November 2017
So what happened in November???....
Errrr......quite a lot actually!!
I finally got around to carrying out the gearbox oil change!!! ...Wish I had done it sooner & strongly recommend it! Basically VW had under filled the gearbox by 0.2lt, & the oil which has done 3yrs & under 20,000miles was black when drained from the pivot pin plug! The gearbox now feels rifle bolt precise, like my old car, & I am having to re-learn the gear shift as I was always careful & second guessing it. So happy with it now!!!!
Did a how to guide here:-
How to change the oil on a MQ250, 5 speed or 6 speed, manual gearbox, Mk7 Golf;-
http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?p=535289#post535289
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I also paid out for the VW ERWIN guides, & workshop manuals, best money I have ever spent. Although in my “How to Guides” I have put the correct information in, when I actually did the work to my car, some of the torque settings were way too low because I used wrong information prior to doing the write ups. Anyway I went back & redid all the torque settings correctly.
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I also drilled out the rivet-nuts in the rear lower wishbones & re-fitted new ones in the correct holes & re-fitted the stone guards properly as per factory. Except I used A4 grade stainless steel bolts & washers. I corrected my “How to guide” a few months back but at the time I was given wrong information & the VW ETKA drawings that I had were not clear, as the different fixings can go in the wrong places very easily!! No damage done, except to pride as having to get under car & sort out my mistakes!
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Fitted the winters back on the car, yep that time of year again!! Had to file the centre cap retaining tangs down (shorter in length) even more as for some strange reason these alloys have less metal at the centre than the summers. Both are made by Rimstock (Team Dynamics), both are supposed to be the same rim (different face), & both are the same size & offset. So that’s me confused!! Anyway the centre caps fit very snug, & won’t come off easy!
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I was also getting fed up with the ESC & the engine control unit causing the dreaded “thump-thump” & wheel hop when I had to make a quick start on damp conditions. I have 225 wide tyres (Michelins) & only 250Nm of torque, so why was this happening?? The same reason it happens to the GTI’s etc., the parameters in the control units are set to maximum” “nanny”. So get out the trusty VCDS & laptop & make the changes (ABS unit -03, IDE05337 “Starting vibration reduction from “Strong” to the weakest I have which is “Normal”). Result, much better, the engine does not cut the power (via spark plug control) & the ESC (using the brakes) does come on early now as it has to do all the work, but very smooth & you would hardly notice if it was not for the dash light. Much better & more “analogue” & I can drive with this via the accelerator, instead of treading on eggshells around the accelerator. I also turned up the IDE05286 “Expanded Electronic Diff lock” from “Standard” to “Strong” in the ABS-03.
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I also fixed the sticking turbo wastegate servo actuator AGAIN!! I found out that the Mintex 1000C grease I was using was totally useless & made the problem worse! Anyway did some research, got some Loctite 1300+C, grease. I removed the actuator from the car, cleaned/wet sanded/polished the pivot points etc, greased it up & refitted & carried out adaptations to the Servo actuator with VCDS. The engine is WAY better, the servo actuator is properly controlling the wastegate, no more “owl” noises, engine responds much more linear, & is way quieter, no “rattle” etc. Re-wrote my “How to Guide” for this with the updated correct info.
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Then.....a few days ago I drove my car out of the garage & noticed that the outside temperature reading was high (+8C) when I know it was less than +4C. During the drive (1hr) the reading got steadily higher & when I got to my destination it was showing +20C as the outside temperature, when there was snow on the ground!! So WTF??
So obviously something wrong with the sensor, but did not have time to look at it properly until I got back home later that day. So removed the grille (two TX star bolts) & unplugged & removed the sensor (G17) along with the sensor bracket, as the bracket comes off easier to allow you to remove the sensor as getting the sensor off the bracket is quite tricky, & best done outside the car.
So a stone had hit the end/tip of the sensor splitting the outer plastic & revealing the inner white thermal paste & the bead itself. OK so order new sensor from dealers (couple of days to arrive as not a "line" stock item).
Here's the interesting part:-
Decided to remove the sensor & plastic bag the connector, as I thought its better to have no data than incorrect data being used. Now I knew it would throw fault codes for the 09 Central Electronics & the TPMS (03 ABS) modules...
Start car, warning message on dash re TPMS system error, ok that's fine...
Loud beep & parking sensors button blinking orange at me, ok that's strange...
Notice that the engine fans are at max speed due to noise, ..ok that's very strange...
Reverse car down driveway & fans are still at max speed & I know that the outside temp is +2C & the car is cold. So drive back into garage & fans still at max speed, lift bonnet,....yep both fans max speed. Switch of ignition, I ain't driving the car like this!...
Refit the G17 Ambient temperature sensor, & everything behaves all ok, no flashing lights, no error messages & no engine fans at max speed.
So when the new sensor arrives I fit it & do an auto scan &........look at the all the fault codes!!! Now I had run a scan only a few weeks ago, so I know car was fine & ALL those faults have the same time stamps, so same creation date.
01-Engine -- Status: Malfunction 0010
03-ABS Brakes -- Status: Malfunction 0010
08-Auto HVAC -- Status: Malfunction 0010
09-Cent. Elect. -- Status: Malfunction 0010
10-Park/Steer Assist -- Status: Malfunction 0010
13-Auto Dist. Reg -- Status: Malfunction 0010
15-Airbags -- Status: Malfunction 0010
17-Instruments -- Status: Malfunction 0010
What gets me is how many modules rely on information via the data bus from that sensor!!! Some you expect, others are like WTF?? I have found out exactly why each module requires the info from the G17 sensor. Anyway moral of the story, if your G17 Ambient (outside) Temperature Sensor is faulty or playing up, DO NOT unplug it, just order & fit a new one ASAP!!!
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Anyway car now 100%, & very happy with it, as finally got the long standing problems fully sorted for the first time....in 3yrs!!
Also took a quick picture of it in our first local snows of the year.....& it still looks good...