Did a tune up this weekend and wow, what a huge difference in the way the car runs!

Changed plugs, Beru wires, dist cap and rotor, air, smog filter, fixed rear seat recline (finally!), new hood pad.

Took 2 of us, about 2 and a half hours and I think well worth the effort and the car runs smooth, a slight idle hitch but barely noticeable, fantastic response and am sure will translate to better fuel efficiency .....

The ABS light is still an issue - I could not find the abs sensors to clean them as there a 3 leads into the front tires and did not know which one to pull out to clean. The OVP is new (2nd new one) so dunno, it is driving me NUTS! ..... the steering damper , sway bar links is next. Does some one have a pic of what the idler arm looks like?

A easy DIY with wonderful results! Wundabah!

A big thank you for all the help and advice received from you guys, the postings and some of my PMs. A big thanks to Mike T!

Glad to have been able to help. What did you find wrong with the rear recline and how did you fix?

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Hi Mike, what I found was that the track was stuck quite solidly and the cables were slipping. I sprayed plenty of WD40, used a set of pliers to move the 'tooth' on the track and made sure that the track was aligned. It was quite an effort to move the tooth on the track! Put in new cables and voila! great stuff.

Can you give me tip on the ABS sensors? I can't find them and the idler arm (not sure which one these are), sway bar links advise please?

If you found three electrical connection, one of the was the ABS sensor.



The picture shows the loaction of the right ABS sensor. The other two connection you found were on the back side, bolted to the caliper and belong to the brake wear sensors.

The idler arm. Well, the arm coming off the steering box is the pitman arm, the idler arm mirrors the pitman arm, only located on the passenger side. Find the pitman arm and follow the drag link to the other side, and there you'll find the idler arm. Hope that's not oversimplified.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

THANK YOU MIKE!!!

Got it! I will give this a shot this week (probably the weekend) and will post the results.

I plan to clean them and PRAY plenty that it fixes the ABS light and it's functionality.

Changed the Steering Damper today - the old one had resistance, but the new one feels better.

ABS - checked and cleaned - the ABS light still comes on after a few minutes. When backing up, with the light off, I felt some pulsing in the brake pedal - dunno why my light comes on after ... am at a loss, I think I should have a professional look at it! Buckaroos I'm sure.

Idler Arm - found it but given my experience with the damper I did nothing with it.

I have a ghadak when i go over bumps and it's quite noisy when I do - on a smooth road the car is very smooth. I think shocks?

Thanks for the help Mike, will keep you posted.

Of course, thoughts, comments are very welcome.

Generally, the strut rod end bearing is what causes a knocking sound when hitting small bumps. This is basically a ball joint in a big rubber/steel/rubber/steel layered circular mount.

Even a little play sounds like a big deal.

am sorry kebowers, I'm not sure I understand what the strut rod end bearing is - is this the tie rod? I did have the ball joints replaced a month ago.

I did buy the idler arm kit. Have not changed anything yet ....

I get awfully confused with idler arms, control arms, tie rods, pitarms ......!

Thanks for you feedback though, it sounds like I am complaining, am not, just confused. I appreciate you feedback and any clarification you can share with me would be a huge plus.

What Kebowers is calling a strut rod, is probably the guide rod or track rod (multiple names for the same part). Runs from the lower arm (attaches right at the spring mount) and mounts back toward the firewall. The large end is where the track rod mount is. Worn track rod mounts will cause the very "ghadak" you describe.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

McLaren - It sounds like you have had some work done. Did anybody mess with the front shocks? I put new shocks on mine on a lift. I lowered it and tightened them and then had some thumping. It turns out they have to be retightened after it rolls a little.
Steve