Lainey now has a Mk4 GTI Anniversary. BUT. It has at least two major design faults. There may well be more. #1: The Recaro Seat base cushion is much too short, and too flat! It is approximately 45mm shorter than the seat base on the Audi 100 and flatter. I have a Recaro LS in my 90 20V Q and the GTI Anniversary should have been fitted with similar seats. They should not really be emblazoned with the 'GTI' 'Recaro' logo. #2: The gear lever is too far to the rear. so an up-in-the-air bent elbow gear change, is needed. They should have set the ICE rubbish further under the dash, or scrapped it altogether, and mounted the gear lever, and the hand brake, at least 100mm further forward. It's bad enough having cable change without the added problems. OK, I suppose, if you think you are a, 'finger-tips-on-the-wheel' budding F1 driver, but grown ups prefer to sit in a position to give maximum control of the car. I suppose it's just the usual problems of marketing over ruling good ergonomic engineering design.
Removing Hatch Lock Cylinder! This car has been owned by idiots, and as Lainey is only the fourth owner, I guess it was the 2nd and 3rd, both Irish! First problem. I am sure that there will be many more! Almost every VAG car we have bought 2nd hand has had uncaring fools as previous owners. The exceptions were the 1st Mk1 Driver and the 1st Mk2 GTI, both from Gilders. Also the Audi 90 20V Q which had previously been owned by a friend from S&H Motor Club. Every Saab we bought 2nd hand was perfect. That says a lot about the 2 marques! ------------------------------------------------------- The story of the waste of many hours! The central locking does not lock the hatch, and the lock cylinder is seized solid. So, I downloaded Bentley and for the Mk4. It is uber basic regarding specific instructions. There aren't any! Sort of quote: "Remove the trim = 2 screws. - Remove the clip retaining the lock cylinder. - Pull out the lock cylinder." The trim is easy to remove. The clip is reasonably easy to remove. You can't pull out a lock cylinder when it is corroded in solid! I unscrewed the 3 screws retaining the housing, handle and cylinder, and I disconnected the link rods. BUT. The assembly will not pass out through the hole in the hatch. The lock cylinder jams at the bottom and the handle pivot shaft retaining clip jams at the top of the hole. After some hours using releasing fluid, hot air, both swearing and from a paint stripper, and a pair of pipe grips it was still solid. NOW. The interference at the top of the opening is relatively small, so I pushed off the clip, and pulled out the pivot shaft. It almost came out. SO. I removed all of the linkages from the bottom of the lock cylinder. THEN. I eased the edge of the opening just a little, where the casing fouled, until the whole handle assembly 'popped' out! Very easy to get the cylinder out when the assembly is in your hand. I stripped and cleaned the cylinder, and all of the associated parts. I re-assembled, using Fuchs waterproof Pro racing grease and Renolite rubber grease. I then, eventually, put everything back. Eventually because fitting the lock cylinder retaining clip is a backbreaking nightmare. One really does need a lot of patience to lean backwards and keep trying to get the thing into its slots with almost not space to. Long nose pliers will do it if one perseveres. Job's a good 'un!
My son bought a 1997 MK3 VR6 about 10 years ago. As we drove it to the ferry, he was following us, it boiled because the auxiliary water pump was bu99ered. Of course, we could not turn around, and like a fool he opened the coolant header tank and scalded himself, so badly, that the police patrol car, that was luckily on the road, took him to Hollyhead hospital. We missed the ferry! Since then, the sills have rotted through. Changing headlight bulbs is a strip down job! And. I don't like the styling one little bit. So. No thanks.
That would be enough to put me off getting one too! Sorry to hear that, not nice. I've owned one car post 2000. Piece of shoite! ...but then again... http://vbsouthafrica.com/vehicles/volkswagen/golf/original-cti/699068 and this, sorry I can't help myself http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/VW_Citi_Golf_R-Line.jpg Last orders. Apart from the Mk3 metal worm issues, not a bad car. My uncle had the VR6 Jetta, I thought it was bloody awesome!
