# help, pretty please 87 GTI woes



## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

so, picked up what i think is a good car. first off needs a fuel pump housing, well finally found one XD , next on the list. figuring out what all the PO disconnected, oh joy. so the car has cis. when checking everything over, i notice that one of the lines coming from the fuel pressure reg is not connected to anything. now ive searched all diagrams, and can not seem to find out where exactly this hose goes and connects to. fuel feed and return lines are good, injector lines appear to be hooked up correctly. but this one little line, the one that comes off the reg at an angle. im currently at work, and will post up some pictures when i get a chance. if anyone can help me out or point me in the right direction, it would mean heaps.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5408279070

the suspect line

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5408279064

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5408279060

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5408279050

fender side

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5408279056


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

is it just me or are the pictures not loading up?


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## sarcastro (Jun 3, 2010)

picks no worky


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

yea ill have to fix that when i get home.


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

Can't view the pictures from here even if they did work, but I'll look at them later if they are working then. Seeing as it is an 87' it should have KE-jetronic (CIS-e) and the fuel pressure regulator is seperate from the fuel distributor. It will have three fuel lines screwed on to it and one rubber hose. The large line screwed to the end, should face the firewall if factory, it the fuel return line to the pump/tank. The other large line screwed to the side is the "feed" line, but with this system it first goes from the pump through the fuel distributor and then to the regulator. Still functions in the same manner as other regulators, it just gets regulated after it enters the fuel distributor. The third line, much smaller then the other two, is also a return line. It returns fuel not used in the fuel distributor to the return side of the pressure regulator. If that smaller line is the one you are asking about, yes, it needs to be connected.


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

yea, went out yesterday as the rain hit nashville, and the cold start injector was hooked up where the return line was supposed to be, and all the sealing washers are double stacked. good thing im not getting the fuel pump housing till later this week. . .

thanks for the input, i have no idea why the images wouldnt load up


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

well, finally got the housing, put it together, got it on, and she lives. . . sorta. missing on 2 cyl. so i was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to a blow up of the fuel lines in the engine compartment, the chilton i have is worthless in this area. and i want to make sure that all the lines coming off the distro point for fuel are hooked up correctly, 

i pulled all 4 plugs 2 and 3 were soaked with fuel , so tomorrow, compression test, and got to get rid of these platinum's


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## Fat Rabbit (Nov 18, 2001)

CIS means Continuous Fuel Injection. You can usually tell which fuel line goes to which injector by the length of the line and the bends in the line. If two fuel lines were to be mixed up it would make no difference because the fuel flow is continuous with the amount of fuel injected depending on the fuel pressure as determined from the fuel distributor. The fuel pressure is determined by air flow past the airflow plate in the fuel distributor. This is unlike spark which is timed to each cylinder by the electrical distributor. Your car has CIS-E with the "E" meaning electronic. Your car has a computer in the rain tray -- toward the passenger side -- which uses some additional sensors to more finely adjust the fuel available to each cylinder. CIS-E is easily identified by the several electrical connections to the fuel distributor and the grey box on the inboard side of the fuel distributor.

That being said If two cylinders are getting a lot more fuel than the other two cylinders I would suspect the injectors for those cylinders. You should pull the injectors and install new "O" rings anyway so that would be a good time to see if the injectors have a good spray pattern or if they leak after the car is shut down. The injectors can be removed by pulling them straight back from the head toward the intake manifold. There is a ($10) remover made for the job or sometimes they just pull right straight back without much effort. The "O" rings get hard over the years and have the potental to leak air so it is good to replace them. You need to jumper the fuel pump at the fuel pump relay so the system has fuel pressure and then remove the intake air duct from the fuel distributor so you can lift the air plate to make the injectors spray. I usually work on one injector at a time wearing safety glasses and plastic gloves. I also work outside away from buildings because of gasoline. Spraying the injector into a plastic container you can observe the spray pattern. Then pull the jumper and observe the injector for leakage without lifting the air flow plate. 

