UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Just a quick update. A few weeks ago I dropped about 1.5l of ATF from the lower drain plug. I was more brownish red than reddish brown and with a bit of an odour. I'm wondering if the residual old fluid in the torque converter might have flushed through in the 1700-ish miles covered since my previou...

I was going to suggest a compression test and it looks like you are planning to do that. A good old fashioned vacuum gauge can be useful for diagnostics.

Ah, that is good to hear. I'll post updates when I next drop and refill after several hundred miles. Will also drop and inspect sometime next year as a gauge for condition of the transmission. It's very easy to do via the main drain plug and easy to fill with the right funnel.

Thanks. I was just prepping in case the ones I removed (to fit new bump stops) were on the way out. I was relieved to find they are Sachs Gas shocks and excepting a bit more pitting on the nearside shock body still good for many more miles. Cleaned up, rust proofed and painted. Near side spring is l...

A quick update. 1200 miles later decided to drop ATF from the main drain plug and measured it out at approx. 2.1l. The fluid is 'reddish brown' (more brown than red) and has an odour (nowhere near as bad as the first drop). I reckon this is contamination from the residual ATF that was in the torque ...

Can't see too well from the photos. I'm looking to do something similar for an electronic oil gauge. There must be a grommet that passes through wiring harnesses, although sometimes they have a boot over the wiring conduit. Likely a case of unpicking one of those or finding a blanking plug. This mig...

Thanks, so the rotary switch for the lights? I don't have instrument dimming.

I'm installing an oil pressure gauge and wondering where to take the 12V power for the backlight from. Obviously, this would be switched with side/headlamps. Any suggestions where to best locate the 12V postive?

Does anyone know what make of shock absorbers were originally fitted to the Polo (2002)?

Ran through >95% of a 1l bottle of new fluid and it looks like the fluid is mostly replaced. I'll keep the second 1l bottle I purchased for next time.

Plumbers pliers! Used a large syringe and removed about 13ml. Fluid looks darker in the syringe and waste receptacle. Whilst the fluid is in fairly good condition, decided that after 20 years it's time to replenish using the syringe/decant, and top up and dilute method! A fair bit of work done over ...

Ah, I though it was Mercato Blue (the options are few) but didn't want to mislead. To avoid rework, when painting ensure that the humidity is low and temps within range of the paint. Also take note about application times between coats and especially between the base and clearcoat.

tks

That did it!

I was surprised to see the fluid as below. I've owned the Polo for 12 years now and since around 29,000 miles.
It seems to be clean?

The level appears to be low as there's no indication on the cap/dipstick (dry).

I think the current oil use, which is well within spec as I mentioned is just blow by and not related to the oil separator. My question is more about the likelihood of a problem with the separator in future and the merit of replacing it with a new one. Although the one I fitted had only 23K, IIRC it...