VW Caddy mk2 (Felicia) Pick-Up

[Bete Noir]

15 hours ago, Checker said:

Hi how big of a job was the 1.8 20v conversion what gearbox did you use and can the standard Felicia clocks be used thanks

 

One of my early posts on this thread includes a link to TeflonTom's Felicia 1.8T transplant thread. Have a read of that and you will find answers to most of your questions about this conversion. Alternatively Tom's thread is not hard to find via the forum search function.

[KenONeill]

@Checker - As @Bete Noir at least implies, TeflonTom pretty much wrote a book on Felicia (and hence Caddy) 1.8T conversions.

 

[Checker]

Ok thank you

[Bete Noir]

When the 1.8T engine and 02A gearbox had been in the Felicia, prior to my ownership, the final drive had been changed to one with 3.94:1 ratio. This gave the Felicia, and more lately the Caddy, excellent initial acceleration, but made cruising along the motorway a bit tiresome. This is perfect for buzzing around annoying people, and obviously there is a place for that, but my intention with the Caddy is to use it when my son and I go to motorsport events or car shows, and for this we wanted a slightly more comfortable cruising speed. 02A gearboxes are available in around thirty different specifications that I know of, so there was never any doubt I could identify something more suitable, although finding one for sale in the ideal specification could have been more problematic. So, rather than trawling through all of the specs to find the perfect gearbox, then potentially waiting ages for that type to come up for sale, I chose a more pragmatic approach. When I found an 02A gearbox for sale, I checked the code (assuming I could persuade the seller to find it and tell me) against the specs to see if it looked like a suitable candidate. The gearbox in the Caddy was a CDA, but with a 3.94 FD fitted in place of the standard 3.68 FD, and I found a standard CDA for sale. The comparison between the two, and speeds in gears at 4000rpm (with 195/50R15 tyres) is shown below. It is not a massive difference, but I decided it looked promising so I bought the standard CDA.

 

As I had not fitted the 1.8T myself, and knowing how little space there is around the engine, I had my doubts about how easy it would be to extract the gearbox, but as it turned-out it is not too bad at all. A couple of hours after I had erected my trusty gantry, the gearbox was sitting on the floor.

 

I already mentioned that the sump has clearly taken a few impacts, and when I came to remove the gearbox rear mounting it became apparent that had also taken a hit. This mounting is attached via three bolts onto the transmission casing, and the impact had cracked the casing so that one of the threaded holes was split. The damage had not caused any loss of gearbox oil, but clearly I will have to do something about it if I decide to use this gearbox again in the future.

 

I had noticed before I embarked on the gearbox swap that the offside outer CV gaiter had almost completely disintegrated, and this obviously represented a good opportunity to replace all four gaiters whilst the driveshafts were off. Again I had the issue of deciding what parts I needed. I ordered Golf inner boots (VAG 191498201,Febi 03328) and Lupo / Ibiza outer boots (VAG 171 498 203, Febi 03595) and these proved to be correct. As at least one CV joint had been exposed to the elements, and because it seemed prudent to take the chance while they were off, I took both driveshafts to JKM for them to check the joints and replace the boots. They came back with a clean bill of health, and looking much better.

 

Before fitting the replacement gearbox, I swapped the flywheel for a single mass part I had bought from eBay on the understanding it was a G60 part. The flywheel I took off looked identical, but I swapped them anyway. The clutch I took off looked pretty good, but as it was all apart I put a new VR6 clutch in. Manhandling the replacement gearbox into place, even with it hanging from the hoist, was challenging as expected, but everything else went back together relatively easily. Or so it seemed, but when it came to testing it, the clutch pedal was very soft, and the clutch would not disengage. This would have been frustrating at the best of times, but as the Caddy was due back at the body shop it was even more galling. I tried and failed to diagnose and fix the fault, but resorted instead to taking it to the body shop on the end of a tow rope.

