OK so I'm fitting my shocks and discovered the towbar brace bracket was rusted and hanging off... I then had a fiddle about with it gently to see how bad it was and it fell out completely!! It's the only part I can see thats significantly rusted!! Is this serious, i.e. an MOT failure or anything (dont plan fitting towbar), and what should I do?

chop out the rusty metal and weld a new piece in...

I have no welder/clue about welding/money to have it welded lol. If my mate (a plumber) has his own welder I know he can weld, but is it a serious issue to get done before the MOT or can it wait at all?

it has to be 30cm from a main mounting point iirc so check distances from any main mounting point and if its further away youw ill be fine if not cover it up the best you can and do it after the mot or get it sorted asap

Main mounting point for the towbar you mean? (sorry I didnt get what you meant). The bracket is a U shaped metal bracket with a large hole drilled on the lower horizontal surface, I remember helping to fit a towbar on a Honda Civic and the long steel towbar beam fitted into this bracket and bolted to it on the Civic... looks like the same idea for the Polo though...

When you talk about welding a plate in, it has to be steel to weld to a steel chassis yea? Then is it done with a MIG welder or Arc welder or what?

Thanks, Chris.

u can do it with arc or mig i woudl prefer mig as it woudl be thin steel and i find arc doesent seem to work to well with thin steel well my mig doesent and i mean like rear beam mounts and that structural mounts...

Ah right, thanks Polomon for the quick replies, very much appreciated... Gonna have to do a bit of persuasion to my mate to weld it for me, bit of beer should work lol. Think it is within the 30cm of the rear beam mounts, so I think I'll try and get him to weld it this weekend and keep getting the car ready for MOT and that...

My dad had the nerve to tell me this:

"you should take that car out into the countryside and set fire to it!!"

Listen to mister 2003 S60 T5 owner, a 92 Polo coupe isnt good enough for him! lol

Edited 18 February, 200818 yr by Chris_McCartney

hahah quality mate! and no worres. alot of metal stockists have offcuts bins so have a rummage through them if your near to a metal yard or are in need of metal they usually only change a couple of quid if that.

best of luck with it and get it well protected when you have finished the welding mate

Definately will check them out, my dad's head of the design engineers for Wrightbus (you would know their buses to see), and he can get all sorts of offcuts and bolts and that for nothing from speaking to the guys working on the manufacturing floor... he appears home with all sorts of unusual freebies every now and then... how about a aluminium .50 calibre rifle bullet replica someone made out of boredom anyone?! For protection... Hammerite do alright?

haha quality! and yeah hammerite woudl be fine i woudl say a couple of thick coats. i would personally go for seam sealant around the weld then stone chip over the whloe thing then hammerite but as your abit short of cash hammerite will be fine

Haha cheers, yea my hours have been cut down since new years (only part time contract) and am starting to count the pennies lol. Might take the powerwasher to the underside of the car tomorrow and have a look and see what else I could be caught out on lol... Thanks for the assistance Polomon, thats my queries for tonight answered lol.

Might go outside into the freezing cold and put the wheel back on my car and let it off the jack before my dog gets his lead tangled on it and knocks it down... (Could happen) lol.

Cheers :)

haha you have one imaginatin ! and no worries mate, were here to help (god that sounds soo cheesy LOL)

been doing that all weekend on the mk4 and i can honestly say its MINT still has the orignal parts stickers on it underneath :p.

and i no how u feel about being short of cash! I'm 16 with no job! and still manage to have 3 cars

Lol you have 3 cars? 16 and from UK, so I'm guessing you got 2 of them without tax and MOT etc for tearing about a private field in, and your white mk4 is your pride and joy for when you do the test? (That rocks me and my mates clubbed together at like 14 and bought a 125cc scooter which we used to get drunk and fly about a forest in at the weekends before we had fake ID's lol). Still gotta do the test myself, wasted too much time, am 19 and not driving yet lol.

haha well i have a 1967 mini I'm rebuilding as a track, hillclimb, sprint car which is a shell atm and is waiting for its respray which will be done when its walmer and I've finished re-roofing the shed and fitted the alarm.

i have the mk4 which is mums daily and i will be my daily in september ish when i pass and i have another car coming tomorrow which you will see when it comes and i cant afford to go out with people and get drunk every penny i have goes into one of the cars (how sad ) i live on a farm so i have land aswell so its no problem riding around there.

Edited 18 February, 200818 yr by POLOMON

Nice one, sounds like good fun then!! Least you got your priorities straight (car before drink) lol. I'm gonna teach my little bro to drive in about 2 years when he turns 16 and get him ready for his test at 17 so he doesnt do like me and spend all his money drinking and clubbing for years... So by the time he's ready I will hopefully have another Polo (a mk2 or something) or else just a red or white mk3 and fit a 1.6 AEE engine... but thats when I've had my license for 2 years... Re-roofing isnt that difficult, me and my dad converted the garage (a separate building) into my bedroom so that I could listen to loud music without him complaining... its also allowed me to smuggle in girls every now and then and only been caught sneaking one out once.... but I'm 19 so they dont care lol

well this workshop is about 15 foot deap and about 50 foot long... its difficult and u rebel and yeah your 19 stuff them theyve been young once (back when wheels were square )

looks like you got your next few years planned with them mods and teaching your brother! good luck with the teaching i wouldnt have the patience to teach someone :p

anywayz better stop clogging your thread sorry mate and best of luck with the welding

Lol cheers you answered my question anyway so anything since then has been clogging the thread (including me) lol. Keep us posted on how your mk4's going? I'm gona finish lowering the motor tomorrow and take the powerwasher and blow the dirt awayyyyyyyyy... lol good luck on the shed roofing!

seen as weve been clogging and the question has been answered one more wont hurt yeah will do mate will probably be cleaning the arches tomorrow so will get pics up and that, and thanks for the good luck I'm gna need it!

and keep us updated on yours and good luck with the power washing prepare to have frozen balls and fingers when u get wet !!!!