these are the quick power gains

• high lift cam 264 / 268 / 270 - the biggest gain is made here. dont forget new tappets
• 4 branch manifold and exhaust system - dont go to large or it will cost you power
• bigger injectors 
• better air filter 
• chipped ecu

those probably account for 95% of the gain you can get from the engine 

the next lot help to pull a few extra horses out for those who really want to put the work in:
• skimmed head / port matched with inlet / exhaust
• de-wedged ported throttle body 
• lightened flywheel - not really power but will spin the engine up faster. be warned if the fly is to light the crank will wear its bearings

in opposition to porting the inlet you can use a NZ/G40 inlet with smaller holes to fill in the gap created by the highlift cam moving the powerband higher

above all refresh the electric and cooling systems to have a solid runner

They are plug and play with bit of setting up, but they wont fit the standard airbox, so you'll probably need to get an induction kit, and as you wont need the warm air feed in future, you can remove the air temp switch from the throttlebody elbow, as it is just another restriction to airflow

here it is in place

and here it is removed

now you need to fill the holes up, for the past year I've just used so insulation tape and its still going strong.

so the next thing to do is to remove the black top off the Airflow meters, so you can see the tensioning spring and wiper arm that tells the ecu whats happening. the top can be prised off with a screwdriver.

next you need a manometer its basically a u shaped peice of tubing with water in it, so you can measure the pressure of the flap in the AFM. I used airline for fishtanks, some cable clips and a peice of wood to make mine.

so now you can begin to change the AFM:-

1) with the standard GT setup and manometer connected to one of the holes in the throttlebody elbow warm the engine up. (cover the other hole up with tape, and the other end of the manometer should be left open).

2) when the engine is warm, make a note of the water level in the manometer and the position of the wiper arm in the AFM, then stop the engine.

3) unplug the lambda probe, so that the ecu is using the AFM to set the idle mixture

4) remove the GT AFM for the tube that connects it to the throttlebody elbow and force it over the Golf AFM (its a bit fiddly but it will go) and remove the rubber bung from the CO adjustment screw on the Golf AFM (its by the rubber connecting pipe) and also plug the golf AFM into the connecter that was on the GT AFM

5) restart the engine, with the golf AFM, and its will probably be coughing and spluttering, so to keep it running move the wiper arm in the AFM to where it was when you had the GT AFM connected

6) with an Allen key in the CO adjusting screw, turn it so that the wiper arm goes to that position automatically (the CO adjusting screw is an air bleed screw that allows the air to bypass the flap that offerates the AFM)

7) next adjust the spring tension that operates the flap, by undoing the screw and moving the geared wheel until the water level in the manometer is the same as when the GT afm was connected

8) do no.6 again for final adjustment

9) thats it done, just reconnect the lambda, disconnect the manometer and seal the holes up in the throttlebody elbow.

you may find that it needs a slight adjustment later, but that should be near enough spot on.

This used to be an article on the old website ages ago, and I printed it off and kept a copy of it. I can't find it anywhere else so thought I'd bung it back on here for people to use. Hopefully it'll get made into an FAQ. These aren't my own words by the way, so credit should go to whoever wrote it in the first place! I can however testify that the methods described work :)

Service Adjustment Mode

Before attempting to set the ignition timing or base idle speed, the ECU must be put into 'service adjustment mode'. This is done by making sure the engine is thoroughly warm and then disconnecting the multiplug from the blue coolant temperature sensor while the engine is running. If all is well with the management system the engine RPM should increase slightly when the plug is disconnected.

If the engine stalls at any point while making adjustments to the timing or base idle speed the multiplug MUST be refitted to the blue coolant temperature sensor before attempting to re-start the engine. Failure to do this will cause the ECU to enter 'limp home mode'. Adjustments will then not be possible until you have cleared the fault/s from the ECU memory.

Ignition Timing

The procedure described in the Haynes manual will give a rough timing setting. To set the timing accurately the following procedure must be followed. Digifant has an unusual procedure for setting the timing so please follow the instructions carefully.

With the ECU in service adjustment mode blip the throttle so that the engine RPM exceeds 2500. Do this four times.

Increase the engine speed from idle to between 2000 and 2500 RPM and check the timing. It should be 6º ± 1º. If adjustment is needed, slacken the distributor fixing bolts and turn the distributor until you have the correct timing.

Allow the engine to return to idle speed and reconnect the multiplug to the blue coolant temperature sensor. Blip the throttle three times, making sure the engine speed exceeds 3000 RPM each time.

Check the ignition timing now advances with increased RPM by slowly increasing the engine speed while watching the timing marks. Without an expensive timing light you will not be able to accurately measure the advance, but it should be around 40º at 2800rpm.

Idle Speed

Before attempting to adjust the idle speed make sure the ignition timing is correct. It is also worth taking the ISV (idle stabilisation valve) off the engine and thoroughly spraying it with carburettor cleaner. The valve is located beneath the inlet manifold, bolted to the steel water pipe.

The regulated engine speed is controlled by the ECU and is not adjustable. The ECU regulates the idle speed by opening and closing the ISV and also by making continuous small adjustments to the ignition timing. However for this to work properly the base idle speed must be set correctly.

To set the base idle speed, remove the breather hose from the cam cover, and plug the hose. Start the engine and allow it to idle for a couple of minutes, then put the ECU into service adjustment mode.

Blip the throttle three times, ensuring the RPM exceeds 3000 each time. Allow the engine to return to idle and then use the idle adjustment screw on the throttle body to set the idle speed to 920 RPM ± 25 RPM.

Re-connect the coolant temperature sensor multiplug, then unplug and reconnect the breather hose. The engine speed should now settle down to the correct regulated figure of 900 - 950 RPM.

Speaking from experience - doing this can help determine faults with other sensors or components of the engine management system. Hopefully this will help those of you with poor running GT's get them sorted!

MK4 polo gti

I converted my polo 16v to a mk5 gti powerplant when my cam belt tensioner broke and trashed my original engine. The swap is pretty straighforward in all post 98 polos (not impossible on earlier mk4's but require a little more wiring).

Parts required from GTi

Engine

Gearbox

Drivers side engine mount

ECU

Pedal box

Fuel pump

Engine loom

Interior loom

98 onwards headlamp switch

GTi clocks

Mk5 window motors and switches

Mk5 tail lights

98 onwards indicator stalks

I'd also recommend the front brake setup from atleast a 16v

Fitting

The engine lines up onto the original mk4 mounting points (chassis leg and gearbox). There is no welding required at all.

I removed the wiring from the mk4 and replaced it with the entire mk5 loom. You could use the complete dash from the mk5 if you chose to once you have fitted the new looms. This would save on having to splice parts of mk4 and 5 loom together for things such as headlamp switches and heater controls. Essentially you are building a mk5 in a mk4 body shell.

Evaluation

From my point of view this is one of the easiest engine conversions to carry out. Its fairly self explanitory all the way through if you are reasonably able when it comes to car mechanics.

This is only a basic guide, I take no responsibility for problems anyone may encounter trying this swap. I have a zip file of pictures available for anybody wanting to try the conversion. Most of the long standing members will remember the trials and tribulations I encountered. If I was doing it again I would probably not bother. The power gains (25bhp) were not that noticable, a 16v with a few choice breathing mods would be more than capable of similar performance.

