Hi, i have a friend looking for a new car and i'd like to be able to advise him on what to look out for when buying a Mk4 diesel. Are there any rust points?, bad seals, known problems with mechanicals, prone to this or that etc etc? Are there any issues with turbos past a certain mileage? Thanks for any advise you can give me, James.
Common mk4 stuff i know of is knocking anti roll bars, worn rear axle bushes, warped 2mass flywheels, faulty air mass meters. Thats all i can think of at the minute Cambelts due every 60k on diesels
deffo cambelt. you really don't want to be tackling that job or paying for it, so make sure it's been done (along with the tensioners and water pump)
Thanks for that guys. So doing the cambelt is not so easy then? I'm fairly competant but haven't even looked inside a Mk4 diesel bay. Anything else to look for anyone?
Copied from another thread i posted: Without doubt the 150 is obviously the more tunable, although many do say the 130 actually is. Prob not much too choose between them in terms of longevity tbh, just maintain it sensibly, and it'll be fine. Any mk4 buying guide is going to apply to the diesel in most respects apart from the engine. The 100 is generally worth givin a miss, unless a complete steal. All comes back to a question of money too really. The 130 is obviously the best compromise, although any of the models can be ecu mapped to add approx another 30ish bhp, while 115 still a competent choice too Visually, 130 and 115 will look similar apart from alloys 150 can be identified by the centre rear headrest or huge intercooler if youre under bonnet. Ideally use the data sticker to verify the model - dont rely on boot badges. Each model remaps differently, typically adding about 40hp (generic). Choosing a bora is a good idea - much cheaper than the golf, but more or less same performance and spec. Sport/ Highline models one to aim for. If you going for the bora, check mike's site out, which is very informative : http://www.borabase.com/ Some of the 'typical' things going wrong with mk4s include: Mafs, coilpacks, window regs, arb drop links, wiper linkage, m/c's, washer lines, water pumps. Cambelt interval is only 60k under certain cirumstances too, so it can be 40k. The job is a reasonable biggy, and you'll want to replace the waterpump, tensioner(as said) and wheels at same time. I did mine just a few weeks back.
Thanks. Why is the cambelt such a big job? Just because there's so much stuff in the way or are there other things to consider? When you say to change the wheels are you referring to some kind of tensioning wheels? As far as it being a 'biggy' i have to laugh as my father has currently got me doing the head gaskets on his 3.0 V6 Shogun. I should have suspected when a couple of local mechanics declined the job! He made it worse by trying to fix it with some worse than useless stuff called... well, i don't know what it was called but you name it he stuck it in trying to seal the leak. For the time and effort it was as well that i stripped the engine down in the first place seeing as that's what i'm now doing. Still, you live and learn. James.
Well,.....its not really that big if you know what you're doing - and most people on here actually dont despite what they think! Its one job thats gota be right The 'wheels' are the tensioner and idler wheels- replacement is wise Over the years the more stuff has been bolted on to cars with more elaborate covers ect, but the meat of the job remains the same.
mk4 diesel the only problem on the mk4 deisel is when doing the t/belt the engine mount needs to be removed,it's time consuming but if you'v got reasnoble knowledge you should be ok. the only thing i would question is buld quality. my 2002 bora feels like it's falling apart all of a sudden. any one aggree?
