rotodiesel

It doesn't take much - a finger nail test should find a lip. A few thou is enough to allow the pad to stick on the disk and for the backplate to move in the caliper body. Remember with this design of caliper, the pads will tend to pivot around the point where the ears engage with the bracket slide rails. The pads are not going to stick inboard. If you take the caliper body off and look on the inside, where the outboard curved edge of the outer pad backplate contacts it, there may well be visible fret marks. It's slight, but there if you know what to look for. As soon as I found the fret marks on my car, I knew what the cause was. Two minutes with a file on the disk cured the problem - you only chamfer the step edge - don't attempt to remove the step. rotodiesel.

Sorry, in my view a complete rubbish explanation. Engine mounts are flexible and will accommodate angular and axial misalignment. The stud fractured because it was was overtightened. VAG stipulated tightening torques are often wrong - get it assembled by someone with experience and common sense. There's actually very little load on this stud as the joint is under compression. rotodiesel.

The outer lip is the one which causes the problem, judging by the fret marks on the inside of the caliper. I didn't bother with the inner lip - and I fixed the problem completely. One obvious point - if you use the car as a "lathe" you must re-fit 3 wheel bolts with spacers to keep the disk true to the hub. rotodiesel.

Just pull the speed sensor out of the knuckle - then the system doesn't know what you're doing. rotodiesel.

Complete bodge - won't work on a PD engine with locked in torque. Unless you do the job properly with the locking tools and with the cam wheel bolts slackened to avoid locked torque there will be grief. Cutting belts is an "under the arches" trick. rotodiesel.

Take the inner pad out and check that the arrow on the spring clip corresponds to the forward direction of rotation of the road wheel. rotodiesel.

Remove 384 relay behind fuse box. Either replace it, or preferably, re-solder the broken soldered joints for the actual relay. It's usually the coil connection pins which break. Occasionally, the sm driver FET will need replacing. It's hard to believe that VAG have not found a solution to mounting an open frame relay on a PC board which will withstand repeated thermal cycling + a large degree of self-heat from the coil. I worked for a UK electronics company and solved this problem 40 years ago. rotodiesel.

Trawl around some American websites - EKTA is out there if you look... rotodiesel.

Remember that the inner pads on these Teves calipers are handed - although superficially they look the same. There is a rotational direction arrow stamped on the leaf spring which engages with the hollow piston. If fitted incorrectly, the inner pads will "c o c k" in the caliper body and cause noises. Not all (fast fit or dealer) mechanics realise that these pads have to be fitted correctly. I always check for this first in the case of brake noises - before moving on to the ball joints.... Much as I like the AWX/GGB combination in my Superb, I've never ever owned a car with so many design defects or features which make servicing likely to be problematic. rotodiesel.

The Teves brakes on the front of the B5.5 are badly designed in as far as the outer pad is not prevented from staying in contact with the disk when the brakes are released. This is because there are no "axial" locating springs on the outer pad - unlike the spring clip on the inner. The consequences of this are either that the outer pad moves in the caliper body with a "clonk" each time the brakes are released (and sometimes when gently applied) or that they squeak because they stay in light contact with the disk. Slightly worn disks develop a wear ridge which tends to cause the pads to stick to the disk - the problem generally doesn't happen with new disks. My car developed the "clonk" when the replacement disks had been in use for about 30k miles. The cause baffled me until I saw the fret mark on the inside of the caliper body where the outer pad had been sticking and moving in jumps. I then realised what a poor design it was. My fix was to run the disk with the engine in first gear and apply a file to the wear ridge on the outer face and outer circumference of the disk, taking the sharp step off it. Instant fix - the noise went and has not returned at all. More carefully designed cars such as products from BMW and M-B use a similar Teves caliper but with extra axial pre-load springs for the outer pad in the caliper - obviously to avoid this problem. A car park examination of a few cars with silly Al wheels will verify this. Time for the Wolfsburg engineers to get out of the pub - although the brakes always work to full efficiency, even when the outer pad sticks. Poor design. rotodiesel.

If you chop open your failed sender, you'll find it packed with rock-hard white epoxy. The thermistor elements (there are two of them) are brittle and fracture due to unmatched coefficients of thermal expansion causing fatigue when cycled. The later green-bodied senders have a soft encapsulent. Moronic design - for the last 15 years at least... VAG - putting the customer----------------somewhere. rotodiesel.