400cc motorbike carbs(doesnt matter so much what from but that is the optimum size)

A manifold either home made using an inlet gasket as a template for the flange or call bogg bros to make you one

some fuel hose

A T peice

a mk2 vaccuum advance dizzy

And get them PROPER set up by a carb specialist with a rolling road.

Or, on the flip side, what benefits might i get by putting a GT cam into a standard carbed 1.3? Or even the AEA cam?

Most of this is valid for a mk1 and early mk2 as well, but extra provisions are required for fitting fuel lines and there are complications involving the fuel tank (either change the tank and rear axle/brakes to later stuff or make the original tank deeper with a hammer and a block of wood )

NB - fluxco modified the mk3 tank pump pickup to fit a mk1/early mk2 tank by removing the non-return valve above the strainer. I think the only downside is the pump may take more on/offs of the ignition to fully prime the system.

So anyway, here goes:

Fuel Tank - Ideally you want a mk3 one as the internals differ to a mk2 slightly. Its ok to use a mk2 one though, you can join the outlet and inlet together on the bottom of the mk2 tank.

Fuel lines - You need everything from a mk3 for this one, Including the brackets that run under the car and around the rear axle to the fuel pump/accumilator/filter housing. You dont have to use a GT car for a donor as far as the fuel lines go, but ideally youd have the GT inline pump for the higher pressure it puts out. On early mk2s (pre 86) there are no bolts on the underside of the car to support the fuel pump bracket or extra fuel line brackets. I've been informed the best way of adding these is simply with self tapping screws.

Exhaust - I used a full mk3 system on mine (decatted) to incorporate the lambda probe. Alternatively you can use a mk2 system, you just need to add a threaded hole for a lambda proba on the downpipe. If you do use a mk3 system its best to do the lot; from manifold right up to backbox. (you may have to shorten the tailpipe)

Additional wiring - Again ideally you want a donor car to take the fuel pump wiring from. I saved everything from my scrapped GT so I had all the bits I needed fortunately. The wiring is really simple so theres not a great deal of hassle involved in removing it. Basically theres 3 extra wires on top of what the mk2 has; Two of which are a +ve for the fuel pumps and the third is an earth for the inline pump (the tank pump can use the earth of the fuel gauge sender) The +ve wire(s) are red with a yellow stripe and they both can be connected to the loom via the additional fuse that mk3s have (Yellow one that is part of the fuel injection loom - which clips above the fusebox)

Engine Bay Wiring - You need EVERYTHING from the GT that plugs into the fusebox, just the ECU loom wont do.

Engine bay wiring differences. On mid mk2s alot of the plugs are different to mk3s, they still use spade connectors instead of the more modern plug design. The plugs that are different are:

- Blue and Black temp sender

- Horn

- front indicators (side repeators are fine)

- Sidelights

- Reverse switch

- Starter motor solenoid wire

- Oil pressure switch wires.

All of these parts can be sourced from late mk2s (whenever they switched over to having plastic timing belt covers is when they started using the more modern connectors. G reg onwards or there abouts I think.)

Additional

Theres a couple of other small differences worth mentioning:

- Expansion tank level sensor might be needed if your car doesnt have one. (late mk2 expansion tank) This wasnt a problem on mine either because it had one and the plug was the same, or it didnt have one and I had a late mk3 loom which didnt have the plug anyway.

- You may need a different radiator fan depenging on what youre converting to. (some are two speed and some are single speed and the plug on the loom is different. You probably also need the temperature switch on the radiator. You can retain the original radiator setup though for the most part. (I think theres a slight difference in the return for the expansion tank so you might want to use the mk2 thermostat housing instead.

- Windscreen washers; If like my ranger your car has 2 tanks, the wiring on the GT loom needs altering slightly. The deal here is on later ones the pump goes in two directions, forwards to do the windscreen and backwards to do the tailgate, This is done by having a switched live and earth. Now for some reason if you leave the GT wiring alone the front washers wont work if you have the separate tank setup. But if you replace one of the wires (I forget which) with an earth it works fine, and doesnt effect the rear wiper operation.

- The alternator bracket and alternator are sllightly different but it only matters if youre swapping alternators between the two engines (just swap the bracket with it)

- Last thing: For the rev counter to work you need to add a wire from one of the terminals of the coil to the back of the clocks. I cant remember right now which pin it is but its around pin 5 or 6 IIRC (red wire) As for which coil terminal it is just use trial and error.

Think thats it! Good Luck!

Its not the best written FAQ at the mo but all the basic little bits of info are covered. I'll tidy it up a bit when I've got some more time.

Please keep any discussions in this FAQ Thread regarding bike-carbs and leave this topic for setup details only, to remain factual from peoples first hand experiences.

[b]Engine:-[/b]
[b]Carbs:-[/b]
[b]Venturi Size:-[/b]
[b]Inlet Manifold Type:-[/b]
[b]Jets:-[/b]
[b]CO Reading:-[/b]
[b]HC Reading:-[/b]
[b]Timing:-[/b]
[b]MPG:-[/b]
[b]BHP Figure:- [/b]
[b]Fuelling Method:- [/b]
[b]Fuel Used:- [/b]
[b]Vac Advance Used:- [/b]
[b]Others:-[/b] (such as needle profiles, circlip position,spring length/rate)

Engine:- 1388cc DOHC 16v - 1998 - AFH

Carbs:- Honda CBR 600 FS/FT 1995

Venturi Size:- 36mm

Inlet Manifold Type:- Homebrew Mild Steel Manifold - Made by Phataz1 (on this very forum)

Jets:- 142x2 +144x2 as standard, now running 150 x 4 (bought from NRP in Manchester)

CO Reading:- 1.21%

HC Reading:- 1500

Timing:- Need to update with current timing when i get the gun on it

MPG:- Between 38-45

BHP Figure:- TBA - Not RR'd yet

Fuelling Method:- T-Piece method, Facet Solid State 3-5 PSI pump

Fuel Used:- V-Power 99 only

Vac Advance Used:- No

Others:- Failed MOT on HC Levels, will change to 145 jets and see how I get on

GEARBOX CODE LOCATION

Right, well seem as there is a thread nearly everyday about the subject and I've just finished my first engine conversion with thanks to the knowledge I've picked up over the last 3 years of being a member on this forum and getting hands-on with stuff, I thought I would repay the kindness with a little guide to help those who want to undertake this conversion.

This is a little thank you to all those that performed this conversion before myself and found the many pit-falls and let us all know so it would make our lifes easier.

So big thanks to the following

Matthew - For your advice, CAD shiz and for making me buy the AFH Lump haha

Humer – Thanks for the crane dude, lifesaver! Soon to be a Dad too, Congrats!

Antoni – Your a clungemeister but legend for hooking me up with loads of essential parts at short notice and all the heavy-work (and yer mate Paul)

Karl_CL_Coupe – Your a Clungepirate and absolute legend for all your help with all the safmobiles!

Charlie – Living room painting flex ftw. This girl is on triangles.

And massive thanks to these guys and the following threads, shit loads of technical knowledge here, but you need to book out a few hours!

