LOTS of problems.

[fwdturbobov1996]

First off I just finished replacing the tranny. All went well except fo these few things.
1990 tsi awd 5spd

Electrical-

After getting the car back up and going I noticed my radio wasnt working, so I reached my hand behind the radio and shook the wires, radio turned on. But my dash lights,and parking lights went off. Radio, headlights,brakelights, hihg beams, dome light, and floor lights work. Dash and parking lights DO NOT. Which relay is that all on under the hood. I checked all the fuses inside the car and they all appear normal. My guess is in the relay box. Anyone know off the top of their head which one it is.

Suspension-

This is the biggy. Im lowered, this is my first time owning a lowered car. Well when taking it apart, I didnt mark the " camber " bolts. These would be the two bolts that bolt into the strut that hold the brake assembly up. I didnt mark them. These bolts are bigger and lop-sided in the middle of them, so when you turn them it moves the strut. Do I just need an alignment to fix this? Or do I have to just turn the bolts and go by trial and error.

The car wants to go EVERYWHERE on the road, it feels as if the car wants to split and go two seperate ways. I hit a bump and it throws the car to one side, I get on it, car pulls to one side it seems, I let off and the car gets squirly and feels as if its just going side to side like it wants to. Im thinking the camber bolts/alignment would fix this.

Next, The bolt right below the axle, and right behind the rotor WILL NOT go on. It just threads on the top, then it turns the bolt itself, now some people say grab it with a pair of pliers, but what happens when you need to get to the bottom of it and you cant grab it anymore, is there something Im not doing right. The nut isnt on there very well, almost off actually, so I only drove the car to the highway and back.


Then when making a right turn, its as iff someone is holding a nail to my rotor. It just makes this god awful sound. You straighten back up and the noise goes away after a second or so.

Thanks for the help.

 

[luv2rallye]

Electrical -
It sounds like you have the radio power wire connected to the wrong place - namely the black/yellow wire that goes from the rheostat to the dash lights. If so it would do as you describe. Check to make sure it is connected to a real ignition switch power source. You can't just use a voltmeter and look for +12V. You have to use a load like a 12V light bulb and make sure it shines brightly (dim is not a true power source).

 

[fwdturbobov1996]

See thats the thing. It was workign one moment, then I shook those wires, and pow, gone. I hope its just a fuse haha.

 

[92awddsm]

The nut you are trying to get on is for the ball joint. Put a floor jack under the lower control arm and jack it up some. This will force the taper of the ball joint to wedge into the spindle. Now, you can tighten the nut. And by no means, never drive it again with a loose balljoint. The results can be catosprophic. It is probably part of the reason the car is wandering so bad.

As for the lower strut bolt, the cam bolt should go in the upper hole. It is used to correct camber settings. An alignment will be the best way to set them and basically rquired now that it is lowered.

 

[fwdturbobov1996]

It was already lowered in the first place. But I have camber bolts in BOTH of the holes on the strut, thats how it was when i took it out. Anyone sure about the fuses. So do I jack the car up on the underside of the bolt, will that stop it?

 

[luv2rallye]

The dash lights get their power from the tail light relay from the 10A fuse from the 40A fusable link - all in the engine fusebox. But their negative side goes through the rheostat to ground. Do your tail lights work?

 

[fwdturbobov1996]

yes tail lights work. the 10a fuse in the relay box was blown, I forgot all about it for a second. The ball joint nut is now on and tight. I have yet to drive it to see if it fixed my sterring problem. Hopefully. Right now the dsm has 0 problems, knock on wood .