There is also a possibility that the cold start injector on the intake manifold never shuts off because the pintile inside is jamed open. That injector works electrically. It is easily removed from the intake manifold by removing two hex bolts. Then you can power the fuel system and observe the injector for leakage. FR


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

thanks rabbit.

first off yea, i was suspecting that the cold start wasnt turning off, due to wires coming and going. tomorrow is gonna be a day of tracing wires, and testing various components. dropping the fluid as well. i hope its just certain things are improperly plugged up, like i know theres gonna be at least one connector not doing anything, PO deleted the ac and PS. yet we've found 4.

oh and any suggestions for rigging up a crosshair that doesnt have the spring clip?


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

> If two cylinders are getting a lot more fuel than the other two cylinders I would suspect the injectors for those cylinders.


It could also be the plug wires, plugs and/or cap for those cylinders too. So if you find nothing wrong with the injectors then, or before whichever you decide, look into the ignition area. It may be that the fuel is correct but the plugs are not ignition the mixture or doing a bad job of it. Also don't forget oil, is it fuel for sure or an oil film?


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

each one had a nice coating of carbon, only the middle 2 were soaked in fuel. the current plugs are platinum which i want to hurl across the room, ordering a new set of wires and plugs today, also gonna check timing. i hope its just ignition


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

so compression test is done. 225 across the board. cyl 3 is spraying fuel, we think the injector is stuck open. but im still concerned that lines and wires are not going where they are supposed to be.


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

ok, i really really really, need to see a diagram of a functioning cis system. either the fuel distro is ****ed up. or the lines are hooked up wrong, or both


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

silv3rs said:


> ok, i really really really, need to see a diagram of a functioning cis system. either the fuel distro is ****ed up. or the lines are hooked up wrong, or both


The fuel injector lines can't really be connected wrong. It does not matter if the line sold for cylinder number 4 is used to feed cylinder number 3. And if the lines were to be all mixed up, if they would reach which some can't, and not connected where the factory put them it also would not have any effect. The four chambers of the fuel distributor are the same and supply fuel in equal portions for each line/cylinder. If two are fouling it is not due to the position which the lines are connected. It could be a number of things but not that, but here are some stolen pictures anyway if you think they will help. By the way, did you fix the connections locations of the cold start valve and small return line?


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

thank you water wheels, yes all the lines are where they are supposed to be, now the issue seems to be its only getting fuel form the cold start injector. 

replaced the plugs with the bosch 7900, fired it up and it started fine but idled at 1300, gas it some gas and idle stayed at 2000, turned it off, restarted and idle slowly climbs past 1300. unplugged cold start and she wont fire up now. the boss man, thinks the distro point may not be sending fuel to the other injectors. we loosened the lines and nothing came out. so, we think the adjustment may be off(one of the PO's drilled the hole. . .). so next on the list, pull the distro off.

theres also some wiring connectors that seem to go nowhere. the cold start had been wired up with a different plug, found the right hanging under the intake. got 2 wires that separated from the cluster connection(?). got a couple of plugs that are shot to **** and falling apart, the 3 prong for the WOT switch is missing a chunk of plastic form the connector, so got exposed elements. got a plug that looks as if it goes to the transmission, yet there is no where to plug it up to. 


guess flickr doesnt like links to stuff so ill set up a photobucket account later. i do believe this car will bring me alot of angst, but damnit i want it to live, and run.

once again thank you all for the help you have given me.


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## Fat Rabbit (Nov 18, 2001)

The fuel distributor won't distribute fuel to the injectors unless you operate the air flow plate and the fuel system is under operating pressure. If the injectors are leaking there will be no pressure in the fuel lines with the engine shut off.

The fuel to the CS injector bypasses the injector metering system in the fuel distributor. The electrical power to run the CS injector grounds through the thermo time switch (on the front coolant flange - brown tower like switch with an electical connector) to the injector from the start circuit (#50) at the starter solenoid. The name of the switch "thermo-time" indicates that the switch is sensitive to coolant temp and time. The engine has to be cold for it to supply power and then it heats electrically and breaks contact after a short time. When the engine is hot the thermo time switch is open so no power is supplied to the CS injector so the engine does not flood. The CS injector gets blamed for a lot of stuff but they usually either work or don't work and the problem is usually the thermo-time switch or the power supply from the starter solenoid connection. The other issue is a CS injector that is always open and admitting fuel. Some folks rig the CS injector with an on-off switch to kick in extra fuel at higher engine speeds. The problem is that the extra fuel supplied is not well atomized or equally delivered to the cylinders and is thus not very effective. 