If you buy new bolts (good idea) beware - there are two lengths. My AWX has M8 x 37 cap head bolts. The last PD belt I changed was on an Audi fitted with an AVF engine. The bolts fitted to the AVF were M8 x 17 cap head. This sticks in my mind because a bolt sheared on the AVF on attempted removal. Of course, it was a Sunday but I had a spare old AWX bolt which I cut down to complete the job. Getting the broken stub out did not improve my views of VAG design... (last belt change on the Audi was by an Audi dealer - complete with white paint and other bodges). As I always say, EKTA is your friend. It's by far the best VAG documentation and I don't think I've ever spotted an error. Other VAG documentation is lamentable (eg. wrong engine oil spec. in owner's book). rotodiesel.

You probably saw one of my earlier threads: 20Nm + 20 deg is my setting. Litens (who make the tensioner) also specify 23 Nm - and having tested this, I can confirm that it amounts to almost exactly the same final tightening position. INA make the self-destruct grease centrifuging small idler. I do not use threadlock anywhere other than specified - which is on the lower belt cover fixings. I use Loctite 222 (pink) which is low strength. Your crank lock tool has almost certainly been abused and returned. Be prepared for broken TV damper fixing bolts. It is usually easy enough to get the stubs out as the threads don't bind - but it's a pain. rotodiesel.

This is probably a result of using the wrong tool - or else some idiot has used it as a crank counterhold. There are 2 versions of this tool with slightly differing tooth pitches, one being made to allow for the non-uniform tooth spacing on the later 1.9 PD engines. These are so designed as to accommodate belt stretch as an injector pressurises and loads the belt in one direction and the the associated cylinder fires, accelerating the crankshaft in the opposite direction. The crank lock tools for the later 2.0 PD engines are silver in colour and are completely different in the circumferential positioning of the locking pin. These engines are intolerant of incorrect procedures. Of course, VAG don't always get it right either (they have designed plenty of duff engines) but see my comments in other threads about the tightening torque for the nut on the tensioner stud. Breakage or thread pulling of this stud spells ultimate grief. Draw your own conclusions before tightening the nut. Having worked in detail on many VAG engines over the years, I have concluded that lock washers of any kind are not used by them, in order to cheapen assembly. Stretched threaded fixings are the order of the day in VAG land because they do not incur any extra assembly time or parts cost. The problem is, that sometimes they get this completely wrong. For example, the 4 M8 cap head set bolts securing the TV damper to the crank belt wheel have a "stretch" torque setting, but the holes are threaded to the mating surface, so there is no way that a set bolt can actually stretch at all. So, of course, they frequently break on removal. The fix is to use new bolts with spring washers and tighten them within their elastic limit. Watch this detail when you fit a new cambelt. In Teutonic lands, some manufacturers will never admit to being just plain wrong... rotodiesel.

There are differences between the 1.9 and 2.0 PD engines in terms of gearbox engagement with the engine. I have no interest or detailed knowledge of the autos (not suitable for my job) but I do know that there are problems interchanging the manual transmissions. Some misguided people wish to fit 6 speed manual transmissions to 1.9 engines and when this job is attempted there are problems with spigot bearing engagement and starter engagement mesh distances. Of course, for an engine speed difference of 120 rpm in top gear at 70 mph (GGB transmission), there's no earthly point in doing it and the 6 speed unit is less robust than the 5 and has a crappy linkage. The fashion conscious could just fit the gear knob with a lot less bother... Interchanging VAG parts between differing series always presents difficulties unless you have really detailed knowledge. If the above applies to your job, the drive lugs snapped off because they were not fully engaged. EKTA is your friend here. rotodiesel.

The Mk 1 Superb is not a town car. It's just too long to park easily in most available spaces - no easier than an MPV. It's king on the motorway and for towing, but I use a much smaller vehicle in town. rotodiesel.

The problem with the V6 diesel engine is that it uses an old technology low pressure fuel system design (rotary pump) in a particularly nasty and unreliable fashion. These pumps are called VP44 and are made by Bosch. Google "VP44 problems" and have a good browse. This pump was designed when the CAV held patent on radial piston pumps expired. Not only has the mechanical design been problematic for many users, but Bosch further decided to incorporate a good deal of fragile electronics within the pump body, running in hot fuel. You don't need to be a genius to work out what will probably happen to it sitting in the "V" of an engine, shaken to bits and thermally cycled... The final rub is that the 4 cyl 1.9/130 PD engine goes just about as well, uses less fuel, is cheaper to tax and is not as heavy as the V6 - which makes the already ponderous handling even worse. Changing the cambelts/water pump/thermostat on the V6 is a pig of a job. Nil point. rotodiesel.

