A couple of steps closer last night. A big puller was borrowed to get the gears apart so we could reach the bearing near the bottom of the gear stack. I didn’t think it was going to come apart, but after applying a bit of heat it suddenly popped — scared the living poo out of me 😂 Next job was to clean this all up and not cock the order up! Ran out of time again, but despite there being no photos, it’s now back in one piece. The box is basically ready to be rebuilt properly, apart from one bearing in the casing that still hasn’t been done yet. I doubt I’ll get the chance to finish it over the weekend, or even next week, so for now I just need to sit patiently and wait for some spare time that lines up with Dan as well so we can get it finished off.
I swapped the pump over the other day. I was hoping to see something visably wrong with the old one but other than looking old it appears ok. I did notice the breather pipe was blocked with a bolt so this needs routing correctly.
Here is the new an old pumps side by side. I might of just wasted £70 here but i'm willing to take my chances! I will hang on to the old pump for now, if my fuel issue disappears i can refit old pump to see if it returns to pinpoint the issue.
New pump in. The old clips seemed impossible to redo up so i've fitted some jubilees but will get some replacements.
i got some connectors and loom off another mk3 hoping to use to replace some of the wiring that goes to my throttle body switch and other wiring that goes past the exhaust manifold. I ordered a de-pinning tool and practiced on the off cuts and seemed pretty easy to use.
I looked at de-pinning the loom on the car but i could see this getting out of hand very quickly! So decided to cut away the damaged crispiness and join them and see how that goes heat shrinked and doubled insulated i taped the loom back together and wrapped some heat resistant sheathing over to give some sort of protection i over ordered on this as scaled price made better sense so wrapped it over the brake pipes also. there is some excess so may as well put some over the clutch line too. Probably overkill but better that nothing?
Went back round to Dan's to start replacing some bearings in the gearbox. Some of the old bearings
Started by replacing the easier ones on the casing
We couldn't find the right puller so had to leave it there for now but hoping to get the rest of the bearing done and all built backup before the weekend so i can refit and test!
Went to help strip my box down at Dan’s but hr had already beaten me to it! The input shaft bearing is definitely worn, which would explain the glitter in the oil. That’ll teach me for cheaping out and not having it fully rebuilt when the Quaife was fitted. The rebuild kit arrived today, so I’m hoping to start cleaning everything up and get it back together this evening. Also taken delivery of my new fuel pump and I cut some sections out of a spare loom at Dan’s to repair the crispy wiring I found the other day. That should keep me busy tomorrow!
I’m keen to pull mine out just to see if there’s any difference at all. Haha do you think yours is louder than mine? I don’t seem to have issues anywhere else other than Bedford, but I know where the sound meters are so I can normally just be a bit careful. Gearbox Out Gearbox out time. Might be straightforward for some, but I’m still somewhat mechanically challenged! To be fair it’s been in and out enough times now that it’s getting easier. The only real struggle was twisting the cup past the flywheel, once I removed the cup it came out pretty easily. I timed myself — 1 hour 40 minutes. While I was there I replaced the slightly suspect ball joint. It’s a bit oily in there I think my rocker cover gasket is still leaking. The ball and socket on the clutch fork looks OK to me. Fuel System Check I can’t remember the last time I changed the fuel filter — probably five years ago. So I fitted a new MANN filter. I took the cover off the fuel pump and discovered the breather pipe has a bolt stuck in it! Not sure what the logic was there, but that’s going to get vented properly when the new pump goes in as i cant see that its helping matters. Wiring Loom Inspection Started unwrapping the loom to inspect it and… diagnosis is a bit crispy. There are a few sections like this that don’t look too healthy, so I’m not sure if this could be contributing to the intermittent running issues. Gearbox Oil Drained the gearbox oil and it definitely had some glitter in it, which isn’t encouraging. For now I’ve left the car like this. The engine is sitting on one mount and supported with some wood. Next Steps The gearbox is now at Dan’s garage and the rebuild kit is being delivered today. Hopefully we’ll get it stripped later this evening and have a better look at what’s going on inside. Still need to order: 75W-90 GL-4 gearbox oil Heat shielding for the loom where it runs past the exhaust manifold My new fuel pump is also on the way and I’ll sort the tank venting properly when that goes in. If all goes well I’m hoping to have the car back up and running by the middle of next week. 🙏
28/02/26 – Bedford Autodrome Trackday The day before washed, fluids and nut and bolt check.
