New arrival..

When I took out the battery retainer the other day, it seems like the rivnut type things have rusted solid and come out of the bodywork, which is a bit of a bummer.

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Not sure what to do, but I've got a rivnut tool for m6 bolts, so might see if I can do something with that.
 
I finally managed to get the Blue Sport up to the house again. I've noticed a vibration coming through the gear lever, it seems to come from the gear change tower on the gearbox. Not really ideal, as these have DMF I think.
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Nope, only the TDI90 from mid-2003 on had a DMF. Your blue one will be a TDI75 which is SMF. Prime suspect is the gearbox mount, but the Febi part for the 9N Polo fits as long as you re-use your existing bracket.
 
Proghound said:
Nope, only the TDI90 from mid-2003 on had a DMF. Your blue one will be a TDI75 which is SMF. Prime suspect is the gearbox mount, but the Febi part for the 9N Polo fits as long as you re-use your existing bracket.
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Okay that's good news, and thanks for the tip!

This one looks like a good deal..
www.ebay.co.uk

Polo Rear 1.4 TDi Engine Mount Mounting Support Fits VW Febi 31113 | eBay

Polo Rear 1.4 TDi Engine Mount Mounting Support Fits VW Febi 31113 - Fast & Free Delivery from Simply Car Parts - Brand New Genuine Febi Bilstein UK Stock - 3 Years Manufacturers Warranty.
www.ebay.co.uk
 
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I managed to spend most of the day pottering on with my A2's today, so can't be bad. Even better my parcel arrived from Timmus with an exchange CCCU and key fobs, so both cars are now fully functional..

Yesterday I cut the seized up bolts out of the battery clamp.
IMG_20240304_153758_HDR.jpg
Now I can easily get in the boot, I've had a closer look at what needs to be done. Unfortunately someone has managed to poke holes all the way through the floor! God knows what was going on there.
IMG_20240304_120702_HDR.jpg
I think I'll try and epoxy some stainless nuts into the holes where the captive nuts should be. Then clean up the holes underneath and seal them.
IMG_20240304_153925.jpg
Whilst poking around I also noticed the headliner is coming away a bit at the back, should be easy enough to glue it back on.
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I got the passenger seat out as well, I've bought a refurbed Vax spot cleaner to have a go at cleaning the manky seats up.
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I checked over the grey one to make sure it is ready for it's MOT tomorrow.
 
DaveySprocket said:
I managed to spend most of the day pottering on with my A2's today, so can't be bad. Even better my parcel arrived from Timmus with an exchange CCCU and key fobs, so both cars are now fully functional..

Yesterday I cut the seized up bolts out of the battery clamp.
View attachment 120186
Now I can easily get in the boot, I've had a closer look at what needs to be done. Unfortunately someone has managed to poke holes all the way through the floor! God knows what was going on there.
View attachment 120190
I think I'll try and epoxy some stainless nuts into the holes where the captive nuts should be. Then clean up the holes underneath and seal them.
View attachment 120187
Whilst poking around I also noticed the headliner is coming away a bit at the back, should be easy enough to glue it back on.
View attachment 120189
I got the passenger seat out as well, I've bought a refurbed Vax spot cleaner to have a go at cleaning the manky seats up.
View attachment 120188
I checked over the grey one to make sure it is ready for it's MOT tomorrow.
Click to expand...
You could repair the holes with a fibreglass repair kit and some black or dark grey topcoat. If you got some fine mat/tissue it would be quite a smart/strong repair
 
Good Evening,

I am thinking about why you ended up with two holes in the battery compartment floor. My guess is the bolts used with the battery retainer piece not original and are too long and pushed through the floor when tightened, they do look needlessly long in the picture. The original bolts are M8x20 with a retained washer.

You may have 2 of the original brass inserts used with the bolts. They were meant to be used as the anchors for use with the spare wheel kit but if this option was not present they are spare but were fitted anyway. They are shown here.

1709581093699.png


Andy
 
Andrew said:
Good Evening,

I am thinking about why you ended up with two holes in the battery compartment floor. My guess is the bolts used with the battery retainer piece not original and are too long and pushed through the floor when tightened, they do look needlessly long in the picture. The original bolts are M8x20 with a retained washer.

You may have 2 of the original brass inserts used with the bolts. They were meant to be used as the anchors for use with the spare wheel kit but if this option was not present they are spare but were fitted anyway. They are shown here.

View attachment 120194

Andy
Click to expand...
Yes I think you're right, the other car has the M8 bolts, that'll be why they were rusted solid as well, they were exposed to all the crap from the road. I like your idea, I've not seen those spare inserts, but maybe one of the two cars has them. I'll have a look tomorrow.

Many thanks for that Andrew
 
Andrew said:
Good Evening,

I am thinking about why you ended up with two holes in the battery compartment floor. My guess is the bolts used with the battery retainer piece not original and are too long and pushed through the floor when tightened, they do look needlessly long in the picture. The original bolts are M8x20 with a retained washer.

You may have 2 of the original brass inserts used with the bolts. They were meant to be used as the anchors for use with the spare wheel kit but if this option was not present they are spare but were fitted anyway. They are shown here.

View attachment 120194

Andy
Click to expand...
Two holes in the battery compartment floor ... my first thought was water and drainage ... maybe not??? are those rear vents behind the bumper leaking?
 
tnpali01 said:
Two holes in the battery compartment floor ... my first thought was water and drainage ... maybe not??? are those rear vents behind the bumper leaking?
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I don't think so, just somebody being a muppet. There's no water in the boot and no sign of it having been there. I didn't know those vents existed until I saw them on one of Rotifers posts. I guess you have to take the bum[per off to check them out..
 
Are the holes directly below the retainer bolts? Maybe the original brass insert threads got stripped and a previous owner drilled them out and went too far?

Andy
 
By far the best option is to bond in new inserts ensuring correct positioning and leave for a few days before fitting the battery retaining plate in anger. The underside of the car needs to be fully sealed to prevent fumes and water getting in. Do not just paint over it but fill the holes first with bumper body filler or glass fibre, let fully cure, sand and matt black paint.
 
Andrew said:
Are the holes directly below the retainer bolts? Maybe the original brass insert threads got stripped and a previous owner drilled them out and went too far?

Andy
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Yes they are directly below. According to the receipts I have, a new battery was fitted in January by a garage, so I would guess this was their handiwork.. The holes are very rough though, I doubt a drill was involved.
 
PlasticMac said:
I recently added the spare wheel bracket to mine, I epoxied these into the recesses:
www.ebay.co.uk

5X Blind Insert M8 Thread L=10mm Brass Nut Moulding Inserts Threaded BLD M8x10mm | eBay

5pcs M8 Blind Inserts. Thread: M8. Length: 10mm. Inserts can be used as light loads in Wood and Chipboard applications. Inserts can be installed as hot, cold or ultrasonically. They provide excellent performance and pull out loads in .
www.ebay.co.uk
Mac.
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Mine does have the spare wheel inserts, but I might as well buy some new ones, seeing as you have kindly pointed me in the right direction Mac! Thank you.
 
audifan said:
By far the best option is to bond in new inserts ensuring correct positioning and leave for a few days before fitting the battery retaining plate in anger. The underside of the car needs to be fully sealed to prevent fumes and water getting in. Do not just paint over it but fill the holes first with bumper body filler or glass fibre, let fully cure, sand and matt black paint.
Click to expand...
Agreed :)
 
And now I've found another fault, which actually I think was mentioned to me but I forgot about it. The boot doesn't close/latch properly, so that's something else to look into. Possibly wouldn't have been helping with the battery drain either.
 
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