[kevj1984]

Ok so having owned the golf a few days i feel im starting to get to know it. while im falling in love with it, I do have a few concerns regarding the car.

The first of which is that i feel it may have had a knock at some point. the passenger door pokes out slightly at the bottom and looks like its not quite shut correctly, and i think the door is a different colour. do the doors drop with time? Certainly there is a nasty respray job just behind the wheel arch. However the door stucks with ease and doesn't leak water, blasted it with a jet wash for ages. I've also noticed a knocking / banging sound coming from the near side front when turning at low speeds or stationary. I'll post a pick but i appreciate its hard for you guys to tell from a photo, but any thoughts on this would be great.

I carried out all relevant checks through the AA. everything checked out, so if anything has happened its not recorded.

The other issue i have is rattles and creaking noises when driving, is this a common problem ? its a pet hate of mine and already driving around the twist.

Regarding the heldex, I've noticed that when in first and applying power hard the wheels spin? is this normal ? in other 4x4s when ive booted it in first they just bog down or rocket. Same when corning hard, drove up fish hill today, some of you may know it, and on exit when applying power the car seemed to loose traction halt the delivery. Again in the wr1 i had previously the DCCD system would allow the rear to step out or just keep slamming the power down. So i'm not sure if this is just the heldex system or a more sinister issue.

I also thought that you could set the lights to stay on while exiting the car and locking it for 30 seconds? if anyone knows how please tell me ive tried everything.

Does anyone know of the forge induction kit is avaliable for the mk 4?

Finally, ive spent the last few days searching for a dedicated R32 parts supplier that specialises in after market parts, like induction, spings, performance parts etc etc. again if you guys could shed some light that would be great.

sorry its a lot to digest, and thanks in advance

Kev

 

[Danxr46]

If you have a high line display you can set it in the coming home function for lights. As for wheel spin you will get a tiny little bit from the front as the car doesn't know your going to floor it so you may get a little but shouldn't be much really.

 

[Lucifer]

You front wheels shouldn`t spin. Check fuse 31 isn`t blown which is for the haldex system. If it isn`t that you need to scan for fault codes. Usually it is either the haldex controller or pre charge pump is burned out which i have several in stock at the moment.

 

[PaulW]

Ok so having owned the golf a few days i feel im starting to get to know it. while im falling in love with it,

GOOD

I do have a few concerns regarding the car.

NOT GOOD

The first of which is that i feel it may have had a knock at some point. the passenger door pokes out slightly at the bottom and looks like its not quite shut correctly, and i think the door is a different colour. do the doors drop with time? Certainly there is a nasty respray job just behind the wheel arch. However the door stucks with ease and doesn't leak water, blasted it with a jet wash for ages. I've also noticed a knocking / banging sound coming from the near side front when turning at low speeds or stationary. I'll post a pick but i appreciate its hard for you guys to tell from a photo, but any thoughts on this would be great.

Likely a top mount or ARB bush. But by the sounds of what you describe its had a knock. Check the sill too. I would say the knocking sound and the door issue are unrelated

I carried out all relevant checks through the AA. everything checked out, so if anything has happened its not recorded.

Becoming more common unfortunatly, although they should of spotted this. Did you pay for the top package?

The other issue i have is rattles and creaking noises when driving, is this a common problem ? its a pet hate of mine and already driving around the twist.

Yeah they eat top mounts for fun, you have 3 options:

Like for like
Oem swapped out for CUPRA R top mounts which are firmer

Upgrade al together with a polyurethane replacement which drops the front 10mm also

Regarding the heldex, I've noticed that when in first and applying power hard the wheels spin? is this normal ? in other 4x4s when ive booted it in first they just bog down or rocket. Same when corning hard, drove up fish hill today, some of you may know it, and on exit when applying power the car seemed to loose traction halt the delivery. Again in the wr1 i had previously the DCCD system would allow the rear to step out or just keep slamming the power down. So i'm not sure if this is just the heldex system or a more sinister issue.

Fronts shouldnt spin, theres not much to these systems at all. second hand parts are cheap. So dont worry TOO much. Still get it checked sharpish

I also thought that you could set the lights to stay on while exiting the car and locking it for 30 seconds? if anyone knows how please tell me ive tried everything.

No, never heard of this. They are not equipped with 'take me home' lights.Unless an aftermarket kit is custom made

Does anyone know of the forge induction kit is avaliable for the mk 4?

Yes overpriced at £220 odd

Finally, ive spent the last few days searching for a dedicated R32 parts supplier that specialises in after market parts, like induction, spings, performance parts etc etc. again if you guys could shed some light that would be great.

What do you want to know/buy?

Induction= Panel filter every time. Save your money!!
Springs with OEM dampers? H&R only

sorry its a lot to digest, and thanks in advance

No problem

Kev

Paul

 

[kevj1984]

H&R only? i'll book the car into my local vw garage and get it a seriously good check over. Is there anyway to tell if the top mounts are gone?