12V DC powers the cold start injector so you can test it by jumpering 12V DC to the terminals on the injector. With the injector out of the manifold and the fuel pump supplying pressure the CS Valve should not leak until 12V DC is supplied -- then it should spray for the duration of the power supply. It should not spray (or leak) when not powered.

You will need to find a junkyard donor car and acquire the electrical connections you need. Cut the connectors with some wire attached and then splice them in where the connectors are bad. I like to solder the connections then shrink wrap and tape the connection. FR


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

thank you rabbit. after a frustrating day of chasing vacum leaks and random wires, we got the beast to idle. XD , still needs some fine adjustment. more to come in the morning, im sure, for now, im too tired.


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

I'll make a suggestion here that you can either take to heart or just ignor, but I think it would be wise at this point for this car. Go through it very carefully noting down everything before you go much futher. This car sounds like it has been either butchered by a prior or just plain old neglected, maybe both. Find out what is in it, engine code, transmission code, all the electrical parts by number if you can and so on. Note down all the missing, broken, un-connected wiring and colors if possible. Get yourself a good repair manual and a good wiring diagram if not in the manual. Trace things to be sure they are connected where they should be, that they are present and in good condition. 

Your picture hosting is most likely OK, I could get the pictures by clicking on the links. What is missing is the


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

yea, already own a chilton from back when i owned my first vw golf(86). 

as far as the pics they had the tags on them but still werent showing up.

and yes we (as in my boss and i) are starting to wonder if they did an engine swap. we got her to idle last night, but this morning right back to idleing at 2500. gonna have to pull the valve cover, looks brand new, but i dont think its seated properly, and injector 1 is leaking at the block. 

thanks all for the input. it has helped, now to just get her running right.


oh, yea, the book says compression should be between 140 and 180, yet they were all 225 when we did the test. any ideas? before i start stripping her down.


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## Fat Rabbit (Nov 18, 2001)

I have to agree with WaterWheels -- sounds like the PO did some work on the car that may or may not have been appropriate. Check the engine block code and make sure that your cylinder pressure readings are OK -- 225 PSI is high. The point is -- try to figure out exactly what you are working with.

Also look around for vacuum leaks. The valve cover area is certainly one place. I already mentioned the injector "O" rings. Check to see if there is a hose that comes from the air intake hose and attaches to the back of the cylinder head for the air shrouded injectors -- look between cylinders 3 & 4. I have found a number of those hoses rotted off or otherwise disconnected. Check the air intake hose from the fuel distributor to the throttle body and check to sss if there is a screw in the idle air adjustment on the back of the throttle body. Even a missing plastic orange funnel for the dipstick can make a difference. FR


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

yea, the one between 3 and 4 had nothing on it, one of the PO's ripped the egr stuff out. most of the wires ive traced down and plugged the right ones in. some of them though, not sure. i have yet to get alldata to show me some data. . .

and yes, injector one is leaking at the block. gonna see about acquiring a used good line and what not, just in case ya know. the best part of the day was watching the tach settle down and idle briefly.

first thought we had about the compression was that they may have slapped a different camshaft in. as far as engine code that should be right on the front correct?

book says it supposed to be an rd, but i have yet to see rd stamped anywhere on this block


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## Fat Rabbit (Nov 18, 2001)

The engine number plate should be on the block behind and a bit to the left of the distributor just below the head to block line. You may have to remove some rust/crud to read the number actually just the "RD" or "GX" is the important part. 

You should pull the leaking injector -- all the injectors for that matter test them for leakage and put new "O" rings on them. IIRC the "O" rings should only run about $3 per cylinder. The injectors pull straight back toward the intake manifold. Pull on the injector and not the fuel line. I have the $10 injector puller but befor that I used vise grips or channel lock pliers. The official puller is easier. FR


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

yea, gonna head down to the shop today to get that done. once i get down there ill post up what code it is


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

ok, top half has on the pulley side 026 103 373 G , middle of head 3 ME and at the end , etched on by hand, HO with a circle around it. and then i spotted the rd on the bottom end. right where ya said it was mr rabbit. gonna get started on pulling the injectors, if the rings are anything like the one on the pump then they are prolly toast, i just hope they didnt over tighten the injector line


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## Fat Rabbit (Nov 18, 2001)

FYI: You don't have to remove the fuel line to pull the injector or to replace the "O" rings although there is less risk to the line with it removed. I have seen some that have been so loose that they pulled real easy and rattled around in the head and others have been real tough to pull.

