We all love to save money anyway we can.  Well I do.  I was given the name "Scam" at work for my search for cheap and free alternatives.  These may be simple but I have a simple mind.  If you have any you want to see on this site please send me some pictures and descriptions and I will put them on.

Ever wondered how to stick the inner door membrane to the inside of your door?  This is the plastic sheeting VW put in to stop condensation getting into the car interior making it damp.  Well many have tried different aftermarket glues to no success.  I purchased some double sided sticky foam tape from Halfords.  It's advertised as the tape to stick car badges to the bodywork.  I've found it's tacky enough to re-stick and get the right alignment and strong enough when set-in to keep the membrane secure.  It costs around £5.00 for a small roll.  One roll will do around 1.5 doors.  So you'll need two rolls for three doors and 3-4 rolls for four doors.

The following work was taken out on a 1991 1.6 manual carb engine Golf Driver Mk2
If you have no heat in your Mk2 Golf then it is more than likely a faulty bypass valve. The valve fault actually became a VW repair recall. As the valve's are obsolete you will need to tackle the problem yourself or take it into a garage. It's cheaper to do it yourself. Don't worry though as it's really easy and only takes around 15 mins.

Heres the items you need for the job:

• A copper pipe that is about 3" long and big enough to fill the inside of the rubber piping you will be joining together. There's usually two widths to copper pipes, you need the biggest.
  
• You'll also need 3 jubilee clips although these should already be on the sections of piping you will be working on.
  
• A bolt big enough to block the end of the overflow pipe you'll be disconneting. (I found the smallest oil sump plug from Halfords the best as it just squeezes in for a water tight fit and won't rust)
  
• A screwdriver.
• New Coolant or distilled water

Here's the valve in the engine bay. It'll be to the right of the engine block and to the left of the battery and coolant resevoir.



You first need to make sure the engine is cold so you can safely drain the coolant form the system. When this is done you can remove the valve.
Here's a close up of the valve removed.





Unscrew the jubilee clips enough to ease the valve free of the rubber hoses. Once the valve is removed you will need to insert the copper pipe half way into one of the rubber hoses. Connect the other rubber hose so it joins with the first. Secure the fit with the two jubilee clips you un-screwed earlier.




Next you'll need to block that overflow pipe. Push the sump plug into the hose untill it is flush with the end. Secure it in place with a small jubilee clip.



That's the value removed and pipes re-connected.



You now need to re-fill your coolant. Top it up to the maximum mark on the resovoir. Run the engine untill the fan kicks in. If the water level has dropped re-top it back to the max mark. Screw the cap back on the resevoir run the engine again and make sure there are no leaks from the re-conneted pipes. Don't forget to check the overflow one too. If there are leaks you may need to do the jubilee clips tighter. Make sure you have fitted a big enough copper pipe and bolt plug!

That's it. Job done. It's the best feeling ever to have heat back in your Golf. Well it was for me as I went without it for around 2 years!