Hi - New Driver and New A2 owner here...

I wasn't too worried about the rotor faces, it was more the build up at the edges that the pads won't rub away, if it is just cosmetic and the rotors have plenty of life left in them I might fancy having a go at cleaning them up.

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Last comment of the current string.

Echoing other comments, the discs look fine, a bit of use will polish them up a bit and improve braking. It may be worth after that checking the pads of not glazed over.

Your comment "won't rub away", the edges they never do by design, the brake pad is narrower than the disc so it is inevitable a lip will be formed.

If the rusty state really bugs you rather than mess about with rust remover it would be just as easy to replace the discs. A good maker is Pagid, theirs come with a protective silver finish that lasts some time, but anything metal will eventually rust. Pagid discs and pad for both sides costs about £60 but lots of other brands considerably cheaper.

Last trivial point. In your picture the cable for the ABS sensor just above the top of the disc should go under the bracket it now rests on. Just have a memory the cable connector will not sit right/pull at the sensor. The VCDS scan show no problem on the sensor so leave it for now.

Andy

Edit. Another point I forgot. The torque spec on the wheel bolts is 120Nm which is quite tight. Ask the garage to check when next in, it would be quite hard to achieve the rating with a standard rachet or spanner, ideally you really need an 18" torque wrench.
 
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Thanks again everyone, appreciating the support.

An update on my FSI...

The temp sensor was replaced with a new one and all seemed well, I was getting more used to driving and quite enjoying the experience. I also decided to give the car a bit of a "Detail". I bought some good cleaning products and spent a whole day Washing, Claying and Hand Polishing the paintwork before giving it a coat of TurtleWax Hybrid Ceramic Sealent.

20200922_140507 copy.jpg



I wish that was all I had to report.... Unfortunately, after a while, my dash lit up on the way home and just around the corner from home the engine managed to overheat and expel it's coolant, seemingly from the reservoir. I pulled over imminently (even though we were less than 200 metres from home) and let it cool down. When I came back the reservoir was pretty much empty, so topped it up with distilled water and brought it back to the house.

Fortunately, I have a friendly neighbour who is a mechanic so he came over to have a look for me. His overall impression of the engine was that it looks to be in good shape and is running well. We ran it up to temperature and the cooling system seemed to be working as it should, no leaks and the thermostat seemed to open up as it got to temp. We found that the Alternator has given up and he explained that this is definitely the first thing to attend to as this can cause strange things to happen. There are other errors that have popped up but could well be because of the alternator.

QUESTION

So I need to purchase a new alternator and I'm wondering which to go for, they seem to vary in price quite a bit, this is the best photo I managed to take of the one in the car:

20200924_100538 copy.jpg


It looks to be the Bosch 036 903 024 D

This part number brings up many options for instance on this website - https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/oenumber/036903024d.html -

Can anyone recommend one or know of anything I should be looking for in particular?

Thanks!
 
If the car is showing no other reason for overheating then i would suggest changing the expansion tank cap. The seal on them can fail in time and cause the system to appear to be pressurising and then overflow.
 
Thanks again everyone, appreciating the support.

An update on my FSI...

The temp sensor was replaced with a new one and all seemed well, I was getting more used to driving and quite enjoying the experience. I also decided to give the car a bit of a "Detail". I bought some good cleaning products and spent a whole day Washing, Claying and Hand Polishing the paintwork before giving it a coat of TurtleWax Hybrid Ceramic Sealent.

View attachment 70306


I wish that was all I had to report.... Unfortunately, after a while, my dash lit up on the way home and just around the corner from home the engine managed to overheat and expel it's coolant, seemingly from the reservoir. I pulled over imminently (even though we were less than 200 metres from home) and let it cool down. When I came back the reservoir was pretty much empty, so topped it up with distilled water and brought it back to the house.

Fortunately, I have a friendly neighbour who is a mechanic so he came over to have a look for me. His overall impression of the engine was that it looks to be in good shape and is running well. We ran it up to temperature and the cooling system seemed to be working as it should, no leaks and the thermostat seemed to open up as it got to temp. We found that the Alternator has given up and he explained that this is definitely the first thing to attend to as this can cause strange things to happen. There are other errors that have popped up but could well be because of the alternator.

QUESTION

So I need to purchase a new alternator and I'm wondering which to go for, they seem to vary in price quite a bit, this is the best photo I managed to take of the one in the car:

View attachment 70313

It looks to be the Bosch 036 903 024 D

This part number brings up many options for instance on this website - https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/oenumber/036903024d.html -

Can anyone recommend one or know of anything I should be looking for in particular?