Mathew -

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...=114252&hl=

Heg123 -

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...c=83616&hl=

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...=137295&hl=

Max_Crox -

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=31303

Gofasterpinch -

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...c=30998&hl=

Renegade440 -

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=122913

MikeyMk + Humer - Top posts all over the forum, but more-so in the following thread which is an essential read!

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=160802

Fitting Bike Carbs - Total Vauxhall Magazine Article

Hope this helps a few people

Bike Carbs Info from Total Vauxhall

This is a picture of both sides of the manual choke.

The black device at the left of the bottom image is a vacuum diaphragm, when you start the car on full choke as soon as it starts the diaphragm rod pulls the choke off slightly. (Choke pull down) The original automatic choke had this device as well.

This is a picture of the choke unit separated.

The spring you see arrowed red in the top part is a bimetallic spring . When you pull the choke knob the choke flap is closed via the tension of the spring, but if you forget to push the choke back in the spring expands in the increasing ambient temperature and opens the choke flap up for you. The piece arrowed blue acts to limit the amount the choke flap closes due to the action of the spring which also makes sure the choke is off when you push the choke knob back in.

This manual unit fits straight onto the 1B3 carb but I needed to alter the linkage from the choke flap to the choke unit, easily done by making a new one out of welding rod. Also the arm that contacts the fast idle cam needed adjusting / bending so that it made contact properly. I did this by cutting and welding but if you got the arm off the carb from the Nova I would think that you could just swap them over.

This is a picture of the carb minus the choke unit with red arrows showing where to alter.

This is the carb complete with the choke. The red arrows point to the three screws to loosen so that you can rotate the choke which has an effect on the choke flap but is normally set so that marks on the choke cover and carb body align.. The blue arrows point to screws that adjust the fast idle. The original choke cable I think was a solid single wire so that when you pushed the choke knob back in the choke mechanism would open in a positive manner. I am using a stranded cable so I added a spring, its end can just be seen arrowed green. This pulls the choke mechanism open fully when you push the knob back in.

On the dash in the car there was a blanking plate where the choke knob must have gone in earlier model Polos. This is easily removed but left a hole too big to hold my choke cable assembly so I had to make a plate to cover it and drill a hole in the plate for the cable to fit correctly.

When removing the automatic choke unit you need to take care of the two 13mm pipes that feed coolant to it which I did by connecting the two ends of the pipes together with a piece of solid bar.

I think this is a vast improvement over the automatic choke that was fitted before and this modification has not given me any trouble in nearly 10years.

I hoped to go down the pinto exhaust valve route for the inlet valve and try and find a slightly bigger valve for the exhaust, then read the early mk2 haynes manual and it states HH and HB valves are shorter, and so the pinto valves won't fit.. I'll have to measure mine tomorrow and update!

Polo valve sizes:

HH/HB valve sizes:

Inlet valve - 34.00mm x 104.00mm x 7.97mm stem (036109601F)

Exhaust valve - 29.10mm x 104.00mm x 7.95mm stem (052109611A)

GL/HK/HA valve sizes:

Inlet valve - 34.00mm x 110.5.00mm x 7.97mm stem (036109601F)

Exhaust valve - 29.10mm x 110.5mm x 7.95mm stem (052109611A)

Hydro head valve sizes:

AAU inlet valve - 32.00mm x 99.300mm x 7.965mm until July 1992 - From August 1992 6.970mm stem diameter. (030109601E - 7.965mm) (030109601N - 6.970mm)

Inlet valve (all other) - 36.00 x 99.300mm x 7.965mm until July 1992 - From August 1992 6.970mm stem diameter. (030109601D - 7.965mm) (030109601L - 6.970mm)

Exhaust valve - 29.00mm x 99.300mm x 7.945mm until July 1992 - From August 1992 6.050mm stem diameter. (030109611A - 7.945mm) (030109611D - 

PY exhaust valve - 29.00mm x 99.300mm 7.945mm (part nr?)

Pinto/Transit exhaust valve - 36.2mm x 110.55mm x 8.02mm stem (part nr?) Used as a larger inlet valve on flat head type mechanical cylinder heads:

Application: 

• Ford Capri Mk1/Mk2/Mk3 2.0 1972-1987
• Ford Cortina Mk3/Mk4/Mk5 2.0 1970-1982
• Ford Escort Mk1 RS2000 2.0 1973-1974
• Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000 2.0 1975-1980
• Ford Granada Mk2 2.0 1977-1985
• Ford Granada/Scorpio Mk3 2.0 1985-1989
• Ford Sierra 2.0 1982-1989
• Ford Transit Mk2/Mk3 2.0 1978-1994
• TVR Tamsin 200 2.0 

Double valve springs for mechanical head:

Outer valve spring: 078109623A (Same as standard)

Inner valve spring: 078109633A (Same as KR/2E/ABF)

There are a few different ways to do this, and you will end up with different results.

I'll start with the way I did it.

I'm fitting bike carbs so decided to buy a low pressure Facet Posi-Flow (details here http://www.fuelsystem.co.uk/web-facet.pdf) I decided on the low pressure one that pumps @1.5-4 PSI and if you are using a t-piece saves having to fit a regulator.

I wanted a system that would only pump fuel when the ignition was on and the engine was running, so here's how I wired it up.

I used a 30A 4 pin normally open relay like this

--quick note about relays--

A 4 pin relay is a type of switch. There's two circuits running through it. One circuit has a coil. When power runs trhough the coil, it energises and connects the other circuit.

--quick note about relays--

I wired constant live from the battery to pin 30 through a 5A fuse.

I wired pin 87 to the live input on the facet through an inertia switch like this

you can get them from eBay, most cars these days have them. It's a switch that will break the circuit in event of impact, you should attach this to the chassis. (I bolted mine to the bulkhead)

I connected pin 85 to switched live from the ignition switch (the big black wire) and pin 86 went through the oil pressure switch (low pressure, wire is blue+black, on the cylinder head) to ground. You'll need a new oil pressure switch that has dual circuits like the Wells PS121 (http://www.wellsve.com/) I bought this one from eBay. It means that it has the normally closed switch (like the VW one) and the two remaining pins are a normally open circuit which closes when there's oil pressure in the head.

With this setup it means it will only pump fuel when the ignition is on and the engine is running, and if I have an accident it will shut off.

I'll try to upload a circuit diagram in the next few days which may make it a little clearer.

With regards to mounting the pump, I mounted mine on the bulkhead next to the coolant expansion tank, and although in the instructions it says don't mount it any higher than 12 inches from the petrol tank height it works fine for me.

There are simpler ways to fit a facet. For example taking the live from the switched ignition (via a switch on the dash as well if you like so it doesn't drain your battery if you are listening to the radio with the engine off) however I wouldn't do it this way as if you have a crash you'll continue to pump fuel into the engine bay with a fire risk, and if nothing else you've got the hassle of turning the fuel pump on all the time.

Hope this helps, and this is a WIP so if you've got any suggestions please let me know.

any help will be much appreciated

I've had a fair few issues with this car and I thought this could be quite a useful knowledge base for 9N owners since I can't see any pinned or lying around. I haven't put this in the suspension or engine section as it applies to both.

...................................................

Where to start!

