sparky Paul

No, it's not just you Brian :unsure: Most of the activity is on the other place now, it would be good if a way to archive all the information on here could be found.

Ours is still sat on the pending pile after 15 years of ownership. I'm afraid the dreaded sill rot, together with the windscreen and a few other mechanical issues mean it's the end of the road for me. It's been replaced for now by a Vaux Insignia estate, 160bhp, easy 50-60 mpg and £30 tax. It's already saved me nearly £1500 in fuel and road tax, since last summer. The old bus will have to go for scrap value when I get round to it, and I'll have a load of spares to get rid of too. I'll still be sorry to see it go.

That's grim news :(

All standard 3/16" pipe, and 10mm fittings on the Galaxy. This is the type of flaring tool I would recommend https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HAND-HELD-BRAKE-PIPE-FLARING-TOOL-3-16-SAE-ON-CAR-FLARE-LIKE-POWERHAND-bpft316/273058499060

Just my two penn'orth, I've joined copper to the steel pipes on the Galaxy, it can be done with care. Use a pipe cutter, as BrianH says above, and a pipe bender is useful if you want to make a neat job. Use grease when flaring the steel, make sure it's clamped tightly, and use a good flaring tool - the cheap anvil types are hopeless for small pipe. Make sure you put the male end on the steel pipe, that way you don't have to do the double flare on the steel. For a cheap flaring tool, I would recommend the Franklin AF2003 / Powerhand type, the idea is a copy off the old Modprod Easyflare - they don't look much, but they do work really well.

Well, I had my '99 Galaxy on the road for over 14 years, and the seized wiper assembly came quite early on. It was stripped, shafts and bushes cleaned and all greased with black Moly, and touch wood, I never had to do it a second time.

Well, I had mine from 4 years old, and 22,000 miles - for which it had a FSH. After I got it, I did all the servicing and repairs, so I know it was mechanically very well looked after - only wearing parts apart from relay 30. It never saw the inside of a garage, apart from MOTs. The mechanicals are all still sound, especially for a 160k+ mile, 19 year old car, but sadly the body and underside have seen better days, I agree about the Insignia boot. For an estate, it is poor for the size of the car, and decidedly paltry at the side of the Galaxy without the rear seats. However, it's just about big enough for a holiday now the kids are older, and it does go like the clappers. I bought it at auction, it wasn't my first choice, but to be fair, it's turned out to be a honest car. All I have had to do is give it an oil and filter change, and it's just done a 600 mile journey without missing a beat - I'm currently in Orkney with it. My first choice was actually another VW in the guise of a Skoda Superb estate, but it went for too much.

Could be pads tight in the caliper carrier, probably due to not cleaning the carriers up sufficiently, or possible siezed caliper slider/s. To be honest, whoever fitted the pads/discs should have spotted either issue. Take it back and point it out to them.

I agree Brian, although mines in a bit of a sorry state now, you have to bear in mind that it is a 19 year old car and most of the problems have been cosmetic - only the outrigger and a very small bit of the outer sill looked dodgy for an MOT before they were done. The cosmetic stuff was fabricating & replacing new front wing bottoms, which still look great, rust around the tailgate lock, and a bit around the rear wheelarches. Sadly, the n/s sill is too far gone now, it really needs a new one and a small patch on the inner if it were to ever see the roads again. I'll be sad to see it go, but I'm currently driving a Vaux Insignia diesel estate in very plush Elite trim - 160bhp, 60mpg and £30 road tax. As much as I have enjoyed owning the Galaxy (since 2003), I'm afraid the 30mpg and £255 tax of the Galaxy was one of the deciding factors to abandon repairs and retire it.

The mk.1 is certainly a lap belt in the centre. Didn't the mk.2 have a 3-point centre seat belt from the roof? Or have I dreamt that? Do the 6 seat cars have the full 16 floor mounts in the centre row?

I'm not sure about that, I thought it was basically the same Jatco box fitted to the TDI... then again, I might be completely wrong. It might be worth checking the connectors and wiring loom around the gearbox, they are known to give problems, and could conceivably give diagnostic connection issues.

Blummin' 'eck, I've only just noticed! Good to see it back, I was beginning to think it was game over. Things are still a bit wonky though, topic lists not updating, like it was before disaster struck.

Probably a dealer only part, only other options are a used one or a universal cable repair kit. You should be able to find a good used one anywhere they are breaking a few Galaxys.

Beware the aux belt diagram on TIS for the 2.3 engine, it's wrong! The correct routing is as per the Haynes book, like this

As Brian says, you will probably struggle getting parts like that, either cut it off a scrapper, or fabricate. What I've done in the past to remove similar bolts is mig weld a new nut on to the rotted bolt head, then attempt removal after a minute or two. Use plenty of amps to get good penetration into the old bolt. The heat that is transferred into the bolt expands it, cracks the corrosion in the threads, and should make it easier to remove. You can oversize the nut if you wish, it helps give you a bit more space to get a good weld in the centre. One observation I would make is that these brackets are fairly substantial, and if they are rotten, it must be pretty scabby under there. I would have a good poke about before going any further.