Octavia I vRS - going for a "stealth" look.

[amateurstuntman]

Went out to the car and tried my new Vag Com cable out (I couldn't do it until now since I had left the laptop at work).

Drama.

17978, Engine start blocked by immobiliser, intermittant.

That's OK, I know about that. I did that while I was checking my new keys.

00792, A/C pressure switch (F129).

No idea, I'll look into it.

00532, Airbag supply voltage B+ too low, intermittant.

No idea, sounds scary.

00481, Navigation control module for traffic radio, no communications.

and

01044, Radio control module incorrectly coded.

Those are probably related, previous owner installed new Nav, probably badly, when I got it the unit stuck 10mm out of the front of the dash.

Now I've got all that lot to sort out...

[amateurstuntman]

More good news/bad news.

I have had an annoying rattle from under the car since the dog bone went in.

I couldn't work it out. I checked on the forum and there was a list of things it could be:

Plastic side under tray bits flapping, it was that, I took them off.

Inner boot lid trim, it was that too, I took that off.

Radiator mounts, it was that too so I temporarily sorted that out.

Exhaust centre section mount, It was that too so I sorted that too.

In addition to all that is was also the heat shield on the cat, it had rotted through two of the bolts and was clanging. Took that off too.

Now the noise is almost gone, more on that soon.

I collected my shocks etc, from Mike and I will fit them tomorrow.

Now the bad news.

Once I sorted all the other noises out Mike and Des spotted a new one.

Transmission backlash, yes! My diff is on the way out, woop!

So,

► Cold air intake

► Dump valve

► Denso Spark plugs

and

► Saikou Michi oil catch tank

are off the shopping list, I have had to move things forward.

I am now going to be getting a Quaife diff (I might as well) and since the gearbox is off I might as well do the G60 flywheel and Sachs clutch.

Since it was on the same month's budget as the diff fitting I am going to get a B&M Short shifter.

The only problem is that that is nearly three month's worth of car budget gone in one month.

My wife has given me the OK to use money from the savings as long as I replace it.

POW!

I am going to be in the odd situation of having all my transmission and handling upgrades completed with no power increase at all.

[Guest westallc]

sounds the best way to do it mate all the suspesion transmission then power... you will beat alot of mapped cars because most dont do those upgrades first:thumbup:

my next mod is the diff and flywheel:thumbup:

[jaymd]

How do you know your diff is gone,as i have a feeling mine could be on it's way out?

[amateurstuntman]

It's going, not gone yet.

You get a bit of transmission backlash, i.e. with the engine and wheels stopped there is some slop in the transmission, and when the wheels send feedback into the trans you get a "clack" noise from the gearbox.

It is most noticeable on no power decelerating and hitting bumps or when coming on and off the brakes or when going from forward to reverse when manoeuvring.

[chicken_eyebrow]

Only just noticed this thread... looks brilliant! I should have had a closer look at the last meet.

You said you used to be a postman, you didn't deliver to the industrial estate in Platt by any chance? (used to work there and there was a VW tuning place downstairs)

Off to see Mike for a service next week. You don't know if they're able to fit tyres down there do you?

[amateurstuntman]

No mate, I only ever did ME1 ME2 and ME3. Mostly ME3.

I'm not sure Mike does tyres, If he doesn't, everyone else in the world does them.

Next week when? I am dropping my car off for gearbox apocalypse on the 20th.

Also, more bad news.

1st. Sorting the centre section of the exhaust has caused the whole exhaust to resonate, I did a temporary fix by changing the idle speed in VAG COM but I'll have to get it on the ramps at work on Monday and hit it with a hammer or something.

2nd. I couldn't do my suspension today because...

I've lost the key to my locking wheel nuts. Brilliant.

Now I have nearly £500 worth of ballast in the boot, I was all worked up about fitting them too.

AAAAAARGH!

So, I got a tool to take off the locking wheel nuts and it was rubbish and has gouged a big chunk out of the paint on one of the wheels.

Then I went to do the rear suspension and had to look around for hours to find an offset 16mm ring spanner, there is no 16mm, offset or not, in my set of spanners.

Then, today, I started on the fronts, to get the old struts off you need a 7mm allen key.

I didn't bring a 7mm allen key to work so I spent three hours walking around a giant army base trying to find one.

Got one, undid the nut on the top of the left strut.

Undid the nut ont he top of the right strut. Oh no, that's right.

I stripped the allen bolt on the top of the right strut because whoever did it up last was Mohammed I'm hard Bruce Lee.

