Scott

Im wondering if this has something to do with the ignition switch ???? I would start with a new harness to be honest - perhaps butchered from a scrap car.... then plumb it all in. Had this problem myself with an old GTE a few years ago - was a nightmare replacing all the wires by hand - I should have just replaced the loom .......... Scott

You sure its the alternator? Could be the belt tensioner?

True for some maybe - but I have had Corrados for 5yrs now and they have never given me any real grief..... Ive put a total of 80k miles on them in 5yrs and only had to replace wear and tear items and general servicing - Im not complaining at all 8) :)

Hence - the touch wood PS. VR is running like a dream (goes off into the woods in search of trees)

I'd be surprised if only done 75k and needs new clutch - am on 104k miles now and clutch still feels light and smooth (touches wood) :D

2.0 16V is indeed electronic - disconnecting ECU for an hour wont hurt so give it a try....

Well your in the North West mate so if you need your ECU reading give me a shout - and your right about none of the Corrados being OBD2.... common confusion... ALL Corrados talk OBD1 protocol although the sockets for connection do change around 93/94.... You can also download a freeware version of VAGCOM from Ross-Tech.... this is enough for reading fault codes, etc. Scott.

The recent VW gasket is actually steel Im told now..... Im still trying to find the time to take the cylinder head off - it not likely to be the end of August now unfortunately as my efforts are being put into finding a new job! :(

Yeah but if the oil sticks to the surfaces then whats the betting that the dirt in the engine will stick to the engine too (fine shards of metal, etc) ???? I'd stick with silver synta...

Yeah agreed: Genuine head gasket ONLY And yeah replace valve guides too as these are known to wear after 100k miles.... like mine have hence the reason for taking the head off in first place - doesnt cost much to have them replaced either!

Trading in a VR6 via trade is a BAD idea..... Sell private.

Very true *:) - will get one .... Just whipped the spark plugs out of the VR to find number 1 and 6 a little sooty for my liking so it looks like the head is coming off sooner than I thought *:( Also added my cold air feed now

Looks good - where did you get that? Am using bentley at moment *:)

Its a big task but am doing the same job myself :lol: Except I am taking the head off as I wish to fit new valve guides / seals / tappets and the head cleaned up and poss skimmed - Im having a engineering shop do the head work therefore saving on the labour which is the big job... Upper timing chain needs to come off and the cams taken out - timing can be a issue but there are tools to lock them into place. Apart from lack of room, timing chain and size of the head (Its big and heavy ) it isnt much different from your normal 16V ... I did get the job costed up as a drive in and drive out job - local VW specialist quoted £600 in labour alone.....Engineering shop reckon around £200 for the head work. Cheers Scott

Thats fine for a 1.8 16V although would check on a few things to be sure: - Check that the one way valve fitted at bulkhead on coolant pipes (two of them go into bulkhead and connect to exchanger) has not packed up... - Check anti - freeze is right amount (50/50) - Check fans come on like Roddy says.... - Check thermostat is working ok - Try back flushing the rad But I do remember in summer mine used to stick at around 105degC - came down in winter... If you have made the above checks then you have nothing to worry about as the guage is not accurate - what is more important is that the light doesnt come on the dashboard *:) Scott

Agreed - my rear dampers have started leaking all due to the poor roads in the Manchester area - really is a joke....

My mate thought he had a noisy tappet until he found a loose spark plug..........

Really? :shock: Learn something new every day :D I did notice that it gets heavier at speed..... :D

I always take cap off, run up to full temp with heater on full heat and fan on full blast... Does job for me...

Time to visit GSF / ECP...

My power steering can be quite weird sometimes..... feels a little heavy for power steering but that I feel is probably down to the fact I have just driven a Mercedes van for 3 days and got back into the VR *:) - it is a bit weighted am told.... Anyways sometimes when I go round a bend pretty quick the steering all of sudden goes really heavy (as in doesnt wind back) then returns to normal - Im talking for a split second it does this... really weird. No noises (except on full lock), no leaks, etc Perhaps its time to check the bushes / tyre pressures.... :?

:shock: blimey scott!!!....is that letting your granny drive? :shock:.........i'm lucky to get 23mpg round town Really? - I find I can easily get 26mpg around town keeping the revs under 3k rpm... which I find is a brisk enough pace for town driving.... I constantly drive to Manchester which is 7 miles away and maintaining speeds between 20 - 50 mph all the way with some stop / starting I can see around 30-31mpg.... working it out from fuel cost and calculating it the trip seems very accurate too.......... I recently drove to London at a steady 75-80mph all the way and returned an average of 33mpg ....

VR will do an average of 26-28mpg round town and up to about 35mpg on motorway........... cant see a G60 touching that.........

Mine squeaked for about a month before it broke.....

Ouch that made me cringe.... - lovely colour though But LOSE the stickers on the door eh?