Replaced under Warranty

Timing chain & tensioner kit - The engine idle started dipping sporadically when sitting at traffic lights
Front Anti-roll bar kit - You'll hear a knocking noise.
Front Windscreen wiper linkage kit - Well the windscreen wiper will move at a snails pace

23/09/09

Ignition Coils (3 pot / 4 pot engines)

There is an ignition coil per cylinder on the Polo mk6 and onwards. Some people have been having issues with them in which they tend to die just before 50k. They aren't really a common fault and should simply be changed every 40k as my own personal recommendation. I have a 3 pot engine so I need three of them and they cost around £33 each and are a doddle to change, save yourself the unnecessary breakdown call out.

This is covered under the extended warranty but would prove more costly to take a day off work for a part that you can change in 1 minute, and you should do all three, however only the affected ignition coil will be replaced under warranty.

1.2 12V timing chain tensioner (3 pot engines)

You 3 pot owners shouldn't ever have to change your timing chain and tensioner in your cars lifetime however the timing chain tensioner has been known become slack at around 50k. The idle on 3 pot engines isn't exactly smooth no thanks to the design of the engine and the lack of an idle control valve but should your idle dip below 600rpm on occasion then its just a matter of time before the tensioner gives up.

Generally speaking it will happen when starting the engine, the tensioner becomes slack, the cams shift a notch or two and this prevents you from starting the engine. This is a known common fault and a good VW garage will honour the warranty, otherwise its an expensive job as the side of the engine and the oil sump has to come off!

Front lower rear wishbone bushes (3 pot / 4 pot engines)

Not covered under warranty as its a 'wear n tear' part. A VW garage will charge you over two £200 as the wishbone has to come off and the wheel alignment will have to be done again. A suggestion for all 9N owners would be to get a set of polyurethane bushes in there to ensure long life...this also sorts out the body roll associated with the front end of the car.

If one bush has gone and the other looks fine, please don't be fooled. The other one will come back to haunt you in a few months time. A local garage will charge you under £100 excluding wheel alignment. The polyurethane bushes are a doddle to fit in compared to the very soft standard bush. Same polyurethane theory on curing body roll applies to your rear axle bushes however those bushes don't tend to rip.

Front Anti-Roll bar (3 pot / 4 pot engines)

At around the time of changing the dogbone bush I noticed marks on the underside of my car where the anti-roll bar has been knocking...this was strange to me as I've never heard a knocking noise before. My mechanic knocked the ARB back into place and put in some cable ties so we could tell if it had shifted a month later...well one week later I could hear it knocking and when I inspected the ARB a plastic element had falled off the ARB!

Took the car straight to VW before any serious damage was done and they will replace the entire front ARB kit under warranty. If you are not under warranty then you will have to pay for this to be done.

CV Joint (3 pot / 4 pot engines)

Again not a common fault, local garage will charge you about £60 for parts and labour. sorted, just waiting to be dissappointed from the other CV joint.

Interior rattles

Well lets say the interior is a pile of doo doo compared with the Polo mk5 or a Lupo however the materials last longer as there is less fabric used. Generally speaking you will want to install a sub otherwise the rattles will get on your nerves very quickly. I had a tiny rattle when I bought the car which wasn't noticeable and it just got worse day by day. Cheap plastic for the win.

04/07/11

Starter Motor

Typical! It went with zero warning, and it wouldn't even tick over, absolutely gutted. Parked on a hill luckily so I bump started it and got it home. Took the motor to a specialist and he said it had been refurbished before but the earth hadn't been grounded out properly.

On the basis that it was refurbished before I'm guessing they don't last too long!

Subframes

Nuts are made of cheese...you heard correct! The thread will go very easily, I've had to replace both Wishbone arms and take the subframe off, remove a nut and weld a new nut in to hold my gearbox mount. Expensive work...

Moral of the story, if you are going to replace your wishbone bushes...do it right the first time round and get some hardened ones in there!!!

...................................................

Please feel free to add any other common faults I haven't mentioned, I'm confident there are more that I have yet to experience, and I wonder why VW's only come with a 3 year warranty from new! But if you have to buy a newish Polo aged from 2002 onwards...make sure its from a VW dealer! The warranty has saved me bucks!

Other than that...happy sailing.

if you have any install pics that might help me or any others could you please post them up, especialy any close ups that show the linkage , jetting info if you run differant jets or anything usefull like a user manual etc

-Ignition coil from a late mk2 polo or mk2 golf Golf together with the ignition amp and ignition amp loom. I found the golf loom more useful as it was much longer. This meant I didnt have to drill a hole in the bulkhead which is there on later models but doesnt exist on early models. Instead the wiring could go up past the wash bottle through the gap at the end of the slam panel.

-Saab Distributor with hall sender, fitted to 900s and probably 9000s in the late 80s and early 90s If you find the right distributor it has the same plug as the polo/golf loom. The bosch number for the dizzy I've got is 0237 021 050. This dizzy is compatible with late mk2 polo HT leads and dizzy cap and rotor arm so you may need to buy those too.

The wiring is very simple, theres 6 wires on the ignition amp loom of which three go to the hall sender. of the other three the green wire goes to terminal 1 of the coil, the thin black wire goes to terminal 15 and the thick black wire goes to the -ve terminal on the battery.

From the original points ignition loom you may find that the green wire went to a white "two pin plug" on the coil. The red wire which is the other pin on this plug is for the rev counter and oil pressure circuit and this wire can be removed from this plug and plugged into the new coil in the same place.

There will have also probably been a black wire on the same loom as the red wire plugging to terminal 1 of the coil Plug this into the new coil too.

And thats it apart from figuring out firing order. When I go out to my car again later I will make a note of locations.

so i removed the thermostat fully and it has only been running around 60 to 70 unless in heavy ttraffic and then i put fan on and would run around 70 in heavy traffic and 60 driving a and b roads. and with the cold weather in the morning its only been getting to around 50-55 in the last two days so been looking around for a lower temp thermostat to open up sooner so water could flow to the rad earlier stopping it from heating up so much.

looking around i found you can buy an 82 degree one for 1.8 golf gti's on ebay for £20 i thought not bad but i dont want to wait for the postage i need to get one in asap for the early mornings so thought i would go to my local motor factor Wilco as i know everyone that works there and they always help me. so i went in and asked whats the lowest temp thermostat they do and they replied 82 degrees, great i thought so asked for one for a golf and all they do is the standard 92 degree for all vw's that have this size thermostat. they asked if i knew the size of the thermostat i replied yes as i made the housing for it so they gave me the box of them all to look through.

so after about 5 mins searching i found one the right size and it had 82 degree engraved onto it.

bought it and its only £8 BARGAIN and it fits perfectly.

Asked what car its actually for to which they replied its for a metro.

So if anyone wants an 82 degree lower temperature thermostat for your mk1,2,3,4 polo and mk1,2,3 golf

the Quentin Hazell code is: QTH115K

basically its £8 rather than £20 and you get it right there and then if they have it in stock and no waiting for postage.

Hope this helps someone

After doing my 3rd GT head + cam swap i think iv got the Simplest/quickest way of doing it, Theres alot of people on here asking "can it be done" or "Will a GT cam fit in my 1043" so i thought why not do a quick guide on how to do it. This is the way that I think it best, I'm not saying it is but this was the easyest way for me. Also, dont come crying to me if you re-fitted your cam and did not time it up correctly, I have covered this area as best as i could but will no doubt not be enough for some people, Sorry if that includes you.

