ok so there was a guy that I went to help out back in the wintermonths that couldnt get his cabriolet running... well I noticed last night he had it up for sale on craigslist... saying he still couldnt get it running... so I rang him up today and went over and took it off his hands...

Anyways... brought it home, and first thing took off the top of the air filter housing and moved the flap back and forth for the fuel distributor a few times... once it was moving nicely I put in a fresh battery and began cranking it... slowly but surely each time it began to sputter a lil longer than the last, until she finally idled on her own once again!

Sooo... now I need some input. Heres what I'm currently working with:

Throw out bearing is a lil noisy when off the clutch... first gear in the shift gate equals 3rd gear in the transmission.... I know the throw out bearing needs to be replaced... but the shift gate thing sounds to me like a bushing issue... what do you think? heres some pics:







and heres a video of it running... you can definitely hear the throw out bearing... but I think it has since quietened up a bit:

ok I will look for that... any idea where a good place to get that from would be?

Also when the engine is cold it doesnt want to start very well.. but once its warm it cranks right up. Would that be a cold start injector issue or maybe something else?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Meyle-Shift-Linkage-Bushing-Kit-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZModelQ3aCabrioQQhashZitem43a8886bddQQitemZ290590321629QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

what the kit looks like

been driving it around a bit today.. seems to run alot better.. although now it idles around 1500 rpm so I'm wondering if the auxillary air valve is stuck open...

also my oil light blinks below 1500 rpm but goes off above that. not sure if thats low oil pressure or what. Oil level on the dipstick is right in the middle of the normal range and isnt that dark.

As for the shifting, I can find first and second now... although I have to push the shifter down just a bit to get to the gate for first and second... guessing thats worn bushings...

oh yea.. front end has a bad wobble at the right front wheel I believe.. its bad around 20 mph but smooths out around 35 or 40. I'm wondering if it has to do with the previous owner trying to do his own wheel bearing job.

Zen is right about the oil filters, also some of them had 2 oil pressure switches, one on the side of the head and one on the oil filter stand, if one goes bad it may only set the light off at lower rpms

Zen is right about the oil filters, also some of them had 2 oil pressure switches, one on the side of the head and one on the oil filter stand, if one goes bad it may only set the light off at lower rpms

Those oil pressure switches have different Bar values so you can not mix them up. I have truly  forgotten just about everything I ever knew about "H20 VW's thank God. There are a lot of well informed "Water Dog" tech's on here. Dubtech is one the best hands down.

sooooo dubtech.... how are you at adjusting CIS? I'm thinking somone has "adjusted" mine before... so I need it looked at. it idles pretty high now (1500 rpm) and I'd like to figure out everything else before just turning the idle screw. I also need a shift rod bushing (the one that goes under the car in the middle of the main shift rod shaft if you know where I can get my hands on one. I was eventually planning on getting one of those that you can find on ebay, but for now I need something to suppliment the fact that I cant find 5th gear at all. 

Yep, you have to have a dwell meter to adjust the CO properly.  So before you start playing with that, check for any vacuum leaks and make sure that your auxiliary air regulator isn't stuck open.  If it has one, it'll be on the back of the manifold.  It's also a possibility that the o-ring is shot on the idle screw.

As far as the shifter goes, the big bushing that the shifter rod goes through comes with a free bracket when you buy it.

It should be number 21 in this picture:

http://www.wagenstad.com/index.php?modid=199&page=7-122-00

And it's available here:

http://www.busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=171711194G

For better shift feel, update your shifter rod to the later A3 chassis one:

http://www.busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=1H0711183