I bought my first vRS at the weekend. it's a 2003 mk1 with some nice factory options. It has fairly high miles at 150k miles, but the engine is in great condition and has been looked after.

 

I do have one or two questions....

 

First, is there is a bit of movement in the gear stick. If it's in third (for example), I can push it a further cm away from myself. I'm guessing engine/gearbox mount?

 

Next up, the front suspension is very tired on it. It has been lowered, and definitely needs new shocks. This car has needed arb bushes every 10k miles according to the last owner....any ideas why? they were replaced by skoda on a few occasions so it shouldn't be down to dodgy parts. 

 

Are there any other front suspension components I should look at replacing? Just to note, I would like to keep the car fairly standard. I'm not interested in making it stiffer or anything, I don't want a bone shaker!I would prefer to get everything done at once and not be going back to the garage every few weeks. 

 

On the lowered suspension, I'm considering putting it back standard. If anyone has standard springs (I'm in Ireland!) they would like to swap/sell, do let me know.

 

edit - here's a picture!

 

Any other hints or maintenance tips would be great, thanks!!

Edited 25 November, 201411 yr by natnif

Welcome to the world of VRS ownership, its a nice place to be, I've had mine since June. Anyway, I'm no mechanic so cant comment too much, but I will say I don't think the ARB bushes are the best quality as standard. Every 10k may be a little excessive? Even if you don't want to go stiffer these would be worth an upgrade for poly ones, you'll easily cover that cost if you're not replacing them every couple of years. Whenever any bushes fail on mine, and they will I'm going to replace with poly ones. I am modding mine but not tooooo much, but this is something I'd do anyway.

For what its worth I'm looking to upgrade my suspension without compromising ride quality too much, looking at Sachs, Monroe and maybe even Al-ko shocks that are uprated gas, getting some h n r springs (only 20mm drop which is ideal for me) and doing it that way. There are options out there that mean not breaking the bank (too much) or ending up with a teeth rattler.

Oh, also, is it just lowering springs on standard dampers its got? This may account for feeling that the units are on the way out, standard springs may alleviate the issue? Or have the dampers definitely gone? Its just lowering springs can feel weird on standard dampers, depending what they are, how low etc as this can adversely effect damping and rebound in particular.

Anyway, enjoy the car, that's the important thing!

Thanks! Sorry, I should have said it is on different springs and shocks at the moment. I'm not certain what they are. I think green springs, gold shocks but I have to have a proper look and see what I'm working with!

any ideas on the gear stick movement lads? am I on the right track with engine/gearbox mount? Is there one which is known to wear or anything?

That looks a very very nice clean example. Top man points for wanting to keep it standard too.

Nice buy, I hope you enjoy as much as I love mine!

 

To answer your questions:

 

Gear stick - if you mean that when it's in first or third, you can 'push' the lever forward a bit more, and it feels like you can push against a 'springy' bit of travel - and it will then spring back when you let go? Then that's perfectly normal, mine's been like that from day one.

 

Suspension. Like you, I enjoy a sporty ride, but a comfortable one too, so it's not harsh or crashy. I did a few experiments a while back with different shocks and springs. Things like the correct for our model Eibach lower /stiffer springs, and Bilstein shocks. In the end, after quite a bit of faffing and expense, I ended up going down to the main dealer and getting a brand new set of genuine springs and Sachs dampers.

 

This whole kit can be had for about £400, and I was delighted to discover that after fitting these parts, the car had a ride quality that made it feel like new - and as tight as a drum, with sporty enough firmness. However, at the same time, it rides bumps like a majic carpet. In my opinion, for a normal road-going Vrs being used for mainly normal driving with a bit of a hoon thrown in now and again, you cannot beat the stock stuff.

 

As for bushes - I might suggest that the fact that yours is lowered meant that the ARB bushes were operating in a zone that they're not designed to, and hence wear out prematurely. I've only had to replace mine once (well, I did the whole bar as a kit) and the car is now on 140k. I have also, like many others, had to recently replace the lower suspension arms too - these bushes are also a bit of a weak point and I would imagine that you will have to do yours too. Cost is (for Lemforder parts - nothing else is any good) around £100 for the pair, including new ball joints. Budget on about another 100 quid for the average garage to replace them.

 

I hope this helps my friend!

Thanks Ray, 

 

that's all really helpful. There is an nct (mot) due on the car in February so I have a little while to consider my options, but at the moment I'm looking at sourcing a second hand set of standard springs, and getting new shocks all around. I'll get the arb sorted at the same time. If the suspension arms need doing, it'll be flagged by the test anyway so I'll hold off on those for now.

 

It's a bit reassuring to hear your description of the gear leaver movement! I still reckon I have a slightly sloppy linkage, but at least I can adjust that. 

Nice buy, I hope you enjoy as much as I love mine!

 

To answer your questions:

 

Gear stick - if you mean that when it's in first or third, you can 'push' the lever forward a bit more, and it feels like you can push against a 'springy' bit of travel - and it will then spring back when you let go? Then that's perfectly normal, mine's been like that from day one.

 

Suspension. Like you, I enjoy a sporty ride, but a comfortable one too, so it's not harsh or crashy. I did a few experiments a while back with different shocks and springs. Things like the correct for our model Eibach lower /stiffer springs, and Bilstein shocks. In the end, after quite a bit of faffing and expense, I ended up going down to the main dealer and getting a brand new set of genuine springs and Sachs dampers.

 

This whole kit can be had for about £400, and I was delighted to discover that after fitting these parts, the car had a ride quality that made it feel like new - and as tight as a drum, with sporty enough firmness. However, at the same time, it rides bumps like a majic carpet. In my opinion, for a normal road-going Vrs being used for mainly normal driving with a bit of a hoon thrown in now and again, you cannot beat the stock stuff.

 

As for bushes - I might suggest that the fact that yours is lowered meant that the ARB bushes were operating in a zone that they're not designed to, and hence wear out prematurely. I've only had to replace mine once (well, I did the whole bar as a kit) and the car is now on 140k. I have also, like many others, had to recently replace the lower suspension arms too - these bushes are also a bit of a weak point and I would imagine that you will have to do yours too. Cost is (for Lemforder parts - nothing else is any good) around £100 for the pair, including new ball joints. Budget on about another 100 quid for the average garage to replace them.

 

I hope this helps my friend!

Was that Sachs gas dampers all round? Only seem to be able to find gas for the rear at the moment

The Sachs rear dampers I fitted to my Estate were crap after about a year...

 

Also, Eibach haven't done any correct vRS springs/shocks combination kits in the 3 years plus that I have owned mine (they no longer have vRS correct springs), so I'm not surprised they didn't fare well.

 

For springs, the only correct options that I know of are either genuine stock, or H&R Lowering springs for the vRS. Bilstein do several different models to suit though. There are always Koni FST's spring/shock kits as an option for Saloons as well (but not for Estates)

 

 

The arb bushes may simply be that they still have creaky plastic collars on the anti roll bar which are usually more problematic than the bushes themselves. Buy yourself some 17mm diameter Superpro poly bushes (this is normal on a 19mm bar), make sure the plasic collars have been smashed off, clean up the bar, lube, fit the superpro bushes, and forget. Shouldn't give you any more trouble. (You MAY need to use longer bolts to get the new bushes to fit in and squash down though, but you can always refit the original bolts once they are properly located.)

Edited 1 December, 201411 yr by demonufo