GTI gets pwnd by SmokinDav - MKV inside

Is the Rotella T6 oil VW .501 or .505 rated? If so, I might start using that in my MkVI .... which, btw, reverted to a spin on oil filter (that costs about $17 each, but hey ...it's German!)

I don't know any of the specs on Rotella - a friend of mine has been running it for 10-years in his B5 S4 Audi. It's inexpensive, synthetic and I doubt it will cause any problems with the 2.0L FSI engine.

Rode around in the GTI car today with the whole family. Wife driving and 10-year old daughter riding shotgun. I was chillin' in the back seat with my 13-year old son and it is amazing how much room the back seats in this car have. Full size adults really can sit back there - I'm 6'1" and 178lbs (trying to get to 175lbs), and was so comfortable I could have ridden back there all the way across Germany at 120mph.

Did a little more cleaning on the headlights - I got all of that glue residue off the driver's side. Still working on the passenger side. I am going to have to pull the headlights or the bumper to clean the rest of the goop off at some point.

Otherwise, today I worked out with my wife, played 9 holes of golf and then worked on the home improvements. I am finishing up hanging doors for the study (used to be dining room).

Chiseling for the upper door latches - I'm using the spring loaded ball and detent type.

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First one installed - a little wood putty and some paint and it will look perfect.

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Boring hole for spring loaded ball:

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I think I'm going to have to order the Bilstein PSS10 coil over kit in January. The ride is atrocious with the dog eater WRD coil over kit. No rebound or compression control from the cheapo shocks - front end just skips across the pavement during corner. Very sketchy./>

One Beer Minimum

If you have time for a beer, you have time for a small automotive project.

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Case in point - earlier in this thread I posted a picture of a sin done by the previous owner. A material transfer from a foreign object onto the paint on my pax rear fender. The clear coat and base coat were fine - but whatever the car scraped against was stuck on to the paint pretty good.

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I had tried chemical removal but didn't have any success. It was time to go motorized. Random orbital waxer (I don't have a paint polisher but I really want one) and some polishing compound and a beer. I actually got this job done before I even finished my beer.

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Making progress!

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All gone!

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Don't forget the Brazilian! This is all the wax I have - normally you would just use a pure wax without any cleaners.

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It looks like at some point a previous sinner/fan boi had a roof rack mounted on the car because there are two spots where the clear coat is damaged and black plastic has rubbed against the paint.

I was able to polish out some of the damage but a correct fix is going to involve clear coat repair.

Polishing before and after:

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After:

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Excited about what just up today! Time to go play!

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Mmmmmm VAG com! Good times. Time to learn hexadecimal.

Huge progress being made here sir. Attempting to keep pace with you sorting out my new caddy.

I've heard conflicting info on whether or Not this thing will over heat at Texas World Speedway in August. What say you?

Saw MKV and expected Lincoln. Though I am not walking away disappointed.

smokindav wrote: I've heard conflicting info on whether or Not this thing will over heat at Texas World Speedway in August. What say you?

From what I've seen on the mkVI forums so far, it's usually people with front mount intercoolers that compromise airflow to the radiator that have cooling issues.

Played around with VAG-COM yesterday afternoon. I cleared the P0171 and P2181 codes and they haven't come back after about 30 miles of driving - including to the movie theater to see Rogue One. Drove around a little bit playing with the graph and log functions. Fun stuff. Reminds me of my first shoreside job at Ford doing electronic throttle control and governing calibrations on the industrial 2.5L 4-cylinder and 4.2L V6. There really are few things funner than being up in a basket fully extended to 120' in a JLG or Genie manlift and doing calibration and logging work on a laptop.

I've got wife's sister and her husband here from Detroit this week (he's about to retire from GM) - we were going to go golfing this morning but it just stopped raining. If it's too wet to golf I'm going to get the Golf GTI inspected so I can get the title transferred and car registered.

Also, some touch up paint arrived yesterday so I may get a chance to touch up a few small spots, wet sand, polish. Still researching whether or not I should bother with clear coat over small touch up spots.

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Also, earlier I told you there would be eating and drinking sprinkled throughout this thread. Yesterday, picked up 3 lbs. of USA Gulf Shrimp for the grill. One secret to moist meats and fishes is to baste, obviously, or to occasionally spray with a little water.

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Finally, at the local HEB (Texas grocery store) I sampled a Napa Valley 2014 Quilt Cabernet Sauvignon - it was outstanding and even though I typically don't spend over $25/bottle of wine, this one was worth it at $40. It will age for a couple years and perhaps I will drink it in celebration of passing the GTI down to my son. :)

http://www.drinkhacker.com/2016/12/08/review-2014-quilt-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley/

I learned a few things during my 4 years living in South LA (south Louisiana)......in Houston now, don't think I'll learn as much here about good cuisine. :(

Also, and additionally, if you want some good Creole seasonings that aren't too spicy try my go to choice - Geaux Creole. It's great on shrimp, eggs, everything, really.