Early start at 5am. I got up, walked the dogs, forced some food down and then met Dan and Dion at Tesco to get fuel and grab some lunch for later.
We had a steady 65 mile drive, 1hr 30 in the wet. The forecast suggested it might dry out later in the afternoon so we were hopeful conditions would improve.
After signing on and getting the driver briefing out of the way (with a bacon sandwich) we went out for some very wet sighting laps. At that point it was clear I wouldn’t be making full use of the R888Rs.
Initially I considered waiting to see if the weather improved, but it looked like everyone else had the same idea so I decided to get straight out on track.
Grip levels were exactly as expected in the conditions, but it was still great fun. After a 15 minute session I came back in to check the car and tyre pressures. I was surprised to find they had climbed to 35psi, so there was clearly still a decent amount of heat building up. I dropped them back down to 28psi and went straight back out for more laps.
As the day progressed the rain started to ease and grip levels gradually improved. Bedford is a very forgiving circuit with lots of run off, which gave confidence to start pushing harder and explore both my limits and the car’s.
That said, I did manage two spins in one lap 😳, so I decided it was a good moment to come back in and rest.
Unfortunately a couple of issues began to appear: A rhythmic grinding noise and what felt like fuel surge on sharp corners. My first thought was that the grinding noise might be an inner CV joint, I’d brought spare driveshafts with me so carried on. The fuel surge could also have been due to being down to about ¼ tank of fuel, so I brimmed the tank and went back out to get as many laps in as possible.
As the day went on the Mk2s were definitely starting to feel the strain: Dan' 20v melted the clutch line O-ring at the master cylinder
Woz' 20v had his turbo oil return pipe come loose and start leaking
Dion's ABF had fuel cut issues too, which were cured by topping up the tank
We called it a day around 4pm, which was a shame because the track was really starting to get grippier as the conditions improved.
I managed to get some laps in with Dan and Woz, both following them and passenger. The 20v cars are a lot of fun — the low down torque makes them feel very different compared with the ABF.
That said, I did follow Woz for a couple of laps and managed to keep him in sight — though the weather probably helped level things out! One questionable highlight was the marshals waving signs at us for “NO DRIFTING” and “STEADY” 😂
I also managed to get black flagged twice: Once when I drove down a bit of closed track with hazards on when I first experienced the fuelling issue The second time was for noise — 1 dB over the limit
Despite the weather, the car was surprisingly good fun in the wet, especially with the lift-off oversteer. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from back to back wet trackdays at Donington and Bedford. I did 240 miles of which 130 were drive there and home. So must be something like 110 miles covered on track so approx 29 laps covered.
Post-Track Inspection
We all limped home and compared lists of repairs needed. Having had the car up on the ramp since: Nearside ball joint definitely needs replacing The grinding noise has now been diagnosed as an input shaft bearing 😞 noise can be heard when I gear with shafts disconnected.
As for the fuel surge / misfire, I initially suspected the fuel pump assembly, as it seemed to happen during long corners. However, the fact that a brimmed tank didn’t fix it makes me think it may actually be related to the TPS or throttle switch wiring. When I unwrapped some of the loom tape I could see exposed copper, so I suspect there may be a short or broken wire somewhere.
Gearbox Decision It briefly crossed my mind to just find another gearbox, remove the Quaife LSD and sell that on, then treat gearboxes as a bit of a consumable item since they’re relatively cheap and plentiful.
But realistically that would be a step backwards at this stage, so the plan now is to: Order a full bearing and seal kit Remove the gearbox this week Head back to Dan’s to replace the bearings and rebuild it properly 😁
I picked up this thick pile carpet off a mate whi was having a clear out. So might get this fitted whilst the car is off the road. I dodnt even know this was a thing?
I went to Dan's Sunday to get some help repinning the TPS plug. He had a mk3 golf loom lying around so managed to steel some pins from that, he also had a pinning tool. We decided it was best to reuse some of the cable from the repalcement and solder them as we didn’t have new pins to hand or the weather proof grommets protect from mositure.
