DAMN Riders - No rules, Just ride!

Being tall, I was concerned about being able to get in and out of my Corvette repeatedly. And I definitely didn't want to destroy the steering column like people tend to do when a car is short or a truck is tall (it's a steering wheel, not a pull point, people!). I've actually found that it's super simple -- I just put my left hand on the door sill to push myself up and rotate out. It's completely natural.


~Patrick

Coming home from work a few weeks ago, I got off the highway and when I pulled up to the light my GTI started having a loping idle like it had a big fat race cam in it. Yea thats no good. Limped it home and ignored it for 2 weeks as I already knew what it was.

New Year's weekend I decided to have a look.




As expected, timing has jumped and the intake cam is 2 teeth off. Next step was resetting the timing then a leakdown test to see if it was worth throwing parts at. Cylinders 1, 2, and 4 were great. Cylinder 3 not so much. Bent valves.




I bought this car with a blown engine due to timing tensioner failing. I replaced it with another engine that just had all the most updated parts put in it 100 miles before the car was totalled. I put 60k on said parts and the tensioner failed again. Decided to cut my losses and sent it on its way. Screw those german cars

Went back to Japan for the replacement.




Pulled in the shop and started taking it apart to make a parts list. It honestly isn't nearly as bad as it could have been.






Now I'm waiting on parts.

From all I've heard it sounds like vw/audio have not improved much if at all since my 78 scirocco. Fun car to drive but went through two engines in that too.

gots_a_sol wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2024 1:16 pm

Coming home from work a few weeks ago, I got off the highway and when I pulled up to the light my GTI started having a loping idle like it had a big fat race cam in it. Yea thats no good. Limped it home and ignored it for 2 weeks as I already knew what it was....


...I bought this car with a blown engine due to timing tensioner failing. I replaced it with another engine that just had all the most updated parts put in it 100 miles before the car was totalled. I put 60k on said parts and the tensioner failed again. Decided to cut my losses and sent it on its way. Screw those german cars

What model year was it? GTI was on the list for a future commuter car but having had a one previously and hearing this, wondering if it's not quite the "power move". Considering dropping it from the list.

Mine was an 09. That gen engine was used through 2014. Gen 3 started in 2015. I think they fixed the timing issues on that newer engine but there are some other issues with it, though they seem less catastrophic.


It was a fun enough car for a daily, just a bit fragile.

Motomofo wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 14, 2024 8:42 am

What model year was it? GTI was on the list for a future commuter car but having had a one previously and hearing this, wondering if it's not quite the "power move". Considering dropping it from the list.

Waiting on parts to put the front back together so messed with doing some other fixes.



When I picked it up, this clearly aftermarket led was flashing like crazy and I could hear a relay going bonkers under the dash







Pulled some dash panels and there is definitely non-oem crap there.







Ugh







Got it all ripped out and cleaned up/wiring fixed.

Man that's a pile of wires! It amazes me how some folks hook up electrical stuff so badly! Grounds and shorts waiting to happen.

I replaced my GF's garbage disposal this weekend. But the previous install, they had used 1 wire nut on the black and then just twisted and taped the other 2 and shoved it up into the bottom of the disposal. I removed the old one, cut/stripped the wires and made new connections, used some wire nuts and then taped each one up and bundled the wires away in the new unit. I am a crappy electrician but I did a much better job than the previous install!

I've been building a house off and on since August 3. It's still in progress...

I've been enjoying watching your progress. It's really impressive!


~Patrick