[Bete Noir]

The inner rear wheel arches and strut top mountings had been looking sorry for themselves, and probably would not have gone through another MOT. The rear crossmember was also not great, so it was booked-in to have both done at the same time. Nick at S&P Autos is getting used to my Caddy now, as he has previously done all of the previous body work documented on this thread. I have known Nick for a very long time, and for all of that time he has owned a gorgeous Morris Minor van. I got to know him because I owned a couple of Minor pick-ups many years ago. [In case any Minor aficionados are reading this, I know that ‘Minor’ LCVs were never officially known as Minors, but more people know what you are talking about if you refer to them as such J]. Nick did a fantastic job as ever, although I forgot to request a captive nut in the crossmember so I can use the spare wheel bracket again. A job for next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bete Noir]

Once the Caddy was back at home, I launched into trying to work out what I had done wrong in refitting the clutch and gearbox. The clutch pedal felt as if it did nothing through much of its travel, then (with the engine running) caused a horrible metal on metal grinding noise when pushed all the way down. I have never known it happen before, but I came to suspect that the release bearing had become displaced whilst I was struggling to manhandle the gearbox into place. There was nothing for it but to take it all out again.

 

Having barely had time to put my tools away from the last time I had done the job, it did not take long to get the gearbox back out, but when I did so I found that the release bearing was exactly where it was supposed to be. This was a setback, as I did not have another theory at that time. Closer inspection determined that the grinding noise I had heard was the actuator arm impacting the clutch pressure plate, but I could not work out how that could happen. I had two release bearings (which looked the same) and two actuator arms (which looked different, but functionally the same) so, in the absence of any other ideas, I swapped both and reassembled it again. I had noticed signs that the clutch slave cylinder may have a miniscule leak, so although I had no reason to suspect that it had contributed to the current issue, I replaced it and pressure-bled the system. Again I tested the clutch, and again it was doing exactly the same as previously.

 

After having had the gearbox out and back in twice in the space of a couple of weeks, at this point I was considering taking the Caddy on the back of a truck to JKM (again) and just asking them to sort it out, but I do not like to give-up like that. I spent several days pondering, and several hours with various rulers, tape measures etc., trying to figure out what could be different about the gearbox and clutch I had fitted compared to the parts I had removed. I spent ages researching all sorts of weird and wonderful thoughts, like maybe some 02A gearboxes have different sized bellhousings, or maybe the mounting pivot for the actuator arm is adjustable or…, I could go on. All of this research, pondering, and measuring led me to the firm conclusion that no-one in the world as documented on the internet had ever experienced (and solved) the issue I was now facing. Hard to believe.

 

I had by this point resolved to remove the gearbox again, and my suspicions were now focussed on the flywheel. As I mentioned previously, the flywheel I fitted looked very much the same as the one I removed, but if they were different, and specifically if the distance between the crankshaft mounting face and the pressure plate mounting face was different between the two flywheels, that may explain what I was seeing. Taking the starter motor off and checking the clearance between the pressure plate and the bellhousing there seemed to disprove my theory, but having removed the starter motor I was part way through taking the gearbox out again, so that is what I did. This time it took little more than an hour before the gearbox was once more sitting on the driveway, and on inspecting the clutch on the flywheel it finally dawned on me what the problem was (although not yet the cause). The clutch fingers were almost flat, rather than protruding from the pressure plate.

 

 

I took the clutch off again, and checked the part number on the flywheel, which showed it to be identical to the one which I had removed. Not what I had expected. At this point, admittedly rather late in the long process, I finally adopted a methodical approach. I put the removed flywheel on the work bench, and bolted the associated clutch to it. The clutch fingers protruded as they should.

 

Next I bolted a VR6 clutch to the same flywheel. Exactly as I was seeing in the Caddy, the clutch fingers were squeezed in as the pressure plate was tightened.

 

The difference is more distinct when illustrated with an actuator arm and release bearing resting on the clutch fingers. With removed clutch:

 

With VR6 clutch:

 

I tried swapping friction plates between the two pressure plates, but clearly they were not designed to work together. Only now did I check the removed flywheel and clutch part numbers online, to find they were both TDi parts, meaning that the flywheel I had fitted was also a TDi part rather than the ABF part I had thought it was. When I had removed the (now known to be) TDi friction plate I had compared its thickness against the new VR6 friction plate, and had noticed it was ~2mm thinner. I had put that down to wear on otherwise identical components, but now I could see that was not the case. This also told me that the TDi clutch I had removed must be practically brand new, so I refitted it to the Caddy. Two hours later, it was all back together, and finally working.

