|
|
|
May 23, 2017 14:24:43 GMT
|
![]() I'm not sure whether this actually qualifies as retro, but here is my 2001 VW Lupo that i have acquired to teach my partners son to drive in. I decided to start a thread to document its budget refurb and to share the inevitable tales of woe and occasional successes.  Ive spent many happy hours lurking here and admiring not just the projects, but the skill and enthusiasm that goes into them. Whilst nothing radical is planned (not this side of passing his test anyway!) i hope to bring it back to being a reliable and cheap first car, and maybe teach Josh a little about cars into the bargain. My skills are a bit rusty but I feel more comfortable working on something like this as it seems relatively simple. The car was picked up locally for a sensible price given that it has no MOT and a couple of common Lupo issues - we spotted it outside a neighbours where it didn't move for 3 or 4 months, it used to be his granddaughters and when he gave up driving he passed his Honda Jazz onto her and the Lupo languished outside his house. Test was out in Feb, but looking at the previous MOT info nothing major has been highlighted) other than some rather long gaps between expiry of the previous test and a new one being taken......) History is non existent but I'm assured it was serviced a couple of years ago - only documented info is a VW main dealer sticker in the door shut advising that the next service is due in Jan '06 and a Conti cam belt sticker on the slam panel sticker dated 2008 at a mileage i can't read......(MOT 22/8/08 at 64k).....its now on 105k and VW specify a 4 year/40k interval so definitely due. Other issues:- Haven't driven it far so not really been able to check out anything other than basic function but it goes/steers/stops and the gearbox seems good as this is a known weak spot. Really surprised how good the body is - only slight rusting around the boot handle. Drivers door lock failed - Common VW fault of this era, eBay repair kit ordered. Door card has obviously been off before as it looks like the inner handle has been removed with a hatchet and the card is loose, half the clips are broken - glue gun and some clips required - more eBay! Heater fan only works on 1&4 - accepted wisdom is that this is the resistor however being tight i dismantled the switch to check and the copper tracks had "spread", pushed them back together and it now works fine. Check straps clonk and graunch when the doors open - the pin is a loose fit and the plastic bushes wear/deteriorate - found a great "how to" on Club Lupo and have ordered a couple of the correct size oilite bushes at 75p a pop - bargain. Air box and throttle body are oily which I assume is due to the breather system so I plan to dismantle and clean it and see how that improves matters. Brakes grind a bit as it has been stood, however ill get the wheels off and give them a good once over. Plan is to get these bits done, pump the tyres up and put it in for an MOT, as a natural pessimist I will then work through the fail list! If by some miracle it passes then its big service time - oil & filter, air & fuel filters, plugs, cambelt/tensioner/water pump & aux belt. Chris |
| |
2001 VW Lupo
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 23, 2017 15:49:33 GMT
|
|
Cracking little motors, far better than the Fox that followed it.i still miss my GTI ,even though it was pretty juicy.
which lump has this one got?
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
May 23, 2017 16:00:07 GMT
|
|
It's the base 1.0e with the AUC (50 hp) engine - poverty spec, manual windows, no central locking, no ABS (but PAS) - in my mind less to go wrong - Reminds me of the Metro I learnt to drive in back in 1987!
|
| |
2001 VW Lupo
|
|
|
|
|
May 23, 2017 17:06:51 GMT
|
Here's my old Arosa.. Coilovers, polo steels, vinyl:  |
| |
Last Edit: Jul 2, 2017 8:50:33 GMT by sarkie83
|
|
|
|
|
May 23, 2017 17:27:53 GMT
|
|
Looks good - like the steels and the stance. Given the altitude of speed bumps round here (even with mildly lowered cars the grinding of metal puts my teeth on edge!) what's your thoughts on a speed bump friendly drop? Is it definitely coilovers or is there a budget/cut spring option?
|
| |
2001 VW Lupo
|
|
|
|
|
May 23, 2017 21:15:34 GMT
|
|
You've got a 'posh' e with power steering! My Lupo hasn't got any which was hard work for a while. Now though I can open spinach cans with one hand.
