TDI90 front end rebuild.

Have covered almost 1000 fault free miles now so I'm happy that it's passed its road test. Most was done on the motorway averaging 70mph but did allot on the bumpy streets around Manchester and some back lanes in Devon. The tracking had to be done but that was expected. Everything works as it should and I've not got any strange creaks, knocks or bangs. Which is rather pleasing considering just about everything has been removed and refitted.
The leaky opensky which resulted in a damp seatbelt hasn't leaked again since I addressed it. Not sure of the cause but whatever I did solved it.

The Mot runs out soon so it will be going in next week for the test so they will pull up anything I've missed.
Once it has passed I can carry on and finish the car off. So far I've not replaced any stretch bolts (apart from a bent gearbox mount bolt) so i will go through and replace those and ensure everything is torqued to spec. Ive not yet done this because i didn't want to replace them and then find after driving it something wasn't right and have to remove them again, they're not cheap. Whilst doing this i will service it and begin the other few bits: AC regas, aero kit, Bluetooth/iPod aux, Front fogs.
 
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I'm not normally a fan of this sort of thing but I like these.
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I had a set of pressure sending ones which were apparently a little too heavy. The valve stem snapped off! These look great though. Little grub screw to lock ?


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Mot pass today and an aircon regas.
Only advisory was some damage to the windscreen but I'm not to worried about that for now. And I'm very glad that the aircon now works, ive had some warm journeys when there is too much wind noise for windows or roof.

Overall pretty happy considering the amount of work that has been carried out on the car.


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putyourmittenson said:
After a bit of a clean today the car is looking much better. With no aircon ATM I certainly am thankful for the opensky.
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That is drop-dead gorgeous. A real achievement to get it back on the road and looking like that, especially after seeing the horror-show pics of those chassis legs. Let me know if you ever decide to sell!
 
A pleasant evening in the sun spent pulling out the heater blower fan. It stopped working a few days ago and has been a pain without it.
It's not the easiest job in the world but quite do able with just a few tools.
Once out I coated the centre spindle in gun oil, just because it was to hand. It now spins freely and has performed flawlessly for 6hours straight today.
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putyourmittenson said:
After a bit of a clean today the car is looking much better. With no aircon ATM I certainly am thankful for the opensky.
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Very nice, I'm hoping mine comes out as well. I have bought a slatted front grille but at the moment I'm drifting towards the colour coded smooth one. I'll get it painted the same time as the bonnet and bumper, then make my mind up.
 
Quick update on this.
30k miles after the rebuild and the car is going strong (The car did this in six years in its previous ownership) .

So far I've only had three issues.

1. The MAP sensor died on the return home from the Welsh social. Fortunately as I have a tdi75 intercooler I'm always carrying a spare. So a services repair was carried out and on I went.

2. The front brake discs needed replacing due to them being quite corroded from not much use in the cars previous life. The rears will be done soon.

3. The aluminium intercooler Pipe which is held against the sump was damaged when I got the car. At the time I made do and mended but recently it became a large leak so has been replaced.

And unbelievably that is it! I will be servicing it for the 3rd time soon!

Small modifications made so far include an RNSE head unit, Mudflaps, HEL braided brake lines, pepperpots and a towbar (thanks to a kind tip off). Soon to be adding a 12v boot socket and a second boot light.

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Looking good Mike. It must be so satisfying to know you are driving a car you rebuilt yourself.
 
A2Steve said:
Looking good Mike. It must be so satisfying to know you are driving a car you rebuilt yourself.
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Ermm yes and no. I think it definitely leads to being 'slightly' anal about the car. But that is beginning to fade thankfully so loading the car with bikes/tyres/lumber is becoming a much quicker process.
 
I love that red colour! I think the mud flaps look like a great little addition too.


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Crept over the 130K mile point this weekend whilst getting beached on all the snow on Dartmoor in Devon. Not a problem, passengers out and instantly enough clearance to escape. Still on the the original clutch and DMF. Still driving well!
 
putyourmittenson said:
Crept over the 130K mile point this weekend whilst getting beached on all the snow on Dartmoor in Devon. Not a problem, passengers out and instantly enough clearance to escape. Still on the the original clutch and DMF. Still driving well!
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Remind me to never ask for a lift from you in the snow ?
 
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