Now I will have to drill a hole in the ram and block it that way to get the bugger off.

Edited 13 July, 2009 by amateurstuntman
More tales of woe

[amateurstuntman]

More updates:

Once I had destroyed my locking wheel nuts getting them off I jacked the car up at the back, I used the boot jack and just lowered it onto a couple of spare wheels with wood on them.

Removed the rear shocks from the car, three bolts, piece of urine.

Then the drama, couldn't find a 16mm offset ring spanner.

Got one in the end.

To get the mount and bump stop off the old strut you need a 16mm offset ring and a 5mm spanner, I just used an adj.

To put the Weitec unit on I needed a 17mm spanner, much more common size, clever Weitec.

Here's a couple of pics of the new stuff in place from under the car.

If you have read the above you will know that there has been a flamingo up with the fronts (like a **** up but much bigger). So no pics of the front yet but I'll get on it.

Before that here is a pic showing the comparison in height between the standard (front) suspension and the Weitec Hicon GT on about half of the potential lowering (back).

Front:

Rear:

It got dark as I was finishing so here is one of the whole car in the dark:

And finally, just for laughs, I started doing the fronts at work.

Home of the 33 tonne lift, 70 tonne elevated underbody washdown ramp and...

Ten tonne trolley jack:

Massive eh?

I had to lift the car up with the boot jack just to get the trolley jack under it.

There are two, I can get the front 3½ feet off the ground with them.

[Guest westallc]

why does that rear spring not look right to me!!!

am i going mad or is it wrong shouldnt there be gaps between the coils???

[amateurstuntman]

There are gaps between the coils (little ones) but the angle and the flash make it look like there aren't.

[amateurstuntman]

So, I spent some time yesterday fitting the coilovers.

I had a problem because the previous owner had torqued up the bolt on the top of the strut like a muddy funster.

I put the 7mm allen key in the top strut and turned the bolt with a socket and a pipe wrench.

*Dink*

The allen slot in the top of the strut burst.

Then the nightmare commenced, I borrowed my father-in-law's angle grinder but he had torqued up the nut holding the disc on so hard that he hadn't been able to get it off in 5 years.

It had a stone cutting disc on that was worn down to a stump.

It took me 3 hours to get the nut off, I had to take the front of the grinder off, file a spanner down to get it onto the axle then hold the spanner in the vice while I cut a slot in the nut and then smashed the hell out of it with a cold chisel.

By that time I was totally threaders, I ground a couple of flats onto the shaft of the damper and got a pipe wrench onto it.

I still couldn't get it off.

In the end I had to put a 3' piece of pipe on the pipe wrench and use a 2' power bar on the socket.

Christ alone knows how the bloody idiot got that on there like that.

Anyway by this point I was totally fed up so instead of faffing about with spring compressors I just cut the springs in half with the grinder.

Cut springs and flats on the shaft:

That was the right side, the left side fought me a bit too but not as much.

The bolt that compresses the hub onto the bottom of the shock was rusted very badly and was a total pain to get out of its hole.

I took all the corrosion off that with a steel bristled brush and treated it with an anti-rust product as a stop gap measure until I get a new bolt.

I have a couple of after pictures:

I haven't had a chance to drive it with the new coils on it and I won't get much of a chance either.

It is going in for a Quaife ATB diff, G60 flywheel, Sachs clutch and a B&M short shifter on Monday.

I mentioned earlier that I had a few noises coming from the exhaust, the first was the heat shield on the cat, here is a pic after I took it off:

The other noise was the centre section, the mount had come off the pipe.

I stuck it back on with jubilee clips, I didn't have any 75mm ones so I used a 40mm threaded onto a 25mm one on each side.

I'll get some 75s and sort it out later. There is no point in getting a new bit of exhaust, I will be getting a new equal length manifold and turbo back system next year some time:

That's it for now, more at the end of the month when I have the diff installed...

[RobClubley]

Nice work! I bet that air was blue

[amateurstuntman]

Yeah, I always make sure that I have a tool box full of handy expletives with me when embarking on a job like this.

I had to drop the C bomb and then go to combinations on this job though.

If the mechanic who worked for the car's previous owner was present I would be digging a grave at work tomorrow.

I have 7 distinct blood wounds on my hands and one on the top of my head.

It would be worse still if I didn't have a thinking sofa in the basement/garage.

I won't be able to do any big jobs myself until I pay the savings back the trans' money so it will be just simple, non-bleeding jobs.