Don't get anything your saying at all I have a mk4 Anni this last 7 years and can't fault it ,,great car
This is what I think is called the '6N' tailgate handle, isn't it?. At one time there seemed to be more VAG products using it than not, as well as the f**d galaxy. Wouldn't the lock cylinder have pushed into place if the clip was fitted first?, i.e. fit clip into the grooves, fit handle to tailgate, push lock cylinder into handle.
they get a hard life and seize up check the switch i had problems with it after the washer pipe split above it the lock mechanism seized up as well the spindle for the washers is known to break and leak as well the handle should have been plastic as the aluminum handle is one of the worst rust spots on the mk4 golf due to it crud behind the front arch liner rots the front of the sill and foam pads rot the front wings seats are no worse than the mk2 or 3 recaro's just the style is different the lack of adjustment on the base of the mk2 ones say next rs turbo seats is much the same as you getting at
It is a grand car Eddie and Lainey loves it to bits. I have not been permitted to drive it yet, and may never be allowed to do so? I am just the tame mechanic! But, I am disappointed that the Recaro seats are shorter, and flatter on the base, when compared with the Audi and aftermarket Recaros. Recaro 'Designer Sport' from my Golf. Recaro 'LS' from my Audi 90. Must admit that without the front pulled out it is only 15mm longer than the Mk4 ones! NOW! I was going to say the gear lever is too far back until I realised that the Steering column can be adjusted!
Thanks for all the tips Justin. The only car I have ever sat in with OEM Recaros was my 1965 Saab Sport. They were known as 'Reutter' back then. Recaro = Reutter Carosserie-Werke.
If the rear washer doesn't work or leaks there's a repair kit available, but only for a certain make one.
New wiper blades were required, so I visited my local car spares place: Carrowroe Auto Spares. It's only a small shop, but Eugine always give me good deals. I never realised that the Mk4 had different length front blades, and that the passenger side is curved! Eugine did, and even had the correct Bosch set in stock. Not cheap at 35 (25), but they work well which one needs in 'sunny' Sligo! Mind you, it looks weird having a curved blade pass in front of you! Brakes: New rear discs are needed. I know that Brembo/AP have homologated the MAX/XTREME as Group 'N' discs rear discs for the MK2, etc. So. I made a search, but the Mk4 rears are not available. But. The Audi A1 fronts are almost identical, and are available in AP XTREME type. Why VW and Audi should use two different discs that are as near as damn it the same I can't understand? The front discs are new, but what brand they are I don't know? Does anyone recognise these?
Get bog standard vw discs or ate discs are coated and last longer The difference in the discs I think will be down to fwd and 4motion
Justin. Both the 4 Motion and the Anni use the same 256 x 22 8N0 615 601B rear discs. I do like ATE and trust them. I have ATE Power discs on the front of the GTI, and standard ATE on the rear. Now, the reason I looked at the Brembo Max discs is because they are made from high carbon alloyed cast iron. And so are ATE Power discs. But it turns out that ATE also make some standard discs of high grade iron! The standard ones for the Mk4 Anni are so! A1 fronts have a different part number.
I actually sat in the driver's seat yesterday, and: Aren't adjustable steering columns really great! Lainey says the CD changer and radio work really well. I will never find out though as the rule is: 'No musical distractions whilst driving, even whilst I am just a passenger'. Lainey's taste in modern music does my head in! Mind you, when Ruth comes over in the summer I will be relegated to the back seat and those two chattering in the front will do my head in anyway.
Before Lainey bought the car I phoned the the seller and asked what was wrong with it. He did say that there was a water leak from the cylinder head flange and he had bought a new flange. Which seemed sensible as I have usually found that the plastic has deteriorated and a new o-ring is not usually enough. He also said that is was a quick job, with which I agreed as I have changed them on Golfs and Audis before. So, this last Saturday I did the job. It took quite a while as finding the rear bolt for the clip which holds the 4 pipes at the rear of the cylinder head was difficult as it is well hidden. Then, loosening the joints, on the same pipes, so that they can be pulled far enough out to get the bottom flange hole clear of its stud, takes time. When I got the old flange off I found this! Obviously an idiot had tried to take the flange off before, and being unable to shift the pipes out of the way had broken away the inner o-ring retaining flange, you can just get a screwdriver in there to do so, thus he could slide in a new seal to be located only by the outer flange. Trouble is the new seal he used is the wrong size! When I got the new flange out of the plain padded bag it had been put in I found to my horror the it's Febi 5hite. So, I'll have to do the job all over again with a pukka VAG part. Last week Lainey received these through the post from the seller with a note saying the drivers window stuck down sometimes. We could have told him that! Shame I did not lower the window before we paid for the car as I would have knocked the price down even more. I did get 500 off the asking price and would have offered 200 less had I known about the window.
Ta so. But it's a petrol 6 speed manual! Don't do diesel. Only ever had one auto, but that was a Daf 55 Marathon Gordini, and only available as a CVT auto
