Looking to swap Mk4 Golf for Mk3

[jeddyb]

Hey there,
I'm still not sure if I will go through with this, but was just curious to see if anyone would actually be interested. I have had a 2001 MK4 Golf 1.6 4dr 5sp since January of this year. I love this car, but it has had some shortcomings. So far, I have replaced the engine oil, gearbox oil, battery and clutch. All that is in good nic now and was all mostly overdue maintenance. However, the car does currently have a fault. There is something wrong with the way it idles and I am pretty sure that it may be the throttle body. It used to have a problem where occasionally the idling would shoot up to around 4,000 rpm and I would have to restart the car and that was that. It seems to have gotten worse now, with a confused idle position and sometimes it doesn't want to start up when warm.

This is most likely a fairly simple part swap, or drop it off at the local mechs and have them do their thing. I fear, though, that I simply don't have any more money to spend on this thing at the moment, as I am a student.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has a manual MK3 VR6 and would be interested in working out some kind of deal? Tell me your thoughts. This could very well be a good deal, you never know. I spent over seven and a half grand just buying this car and I've seen a number of VR6's for under five on carsales, but we'll see what happens.

Thanks,
Jed.

[Lito]

I'm not sure I follow your logic on this. Isn't a much older car with (probably) higher kms going to be less reliable than your current car. I say take the car to get looked at so you have a better idea of how much it's going to cost to get it running proper and then you'll be in a better place to make a decision. The vr's do sound nice though...

[jeddyb]

Hey, I understand your point, I just thought that it may have been the general Mkiv's that are known to have a number of reliability problems. Also, I've actually always wanted a VR6, ever since I drove my brother's. I love that engine, but as I said before, I may most likely not go through with this plan, was just curious to see if it is an option if it turns out that mine is outside of my budget for repairs.

I guess the 1.6 will always be the more sensible option until I am financially stable, what with fuel prices and all and that little engine has a surprisingly healthy pull, you just have to get the rpm's up a bit.

[madglf3]

I would think that Carlos is right, particularly if you're talking about a VR6. They can have their share of problems too, so I wouldn't step into Mk3 ownership expecting it to be good from the get go. They're the type of car you probably buy with a few issues (window regs, AC might not work, heater core go, and possibly might be in need of timing chain service). That said I'd prefer one over a Mk4 1.6, but I wouldn't chose it for reliability reasons, not initially at least.

[RedMk2Gti]

+1, you'll be waiting for big bill if you buy any VR6 under 5K. They are cheap for some reason.
But after all, VR6 is a much better driving experience than a Mk4 1.6

[bushnut]

yes we would all love a vr6 but a desent vr6 is going to be worth more than your mk4 and if your stuck for cash now your not going to be better off buying a vr6 i would stick with the mk4 after spending so much cash on it already i would be giving it a throttle body clean and checking my air intake pipe and engine breather pipes for splits and air leaks and change your coolant temp sensor should sort out your hard to start when hot problem just make sure no coolants leaking into your wiring loom at the coolant temp sensor plug this causes heaps of running problems and engine light to come on if so get rid of the car going to cost you heaps

[Stan]

also see if you can find a local with vagcom, it might point you in the right direction.

[jeddyb]

Yeah, I think you guys are all right, it was a pretty silly idea I guess.

Anyway, regarding my car. A few things that people may want to know.
I have cleaned the throttle body already. It was the initial high-revving problem that made me do it. Unfortunately however, as far as I remember, it didn't actually have idleing problems until after it was cleaned. It is a drive by cable throttle as well, if that helps.

As for the coolant temp and VAG-COM, I was actually about to address those things soon. I was thinking of getting one of these VW COOLANT TEMP TEMPERATURE SENSOR GOLF MK4 PASSAT etc | eBay
Just wanted to be sure that's the right one.

As for VAG-COM. I went to the local VW mechs and they said $50 for a scan and $20 for a print out. So I thought I might actually be better off getting one of these VAG-COM USB KKL OBD 2 Cable AUDI VW Skoda Seat VAG.COM | eBay
I thought, you know, I could save $50 and then I would have it forever.

Thanks for all of the replies and suggestions. Hopefully I can get it back to normal soon.

[AusScare]

You bought the car and had to do a few service bits and a clutch? Mate that is nothing.

I guarentee if you bought a VR6 you'd be looking at heater cores, timing chains, abs sensors, window regs, etc. Not to mention the car is much older and probably driven much harder than a 1.6.

Stick with the 1.6, if you want something quicker get a GTI of sorts.

[jeddyb]

Yeah man, I've stopped thinking about it now.

Also, I was looking at the VR6's mainly because I can't drive a turbo car on my probationary lisence. Also, I didn't really think to do much research on the reliability of the Mk3.

But yeah, if anyone has anymore input on the other stuff with my car and the eBay items, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Coralon]

The temp sender is indeed the little beastie you want. They are only $25 from the dealer so only an extra $15 if you dont want to wait for postage from the UK which I could imagine taking quite some time.

The cable you are looking at is a cheap knock off but should work with VCDS Lite. I would give the versions that the seller is offering a big miss as they are ancient and shareware to boot, VCDS is up to 10.6 or thereabouts. Ross-Tech: VCDS: Downloads: Which One?

[jeddyb]

Okay, so I decided to go down to the dealer today, more than prepared to pay an extra $15 - $20 to not have to wait. Anyway, he got it, it was the right one and turned to me and said it'll be $80. EIGHTY DOLLARS. I told him I'd have to come back for that.

Looks like I'm just going to have to wait for the damn thing. At the very least, I can get one from the US a little more than the British one, if that'll be quicker.

[jeddyb]

Hey guys,
Just came across this old thread I made and realised I never finished and I know from my experience when trying to look for solutions online, it can be incredibly frustrating to come across a thread like this.

Anyway, so I bought the green coolant temp sensor as linked before and installed it and voila! Idle settled, didn't shoot up into the 4k range anymore and no more difficult start!
Even if a little late, thanks for your help!
Jed.

[Lito]

Glad you got it sorted mate. Its funny how some parts can effect the engine in ways you'd never think logical. Is your got start problem fixed too?

[jeddyb]

Glad you got it sorted mate. Its funny how some parts can effect the engine in ways you'd never think logical. Is your got start problem fixed too?

Thanks. And yeah, I've got no more starting problems thank goodness!