>>Hi all, hope you can help me ! – calling from Northern England, UK.
>>I have a 1985 MkII Golf C, 4 speed manual,    <snip>
>>The problems:
>>1 – 3 days ago I had the steering tracking set to spec as it was out,
>>but since this was done I have an occasional problem of the steering
>>being unbearably heavy when on, or near, full lock and when going slow
>>- as in parking. I have Goodyear GT tyres on the standard 13 " rims
>>all round – all steering, suspension, wheel bearings etc are in order
>>- any ideas ??

 Yes,  the steering rack boot probably stuck to the tie-rod,    then
when the mechanic turned the tie-rod to set the toe,  the boot got
all twisted up and was sucked into the teeth of the rack.  Happened
to me on my non-P/S 85 GTi.   Check to see if it’s all chewed up.  If
it’s perfect and straight, then i have no idea what the problem is.

 :-)

>>2 –  noticeable hesitation when the throttle is applied –

Dunno anything about,   uh… carbs was it ??   And it’s a 1300 in a
Golf?   We don’t get those here in the USA.  

>>3 – A slight juddering also occurs when pulling away, with a slight
>>noise when either depressing or taking your foot off the clutch pedal.
>>The pedal has to be released fully before the clutch bites – the
>>slightest of touches and it will slip when travelling along. Is this a
>>worn out clutch ?? or a poorly adjusted one – if it needs adjustment
>>how do I adjust it so that the clutch bites before full pedal travel ?

 It could be worn real thin,  but it shoud release near the top of the
pedal travel…. although you should have about a half inch of
free play in the pedal before it slips at all.  

>>A few other questions, rather than problems !!
>>A – can I convert the present 4 speed manual box in the Golf to a 5
>>speed box and what would I have to change. The car could definitely do
>>with a fith gear.

 Wow, i never know the MkII was available with a 4 speed !    I’d say
the 5 speed should bolt right in.  A close ratio GTi box would be
nice,  especially with that little teenie engine.

>>B – I am presently looking at a few Mk II Sciroccos, with a view to
>>buying. What do I look for with these – either GTL or GTX’s. The one I
>>am looking at tomorrow ie. Monday, is a Dec 1984 GTX with 88000 on the
>>clock, 2 owner, going for £995 – is that cheap ??

 How many Dollars/Francs/Yen/Rubles is that?  

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

>>Hope I havent bored you all with my rambling. Hopefully looking
>>forward to any ideas and replies, either though this group or e mail,
>>or both. >>Cheers >>Keith Turner >>ke…@thebutts.demon.co.uk

ke…@thebutts.demon.co.uk (Keith L Turner) wrote:

>1 – 3 days ago I had the steering tracking set to spec as it was out,
>but since this was done I have an occasional problem of the steering
>being unbearably heavy when on, or near, full lock and when going slow
>- as in parking. I have Goodyear GT tyres on the standard 13 " rims
>all round – all steering, suspension, wheel bearings etc are in order
>- any ideas ??

Did the garage check and/or adjust the CAMBER? This must be checked before the
toe is set. This has always been a problem for me too. This is likely to be
responsible for the sudden change in weight.

>3 – A slight juddering also occurs when pulling away, with a slight
>noise when either depressing or taking your foot off the clutch pedal.
>The pedal has to be released fully before the clutch bites – the
>slightest of touches and it will slip when travelling along. Is this a
>worn out clutch ?? or a poorly adjusted one – if it needs adjustment
>how do I adjust it so that the clutch bites before full pedal travel ?

Clutch may be on its way out. Mine just slipped eventually without judder.

>A – can I convert the present 4 speed manual box in the Golf to a 5
>speed box and what would I have to change. The car could definitely do
>with a fith gear.

With the current weather here, there should be a few more Golfs in the
scrapyards! 5th is much quieter on the motorway. Beware: there are three
different ratio boxes available. The earlier ones are the quietest for cruising
and the later ones are lower ratios for better overtaking.

>2 – A very odd problem which I have never experienced on other cars.
>When the engine is warm (and sometimes cold) there is a noticeable
>hesitation when the throttle is applied – it is worse if you lightly
>press the throttle. This problem only manifests itself when you are
>travelling along the road – does’nt matter what speed.

This is the symptom of an either failing or poorly adjusted accelerator pump.
The accelerator pump is a little pump on the carburettor that provides
a shot of petrol when you press the throttle. On the Golf II it should inject
1cc of petrol and should only do so between zero and half-throttle (i.e. above
half it shouldn’t do anything.) If there’s free play in the lever that presses
the pump, the car will hesitate between the time the throttle opens and the
pump starts to inject petrol. Also, if the membrane in the pump has failed,
it will do what you describe.

From your saying the it’s worse if you lightly press the throttle I would
assume that the thing is just poorly adjusted. It’s definitely not the
automatic choke. The pain in the backside with the Golf is that you have
to remove the air filter holder to get to the carburettor.

