reconditioned mk4 golf engine

The 1.4 vw engine(make that any vw) is hardly a paragon of reliability. When shopping for one for a friends car , from a breakers , the general reaction was "buy something reliable like a focus or corolla".
The best thing you can do is get it repaired and flog it to someone who is blinded by the vw "image". You're driving a car that was well behind the class best when it came out in 98'. PS.If you can't sell it straight away , keep a spare litre of oil in the boot. There should be room beside the bag of replacement rear light bulbs.