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VW Golf MK7 Estate, GT spec, Tungsten Silver, 1.4TSI

dr_mat

Go Kart Champion
Location
Berkshire
HAHA....

I bet the mechanics might use that as a last resort excuse.....


"Wrong type of speed ramp sir"..........:D...:mad:

You joke about it.. they actually told me that it must be my fault because our roads must be the worst in the country. Wtf?

But, they agree with me that once you know how to provoke it, it happens on all their golf 7s, and I appear to be within a smidge of getting a headed letter to confirm this.
 

golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
December 2016

Back on Topic....(well this is my thread about my car)..;)

Just done this VERY useful & cheap modification..:cool:

VW Golf Mk7 screenwash tank cap mod
I hate the stupid, cheap, one piece screenwash tank caps. On previous VAG cars that have had this one piece item, the retaining collar for the cap is allowed to rotate around the tank filler neck. Usually this enables you to jamb the cap in the open position by rotating it into another car part which causes "interference". VAG decided to fit a lug to the neck, & notch to the collar which stops the cap from rotating. So now you can't jamb the cap in the open position & it repeatedly springs back on you whilst you are trying to pour screenwash into the tank from a 5lt container!! Half of which ends up over the headlight unit & in the engine bay!!! 100% reduction in aggravation & stress, guaranteed, from my solution!!! ;)
All information in my thread here:-
http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?p=356398#post356398
 
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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
February 2017

Finally sorted the dreaded turbo wastegate rattle!!..:cool:

I knew about this problem when I bought the car & kept an ear open for the sound & an eye on any TSB's or fixes for our engines as there are various differences between the same rattle on other VAG cars!

Anyway started to hear the rattle, no TSB from VW & decided to research further. As usual I have done my "How to" guide, trying a newer format to the writing & arrow design in the pictures.

How to fix the turbo wastegate rattle on the VW Golf Mk7 1.4TSI 140PS

http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28690

Still loving the car, still have itchy feet about a few OEM mods, which will have to wait until summer..
 
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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
May 2017

So still have a few minor Sat-Nav "mute" & "Volume" problems, & some other ideas in the pipeline. Anyway nice & clean & back on the summers. Did a nice trip over to Aberdeen, & drove up the east coast along Banff, etc. Nice hot sunny day! Thank god for the Climate windscreen with the black interior!! :cool:

May-2017.jpg
 
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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
June 2017

Finally sorted a few minor aesthetic problems which have been bugging me!!

Wheel bolts & wheel centre caps..:mad:

Now I didn't like the ones with the Team Dynamics alloys so spent ages doing research & bought three different VW centre caps which would fit. Chose the VW Part No. 3B7 601 171 XR W. These caps were the best fit for the "tangs" in the alloys groove, & a neat look, but had to file the "tangs" down shorter on the centre caps for the rear alloys as the hole depth is reduced due to the cover cap for the central wheel bolt on the hub. Cost £10.35 each from the dealers. eBay so called "genuine OEM" are not as they don't have various marks/stamps on the rear of them & wrapping them in blue film isn't a sign they are genuine either.

Now my wheel bolts I like, nice, neat & security, but can't find anything in my size that is chrome plated, most are zinc like mine were. So I got mine ENP (Electro less Nickel Plate), nice hard finish, like a satin stainless steel, & should last longer than the basic zinc plating. Cost me £60 for the lot, I recommend cleaning them & degreasing before you get them done to make their degreasing easier. I also got rid of the chrome painted plastic wheel bolt covers! They trapped water behind & cause corrosion (winter salt spray trapped), the paint was starting to peel, & they were a right PITA to remove, even with the correct tool! So no more problems & a neater look.

Car still very shiny, Thanks to the GTechniq Crystal Serum Black coating...& 3yrs on almost!!

P.S. Yes I know the brakes look rusty in the photo, but that's because the car was just thoroughly washed, foamed etc.

P6040018.jpg
P6040008.jpg
 
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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
October 2017

Put the car in for it's yearly service. I can do it myself, but whilst under warranty I prefer to get the book stamped, & my dealer I have known for 23yrs!!

