davidwort

I don't know about the VR6 type alternator but on the bosch units the plate and all of the diodes that form the AC-DC rectifier are one unit connected to the outer windings, it would be very hard to repair, not like just swapping over a brush pack unfortunately.

most of the time it's the outers, they'll click when driving slowly on full lock.

A knackered alternator can drain the battery overnight, the energy dissapated as heat, so if the alternator feels warmish to the touch in the morning when everything else is stone cold then the alt is kaput. 13v is too low with the engine running, I think you have diode rectifier problems inside the alternator.

yep, does the alt get warm all by itself?

same as a 2.0 16v and only available from VAG i think so your dealer should be able to order the right parts for you with your Reg plate/engine number they're probably quite steep, so I'd consider samco type hoses made up from a reducer bend from head and some straight lengths VAG parts are: 191 819 373H return (same as 1990=1992 16v golf) 191 819 371H feed (same as all 16v golfs) this thread covers making up the hoses from the supplier called sfs (Google UK them) just re-read that post and it says the head to matrix hose is not available from VAG any more so you may have to make one up.

was chatting about this at Stanford Hall with a few peeps, it seems all VW's after about 1988 (IIRC) use the green fluid, it's just that VW used an earlier golf part for the reservoir on the 1.8 16v corrados, i.e. don't go by the lettering molded into the tank, it's the VAG service info that specifies which cars use which fluid.

some of the early 1988- passats had a cable operated clutch I believe, on the 02A gearbox, but I'd have thought that the main reason for VW going to hydraulic was that the clutches were getting bigger and beefier and most drivers these days are softies wanting light power steering, brakes they hardly have to press and clutch pedals that are easy to press down.

fuel duty subsidises a lot of other things though, NHS etc... it's more acceptable as a tax to most as it's indirect, I've never paid it myself but I can remember my parents paying more than 1/3 of their income in income tax alone (bottom rate that was) although admittedly VAT was lower. There's a massive public sector to support now and I'm sort of part of it, which is always puzzing as my taxation goes to pay my wages :? :scratch:

if you've ever seen comparable torque plots I'd say you'll gain a bit on mpg, particularly if you drive round town a lot, much flatter torque curve from the flat 9A intake cam.

I think the really worrying thing is that it takes many months for hikes like this to feed through into really affecting peoples lives on necessities, most people have a bit of leway for a while with overdrafts and credit cards but if things continue the way they are for the rest of the year we'll be seeing the knock on effects from the downturn in retail and service sector on jobs eventually. My take is things are only just starting to get hard, we're going to be in for a bad few years yet. I notice the fuel price increase on my own monthly outgoings but the cost to companies of 30% increases in fuel for all those company vehicles has got to have a pretty serious impact in the medium/long term.

classic symptoms of a cheap aftermarket rad, the 430mm rad for the 16v is a 16v specific part, many of the pattern 430mm rads are intended for small engined carbed mk2 golfs and have far fewer cores than the genuine 16v rad even though they look identical at first glance. Basically if the rad you bought was around 50-60 quid it'll be the wrong one, the correct part is around £120 from VAG.

Jetex filter cleaner and oil kit from Inters a few years back has lasted me well and done several cleans, need an old washing up bowl or something for the cleaner, the kit was 10 quid IIRC

get a similar thing on my valver on very cold mornings, I'm sure it's a high resistance/dodgy wire to the temp sender, or you might have a bad earth somwhere.

Bally sent you an e-mail, but I reckon it could be the rad fan switch, just seems odd how hot the water was coming out of the rad at the bottom hose to the engine, it should have cooled down more than that now I think about it, the mk4 has a big old rad but the water coming out of the bottom of that is much cooler than going in at the top - obvious I know! as for the air lock, not sure we added at least 4 litres of coolant and there was probably a fair bit left in the system, the top and bottom hoses were definitely full of water as a lot bled out when we filled initially, are the heater matrix hoses both hot, if so then water is running through those too, I'm doubtful there's much air in there TBH. how does it drive with the ignition timing right? I'm sure it was on about 15 degrees at idle before yesterday!

there's two types of that sender, one replaces the idle pressure warning switch the other the higher rated driving pressure switch (the two are rated at 0.3 and 1.3 bar or similar respectively) get the right sender and you can replace either existing switch, although I'd have thought you could swap the locations around anyway.

The pump pressure valve is a common problem on mk2 golfs or 4cyl corrados, I'd imagine the VR pump is much the same as the racks are the same, sometimes the valve can be removed and cleaned successfully other times the drilling they move in gets scored and a new pump is the only option. Don't hold it on the stop on full lock, in fact the owners manual should tell you not to do this as it strains everything. If the steering is very heavy when stationary then I think you've got a real problem, the PAS systems are on the heavy side but it should still be fairly easy to turn with proper full power assistance, it does sound more like a pump on it's last legs.

which is why VW will always ask for the regisrtation plate, chassis number and engine number, well they will if they know what they are doing. The late 1.8 16v's simply moved to the 2L 16v setup for pulleys, deleting the unreliable idler pulley on the water pump - which was a good idea. The result is you have a different length of shaft required on the PS pump, which is why it's different to the early 1.8 pump. Most of the engine parts will be the same as any other 1.8 16v though.

looks to me like the 68x44 is the only type that would fit the hook type hangars on a 1.8 although I've found that on aftermarket exhausts you need to work through a selection of hangar lengths t oget the best fit and support, which would mean using a wider range of rubber hangars.

I had a 2nd hand wing and tailgate prepped and painted for 250 quid, top job from a local chap who's sadly retiring now, would have liked him to do the rest of the car, generally it works out at around 200 quid a panel for the work my dad's garage get done for them, obviously this would be cheaper per panel the more work is done on one car.

those green indicators are shyte, they fail all the time when the batteries are perfect, my current Hella one has been telling me the battery is kaput for the last 2 years.

doesn't white spirit leave an oil film, I've tried nothing (just wiping with clean cloth after sanding) and meths, it's like the top coat shrinks sometimes, and it takes weeks if not a few months to go like it.

That sounds pretty rubbish of Halfords, GSF just swapped my 2.5 yr old Bosch silver with no questions asked, just wanted to see my original proof of purchase.

I've had the same problem on bare metal with Acrylic spray can primers and just a can of halfords top coat, can't see it's a paint and primer issue as the cans have both been from halfords on occasion. It does seem fine when I've just sprayed some top coat over some existing top coat on the car though, so perhaps it's a problem of thick cheap primer applied??? Was going to try an etching primer next time.

I have the same problem, stevo29 was a body shop guy, I'll pm him.

does anyone do a degaussing kit for the Corrado? or am I barking up the wrong tree (Physics wise)