Bought a Polo 03 1.4 fsi, DIY fixer upper or not?

[StevieP93]

Recently acquired my first non family car (run about to get to work and back in poor weather). Got it for 300 quid with a years MOT and 115,000 milage. From last MOT it seems it needs a bit of tlc around the suspension (bushes front and back) and EML shows EGR valve fault. I'm quite a handy guy doing services and minor works before. Are they an easy car to work on or could it become a money pit. Hoping to sort bushes out all round and hoping an EGR spray cleaner will help it out, if passes next years MOT would then look at spending a bit more on other stuff (probably due a cam belt and water pump, no previous paperwork at all)

[Bepis]

All of the basic maintenance items are easy to do but the rear shoes if you have them are a bit of a pain if you don’t have the right tools. I don’t know much about the 1.4FSI but the 1.2 12V has a timing chain which is “lifetime”. Probably worth doing a google for common faults and issues to see what you maybe facing.

[RUM4MO]

The 1.4FSI will have rear discs, which are easier to work on, though still cause issues, maybe add external return springs to keep things working.

The engine has a belt driven camshaft so needs a new belt ideally every 4th year due to possible/probably idler/tensioner/roller failure - wrong it has a chain I've discovered!

I avoided buying a new 9N Polo with that engine as I thought that the way that the camshaft is manufactured would cause issues in later life - seems that I was wrong there - so my poor wife ended up going from a Fiesta 1.6Si with 90PS to a new 2002 Polo 1.4 with 75PS - she was not impressed, but stuck with it for 13 years until she got a new 1.2TSI 110PS Polo in 2015!

Edited to add that this engine has a timing chain and not a belt.

[littlepolo]

The engine has a belt driven camshaft so needs a new belt ideally every 4th year due to possible/probably idler/tensioner/roller failure.

I know this is an interference engine so it's not worthwhile taking a risk with the cambelt, but just wondering if you have any tales of belts lasting much longer? I was watching a YouTube video where someone said you can check belt condition/wear to determine if it's still good or not. I recall when I got my 2002 9N 1.4 16V in 2010 it had around 29K on the clock (two owners), and I'm not convinced the belt had ever been changed (I have most of the service history and receipts and saw nothing recorded!).

[RUM4MO]

No, I don't have any true tales about being able to leave these belts until they start to look nasty - some people have remarked on "its only the TDI engines that you need to worry about the cambelts on as there is higher loads on the belt, well especially the PDI versions. From what my proper VAG Indie said to me, it was not the belts that initially cause disaster it is the roller/relay pulley/tensioner that run out of life first and that trashes the belt - he even added a single roller to the VW sourced kit of parts I handed him when I got the belt changed on my wife's 2002 BBY engined Polo the first time, admittedly he commented that all the parts he removed were still in excellent condition at just over 4.5years and 30K miles - but I preferred to control costs so got that job done, and done again at 9.0 years and probably 60K miles

Your comments about just examining them at certain intervals is exactly what VW say about the "for life" cambelts on the later versions of the 1.2TSI engines, I think that I'll be aiming to examine every year, as I have been doing since the first year, and if all still looks good, get the belt etc replaced at 6>8 years old mark - unless I start reading/hearing some very sad tales about these 1.2TSI belt driven engines.

[StevieP93]

Thanks for the replies, will start searching the web in my free time.

That's interesting about the discs to rear, should make my life a lot easier with maintenance. Invested in a Haynes manual only to find the fsi engine is not covered by it and struggling to find something that does. Luckily most the general areas are still the same.

Anyone have any experience with changing the console bushes. Have got the materials to make a puller, but wondering if I should set a few hours aside for the job and hopefully not the whole weekend. Will probably call a mechanic mate down to take a look at the cam belt and pillows, or is it something easy enough to inspect?

[RUM4MO]

If that engine does have a belt driven camshaft, I'd suggest that you get a new belt and any associated roller/idler/tensioner as doing that will keep it safe for 4 years.

Console bush, on my wife's old 2002 1.4 16V Polo with the horrible BBY engine, I replaced the split console bushes with SEAT Ibiza Cupra solid bushes and that worked very well for the remaining 9 years that we owned that car, it also made the "turn in" far better - I just got a proper VAG Indie to do that job.

[littlepolo]

Thanks for the replies, will start searching the web in my free time.

That's interesting about the discs to rear, should make my life a lot easier with maintenance. Invested in a Haynes manual only to find the fsi engine is not covered by it and struggling to find something that does. Luckily most the general areas are still the same.

Anyone have any experience with changing the console bushes. Have got the materials to make a puller, but wondering if I should set a few hours aside for the job and hopefully not the whole weekend. Will probably call a mechanic mate down to take a look at the cam belt and pillows, or is it something easy enough to inspect?

I did the console bushes on my Polo shortly after buying it in 2010. If I recall, I hired a specialist tool from an online store. It did the job perfectly. I think I had my suspension/wheels aligned after the job was done.

[littlepolo]

If that engine does have a belt driven camshaft, I'd suggest that you get a new belt and any associated roller/idler/tensioner as doing that will keep it safe for 4 years.

Console bush, on my wife's old 2002 1.4 16V Polo with the horrible BBY engine, I replaced the split console bushes with SEAT Ibiza Cupra solid bushes and that worked very well for the remaining 9 years that we owned that car, it also made the "turn in" far better - I just got a proper VAG Indie to do that job.

I did some more Googling on cambelt and pulley problems to find that VW seem to have instigated the 4 year/40k miles service after they were beset by failures (and possibly warranty claims). Apparently, this was for various reasons including plastic impellers used in the water pump, and reportedly, a switch to pulleys that used plastic in their structure (from earlier steel, roller bearings, etc.) - possibly as a cost-saving exercise. I've replaced the entire kit - cambelt, tensioners, water pump etc. 3 times now, always using Gates kit. I cannot recall if the Gates pulleys/tensioners, etc. are entirely metal (though they did see well constructed) though I do recall the water pump had a metal impeller. Apparently, the old metal components would give out a warning screech when nearing the failure point, whereas the plastic parts would just melt and/or suddenly fail. There are wide-ranging opinions on this (e.g. ignore if your mileage is low, change belt when vehicle ownership changes) though I think the 4 year service cycle is not too bad, is a wise precaution, and costs can be modest (I think I paid under £100 for the Gates kit) if you can do it yourself.

[StevieP93]

Had a look into it and I believe mine is chain driven (euro parts offer a chain kit and no belt kit which supports that), is there any maintenance of the chain components needed or is it a once it goes it's gone situation? Am going to make up a puller and hoping I can get the console bushes and wishbones replaced in the next monthor so, gonna have to get it on the cheap to get me by. Any recommendations of any cheap kits or parts that will get me through the year?

[RUM4MO]

Had a look into it and I believe mine is chain driven (euro parts offer a chain kit and no belt kit which supports that), is there any maintenance of the chain components needed or is it a once it goes it's gone situation? Am going to make up a puller and hoping I can get the console bushes and wishbones replaced in the next monthor so, gonna have to get it on the cheap to get me by. Any recommendations of any cheap kits or parts that will get me through the year?

I've just checked, and I was wrong, you are correct the FSI engine has a timing chain, so one less thing to worry about - unless it has stretched and or needs new damper blocks.