An RD block is what belongs in the car -- so that is good. FR

IIRC the PN for the head is also appropriate -- the flange for the air cooled injector system was a good sign. FR


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

yea, when i finally spotted the rd this morning i was a bit relieved. called it a day after fighting an audi's belt tension er . the one good part today was fixing the ride height and seeing the end result of a beautiful stance


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

well, got her running, got her to idle, and fixed the timing, now i just need a speedo cable replacement, the darn oxs box fell apart in my hands. the older VW guys say i can run straight from the cluster to the trans, soooo, where can i get a cable long enough?? or rather that will fit my car?


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## Fat Rabbit (Nov 18, 2001)

Use a cable for a VW without the O2 sensor counter box. '88 - '92 should work. I glued a box back together once but it is easier to use the other cable. FR


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

thank you once again fat rabbit, got her ordered from worldpac.


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

so, just so i do this correctly, stab one end of the cable in the tranny, and the other end goes straight to the cluster? or to the cable coming off the oxs box that goes to the cluster?


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## Fat Rabbit (Nov 18, 2001)

One end in the trannie and the other end to the back of the cluster. Make sure that the firewall grommet around the cable stays in place. I usually also replace the rubber gasket at the transmission end of the cable to prevent leaks. The two short cables and the box are no longer used. It is a bit hard to disconnect the cable at the cluster end and tighten in the new cable but it usually can be accomplished from under the dash without removing the cluster. FR


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

cool, yea its got 2 new rubber seals on it. a gemo branded, thanks for the info rabbit.


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

so, ended up replacing the head gasket, intake, exhaust gasket, and exhaust manifold with new down pipe. also did the oil pan for good measure, now ive been having a problem. oil light comes on erratically, now from the search and the bentley i surmise that either the pump is going out, or faulty sensor, or too thin oil.

so my question that i pose to you is this, how hard is it to slap an oil pressure gauge ?


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

Very easy and depending on your budget there are four ways. Straight mechanical which deletes the warning system and it is your job to watch the gauge. Straight electrical which also deletes the warning system . . . Or both of the above with the factory warning system connected to keep it functional. Your manual has a series of tests to check the warning system and it's switches. Oil weight really has little to do with any warnings going off. If you can expand on this "oil light comes on erratically" it might help a little. Temperatures, movement of the car, engine speed, etc. etc. can all help to narrow things down.


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

when it first started coming on, was between 2500 and 2900 rpm, if i would drop to 2 it would shut up, or raise it to 3 and it would shut up, now it comes on sometimes right at 2200, and then stays on till 3200, and even then sometimes it doesnt shut up. if its the oil pump, cool, ill just get a "new" one, if its the sensor, awesome, the control unit, **** that.

oil temp never gets above 200, it tried once before but quickly drops down to 170 ish(f btw). the car runs great, other than this annoying buzzing. . .


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## Fat Rabbit (Nov 18, 2001)

Just try running 15W50 or similar oil. That should make the dynamic oil pressure control system be quiet. I'd probably also replace the oil pressure sensors on the car but only because they tend to leak oil when they get older. The actual control unit is a printed circuit board in the cluster and it is easy to replace. I've had to do a few of those over the years but only after trying everything else. FR


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

yea, personally im hoping that its just something electrical wrong. and i can believe that one of the 2 new sensors could be a bad new part. yea, mechanic suggested thicker oil, im thinking i may just go ahead and replace the oil pump now, odo only says 25k miles and works, but no telling how long it didnt work, or rather how long the speedo cable was ****ed up.

as far as the oil guage, id still like to install one just for peace of mind. so with keeping the dynamic stuff in play, which is the easiest/best/affordable way to do this?


oh and thank you FR and WW for your input.


