davidwort

ah, wouldn't the powder coat be tough enough?

halfords used to do high temp engine lacquer in various colours, less thean a tenner a small tin, but plenty to do a pair of calipers here you go: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165495

The height adjuster on the corrado steering column has two issues, one, the universal joint used gets play in it over time and can make the steering feel odd and two, the locating pin/position for the height level used the majority of the time also seems to wear, so you may have move movement in the 'usual' position than on highest or lowest, but the best solution is a whole column with less wear on it, or a fixed position column that some of the early cars and late 2.0L 8v cars had fitted. My bet is that your top mounts and track rods are the worst though.

17" tyres will amplify any problem, I suggest you check for play in the front suspension top mounts and then wishbone rear bushes and track rods (inner joint and end), bottom ball joints too. If the hydraulic valving in the rack is shot one side then you should feel the difference stationary or driving. Steering column height adjuster and even the tyres themselves might also be an issue.

need to do a thorough check of all the vacuum hoses, breather hoses and the air intake rubber boots first, then providing the engine is running cleanly (plugs are clean) and emissions right, then get the ECU scanned and start checking individual components like the temperature senders on the side of the head.

purely a personal taste thing, but I've never really liked any of the VW wheels from this era, and you can get some very nicely trimmed aftermarket wheels for 100-150 quid, I'm sure custom re-trimming is time consuming and skilled work but at 100 quid or so it doesn't stack up for me.

ah, thought they looked a bit unfamiliar! the 'normal' ratchet spanner sets are a good price though too.

are these for conventional hex head bolts :scratch: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65572#dtab

mk3 panel won't fit at all, very different shape.

good news on the MOT chap, always nice to get a ticket without having some nasties turn up, bummer about reversing and bumping the valver, you can always bring it up here, getting a dab hand with the spray gun :)

pull the hose off the back and blow an air line into them from the nozzle end you might find that hard water has scaled up the metal nozzle though, soak overnight in vinegar to remove that

slow day at work :lol:

only one thing to do to be sure: 5_TYRE_003_2.jpg[/attachment:2y6iscyu]

assuming you have a cable change (02A) box, it depends on your exact gearbox code (ratios may vary slightly), but a Corrado or Passat 2L 8v box would be the same, a 16v mk3 box would also do, but the ratios are a little shorter, I wouldn't use a Corrado or early Passat 16v box as the ratios are even shorter than the mk3 16v one. In any case 8v boxes should be eaier to come by. If it's a rod change box then some ibizas have the equivalent boxes.

I was very close to fitting a new rack, even bought a 2nd hand mk3 VR one (same as a 4cyl C one bar the track rods) but on inspection of the track rods we decided just to do those first. In the end the difference was so great with new track rods (the inner joints like yours Jim) clonked like a goodun rocked on full lock, that 3 years later my original (1990) rack is still going OK, unless it leaks I doubt I'll bother swapping it out. Like I said to you Jim, inner tie rod joints aren't MOT items, so badly worn ones get left on cars for years.

the proof Jim did get stuck into the job :) P1010262.JPG[/attachment:8zpl28xp]

as we discovered today :roll: there are two different fixed columns for the Corrado :? I've updated my original how-to thread to cover the alternate part numbers. HERE you need to match the correct column to the correct bottom bearing as there are two different diameter columns If you have a complete polo steering column to cannabalise you will be OK and have the right bits, but if you buy the column separate make sure you make a note of the correct bearing to match.

try here

I vote for an ABF with lowered engine mounts to make up for the extra height of block, ABF's are by far the best 16v lumps.

I think the rack has a lot to do with it, the first time I drove a mk4 based car was a 1.6 octavia, couldn't believe how easy it was to drive, but also how dull, obviously engineered to get from a to b comfortably driven be a week and weedy driver rather than to give any driving pleasure. But then I had gone from manual rack mk1 based cars and a heavy steering corrado to that. You should try a B2 passat estate with manual steering, even with a truck sized steering wheel that was a bugger to park anywhere.

the rack has different input shaft and angle to it and the subframe and engine mountings are all quite different, so are all the roll bar drop links etc, much more of a change than the small steps made in the mk2 and 3 variations over the years, I guess in the 'progress' made on noise isolation they also managed to isolate vibration and feel to the driver. Oh and not to mention mk4's have much bigger wheel and tyre sidewall size than mk2 and 3 chassis cars, all those little changes add up, much like the wear does to feel on worn out Corrado running gear.

directional tyres seem designed to shed water better, I can't see you'd have much of a problem using one as a spare up to the national speed limit, a VR rated tyre isn't going to shred at 70mph because it's run backwards. Of course if you are involved in a fatal RTA then the insurance/courts might be a bit funny about it.

I had a mk2 1.3 on skinny 155's or something once, that was still very heavy to manoeuvre, these cars were built with geometry to make them stable when driving but unfortunately that makes for heavy manual steering. all new bushings, mountings, ball joint etc might help and if you can do the job yourself it's pretty easy and cheap to do, but you won't make them as easy as a modern PAS car to park etc.

mk 4 column is a lovely bit of engineering, 120K on mine now and solid as it was at 20K, it's all the rest of the mk4 running gear that's the problem. It's a shame the polo adjustable column is too low to work in a corrado (their dash is higher), because the polo height adjuster moves the entire column so no UJ as an adjuster as on the C and therefore much more rigid.

what size tyres and pressure does it have, does it run straight without pulling to one side? - geometry could affect the steering resistance I guess not got a small non standard steering wheel? a non pas polo should have pretty small wheels/tyres and be fairly easy to turn from lock to lock when stationary top mounts could be an issue, but you'll usually get quite pronounced knocking from the suspension telling something's wrong there, if you jack the car up you should be able to feel the play in the top mounts.