Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

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juliang71
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Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:02 pm
Engine size/power: 2.0 TDI (140bhp)

Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by juliang71 »

Morning, I've been meaning to start a thread about my Maxi for months now and finally got round to it. I'd been driving a Nissan Navara Tekna for almost six years until it got stolen and I just couldn't afford to buy an equivalent age & spec. replacement with the budget I had. So long story short and decided on a Caddy Maxi, after a lot of searching I came across these two at the same dealership quite by chance. I'd actually gone to look at the Fortana Red one which was both newer and less mileage but otherwise the same as the Acapulco Blue one ... but the paintwork wasn't great down one side. It was scratched completely down the passenger side. The Acapulco one however was in very good condition, it's an ex-motability vehicle but is not WAV.

So it's a 2019 VW Caddy Maxi Life 102PS (DFSD) engine, 6 speed DSG. I've already had a few modifications done, sorted a few niggles out and started a few upgrades myself which I'm sure I'll add here in due course but just to get the ball rolling here's a few pictures of when I went to view and test drive them back at the beginning of 2024.

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Rickytango
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Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by Rickytango »

Looks a great base vehicle
juliang71
Caddy Fan
Posts: 55
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:02 pm
Engine size/power: 2.0 TDI (140bhp)

Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by juliang71 »

One of the first jobs was the obligatory engine cover. Rarely seen but well worth it I reckon. Bought from Wigan VAG Parts and came with the required pins as well.

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juliang71
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Posts: 55
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:02 pm
Engine size/power: 2.0 TDI (140bhp)

Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by juliang71 »

Next a job I'd been putting off for months now and finally got around to it over Christmas. Given my Maxi Life has no 2nd or 3rd row of seats in most of the time I'd wanted to add some sort of sound deadening / insulation to whatever the Maxi Life already had. The only items I purchased were some double sided foam tape (£5), some recycled B&Q insulation, 1 roll (£22), some trim removal tools of eBay (US Pro Tools 6779, £6) and 20 door trim clips as I broke some removing bits of trim (VW part 7L6868243 x 20 eBay £5). I had some 5mm Sonic Gold laminate floor insulation lying around as well so thought I would use that.

So I'd never removed any trim at all before and was worried I would break something, The first trim removed was on one of the sliding doors and I managed to break 5 out of the 12 clips. After that I don't think I broke a single clip, the trim removal tool is a must and once I'd sussed out the best way to remove a clip it was pretty easy. The two sliding doors trim was the hardest part to remove I found out.

Once out I just added some of the Sonic Gold laminate floor insulation to any bare metal I could see and then filled the gaps with B&Q insulation and put the trims back on. I'd not intended to put anything on the floor at all given the carpet is really quite thick but then I thought I've come this far I might as well. So down went a layer of Sonic Gold insulation as well. The tailgate had absolutely nothing apart from two tiny pieces of sound deadening, so again in went the Sonic Gold insulation and then filled with B&Q insulation.

The one roll of the recycled B&Q insulation was just enough, I have a piece about a foot long left. If I were doing this again I reckon I could do it without breaking any clips. Oh the plastic covers on the floor just behind the front seats where the 2nd row of seat bases fit in to are very brittle as well. I had to remove three of these to get the carpet out but put a crack in one, so that needed supergluing. The wheel arches already had a thick mat type covering on them so I didn't add anything to them.

The only job left is to fit the large pieces of trim on both sides that go from the sliding door all the way back to the tailgate. I did have a look at this and a few attempts at getting one side back on but it just wasn't all lining up. There's quite a few clips so rather than rush and break something I just put them to one side for now. I think I'm going to remove all the clips I can and just have a go at getting it all lined up to see if that helps.

I'm more than happy with the results and all for a pretty small cost really, I hope this is of some help to someone.

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Last edited by juliang71 on Mon Jan 13, 2025 8:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kingmysid
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Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by Kingmysid »

We have the same caddy mate and it’s helpful to see what it’s like when the trims are removed. We are fitting a pop top and a ply guys bed etc.
Kingmysid
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Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by Kingmysid »

Also what tool did you use for removing the clips?
juliang71
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Posts: 55
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:02 pm
Engine size/power: 2.0 TDI (140bhp)

Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by juliang71 »

Yeah I looked for ages and all over for someone that had removed the interior trim on a Maxi Life and couldn't find much but once I got going it was ok. For the trim removal tools again I spent ages looking on eBay and AliExpress before stumbling across the "US Pro Tools 6779" they were perfect, just Google it. I paid £6.05 delivered from eBay.

I've still to refit the large side pieces of trim as they have three different types of clip and a load of other bits that need to line up exactly and it's proving a real challenge to do on my own. Just need to find some time to have a proper look at it.
Mattfirth
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Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by Mattfirth »

That’s really helpful, I’m looking at getting a maxi life and want to make it as comfy as possible.
How’s the difference in noise from before?
juliang71
Caddy Fan
Posts: 55
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:02 pm
Engine size/power: 2.0 TDI (140bhp)

Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by juliang71 »

No worries, tbf a Maxi Life is pretty comfy already. It's not a van so it already has some sound deadening and insulation as standard. I just wanted to add more to it, I can't say what it's like yet as since doing this I've actually only driven it about 3 miles for it's MOT and back home again! I'm hoping to take it out for a decent run this weekend so will know better then.

I have read loads of build threads so I would suggest doing that as well to get an idea on what products to use. I also recently stumbled across this build "Giotec daily - Everything you've never seen before" by @TheGee and on page 4 there is a great post about insulation, sound deadening, etc. Well worth a read.
juliang71
Caddy Fan
Posts: 55
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:02 pm
Engine size/power: 2.0 TDI (140bhp)

Re: Acapulco Blue Caddy Maxi Life

Post by juliang71 »

Quick update, when I refitted the large rear plastic trims I managed to break some of the smaller white plastic trim clips. I managed to find some on Amazon, 30 for £3.99 and they measure almost exactly the same as the genuine VW ones. I'm sure the remainder will come in handy for some other jobs planned.

And then as the car has been sat idle for 3 weeks or so it was taken out on a 220 mile round trip to Birmingham at the weekend and I can safely say that it is quieter now. I have no means to measure this scientifically, other than knowing how it was before and how it is now to me. So all in all I'm really happy with the outcome, it was a really cheap job in the end and not too time consuming. Just requires some patience.
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