The engines that this guide will be most relavant to are the late mk2 hydro headed engines, All non Gt/G40 mk2f engines (No point doing it obviously), and some golfs.

Engines that the GT cam is compatible will include (Most common);

1043cc (1.05L)

Mk2 carb HZ - Polo

Mk2f SPI AAU - Polo

1272cc (1.3L)

Mk2 Carb MH - Polo/golf

Mk2 Carb 2G - Polo/golf

Mk2f SPI AAV - Polo

Mk2f MPI NZ - Polo

1391cc (1.4L)

ABD - Golf

1598cc (1.6L)

ABU - Golf

Any other engine requires special valve timing considerations, but as a rule these will also work

1.0

AER - Mk4 Polo

1.3

ADX - Early mk4 polo

1.4

AEX - Mk4 polo

APQ - Mk5 (6n2) polo

1.6

AEA - Early Mk4 polo.

AEE - Mk4 polo , skoda felicia etc.

Note, The GT cam will not fit into the mechanical headed early polo , A good way to quickly tell if you have one of these types is the fact that your rocker cover will be held on by 8 (or 10,cant remember) small bolts, If you have 3 larger bolts in the centre of the rocker cover holiding it to the head, the chances are you own a engine that will be compatible.

Another very important note, Depending on what engine you have, it will either have square tooth pulleys, or round teeth. (see pic of square tooth pulleys).

If your engine is from a mk2, it will have square tooth pulleys, If its from a mk2f(mk3) then it will have round, Make sure you know which one you have, Also also make sure you have purchased and fitted the correct shaped tooth pulley to your new cam!!, otherwise your fucked!

This is a square tooth pulley, found in mk2, Note square shaped teeth.

What gains will i get from swapping the cam to a GT one? (or simular)

The first mod i ever did to my AAU engined polo was to fit the GT cam, I had a test drive before and after.

After giving it a good thrashing after i had fitted it,i found that at low rpm it seemed moderatley more torquey, It would get upto peak power much quicker. At high rpm, 4500 - 6000 it pulled much better too, Generally making the car feel alot more sprightley.

How long will it take?

Depending on how mechanically minded you are it will more than likely take you around an hour and a half - 2 hours to swap out the cam.

(judging on how mechanically minded i was the first time , and how long it took me)

Do i need any special tools? What do i need?

No specialist tools are required to do the job (torque wrench optional) , A good toolbox should be sufficient. All you will need is the;

Gt cam (or whatever cam you are upgrading to)

Its a good idea to get the GT cam with the relevant pulley attatched. (explained later)

A new camshaft seal (Part number 117VG0140 from GSF car parts)

Step one:

Your engine should look more or less like this one, This is my HZ engine from a mk2, however all the engines listed above will look very simular to this. (note the 3 large bolts holding down rocker cover)

Before you do anything, disconnect your battery, This is so you dont accidently short something out whilst taking off the dizzy.

You also need to take the cambelt cover off, this is the plastic cover covering your cambelt and pulleys on the right of the engine :-D , Then, the first thing you need to do is to get your engine to Top dead centre on cylinder number one ( Cylinder one left looking from view above), This isnt hard to do so dont be put off.

This just means get piston number one to the highest point it will ever reach - Top dead centre.

To do this, you need to match up the timing marks located on your cam and crank pulleys.

The small dot on the pulley is marked with green pen, You can also just see the plastic arrow at the top left of the picture.

You need to turn over your engine untill the little dot on the outside of the cam pulley lines up EXACTLY with the small plastic arrow which is underneath the pulley on the inside plastic cam cover (see pic)

The best way to turn over your engine manually, is to do it by rotating the crankshaft pulley, To do this you need to apply full lock to the right on your steering wheel so you can access the bolt under your arch.

The bolt is under here, And looks like this

Once you have done this, look at your crank pulley which is the other pulley your cam belt is attatched to.

You should see that the little notch on your crank pulley is exactly in the middle of the cut out near your water pump.(see pic)

The space where the notch should be in the centre of should be somewhere around your water pump which is the thing in the top left of the picture.

If it isnt , you may not be bang on with your timing marks on the cam pulley, keep at it untill you get it correct, If you find it impossible to get them bang on, Your timing may allready be out!

If you get them lined up perfectly, Your engine is now set to TDC (Top dead centre), The reason its a good idea to do this is so you can re-fit the cam easily and trouble free, and keep piston to valve timing the same, Its easy to see if you have re-fitted it incorrect, You will see why further down.

STEP two:

Once both timing marks (one on cam pulley, one on crank pulley) are lined up with corresponding marks, You are now ready to start taking off the cam belt.

But first , undo the 3 large bolts that are holding on your rocker cover, This will reveal the camshaft and camshaft housings.

Now, tease off the cam-belt from the cam pulley, Be carefull not to damage it or mark it in any way.

The best way i find it to just grip it with your finger nails and go from side to side, edgeing it a few MM's at a time.

STEP THREE:

Now is the best time to take off your distributor, which is at the opposite side of your cam to the pulley. There is two bolts running horizontally, one above and one below the dizzy that is holding it on, these need to be taken out, which will then let you release

your distributor (see pic), it should just pull off sideways with abit of light force.

Once you have it off, place is carefully to the right of the engine bay, somewhere where it isnt going to get knocked or damaged, putting it in a plastic carrier bag is allways a good idea.

STEP FOUR:

This where you have abit of choice, but you may have allready made up your mind with how you have bought your cam. If the cam you have bought has come with a pulley attatched, i would advice that you extract the cam out of your engine as one (Not having to take of the pulley from the cam and extracting them seperate), this means you dont need to swing on the bolt that holds the pulley onto the cam so you can jimmy it out. Which brings me on to my next point.

You may have noticed that the plastic inside cambelt cover arcs over the camshaft on the left handside near the pulley (see pic), This is where you can have abit of choice what you do, You can either;

> Undo the bolt that holds the pulley onto the camshaft so the cam can be lifted out seperatley to the pulley

> or cut away the bit of plastic that blocks you from lifting the camshaft out of the engine,

The 3 times i have done this now, i have given up trying to undo the camshaft bolt, swinging on a bolt that stiff just scares me for alot of reasons, So now i allways just cut away the bit of plastic so that you can just pull the cam shaft upwards when it is released (see pic)

STEP FIVE:

You should now be able to see that if you undo all of the housings holding down the camshaft, there is nothing else holding it down.Now , this is part where you have to be most carefull. The camshaft is held down by 5 bearing/housings, And each bearing has 2 nuts holding it to the head.(See pic).

These nuts need to be loosend equally, I find it best just to start from one end , loosen each of the nuts on the first bearing a full turn, then move onto bearing cap number two and undo the two nuts a full turn, Then move to the third one and so on,

This will make sure you dont snap a bearing cap (easy to do), If one bearing cap was to feel the full force of all 8 valves pushing upwards, it would snap withing seconds, so undoing the nuts equally is vital.

After all of the bearing caps are loosend, the cam should pop upwards and be loose. Place all of the nuts and bearing housings somewhere nice and safe , Its a good idea to mark numbers on them, The left most one number one, whatever you do, dont get any foreign contaminents onto them.

