Going to have a go at servicing my Golf

I'm going to have a go at servicing my 1987 1.3 Golf C this weekend. I've not really serviced a car myself before but I've bought a haynes manual and I'm told it's not that hard.

First off - the fan belt has been squealing for some time, so I figured it's time to buy a new one, as they are only a few quid.

Is this an easy job to do? I don't have my haynes here at the mo, what tools do I need?

Also I want to do an Oil/Filter change, air filter, new spark plugs.

Anything else I should do?

It has 110k on the clock and I bought it for 400 quid with no service history. It seems to run fine, but one thing I've noticed recently is if I pull away really harshly there is a slight knocking noise by the pedals from the engine bay, almost like a creaking noise, only seems to happen when the wheels spin (which i assure you does not happen very often!)

And also one more problem I have noticed, it's no longer running up to temperature, it doesn't reach the half way mark like it used to, i.e, it's being overcooled. is this a common thing? could it be the thermostat? or a broken dial maybe... Hmm

Thanks for any help.

Conrad

 

welcome to forum. getting your hands dirty is by far the bast way to learn

fan belt is 5 min job, not sure what it's like on the 1.3 but it should be dead easy anyway.

oil and filter, plugs and air filter will be fine...
have you considered ht leads, rotor arm and distributor cap too?
do you know when timing belt was last changed?
and some carb cleaner prob wouldn't go a miss either...

checked all fluid levels? coolant, brake fluid etc? what about condition of brake pads?

as for the car being over cooled, that's a knackered thermostat that causes that - car runs too cool. only 5 or so for the thermostat and quite an easy job that is explained well in haynes.

cheers
d
Edited by: darrynK

 

Nope, is this a good idea? I've not got alot of cash at the mo, but I guess I could do. I dont wanna throw too much at this car tho coz the knocking noise upon loosing grip worries me.

No idea about any history I'm afraid - as I bought it with no history for cheap.

Checked all of those but not checked the condition of the pads, would this be an easy thing to do without taking them out? they do squeak a little bit but braking seems very effective still.

Cool i thought as much. I've done this job on a Mini, so I spect I will have no trouble here either. Just be a pain if I have to bleed the cooling system and renew all the coolant. Is this a common thing to go wrong then?

 

not really alot of point doing plugs without doing ht leads n stuff imo

check your timing belt ain't got any cracks or anything in it

as for brake pads, just take wheel off and you can see how much is left on the pads - squeel could either just be dirt or because they are worn... no need to remove pads

 

Cool man, so list of parts I need:

<ul>[*]Fan Belt[*]Oil - which oil's best for this engine with this amount of wear?[*]Oil filter[*]Air filter[*]Spark plugs[*]HT Leads[*]Rotor arm[*]Dizzy cap[/list]

 

for oil i'd just go for quantum synta oil from GSF or VAG main dealers - not very expensive either.
original VAG oil filters are recommended

 

Bummer - I was going to ring up my local pikey motorfactor "Autobits" and tell them to make sure they have all that in stock for me on saturday.

How many Gallons of oil will it take? Over fill will cause damage won't it

 

Would that be a very poor idea then, just to order it all from my local chappy?

 

nah. not that bad. but the vag filters are better as they have a non return valve

normal 5 litre bottle of oil will be fine

 

Cheers for your help guys will ring up and sort this out.

Nice prompt friendly replies on here - appreciated

 

OK just spoke to my motorfactor - get this. There were a 3 diff 1273cc engines apparently, so I have to supply him with the engine number or he can't get the bits.

Damn, now where's the engine number so I can find it quickly when I get home? I'm sure it'll be obvious but anyway

Conrad

 

I'd put cheaper oil in it myself and spend the difference on points and
condensor but others will probably disagree.

 

Who's a clever boy 'den

MHAKW

That's what it says for Engine code, so i'd assume MH is the bit I need to know to get the parts I need to service her!!

The car came with zero service history, but saying that, when I popped the hood I noticed a shell sticker on the air box, saying:

Next service due:110768 miles (oil change)

My cars done 111800 according to the clock, so am I wasting my time doing everything else?

Should I just do the fan belt, the thermostat, oil change and oil filter?

Conrad

 

Right so all we're talking is new:

Oil
Oil Filter
Air Filter

Would it be worth doing the spark plugs on a minor service too?

 

Yup. AKW is the engine code for a 1.7 diesel!

Buy the oil filter, air filter and spark plugs from VW - they will be cheaper than your local motor factors (really!).

Simon.

 

AKW is for a 1.7 D? what??? This is a 1.3 petrol