if they wont replace it , look at this

its often this causing the problem and its a cheap and easy fix , just 2 screws with the alt in the car and they're around £10

Just popped out my regulator after looking at that video steve, I haven't got a solder but would probably do the regulator as a whole instead of brushes as they are really cheap.

I cant see a part number or anything but I think I have found the right regulator which looks exactly like mine and claims to fit all mk2 VW alternators.

The only concern I have is that the brushes didnt look too bad to me? But then again it managed to maintain a charge just not raise charge to the maximum, so my brushes may be on their way out but obviously not completely gone.

do these look like they need replaced?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOSCH-ALTERNATOR-VOLTAGE-REGULATOR-AUDI-VW-VOLVO-FIAT-MERCEDE-PEUGEOT-BMW-134761-/181201935779?hash=item2a307a1da3:g:V3cAAMXQAEFSF2zN

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VR-B195M-VOLTAGE-REGULATOR-FOR-BOSCH-ALTERNATOR-1197311004-1197311005-1197311006-/271841533095?hash=item3f4b049ca7:g:4OMAAMXQBwlRLOJ5

these ones look ok

always handy to have as a spare for next time

Edited 2 November, 201510 yr by steveo3002

New regulator fitted, 12.8 volts on battery after 8 hours on the battery charger with engine off. Engine switched on 12.6 volts lol rev and nothing happens. every time I turn off and on again i lose a bit voltage.

couldnt really check alt wiring etc because it was so dark and wet so will do another day but my money is on me needing a new alternator due to the big oil spill when the cover cracked.

Edited 3 November, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

Is the belt tensioned enough on the alternator? Just a thought, my mk2 was struggling to charge but once I put a new alternator belt on it I was getting a good strong 14v.

Yeah i checked that and it was tensioned properly although the belt has seen better days so i might buy one anyway before the alternator as ill get one anyway. there is the possibility its slipping slightly due to wear but we shall see

bummer

id see if theres a local repair shop , should be cheaper than throwing money at a rebuilt one of unknwon quality

Yeah, found one nearby but haven't asked prices yet, i may leave it at a repair shop as I'm off to portsmouth soon anyway for 2 weeks on another training course and wont be using the breadvan in that time

Thats better...one of my lives at the battery was hanging on by 3 strands of the wire so I chopped it and crimped a new terminal on the end. Cleaned up all my connections and checked through the lot.

So glad I do not have to shed out on an alternator. Think I might beef some of the cables up too as all lives are pretty shite.

Now I can drive my car and hopefully the sun comes out so I can take a nice photo to enter the calendar before i leave to portsmouth!

So far I have done 170 miles Hassle free in the Breadvan and it drives fantastic, It gets a few looks out on the road and its a lot of fun to drive compared to the new polo which I only use for the work commute now and will be using for going to newcastle and back!

I will see when I can get the GT engine all done and together but I would like it in the car atleast a couple months before Poloshow to iron out any running issues that may arise. I really want to make the show GT or not so will hold off if it starts to look risky lol

Short term plans is to get the boot painted, The sills were jacked in the wrong place by a previous owner or maybe a tire fitters at one time and have bent slightly so long term I'm looking for a clean pair too or even a new pair. Also long term...well after Christmas I'm going to try to get quotes for an interior retrim of just seats from a few places and would like scirroco/Golf seats retrimmed in the CL blue of the doorcards etc as I really like the colour and it will be a change from all the genesis patterned guys.

Just ordered a new cam cover gasket for the 6n cover because I used the one it came with at the breakers and its so old and thin i have to tighten the bolts pretty tight just so it doesnt leak..I figure ill not risk snapping a bolt and get a new thicker gasket.

Also ordered the blue and black temp sensors for pretty cheap as the idle was a bit lumpy on start up sometimes and everything else seems in good shape.

Just waiting on a drill as give it to my mate a week ago to use and he is dropping it off tonight, Then I can hone the block and try to get progress moving on that again. On payday I'm mostly spending on xmas stuff but hopefully i have enough spare for shells and rings and can get the pistons back in the 3F.

Only thing I have done is change the top caps up front as a knock came back on the drivers side, The 6n caps are okay but because they do not reach the castle nut on the top mount they need retightening periodically and this bends the base out of shape. I fixed that issue by fitting the original deeper top caps that come with the original suspension, they were designed for the job and the knock has now gone again. I have also used the rubber buffers from the 6n caps as they fit and are better.

Pics for illustration

and now old ones which go all the way down to the castle nut and have a buffer from the 6n caps

Also bought these for the rear from a chap on mk1-3 owners

I went for a powerflow, was one of the £299 cat back systems, but cost a bit more to get them to fit a stainless manifold too.