 

There are a couple of obvious learning points from this protracted process, the first of which I really should have ingrained many years ago, given how long I have been playing around with modified cars.

1.       Check part numbers on everything. Look-up applications to understand exactly what you have got.

2.       The VAG 1.9TDi single mass flywheel fits the 1.8T engine, and can be used with the 02A (and 02J, presumably) gearbox, but not with the popular VR6 clutch.

[nu99et18]

 

Sounds like abit of grief that does mate!

Regarding gearboxes I have a full list of codes and ratios. You would probably would have been better upgrading to an 02J gearbox, has nicer shifter and there's also a OEM short shift option. Basically a straight swap too.

You can swap the 5th gears on these boxes (02a and 02j interchangeable)

I chose an ENJ 02J gearbox for its ratios and final drive 3.6 then had the lowest 5th gear I could find (0.71) put in for motorway cruising. 

But there are a hell of alot of choices though, would be best to look through the list and pick one that would suit you best.

http://westfield-world.com/gtc.html

This is a really good link, you can enter your tyre size then final drive and gear ratios. I found it be pretty damn accurate with the speeds that I reach in each gear. 

02J

Code	Model origin	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	FD
CZM	2.0L Beetle '98***	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	4.235
DQY	TDI Beetle, Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	0.971	0.756	3.389
DZC	VR6 Golf/Jetta IV	3.625	2.071	1.474	1.038	0.844	3.389
DZQ	2.0L Beetle,Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	1.029	0.837	4.235
EBD	Mk4 Golf 1.8T (150bhp AGU engine)	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	4.235
EBJ	TDI Beetle, Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	0.971	0.756	3.389
EBP	2.0L Beetle,Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	1.029	0.837	4.235
EBQ	1.8T Beetle,Golf/Jetta IV	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	3.938
EDT	Seat Ibiza Cupra 1.8 20v	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	3.389
EGD	1.8T Beetle '99	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	3.938
EGF	VR6 Golf/Jetta IV	3.625	2.071	1.474	1.038	0.844	3.389
EGQ	2000-up 1.8T Golf/Jetta IV	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	3.938
EGR	TDI Beetle, Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	0.971	0.756	3.389
EGT	2.0L Beetle,Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	1.029	0.837	4.235
EHA	1.8T (AWP 180bhp)	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	3.824
EHC	VR6 Golf/Jetta IV	3.625	2.071	1.474	1.038	0.844	3.389
EKG	2.0L Beetle,Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	1.029	0.837	4.235
EKH	2.0L Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	1.029	0.837	4.235
EKW	Seat Ibiza Cupra 1.9 Tdi	3.778	2.063	1.348	0.967	0.744	3.158
EMS	2.0L Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	1.029	0.837	4.235
EMT	1.8T Beetle,Golf/Jetta IV	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	3.938
ENJ	Mk4 Golf 1.8T (2000-on)	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	3.684
EVS	Mk4 Golf 1.8T (2000-on)	3.3	1.94	1.31	1.03	0.84	3.68
EWW	VR6 Golf/Jetta IV	3.625	2.071	1.474	1.038	0.844	3.389
EZK	2.0L Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	1.029	0.837	4.235
FBV	2.0L Golf/Jetta IV	3.778	2.118	1.36	1.029	0.837	4.235
FBW	2000-up 1.8T Golf/Jetta IV	3.3	1.944	1.308	1.029	0.837	3.938
FBY	VR6 Golf/Jetta IV	3.625	2.071	1.474	1.038	0.844	3.389
FCF	VR6 Golf/Jetta IV	3.625	2.071	1.474	1.038	0.844	3.389

 

