davidwort

you can, it's just finding a blade with the correct cross section to slot into the plastic part, I've only ever found replacement rubber for conventional blades that have a different cross section, aero blades only seem to be sold complete. although I think I've just found them: e-bay £8.20 delivered for 2 28" refills

think you mean Irwin bolt grippers, Supercharged always raves about them, not cheap tools tho. Whenever I've encountered one like this I've always managed to tap them round with a hammer and small chisel, or a chisel and then a punch once you've started a notch in the bolt head.

Try Bedford Batteries and Motor-serve too.

I got my drop links from GSF, Northampton is prob nearest for you? The bits GSF didn't have I got from VW, washers and some of the bushes and were pretty cheap. looking at the GSF drop links though they are quite inferior to the VAG ones, don't think they'll last nearly as long. drop link 191 411 315A all 4 cyl Corrados, 1990 onwards golf mk2's and polos from 1996-2002, caddy from 96-03 you also want 4 rubber rings 6N0 411 329 and 2 washers and nuts 861 411 331 and N 906 350 01

I'd be aware that the pre 2001 9-5's shared a bit too much in common with the Vauxhall Vectra, after 2001 they made enough changes for them to handle reasonably.

is that really the wishbone that broke, the pic looks like it was the end of the subframe that gave way due to corrosion, nasty though.

that's exactly what I bought, a golf vr6 rack, it's listed as the same part number as the corrado VR rack and next to my 16v rack it's exactly the same, just need to screw the 16v track rods into it instead of the Vr plus-axle ones that are longer. If you have a pre '92 corrado 16v or G60 you'll need the later 22 spline UJ to go with the later/VR rack.

halfords site says: Nitromors Automotive- Can be used on some modern painted plastic mouldings such as ABS Please note: This product should not be used on glass fibre

They're pretty solid and reliable beasts really, obviously at that age the individual car's condition is the most important thing and it was only the advent of the mk4's that bought the fully galvanised bodies so check well for metal-worm - don't buy one from a seaside town :lol: I'd say that although the 16v mk3 has the strong ABF engine there's not as many around and you pay a hefty premium for them. The 2.0 8v doesn't have the top end of a 16v and not the best reputation for outright performance but they're quite capable, reliable and pretty economical and you should be able to pick a decent one up pretty cheaply. Easy engines to work on too, plenty of space in the engine bay. Rear axle bushes may need attention if the car feels funny driven quickly round the twisty bits.

no worries, just pm me, had my valver for years and know most of the nuts and bolts now lol

from VW, I'd sit down and then give them a call, upwards of 400 quid I think, maybe quite a bit more. Best bet is a mk3 or seat ibiza rack second hand, a vr6 golf one, mk3 GTI or 16v, Ibiza 16v, all the same ratio rack, just need a universal joint from the bottom of the column to go with it as the early corrados have a 36 spline input instead of the later 22. You need to fit the shorter 16v track rods to a mk3 rack that's the only other thing. You can get recon racks from various suppliers for around 150 to 200 quid but their reliability is questionable, I got a prefectly sound mk3 rack for 40 quid.

i dont think so, the early scirocco 16v's used to use a hex head M14x1 but was 5x46 with a washer, the 8v sciroccos used a 5x33 and the corrado uses a 5x39 12 pt like the later scirocco 16v

If the seals inside the rack go the track rod boots fill up with PS fluid so you wont see it escaping, the pumps rarely seem to leak themselves, it's usually the pressure hose, a corroded rigid line on the outside of the rack or the internal pressure seals in the rack.