Went for 1.75", de-cat and only a back box, also changed the mounting to go to the drop down thing with the hole in it...

...also, need to see more photos of your polo! :)

Sounds a little different in real life, but isn't too loud.

http://youtu.be/4WFMQ_rMzxA

Edited 15 November, 201510 yr by citrus

These are the little jobs for today providing I can stay awake as I've been awake 14 hours due to working funny shifts. Hoping to do all this and hone again too

Fitted the new cam oil seal,To think I couldn't be bothered for so long and its a piece of piss to do. Now I don't have an oil ooze. Running was a tad lumpy too if anyone remembers me saying, the blue temp switch fixed that..runs absolutely perfect now.

I also think the Cam cover does not look as bad now its on as I was scared it was going to be too shiny but it is perfect really. I also fitted brand new cover bolts from TPS at £6 a piece because I'm swag.

Speakers can wait, I need sleep...Feast your eyes!

Edit: timing belt cover is obviously on now.

Edited 15 November, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

What have you done about a breather on the rocker cover?

Just no breather as of yet, I ain't even driving the car tbh anyway so I could tap one in before I start. It's a debate of whether it's actually worth it that much though after seeing countless people have these covers for years round without one present and after all the 6n engines are practically the same so why did they not have one etc

Edit: also found that those fancy mk2 3 bolt covers don't have em either for the same engines that the 3 bolt covers which have breathers and they are made from VW

Edited 17 November, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

Take 2 on the hone..Definitely got the angles good this time round, It is hard to picture well but I tried and have picked the two pictures which show the marks best.

Obviously the angle has to be identified by looking directly at the centre of each cylinder square on. It may look steep at the left and right parts of the cylinders but thats because its a slight side on view of that part where it curves round and your not looking directly straight at that part. (As you can see I am not gifted with the art of description with words)

In other news it was a very cold 2 degrees outside this morning and the breadvan was covered in frost. I thought this would be a good opportunity for a cold start and test the idle with the new temp switch. The revs went a little high, maybe 1500 for around 5 seconds then it calmed straight down to normal again. Before the new switch it was idling at about 2k+ for a good 3-5 minutes till it warmed up! so that is good news.

Just took delivery of new feeler gauges to check over the block and head, Some piston ring pliars, and a vlave lap tool with course and fine paste. And I also ordered a digital vernier caliper which will help me check the valve stems a lot quicker than the old kind of vernier caliper which I hate using

EDIT: Adding this in as an Edit as I dont want to keep bumping this thread.

Remember when my tire was catching the arch and folding the lip out? well I rolled it in using a broom handle or rather Bent it in levering off the tire and now this happened

The paint cracked and bits were loose so i picked them today and this is the result. Far from happy but shes going for the boot to be painted so I will have to pay a bit extra to take this arch all the way down to metal and re do it all. I feel like I am making the car worse when things like this happen...After that is painted I might get an unrolled arch and replace it in the future then rethink wheel and tire sizes so that it never happens again.

I get an ooze still from the cam oil seal even after replacing it but its so small its not actually a drip or anything. Not worth worrying about but It is still annoying and its making me want to accelerate the engine swap so I'm going to aim for the new engine in before my birthday in January.

Edited 23 November, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

Yeah it really is annoying as it is fresh paint anyway lol, it was the rolling that did cracked the paint though so it's my own stupid fault really.

It is all a learning curve for the engine with me as well and I've never even swapped an engine before, done suspension, gearbox, brakes, interiors and other smaller jobs. I always wanted to strip one down and build it back up lol

Yeah, even though mine clear with the 14s and small tyres, I still get the odd squeak if I'm nailing it.

Thinking about standard ride height but stiffer springs/shocks.

yeah I still want my 60/50 kit on this one but in the future if i get a mk2 ill do g40 springs or a 40mm kit or something, The shocks are so soft at standard which was the main problem lol

Need some pics of your car mate, Any progress?

Edited 23 November, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

Realised something magical. I'm paid 4 weekly and I'm paid on the 18th which just happens to be the date that all my insurance, finance, phone and everything comes out at. this means i Have an extra 450 quid than I thought I did. Already Impulse bought some Rial Wheels from Germany which I'm going to do up...I might even put the car in for its boot to be painted!

Feeling the Christmas spirit this month.

are the rials a silly offset requiring arch hammerage?