Thanks!
Sorry to hear of your woes.

Take Steve's advice.

FSI alternators are 110 amp and that what matters. There is an FSI alternator appeared in the Marketplace today (buy a lottery ticket!) from Nye at £5 + postage! I would take give it a punt.

Andy
 
Sorry to hear of your woes.

Take Steve's advice.

FSI alternators are 110 amp and that what matters. There is an FSI alternator appeared in the Marketplace today (buy a lottery ticket!) from Nye at £5 + postage! I would take give it a punt.

Andy

I see, where is the marketplace? I don't see it...

I just found this post as well: https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/general-a2-servicing-information.23606/post-370059

That sounds like what happened to me, except my coolant tank doesn't seem to be breaking - I suppose it's quite likely the thermostat will need replacing after all, anyway, alternator first then we'll see how it runs... if the Thermostat needs doing after that I'm confident my neighbour will be able to help me out with it, he's not working full time at the moment and is an actual mechanic that likes what he does and is willing to help me out (for a bit of cash of course) which is a great arrangement for me as I get to learn a bit of mechanics along the way.
 
It's been a little tricky getting used to driving it, my instructors' car will move off using only the power of the engine off the clutch, whereas the A2 seems to need a lot more throttle to get it going and prevent it from stalling.

It sounds all bad ? but apart from all this (although I'm sure there's more to find) I really like the car I just need to get used to it and get it running smoothly.

My 1.4 tdi felt really gutless and about to stall the first few times I drove it, you'll get used to it before you know it. My first car was a 1.1 chevette saloon with two degrees worth of biting point, the old man admonished me by saying its a car drive it, which was solid advice, if a bit cryptic.

I really like these cars, they're great to drive, and the ride quality is excellent. I got absolutely battered on my first mot, though, for a load of tiny stupid repairs like handbrake cables, gaiters, and junk. I'm deep in the land of old car problems on mine, but I still really like it.
 
Maybe this would suit my needs?


At this point, since you said it wouldn't really be a novice job to change the thermostat, I'm thinking I'll have to get it done at a local garage...
I found a thermostat for about £50 and fitted it myself. It was a fiddly job because it's at the back of the thermostat housing and you can't see what you're doing but do-able. I think there are instructions somewhere in here.
 
Thanks to @Nye for the Alternator.

It was a fairly simple job replacing that. Tested the cables at the battery and read 14v so seems all good there.

I cleared the codes and drove the car about 3/4 times since the alt replacement it all felt fine. On the coolant side, it seems to come up to temp fine and stay there (although not particularly long drives, usually about 30mins).

The one thing that did come back the last drive is the three brake warning lights, they go away after stopping and restarting, on checking with VCDS lite (unregistered) I'm getting a fault on the Brake Pressure Sensor 1 (G201) - Implausible Signal - Intermittent.

On looking into the G201 sensor I thought it was the one located on the master cylinder so bought this sensor. Having taken a closer look at my car it doesn't seem to match with the online workshop manual... I only have one cable going to my master cylinder and the sensor doesn't look the same...

20201001_114022.jpg


On further research, I'm finding out that there are in fact two very different brake systems as determined by the ABS unit, either the MK20 (older with the two sensors on the master cylinder) or MK60 (which contains the G201 sensor inside the ABS unit and is not replaceable) is this correct?

And I suppose it's just my luck that my car has the MK60 unit in which case I will need to replace or have my ABS unit fixed?

20201001_114313.jpg


As usual, your help is much appreciated. I hope eventually I can write a post that doesn't contain any problems... :rolleyes:
 
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Just a thought.... is there any chance old brake fluid could be the cause?

Looking at the reservoir the fluid looks fairly black... I can't quite see, as the mesh filter obstructs my view, is there a technique of removing the mesh filter?

Is it worth the time/money changing the oil before replacing or rebuilding the ABS?...
 
Brake fluid should be clean and clear. If not, it should have been changed long ago, as it is hydroscopic (absorbs water). The contaminated fluid will cause corrosion in virtually every componant in the braking system. A fluid flush and change is not a big job for a workshop, couple of hours tops, Worth a try, but I suspect the brake pressure sensor has failed. There are, I belive, two fo them. Best to change both. Use OEM parts only. Brake fluid woukd be changed at the same time. Sensors are little on the expensive side though.
Brake fluid should be checked at every service (most workshops can check the water content to save un-neccesary expense). Not doing so is a short term saving of 30 minutes labour, at a cost of hundreds of pounds worth of parts and labour later.
Strange how we put lots of emphasis on service history when buying a car, then, isometimes, gnore it once we take it home!
Mac.
 
