VW Golf Mk2 Owners Club

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #240 – March 05, 2026, 04:38:44 AM

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?

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #241 – March 06, 2026, 07:42:35 AM

I've never heard of a thick pile carpet before! Sounds very Gucci!

Also, glad I didn't go now, if you were one db over the limit, I'd have been bollocked on my first lap!

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #242 – March 06, 2026, 02:25:58 PM

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.
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It’s a bit oily in there I think my rocker cover gasket is still leaking.
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The ball and socket on the clutch fork looks OK to me.
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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.
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I took the cover off the fuel pump and discovered the breather pipe has a bolt stuck in it!
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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.
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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.
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Gearbox Oil
Drained the gearbox oil and it definitely had some glitter in it, which isn’t encouraging.
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For now I’ve left the car like this. The engine is sitting on one mount and supported with some wood.
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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. 🙏

Re: G135EPB 8v GTI

Reply #243 – March 07, 2026, 04:00:19 PM

Went to help strip my box down at Dan’s but hr had already beaten me to it!
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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.
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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!
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