Hello! 
 

It’s been a very long time since I was last on an online forum (mainly thanks to Facebook 🙄) 

 

Recently purchased a rough round the edges 1.9 tdi (red i) to get me back on the road after the timing belt snapped on my mk5 golf and wrote the engine off. 
 

it’s a 2003 (53 plate for our UK members) it’s currently sitting on 169k and in certain aspects it’s definitely starting to feel its age. 
 

the headliner is sagging all the way round the sunroof right back to the tailgate.
 

The sunroof leaks (looks like blocked drains so they will be getting cleared ASAP).
 

It’s got an intermittent fault with the dash lights either taking ages to come on, or flickering like mad.
 

It’s got a boost issue when it’s cold, if you try and accelerate hard from a junction or a set of traffic lights, or even try and overtake on the motorway it cuts boost. 
 

Someone in their infinite wisdom fitted a 420 degree potentiometer and wired in an Evrymod (which is absolutely dire) so that’s getting removed soon too. 
 

Other than that, it’s just things like knocks from suspension bushes etc so it’ll get a suspension refresh when the better weather comes. 
 

The most important jobs for me, are to do the timing belt, give it another service, sort the boost issue and remove the Evrymod.

 

then I’ll be looking to sort the interior out and potentially change the seats for some heated ones, they’ll get wired in properly using factory looms etc.

If you need a good indy I can recommend ours up at Withnell.

 

1 minute ago, MikeTheThinker said:

If you need a good indy I can recommend ours up at Withnell.

 

Thanks Mike! 
 

I’m pretty handy with most things, and my best mate is a time served VAG tech, but it’s always handy to know somewhere for those ‘just in case’ occasions

it looks clean and straight in the photo, so well done on finding in pretty decent shape, not many left now!

a 110 1.9, is it a PD or the previous non- PD? both are rock solid, bullet proof engines so a good service and the belt for peace of mind youll be laughing. 

i dont know what the evrymod is meant to do, but your symptoms for the dash sound like a bad earth, or the old problem with dry solder joints on the board. could be worth a reflow if your able, theres a few guide in the mk1 octy section on doing it.

dumping the boost could be a mumber of things, split pipe, actuator or vanes sticking depending on which turbo is on it.

6 minutes ago, mac11irl said:

it looks clean and straight in the photo, so well done on finding in pretty decent shape, not many left now!

a 110 1.9, is it a PD or the previous non- PD? both are rock solid, bullet proof engines so a good service and the belt for peace of mind youll be laughing. 

i dont know what the evrymod is meant to do, but your symptoms for the dash sound like a bad earth, or the old problem with dry solder joints on the board. could be worth a reflow if your able, theres a few guide in the mk1 octy section on doing it.

dumping the boost could be a mumber of things, split pipe, actuator or vanes sticking depending on which turbo is on it.

so it took a bit of research when I was looking, but it’s a VE? I think.. the non PD engine. 
 

the Evrymod is wired to the plug for the fuel pump and it changes the voltage to increase the fuelling ( basically makes it pour black smoke out of the exhaust when revved and makes it idle very poorly) it’s basically a recipe for disaster. 
 

yeah I’m going to try and find out where the earths are and get them checked and cleaned up to rule them out. Then I’ll check the cluster and get my soldering iron out of retirement if  needs be. 
 

it’s had a new intercooler hose fitted by me that goes from the EGR (blank in my case) to the intercooler as it had blown off on the previous owner and rubbed through on the power steering pulley. And I can’t hear any other boost leaks. I’d been told about the possibility of it being sticking vanes in the turbo and to try and clean it out with Mr Muscle?

4 hours ago, JoeHindle said:

And I can’t hear any other boost leaks. I’d been told about the possibility of it being sticking vanes in the turbo and to try and clean it out with Mr Muscle?

