dinkus

You'd want a lamb or maybe piglet rather than a cow really - otherwise that's a lot of meat to get through! :lol: As Toady's sister specialises in lamb and beef, I'm sure if we all chipped in sufficient fundage that we could organise something suitably tasty...

I am game for beer. Tom enjoyed the leisure center :lol:

Hehe yeah, I was thinking that yesterday actually :lol:

Whoa, holy thread-resurrections, Batman! :lol: Cool that he found you James! I'm not sure if Matthew owns the car any more though... :(

There are at least 3 different sunroof switch designs used in Corrados. 1. The square window-switch looking button for early Corrados that may or may not be the same as Mk2 2. knobby button one for 93ish era Corrados that you move the knob corresponding to what you want the sunroof to do, which I think was in early Mk3s but I might be wrong 3. The flat, 3-button with a round button in the middle jobber that was used in the latest Corrados and is the same (looking anyway) one as late Mk3s When I say they are the same as mk2/mk3s I'm purely going on what the buttons look like - whether the electrics on the back are the same or not, I dunno, but if it's not a 525 part number then it'll have been used in something else as well as the Corrado. (e.g. those parts are all 357 and 1H0 numbers so they're Goof as well).

The bulbs aren't supposed to be replacable, but if you're handy with a soldering iron you can do so. Not sure where you'd get a bulb from though - most places just sell small LEDs these days.

I think that the F1 circus have all of their own HD gear that they shoot each race in already, but as to whether they give the BBC access to that material is a different question lol. Bringing back The Chain would be awesome though :)

I'm fairly sure the standard ones aren't designed to have replacable inserts... that doesn't mean you can't get them apart, but I doubt it'll be easy...

If the gauge is moving then it sounds like the sensor itself is probably dead and/or crusted with gunk. They're not that expensive (well under a tenner) from VW and apart from being a bit fiddly, not too difficult to change. Obviously don't do it when the coolant's hot though ;) The steam could just have been some spilled water/coolant splashing on the exhaust when you drove the car... depends on where it was coming from really. If you see it again, pull over and take a look under the bonnet to see where it's coming from. You really don't want a hose bursting and ditching your coolant everywhere. Not only does it make a mess, but it's likely to cause the engine to overheat and damage the head gasket. The pink G12+ (not G12 which is no longer available and hasn't been for a while) is fine to mix with previous coolant types. If you're unsure what's in there now, I'd be inclined to flush it all through with a hose and start again. You'll need 3 bottles of G12+ first and fill the rest with water. A fair slug of it is likely to drain out when you're changing the sensor anyway, so might as well. Once you've changed the sensor you should get water temps again. If you don't, then it might be worth plugging the car into VAG-COM which uses the other ECU-based water temp sensor to check the water temp. At least then you'll know whether the car's running hot or cold. But obviously does mean you need to find someone with VAG-COM. 95ish does sound a little low for a fully warmed-up VR, they usually sit around 108 on a long run. But if you're driving for any less than 30 mins that's unlikely to happen. It's also not uncommon for the thermostat to fail and stick open, so if that's the case then it'll be flowing water through the radiator all the time and the engine will take ages to warm up. No point in going down that route until you've fixed the temp gauge though.

Sounds like you're looking at after market chips rather than a full ECU. No idea as to what's hot or not, but would doubt a £3.50 one is going to do much good.

The bits I'd replace (in order of difference they'll make to the handling) Anything that's broken (ideally both sides of the car at once) Rear axle bushes (£50 the pair) Shocks/Springs/Coilovers Track rods/tie rods (same thing, just called different names) - it's a single piece from VW with both ends, but £55 each. Front wishbone bushes (you get the whole wishbone with bushes from VW - £55 each) Ball-joints (can't remember how much) ARB drop-links (can't remember how much) Top-mounts (about £15 each I think) I personally wouldn't touch any GSF stuff, but depending on your VW dealer, the above can get a bit expensive (I've given list VW prices). If you're lucky, you'll have a nice local dealership that will do you a discount and/or parts club prices on that little lot. Obviously if you're not doing the jobs yourself, then it'll get considerably more expensive too. The rear axle bushes is probably the worst job and a VW specialist will charge £300 to swap them (inc the bushes). Otherwise checking your tyre pressures and a 4-wheel alignment (including camber) on a proper 4-wheel laser alignment rig will do wonders... (you'll need to get it set up every time you change anything to do with suspension or bushes). Edit: Added suspension in there too :D

I'd wager the ABS fault is a bent cage on the wheel, but the only way to tell which one is to get the car plugged into VAG-COM which will tell you. Sunroof is a super-common and unpleasant and expensive thing to fix... have a search for sunroof and you'll find far too many results :( Temp gauge for water? It's probably just the sensor in the coolant system, which is fairly easy and cheap to replace...or of course a disconnected wire.

Not sure if the window mech has different wiring on it, so perhaps you will need to faff about?

The word moonroof will help you in your search :)

True, but they are awesome if you're the one in the aforementioned tractor... you can see for miiiiiiles :lol:

Yeah, it's probably legal, but the combination of their stupid high ride height and your low ride height mean you get their beams right in the eyeball(s) :(

You sure it wasn't some kind of flood? :lol: :roll: 'tis very sad though :(

They are, but not really a braking upgrade, they just seem to be a bit more resilient to death :lol: Alternatively, you can get rebuild kits for them, so strip them right down, clean them up, replace all the seals and they should be good for a few more years yet.

Hehe, how bizarre :lol:

Skinz is the stuff Audioscape sell I believe? It's thicker than Dynamat (3mm versus 2mm) and a fair bit cheaper, although you can get similar prices for it online if you shop around. They do also sell 2mm stuff though. I've got a virgin Corrado that I'm going to be sound deadening soon, so have been thinking about the options. Under the rear bench and boot carpet and the rear 1/4s are going to be 3mm Skinz. The front doors are probably going to be 2mm stuff because it gets a bit too heavy otherwise and the hinges sag :( I'm also quite keen to get some kind of acoustic foam down too, so it keeps the cabin quieter. The Skinz/Dynamat bitumen sheet stuff stops vibrations, but it doesn't soak up sound, so the foam on top should do. I'm looking at possibly some stuff to replace the crappy grey foam on the backs of the door cards and/or stuff to go under the boot carpet and rear seats/rear 1/4s, but not sure what to use yet. I need to have a chat with James when I've got some dosh to spend, but at the moment I just need to sell the old Corrado to free up some money.

So it's probably better than previous ones, but won't be any replacement for one running from mains juice.

I just keep the receipts and put the mileage and date that I fitted the parts on there. It hadn't actually occured to me to write in the service book, but I don't see any reason why not. If you want to be really anal, I'm sure you could get a "VW Specialist" stamp made up and use that :lol: Edit: Just had a quick search and it looks like there's places that'll make custom rubber stamps up from £5+

And if you think the Caterham version is silly... how about shoe-horning it into an ATOM!?!! :lol: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default ... ryId=17680

Aye, that's the jobber. No idea how to wedge it open though, cos when we did mine the other week, we didn't bother :lol:

There's a bias valve that controls the front/rear brake balance attached to the rear axle on the passenger side. Can't remember how exactly, but you need to wedge it open so fluid can move freely front-to-back. It'll flow without wedging it open, but not quite as freely as when you wedge it open.