Get the engine code. Don't go anywhere near: A 2.0 PD or a V6 diesel or anything with a 6 speed manual transmission (4 cyl petrols are OK but too thirsty now for banger money) An auto A car that has ever been wet Anything lowered/modified. Run if an American "snake oil" air cleaner has been fitted Any evidence of poor workmanship or bodging - missing covers, caps etc. Incorrect engine oil (hard to prove) Cheap tyres, brakes in poor shape rotodiesel.

I'll wish you the best of luck. I've seen this all before - it will either end up as a job you never finish, or else it will be a complete can of worms due to the possibilities of hidden damage, incorrect assembly or poor quality parts. The oil pump drive is a time bomb - some people have had replacement 2.0 PD engines fail following replacement of the original. Add a turbocharger to your parts list... rotodiesel.

The spec of the trim makes no difference to the economics. If you put a lot of labour (and money - the bits are not cheap) into a 2.0 PD, you are left with the original design fault which is a badly designed oil pump drive system. The 1.9 does not have this problem. There's no sense in spending good money on an obvious lemon. rotodiesel.

Fitting a transverse 2.0 PD into a Mk 1 Superb won't work. You need an engine which is dressed for a N-S installation. There are too many differences (crank spigot bearing for example) to make a swap from a transverse car economically feasible. The only N-S diesels worth fitting are the 1.9 AWX/AVF. Don't underestimate the difficulties in making this swap - check EGR actuation for instance. You need a donor car and the job is just not worth doing for the value of an old Superb - there's hours of labour involved. 2.0PD Superbs need to be scrapped now. rotodiesel.

A 1.9 AWX or AVF from a Superb, Passat or A4 will fit but not without some adaptation. It's better to have a write-off donor car as unexpected bits will be needed, also some coding. Very preferably, swap the engine and (manual) transmissions together. The 5 speed (GGB) transmission is far better than the 6. Given the residual values of these cars, the job's hardly worth doing. rotodiesel.

There are two versions of the 1.9PD timing belt tensioner. The earlier, used up to about 2004 had a separate hydraulically damped spring tensioner unit, which pushed on a lever to move the eccentric tensioner wheel. Later engines simply have the eccentric tensioner wheel which has an inbuilt torsion spring and a friction damper. The earlier hydraulic tensioner unit (damper as it's sometimes called, but that's only half its function) becomes weak with age, giving rise to a dangerously slack belt. I would strongly recommend replacing it, despite the extra cost. Setting it is a fiddle - you need a 4mm spacer to set the gap with the tensioner plunger fully locked in, before the plunger is released. It's very important to get this right - as the engine heats up, the belt tightens as the centres move out, and the 4mm allowance is put there to accommodate this. Make sure the job is done correctly with all the locking tools and that the belt is tensioned without locked-in torque (camshaft wheel bolts slackened). Any bodging will result in grief. The water pump is stupidly on the tight side of the belt on this engine - replacement at every belt change is strongly recommended. rotodiesel.

The first picture is incorrect (generic image) - the second is much more like it. The holes in the boot floor are covered in masking tape and sprayed body colour - you need to punch them through. There are 2 fixings each side in the boot, one has a tapped hole and the other requires a nut. Once the bumper is off and the crash bar removed, fitting is completely straightforward. rotodiesel.

To avoid confusion: The Mk1 Superb gearbox is longitudinally mounted with a right angle final drive. It has a rod linkage (simple for the 5 speed, lousy for the 6 speed) and no cables. It has nothing at all in common with the transverse units. The 5 speed units will generally outlast the car; the 6 speed units often suffer from premature pinion bearing failure due to inadequately controlled bearing preload. Old 6 speed units eventually develop a very sloppy linkage due to poor design. The tallest ratio 5 speed unit (GGB) is very nearly as high-geared as the 6 speed unit. At 70 mph in top gear, the GGB transmission gives a mere 120 engine rpm increase over the 6 speed unit in top. As it's far more reliable and much nicer to use, it is much the better transmission. rotodiesel.