We replaced them one at a time to avoid confusion as there seemed to be two red and white cables. All 3 wires replaced soldered and heatshrinked with some loom tape These were the old wires and pins that had become brittle and exposed. Two of them snapped off whilst trying to remove so Is a good job done. Strangley when I went to move the car it wouldn’t rev cleanly, it was like the fuel was being cut evwrytime I opened the throttle, it idle fine it just didnt like open throttle. It did this some time ago which I though was to to do woth the microswitch on the rear of the throttle body but maybe it was linked to the TPS all along. We decided to disconnect the battery and reconnect to see if this helped and fortunately it did! I drove it home varying throttle input and testing it to all extremes and couldn't fault it and have since used it to commute to work. Ill write that off as an anomaly and good old turn it off and on again fix IT fix as per Daves words 😂
Little update on the golf having not touched or driven it for a while. I recently bought, fixed and sold a Peugeot 3008 that had rats living in the engine! This has freed up some money so I can spend on the car as i need 😁 initially i was ordering a new set of ar1's but had change of heart. Instead I ended up with all of this Despite really liking the white ones, i would have needed to trim the arches to make them work without catching. So settled for these Team Dynamics Pro race 2 15x7 et37 on R888 tyres. Not my first choice of wheel and a bit scruffy but will do the job for track time without having to worry about trashing my daily wheels and tyres. I went for a brief test drive to check they feel ok, even cold the difference in grip was noticeable I managed to sell everything else so I effectively got a free set of track wheels and tyres and a bit of cash in my back pocket.
Also have booked a track day at Bedford for 28th February hence buying the wheels and tyres
I've noticed this on the front of my throttle body so needs some attention before long. Going to try and repin it
13/12/25 – MSV trackday at Donington Park National Circuit This came around quickly! An early start was needed to make the safety briefing and with a slightly damp forecast it was not ideal, but for December, I really can’t complain. I’ll admit I felt a bit nervous initially. The conditions were tougher than the dry and there were plenty of much more modern powerful cars out there. I was conscious of not wanting to be in the way, but I reminded myself that I’d paid to be there just like everyone else, so I put the nerves to one side and focused on enjoying the day. After the compulsory sighting laps, I decided to hang on and let the more eager drivers head out first while I grabbed a coffee. Around 20 minutes in, I went out for my first session. Grip was obviously down due to the damp conditions, after roughly 15 minutes I came back in to check everything over. There was hardly any heat in the tyres, I let the car cool down, checked wheel torque (to satisfy the OCD) and then headed straight back out. Grip steadily improved as the day went on, right up until some light drizzle returned in the afternoon. I spent some laps with Dan in his Mk5 — a very capable car and a very capable driver. I also went out in Warren’s 20v Mk2, again excellent car with plenty of power and a very good driver behind the wheel. Tim was out in his R53 Mini Cooper S, which proved to be very evenly matched with my Mk2 a genuinely nice surprise and great fun to lap with. Unfortunately, Woz suffered ECU issues which sadly ended his day early. I managed a few more sessions through the afternoon and was feeling increasingly confident, but resisted the temptation to squeeze in one last run before dark. The 02J EMR gearbox with the 3.9 final drive has made a very welcome difference, particularly when accelerating and on gearchanges. The car feels much more alert and responsive out of corners. I had originally contemplated going even shorter with a CZM 4.2 final drive, but having now driven this setup in anger, I genuinely feel the current gearing is the sweet spot — hot enough to make the car great fun on track and on fast road drives, but still just about acceptable for longer journeys across the country or back into Europe. Overall, I’m really pleased with how the car performed and have gained a lot of confidence in it following the head gasket rebuild and the gearbox/Quaife change over. I think the damp conditions levelled the field considerably (much like the National Meet). While I did have to move over for some genuinely quick drivers, I also found myself holding onto plenty of others and even getting frustrated at times with cars not moving over. My confidence in damp conditions has definitely improved. I’m absolutely delighted with both the day and the car, and I’m hoping to get a few more track days in during 2026.
The Golf was going well until one of the not very old mk4 rear calipers decided the handbrake mech was going to seize on 🙄 i was going to order a pair but decided just to replace what was broken. Its taken enough of my money lately!