02A

ATA	3.778	2.118	1.345	0.971	0.795	3.684	Corrado G60 (1989-> 1995)
AGC	3.778	2.118	1.345	0.971	0.795	3.944	Passat 16V
ASD	3.330	1.944	1.308	0.971	0.717	3.944	Passat 16V
AYL,AYK	3.778	2.118	1.429	1.029	0.837	3.684	Corrado G60, Passat 16V
CCM, CHN	3.300	1.944	1.308	1.034	0.838	3.389	VR6 Passat, Golf/Jetta III
CDM	3.300	1.944	1.308	1.034	0.838	3.647	VR6 Corrado
CHA	3.778	2.118	1.360	1.090	.717	3.944	TDI Passat
CES	3.778	2.118	1.429	1.029	0.837	3.684	Passat (1992->1994)
CTN, CHU	3.778	2.118	1.360	0.971	0.756	3.157	Passat 1.9 ltr, 2.8 ltr
CAW	3.778	2.118	1.458	1.034	0.838	3.647	Corrado
CNL	3.778	2.118	1.429	1.029	0.837	3.684	2.0L 8V Passat
CRU	3.300	1.94	1.308	.971	.0756	4.24	Corrado, Passat

 

If using a phone you will probably need to rotate it to get the tables to work.

Edited 3 July, 2019 by nu99et18

[Bete Noir]

13 hours ago, nu99et18 said:

 

Regarding gearboxes I have a full list of codes and ratios. You would probably would have been better upgrading to an 02J gearbox, has nicer shifter and there's also a OEM short shift option. Basically a straight swap too.

You can swap the 5th gears on these boxes (02a and 02j interchangeable)

I chose an ENJ 02J gearbox for its ratios and final drive 3.6 then had the lowest 5th gear I could find (0.71) put in for motorway cruising. 

But there are a hell of alot of choices though, would be best to look through the list and pick one that would suit you best.

http://westfield-world.com/gtc.html

This is a really good link, you can enter your tyre size then final drive and gear ratios. I found it be pretty damn accurate with the speeds that I reach in each gear. 

02J

 

 

@nu99et18 I have no doubt you mean well, but if you spent just a little bit more time reading what I have actually written, and make a slight adjustment to your writing style, you might come across as a bit less patronising.

 

I too have a 'full' list of VW gearbox codes and ratios, which I did not post on here because it is not relevant to my Caddy build. It can be found here VW Technic (click on the transmission diagram to download the spreadsheet). It includes the calculator that I used to generate the roadspeed in gears table I included in my post. This is also how I know there are "around thirty" different specifications of 02A gearbox, as I mentioned. Your table in comparison looks like it may not be as full as you suggest.

 

Rather than saying "You would probably have been better upgrading to an 02J gearbox", if you had instead said "Did you consider upgrading to an 02J gearbox?", I would have simply replied that I did, and I decided against it. I know a few people have swapped the shifter / selector over from the 02J to the 02A and that is something I may consider. As for your suggestion that it "would be best to look through the list and pick one that would suit you best", if you had read my post you would see that I consciously decided against taking that route.

14 hours ago, Bete Noir said:

So, rather than trawling through all of the specs to find the perfect gearbox, then potentially waiting ages for that type to come up for sale, I chose a more pragmatic approach.

 

You clearly know a bit about this stuff, but please consider that I have been around modified VAG cars for a while too. Just because I choose not to post a particular piece of information on here, do not assume that means I do not know it, and I need you to tell me.

 

Alternatively, you could always carry on as you are and change your username to Captain Obvious 😄

[nu99et18]

@Bete Noir Jeez I was only trying to help, I had just got back from a stag do in Benidorm so was knackered to be fair and granted did miss a couple of your comments. I could have worded it differently but in no way was I trying to be patronising.

 

My suggestion of 02J still stands though as I thought it was alot of work for 6mph in 5th gear coupled with the old shifter etc but it's your car/time/money at the end of the day.

 

Yes the chart I put on isn't the full list but It wouldn't let me put the other one in for some reason hence it being different to the 02J chart.

 

I'll probably just steer clear now to avoid anymore cacky replies. 

 

Crack on and all the best with your Caddy though 👍

[KenONeill]

@nu99et18 - Well, I've not read the whole thread again, but I don't know what wheels and tyres @Bete Noir is running. What I do know is that he wheels and tyres fitted will make a difference to the actual gearing, and hence to the mph/1000rpm achieved with a specific gearbox selection.