You should now be able to lift the camshaft out of the cylinder head, Also place this somewhere safe incase you need to put it back in.

STEP SIX:

Obvioulsy , by now you should have taken off your cambelt, Ejected your exisitng camshaft and taken off your dizzy. Your engine should look something simular to this (see pic) ,Try not to get any dirt on the tappets that were under the camshaft, These are the 8 cylindrical blocks, These are the things the lobes act upon to push down the valves in your engine.

It is now time to fit the new camshaft, Make sure you have the correct tooth shape pulley on the new cam, And the bolt is very tight (60NM) , Also make sure that the camshaft seal is brandnew, You will have a moderate oil leak from that area if it isnt.

Now place the new camshaft where the old one came out, However, remember that the pulley has a timing mark on, Try and match this as good as you can to the timing arrow on the plastic housing , it will be hard because of the tappets resticting your movement, It doesnt have to be perfect but the closer the better, You will adjust to be perfectly on the mark soon.

Now, you can start to put the housings back where they came from, You should have numbered them when you took them out, or have put them somewhere safe in the order you took them out.Start by putting the middle one on first, and then screw on both of the nuts slightly, Just enough to hold it there, Then put housing number 1 on and do the same with the nuts, Then number 5 , then 2 and then 4.

This will keep the force nice and equal. You then want to tighten each of the nuts by a full turn, work from one side like you did when taking them off. Be very cafeful as the housing are easy to snap with them being very brittle. Once all the housings are tightened down, tighten them up moderately, I thinkt the right amount is somewhere around (6NM, but you will need a torque wrench to do this)

I hold my wrench above the actualy socket with one hand and tighen moderately (not on the actual handle of the wrench).

Now that your new cam is in place, and all housings are tight, your engine should look something like this;

STEP SEVEN:

The timing mark on your crankshaft should not have moved, If it has, just rotate it the same way you did to get the engine to TDC. You now need to line up your timing mark on your camshaft pulley to its timing mark (the plastic arrow) , you can do this by hand , just grab the pulley and line the marks up perfectly. Your now ready to push the cambelt back over the pulley, To do this, Pull the side of the cambelt closest to the windsheild nice and tight

And then pull the first few teeth ontop of the teeth on the pulley, Now just keep jimmying the belt back on, Use abit of common sence to get it back on, Maybe use a flat soft object to knock it back on, Its tight but will go back on eventually.

This picture shows where i had to trim back the plastic to allow the cam to be lifted out.

After youve got the belt back on, its now time to check the timing is still ok, Just turn the engine over manually , either using a wrench on the cam or crank pulley, When the timing mark on the cam pulley lines up with its corresponding mark (the plastic arrow), the notch on the crank pulley should be exactly between the cut out on the waterpump.

If the timing marks however do not line up prefectly, You are a tooth out and you need to take off the belt again and try again, If the timing marks line up then youve got it right, If you are even one tooth out of sync , the marks do not line up at all so dont worry.

Now, with both timing marks lined up perfectly its now time to test. Turn the engine over again a full revolution manually , using the crank pulley to do this. Turn it over and see if the marks line up again, (they no doubt should) but its good to check. Do this a few times to make sure, (i usually do it about 10 times) but thats because i like to make sure its timed up right.

So, Now that your all timed up again, your ready to re-fit the distributor in the opposite way you took it off, and re-fit the rocker cover.

Make sure all of the clips that were holding on your cambelt cover are no where near your belt and pulleys, These may get caught in the teeth and render your engine scrap. Put the cover back on for the time being.

You are pretty much finished now, re-connect your battery, and fire her up.

Take the car for a test drive and see what you think. If it doesnt seem to be much different, Chances are you have re-fitted your distributor slightly retarded (not what you think).

Undo the bolts slightly that are holiding the distributor, when the engines off rotate it anti clockwise or towards you (same thing) and tighten up the bolts, this will advance your igntion timing , Do it slightly, re-fit your dizzy and then take for another test drive, Keep doing this untill you feel like you have gone abit to far and the power has started to drop off, Or it becomes hard to start or the engines starts pinking.

Any questions please ask, And please point out any mistakes i have made, I've wrote this over a few days and may have missed something.

Hope this helps and that your happy with the outcome.

Max

DOES THE GT CAM FIT INTO MY Mk4 POLO'S ENGINE?

The cam will fit into the later mk4 8v engines yes (with complications), Engines's its compatible with;

MK4 1.0 AER (POLO)

Mk4 1.4 AEX (POLO)

Mk4 1.6 AEE (POLO)

The problem with fitting the cam to theses engines are the fact that the cam was not designed for this size block/stroke , meaning that the timing is out. The way to fix this is with a vernier cam pulley.

See this question come up quite frequently, regarding methods of how to fuel bike carbs.

This is a bit dependent on the model of the car you have, as they come with different fuel pumps standard.

Firstly, it helps to understand the basics of the carbs as to how the fuel gets into them.

Bike carbs have a 'float bowl' this is a small reservoir on the bottom of each carb (which you have 4 of) this fills up with fuel, which the main/pilot/idle jets are submerged into (different carbs vary slightly). This is where the carbs get their fuel from when they are operating.

Within this float bowl, there is a float, this pivots, and attached to it is a needle with a tapered seat (please dont confuse this with the tapered needle in the throttle slide). This needle seals against the carb body when the float is pushed up inside the carb (forced up by the level of fuel in the carb, like a toilet system) this will then stop fuel flowing into the carbs from the supply, until some of the fuel in the float bowl is used, allowing the float to fall, which breaks the seal on the tapered needle.

Most bike carbs have a single fuel inlet connection, which is usually a 10mm fitting (seems common on 600cc carbs anyway) which then bridges all 4 float bowls together.

You are now in a position where you need to get fuel from your tank on the car, to this single fitting on the carbs.

You may have noticed, or read about many methods, I guess these can be summarised as follows:

Standard fuel pump - T piece method

Standard fuel pump - Regulator method

After market pump (eg a Facet pump) - T piece method

After market pump - Regulator method

Bike carb fuel pump

Obviously there are a variety of model polos, commonly mk2-4 seem to be having carbs fitted.

Early mk2's have a mechanical pump driven off the cam, however, most people do an engine conversion, so I'm not going to explain this one as the pump is lost.

Mk3's have both a lift pump and a high pressure pump for the injection system, according to Haynes, the lift pump has a higher flow rate than the pressure pump, however I am unsure of what pressure its capable of.

Mk4's have an in tank sender unit, which is the only pump on the car, SPI models have a lower pressure pump than MPI models.

Its worth adding at this point, that to get pressure, you must have a restriction, no restriction will allow flow.

So if you connected a high pressure pump directly to the carbs, the needles in the float bowls would be your restriction, the fuel pump would over power this, and fuel would leak from the carbs, hence why a method of controlling the fuel is required.

So.

T piece method.This is where you use both the cars feed and return fuel lines.

You create a loop, joining the feed and return line together, so fuel can simply be pumped from the tank, around this loop, back to the tank, this means there would be no resitriction (unless your return line was a smaller diameter etc)

Where you join the feed and return line (in the engine bay) you use a T piece fitting, the spare fitting on the T piece will then be connected to the fitting on the carbs, this allows the fuel to also run to the carbs, and the fuel will flow into the float bowls when required, if there is a restriction there, the fuel will simply continue in a loop down the return line back to the tank.