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

silv3rs said:


> . . . as far as the oil guage, id still like to install one just for peace of mind. so with keeping the dynamic stuff in play, which is the easiest/best/affordable way to do this?


That would then be using a mechanical gauge and a "T" fitting to install the oil switch into the other half of the "T". A mechanical gauge can be had very cheap. I use AutoMeter gauges and even they are not expensive for the mechanical ones. Most or all come with the tubing and ferrels but most have NPT fitting so an adapter or "T" made for metric/NPT is required. Electrical cost more as you need a sender for the gauge which is at least another $30 or more depending.


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

Fat Rabbit said:


> Use a cable for a VW without the O2 sensor counter box. '88 - '92 should work. I glued a box back together once but it is easier to use the other cable. FR


only downfall to using the late cable, you gotta pull it out of the trans to pull the cluster.

the early cables, being 2 different pieces, you can un-hook the short cable from the o2 counter, and then you can easily get the cable off the back of the speedo if you have to pull the cluster..

i can NOT get my hands up underneath the dash to un hook the cable, i have to disconnect the cable, twist the cluster around a bit, work my hand back there, then carefully un hook the cable off the cluster..

having the cable connection right up top in the rain tray makes it nice.. :thumbup:


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

i agree glegor, when i replaced the cable, took me a good hour, getting my hand stuck and cut several times to get to the perfect angle and here the click of the cable seating in. needlees to say, best thing i see myself doing is really, get replacement sensors (cheap enough, 20 here in nashville for the 2 of them), see about getting a replacement control unit( just in case), line up a replacement pump, annnddd get an oil gauge, oh and still have to test everything out, finally found the tests in the bentley.

hell , by the time im done, damn near every seal will be new ( stupid exhaust manifold being cracked. . .) , the oil problem will hopefully be fixed, then on to tie rod ends.

thanks again sir WW, appreciate the tips


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

WaterWheels said:


> That would then be using a mechanical gauge and a "T" fitting to install the oil switch into the other half of the "T". A mechanical gauge can be had very cheap. I use AutoMeter gauges and even they are not expensive for the mechanical ones. Most or all come with the tubing and ferrels but most have NPT fitting so an adapter or "T" made for metric/NPT is required. Electrical cost more as you need a sender for the gauge which is at least another $30 or more depending.


my personal preference, is to use electric gauges, like i said tho, thats just my personal preference..

if the signal wire for my gauge gets cut, my engine does not spray oil all over inside/outside my car..

arent electric gauges more accurate too? 
(i run electric gauges just because i have tons of them on hand too, my family builds/rebuilds boats, we get alot of old used gauges out of the boats we re-power)


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

silv3rs said:


> i agree glegor, when i replaced the cable, took me a good hour, getting my hand stuck and cut several times to get to the perfect angle and here the click of the cable seating in. needlees to say, best thing i see myself doing is really, get replacement sensors (cheap enough, 20 here in nashville for the 2 of them), see about getting a replacement control unit( just in case), line up a replacement pump, annnddd get an oil gauge, oh and still have to test everything out, finally found the tests in the bentley.
> 
> hell , by the time im done, damn near every seal will be new *( stupid exhaust manifold being cracked. . .)* , the oil problem will hopefully be fixed, then on to tie rod ends.
> 
> thanks again sir WW, appreciate the tips


best tip i can give ya for that, is just drive it till its time for a clutch, then when you have the trans out of the car, you can push the engine forward and get the stock downpipe and manifold out of there.. thats what i did. waited till i needed a clutch, then changed my clutch, exhaust manifold (mine wasnt cracked tho) and downpipe all at the same time, made it really easy to get the manifold and downpipe in the car. didnt even have to take off the intake manifold..

(upgraded from a toilet bowl manifold, to a dual outlet manifold off a newer car. really made the car sound alot nicer, and gave me some top end power, but lost some bottom end.)


