New battery and alternator fitted.
Timing belt changed.
Glow plugs replaced.
All 4 wheel bearings replaced chasing a noise that turned out to be the last one!
Both drive shafts replaced.
Three sets of brake disks and pads in 30000 miles, one caliper replaced after seizing up on the shore of Loch Ness. I had to disconnect and clamp the hose, batter it with a hammer until it was free, and drive back to Inverness with only 3 wheels doing the braking! It pulled viciously toward oncoming traffic, but we made it.
Worn track rod end replaced.
Rear shoes, wheel cylinders, hoses and pipes replaced.
It was very economic, 50 MPG achievable on a run, and quite nippy for a diesel.
The body had absolutely no rust at all, and the interior was like new.
The engine had a strange habit of not switching off even when the key was removed. Stalling it in gear was the only way to do it. This would happen every once in a while, and I never go to the bottom of it. Anyone else out there had this problem?
The brakes were terrible, even after all the work I did on them, I'm told it's just a trait of the car.
It was just as happy at 70 MPH on a motorway or pottering around town.
Own an 85 GRD, still reliable and economical after 175k miles. Regularly returns over 55 mpg and criuses at 70-75 mph.
Front brakes bind, changed calipers twice in 4 years (75k miles). Some rust on it, rear doors both bad, but it is nearly 18 years old now. Gone through most MOTs' with very little work, only failed last through minor rust which cost £37 to had repaired. Overall a excellent runabout which gets used just about every day.
205 GRD. Great car to drive. No other car I've driven communicates through the steering, brakes and seat as clearly as this one. I'd aim for the potholes, so delicious was the blend of springing, damping and the overall reaction of the car all round. Strangely, the GTI I have bought (mint condition, 48k miles) is a little more vague despite new bushes and ball joints. It thuds over bumps instead of absorbing them and there is less feel through the steering wheel as to exactly what the front wheels are up to.
Brake discs are a problem. Whether pattern or OEM, they warped within a few hundred miles. The GTI discs are vented and therefore more robust, so warping is not a problem.
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