Freshening up an older car.

[GTI Scott]

I've had my 106 GTI for a couple of years now and the 'new car novelty' must have worn off but I still love it, I'm certain that I'll be keeping this for as long as I possibly can.

With that in mind, what things should I be looking to change to 'tighten it up' and make it seem nearly new again - It's a 15 year old car now although it certainly doesn't feel it and only has 60k miles.

I've already changed cam belt, radiator, water pump and head gasket. It's had new discs and pads all round and has good tyres on.

Past that I'm not too sure what it would benefit from, the first thing I'm thinking of is brake fluid? I'm pretty sure it won't have been changed for a good while. Would gearbox fluid change make a difference? The gearchange is probably the poorest part of the whole car.
Following that should I be looking at suspension? Poly bushes? Underseal?

[lexusboy]

Polybush everything

[Chromed]

Refresh the suspension, engine mounts, gearbox linkage, change fluids, check discs, fit good pads. That will keep you busy.

[Hooli]

GTI Scott said:

the first thing I'm thinking of is brake fluid? I'm pretty sure it won't have been changed for a good while.

That plus a strip & rebuild of the callipers to make sure it's all working properly.

[9xxNick]

Gearbox oil will make a difference at 60K miles.

The steering and handling of the car are the things which I find I notice the most, so getting these into their best possible condition would be my priorities. Broadly then, that's a thorough check and replacement where necessary of:

- Dampers
- Bushes
- Steering gear (rack, universal joints in the steering column, track rod ends)
- Suspension geometry

After that I tend to want to chase down the little things - all electrics working properly, squeaks and rattles, lubrication of hinges and locks, and so on ad nauseam.

[HustleRussell]

Don't polybush anything. OEM bushes, check all ball joints etc, renew shocks and springs if necessary...

[Krikkit]

Having done a pretty-much complete refurb of a 106 the biggest differences were:

• Dampers - I went with a full set of Bilstein B4's and couldn't be happier, just the right balance of damping imo (my car is a daily, not a track/fast-road special). Cost about £140 for the full set.
• Wishbones and bushes - OE aren't available, but good patterns are. Polyrace middle bushes (available from Rallydesign, where the wishbone meets the chassis leg) are worth doing over squidgy OE to improve braking stability.
• Engine mounts - I replaced the engine and under-battery with OE ones, the rear gearbox mount is a Powerflex purple and just right.
• ARB bushes - definitely do these, and new droplinks too.

Rear beam bushes are OK, but not as dramatic a difference as the above.

[heners54]

Another vote for new bushes all round, I would choose OEM if you want the car 'as new' but each to their own.

I would have thought a new gear linkage would tighten up changes as much as touching the gearbox itself.

[Mr2Mike]

HustleRussell said:

Don't polybush anything. OEM bushes, check all ball joints etc, renew shocks and springs if necessary...

Avoid poxy poly-bushes for a road car and fit new OEM (not Chinese pattern part) bushes.