Issues with Mk4 Golf TDI

[cluffstarr]

Hello all,

I am considering buying a frineds (90bhp i believe) Mk4 Golf TDI with 103k on the clock. I was wondering whether someone could help me out with problem areas on this car (1999 T plate) and what I should look out for when I go to give a good look at it.

Cheers.

[Eshrules]

i've posted this somewhere before on here, but cant find it, so here goes:

how do, hope this is of some help to you...:

common things to look for .

Service History - as important as the V5, no service history....walk away. any golf approaching 60k/4 years of age should have its timing belt & tensioner done. for earlier PD engines, 40k. irrespective of the mileage, if the car is 4 or more years old, the timing belt & tensioner must be done. a lot of people choose to have the water pump done at the samer time. the origional water pump is flawed in that it only has plastic fins, which can become broken or ineffcient over time, causing the pump to be either ineffective or sometimes seize completley.

Suspension & bushes - the entire mk4 range is renowned for worn bushes and suspension arms, checks to be made : front anti roll bar links/bushes/track rod ends, front and rear suspension bushes, front wishbones/bushs. also have a look underneath, check shock absorbers for any visible leakage, youll soon know if they're knackerd on a test drive.

Turbo - take the car for a spin, from cold. first check to make is to see any signs of smoke when you boot it, small short bursts are to be expected, its a diesel, but any lingering blue or white smoke is a bad sign. take it on a good stretch of m.way and open her up, you should be able to easily take it to 3300/3400 without any problems in 3rd, 4th & 5th (6th your likely to be exceeding the speed limit). bring her back down and if the car feels as if its just lost all power at those rev ranges, theres something wrong with the turbo. if any hesitancy was felt on the way up the rev count, or you struggle to get past 3k revs, will more than likely have a MAF issue.

Engine - check the oil filler cap for any white foam/residue, indicative of cylinder head/head gasket failure, although not a common occurance on these cars, its well worth checking.

Boot/Luggage compartment - ensure all interior lights work as they ought to, especially the boot light, if it doesnt work, or the boot open sensor doesnt display on the dash when engine is running, there is the possible issue with the rear wash wipe leaking, a common occurence on mk4s but not a quick fix.

other than that... research your previous owner, make sure that service history is up to scratch and that the supplying dealer performs a proper oil change before it comes to you, using the correct grade of oil, not some crappy all grade tescos value....

give it time, research your cars and read all the small print.... you wont go wrong

[Steve MK4 TDI]

Hello all

I actually bought a MK4 1.9TDI, which has been great so fare, I found a good one and paid for it, top book... but would definitely recommend. However 12 months later, the boot light isn't working i've tried the obveous, change bulb, which obveously wasn't broke and checked fuses. I spotted this thread saying that boot sensor may be broke as a result of rear washer leaking. How do I investigate this further? there is no obveous sign of water around the washer inside or out, but I have to admit i haven't removed intearer panel of boot door. I will do this tomorrow, and update, but i don't know what the open boot sensor looks like or where it is (i assume it is around the rear wiper blade?
All comments welcome cheers