Give me time to heal...

[gmaster]

:eek: Man!! this project is moving along at a fast pace! Good work mate

[GarryC]

Awesome work mate. Im really liking the smooth look you have gone. for. Its clean and different. I like that.

Keep up the good work.

Garry

[amateurstuntman]

Thanks, plenty more to do but I can't do anything at the moment since Quaife still have my bloomin' gearbox.

[Guest westallc]

Thanks, plenty more to do but I can't do anything at the moment since Quaife still have my bloomin' gearbox.

are they building it for you then??? are they overhauling all of it??/

and whats the cost coming in at for the gearbox??

lovely progress mate love it

[Kaiserb_uk]

"thinking sofa"

[amateurstuntman]

No, they are just fitting the ATB diff and having a look at it. And taking their bloody time...

Thinking sofa? A thinking sofa is a manky old sofa covered in a dust sheet that is more comfortable than the one in the living room but your wife won't let you have it in the house.

When you have angle ground your hand or the socket has slipped off the nut for the hundredth time causing you to replicate Bruce Lee's legendary one inch punch onto some jaggy metal car part.

You pick up the 6lb lump hammer and look at the car then take yourself away, have a quiet word with yourself, sit in the most comfortable chair in the house and relax.

People waking past the garage see a sweaty, greasy man rocking back and forth clutching a hammer and muttering obscenities.

Most don't stop to chat...

*edit*

I'm going to go crazy.

Diff: The story so far.

Dropped the car off at Mike's AD on the 20th.

He took the 'box out on the 21st and gave it to Quaife.

Quaife had it for 9 working days.

On the 9th day they told him they had had it for so long because they broke a bearing stripping it down and were waiting for a part from Skoda for the whole time.

Mike went down there on Friday evening and got it back he then drove back to his place and started to fit it.

Stayed at the garage overnight and started again first thing.

Got it in and couldn't select 4th.

Quaife had incorrectly re-installed the selector forks.

Took it out, fixed it, put it back in.

Now there is a horrible noise from the 'box.

It is a loud whommm whommm noise, speed related and only present under no load or with the clutch down.

It has had a new clutch and flywheel but he reckons that is not the source of the noise.

If it is the 'box it sounds kind of terminal.

I have had to put my (driving) holiday back a week now.

I hope it isn't too expensive, I'm skint now.

Edited 1 August, 2009 by amateurstuntman
More drama

[Oet]

that sucks dude,

well just keep thinking how good it will be when its done!!!

[amateurstuntman]

So the bearings he took out of the box said "made in Brazil" that well known industrial powerhouse, famous for their automotive engineering.

He ordered more bearings from Skoda yesterday and they arrived today.

So Quaife's story that Skoda took 8 days to get some Brazilian bearings to them doesn't seem to hold water.

'Box is getting the new bearings fitted and properly inspected tomorrow morning and hopefully I will ba able to go on holiday in it at the weekend.

I got TT wishbones and a new GPS aerial through the post today.

That cheered me up a bit...

[amateurstuntman]

YES!

Got the car back last night.

In the end I had to buy a whole new gearbox because the crown wheel and pinion were damaged while Quaife had the 'box.

Skoda wanted £370 + VAT for a crownwheel and pinion set so it worked out cheaper to buy a whole second hand box (thanks westallc), happily the new 'box has 40,000 miles less on it than mine did.

The short shifter is sexy and the clutch is so light it feels broken but the feel through it is brilliant and it bites well.

No more rattles or clanks coming through, Mike fixed the exhaust while he was at it (the centre section had to come out to fit the short shifter) and I haven't noticed anything from the clutch.

I am stoked to bits with this car now.

Big brakes next I think.

[banditbarron]

You don't need a ring spanner to remove the rear bolts off the top mount. The rubber mount part will pull off the top with a sharp pull exposing the nut for you.

Cool project too.

[amateurstuntman]

Thanks mate.

I guess the major problem was that I didn't have any kind of 16mm spanner, they just seem to needlessly use non-standard sized fixtures on these cars...

On an unrelated note, I took the car up to my "control" roundabout this week.

With the Quaife diff fitted and the ASR off I can now get round the roundabout at 37 miles an hour.

That's an 11mph increase on what it could do when I got it.

That's 42% better than stock for only a bit (well, actually quite a big bit) of money.

[tsp]

Looking very good mate

What brakes are you looking at?!

Oh and what short shifter do you have?