vwcabriolet1971

Just had our waterpump replaced due to small leak . I check coolant level as part of weekly check and noticed level was falling slightly. Had to add about 1.5L over a couple of months so took it to dealer for warranty fix . They even changed the cambelt for free.!

The screws and clips are quite cheap from dealer . I replaced all my clips on MK4 Golf for less than a £5 ( some years back).The side panels are held on by large "star" washers which again should be quite cheap . The panels and tray do keep most of the muck and rain out of the engine compartment. It all depends on how long you intend to keep your car. I "waxoled" the undertray clips on our new Octavia within the first few days of ownership to stop them corroding.

The added cost to change the timing belt is mainly just parts costs as the additional labour cost is minimal. To gain access to remove the water pump is about 90% of the time to gain access to change the belt so it makes sense to change both at the same time. I've just had the water pump changed under warranty due to a small leak and dealer replaced the timing belt for free !

I would have thought that "Contract Law" applies as soon as you paid your deposit( or even earlier at the time of signing the order and the dealer accepting it). Breach of contract can involve the seller in paying any out- of- pocket expenses ( car hire etc) . You should have stuck to your Guns . It's not often you can get the pleasure of seeing a dealer squirm !

Why would you be concerned about Clarkson's opinions ? If the car doesn't have at least 500BHP according to him it's rubbish.

Does anyone know what kind of sensor it is that measures oil quality and where it is mounted ?

Does this mean that oil was not checked at any time before the oil light came on at 7,000 miles on a brand new car ? . Strewth ! I bet it's a company car ! I suppose when it's sold it will be described as having one careful owner !

I expect he's now a bit p****d off ?

Using pliers to try and rotate rear brake pistons is also very dangerous - if the pliers slip you may find them buried deep in your other hand.

A fast run for say 15 miles immediately before the MOT should blow out all the muck in the exhaust so that car should then pass the emission smoke test ( particulate count) at the 1st test run . Could save up to 9 test runs up to 3,000 rpm !

It's a pity that motorway driving is not covered prpoperly in the driving tests - both theory and practical. IMHO a lot of drivers hog the middle lane ( effectively reducing a 3 lane motorway to 2 lanes) because they don't feel comfortable in changing lanes. Until the police start issuing on the spot fines for this behaviour I'm afraid they will just carry on. The best way to combat this ( & other similar offences) is to have smart cameras. These could check that the inner lane is free for say 500M ( or more) and that a driver has been in the middle lane for say 300M or more without making any attempt to move to the inner lane.But I guess that the programming of the cameras would be too difficult for the highway authority. Same goes for tailgating and last second exits across 2 or 3 lanes of traffic . We can send men to the moon but don't seem to able to apply a liitle logic to traffic control / discipline. This problem of drivers not using the inner lane ( applys to 2 lane dual carriageways as well) does seem to be a British disease as the Germans appear to have solved it many years ago as anyone who has driven in Germany will testify.

The Bentley manuals are generally made only for USA models and are not available for all European cars. I have a few Bentley manuals for Golf MK4 and an old '71 Beetle & VW camper van bus . IMHO the Bentley manuals are in a different league than the Haynes. My MK4 Golf Bentley manual is 2.5 inches(60mm) thick & weighs about 4 times as heavy as a Haynes manual ( and it's got a soft backing ) ! The Bentley illustrations & photos are much better than those in the Haynes manual. Bentley manuals are about 4 times more as expensive as a Haynes manual but if you can get a second hand one and intend to keep your car for a few years they can be a good buy.

My 2010 MY Golf MK6 1.6 CR TDI has a recommended cambelt change at 300,000Km with no time limit ! This extended replacement life was the result of a new Continental "high flex design" belt being introduced.

The slight over- torqueing due to the anti-seize copper paste will be a lot less than the over-torqueing required to undo a partially or totally seized rusted wheel bolt.

Please ask about the body work zinc coating process -- are all panels zinc coated ? If not which panels are not coated ? Any feedback on this would be much appreciated. Is there a pictorial guide to show which panels are coated ?

Where the zinc plated steel body panels are press formed and stretched then the zinc coat will also stretch and thin out . If the press tooling has any "dings" or surface imperfections then the zinc coat may become perforated and expose the raw steel surface underneath. The old zinc "dip" process was much better in this respect than the electroplated panels used today as the zinc was deposited after the forming and panel/body welding processes had been completed. I often wonder to what extent are the VAG/SKODA bodies zinc plated. I asked both VW & SKODA customer services this question but never got any answer. VW used to advertise in all their brochures about the advantages of their complete zinc coating anti-corrosion benefits but no longer do so. What does this mean ? Are all panels zinc coated or only some of them ? If only some of the panels are zinc protected why will VAG / SKODA not tell us ? Is there any difference between the VAG different badge makes ? I would willingly pay a little extra to have the complete zinc coating as I tend to hang on to my cars for quite a few years.

Make sure that the radiused mating face of the underside of the wheel bolt head is clean and free from the copper anti-seize and also the bolt seating areas of the wheel bolt holes. When the copperseize has been on for a few years it will dryout but will still leave a layer of copper between the threads and stop them seizing.

I've been using copper ant-seize paste for about 15 years on all the family cars ( all 6 of them !) without any problems ( & without any removal problems !) . I agree that any grease will reduce the friction slightly but the anti-seize paste in not really intended as a grease or lubricant.

Agree with Ken . Checking & adjusting the tracking is part of the job. If a garage down our way said tracking would be extra he would be lynched on the spot !

I think they fade in the sun .

The "hub" you describe is part of the disc and will eventually go completely rusty . You'll need to re-paint quite a few times to preserve a rust free finish. Most car discs on this mounting face go completely rusty in about 2 years useage.

Try opening a door first.

Caps do deteriate with age and lose the sealing pressure. New caps should be less than £5 .

Air guns cannot be set accurately to a predetermined torque setting . They are intended to remove stubbon nuts/bolts by using quick successive "hammer" shock loads. The wheel nut/bolt should be slackened after using a air gun and then tightened with a torque wrench which applies a gradual increasing torque.Unfortunately even this method is not fool proof as tyre fitters sometimes rotate the torque wrench after its "clicked" just to make sure ! I know this because I've seen them do it ! If the bolts/nuts have not been de-rusted then they can seize if fitted with rusty threads. The only answer to all this is to buy a torque wrench and remove the bolts and give them a good wire brush to remove rust from threads , apply a small amount of copper anti-seize to the threads and then torque up to correct value. If you are a perfectionist then tighten them fully up lightly with the makers wrench and then diagonally tighten (similar to cyl.head tightening) to say half the torque value and then repeat for full value torque twice .Then you can put your hand on your heart with some confidence and say your wheel bolts / nuts are correctly tightened & should be easily removed for any future wheel removal ! Don't put the wheel bolt/nut cover(s) on until all the wheel bolts have been torqued.

This why you can see water dripping from some car's exhausts shortly after startup before the engine & exhaust have fully warmed up.