@PlasticMac thanks for the reply.

I did buy the sensor as described in the workshop manual online (G201) but as I said in my previous post it appears that on my version of brake system it is a different component that lives within the ABS unit and therefore is not an easily replacable part... i would gladly be proven otherwise but this looks to be the case from my searching...

Since it is an intermittent fault I was wondering if it could be because of the old fluid but if you're right in the fact that the sensor is dead I would have to have the ABS unit rebuilt or replaced...
 
@ReaGeorge,

"On further research, I'm finding out that there are in fact two very different brake systems as determined by the ABS unit, either the MK20 (older with the two sensors on the master cylinder) or MK60 (which contains the G201 sensor inside the ABS unit and is not replaceable) is this correct?"

Yes, according to posts by gurus Tom and RAB.

You have a MK60. Ask the recyclers for one, @A2Steve currently has a FSI in, @Kleynie has had one for ages, likewise @Clackers and maybe @sciroccorrado.

Andy
 
Continuing my search....

I found workshop manual pages that seem to relate to the MK60 system and it does, in fact, indicate that apparently, the G201 sensor is the one sensor that is located on the master cylinder... (if it's not G201 then what sensor is it?)



It states the latter three sensors are in the ESP whereas G201 is not...

Later in the component overview for the Mark 60, it shows this:

a2-50.png


Item 16 is labelled as G201

Is this not the correct overview for my car? ?


Sorry for all the posts, just trying to get to the bottom of this so I can get on with fixing it... ?
 
@ReaGeorge,

"On further research, I'm finding out that there are in fact two very different brake systems as determined by the ABS unit, either the MK20 (older with the two sensors on the master cylinder) or MK60 (which contains the G201 sensor inside the ABS unit and is not replaceable) is this correct?"

Yes, according to posts by gurus Tom and RAB.

You have a MK60. Ask the recyclers for one, @A2Steve currently has a FSI in, @Kleynie has had one for ages, likewise @Clackers and maybe @sciroccorrado.

Andy
@Andrew
Good work.
Any idea how the two different systems relate to year and engine type?
As the FSI was a later model, maybe all FSIs are MK60.
Mac.
 
Continuing my search....

I found workshop manual pages that seem to relate to the MK60 system and it does, in fact, indicate that apparently, the G201 sensor is the one sensor that is located on the master cylinder... (if it's not G201 then what sensor is it?)




It states the latter three sensors are in the ESP whereas G201 is not...

Later in the component overview for the Mark 60, it shows this:

View attachment 70652

Item 16 is labelled as G201

Is this not the correct overview for my car? ?


Sorry for all the posts, just trying to get to the bottom of this so I can get on with fixing it... ?
Just looked at my manual and the diagram you have posted here is for the MK20. The diagram for the MK60 is different (obviously) but I have it stored on my iPad here in Adobe reader and it won't let me be copy and paste it, sorry. Away for a couple of hours now and I will see if I can find it later elsewhere if you or somebody else has not posted it when I return.

Andy
 
Thanks for the link, difficult to argue with that. What threw me is I was looking at different diagram of the mk60 to yours and assumed (possibly wrongly) yours was therefore of the Mk20. Spent some time reading around this and I can see your dilemma, there seems confusion everywhere. All I can suggest now, is Spike's advice. If you think you can access what you think is the G201 sensor, first run a scan and note results (I do not know if VCDS unregistered Lite automatically saves scan results), then disconnect its electrical connector and run a scan again. If you get a new/different fault message concerning G201 you know you have the G201 sensor, else not G201 if other, but wonder if a little careful drive may be needed to activate the 'new' fault. Just thought it might not be a good idea if VCDS Lite cannot clear the fault after this experiment. Just an idea as Howey above, meanwhile ignore my last two posts for now.

Andy
 
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Got under the bonnet today for a quick check...

Unplugged the cable to the sensor on the master cylinder and checked VCDS. As expected a new Fault code showed up: 01435 (Which I believe only relates to sensor G201) ? followed by 012 (which, as far as I can tell, is "electrical fault in circuit") which makes sense having unplugged it. So this seems like good evidence it's the sensor I need changing after all.

I should have a bottle of brake fluid coming tomorrow along with a one-way bleed valve. If the weather's not too bad I should be able to get the sensor switched out over the weekend and the fresh fluid in.
 
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