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

nah, all this happened in feb, went to replace the exhaust gaskets, and the mani was cracked. took a few days but found a dual down pipe with 6 bolt mani, mine is/was the spring clamp( which i couldnt find anything for a mani that was spring. . .), so we had to pull the head, went ahead and replaced the intake gaskets, exhaust gaskets, head gasket, valve cover gasket, water flange seal, thermostat and seal, both oil pressure sensors got replaced.

then about a week after all that was done, i did oil pan gasket and cleaned the pick up for the oil pump(mechanic said it sounded like i was starved for oil but had plenty, which helps support the idea that the pump may be going out, but no noise since that day.).

and yea i did notice a small drop and gain. with the old mani, even though it was loud as **** with the leak, the car seemed more peppy, where as now it will fly, but take off is a bitch sometimes, and oh man the overrun :drools: 

all in all i love this gti


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

I hope nobody minds but I’m going to roll this all up into one post rather then make multiple postings. Yep, it is not real easy to get your hand up there to disconnect the cable from the cluster. But the difference between doing the task as described both ways is really insignificant best. In one method you have to remove a single small bolt and raise the cable up out of the transmission for some slack, this of course is only for those who can’t reach up under the dash and do it. In the other method you have to remove the overflow tank and disconnect half the cable to gain some slack. Just how big of a difference and harder is one over the other? And for that matter how often is this job really required that it makes a difference how difficult it is? 

The bit about the oil gauge is one of those rare/what if situations that is more myth then fact. I have been using mechanical gauges for the better part of 30+ years and never once have I cut an oil gauge line. I have never heard on anyone ever doing it or one getting damaged from normal usage. If you think that you might be clumsy enough to mistake the oil gauge line for a wire, which you really shouldn’t be just cutting for fun anyway, then get the copper line or the braided stainless line. It will add to the cost but should stop the snips or at least get you to think before you cut through. If you do such shabby work that you run plastic tubes or wires through holes cut in metal without some sort of protection, you deserve some oil on your shoes or smoldering wires. And “hot oil” does not just go flying into the air all over the place and yourself either. I have made the mistake of starting engines with the gauge not connected and it makes a mess on the floor or dash, but that’s about it. Maybe if you had the gauge sitting on your lap and the engine was hot it could burn your . . . :facepalm:

Which is more accurate? I would think a quality mechanical is the “most” accurate and an electrical gauge can be “as” accurate as a mechanical. I don’t know about current trends but back when I did race mechanical gauges were found in all the cars from small guys to the top racers. Electrical gauges can fall prey to the same faults as any electrical device. Bad or corroded connections, long or wrong wire size and wrong power supply can all degrade electrical gauges. Electrical gauges can take up more space sometimes too as the senders are often large. Electrical gauges are popular because they are easy to connect and wires are easier to feed through the dash/firewall as opposed to tubes or hoses. The only mechanical gauge that can be dangerous is a fuel pressure gauge. That is why it is against the rules to mount them in the cabin.

As for the oil warning problem, I believe due to the erratic manner and the way you describe it that it is electrical and most likely the printed circuit in the cluster. Before doing all the expensive stuff, oil pump (most times not bad anyway), oil change (thicker is really a cover-up for other problems), switches, etc., install the gauge which you plan to do anyway. If the gauge shows that all is fine then either fix the warning system or delete it and watch your gauge (no reason to have a gauge if you don’t plan to look at it anyway).


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

thank you water wheels, i value all input into this matter.


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## silv3rs (Feb 13, 2007)

got the mechanical gauge installed, so idle pressure is good. driving, well it goes up to 80 as i get on it. was told normal was supposed to be 50 ish so, yea, gonna consult the bentley on this one


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

silv3rs said:


> . . . so idle pressure is good. driving, well it goes up to 80 as i get on it. was told normal was supposed to be 50 ish so, yea, gonna consult the bentley on this one


Buy good at idle you should be seeing around 10psi or more when hot, right? Make sure you are always reading, or being concerned with, running temperature pressure (hot) and not cold or just a little warm. There is really no "normal" pressure while driving, it will vary as the engine speed does along with other things. The manual should tell you you have to have at least 30psi with an engine speed of 2000RPM or more (if memory serves me correct) at operating temperature. That's it, no RPM per RPM or different engine speed levels. Even idle pressure if I recall is not given, but must be at least .3BAR (less than 5psi) or the light will flash. My small block engines see over 100psi when cold and 60psi is more or less normal when warmed up and at driving speeds. So it seems your oil system is working just fine.


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