ET33....Should run quite nice and close to the struts unlike the Mahles which have a rediculous offset of 13 or something, That was my reasoning for wanting Rial/G40 Ra's or something similar. They are 6J still but I had 6j 14's under okay

Had the tires, valves and weights removed from the wheels from where I used to work free of charge yesterday, Just gonna wash them up ready for stripping paint and sanding them

Contacted VW and I am not allowed to hand back my car till 50% of the value is paid off, It was £8500 and I've only paid off about £2000 so I have another year with the bluemotion lol Such a shame as there was a VR6 in immaculate condition and all original with full cream leather and the works for £2500 and it has been calling my name...I suppose the upside is another year will see another year no claims and driving under the belt and a VR6 or something similar will be even cheaper to insure by then

I didn't know..Think that would be what killed me if I was willing to do it lol

I'll happily take you out in my turbo at the show if you want?

Also I'm sure Chris (Chris2911) would take you out in his red G40 which is still a G40 with toothies so you get a good noise too :)

Would love to mate if you don't mind, Would be good to sit in both Turbo/Supercharged in the same weekend for a comparison lol

Situation as it stands...bottom end is getting a little noisy and rough and has been for pretty much since I got the car but getting worse as the miles tick. A couple thousand miles back when I starved it of oil due to the gasket pissing itself mid drive and I didnt realise till it started beeping loudly on the motorway lol. I think that accelerated bottom end wear....either that or its the gearbox. Everything has its oil topped up etc so I'm pulling it out sooner than I thought for the 3f to take its place.

Will be taking the head off tomorrow and starting to inspect and replace bits through the coming weeks. Once the head is done I'll fit rings and shells to the pistons n rods of the 3f then chuck that back together. After oil seals and a paint I'll chuck it all back in even if I haven't got the mpi stuff yet. Even if I diagnosed it as the gearbox it's pointless me putting the 5 speed in without swapping the engine too that's waiting to go in.

Anyway I may put a sale ad up for the ported head I have (without proof) if anyone is interested now though please pm me..paid 65 and would like to get as close to 60 as possible. Only bought as a spare to build up so I could run the AAV still but that's not necessary now.

Edited 13 December, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

Got a lot of written work to do over my days off so although I'm off work I'm still busy...this means I'm limited to a couple hours a day and I only have 6 days with the car too because I'm visiting family over Christmas

Anyway I had 2 hours and managed to remove the head, washer bottle, fan and cowling, some hoses and the headlight loom is almost all the way off, I partially stripped the head and covered the fan cowling in nitromors etc so by now time was running out and it got dark then wet. Called it a day and will go back tomorrow.

Anyway the light loom runs back and plugs into washer bottle etc, I wanted to know what it is plugged into down the gearbox/driveshaft area? It was too dark to get down and find whatever it was.

Some pictures that are boring but relevant, we will see what tomorrow brings

Bin box

Once its free of all its ancillaries the block will sit there until the head is finished, ill then remove the block and gearbox and remove the pistons from the AAV so I can practice removing and installing the rings with my ring pliers. (dont want to risk braking a new ring and having to buy more). The pistons will be kept in case in the future I want to turbo or something. when the new rings and shells are on the 3f pistons will paint and throw it all together with new gaskets ready to be fitted. Sorry Steveo I realised I forgot about taking photos of the tension on the oil pump chain. Changing the pump and chain is still something I am debating on as multiple attempts to loosen that bolt have resulted in me failing besides all looks good.

In other news the new membership pack showed up and I will try not to balls up my membership sticker when I put it on this time :) Also received the door handle inserts from Cortinagav, Very nice condition buddy. Cheers

Sorry for the amount I write...I dont have the ability to define anything with only few words.

might as well do the pump chain mate , at least you know its right then

mine was fairly tight iirc , might as well get your self a decent breaker bar to get em cracked

Iv'e practically hung on a breaker...not sure how long it is, I think about a meter and it wouldn't budge. I might try and extend its length a bit with a hollow tube of some sort

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-AK7302-Extra-Long-Breaker-Pull-Bar-750mm-1-2-quot-Sq-Drive-40-29-5-quot-long-41-/271987317621?txnId=1580269996017

Just ordered that bad boy...should do the trick Stevey boy [emoji38]

Ours was only 600mm I'm hoping the exta 150mm will be all the torque I need

Edited 18 December, 201510 yr by wizardmanjm

Just bought an oil pump chain, piston rings and con rod bearings for the 3F and they will arrive new years eve apparently. Good timing for me coming home ready to start assembling.

All of that and a piston ring compressor all came to the grand total of £83.02 , Used the seller steve recommended as it was about the cheapest, Hoping that they take the postage off one of the items and use a single postage charge for both the rings and bearings. Already emailed requesting it

Decent really as before that for rings and bearings I was looking just north of £100, If I am lucky and a bit careful I might have the head done pretty cheap as well If only stem seals are needed and a good lap of the valves. Might have the whole engine done and in tip top shape for less than £150 including tools!