One shiny new Apec caliper. Not red like the other three corners 😅 Old one, i reckon this was from maxspeeding rods, i should have known better! New copper washers
Did put a pressure bleeder on it but i always find i get better results having an assistant pump the pedal. Called the wife out and she slammed her coat zip in the door 😢
The handbrake cable on the same side was playing up. I did buy a pair but again thought I would opt to replace just the faulty one. It only took about 5 minutes to change so i decided to do both, which in the end proved to be a good decision. The handbrake has never felt so good. Looks like its also seized up
The rivets on the side of the handbrake mechanism inside the car had become loose, causing the ratchet system teeth to miss each other, effectively causing the handbrake to fall down! I thought about drilling the rivets out and nutting a bolting it, but at the risk of making a bigger job, I stuck it in Dan's press and squeezed the existing rivets tight. This seems to have worked a treat.
You can see where i have previously tried to punch the rivets in an attempt to bodge it in the past.
Whilst the wheels were off I decided my multi colour tape protection on the BC's was a bit comical 🤣 Much better
I decided I had run the car in enough post headgasket so when for another oil change. Love a box of Quantum and a new genuine vw filter you can see i also temp removed spacers. I thought it wasnt catching but turns out the 1st speed bump the fronts weren't happy! I might take the angle grinder to the arches at some point because it looked so good but for now they're off
The induction kit still on here but I have now reverted back to gtd airbox
Also noticed my steering boot was split, massively underestimated this as a job 🤣
Got there eventually and car is now fully working ahead of Donington! I've mounted a few gopro mounts so hoping to get a bit of footage. Fingers crossed for some dry weather!
Got the engine mounts on and the driveshafts bolted in, although it didn’t all go to plan, I managed to strip one of the threads on one of the output cup bolts. Had to re-thread it and find another bolt, but once that was sorted everything went back together fine. Typical of me a 30 min job became a few hours 😂 Also refitted the camber bolts with some negative camber (still deciding whether to settle on -2° or -1.5°). Roughly set for now with the wheels drooped but sat completely level
whilst splitter was off i decided to get the dremel on what shoudl be the air ducts. I'm not sure if this was a 16v only thing? First testdrive didnt go very well
Had a strange misfire that turned out to be the throttle switch had given up. Swapped the throttle body and it’s running fine again, although my old one was ported so there’s a noticeable drop in throttle response now. I’ll either try swapping the microswitch onto the ported body or port the replacement not sure yet but not a priority until i'm happy everything else it ok with the car.
Finished fitted my mk4 induction kit
I will probably swap the intake over to this at some point, it’s got a smoother larger diameter bend and slightly, so hopefully it’ll help improve airflow and throttle response a bit. I'll wait until a later point for this and fit a catch can at the same time
My HT leads had gone very hard so have fitted a new set an i need to relocate the air intake sensor into the intake at some point if i dont't swithc badck to the GTD airbox
Took it for a couple of test drives to work and everything feels good, just needs an alignment tweak. I might also reposition the air intake sensor so it sits inside the intake pipe again, or maybe go back to the GTI airbox setup. <img src="https://i.ibb.co/7JbPwCp8/20251024-075936.jpg" alt="20251024-075936" border="0" /> I rolled the car around on a more level surface to try and set the camber and toe more precisely and is driving a lot nicer now- not quite 100% but a few more tweaks and I think i'll be there. <img src="https://i.ibb.co/pBrSmqRj/20251024-113024.jpg" alt="20251024-113024" border="0" />
I've been using this Gunson trakrite gauge as it was recommended by Trackslag Mat who uses the same thing on his car
I’ve booked a track day at Donington on 13th December with Dan, Warren, and Tim. So something to look forward to and a good chance to properly test the car again.
Update: Finally got the chance to finish the box off. 5th gear went on, followed by the plastic casing, new output shaft seals, new clutch guide, and the 100mm cups bolted in. There’s no denying I couldn’t have done it without some help, but it definitely feels good to have been part of the process again. Loaded in the footwell for the 1 mile drive home and to get it fitted Probably bread and butter stuff for most, but for me, lifting the box over the flywheel was a pain. I got there eventually with a bit of help from the wife on the jack! After previously getting slightly stuck under the car with the box on my chest, I was a bit reluctant to pull the jack away until I knew it was properly bolted up 😂 In hindsight, I doubt it would’ve come down on me once it was nearly home, I just spent far too long faffing when it wasn’t really needed! Started on the mounts but ran out of time. Still, it feels great to have it this close to running again. I’ll probably make the most of it being jacked up to sort a few other bits and pieces — planning to trim and refit the Powerflex topmounts, add the camber bolts and alignment, and finish off the induction kit.