As the car is now 3yrs old (purchased new 31/10/14), it requires an MOT here in the UK. I knew it would get an advisory for the rear discs which are usually rusty & scored, & it did!! Other than that the car passed, & the emissions test was within the range of my previous car which was very well looked after/run etc. & had low emissions, so very happy with this engine!

The emissions results:-
Fast idle test (2500-3000rpm)
CO = 0.00% (0.20% Max. allowed)
HC = 13ppm (200ppm Max. allowed)
Lambda = 1.00 (0.97 - 1.03 allowed)

Natural idle test (450 - 1500rpm)
CO = 0.00% (0.30% Max. allowed)

Whilst the car was in for service I also had them carry out the software (not maps) update to the Infotainment for free. So I went from version 0430 to 0486. That's certainly solved a few volume/mute problems I was having!!

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Due to another forum member (yirayira) I was made aware of the gear stick shaft delrin bushes made by Dieselgeek. I didn't think much of them, but due to ongoing problems with my gearshift (even after all the mods I have done to it) not feeling anywhere as good as my previous car I thought I would give them a go!

I STRONGLY recommend fitting these first before doing any other modifications to the gearshift, as these get rid of "tolerance" issues in the linkage which cause bad alignments all the time.

Post 2 in my "How to" guide here:-

http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14444

I have things planned for the car next month to hopefully solve a few areas I am not 100% happy with.

:cool:
 
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golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
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...:cool:

winter-2017.jpg
 
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Mikeyd1

Ready to race!
Location
Essex (uk)
Brilliant write up Dave,it was an absolute pleasure to read. I just wish I had the same knowledge to tackle some diy,s myself
 

golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Brilliant write up Dave,it was an absolute pleasure to read. I just wish I had the same knowledge to tackle some diy,s myself

Thanks!

I did find it nerve wracking when doing electrical stuff to a brand new £27K car....:eek:
 

Scottiedogg

New member
Loving this thread and now I’ve got my GT back from the body shop I’m looking to do some of these mods on mine. As I’ve got my own VCDS what useful tweaks did you do using VCDS?

Cheers

Scottie.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Loving this thread and now I’ve got my GT back from the body shop I’m looking to do some of these mods on mine. As I’ve got my own VCDS what useful tweaks did you do using VCDS?

Cheers

Scottie.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Useful tweaks on VCDS?.......ok how longs a piece of string is an easier question...

seat belt reminder chime off,
"R" honeycomb background in MFD (colour only),
masses really I recoded the rear hatch to switch of the hatch lights when you lift the hatch so the LED number plate lights don't blind you..but that's on the estate..
 

Scottiedogg

New member
I recoded the rear hatch to switch of the hatch lights when you lift the hatch so the LED number plate lights don't blind you..but that's on the estate..


My taillights turnoff but not leds for the number plate so might give that a go. Will also see if I can add needle sweep and alarm chirp as miss that from my 3 VWs.

Cheers

Scottiedogg.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

golfdave

Autocross Champion
Location
Scotland (U.K.)
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf GT Estate
March 2018

So I had the "Change key fob battery" warning message on the MFD in the dash for the past few days. So looked in the owners manual for the type & procedure like it has stated in previous VAG car manuals.....& NOTHING!!..just "see the dealer" WTF???....:mad:

So a quick google foo & its a CR2025..& remember to change it quickly otherwise you have to re-sync the fobs! So plastic trim removal tools out & remove cover carefully. Battery is held in place with plastic tab..so get new one ready to swap..& insert narrow blade into notch & remove old, & quickly insert new..in under 20secs.

Result, both keys done (to make certain), & also tested, locking, unlocking, ignition etc, no warning messages..YAY!...

Also have 3 (Yes three!) new on the market products which have been ordered & hope to have fitted in the next few weeks!!....

Also still loving the car on the five spokes in winter mode!! :cool:

P.S....& yes that picture was taken two days ago ski-touring in Scotland...

P3190078-reduced.jpg
 
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