[Bete Noir]

19 hours ago, nu99et18 said:

I'll probably just steer clear now to avoid anymore cacky replies. 

 

Crack on and all the best with your Caddy though 👍

 

Fair enough mate. Being on the receiving end of unsolicited advice can be an infuriating experience, no matter how well-intentioned it is, as you have now seen for yourself. If you would rather stay away than take that on board that is up to you. No hard feelings, and best of luck with the continued development of your Felicia.

[Bete Noir]

I forgot to mention in all the excitement that the saga of my gearbox transplant had a happy ending. Whilst the percentage change in gearing appears quite small, it has given me exactly what I was after. The Caddy will now potter along at normal motorway speeds without sounding like it is being thrashed within an inch of its life, and if I need a bit of extra speed for over-taking or whatever, it is there. Much as I would not have chosen to do the job three times before I got it right, I would willingly have embarked on doing it three times if I had known that it would result in the improvement I am now seeing.

[Amy6Y]

Just read this entire thread over two days at work, wonderful job you’ve done I must say. Please keep the updates coming, this must be one of if not the only active Skaddy thread on the forums! 

[Bete Noir]

@Amy6Y Many thanks. I will keep developing my Caddy, and updating this thread, but I cannot promise the updates will get any more regular.

[Jamiecurrall]

Wow, what an amazing project! Im just starting my 1.8t now, what driveshafts did you use on yours?

[Bete Noir]

@Jamiecurrall if you PM me with your email address I will send you the edited / organised version of TeflonTom's Felicia 1.8T build thread, which has all the details of the parts he used, including driveshafts, which have now been transplanted into my Caddy.

[Bete Noir]

I cannot believe two years have passed since I last posted an update on here. There is a bit of catching-up for me to do.

 

 

Some jobs you do on a car bring a level of satisfaction massively disproportionate to the expense and effort that goes into them. If you need a 'quick win' to maintain enthusiasm these jobs are good candidates, but sometimes these things just have to be left to be symbolic of a job done. With the engine swap from 1.9SDI to 1.8T completed, I had one of these symbolic tasks to complete.

 

Before:

 

After:

Edited 11 August, 2021 by Bete Noir
Trying to remember how to add photos!

[Bete Noir]

 

After the minimal front suspension rebuild when the coilovers were fitted, it was only a matter of time before I needed to do a proper job. The FK coilovers which had been on my Felicia 1.8T donor were always terrible, and they had deteriorated noticeably from that. They were mk1 Ford Focus parts, but I was led to believe that mk4 Golf (mk1 Leon, mk1 Octavia) front coilovers might also do the job. I bought an incomplete used set of AP mk4 Golf coilovers, but it was clear that the front damper diameter was too large for these to fit into the Caddy hub carriers without significant metal having to be removed, to the extent that the hub carrier may be substantially weakened. The mk1 Focus coilovers are smaller in diameter towards the bottom, so less metal needs to be removed. I was not keen to pay for a set of four coilovers and only be able to use the front pair, and eventually I found someone who was prepared to order just two rather than four coilovers from KW, although it was their cheaper brand AP which I went for. They arrived more quickly than expected from Germany, but when I opened the boxes they were obviously not a matching pair.

 

KW were very apologetic, and dispatched the correct replacement straight away. The coilovers and a pair of hub carriers went off to my friendly local machine shop so the hub carriers could be machined to accommodate the coilovers  and the larger mounting bolts for the ATE (Ford) callipers.

 

My plan was to strip and rebuild both front and rear suspension at the same time, and to make this easier (and safer) I bought a scissor lift for the workshop. To get it under the Caddy I had to use four low-rise ramps, and then I had to put some ballast in the back of the pick-up because even with the scissor lift positioned so it was touching the front wheels, it was still the back that lifted when I wound the lift up. Initially I put the extra weight as far back as possible, then once I had the front of the Caddy at the desired height I shifted the weight forward so it was balanced and I could tilt it with one hand to get it level. Axle stands then went under the rear of the Caddy, the scissor lift tilt mechanism was locked, and I shifted the ballast again so there was some weight on the axle stands. Already I am convinced this scissor lift is a properly cool piece of kit.