A little bit more time spent on the gearbox. I took the crown wheel and open diff down to a mates and used their neighbours pillar drill to drill out the rivets. I snapped the drill bit on the last one 🤦♂️ so ground the rivet down with a finger file and tapped it out. Also tapped my hand in the process! Went to Dan's and fitted the Quaife to the crown wheel and torqued the ARP bolts to 54 lbft. Gave the casing and gears a reasonable clean down with brake cleaner. Sealant applied to the casing and bolts all torqued down. We stopped for a cheeky burger before calling it a day for other commitments. Just needs 5th gear fitting, the new seals and cups and selector I think. Then it can go back in. I'm not looking forward to lifting it again!
28/09/25 – 02A & 02J Gearbox Stripdown for Quaife Swap
After a few months of it sitting at Dan’s place, I finally went over to strip down my old 02A gearbox with the Quaife LSD(with help). I'd swapped this box out for a 02J with a 3.9 FD a while back, but now it’s time to move the Quaife across to the new box.
I also brought the replacement 02J gearbox with me — this one had never been opened before. Stripping both boxes down was actually easier than it probably looks in the photos, but the 5th gear on the 02J was a nightmare to get off. Took a lot of persuasion and finally came off with a puller.
The diff rivets can now be drilled out that’ll be the next job.
Since the seals have been disturbed, I’ll be replacing:
Input shaft guide sleeve 02A141180A
2x Output shaft seals 084 409189B
Interestingly, the input guide has an 02A part number and a late 1999 date stamp, which is interesting to see, maybe a crossover period for early 02J parts?
I’ve ordered the new seals and bits and should be collecting them on 30/09/25, with a view to rebuilding the box on 01/10/25, if all things align.
After that, it’s just a case of getting it fitted back into the Mk2 and seeing how the 3.9 FD and Quaife feels on the road.
I took it for its MOT on 20/9/25 as it had ran out for the 1st time since my ownership. Glad to say it passed with no advisories
I only drove it too and from the garage about 8 miles all in but car drove fine. Coolant needs topping up which i really hope is just some air left in the system!
Later in the week I decided i was going to get ready for the Quaife to be fitted. So back in the air and gearbox off. Although its been in and out more time than i care to remember, I've never done it alone. Mainly due to a lack of confidence and the gravel driveway. I felt that it needed to be done at home so I'm not leaving it somewhere other than my own driveway to remove the need to get it back driving asap. I was amazed the time i took the first photo with the bonnet up and to the time i took the photo with the box on the floor was 1hr 20 mins. The hardest part was lifting the box at enough of an angle to get the cup over the flywheel. I have to admit when the box came down onto my chest i got myself a bit stuck 😂 the weight combined with the car sitting fairly low to the ground meant i didn't have much room to actually get myself out from under the car. After a short struggle I freed myself and dragged the box out- had to remove the splitter for it to come out the front! Started 11:50 Finished 13:10 There was 1 casualty - gearbox bracket collared bolt m8x92 which i need to get hold of a spare if anyone has one?
As i had some free time I decided to fit the missing flaps of the fan cowl and my new Febi fan. I know the cowling needs a paint but this is way down the list of priories at the minute!
Also picked up an induction kit for noises! I'm not sure if i will keep it yet but it's a bit of fun. Its meant for a mk4 golf with an 80mm maf. I've trimmed down the heatshield and used the off cut to make a temporary bracket to secure it the the chassis leg and removed the lower blank to allow some more cold air through. I've got a cleaning set from Rami Air so will do that when i get the opportunity. the ABF intake is 70mm so fitted and 80>70mm reducer and some alli pipe to join them together. The intake temp sensor has been mounted to the heatshield for now. I still need to trim the pipe down but i might see about replacing the whole intake with 90 degree silicone elbow for a nicer look but so will hold on for now.
At the weekend i'm hoping to rip the old 02a apart to remove the Quaife ATB and maybe take the new 02j apart to ready to remove the diff rivets from the crown wheel (horrible job). I've got new diff bearings as well. All of this is best done with some help if i ever want it to work again! So going to rope in Dan, hopefully for guidance more than just taking all of his spare time.