Impossible to say whilst the Fleabay Chip mod is still in place.

as above, get the smoke maker out of it first. and then see how it runs. I imagine it will still be a bit **** though, as all that excess black stuff will have clogged the vanes. agri-spec has to be one of the worst trends that came into the car scene 🙄

and yeah, there is a guide on the Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner turbo cleaning technique, it does work 😂

Edited 5 January, 20251 yr by mac11irl

5 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

Impossible to say whilst the Fleabay Chip mod is still in place.

yeah it’s getting removed ASAP

 

1 hour ago, mac11irl said:

as above, get the smoke maker out of it first. and then see how it runs. I imagine it will still be a bit **** though, as all that excess black stuff will have clogged the vanes. agri-spec has to be one of the worst trends that came into the car scene 🙄

and yeah, there is a guide on the Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner turbo cleaning technique, it does work 😂

Tell me about it! 🙄🤣 I can’t wait to remove it and try to get it sorted.

 

I’ll have a look for the guide and give it a go 😁

19 minutes ago, JoeHindle said:

yeah it’s getting removed ASAP

 

Tell me about it! 🙄🤣 I can’t wait to remove it and try to get it sorted.

 

I’ll have a look for the guide and give it a go 😁

Removing the Fleabay chip and an Italian tune up may be all it takes. Best wishes.

Definitely an oven cleaner enema required, I lived with the symptoms on my MK1 for several years (before joining Briskoda) until I had deduced what the problem was, the enema cured it and I did it another once maybe twice when the limp mode reoccurred very infrequently.

So, quick update..

I've been on lates at work all week, Monday and Tuesday I commute 45 miles to Manchester and back. So Tuesday morning I got up early and cut the evrymod wiring. It's made a massive difference, no more juddering at a constant speed, idles properly and just generally seems to run better.

 

It's still dropping boost at 70 in 5th, even if you cycle the ignition it happens almost straight away again. So I just put it on cruise at 72 (which according to my ultra gauge that's plugged into the OBD is only 65 haha) and trundle along which is seems quite happy to do, it just uses a bit more fuel (still does 50+ to the gallon though on the trip) So the oven cleaner enema is next on the list.

 

I also bought a £10 head unit from China on eBay to replace the VW cassette player that had just been thrown in the dash, so now I've got a green head unit, and Bluetooth connectivity!

 

Genuinely looking forward to making this a tidy car again, without having to spend silly money. Which is lovely after having R56 Minis/ EP3 Type R that cost me an absolute fortune just to keep them running. 

 

One question I do have which is mainly directed at those who've done this, what other seats from the VAG platform are a direct fit (or need minimal work to fit) I'm after something just a little more comfortable because as you can imagine after 22 years and 169k, the drivers seat isn't the most comfortable place to be anymore and I suffer with a bad back. I'd quite like to retrofit heated seats to it but they aren't a necessity. 

If you're feeling a little adventurous I have a set of MK2 vrs leather seats you can have. You'll have to fettle the seat mounts a bit but there's help online.

42 minutes ago, MikeTheThinker said:

If you're feeling a little adventurous I have a set of MK2 vrs leather seats you can have. You'll have to fettle the seat mounts a bit but there's help online.

Ooh! That's tempting.. How much would you want for them mate? 

1 hour ago, JoeHindle said:

Ooh! That's tempting.. How much would you want for them mate? 

Like I said, you can have them.

15 minutes ago, MikeTheThinker said:

Like I said, you can have them.

Oh mate that would be incredible, thank you so much. Do you want to message me and I’ll arrange picking them up 

4 minutes ago, JoeHindle said:

Oh mate that would be incredible, thank you so much. Do you want to message me and I’ll arrange picking them up 

You'll need to give me a few days to dig them out as they're buried in the garage at my folks' old place on The Wirral.

 

Fear not, they are yours

 

4 minutes ago, MikeTheThinker said:

You'll need to give me a few days to dig them out as they're buried in the garage at my folks' old place on The Wirral.

 

Fear not, they are yours

 

No no that’s absolutely fine mate I appreciate it massively

 

give me a shout once you’re sorted and I’ll arrange picking them up from you 😁

the above little exchange is why i love this forum  and the mk2 vrs seats will look lovely.

does the lumbar support still work in your current seats?

