Ownership Verified: My 1986 Volkswagen Polo Classic

[public]

But soon you will want to have the same shocks in the front...

I ordered the whole set, front and rear! I'll also have to have a rear wheel bearing replaced since there is just the slightest clap.

I also passed this important milestone last night. The car is now at 87k and change, and it's been doing a lot more kilometres than it used to do in ages. Seems to be fine with it.

 

[Posambique]

Oh, but that?s perfect then! Hope those are better than the ones on my Beemer.

 

[public]

Sometimes it is possible to achieve slight savings when comparing parts shopping locally vs online. I looked up top mount bearings for the front as I deducted they would be easy to replace when the front shocks are done, and there is probably a benefit to be had in doing so; Lemf?rder ones were 15 per piece at the local parts desk. I couldn't have had a pair of them shipped here cheaper than 40 eur, so that's a 10 eur directly saved when buying a rear wheel bearing. That, in turn, I was able to save when I bought rear wheel bearings from eBay. The local shop said 13 eur for "Brand X" and 23 eur for a SKF bearing; I found FAG bearings for 20 a pair shipped. FAG should be a decent part in my opinion and not necessarily a cheap way out even if they were considerably more affordable.

Anything else I should consider when the shock/bearing job is done?

Also, a 5l canister of Total Classic and a Bosch oil filter is 30 eur from the local parts store...

 

[Mitchi]

Fags are always great.

 

[Perc]

FAG is one of the big OE manufacturers just like SKF. No problems there.

In fact, some SKF bearings are probably made by FAG these days. Also, some FAG bearing kits for Japanese cars have Japanese Koyo bearings in the box.

FAG is a part of Schaeffler which also makes LUK clutch kits and INA belt pulleys and tensioners. An INA bearing becomes FAG when it's packaged and sold as a wheel bearing kit. And European cars are full of Schaeffler parts these days just like Bosch, Valeo etc.

 

[Posmo]

Sometimes it is possible to achieve slight savings when comparing parts shopping locally vs online. I looked up top mount bearings for the front as I deducted they would be easy to replace when the front shocks are done, and there is probably a benefit to be had in doing so; Lemf?rder ones were 15 per piece at the local parts desk. I couldn't have had a pair of them shipped here cheaper than 40 eur, so that's a 10 eur directly saved when buying a rear wheel bearing. That, in turn, I was able to save when I bought rear wheel bearings from eBay. The local shop said 13 eur for "Brand X" and 23 eur for a SKF bearing; I found FAG bearings for 20 a pair shipped. FAG should be a decent part in my opinion and not necessarily a cheap way out even if they were considerably more affordable.

Anything else I should consider when the shock/bearing job is done?

Also, a 5l canister of Total Classic and a Bosch oil filter is 30 eur from the local parts store...

:lol: Perfect choice!

 

[public]

This was parked next to the MOT station:

Looked kind of rough. I hope the owner didn't pay more than 50 eur.

 

[public]

I looked up top mount bearings for the front as I deducted they would be easy to replace when the front shocks are done, and there is probably a benefit to be had in doing so; Lemf?rder ones were 15 per piece at the local parts desk.

Here they are, made in Brazil!

 

[public]

I'm somewhat interested in having the gearbox swapped for a corresponding 5-speed box, either 8P or AHD. Out of the two, the latter would give me shorter 3rd and 4th ratios, which would be handy, and a longer 5th for cruising. The 8P box has otherwise matching ratios to my box, but a lot longer 5th than the AHD.

The swap entered my mind because the grandma'd clutch does grab kind of high, which usually is a sign of an impending clutch replacement; if the gearbox has to be lifted onto the table, a 5-speed box might just as well take its place.

There are several caveats:
? eBay.de box of unknown provenance
? Possible linkage modifications
? 5-speed gearbox mounts (86c is already adapted for 5spd re: box length, older 86 never had 5spd so engine bay needs cutting)
? Speedometer gearing? I do have the replacement cluster with the rev gauge...
? Suitable clutch, I have a clutch kit meant for the current setup but would it fit

Also, the current box is just fine, other than it might use a new clutch at some point. It would also be a modification on an otherwise completely original car, and you could not have specified this trim with a 5-speed box originally. But a fifth gear would just be so nice... I could get either gearboxes for 150 eur or so.

Current ratios on the GX gearbox:

GX

Einsatz Motorkennbuchstaben:
HK MH GK HW NU

?bersetzung 1. Gang
3,455

?bersetzung 2. Gang
1,952

?bersetzung 3. Gang
1,250

?bersetzung 4. Gang
0,895

?bersetzung 5. Gang
---

?bersetzung R?ckw?rtsgang
3,385

Achsantrieb
4,063

Kupplungsscheibe
190 mm

Table of other boxes (curiosly not including GX, but matches AKV and AKY. My engine is MH.

 

[MXM]

Isn't this a no-no for historic plates?

 

[public]

Depends what the gearknob says at inspection

I have to ask them...

 

[luokyio]

It should be a no-no since it wasn't available when new... But as we know what kind of s**t gets historic plates, it may pass. But I would not do that, it kinda ruins the car... It is a 4-speed and proud of it. Let it be.

 

[public]

It should be a no-no since it wasn't available when new... But as we know what kind of s**t gets historic plates, it may pass. But I would not do that, it kinda ruins the car... It is a 4-speed and proud of it. Let it be.

It was on higher spec engines and the GT, but yeah, not the C.

 

[public]

Received my Bilstein shocks despite usual UPS disinterest!

I followed the tracking and at 1:11 PM there was a notification that they had attempted to deliver it. I have been home, spamming on the Internet at that time.

"The receiving business was closed at the time of the first delivery attempt. A second attempt will be made."

Instead of waiting them to not be able to open the unlocked downstairs door and walk the steps to my door, I called UPS and asked about it. Their hub is in Tampere which is hundreds of kilometers away, so they suggested I can either ask at the local post office or wait until Monday. At the post office, I asked who handles the UPS deliveries here; they suggested it's a transport provider who also does DHL deliveries. I called them and a disinterested Swedish-Finnish voice said that the package will be at their terminal after 4PM, so I did a 50km roundtrip to pick it up.

I also had the oils changed since it had been over a year since they were last done. I've done about 4000 km in that time, so it's either a bit early or very late.

No alarming rust anywhere, and only the rear axle and associated components have surface rust in addition to some rusted scrapes on the underbody as reported earlier. I wish I could locate a place where I could pressure wash everything and scrub the rear axle clean, so I could hammerite it. The underbody is otherwise fine, I just want all the accumulated crap gone.

Emissions look passable regarding yearly inspection. I'll just show this document to them when the time comes.

 

[public]

Oh, and they also had a look at the source for the weird clonk that happens when you gun the car from the stoplights. It's the exhaust banging on the shifter mechanism at the center tunnel, as the mounting rubbers are so tired (and it could possibly use new engine mounts). Will have to replace them when the underbody gets another look at.

 

[Lastsoul]

A simple cleaning and scrubbing won't do for the rear axle, to get it properly done you need to drop it, sandblast it and paint it. However, rust progresses slowly in thick metal, so leaving it simply as it is won't do much harm.

 

[public]

This happens also on the Polo. Any idea why? The tank flap is even mounted lower down, so one needs to pay attention all hunched up so it won't spit out fuel.

 

[AkiH]

Are you holding the pistol as high as that guy in the video?

 

[public]

No, flap deep.

 

[CraigB]

Vent for the gas tank plugged?