(01-24-2015) step by step...

I finally was able to seal up the coolant leak with a new coolant sensor and an o-ring.  After repairing the coolant leak and watching the engine to see if more coolant might be leaking somewhere I discovered a vacuum leak and installed some new vacuum lines to seal that up.  Then I took the GTI for a spin and it drove fairly well, but it definitely needs to be aligned.

Just need to install a front right speed sensor and get the alignment done and she should be back on the road again.

(01-18-2015) So close...

Flash and I worked on the old GTI and really made an effort to get her on the road again.  We installed new front rotors and then went over everything on the front suspension and torqued everything to spec.

Then we started working on fixing vacuum leaks on the engine.  We replaced the hoses located under the intake manifold with new ones and a new PCV valve as well.  One hose had a massive split in it, so hopefully these new hoses will address the P1136 engine code it's been getting.

Then we replaced the chunk of vacuum hosed nightmare (seen below) located in front of the intake manifold.

After we were fairly happy with our vacuum hoses and making sure everything was sealed up and routed correctly, we then started working on the timing belt and water pump.  This took a few hours and required the sacrificial blood that all timing belts seem to require.  Once we had it all in time and back together we started it up and she ran pretty good.

Now the bad news...  In our efforts to get the vacuum lines installed, I believe that we have created another water leak at the coolant temperature sensor.  I tried to install a front wheel speed sensor, but then realized that some knucklehead (ME!) had ordered the wrong part.

So, that's where the GTI stands at the moment.  Needs another wheel speed sensor, fix the water leak at the coolant sensor and then do a tape measure alignment to get it the shop for the real thing.  It's close, and if I would've had the parts on hand it would already have been finished.

(01-14-2015) GTI needs some attention for the new year

Last week my GTI developed a large leak at the water pump.  I ordered a new water pump and timing belt from where I usually get my parts, but it takes about a week to get the parts from them.

So, while the car is down, I decided to do a lot more work on Blondie to get her in top condition again.

I replaced the diverter valve with this Forge 007 diverter/blow-off valve.

The next job was to put new brakes on the rear of the car.  This was an easy job and didn't take too long.

Then replaced the half-shafts.  The inner boots on the originals had developed tears in them after 320,000 miles.

 Then it was time to replace the inner and outer tie rods.  These were totally seized, even using a torch to heat the threads didn't work, so in the end it was just easier to cut them off the car on both sides.  I don't have a picture of the new tie rods installed, but they're on and ready to go.  The hardest part of the tie rod install was the bellows boot on the passenger side, for some reason that just didn't want to fit - but we finally got it installed.  I ended up gently heating the boot with a heat gun and stretching it to make installation possible.

The list of things to do for Blondie has shrank a little bit, but there is still a lot of work left before she hits the road again.  Hopefully this weekend I can finish up the suspension and brake changes and then move onto the original problem of fixing the water pump and some vacuum leaks.

(01-02-2015) GTI front end rebuild

On Friday, Flash and I did a lot of work on the front end of Blondie.  She got a good looking over and we replaced the lower control arms, ball joints and we also replaced the valve cover gasket.  I thought I would need to replace tie rods and all the other rubber, but surprisingly the rest of it looked good.

Wednesday she's scheduled to get an alignment, which will fix how she's tracking down the road. 

Next issues to fix are a wheel speed sensor and the CV joint boots are cracked, but not too bad.