Thai's grey mk1 Cupra R

Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
Cheers guys, the interior was something that always let the mk1 down I thought so I'm a lot happier with the car now although I still have plenty to continue with.

The new Kinetic DAB aerial I fitted wouldnt marry up to the existing FM coax cable so I'm going to need to source an adapter...this is proving very difficult so far and awaiting a reply from the supplier.
I really want to avoid the need to remove the interior trim panels and and headliner again to run a new coax cable if I can.

On a positive note the new DAB side of things is working a treat and the sound deadening has made a small but noticeable difference.
It certainly made me more aware if all the creaks, rattles and groans from the door cards so they'll be getting attacked next.

I also have my custom sub box and minuscule amplifier to fit.

Hopefully I'll get the reverse camera finished over Easter as well.
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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
So the bitch has new problem and this one has me baffled...

For a little while I've noticed the coolant level drop but it was only enough to activate the coolant low warning maybe once every few weeks and simply needed a splash of water to bring it up to level again.

As everything was bone dry and the car was running fine I put it down to the possibility of a dodgy coolant reservoir cap.
So this was replaced a week or so ago with a fresh new bottle as the old one was yellowed as per usual.

Today after a 30 minute drive the bloody warning light came one.
It was just before I'd arrived at my destination so carried on, parked up and after my activities proceeded to top it up

Once again everything seemed dry in the bay but the reservoir was really empty this time

2 miles down the road, light comes again. Pull over and as expected the reservoir was virtually empty again ffs!

Panic set in and managed to get just enough water back in there from the water bottles in the car to get me home but I'm worried about driving it again now.

The engine reaches temperature correctly and stays within parameters.
I've monitored it closely using the gauge, VCDS and my onboard cluster diagnostics.

Not overheating, no plumes of smoke or steam. Nowt.

After leaving the car parked up to cool down outside the house for an hour or so I thought I'd do some close inspection and found coolant dripping from the chassis rail beneath the car.
It was very very slow but once I'd pulled one of the bungs out it gushed out so has obviously built up over a period of time.

Where the hell has this actually stemmed from as I can only think of the reservoir that sits above the void into the chassis rail which has the fuel pipes running down it?


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bruceR

Active Member
Apr 11, 2005
2,540
616
Monifieth, Dundee
Might be one of the hoses with a split or the connection to the water bottle not as tight as it should be


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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
You can just see a glint of my latest breaker in the background as well, an 05 FR+ TDI.

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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
It's just accured to me that I'd not posted on here for a few weeks.
Generally busy with work and other life crap as per usual...

Its been a quieter than usual month for this car really, any little free time for tinkering has been spent breaking the FR+ TDI.

Following on from a niggly power drop I thought I'd take a punt on a fresh genuine diverter valve...sod all difference but I can rule that out now.

Yesterday I poached the N75 valve from another Cupra R I'm about to break and that also made no difference so I'm leaning towards a boost or vacuum leak now.

It's due for a service anyway so I'll do some deeper digging around when I tackle that task and as always I'm been stockpiling ha

Badger5 turbo intake pipe
NGK spark plugs
Genuine VW Quantum oil & filter
Mann air & pollen filters

TFSI coil packs & spacers also on their way in the post.

Saturday I took it for an MOT, tbh I was a bit unsure whether it needed to be done as I was struggling to get the car details online and the paperwork in relation to the MOTs only went to 2012 so did it anyway for peace of mind although I'm pretty certain it was carried out in Northern Ireland last October?

Needless to say it flew through and somehow managed to get one minor defect - number plate light (I can live with that)
It also had the air conditioning regassed whilst it was in for good measure seeing as they had some decent Groupon discounts on offer.

Washed it
Found more car park dings and scratches
Cried a little inside
Debadged it as they were pretty rotten and it's what I do with all my cars.

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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
I don't mate, I'm getting them supplied with the coil packs from a private seller.
Apparently they've only covered a few thousand miles on a big turbo build but has now been broken for parts.
They're the oe plastic spacers so should be cheap and easy enough to source.
Hopefully I'll receive them tomorrow so I'll post up the part numbers.

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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
From what I've read there's no real power gain to be expected but there's plenty of reports of smoother running, marginally increased MPG and they're supposed to be more reliable than the stock coil packs.

I probably don't need them but they were pretty cheap and I'm just trying rule out any potential weaknesses before I get it remapped.

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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
Today's dull update equated to killing some time whilst sitting in an Aldi supermarket car park.
A boot full of service parts a few basic tools and an itchy desire to start pulling things apart there and then meant I got as far as replacing the air and pollen filters before I was summoned upon for taxi duties.

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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
So in the past few days there's been a few changes to the car, some good....some not so good!

Saturday saw me finally finish installing my subwoofer, amplifier, BAF rear strut brace and reverse camera.

I spent a considerable amount of time making sure everything mounted up very securely because I bloody hate rattles and creaks.

I also relocated the 12v socket onto the opposite side parcel shelf support.

Nice touch for SEAT to have added a pre cut recess for it which literally just popped out.

The entended loom was chopped from one my breakers so its all genuine and oem even behind the scenes.

The rear strut brace mounting points were drilled and nutserted and that thing most definitely isn't coming loose!

More pics to follow of this lot when I've tidied the **** out of the boot.
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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
In lesser favourable news there appears to be some issues under the bonnet which admittedly are of some concern.

Basically there's been a few occasions in the past 7 months of ownership where the coolant has suddenly dropped bringing the dash light and warning bleep into life.
The temperature naturally rises up past 90° ,usually the 110 mark but I never let it overheat and manage to stop or top up before it gets nasty.

For a while I thought it was an airlock on one occasion I noticed fluid spilling from the chassis rail which made me suspect a leaking pipe or coolant reservoir.

The reservoir and cap were replaced with a new Febi Bilstein item but it was hard to say if it made any difference due to the issues inconsistency.

So no coolant drop for the past couple of months and yesterday I was sitting in traffic when steam starts gushing from the bonnet yet no high temp warning on the dash?
I quickly pulled over only to find the coolant cap virtually forced out of the tank at about 45 degrees, baring in mind its deeply threaded this can only mean it was super pressurised to do this so was very lucky to stop when I did.
I carefully released the remainder of the cap and let it stabilise before topping it back up.
Within 10 mins I was back on my way as if nothing had just happened???

Ideas, suggestions welcomed...


At this point I need to add some additional not so great information which may help with the internet diagnosis before I actually book it into a specialist.


I also appear to be using oil more quickly than expected, twice since buying this car I've had to add approximately a litre to bring it back within a safe level.

Before you say head gasket, oil consistency and colour looks spot on, coolant colour (bright pink) and clarity looks spot on as well.

No excessive exhaust gases or smoke etc, again colour looks healthy so I'm genuinely stumped but kinda fearing the worst here.

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Nizza

Active Member
May 17, 2019
380
234
Run a pressure test on the coolant system,

I’ve had a kinked o ring in the cap itself before causing a similar issue on a mk2 golf worth a check to start with?


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Thai-wronghorse

Self proclaimed Cupra R addict & butcher!
Dec 3, 2015
2,199
1,038
Kent
Yeah I plan to get it tested properly, I want to get it checked over for boost/ vac leaks whilst it's in as well.

See I'm still unsure if the coolant and oil levels have any relation to each other or are simply coincidental.

I've never felt fully satisfied with the way the replacement coolant cap tightened up in comparison to the old original one but with this said I still had a loss before this was swapped.

As for the oil, underneath the engine is bone dry but I did notice a bit of oil around the upper back area near the turbo which would suggest to me that maybe a turbo oil line or rocker cover gasket is potentially leaking?

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