There are arguments as to which way to fit the tpiece, I have never ran a T peice so I wont comment.

This method can be used with the standard or aftermarket pumps, you just need to ensure there is enough flow (whether the standard lift pump alone is enough, I dont know, hopefully somone can add).

This is a good method, and has been tried and tested successfully, as there is no pressure build up causing leaks at the carbs, and the 'loop' almost acts as a fuel cooler.

You will have to mess around with wiring to get standard pumps to work without the ECU (mk4's ecu uses the fuel pump as an Immob, and a mk3's ecu controls the power to the pump when it knows the engine is running)

After market pump the same T piece method can be used, its worth adding:

A mk3 fuel sender with lift pump, fuel can be dragged through this, whether the lift pump is running or not - no need to modify

A mk4 fuel sender will not allow fuel to be dragged through it without it running, I modified mine in the 6n so it was just a pickup, I will look for pics.

Summary:

Easy method

Cheap (will just need fuel hose, clips and a T piece, maybe some wire and conncetors)

No pressure build up (unless a restriction was added or the return line was squashed etc)

Tried and tested successfully with a variety of pumps.

Regulator method. There is more than one type of regulator.

Ok so you may want to run a fuel pressure regulator.

Its worth noting now, there is more than one way of regulating the fuel pressure.

You can buy an 'inline' reguatlor, which is virtually just a restrictor - I am not convinced by these.

A decent regulator has 3 fittings, one feed in, one feed to the carbs, and one is a return.

This type bleeds the fuel off down the return line.

You can also buy a 'turbo' regulator if youre running boost. This will have a vacuum nipple to be connected from the inlet manifold, the variance in inlet vacuum due to boost will adjust the fuel pressure to suit the conditions.

If youre running a regulator, youll need a pressure gauge too. The fuel should be regulated to 3psi for bike carbs (as per Bogg Bros instruction).

If you intend on running an injection pump, youll likely need two regulators, due to the massive change of fuel pressure from what the pumps designed for.

You will be able to get hold of one, to take it from say 3 bar to 1 bar, then another which will regulate 0-1bar of pressure (1bar = 14.7psi)

IMO this method isnt the best, pretty expensive and hassle, but others run it with no issues. However some have tried just T piece and get leaky carbs, but I dont know what state their carbs are in, and how free their return line is etc.

Bike fuel pump method. A pump designed for the job...to an extent.

A bike fuel pump, and bike carbs..sounds a good idea hey?

These are a clever pump, virtually the same on all carb'd bikes.

These 'self regulate' and do not need a return fuel line.

Simply a fuel feed to the pump, then a line from the pump to your carbs, power and ground, and done.

The pump turns on and off with fuel demand (see video).

This sounds a good idea, however, its worth remembering, the tank on a bike is mounted above the pump, so effectively you have a gravity fuel feed to the pump, however on your car the tank is far away and the fuel is going to be dragged upwards out of the tank.

This said, I have ran one in both my Carb'd cars with no issues, or leaks.

You can pick these up for around £30-£40.

It maybe worth having a spare, as asking the extra amount of work from it may reduce its life - who knows.

Video to explain kinda.

http://s963.photobucket.com/albums/ae114/h...2DA8F2141E7.mp4

If youre going to wire any fuel pump up, Id recommend fitting an inertia switch. This is a switch which when shocked hard (crash) it will break the feed to the fuel pump, turning it off.

So if you crash, and a fuel pipe was broken etc, and you were unconcious, you could end up with fuel spraying everywhere, this will prevent it.

I crashed and the inertia switch turned my fuel pump off, so thats tried and tested too!

Little info on the carbs:

You may buy a set of used carbs, throw them on, and get fuel leaking from around the T pieces between the float bowls (where the fuel feed goes in) this is often due to the O rings on these going hard as the carbs havnt been used, or thembeing perished and broken.

I stripped my carbs when I got them and had this issue, they were in good condition aesthetically, so I soaked them in neat petrol for around an hour and were fine after that.

Didnt use the engine for 2 months, and the same thing happened again, just the fuel spraying out of them for 5 mins, then being left overnight fixed that one.

There are two pipe connections on top of the carbs, these are vents/overflows from the float bowls, these MUST vent to atmostphere (unless youre boosting the carbs) a restriction on these will make your car run stupidly rich.

Mine are connected to a catch bottle in the engine bay, away from hot things.

Hopefully this helps some people.

I stand by the bike pump method, however others have ran the other methods and will stand by them, so it depends what you want, kinda depends on what car you have and what sort of money you want to spend and such!

Nick

What you need

Essentials

Headbolt - 036103384B ( x 10 - for 1 cylinder head)

Polo GTI Headgasket 036103383Q ? isn't it 036103383AB

Metal Inlet Manifold Gasket 036129717G

AFH Cambelt 036109119H

AFH Tensioner 036109243J

AFH Relay Roller - 036109244

Water Pump - 036121005D/036121005MX

If Required

Polo GTI/AFH Sump Gasket Sealant - D1764004A2

AFH Cylinder Head Cover Gasket - 036103483 D & 036103483 G

ARC/AVY Piston Ring Set 036198151C ( x 4 - 1 set per piston) - If required

ARC/AVY Crankshaft Bearing Set 036198491

Alternator belt HB680G (Halfords) - For Mk1-3 Conversions using the Mk4 Alternator

Euro Car Parts - 6pk675 - ContiTech Drive Belt - Part No.: 202771555

Alternative Suppliers

GSF

132VG0180 TIMING BELT IDLER PULLEY PO 1.4 16V 95> 21.95

170VG0140 WATER PUMP PO 1.4 16V AFH Eng. 95> 26.75

Considerations

Headbolts

6n 1.0 AER & Non AVY GTI lumps have the correct length headbolts

6n Polo 1 Litre

036103384B

bolt, with multi-spilne socket head

M9X1,25X138 / AER,ALL

Lupo GTI

036103384B

bolt, with multi-spilne socket head

M9X1,25X138 / AHW,AKQ,APE, AUA,BBY,AFK, ANM,AQQ,AUB

Polo GTI

036103384E

bolt, with multi-spilne socket head

M9X1,25X97 / AVY

The correct part from GSF is

01163

CYLINDER HEAD BOLT

PO 1.4 AFK/AHW/APE/AUA/AUB Engines 99> & PO 1.0 AER Engine 96>99

£2.00 each and you need 10.