[URL="http://www.geauxcreole.com/"]http://www.geauxcreole.com/[/URL]

I have a northern car that has some aluminum oxidation from the salt. Any recommendations for restoring that?

Which parts? Wheels? Body panels? Different methods for different parts.

Enyar wrote:

I have a northern car that has some aluminum oxidation from the salt. Any recommendations for restoring that?

Engine block, suspension parts, brakes, etc. Wheels have some but not too bad.

For me, momentum is yuuuuge (extra bigly). If I can keep rolling on something and do a little every day, see a result every day - then I can keep going on something for a long period of time before ultimately getting bored and moving on to the next thing.

This is not true for everything in my life, however. Take the guitar for example - taught myself how to play. Worked hard on it almost daily for a couple years. But, I've been on a break from it for about 6 months. I will go back to it - but I just need some time off to recharge - I love playing guitar and will never stop, but burn out can and does happen. I mean, I'm still noodling around, but not doing serious work.

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Today's minor victory was to start bleeding the brakes. I only had time to start on the passenger rear as I didn't want to get that look from my wife - we have her family from out of town so I had to work quickly. I don't think I ran enough brake fluid through that right rear caliper to exchange everything in the reservoir, but it's a good start. I will work by way around the other 3 calipers over the next day or two. The brake system will get another full bleed anyway during track prep for Motorsports Ranch Houston in January/February.

First car I've ever had which required use of a funnel to get brake fluid into the reservoir - German sinners!

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Ew, that wheel well is dirty. I need to clean that soon.

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Stolen from Nicholson on Jalopy Journal:

I use DuPont 225S Aluminum cleaner, 3M red scotchbrite pads and/or a stainless steel wire brush. It's an acidic cleaner that will eat away the corrosion and leave the aluminum bright and clean. It will take some work scrubbing the corrosion out of the deep pits. Also use rubber gloves and safety glasses. The stuff will burn your skin.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/how-do-i-remove-heavy-aluminum-corrosion.531143/

Then clear coat for extra protection.

Enyar wrote: Engine block, suspension parts, brakes, etc. Wheels have some but not too bad.

As successfully married men know, we must at times do our duty around the house to keep the missus happy.

This shelf was, my wife believes, knocked off the wall by the cleaning lady (she's since been let go). It falls to me to affect a simple repair.

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Repaired and completed. Done.

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Check engine light came back on - code P0171 which means possible air leaks in intake systems or MAF. Going out to do a little poking around and see if I can figure anything out.

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Ok, with car idling - I pull out the dipstick and it starts running rough. This should mean that the PCV is ok.

I suspect the intercooler hoses since the previous owner looks to have cobbled things a bit when he upgraded to the Golf R intercooler - I need to jack the car up and take those hoses off and check the O-rings. The other thing it could be is the MAF.

Found a cracked vacuum line. Fixing this should clear the P0171 code.

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Found another split hose. Brake booster hose assembly.

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Changed mine out on just about every vw/audi product I've owned with any other type of tubing. Those are junk from the get go they don't hold up for squat.. That seems to fix a good portion of check engine light issues I've had.

Have a 09 Jetta that is running a used set of H/R cup suspension and have to say it's not to bad. Weird is I've never heard of over heating issues from track day's with the 1.8t or the 2.0t never had any from my cars running those motors anyway.

Day 8 - Bleeding

Bored with Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel, surfing the net and DRINKING - I retreated to the porte cachere (car port for the Frenchly challenged hillbillies).

GTI back up on the stands. Going to finish bleeding the brakes and do another round of cleaning in the wheel wells. It's in the mid-70'sF and I am sweating.

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A few people have asked me if by installing the rear adjustable spring perch "upside down" would the spring and/or perch fall out. As you can see in the picture below, with the rear suspension at full droop there is no danger of the rear spring/perch falling out. This is the way it should have been installed in the first place. January will be 'spensive, Lucy, because of the Bilstein PPS10's and OZ wheels and RE71's.

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While I was sitting in the driver's chair pumping....the brake pedal, I noticed some nasty. The whole area between the fender and inner fender liner packed with dirt, leaves and crud.

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Fished a bunch of debris out.

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Sprayed some more Purple Power degreaser in the wheel wells to help clean things up. Getting there.

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Also, here is the best Christmas present I got today (not including my green and white Shamrock belt). The Mr. Coffee Café Barista. With some good Illy espresso this thing makes killer espressos, cappuccinos and lattes.

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