Have you managed to register on Club Lupo? I thought it was defunct. Check the front edge of the rear arches, mine have got the rot, along with an odd patch on the roof right where the trim strip is - this appears to have been the subject of a VW recall some years ago.
|
| |
Peugeot 307sw - Suzuki SV650S - MX5.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posh! Was PAS an option on the base model?
I haven't managed to register at Club Lupo but its a good source of info and some well put together "how to" threads - it seems pretty quiet, I guess many people have moved on. Thanks for the tip on rust areas, ill have a look later
|
| |
2001 VW Lupo
|
|
|
|
|
May 24, 2017 12:30:09 GMT
|
|
In terms of rust on mine - it was the front arches to keep an eye on...
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
May 24, 2017 12:44:47 GMT
|
|
We've had an Arosa 1.7SDI for nearly 3 years now as first car for my older son. It's been fairly faithful. It's not fast, it's not refined in any way at all, but it is good on fuel.
I would strongly suggest changing the gearbox oil and unless the oil that comes out (if any does!) looks clean and golden, run it for a few weeks with fresh oil before repeating the exercise. These are tough on their oil as there isn't very much in there. The other issue is that there is no drop-out zone for any shrapnel (result of grinding into reverse say) and the diff CROWN wheel flicks any debris straight into the output shaft bearing.
We had to rebuild ours as it came with the internals from a 1.0 petrol which meant you were on the governor at 70mph. It is just about DIY possible though did cause some special tool-making activity and a great deal of cussing.
New dampers all round improved the handling enormously. Watch out for broken wires in the alternator and starter looms and the ignition switch suffers the usual VAG fragility.
Nick
|
| |
1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend)
1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing)
1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks for the pointers - rust situation looks pretty good, but the arch liners are coming out for a proper clean and check over. Thanks for the gearbox tips too - I knew they were weak and was surprised to find VW actually specify an oil change, but I'll add that to the big service list.
Had a bit of a result yesterday - I was told the history had been lost - turns out it's been found! Fully stamped VW dealer book to 2008 then annual specialist service since then including clutch and new pedal box 18 months ago. It's clearly been well maintained and I want to keep it that way.
Hope to get some jobs done on it today so update with some more pics to follow.
|
| |
2001 VW Lupo
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
dunno if yours has electric windows - probably if you've seen evidence of the door cards coming off, that'll be why. The switches are notorious for failing. I think i went through 3 switches (shared with polo, etc...), and one entire door mechanism, and by the end, one had failed again!
I was actually looking out for a replacement set of doors with manual winders...so if you come across some, i would consider changing to them ;-)
You can get cheapo coilovers for £180-ish on eBay. You can spend a fortune, but I've actually found cheapo FK ones on my Passat ride surprisingly well! Mine ^^ didn't scrape in everyday driving (still have to be careful with bumps)...even fully loaded with 4 people, a dog, a bootfull of stuff, and a guitar (amazing how much you can get in them when you try!)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
May 26, 2017 11:09:34 GMT
|
Luckily (by the sound of it) good old manual windows......thanks for the tip on the coilovers, ill have a look. Managed to get a bit done - door lock rebuilt, cue 20 mins chasing springs round the kitchen whilst trying to reassemble it, and check straps re-bushed aided by my assistant Cleo.  Struggled to fit the new bush in situ with the drivers side and ended up removing the check strap assembly and using the correct tool (BFH) to ease it in. Passenger side was a pain - one of the top nut inserts just span and tensioning the bolt didn't work so a junior hacksaw blade did the job of removing the bolt head - awkward!. The remaining bolt will hold it for now but I'm off to Copart at Full Sutton next week so I will see what I can scavenge there to replace it. Ill have a look and see if there any manual winder mechanisms there for you sarkie83. Rest of the time has been taken clearing the garage to make room to work on the car on a level surface - our drive is about 1 in 8 so not a great place to jack it up for the service - 2 Fabia estate loads of junk later and we are ready (amazing how much a little car will carry!) Thats it for today - Cleo is off to the vets for 12 week injections now so I'm on puppy duty - hopefully will be able to make some more substantial progress over the weekend. |
| |
2001 VW Lupo
|
|
eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
Posts: 2,578
|
|
May 26, 2017 12:01:33 GMT
|
|
Love these. And a puppy as well, what's not to like!
|
| |
XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 14, 2017 12:48:54 GMT
|
|
Well some progress!