Sorry to say but aftermarket sunroofs are generally pretty poor quality and as they don't have the drain system of a factory roof they're all the more prone to leaks. It won't have any VAG components and a passat glass roof is basically like a factory Corrado roof, so that wont be of any help. Best bet is to search for a similar roof from a breakers or fit another aftermarket roof of the same size or bigger that is either new or in reasonable nick, aftemarket roofs were popular about 10-15 yrs ago so there's plent of choice in scrap yards.

if it's whining rather than a high pitched squeek, then it may well be the pressure valve inside has stuck and the pump is constantly pumping pressure to the rack rather than only when demanded by the rack, best get sorted asap or the pressure hose will start leaking at the flexi hose section above the gearbox. Sometimes removing and cleaning the valve and it's tiny gauze filter will sort it out and changing the fluid, twice if really mucky, the valve requires the pressure hose to be remove from the pump first, then the two part valve and it's spring can be unscrewed. If the pulley on your replacement pump is a different size then chances are it's from a 2.0 16v and the pump driveshaft length will be wrong for yours.

should be 23mm (which is actually thicker than VR6!), some very early ones were 18mm according to etka, chassis no before K-002387 which would be 1989 build I think, so not 2.0.

this bit? (no.3) -Audi TT wishbone diagram BTW

Interesting reading and I've had a few thoughts about depreciation, maintenance costs, relaibility, driveability, rarity, creature comforts etc. of different cars whilst looking through this thread. An Ibiza Cupra/Cupra R is a good choice I reckon for you in a number of ways, (you should also be able to get a 2002 180T Leon cupra on 60K miles for around £5.5k too.) but when you factor in all running costs including depreciation don't expect any car to cost you little or nothing to run. There's a fair few bits on a more modern 1.8T based car that will cost you more to maintain than a 1.8 16v.

The only real difference is the gearing, from the mk2 golf 16v onwards, Corrados and mk3 GTI's and VR6's had basically the same 'quick' racks, just changing input splines as you say from about 1992, 8v mk2 GTI's and smaller engined golfs and polos have lower ratio racks. Also worth noting that Ibiza cupras and toledos with the 16v engines have the same rack as the corrados. I think you'll find the caddy has a lower ratio rack. Don't know what exchange VW racks are like, not sure if they are really all new parts now, but refurbed racks from other suppliers in the UK seem to have had mixed reviews, I guess because they simply re-use any parts that are still 'within tolerance' and often just clean them and replace seals, fine for a polo or passat run-around for a year or two, but show their wear on a higher performance car.

call these guys AVS rear FEBI mount for my 16v from them has been fine all the Corrados have 3 mounts. On the 16v, from my experience: front (usually the one to go as it takes all the strain when accelerating hard) rear (under exhaust downpipe) original VAG ones rarely go as the engine just sits on them, they get a bit softer over the years, my 17yr old 150K one was still OK when I swapped it out. gearbox mount (small one that sits in a recess in the subframe on the end of the two brackets seen to the rear right of the gearbox viewed from the top, they don't seem to wear too badly, on the 16v at least, but are cheap to replace)

Have a search on the Club GTI forum, there's been more people on there with modified K-jet 16v cars running aftermarket cams, they'll be better placed to recommend lift/duration on exhaust and inlet, depends what you are after torque/power wise, but from what I recall some can be a b1tch to set up spot on. It's also worth remembering that any loss of low end torque to gain top end power will be more noticeable on the corrado as it's a fair bit heavier than a mk2 16v golf.

I wouldn't, the ECU controls this in place of the mechanical Warm Up Regulator on the 1.8 16v, I'd imagine it's factory calibrated and I've heard of 9A metering heads causing major problems if they're tampered with in an attempt to rectify running problems caused by other components, like leaking vac hoses or dodgy lambda probes. If you want to tune the 9A system (for headwork or cams for example) it really needs a re-map.

as long as the hangers are the same then yes. the hangers changed on the facelift and change to the 2.0 16v, so no, a 2L system wont fit on a 1.8 without welding new hooks to the system or hangars to the car.

I was saying 180 estimated at the crank. 125bhp at the wheels is pretty healthy though, for comparison a standard 1.8 16v usually sees around 110bhp, an 8v 1.8 GTI would be lucky to make 100, usually nearer 90-95. to make more than 180bhp from a 2L 16v it's going to have to be built for revs and have higher lift cams, the only problem then is you move the torque curve higher up the rev range too.

The genuine VW blades that came with my lupo arms have lasted very well, must be nearly a couple of years by now and they are still fine although washer fluid and how regularly you clean them may have an effect on their lifespan. No problem with the arms either, the whole point of them is that the springs are stronger and hold the blades down better than the old worn Corrado ones, so your's must be damaged or bent or something?