what have you done to your car today ?

[ExiledWeegie]

I also had this issue and there was tension on the sideskirt, due to the jacking point on the car being crushed over the years. By trimming the sideskirt, I was able to relieve the tension and the cover clipped in again no issue

Before:

After

same as mine, jacking point was crushed on both sides, the lip ended up just coming away in my hands so i got the lip fully replaced on both sides and then the skirt sat perfect

 

[Nam-uk]

I can believe it mate, there is no methodical approach, just replace, replace & hope for the best.
I now have my car home & big thanks to the tow truck driver, he got him home effortlessly & efficiently, even said what a lovely car it was & he had one back in the day . Unfortunately I am cheesed off with the garage, talk about disrespectful. The centre wheel cap was still on the passenger seat, this was like it in August & now it's missing it's front jack point cover & the rear hangs down, no longer clipping. I have complained, asking for it back or replaced, but I doubt Ill hear back. They film the cars on arrival for proof, so I made that clear it is their damage & I have a photo too.View attachment 55436View attachment 55435View attachment 55437

piss take and them covers are not cheap now but the one not clipping might still be ok as i have had the same issue, all i did was spray silicon on the tabs then they click in fine as they can be stiff to get in and they should have lanyards on them, mine broke so used garden wire, they must still have the cap and cover in the garage as you want that wheel cover back also as you cant get them new,

 

[Nam-uk]

same as mine, jacking point was crushed on both sides, the lip ended up just coming away in my hands so i got the lip fully replaced on both sides and then the skirt sat perfect

that happened to me luck no rust as there was unseal still there but i had to straighten the sill lips then added the old type underseal now the skirt don't look bellowed , told the garage as wasn't happy and do so if they take the wheels off, the gimp who did it is not there now

 

[ExiledWeegie]

that happened to me luck no rust as there was unseal still there but i had to straighten the sill lips then added the old type underseal now the skirt don't look bellowed , told the garage as wasn't happy and do so if they take the wheels off, the gimp who did it is not there now

yeah whenever it needs to go to a garage i tell them not to use the sills now, always use the chassis legs and rear beam, whenever i jack it up myself i drive it my plastic ramps first them use the chassis legs. when i got the sill lips fixed i wire brushed all surface rust and used vactan rust treatment on the whole underneath then when that dried i used dinitrol underseal and touch wood its been good since, 3 mot's with no advisories so far since then.

 

[Nam-uk]

yeah whenever it needs to go to a garage i tell them not to use the sills now, always use the chassis legs and rear beam, whenever i jack it up myself i drive it my plastic ramps first them use the chassis legs. when i got the sill lips fixed i wire brushed all surface rust and used vactan rust treatment on the whole underneath then when that dried i used dinitrol underseal and touch wood its been good since, 3 mot's with no advisories so far since then.

it is a lift point but they don't use the correct lift puck as they have a V in the middle , you can buy them for your jack at home made of hard rubber and you will have no problem i did have the old style ramps but the hit the bumpers on newer cars and there is hydraulic ramps but dam expensive but verygood , heard good things about dinitrol but i just use the waxoil underseal as it still stops the problem as some of the rust treatment can easy wash off and need doing every year

 

[ExiledWeegie]

the plastic ramps are good, they have a more gradual incline so easier to get the car up, might be a problem with front splitters though. i do have some of the v shaped rubbers for my axle stands, will need to get a couple for my jacks.

the dinitrol is like waxoyl as in its a black oily substance that you use a spray gun with but it goes harder over time so its not always that sticky mess when you touch it, ive always used vactan for rust as its made for the marine industry and if its good for boats in constant contact with water then it should be good with cars, its also a primer so can be painted over when dry, ive used it on various cars over the last 12 years now and i can recommend it (although i think its changed name now to aquasteel)

 

[Nam-uk]

the plastic ramps are good, they have a more gradual incline so easier to get the car up, might be a problem with front splitters though. i do have some of the v shaped rubbers for my axle stands, will need to get a couple for my jacks.

the dinitrol is like waxoyl as in its a black oily substance that you use a spray gun with but it goes harder over time so its not always that sticky mess when you touch it, ive always used vactan for rust as its made for the marine industry and if its good for boats in constant contact with water then it should be good with cars, its also a primer so can be painted over when dry, ive used it on various cars over the last 12 years now and i can recommend it (although i think its changed name now to aquasteel)

used it years waxoil underseal well i had a tin for years and waxoil so not run out yet and it just works .. that vactan sounds good as i use a rust converter for other jobs then paint on outdoor jobs .. you got a link for that ?

