is due to 'road dirt, grime & crud' dried & hardened on the thread that is stopping me wind the collars any higher. I can wind them lower fairly easy, just not higher, where the thread is behind the compressed springs & I can't get in there to clean them. Sound right?

Also, 'if and when' I get the thread cleaned in the areas I need (to wind the collar to), is it bad to spray a little "RP-7" / "WD-40" on the thread to get it moving easier and keep crud from drying to the thread??

Much thanks.

Also, massive importance... Where's the best place to get a GOOD wheel alignment in metropolitan Sydney?? I work in Alexandria, but can travel further than surrounding areas on a Sat...

[dylan8]

if the spring is still compressed then you need to jack the car up more as there is too much pressure on it.

[leighaus]

what dyl said. jack the car up, you should also have greased the thread when you installed the coilys to help prevent this.

road grimes gonna grime tho.

give it a good clean before you have another attempt so you dont 'weld' the collar onto small rocks etc.

[kendog]

A brush with brass bristles would help if it's thin enough. Failing that a good shot with WD or whatever will help. Won't stop stuff drying over the top but if you wind the platform down first you can move the spring and it'll be easier to clean the threads.

Gavin

WORD!
I'll see how keen I am to try it again tonight, if I can use the neighbour's barely-even driveway..
Thanks Gavin!

[kendog]

what dyl said. jack the car up, you should also have greased the thread when you installed the coilys to help prevent this.

road grimes gonna grime tho.

give it a good clean before you have another attempt so you dont 'weld' the collar onto small rocks etc.

Yeah, they weren't greased up to start with when they were installed, so I assumed that they were not meant to be.

I hope I haven't 'welded' anything yet?!?!?!?!?! SSSsshhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiittttttt!

Nah, I think it'll come back 'down' the thread ok with a bit of help. then I'll take it down as far as my cold fingers can handle to get access to the 'top' thread and clean & spray grease it.

[GarryO]

What did I do to my Bora today, well apparently I abused it a bit :-{
I had to take the daughters Pajero iO off my front lawn where it has been sitting awaiting a new transfer case, so I borrowed a mates car trailer.
All was well, I got the gearboxless car on the trailer with a little effort and a decent hand winch, tied it down then towed it slowly the 2-3k's to the mechanic. No dramas there until the mechanic mentioned that he has also borrowed the same trailer (mates an auto electrician and his shop is next to the mechanics), he was surprised that the Bora would tow it as the trailer by itself weighs close to 2 tonn !!!
FARK!!!!
everything seems to be still attached, nothing is rattling or falling off, the mounting points for the towbar all look tight, but I won't be doing THAT again.

[gringo_54_oval]

one of the ignition leeds had pooped itself and was misfiring it turned into a V5 4 Motion.bought new leeds installed them and now it runs crap.fouled up a spark plug????
oh well i still love it

[kendog]

what dyl said. jack the car up, you should also have greased the thread when you installed the coilys to help prevent this.

road grimes gonna grime tho.

give it a good clean before you have another attempt so you dont 'weld' the collar onto small rocks etc.

Man! after about 3 hours last night out in the cold, I finally got the front coilover collars to spin easily. The Passenger side front was pretty easy actually, only took about 3-5 min longer than usual to get it loosened. But that damned drivers side front coilover!!!! MTHRFCKR!! I could see between the small locking collar and the top collar, that there was dots of corrosion and rust all around the threads. Even after spraying the **** out of it with INOX, I could still only move the top collar about 3/4 of a turn back & forth! I tried to get the wire brush in there too, but impossible above the collar. I ended up firmly folding the collar adjustment 'spanner' in one hand, while tapping it with a hammer in the other. I had to do this back & forth each direction for possibly about 2 hours straight! The collar is only aluminium, and the 'spanner' always slips off quite easily even normally, taking a few chunks of aluminium off the collar's teeth here & there with every second slip. The large amounts of inox sprayed on definitely didn't help with the grip either!!

I finally got there in the end, so now the collar/threads are lubricated and wire brushed afterwards, making rotating the collars & changing height SOOOOO MUCH EASIER! I ended up raising the Drivers (right) side a whole 10mm on the thread, so the bottom of the bottom locking collar to the bottom of the thread is now 46mm, and on the Passenger (left) side, I only put it up 6mm, from 36mm to 42mm on the thread. This guestimation was based on the fact that: it was the drivers side that was scraping a bit coming down speed humps, and the drive shaft was rubbing on the sway bar already. Where as on the passenger side, everything was fine.

Where I am now? Well I did this to get as near as I could to how I wanted it before I got the wheel balance. It drove so much better and smoother this morning, but I did notice that there is now a slight veer to the left.....

1. The veer wasn't there (didn't seem to be) over the last week since the whole GTI engine swap, aka: engine, ECU, gearbox, subframe, driveshafts, brakes, hubs, knuckles, etc, etc, were all transplanted into my car.

2. The same amount of slight veer to the left WAS there with the old 1.6L engine, gearbox, subframe, etc.

3. Also, the left passenger side wheel arch IS about 3.5mm higher than the drivers side.. even though I left it 4mm lower on the coilover thread ?!?!?!?!?! Is the drivers side just heavier??

What could be causing the veer to the left??

I wanted to get this sorted before getting the wheel alignment, as last time I got a wheel alignment done, they said there was nothing they could 'adjust' on this particular car to fix it (the veer) without spending over a grand on new bushing sets or something weird like that?!?!?!!?

I also want to set it how I want it (ride height etc) when I take it to them, and don't want to play with it to much after getting the wheel alignment done, and want to 'hopefully' leave that part alone for quite a while.

[kendog]

I forgot my Public Service Announcement:

ATTENTION: ANYONE WITH COILOVERS, LUBRICATE THE THREADS ON THEM! NOW!!

This message was brought to you by the Blistered Hands Prevention Centre.

[dylan8]

funniest part is iv never maintained mine and they work fine. been in the longest of most mk4s on this forum as far as im aware.
Crap coilovers ftw

[kendog]

funniest part is iv never maintained mine and they work fine. been in the longest of most mk4s on this forum as far as im aware.
Crap coilovers ftw

hahaha, well you must've done something right! Can you still rotate the collars up & down easily?