Relay roller

part number 036109244

the guys made me a bar threaded to 10mm at one end to fit into the block and 8mm to fit through the sleeve of the roller, it was impossible to drill through for guys with thousands of pounds worth of machinery so dont bother trying it at home, I'm glad i didnt bother!

see below

there was a way to grip the beast, but even with the beastiest drill at thier disposal, it merely just tickled the surface and wouldnt make a dent, so they put there heads together for 5 and came up with a turned down threaded rod which is tres perfect for my needs!

i can confirm this, i've tried to drill one out in a big badass lathe, clamped the sleeve in the chuck and using the tailstock chuck/drill and even with cobalt drills and plenty of cutting oil it barely even tickles the surface, it's because the sleeve has been nitride hardened which is the same way gudgeon pins are done, if you could drill through the surface layer it would probably be quite soft underneath.. tbh i can't believe they would go to the effort of nitriding a component like this... i think i'm going to have to make up a threaded bar like the op with M10 one end and M8 the other end... or the other option i'e thought about it drilling and tapping the hole in the block and putting an m8 insert in there

Headgasket

Polo GTI Headgasket 036103383Q

i've also discovered that the AFH cylinder head gasket is no good for it, it will physically fit, and all the water ways etc line up, plus the oil feed it fine... but the 3 oil drainback slots at the front are a slightly different shape on AFH blocks so you need to use the polo gti avy head gasket to fit it onto the avy block

Fuelling & Management

I leave that up to you, but there are carbs, independant throttle bodies, or the standard EFI. I cover fitting bike carbs to this setup, albeit for a 1.4 16v here.

Some reference threads

1.4 16v AFH mit 1.6 16v Lupo GTI Bottom End, PikeyTech® Conversion underway

Mk1-3 Polo 1.4 16v FAQ + Conversion Guide, & General AFH on Bike Carb Guide.

Fitting bike carbs onto a mk3, Parts needed

some pictures

Enjoy!

PS. I take NO account for mis-information, accept no liability for any damage caused to your engine, yourself, or any third-party based on anything in this guide.

As always, it is ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Currently wanting to build another engine, and just weighing up options at the minute.

Now we all know that a PY engine with a turbo attached or even the charger is probably best bang for buck, pretty easy to do, good gains to be had, loads of info and will be a strong reliable conversion. However, theres something in the back of my head that just isnt interested in doing this at all, I dont know why, but yeah, so looking into other things.

So looking into build a 1.6 16v ''hybrid'' but in all honesty, I'm scared of building a 16v.

This is purely for the fact I feel as though it may be a bit bland until it comes to life.

My AEE is pretty decent down low, admittedly not brilliant due to cam/carb size, howver its a lot less bland than a 1.4 AFH.

The 16v's seem to make good PEAK power, but if you actually look in more detail, the torque curve between that and an 8v differs massively, my current engine makes peak torque (~120lbft or something) at around 2.2k, but it pretty much holds this flat up to around 5.5k, whereas a 16v may make say 125lbft, around 4k, but before and after that is less, its just a peak value, think this loss low down makes them a bit bland.

Drove Guys as a 1.6, which was decent and pulled well, even from nothing, I think it partly felt lively due to having poor traction etc, but it was good, but just the fact 1.4's on carbs make more power and torque than mine, but actually driving it, like in reality, not numbers on a piece of paper, its not as exciting (for me anyway). Same story with KRs, people say they're decent, a friend happens to have a particularly strong Mk2 GTI with a KR, where its happy to pull to the limiter in fifth, its just bland, not really in your face, I want the throttle to be something you need to consider the consequences of just pinning to the floor instead of waiting for it to winds itself up and find some go at around 5k.

Now obviously a G40 gives this low down Whoaa because of the charger, but IF I build a 16v, I dont want it to be shit, id be annoyed making the effort and it not being too good.

If I build one, it will be cammed, but I'm not sure how aggressively, dont want to run standard cams, which is probably best for low down go, but I dont also want to be screaming it everywhere to gain 5hp peak at 8500rpm.

Anyway, my current thoughts on an engine would be:

ARC/AVY block, with head bolts opened out to M11 (mainly to retain oil squirters and a 1.6 engine number)

Balanced crank/pistons/rods with ARP rod bolts (just for reassurance more than anything)

Lightened Mk3 fly (already have)

AFH head, properly flowed, with 3 angle valve seats, new guides etc

Possible slightly higher CR (not 12.2:1 high, maybe 11.5 or something)

4-2-1 + exhaust (can you get a decent 4-2-1 for reasonable money?)

Either ITBs with EFI (obviously) OR Bike carbs with mappable ignition (I think carbs will be decent enough for what I want, isnt a daily now)

Was also looking at filling in the 'clover' part of the head where the standard injector sprays, to end up with just oval ports.

And of course, camshaft choice.

Bartek offer a few differnt Schrick setups, a full rally kit including valves/springs/lifters etc, but thats 296 duration, and around 1800euros.

I dont want to be revving over 8k, so I doubt ill be needing solid lifters.

I know inlet length and other factors determine how the power is delivered and where in the range, but basically, with that 'spec' engine (pretty standard really, just head work) what cams would people recommend to me from the following, or other options you may feel will work of course.

256/256:

Intake 256°, cam lift 9,5, valve lift at TDC 0,6, for hydr. lifters

Exhaust 256°, cam lift 9,5, valve lift at TDC 0,7, for hydr. lifters

264/264:

Intake: 264°, cam lift 10,0, valve lift at TDC 1,1, for hydr. lifters

Exhaust: 264°, cam lift 10,0, valve lift at TDC 1,2, for hydr. lifters

280/280:

Intake: 280°, cam lift 10,4, valve lift at TDC 3,0, valve clearance 0,25

Exhaust: 280°, cam lift 10,4, valve lift at TDC 3,0, valve clearance 0,30

(Solid lifters?)

296/296:

Intake: 292°, cam lift 11,6, valve lift at TDC 4,2, valve clearance 0,25

Exhaust: 292°, cam lift 11,6, valve lift at TDC 4,2, valve clearance 0,30

(Solid lifters again I believe?)

Now I know I run a 272 currently in the 8v, but Id have thought due to the way a 16v is, for some drivability a slightly milder setup will be better, I was thinking a 264/264 myself, but I dont know how top end would be? Id imagine fine really?

Obviously making 170-180hp would be nice, but I dont want to ruin how the car drives for the sake of some internet friends because I made a decent peak figure, would rather some area under the torque curve.

Also, if I dont intend on revving over 8k, id imagine just new standard springs and lifters would be fine? (Unless cams require such)

It would be nice to make decent power, I seem to remember a cammed Lupo engine on ITBs with ~180hp, not sure what else was done though?

Just unsure, dont want to make all this effort (well ill enjoy putting it together and setting it up) but money too, for something ill jump in and say ah this is a bit better, but be bored in a few weeks again. Obviously boost is the way to go, but id like to build one of these which is a little more than just an AFH head on an AVY and that doesnt smoke :p

Any input appreciated, but this thread isnt really to advise me on other solutions (other engines) its about deciding a decent setup for an AVY/AFH combination. Not really swung by ITBs at the moment, I mean they could happen in the future anyway, id just be happier getting it up and running on carbs as they're pretty easy to setup, especially on a freshly built engine.

So yeah, reccommendations on cams and a decent 4-2-1 would be nice, also what power people think is realistic from said setup would be nice. I know Briscoe made 156hp and 153hp on different rollers, with cams etc, id hope for more than this, maybe the refinement of mappapable ignition would help, but also dont want to be screaming it for the sake of some numbers :)

Cheers!

So, put your oil questions here but please give the following information if you would like a recommendation:

Make

Model

Year

Engine size/type

Any mods

Type of use (road/track)

Additional info (max oil temps, current oil used)

What do you want a recommendation for? Engine, Gearbox etc?

I hope this will help and become a useful thread

Regards