 

[ExiledWeegie]

Vactan

Top-selling Vactan is an industry leading rust converter for the treatment of corroded steel and iron surfaces, used by some of the world's largest companies. Converts rust, protects and is self-priming. A top-selling product, Vactan has been developed by Performance Chemicals following years of...

lindonlewismarine.co.uk

and Aquasteel is basically the same product.

Aquasteel Home - Aquasteel

Shop Now Take me to the Store → About Aquasteel More Information → How to use Aquasteel More Information → After 2 coats of Aquasteel After 1 coat of Aquasteel Before Aquasteel The Aquasteel Store All prices include VAT and UK Delivery All prices include VAT and UK Delivery. For overseas...

aquasteel.co.uk

 

[iammooks]

My win for the day... Steering rack bush is located properly now.

Held the pipes out of the way with some bungee, then wrapped some webbing around the bush, a good hard pull from the wheel well and it popped into place. Now all I need are the bolts I ordered a week ago to arrive and that's done.

Got the thermostat changed without taking out the alternator too. Had to take the boost pipe out though to make the space.

Thought it was a good day, but then I lost the bottom bolt in the engine bay. I've looked for hours and no sign, but there's nothing it could have fallen into there that would cause any catastrophic problems, so I've just given up and ordered new ones.

Leon life...


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[ExiledWeegie]

a good long magnet is a godsend for that type of thing, when i did my thermostat i had to go fishing for about an hour to find the bolt, eventually got it from the bottom on a small ledge just above the sump, just had to randomly poke it around until it hooked something, ended up pulling out a random 8mm nut too, god knows were that came from but it was rusty so had been there a while.

 

[iammooks]

a good long magnet is a godsend for that type of thing, when i did my thermostat i had to go fishing for about an hour to find the bolt, eventually got it from the bottom on a small ledge just above the sump, just had to randomly poke it around until it hooked something, ended up pulling out a random 8mm nut too, god knows were that came from but it was rusty so had been there a while.

I just can't work it out. I dug about with my magnet on a stick, got my endoscope in there too, even tried the old trick of ordering new bolts, because you always find it when you've paid out for new ones. Nothing. It doesn't make sense.

Randomly enough, I did find the head of the bolt I had to hacksaw off from the back of the engine on the ground in the middle of the car, but still no sign of the thermostat one.

I'll try that ledge in front of the sump tomorrow. Only other place it really could be (in the engine bay at least) is that it could have fallen into one of the fans, but they spin fine at least.

Two weeks off the road now - most of it waiting for bolts and parts to arrive. I'll get on with putting the intake back together in the meantime and hope work doesn't notice I've not done anything for the past couple of days.


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[Battoussai]

I just can't work it out. I dug about with my magnet on a stick, got my endoscope in there too, even tried the old trick of ordering new bolts, because you always find it when you've paid out for new ones. Nothing. It doesn't make sense.

Randomly enough, I did find the head of the bolt I had to hacksaw off from the back of the engine on the ground in the middle of the car, but still no sign of the thermostat one.

I'll try that ledge in front of the sump tomorrow. Only other place it really could be (in the engine bay at least) is that it could have fallen into one of the fans, but they spin fine at least.

Two weeks off the road now - most of it waiting for bolts and parts to arrive. I'll get on with putting the intake back together in the meantime and hope work doesn't notice I've not done anything for the past couple of days.


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Been there done that but I have a tremedous fear that the ghosted bolt will ruin the engine. So I never stop looking until I found it. If it isn't on the floor I always think is tucked away on a pulley or a belt or inside some crate waiting to shoot out and do some damage. Last time I spent 1 hour looking and found it 10 meters away from the car (after a good swearing on the damn thing).

 

[Nam-uk]

a good long magnet is a godsend for that type of thing, when i did my thermostat i had to go fishing for about an hour to find the bolt, eventually got it from the bottom on a small ledge just above the sump, just had to randomly poke it around until it hooked something, ended up pulling out a random 8mm nut too, god knows were that came from but it was rusty so had been there a while.

your not wrong lol ive even got one of the cheap extendable ones with a light on the end

 

[ExiledWeegie]

your not wrong lol ive even got one of the cheap extendable ones with a light on the end

yup lol cheap but handy things

 

[Nam-uk]

yup lol cheap but handy things

that's the one lol

 

[Munchen]

Got the old Ibiza through the German MOT yesterday after sorting the rear brakes. Wheel cylinders both with a seized piston. Now it's got all new brake parts plus a new bearing. Basket of a job to get the horizontal adjustment bar connected on to the spring. Lost some skin on my fingers but done it in the end. I've spent nearly as much in a year replacing parts on this car as it cost me to buy!

 

[iammooks]

Getting closer to getting things back together now. The steering rack to subframe bolts finally arrived, and so did the thermostat housing bolts to replace the one I lost in the engine bay (still no sign of it).

Did the thermostat housing one first, so I didn't have to leave the battery disconnected for too long. It all went back together nice and tight, but I get the feeling from the way the coolant flange works that you're supposed to put the thermostat in first, then the o-ring and then the flange, which has locating pins so you put it on at an angle and then lock it in place. I couldn't do that because I didn't take the alternator out, but I'll just have to wait and see if there are any leaks when it's all back together. It'll be a faff if it does leak, but at least I know how to fix it.

Look at me - I said 'flange' twice and managed not to giggle.

Getting all that back together was fun - to get the space, I had to take the battery to alternator cables off, and there's a tiny 8mm nut that holds a c-clip in place that routes the cable I could only get to with a spanner, not to mention having to jack up the car to take the loooooong boost pipe that goes down to the intercooler out and in again. Was a good chance to clean it though.

Next up was the steering rack clamp, which obviously didn't line up straight after putting the polybush in, so took a while to locate the bolts using a pry bar and then make sure I wasn't cross-threading anything. Got the torque settings from TDI Club (20Nm + 90 degrees) and got a bit nervous doing the quarter turn, as that was tight and didn't want to round off the head.

Now I've found that with all the mucking around getting things in and out, I've bent the clamp that attaches the power steering lines. Nothing's damaged, so I just have to 'persuade' it back into place, but it's one more thing...

So glad I've done it though - had that bush since December 2020 and it'll be nice not to have it in my parts box - same goes for my inlet manifold gasket, which has been mocking me for being a coward and not doing the job all these years.

Once that's done, it's getting the intake back together and refilling the coolant - another big job. Inlet manifold, EGR cooler, EGR valve, TIP, air box... I hate these jobs, because all you've got to do is not tighten one bolt enough and the engine will smoke through the bonnet, and then I've got to take it all apart again - and I've done three jobs that involve unplugging vacuum hoses, electrical connectors, coolant lines and boost pipes.

I know this is a long post - so thanks for reading. I'm low key super proud of myself for doing all this - when I joined this forum, it was because I wanted to change my fuel filter, so looking back on all the work I've done since just amazes me. Thank you so much for all your support, the advice, the parts people have given me, and the general feeling of community.

Going to be bricking it when I turn the car over for the first time after all this though...


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[nd-photo.nl]

@iammooks Good job, and just remember: all the veteran/home mechanics here started out with zero knowledge just like you. In the end, a car is held together with nuts and bolts

Keep doing what you do and believe in yourself

 

[iammooks]

Well, it wasn't pretty and it's not the right way, but it's bolted back together again now.

In the end I had to saw off the end of the bracket that holds the power steering line to the bush bracket. If I hadn't put the steering rack bolts in and torqued them, I might have been able to get it back together, but there was no way I was going to be able to that with no movement in the hard lines to persuade it in, given the threads point outwards and the bracket wasn't wide enough to get it over the threaded section.

I'm probably making no sense - but if you've done it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Nuts are on tight and there's no movement in the lines, and that's how it's supposed to be, so I'm fine with that.

Yeah, tell me something I don't know.


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