MOT Sorted, passed with one advisory (engine cover fitted.....) and a passing mention that brake efficiency could be better, although given that it had stood for a few months I'm not surprised.
Full service done and about time too - air filters were filthy, throttle body was covered in oil from the breather, plug gaps too big and oil was horrible. Also drained and refilled the gearbox - more on that later.....!
Decided to have a dig into the history as it didn't match what I was seeing - there are some pretty hefty bills (£1800 total) from a recognised VW specialist since 2010 - the fuel filter was decent quality (Mahle) but had last been changed in/after 2010 according to the date of manufacture on the filter, same date on the air filters, however pollen filters had been changed at every annual service (it doesn't have a pollen filter.........!) - goes to prove that you can't take anything for granted.
The effect of a good service on how it runs is noticeable - goes up a specific hill in 3rd now when before it would have needed second - every one of those 50 hp are required!
After the previous post on the gearbox i was a little concerned as tales of Lupo/Polo gearbox failures seem far too common, that would have probably been beyond my abilities to rebuild I'm afraid. This wasn't helped by its reluctance to go into first - it needed easing back in the gate towards second then it would go in with a little encouragement. Fearing the worst I drained the box, not the worst oil I've seen but its been in there a while, thankfully no lumps of metal just a bit of swarf on the drain plug. Changed the oil and whilst it felt a little better sadly no improvement on first gear - decided to have a play with the linkage as there is a bit of adjustment at the box. VW factory manual shows a very complex jig for locking the lever in certain positions to adjust it correctly - as i didn't have this i decided to see what difference a bit of tinkering make.....loosening off the side to side adjuster and trying different locations succeeded in eliminating reverse, then 5th.....i found the limits! Roughly in the middle works well, well enough in fact to make selecting 1st much better!
Next job Cambelt and Water Pump.
And thats where we are up to - i took some pics but sadly my phone has expired - ill try and add some later.
Driving lessons begin this week so the Lupo will soon be doing its job.....look out Leeds!
|
| |
2001 VW Lupo
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 14, 2017 20:51:55 GMT
|
|
I think the brake efficiency might be normal..... ours work, but they are a bit curse word. This even though everything moves as it should and we actually have the bigger brakes with vented discs (to reign in those snorting 64 horses!). The "self" adjusters also need help, which is odd as the design looks just like the ones on my B2 A90 where they worked really well.
Gear linkage is a cow. Your method is the method.... lots of trial and error. Ours needs investigation as reverse can take a while to find.
Hope the lessons go well!
Nick
|
| |
1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend)
1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing)
1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 14, 2017 21:27:51 GMT
|
|
I think the 1.4tdi shared the same setup as the gti...mine was always pretty good on the brakes!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 14, 2017 22:33:49 GMT
|
|
I had one in 2005 as my first ish car and have one now that my mum was using for two years.
Never had any problems with either after normal servicing. Electric Windows and all...
Do love them as a first car though, much more robust than a 106 which I also like and still fresh looking.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 15, 2017 15:00:18 GMT
|
|
I'm on my third one (1.4tdi) and have replaced 2 gearboxes on a 1.4 petrol- grinding in any gear was the warning as the bearings ate themselves and the contents of the box after was a lot of swarf and debris. As others have said- I've done electric windows on all mine. Manual everything is the way forward on these as power anything just fails over time... the only extra that hasn't needed attention on mine now is the electric mirrors! Air con- warm, power steering- ate the pump, rear wash/ wipe- doesn't, etc etc. That said they are great- keep going with this one- looks a good base!
|
| |
|
|
