MK2 Golf door check strap upgrade

Discussion in 'Styling, Trim and Bodywork' started by rubjonny, Sep 11, 2017.

  1. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    Fed up of the door hitting you in the ass every time you reach in to grab something? tired of holding on to the door white knuckled in high winds to avoid it smashing into other cars? Envious of modern VAG which have doors which not only stay open, but have several stages for carparks?

    Well this thread is for you! On one of my many mooches through ebay for shiny things I stumbled upon Lupo check straps. They seemed to tick all of the relevant boxes so I pocketed a used one from the local scrappy for a closer look. Looks promising:
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    The only issue I could see was it seemed slightly shorter, plus its much thicker than the OEM MK2 strap. Looking closer it seems for whatever reason the main strap is actually made of 2 pieces of metal clamped together by the clamp and limit stop. As I still wasn't sure it would fit I took the easy route out and hacked the end off one of them with a dremel. The bush also needs cutting in half and refitting as the hole is pretty large, then slip the mk2 washer thingy over and took it out to the car. For starters the MK2 plastic wire protection cover thing wont fit over so you need to make sure your wirign is well secured. You also need different door mounting bolts which are threaded all the way up, the original bolt thread starts further up and doesn't reach the thread inside the check strap base. The last issue is they are pretty tight to the inside of the door skin. I dremelled the outside lip off but it didnt help much, I think the issue is the main body of it. But if you thread both bolts in loosely then tighten them down it goes right in using the stock holes in the door :thumbup:

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    First impression, wow! A door which will stay open, and wont close again unless you actually want it to :thumbup: It has several stages which is well handy in carparks, the only thing is it takes a little getting used to the effort required to move the door. Make sure you have OEM door handles the cheap ones may snap :lol:

    I know it doesn't look great, I chose the quick n dirty method as I still wasn't sure if it would work. You can see the cut piece wobbling a little as you open the door as well since it isnt secured to the other half in any way, for the next version I will grind down both sides of the strap and taper the ends so its a bit nicer. Also since its a bit thinner than OEM I'll keep an eye on the strap make sure it doesn't start to crack before I buy any more

    Looking at ETKA 6E0837249C is listed for all ages Lupo and Arosa, with A and B being older revisions all superceeded by the version C
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2022
    Helios, WAUOla, Chtelain and 3 others like this.
  2. Tristan

    Tristan Paid Member Paid Member

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    Jon, how are these lasting?
     
  3. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    Still working great, I don't know how I survived without it! :lol:
     
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  4. Helios

    Helios Paid Member Paid Member

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    John, this is a brilliant mod! I stumbled across this thread by chance, bought some lupo check straps new from ebay, took the grinder to them and did it the nice way and now have doors that don't keep swinging shut or too far open. Should be one of the top mk2 mods!!!
     
  5. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    yeah its a god send for my driveway which slopes sideways, I was forever fighting the bloody door trying to get in or out :lol:

    If I was to do it again I might open out the bracket on the door to take the wider check strap if theres room, since I'll never be going back to standard. the mk3 has bolt on check strap brackets as well which is another option though not sure what the construction is behind the A pillar around the area. I imagine it'll be strong enough to drill and tap/rivnut though
     
  6. John Brown New Member

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    I’m glad I saw your post, quick question, was there a particular model / of Lupo that the door straps came from?, thanks
     
  7. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    looking at etka 6E0837249C is listed for all ages of lupo and arosa. A and B revisions are earlier parts, all superceeded by the C version. updated post with part numbers :)
     
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  8. Tristan

    Tristan Paid Member Paid Member

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    How are yours lasting, John?
     
  9. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    still going strong, still squuek a bit due to me cutting half the strap rather than thinning them out. tbh if I did it again I'd think about making the hole on the shell wider to accept it as I'll never go back
     
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  10. Mk2daz

    Mk2daz Paid Member Paid Member

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    Nice one John, will need to do this on my mk2, theres always plenty lupos at my local scrappy too :thumbup:
     
  11. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    new beetle ones look same design, but different part number. not sure if fitment is different or length or whatever. but worth a look as well while youre scrappy hunting
     
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