First Post First Gti What Do They All Do?

[tonym3 0]

Right this is my first GTi I have a 1.9 on a L reg in Miami blue its by no means mint with only 14 owners! and bugger all history it requires a little work.

 

However it seems to drive fine for a car of this age. I have had the car a couple of months now and all the bits I find at fault seem to be things that "they all do"

 

So I thought I would list what I have found at fault and ask your wise opinion's on if indeed "they all do it " or its something that needs attention.

 

1. Mayo in the breather pipe?

 

2. Top two dials on the dash not working or intermitantly working (i think oil pressure and level)

 

3. Fan not cutting in? Not a problem in sub zero conditions but when I left it running for half an hour to dry the carpets it made a mess of the expansion tank!!

 

4. Leak on to the passenger side foot well.

 

5. Engine Managment light coming on at motorway speeds but if you take your foot of the pedal it seems to go out?

 

6. Rear wiper not working?

 

7. Electric sunroof not working?

 

8. Leak from the sump gasket?

 

So are these all things they all do or should I be very concerned about any of the above? Also if you know of any other bits I should keep my eye out for please advise.

 

Thanks very much for any help

 

Tony

[damien 22 1 Cars]

1 - normal

2 - where abouts are the dials? i.e top left/right etc

3 - could be the fan switch, its a little blue plug thats on the rad, they are about £20 to replace

4 - rear window seals, a common problem

[Redtop 14 2 Cars]

1. Mayo in the breather pipe?

Seen this sometimes even when headgaskets aren't blown, could just of been sitting along time. Best to get all the breathers cleaned out and then check it again over next few weeks.

 

2. Top two dials on the dash not working or intermitantly working (i think oil pressure and level)

Could be coroded wiring at fault for intermittent fault/broken wire faulty sensor for not working It's probably oil temp guage not working as the wire has been broke on disconnected at some stage.

 

3. Fan not cutting in? Not a problem in sub zero conditions but when I left it running for half an hour to dry the carpets it made a mess of the expansion tank!! Black box in the front left of the car has the wires for the fan, connections could be corroded and slack [mine were]. Also could be the resistor, faulty fan itself, fuses etc

 

4. Leak on to the passenger side foot well.

could be from anywhere, rolling from the back to forwrd maybe when driven,- check your rear 1/4 badges, they can leak, also a rubber grommet on the front left inside the door shut, and also around the plug that goes to the door from the body of the car. Drain bungs could be blocked or the door rubber window rubbers damaged and perished. Could even be coming from the windsreen rubber seal.

 

5. Engine Managment light coming on at motorway speeds but if you take your foot of the pedal it seems to go out? I'd get it checked out with a diagnostics machine as it could be many things.

 

6. Rear wiper not working?

again faulty motor or wiring [could possibly be worn at the body to boot area] , wire stalk itself or fuses etc

 

7. Electric sunroof not working? same as above really.

 

8. Leak from the sump gasket?

which side of the sump? Could be a number of things. 1st you could try removing it and putting a new gasket on it to see if that cures it. Has it got an oil cooler?

 

I'd get a decent mechainc to check out all the things above if I were you:)

[welshpug 1,622]

1. Mayo in the breather pipe?

 

nothing particularly to worry about just yet, the design of the breathers does mean its a trait, keep an aye on coolant usage.

 

2. Top two dials on the dash not working or intermitantly working (i think oil pressure and level)

 

on the left, oil pressure, large round sender on the front of the block above the oil filter.

 

on the right, oil temperature, it takes a fair bit for this to rise on the 1.9's. check the gauge by shorting the wire to earth.

 

3. Fan not cutting in? Not a problem in sub zero conditions but when I left it running for half an hour to dry the carpets it made a mess of the expansion tank!!

 

quite likely to be a failed thermoswitch or a seized fan, switch is screwed into the left hand side of your rad halfway down the rear face of the end tank.

 

pull the plug off and short the terminals to see if the fan comes on.

 

4. Leak on to the passenger side foot well.

 

could be anything, sunroof, windscreen seal, door seal.

 

5. Engine Managment light coming on at motorway speeds but if you take your foot of the pedal it seems to go out?

 

no idea on this one without knowing what code it throws up.

 

6. Rear wiper not working?

 

could be the relay, its inside the boot with the motor.

 

7. Electric sunroof not working?

 

never seen an electric sunroof on a 205!!

 

8. Leak from the sump gasket?

 

replace it, GSF supply o.e ones, check the lip of the sump with a straightedge, don't do the same mistake that many do and overtighten the bolts.

 

 

 

sounds much like an old neglected 205 really.

[tonym3 0]

Thanks for your replys I have had a mechanic give it a quick once over when I originally bought it but mainly to see if brakes etc were safe, and the car wasnt a death trap.

 

Welshpug it deffently has an electric sunroof, OK let me try again. It deffently has a electric sunroof switch!! maybe this is why it doesnt work!!

 

I bought the car as a second/winter car and intend on doing most of the work in the summer once I can take it off the road and give it the time.

I think you are right it does seem like it has just been an neglected 205 but it drives well and seems to have a nice amount of power and torque just really need to get these niggles sorted out.

 

The engine managment light is not something that really worries me I think as it is a late model it has alot of sensors it doesnt effect the driving and seems to me to be a sensor might just get the diagnostic machine on it at work to find out if it is anything in particular

Edited January 4, 2009 by tonym3