 

 

[Bete Noir]

Fortunately for me, when the 1.8T engine was fitted to the Felicia, the previous owner had realised that a tall engine squeezed beneath a low bonnet leaves the sump vulnerable, especially if the ride height is less than generous. To mitigate against catastrophic damage he had fitted an African spec shallow sump with a steel pan. This had taken a couple of fairly substantial clouts in the Caddy, and was looking very much worse for wear.

I could not find a genuine replacement, but the pattern part I found looks like a decent copy. The tapped holes for the bolts that attach the steel pan to the alloy upper part are shallower on the pattern part, but apart from that it even looks like it could be made using the same tooling as the genuine part. The sump plug supplied did not look great, but I had an ECS magnetic sump plug which I fitted instead.

With the Caddy up on the scissor lift, swapping the sump was easier than I expected. Hopefully I can keep this one away from the tarmac.

Despite the old sump looking to be in a sorry state, when I tested it after I took it off it still appeared to be oil tight. A standard all-alloy sump would certainly not have survived to that extent.

[AnnoyingPentium]

I've just discovered this thread and will be following from now on. Lovely progress with the Caddy!

[Bete Noir]

5 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I've just discovered this thread and will be following from now on. Lovely progress with the Caddy!

Thanks, and thanks also for the nudge which made me realise I have not updated this with the latest progress.

[Bete Noir]

Stripping-down the suspension was almost entirely trouble-free. One of the front wishbone rear mounting bolts caused some concern as it was very tight to undo virtually for the whole of its thread. It was a big relief when it came out in one piece, but the terrible state of its thread dictated it went in the scrap bin. New bolts were added to the shopping list, as was a tap for the captive thread. Both front and rear suspension had previously been reassembled without much attention being paid to the quality of the fasteners used. They will all be going in the bin.

 

At the rear end, none of the suspension components looked as if they had been selected for their quality. The arrangement of spacers, shaped washers etc. in the top mounts both sides did not match. Pretty much everything will have to be replaced.

 

[Bete Noir]

The new front coilovers are AP mk1 Focus units, as I mentioned previously. For top mounts I bought some CompBrake adjustable solid parts. The only part of the front struts which was reused was the top spring cap. These do not look like standard Caddy (Felicia) parts, and nor do they resemble the parts that came with the coilovers, so I have no idea what they were originally designed for, but they are perfect for what I need.

 

The FK front coilovers had been pressed into the hub carriers with considerable force, and there was no way they could be removed. Because of this I had to source some replacement hub carriers, which I had machined to accommodate the new coilovers and the larger mounting bolts for my Ford (ATE) callipers. When they came back from the machine shop I gave them a lick of paint before trial fitting the assembled front struts.

 

Anti-roll bar and drop-link bushes had been sourced from Superflex months back, but when I tried them against the ARB I realised it is 20mm diameter, not 22mm as I had thought. The 22mm bushes took a couple of weeks to arrive from Poland, but when they did the package contained a note apologising for the delay, and a small pack of Haribo. I will be happy to order from them again.

 

New wishbones were fitted, and went on a treat with new bolts after the damaged captive thread had been re-tapped. The ARB drop-link bushes and drop-link mounting bushes are actually the same as mk2 Ibiza parts, although the Ibiza drop-link is straight whereas the Caddy part is inclined. In this photo the plastic bag is protecting the new track rod ball joint while waiting for rack gaiters to arrive. I had always planned to replace the track rod ends, but they were seized solid so I had to buy new track rods too.

 

I do not know why, but Felicia / Caddy front wheel bearings seem to be my kryptonite. Whenever I try to replace them, however careful I am to follow the correct methodology, I always end-up with the bearing inner race stuck resolutely to the hub, and the outer race similarly in the hub carrier. There were some fraught moments, including a big circlip that should have been secure deciding it was no such thing, but eventually I had new bearings and hubs fitted to freshly machined hub carriers.

 

Before assembling these onto the Caddy I removed the top mounts, which I bolted loosely into place first. I then offered the uprights into position so I could feed the driveshafts through the hubs, and put the top nuts on, at which point the weight of the uprights was supported and I could pop them onto the bottom ball-joints.

