MOT failure - advice please

[Joe87]

Thanks for the advice again - all duly noted and reflected in my purchase of new toys today (see below).

Picked up all the parts I needed from GSF except for the fuel pipe, which I was surprised to find that they will actually provide in the form of a length of copper tubing and a pair of unions for under a tenner. All I need after that is a flaring kit (around a tenner again off the bay) and I'll have myself a nice shiny new little fuel line. Wa wa wee waaa.



ianaudia4 - I would do, but I don't think there's anyone near by unfortunatley. Winchester anyone?? I think this thread is enough in itself to show how helpful people on here are...

[ianaudia4]

Thanks for the advice again - all duly noted and reflected in my purchase of new toys today (see below).

Picked up all the parts I needed from GSF except for the fuel pipe, which I was surprised to find that they will actually provide in the form of a length of copper tubing and a pair of unions for under a tenner. All I need after that is a flaring kit (around a tenner again off the bay) and I'll have myself a nice shiny new little fuel line. Wa wa wee waaa.



ianaudia4 - I would do, but I don't think there's anyone near by unfortunatley. Winchester anyone?? I think this thread is enough in itself to show how helpful people on here are...

Lenny125 (Glenn) is in your neck of the woods, he's your side of Guildford and a trained mechanic.

[lenny125]

I would come and give you a hand as I am not that far away from you.

I am busy this weekend, but if you really do get stuck I am sure I could spare about an hour.
I will message you my phone number.

[ianaudia4]

There you go mate, result. I can personally vouch for Glenn, good guy and know's his stuff.

[Joe87]

I would come and give you a hand as I am not that far away from you.

I am busy this weekend, but if you really do get stuck I am sure I could spare about an hour.
I will message you my phone number.

Thanks mate, you're a gent. My dad is about too, he's pretty good at taking cars apart and putting them back together too, but I'll definitely give you a call if i get stuck. Thanks a lot

There you go mate, result. I can personally vouch for Glenn, good guy and know's his stuff.

Good shout, cheers!

[fonzooorooo]

You don't need to flare fuel lines. Only brake lines. Fuel lines have rubber hoses secured with jubilee clips on each end.

[bluestreak56]

I would come and give you a hand as I am not that far away from you.

I am busy this weekend, but if you really do get stuck I am sure I could spare about an hour.
I will message you my phone number.

Thanks mate, you're a gent. My dad is about too, he's pretty good at taking cars apart and putting them back together too, but I'll definitely give you a call if i get stuck. Thanks a lot

There you go mate, result. I can personally vouch for Glenn, good guy and know's his stuff.

Good shout, cheers!

Glenn has worked on my Scirocco ever since I first got it and it failed its first MOT (3 years ago), some of the same items as you Joe (fuel lines and the such). Since then he has become far more than a mere mechanic to me, working on all the cars in our house as well as helping me look at new potential cars, coming to shows and being a fantastic friend. I cant recommend him more as a person and a mechanic!

[Joe87]

Update:
There's no such thing as a a quick or simple job on a Scirocco. Every bolt, nut, union joint or jubilee clip that can be immovably seized is, and so far the only thing I've achieved is to remove the fuel pump assembly in order to get better access to the rear brake line...Good thing my fuel tank was pretty much empty - being a cheapskate pays off sometimes.

You don't need to flare fuel lines. Only brake lines. Fuel lines have rubber hoses secured with jubilee clips on each end.

The one I have to change is a rigid pipe connecting with a union joint to a braided hose, which then connects to the accumulator. The other one is, as you say, connected to a bit of rubber hose with jubilee clips.

Incidentally - at the other end of the rigid fuel lines (the engine end), are they fairly easy to access/remove? I've not even looked yet...

Glenn has worked on my Scirocco ever since I first got it and it failed its first MOT... ...I cant recommend him more as a person and a mechanic!

Thanks for the recommendation - at the moment the main problem is just seized union joints etc., but I'm definitely keeping Glen in mind if I get into any more difficulty.

[Joe87]

Calling it a day. That union between the flexible brake hose and the rigid pipe running to the front of the car is well and truly stuck.

I'm open to suggestions...

[mark1gls]

Spray with WD40 (or other penatrating oil), leave over night, spray a bit more in the morning, have a cup of tea and bacon sandwitch, spray a bit more then clean the WD40 off the faces and give it another go.
You can try tighting the joint a LITTLE BIT then undo a bit, tighten up, then undo, and so on....

[Joe87]

Spray with WD40 (or other penatrating oil), leave over night, spray a bit more in the morning, have a cup of tea and bacon sandwitch, spray a bit more then clean the WD40 off the faces and give it another go.
You can try tighting the joint a LITTLE BIT then undo a bit, tighten up, then undo, and so on....

I've used so much WD40...doesn't seem to have helped though. I managed to get one union undone on one of the rear brakelines using freeze spray, but the other end of it is still seized.

The main problem is grip. I'm unable to get decent purchase on the union nuts, partly because they're completely inaccessible - the mounting braket where the union sits is at the top of the trailing arm, and it's almost impossible to get any kind of spanner in there on either side. I've tried a C-spanner, adjustable spanner, socket, mole grips, mole grips on mole grips, but nothing grips it tight enough. I've even had to resort to imperial sizes as the union nut actually seems to be a little bit smaller than an 11mm spanner - I can't understand for the life of me why you would do that given that Germany adopted the metric system in 1870, but it seems like VW did.

On the plus side, the first front hose was really easy to do. Seized as hell, but easily accessible. Took about 30 minutes.

[mark1gls]

I used the "crows feet" on an extention bar as there is just enough room to move but it is tight.

Like these, but I go mine from e-bay.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... row%20foot

[Joe87]

UPDATE:

After an arduous couple of months, everything is just about done.
-New brake pipes made up and new hoses fitted, just need to bleed them now.
-Shock top mount done - the old one was completely knackered, surprised it didn't feel like I was driving over cobblestones all the time.
-CV boot done - this and the top mount actually turned out to be the easiest bits to do.
-I've just made up the replacement fuel lines and hopefully will be able to fit them tomorrow. I'm splicing them in with compression joints.
-Also have a nice new accumulator-to-supply line braided hose which I had to bite the bullet and buy from the Quiff that is Crazy for nearly £40. I guess these things are discontinued so they go for crazy money.

MOT booked for Tuesday, can't wait to get the rocco back on the road. I haven't driven it since before Christmas and the gold 1.9 diesel Clio I've been using as a substitute just doesn't do it somehow.

[Joe87]

For anyone interested, this is now solved. Car is MOT'ed and back on the road for another year.

Thanks to anyone who helped. One of these coming your way if we ever meet in person:

[Nate]