 

[PaulW]

H&R only? i'll book the car into my local vw garage and get it a seriously good check over. Is there anyway to tell if the top mounts are gone?

Yep. They are the dearest but the bestest

Ask them to check the mounts, pretty standard job. Cheap enough if you want OEM to

It will be the mount not the bearing but ideally replace both. Even though if you dont uprate them they will need replaced soon-ish

HTH

 

[simonp]

Is the car from a dealer? If you've only had the car a few days I'd take it back. You probably won't get much joy with the cosmetic stuff, as they'll just quote the bought as seen line, but the Haldex not working would be a fault probably there at the time of purchase and they'll have to fix it.

You could be stuffed if you bought privately, of course, but may still have some comeback if they described the car as 4WD or AWD in the advert, as that doesn't appear to be the case. They've therefore described the car as having a feature not actually present...

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_cars_and_other_vehicles_e/consumer_problems_with_the_car_you_bought_e/the_car_you_bought_is_faulty.htm

 

[Danxr46]

If you look at thread on here which to do with haldex it shows a slow motion how it works which shows front wheels move before and then rears move an then fronts slow down to same as rears so all equal so will get slightest amount of front 'slippage' but not spinning as such. Depends how much you got.

 

[Danxr46]

i think its 70/30 for the mk4 and 60/40 for the mk5 for power transfer ratio's. il try find video but it does depend how much. You'll probably get a slip but not a spin.

 

[PaulW]

The fronts wint spin the same speed as the rear as the power isn't 50/50

 

[Danxr46]

No the fronts slow down as such and rears kick in but still front biased.

 

[CorradoR32]

Another Kev buys an 'HPI clear' silver MK4 and later discovers it was pranged. Join the club

As Cheempeej says, check the sills and floor for damage. That's how I noticed mine was pranged, when it was on the ramp for a service. Both sills badly dented (so much so it's bulged the sill cover out slightly on the driver's side) and the subframe had a part number on it written in tippex (VW don't do that), so that had been replaced too. Unfortunately a lot of idiots understeer R32s off the road and put them up kerbs, and mine was no exception. I'm just really p1ssed off with myself I didn't spot it on the day I bought it, but I'm stuck with it now and too committed financially, having done the chains recently.

Damage underneath can be hard to see unless you know EXACTLY where to look, which I didn't at the time as I didn't know MK4s or Rs well enough

Anyway, the door can be realigned easily enough. If the adjustable latch on the B pillar doesn't do it, you can adjust the hinges on the A pillar as well, but bear in mind doors are usually adjusted to hide something, so aligning it back to where it should be might cause the problem they were hiding (like needing a massive slam to close), but give it a go anyway.

You have my sympathies mate, but annoyingly the car does grow on your and you'll forget about being stitched up!

At the most you should hear a little scuff or chirp from the front wheels and then feel a jolt as the Haldex kicks in. Gen 1 Haldex always was basic and slow to react. Get a blue controller as your first mod!

P.S. Yes the MK4 can be a bit rattley because of the hard suspension. Most of my rattles were, again, caused by imbecile previous owners f'cking about with the interior plastics and snapping lugs and fittings off. I could swing for previous owners, I really could. Grrrrr......getting myself wound up by it all again, lol....

I recently underwent an extensive derattle program and it's pretty much silent now. Loads of foam behind panels, and loads of self adhesive felt on any bits of leather / plastic that touch each other. A lot of work but so worth it.

 

[cuprabob]

As I understand it, HPI clear just means the car has never been written off. Accident damage is not recorded whether it's repaired by the owner or by an insurance company, so a car can have major damage despite being HPI clear.

 

[CorradoR32]

Certainly seems that way Bob.

HPI needs an overhaul or a recampaign to make people more aware of what exactly it does and does not tell you. I think it's fair to say everyone would want to know if the car they are viewing has been repaired or not. But it probably contravenes some stupid selling law.

Repairs if done properly are fine, but it's the dodgy bastards who try and avoid cat Ds and get the same price as a car with a clean history that really boil my blood.

 

[kevj1984]

Hence why I said ( not recorded ) I expect most cars over a 10 year life span have had a knock. I'd just like to know about it. I'm going to get it looked at and adjusted accordingly. Don't get me wrong I don't think it's huge, I'm not even 100% sure it has had a knock. Could be the doors have just dropped they are pretty heavy. The car was bought as a project so it won't be how I want it over night I'm a perfectionist so the car won't be to my liking for a while. Still I'll let you know what vw say when it's had a good going over. Cheers guys

 

[CorradoR32]

That's very true about the door alignment. MK4s have a reputation for chocolate hinges and bad alignment but how much of that is down to lack of hinge lubricating? I don't think some people even realise it's part of the servicing. Anyway, your gap is pretty large compared to normal, the slight change in colour and the mention of paint work raised my eyebrows a bit. Didn't mean to imply your car had been crushed by an HGV and rebuilt

Good luck with it!