 

glad the evrymod-ectomy has made such an instant difference.

on the boost drop, is it wheel speed dependent, or engine speed dependent? is it only doing it in 5th, or will it do it in other gears too at the same rpm?

if you can rev it on in lower gears, id sacrifice fuel economy for a longer trip and dont go past 3rd gear but at high speed. the good old italian tuning run could really help clear it out after the evrymod likely coked it all up.

Love the Admiral Blue Octys. 

 

59 minutes ago, mac11irl said:

the above little exchange is why i love this forum  and the mk2 vrs seats will look lovely.

does the lumbar support still work in your current seats?

 

glad the evrymod-ectomy has made such an instant difference.

on the boost drop, is it wheel speed dependent, or engine speed dependent? is it only doing it in 5th, or will it do it in other gears too at the same rpm?

if you can rev it on in lower gears, id sacrifice fuel economy for a longer trip and dont go past 3rd gear but at high speed. the good old italian tuning run could really help clear it out after the evrymod likely coked it all up.

You don’t get the same interactions on Facebook, it’s what I miss about the old school forums back in the day (Christ I’m only 32 and I sound like my Dad 🤣) the lumbar support doesn’t seem to work on the drivers side, but it does on the passenger one. 
 

If I give it a boot full in 3rd/4th on a dual carriageway it’ll lose boost, but on the motorway in 5th it loses boost pretty much as soon as you hit 70. Definitely going to see whether the old Italian tune up makes a difference. I don’t know how long the  Eveymod was fitted for or how often it was used, but it was wound right up the first time I went to view it and it wouldn’t run for more than 30 seconds before cutting out.. definitely feels like I saved it from an early death 

 

 

 

54 minutes ago, Lee01 said:

Love the Admiral Blue Octys. 

 

Thanks mate, I was wondering what the colour was called, it looks fantastic when it’s clean, it’s just a shame there’s lacquer peel on the roof, but I’ll get that sorted in the future

7 minutes ago, JoeHindle said:

You don’t get the same interactions on Facebook, it’s what I miss about the old school forums back in the day (Christ I’m only 32 and I sound like my Dad 🤣) the lumbar support doesn’t seem to work on the drivers side, but it does on the passenger one. 
 

If I give it a boot full in 3rd/4th on a dual carriageway it’ll lose boost, but on the motorway in 5th it loses boost pretty much as soon as you hit 70. Definitely going to see whether the old Italian tune up makes a difference. I don’t know how long the  Eveymod was fitted for or how often it was used, but it was wound right up the first time I went to view it and it wouldn’t run for more than 30 seconds before cutting out.. definitely feels like I saved it from an early death 

 

 

 

 

I'd be looking at the intercooler. Not saying that's the reason but on such an old motor that's one place I'd look at. 

9 minutes ago, Lee01 said:

 

I'd be looking at the intercooler. Not saying that's the reason but on such an old motor that's one place I'd look at. 

Ahh thanks bud, no harm in whipping it off and having a look, especially when it’s so easy to get to!

10 hours ago, JoeHindle said:

I've been on lates at work all week, Monday and Tuesday I commute 45 miles to Manchester and back. So Tuesday morning I got up early and cut the evrymod wiring. It's made a massive difference, no more juddering at a constant speed, idles properly and just generally seems to run better.

 

It's still dropping boost at 70 in 5th, even if you cycle the ignition it happens almost straight away again. So I just put it on cruise at 72 (which according to my ultra gauge that's plugged into the OBD is only 65 haha) and trundle along which is seems quite happy to do, it just uses a bit more fuel (still does 50+ to the gallon though on the trip)

This is exactly why I said:-

1. Fleabayectomy
2. Italian tune up
3. run it a bit
4. Now think if it still needs a Mr Muscle.

On 11/01/2025 at 06:08, Paws4Thot said:

This is exactly why I said:-

1. Fleabayectomy
2. Italian tune up
3. run it a bit
4. Now think if it still needs a Mr Muscle.

So, it’s been a week and I think it definitely needs a Mr Muscle enema, however I did discover through my mates Autel diagnostics that the cars been remapped, it’s no wonder it couldn’t run properly with the evrymod!