>The pedal has to be released fully before the clutch bites – the
>slightest of touches and it will slip when travelling along. Is this a
>worn out clutch ?? or a poorly adjusted one – if it needs adjustment
>how do I adjust it so that the clutch bites before full pedal travel ?

Could be either worn-out or just poorly adjusted. Try adjusting it at
the engine side. There should be a way it shouldn’t be hard to figure out.

>A – can I convert the present 4 speed manual box in the Golf to a 5
>speed box and what would I have to change. The car could definitely do
>with a fith gear.

I agree but it depends on the engine capacity too. On the 1.3 i think
the car is underpowered for five gears although later models had a
five-speeder. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a used five-speeder in
good condition. Try the Loot.

–
Vartan

> >The pedal has to be released fully before the clutch bites – the
> >slightest of touches and it will slip when travelling along. Is this a
> >worn out clutch ?? or a poorly adjusted one – if it needs adjustment
> >how do I adjust it so that the clutch bites before full pedal travel ?

> Could be either worn-out or just poorly adjusted. Try adjusting it at
> the engine side. There should be a way it shouldn’t be hard to figure out.

If it’s the same as the US spec (mkII=A2?), there are two types of clutch
cables: adjustable and non-adjustable. Since yours is older as opposed to
newer, I’d guess that you have the adjustable.

In the engine compartment, there should be a plastic nut (sort of ivory
color) on the clutch cable (near the tranny) that you can turn to adjust
the clutch play. Turn it! I don’t remember the spec, I can look it up in
the Bently if you need it (email me). Replacing the clutch cable is easy
too (and cheap)- but I don’t think that needs to be done here. Otherwise,
I’d say you have a worn out clutch

Hope it helps,

Seth Crothers
88 jetta gl

I have a 1985 MkII Golf C, 4 speed manual, which I bought for £900
(~$1400?) a few weeks ago. I must admit the car is brilliant for its
age, with no rust (it seems to have been wax treated a long time ago)
and only has 89000 miles on the clock.  However, a few problems have
come to light as of recent which I thought the combined efforts of
this group may be able to help with – I have checked that the car has
never been in a heavy smash or written off before buying it.

The problems:

1 – 3 days ago I had the steering tracking set to spec as it was out,
but since this was done I have an occasional problem of the steering
being unbearably heavy when on, or near, full lock and when going slow
– as in parking. I have Goodyear GT tyres on the standard 13 " rims
all round – all steering, suspension, wheel bearings etc are in order
– any ideas ??

2 – A very odd problem which I have never experienced on other cars.
When the engine is warm (and sometimes cold) there is a noticeable
hesitation when the throttle is applied – it is worse if you lightly
press the throttle. This problem only manifests itself when you are
travelling along the road – does’nt matter what speed. The car has an
automatic choke fitted – I have checked this with the air cleaner off
at different stages of engine warm up and it seems ok. The car has
recently been fully serviced, and all hoses and vacuum pipes appear to
be ok.

3 – A slight juddering also occurs when pulling away, with a slight
noise when either depressing or taking your foot off the clutch pedal.
The pedal has to be released fully before the clutch bites – the
slightest of touches and it will slip when travelling along. Is this a
worn out clutch ?? or a poorly adjusted one – if it needs adjustment
how do I adjust it so that the clutch bites before full pedal travel ?

A few other questions, rather than problems !!

A – can I convert the present 4 speed manual box in the Golf to a 5
speed box and what would I have to change. The car could definitely do
with a fith gear.

B – I am presently looking at a few Mk II Sciroccos, with a view to
buying. What do I look for with these – either GTL or GTX’s. The one I
am looking at tomorrow ie. Monday, is a Dec 1984 GTX with 88000 on the
clock, 2 owner, going for £995 – is that cheap ??

Hope I havent bored you all with my rambling. Hopefully looking
forward to any ideas and replies, either though this group or e mail,
or both.

Cheers

Keith Turner

ke…@thebutts.demon.co.uk

<snip>

>The problems:
>1 – 3 days ago I had the steering tracking set to spec as it was out,
>but since this was done I have an occasional problem of the steering
>being unbearably heavy when on, or near, full lock and when going slow
>- as in parking. I have Goodyear GT tyres on the standard 13 " rims
>all round – all steering, suspension, wheel bearings etc are in order
>- any ideas ??

Does it have power steering?
If so, maybe a loose PS pump belt?

>2 – A very odd problem which I have never experienced on other cars.
>When the engine is warm (and sometimes cold) there is a noticeable
>hesitation when the throttle is applied – it is worse if you lightly
>press the throttle. This problem only manifests itself when you are
>travelling along the road – does’nt matter what speed. The car has an
>automatic choke fitted – I have checked this with the air cleaner off
>at different stages of engine warm up and it seems ok. The car has
>recently been fully serviced, and all hoses and vacuum pipes appear to
>be ok.

Another stab in the dark here:  Fuel Transfer Pump?
The thing that may rule out fuel delivery is that you say the problem occurrs
under light throttle.  When my pump failed the symptom was hesitation, and
even bucking under hard throttle.
Is your car carburated or injected?

Mark.