Couple of q's about the FR's

[Jakalus]

Morning all,

I'm in the market for a diesel, i've had a mk1 TT for about a year and filling up for the commute to work is getting tiresome. Want to save on fuel but also want a bit of poke and the Mk1 Leon FR seems to tick both boxes. Plus it looks mean which is a bonus over the TTs rather soft looks...

Have read many a thread on here and feel pretty comfortable that i know what to look for when going to view some examples, which I hope to be doing next weekend!

One thing I have picked up on through mates and the forum is the choccy cams issue, I have read a couple of times that people 'think' that parts got uprated at some point but I am yet to read anything that confirms a date to clear this up as this is the only thing slightly putting me off a Leon! Any further info would be ace!

Because of the above i have kept my options kind of open, between an FR, a Mk5 Golf (which have plenty of their own issues), or an E46 320d (which is seeming the most bombproof so far - but i want to keep VAG!)

The TT's lowered and had a few subtle oem extras added, was planning to remap but is a bad idea as i'll probably start enjoying driving it again and that'll stall me doing the sensible thing and selling up! Will inevitably be lowering the Leon if i get one and fitting some BBS reps that have been sitting unused at home for about 6 months now - any issues fitting staggered 8.5" and 9.5" ET40 wheels? (will be spaced and stretched as necessary)

Thanks in advance for any advice, this seems like a very lively forum so I hope you can all persuade me to buy a Leon!

Cheers,

Jack

 

[sockpuppet]

I would go for the beamer, I have had my Leon FR+ for 6 years and on average have had a major fault once a year. It's a 55 plate and I had a new cam at 107,000 so the chocy cam still exists. It is actually in the garage today for a burst heater matrix.

They are a nice car to drive, but badly designed/built. Most seem to suffer from cabin rattle, leaky door seals and egr valve blockage as well as many other common faults.

 

[Jakalus]

Well that's not ideal Do they have an updated cam that they fit or is it more of the same but in new condition?

I'm no stranger to having to fork out to keep a car on the road, the TT has cost me just over £3k in maintenance only in less than a year, so I'm not overly swayed by a few niggles here and there, it will be an 8 or 9 year old car i'd be getting after all. I may even go so far as sourcing a better cam and fitting to avoid future issues?

 

[Muttley]

2005 cars will have had the improved cam and lifters. Any cam failure on an engine that new will be down to lubrication failure: wrong oil used, oil change left too long or more rarely, pump or filter failure or a blocked strainer.

Cam failures are still very rare. It is more noticable simply because it does happen more often than it should.

 

[BigJase88]

Yeah and its not just a 150 issue as the 130 uses exactly the same components!

Im on 104k and it put out 198bhp on saturday from a remap alone so it's going good so far!

I think forum's accentuate any problems with a certain car, i bet the chances of a bust cam are less than 1%

 

[BigJase88]

Yeah and its not just a 150 issue as the 130 uses exactly the same components!

Im on 104k and it put out 198bhp on saturday from a remap alone so it's going good so far!

I think forum's accentuate any problems with a certain car, i bet the chances of a bust cam are less than 1%

 

[sockpuppet]

Like I said I have a 55 plate 2005 tdi150 and it has been serviced every 10000 with the correct oil and the cam wore through the lifter at about 107000. The only logical explanation is either choc cam or before I owned the car at 55000 the previous owner topped up in between services with the wrong oil although that looks unlikely as service records show the correct grade shell helix oil and it used to make 10000 without needing a top up.

I guess the 3k you spent in a year covers all the broken bits on my car in 6 years and leaves me change, Im sure I have forgotten something, but from memory I have had:

Thermostat: £70
Wheel bearing £100
Cam/Lifters £750
Slave cylinder + Clutch £720
EGR Valve £250
2 x high level brake lights £90
Altenator clutch pulley £70
Steering pump pipe £200
Heater Matrix £? not got the bill yet




If you do decide to get one check for the 5th gear whine, drive in 5th and then take your foot off the accelerator and see if the gearbox whines.

 

[Jakalus]

Yeah and its not just a 150 issue as the 130 uses exactly the same components!

Im on 104k and it put out 198bhp on saturday from a remap alone so it's going good so far!

I think forum's accentuate any problems with a certain car, i bet the chances of a bust cam are less than 1%

I had a similar thing about dash pod failures on the TT, obviously negativity is spread more readily than positivity so was terrified it was going to happen and it didn't (hasn't yet! - touching every bit of wood around me), so I'll take it on the chin and go after one anyway I reckon. If it happens it happens!

198bhp from just a remap has persuaded me even more so! Sounds fun!!!

Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

 

[Jakalus]

Like I said I have a 55 plate 2005 tdi150 and it has been serviced every 10000 with the correct oil and the cam wore through the lifter at about 107000. The only logical explanation is either choc cam or before I owned the car at 55000 the previous owner topped up in between services with the wrong oil although that looks unlikely as service records show the correct grade shell helix oil and it used to make 10000 without needing a top up.
…

If you do decide to get one check for the 5th gear whine, drive in 5th and then take your foot off the accelerator and see if the gearbox whines.

Duly noted mr puppet, what is the 5th gear whine a sign of exactly? Gearbox on its way out or just an annoyance?

 

[BigJase88]

Its the standard diff... But not the end of the world, could uprate it to a fancy peloquin / quaife limited slip diff

 

[Bickerton]

2005 cars will have had the improved cam and lifters. Any cam failure on an engine that new will be down to lubrication failure: wrong oil used, oil change left too long or more rarely, pump or filter failure or a blocked strainer.

Cam failures are still very rare. It is more noticable simply because it does happen more often than it should.

Is there evidence of this? II've looked all over and all I find is people sayingthey think it ggot sorted.

 

[Jakalus]

Its the standard diff... But not the end of the world, could uprate it to a fancy peloquin / quaiffe limited slip diff

'Quaiffe' haha gets me every time

 

[BigJase88]

My bad one F!

 

[ozzymyster]

I had a similar thing about dash pod failures on the TT, obviously negativity is spread more readily than positivity so was terrified it was going to happen and it didn't (hasn't yet! - touching every bit of wood around me), so I'll take it on the chin and go after one anyway I reckon. If it happens it happens!

198bhp from just a remap has persuaded me even more so! Sounds fun!!!

Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

The diesel lads will probably clarify but pretty sure the remap will push the standard clutch to its limit. You might want to factor that in for your budget

Brian

 

[BigJase88]

Im on 104k and this is my map and i get zero slip!

But you may suffer slip of some sorts if you boot it low down, i like to drive it like a petrol

 

[Jakalus]

Im on 104k and this is my map and i get zero slip!

But you may suffer slip of some sorts if you boot it low down, i like to drive it like a petrol

How many miles did it have when you mapped it? I can save a fair sum on initial purchase price if I get one with over 100k miles, many people remap them with that many miles?

 

[BigJase88]

I mapped it at 101k but its perfect. It doesnt really matter. All depends who maps it

I had a fabia vrs that had a shockingly spikey map on it and it shredded its clutch at 37k miles

 

[BigJase88]

How many miles did it have when you mapped it? I can save a fair sum on initial purchase price if I get one with over 100k miles, many people remap them with that many miles?

Oh yeah and my mates on 129k with 284bhp with his polo gt tdi originally 130bhp, obviously it has a few mods but the engine and gearbox are perfect

 

[James_R]

PD engines are fantastic and dont suffer half as many faults as people make out, in the 10 years or so of working on all the VW group brands i've only ever replaced a handful of truly faulty cams.

 

[James_R]

This was one of the more worn examples: