Conference terri::cars_uk

My girlfriends' Scirocco rattles. And squeaks. The parcel shelf,
middle air vent, centre console, door panels, glove box, rear view
mirror, seat back adjusters, seat belt pulleys and something on the
right side all rattle. Not together fortunately, generally about
two things at a time. A soon as I cure one, by tightening it or
lubricating it, another appears and later the old one comes back.
Even my car keys rattle at certain revs.

I can try and cure the individual rattles, but is there any reason
why the car should be so rattly in the first place?

The steering seems very heavy. I'm used to driving an MR2 and
latterly a Datsun Cherry which have pretty light steering, but I'd
still say that this Scirocco's steering is heavier than the one I
used to own. The tracking has been 'laser aligned' and the tyre
pressures are ok. Any ideas? Or can Scirocco drivers confirm that
it is heavy?

The clutch makes a funny noise. When the car's cold, there's a
slight graunching type noise and feel coming through the clutch
pedal when it is both depressed and released (mainly released). This
occurs mostly in first and second gear and largely goes away when the
car's been running a while. Of late, there's been another funny
noise and feel from time to time: it sounds and feels like a cable
running through an outer sheath (which of course it is). Both passenger
and driver say the sound is coming from the right of the car although
the clutch is on the left. I know there's a design fault with Sciroccos
where the clutch cable pulls itself through the bulkhead when it rusts
through, but I'd say this car is too new for that (1987), although I
haven't yet checked. BTW there's no clutch slip or judder. Any ideas
anyone?

Steve.

    
    Any ideas?
    
    Sell it springs to mind! :^)
    
    Mark

The best solution to squeeky daskboards seems to be silicone oil or grease - 
this lubricates the plastic so avaioding the noise.  Tightening the screws
never seems to make much difference in my golf.  You could try lubricating
the clutch pedal and possible changing the cable.  The Scirocco is more or
less the same as the Golf.  The steering is heavy at low speeds - in fact, all
the controls are heavy compared with a Japanese car.

Mike.

Change your earings!

>> Change your earings!

I tried oiling them to no avail. Maybe I should try this silicone
oil or grease stuff 8^)

Re 259.2 by me

I found out what the problem with the clutch pedal was. Some previous
mechanic had obviously removed the wire-braided fuel line to the cold
start valve and had routed it incorrectly when re-connecting it. It was
resting firmly against the clutch cable. As the clutch pedal was pressed,
the cable tightened and dragged across the fuel line.

It's a good job I caught it when I did, as the wire braiding was completely
shredded in that area and the plastic pipe underneath had a flat spot
from the rubbing. A few more weeks like that and I'd have been standing
by the road wishing I'd brought some chestnuts to roast on the burning
car and trying to hitch a lift home.

I bought a new fuel line and refitted it such that it doesn't touch the
clutch cable and as the clutch cable tightens it moves away from the
fuel line.

The car still rattles, though, mainly at low revs. Is there any
reason that it should be so bad, maybe engine related, bearings,
mountings, flywheel???

Steve

You could check the mounts.  grab the valve cover and see if you can rock the
engine back and forth.  It should move a little (unless someone installed
VW Motorsport mounts).  Do you have difficulty engaging 1st gear if you coast
to a stop in neutral?  This indicates a broken rear mount.

Dave

Thanks for the tips, I'll try them this weekend.

Steve

    
    I guess a side window is usually 70 pounds,so multiplied by 4 would
    come to 280 pounds.
    
    At a guess
    
    Andy.

RE: -.1

Low.

A bar of top notch Swiss chocolate to the person who makes the closest guess,
by the end of Friday (name your preferred brand)!

-Steve

    
    Well let's say 80 quid raw materials, 35 quid labour =115.  Multiplied
    by 4 = 460 quid.
    
    I hope you were insured Steve !!
    
    Nev.

    
    Steve,
    
    The first reply was I reckon about right for parts, as the second one
    pointed out it didn't allow for labour, but you said multiply by 4 - 5
    and the second only multiplied by 4 so I'll go with the estimate of
    reasonable cost but head towards 5 times .....
    
                     550 quid
    
    Richard

Insurance company have just confirmed that they have paid the bill...
I'm happy, and can now afford a BIG bar of chocolate! Keep those answers 
coming.

-Steve

    F11.1 @SBP :-)

    Damn, missed it by a whisker.
    
    PG.

    I nearly called in the bomb squad this morning, until I remembered :-)
    
    When you get a half-kilo package that smells vaguely of semtex
    delivered to you, you begin to wonder.
    
    Anyway, we have performed a controlled explosion here (1 chunk apiece).
    
    Very nice, thanks :-).
    
    Rob

Re: .23


How would you know what semtex smells like ????

    Obviously he had a misspent youth!!

    If semtex smells like swiss chocolate, neither wonder 
    sniffer dogs want to find the stuff!!!
    
    
    Ian.

    Originally, Semtex didn't have a smell. Terrorists loved it as they
    could easily smuggle it past the sniffer dogs. The producers of Semtex
    agreed to add a smell to the stuff.
    
    The question is, why did they choose the smell of marzipan? Is the
    easiest aroma for sniffer dogs (electronic or canine) to smell? Or do
    sniffer dogs like marzipan?
    
    Angus 

    Yes, misspent youth, I am afraid.
    
    I heard that in trials, 9 out of 10 owners said their sniffer dogs
    preferred the scent...
    
    PS *never* try to eat Semtex, it doesn't do you a lot of good.
    

RE: .23

Hi Rob,
	Well, I did say that I'd send a decent sized block over! Glad it
arrived.

Cheers

-Steve

Any Squareback owners out there?  We just bought a '71 Type III (1600cc, f/i) 
from the original owner.  It has 157k miles and except for the lack of heater 
boxes is in great shape.

I just called the insurance company to put it on our policy and they asked if 
it was a 411.  Is it???

What are the other VW's besides Bug and Van?  Obviously the Sqaureback, but 
what about the hatchback version and the 4 door (2 door?) sedan?  What are 
their model numbers/names?

Thanks
Dave

    Try the Air-Cooled Motoring conference (I can't find the exact name cos
    the notes location index on VTX seems to be down at the moment).
    
    Richard
    

Thanks!

Dave