archway

Be careful about ordering batteries off the web etc. I replaced mine about 18 months ago (March 03 car) and found that a lot of web sites automatically selected a battery too wide for the R32. Suggest measuring yours and checking specs of anything you find before buying.

£959 - ROTFL Take it to kwikfit or similar and have them weld it in place; I had mine done - 10 minutes and £10 later all done. I paid the manager in cash - I have a suspicion it didnt go through the books!!

Hmm... I didnt look at it too carefully - looks like aluminium or metal sheet over a layer of yellowish insulation material wrapped around the silencers/cats (I am not very technical...) towards the front of the underside. If in doubt just get it welded directly - £10 cash in hand is not onerous (I am not sure my payment went through Kwick Fits books!!). I say this as I had it up on the hoist a few months for a rattle that I was 99% sure was from the heat shield. When it was up on the hoist it seemed perfectly secure and I didnt do anything. Only when it got worse was it possible to prove that was where the rattle was coming from and now its all gone away.

Agree with above - have a good look at the heat shield - got mine welded back on last week - £10 from Quick Fit - and the nasty rattle has gone.

Well, I didnt get round to replacing the battery in an elective way and ended up having to do it urgently this week. After just a week of non use in the recent warm weather it wouldnt start the car and after charging overnight still held only enough to start the car cold once (I got to work but had to jump it to get home). I noticed that some people have ordered and been supplied with the wrong battery and thought I would post some notes to try and stop this for others. The first point is that the vast majority of sites that try to identify the correct battery by car model get it wrong. Several of them identify an "R32 diesel" and offer a battery 278 mm long - this is too big. For the Mk IV R32 the correct size is:- Width 175 Height 190 Length 243 (note that this figure may vary a little on different sites but width and height do not) Amperage is 60Ah or better Varta is the VW source and the best match model is D15 (short code) or 563 400 061 (long code) I think - I tried to find one locally to buy but couldnt find one in stock and as I needed it instantly I had to pay £30 over the odds at the local VW dealer. The codes on the VW replacement battery do not match any Varta product codes Note that the Varta website gives out-of-date information concerning UK suppliers - most of those listed for North London were non-existent or no longer stocked Varta.

Thats freezing rain - had never seen until I spent 3 years in Canada; I wondered why everyone was parking underground.... The conditions have to be just right, then rain at 0 degrees descends through cold air becoming an icy gel - landing on the freezing surface it solidifies and forms a rind. My car at the time was covered with a sheet about 1cm thick, as was the ground around it.

Exhaust emission light comes on - off to the dealers and they charge me £50.23 for the diagnostic. Its the coolant temp sensor, to be fixed in due course. They packed (?) the exhaust heat shield which was rattling FOC, washed it (not requested) and carried out an express visual check. Quite reasonable methinks UNTIL I read the visual check report. Tyre pressure all round is apparently 30 (it isnt - I do them myself; the rears are less than the front and one of the rears has a slow leak). Tread depths are 5 front and 6 rear - they arent - these have done 22,000 miles. Some doubts about the reliability of the report creep in. Then I see they measured 8mm tread depth on the spare....

Noticed last winter that my March 03 battery was a bit sluggish and decided to replace it advance of problems this year. Looking for a replacement - does anyone know the size of the thing (to save me taking it out just to measure it!!).

rotflmao Advert - "wheels still have plenty of thread" - the same stuff the car is made of, doubtless.... There is also protection against the wheels being "niked" - turned into shoes tho running is probably faster than this pile of .....

Technically I would have to look in the manual although certainly a higher compression ratio in the 3.2. To drive they are chalk and cheese (almost) - I have had both. Lots more low grunt with the 3.2 and much more fun than 0.4 litres would lead you to suppose. BTW, a parsec is a distance, not a time......

Thanks - I will make sure its booked in for the Haldex oil as well then.

Just a quickie - due 20,000 mile / 4 year service now; information on the Haldex oil change seems varied. Vortex says it was 40,000 miles but is now 20,000. Does anyone know the current recommendation?

I generally go for the highest excess I can get; I have not had an accident that was my fault (or other claim) in 20 years. Up to about £500 increasing the volunatry excess decreases the premium by a lot. Over many years, this adds up. Furthermore, for minor damage of just a few hundred poinds you wouldnt really want to make an insurance claim anyway, would you? If you do, the insurance companies will get their money back by loading your next premium(s) even if you dont lost NCB. My current insurer is Adrian Flux - my renewal premium actually fell this year!!

I have one of these:- http://www.stopngo.co.uk/ which saved me £ for a slow puncture (pressure would drop to about 1.6 whatevers over 2 weeks and then stay there) caused by microsopic nail located about 1cm from the wall. Repaired tyre has now done several thousand miles at up to 150 ahems/hour without problems. Also preferable to the gunge in the kit for emergencies though u do have to take the wheel off.

I have had VW headlamp protectors on mine now for 2.5 years and 18,000 miles - they are fine with no heat distortion or damage at all. Ignore the "heat will damage them" rumour and stick a pair on.....