I will probably replace the top mount bolts with longer bolts fed through from under the top mount plate, so that it is easier to remove the strut brace without having to worry about the top mount being detached at the same time.

 

New track rod ends were fitted, and everything was torqued-up, with a jack under the ball-joint to make sure the damper was properly located in the hub carrier. Both the strut and ball-joint pinch bolts were replaced with new.

 

The brake callipers are now looking a bit shabby in comparison to the shiny new suspension parts. A brakes refurb may be on the agenda shortly. The strut pinch bolt had not been tightened when this photo was taken.

 

 

[Bete Noir]

 

When I dismantled the rear suspension, I thought the top mount bushes looked familiar, but they had seen better days and it was impossible to compare definitively with new parts. I soon found out why they looked familiar once I started searching for replacements, and discovered they were the same part number as mk2 (and mk3) Ibiza parts. I had some Powerflex Ibiza bushes on the shelf, so I decided to fit those. Unfortunately, they did not include the various spacers and shaped washers required, so I had to order a cheap rubber top mount kit to get those. When I took this picture I had yet to realise that the two shaped washers are different sizes, and it is the slightly larger one which goes on top of the top bush.

 

I had toyed with the idea of fitting coilovers to the rear too, before deciding to go with lowering springs and uprated dampers. This did not make things significantly easier as good quality uprated dampers for the rear of the mk2 Caddy pick-up are no easier to find than coilovers. I found some mk1 Leon SEAT Sport Bilstein dampers for a bargain price, and bought them thinking they might fit, but when they arrived it was clear that the damper body was longer than on the parts I removed, and the threaded section at the top of the damper rod was significantly shorter. These were not going to work. I then reasoned that as the top mounts are the same as the mk2 Ibiza, that meant that the threaded section on mk2 Ibiza dampers must be the right length. As my mk2 Ibiza track project was in the workshop alongside the Caddy it was easy enough to measure the Ibiza rear dampers and confirm that they appeared to be the same size as the Caddy parts. Satisfied that these were likely to fit, I negotiated a discount on some mk2 Ibiza Bilstein B6 dampers, which arrived a couple of days later.

In the picture below, the damper I removed is at the top, the mk1 Leon part is in the middle, and the mk2 Ibiza part at the bottom.

 

The rear springs I decided to try are H&R springs intended to provide a 25mm drop on a mk1 Octavia. I stood them alongside the unknown springs I took off the Caddy and it is clear that the H&R springs (on the left) are both shorter and less substantial (so probably softer) than the parts I removed (on the right).

Although I was not particularly aiming for a further drop in rear ride height, I thought I would have a look to see how it looked with the H&R springs fitted.

 

I think the rear bump stop kit I used was intended for a mk4 Golf. Initially I wanted to use a Powerflex kit, intended for lowered cars, but I could not identify one which was suitable, so I resorted to cutting-down the full length parts. The struts looked OK assembled on the bench, and went onto the Caddy without difficulty.

 

 

Once I lowered the Caddy off the lift it was clearly sitting lower at the rear than what I wanted. I left it sitting in the workshop for a couple of days to make my mind up whether I could live with it that low, before deciding that it needed to be higher. Swapping back to the springs I had just taken off was achieved pretty quickly, but even once I had done that it was not far off from sitting on the bump stops, so the struts came off again, I cut a bit more off the bump stops, then it went back together again.

 

I would have included a photo here of how the Caddy looks sitting on its new suspension, but as the ride height is unchanged, it would be pointless.

[Bete Noir]

This is in the wrong chronological order, but I forgot to include it at the time so I have added it now.

 

In Nov 2018 there was a BriSkoda rolling road day at JKM, which is not far from me so it would have been rude not to take part. Unfortunately I had another commitment, but my son took the Caddy along.

 

It made a little under 180bhp peak flywheel power, which is, as is traditional, a little less than what I was hoping for, but not too shabby for something that emerged from the factory with one third of that.

 

Frankly whatever power it made, I was mostly just relieved it did not go bang on the dyno.