Brookydave

I have used a set of mintex pads and discs both front and rear from ebay. They have been great for 1 year. I found a simple bar used sensibly wound bak the rear pistons with ease. No copper slip needed for mintex pads - they have a fibre backing. I would never clamp brake hoses. I had one fail 1 day after clamping many years ago - it were scary. Easy job good luck Dave

On a Mk1 the only way to set the timing properly is with Vagcom TDIcheck or something. Works great. Easiest mechanical diesel timing reset I have come across. White smoke = unburnt fuel . Timing or glowplugs. Cheers Dave

The marking in the flywheel is difficult to see. I took the battery and tray out, and No1 heater plug, then found tdc on 1 - then the mark is obvious!! I would not skim the head if it looked OK, as you can up with a cam catenary. I would use the more accepted practice of decking the block with a large flat oilstone rather than 60 grade 'sandpaper'. Follow the ford CD - its a simple task - just make sure all your vacuum hose are on the correct bits. The contact angle before valve foul is very large on the tdi to my suprise, and good fortune. Good Luck Dave

Hi, I too got the Mintex set off ebay. Expensive but very good quality - a year on still going strong with no signs of distortion. I found an 8" G clamp fitted the pistons, and yes I did release the nipples. Dave

Sounds suspiciously like mine. I got it off a diesel fitter in Longridge as a scrapper because it kept doing what yours is doing. If it does it again check the timing pulley on the crankshaft. It is a type fault on one of the tdi engines - well documented on tdiclub. Took me a week to nail the problem. New crank pulley =

I have the same problem. My '98 90hp tdi has a 028 903 025S alternator. The pulley is really small , looks very simple and appears to be retained with a hex headed bolt. I presume this is not a freewheeling pulley? Does this mean the alternator bearing requires replacement. Any help apppreciated Thanks Dave.

You are correct - always get more than one opinion. Looking at your side thingy, perhaps you remember me from the Pajero club? Went all posh when the Mk1 paj died and I sold it to the cockle pickers. Thought I would buy a nice reliable car to replace it with....

I guess nobody believed me, but I have altered the tick over speed on my Mk1. And no I didnt write down the value, because I have the manual for Vag Com. All the procedures and default values are in it. Everything works on my version - think you need to look at TDIclub.com they seem more adventursome... The best mod in my opinion is the Vag com ECR fix with separate breather to eliminate intake oiling / fouling. Read my original reply and the manual as for why it wont help you. Dave

Yes it can on a tdi, however the adjustment range is not that large, and I could not get rid of the vibs that way. Strange.

90Bhp - signature updated as requested. Thanks

For the past 3 days, when travelling along at a constant speed with very small throttle demand, my tdi has had an extremely sharp total loss of power, only for about 0.5sec as if either the throttle pot is duff or a fuel cut off relay (or similar) is dropping out. The are no indications on the dash post jolt, and even slipping my foot off the pedal cannot replicate the sharpness of the jolt. Any ideas please. Thanks Dave

Make sure the plastic drain tap on the fuel filter has not cracked. Unscrew completely and inspect. Common VAG fault.

Sorry to be a real bearer of bad news, but its often due to the turbo bearings spilling oil into the inlet manifold / intercooler on rundown. What you are doing is burning oil not fuel. Is the revving accompanied by blue smoke?? One of mine got so bad I had to start it in gear to try and dump revs!!!!

you have pm

On a diesel the diesel pump timing is far more critical than the cam timing. Pump timing is altered electronically on a Mk1, but only once the engine is running. For good cold starting accurate diesel pump timing is essential. The hardest part will be finding TDC. I find it easiest to remove glowplug No 1, and put a tig rod or something thin down the hole to roughly determine tdc, then look for the flywheel mark. Its on the real flywheel, and is very difficult to find, needing the battery removed or a small remote camera etc to look thriough the inspection hole. Set engine to TDC and you should be able to push a snap-on 11mm long series socket!! into the diesel pump alignment holes. The cam timing is set using a 3mm brass rod filed to width and feelers on each side of the head. Refer to the TIS cd. I got my Galaxy really cheap on Ebay because a garage couldnt sort the starting issue. Turned out to be a loose crank pulley (thanks TDIclub.com), which is not keyed on the Mk1s!!! You can tell if its a bottom pulley, as both your cam timing and diesel pump timing will be the same distance out (in my experience they stop starting at 2 teeth out) the valves do not kiss at this. Buy a new pulley and some green loctite andyou are away. There is nothing difficult about diesels - even a fuel pump rebuild is do-able and the faults are blindingy obvious, once inside - its just myths because not many people have been there. Good luck. :rolleyes: Dave