davidwort

I'd imagine the UJ is a different length, the columns are different I've got a Corrado one at home so if you can measure a mk2 one I can give you the C one's dimensions no, you wont get the spline end off. message is a bit ambiguous though, I'm assuming you're talking about the steering UJ, you're not talking about the CV joints are you?

as far as I've been able to find out the only real difference other than the VR6 ones having longer track rods bolted in (which can be swapped for 4 cyl ones) is the fact that LHD VR6's have a different type of rack, easily identifiable by webbed ribbing in the casting of the main rack body, can't be many in the UK though.. The RHD Corrado/golf3 VR6 rack I have at home is identical to the 16v one. You could even use an early 36 spline rack in a late (post 92) car if you obtained the corresdponding UJ. Some SEAT's use the same rack (Ibiza Cupra to 2002, 16v toledo to 1997) and even some polo's, 16v estate I believe. Many other models use basically the same rack (more basic golfs and SEATs), the difference with them being a slightly slower rack, bit more distance lock to lock, perfectly useable on a Corrado though, at least one person I've heard of fitting a low mileage SEAT rack from a lower down the range car, didn't seem to have any problems and possibly better than fitting a higher mileage corrado one.

have a good search on the forum, the main changeover of parts comes with the 1992 facelift of the Corrado. Wings, bonnets, lights, grilles, dash and electrics changed then with some overlap on dates for different parts. You should be alright with a sunroof mechanism, but the motor and electrics changed in 1992, as did the headlights, the lenses sit further back on the pre 92 cars as does the grille, although it's only the actual glass and trim on the light unit that changed, the main unit/reflector is interchangeable.

don't know what the VR ones are like but the 16v and G60 Bosch alternators start to suffer from duff diodes after about 10 years old, this is not repairable as the diodes are part of a circuit board and the outer winding, so a genuine Bosch exchange from VW with it's (2yr?) warranty might be a good investment if you plan to keep the car for any length of time.

sounds like you need a new throttle cable, they wear really badly as they have to turn 180 degrees over the manifold.

I've just bought some from these guys: e-bay

I'd just pop down to your nearest scrap yard and collect a fist full of pipes and connectors from various VWs and Audis of around the same age, I've got a boxfull of spares like this for when I spot rubber perishing etc. Trying to get VAG to order the right bits will be a mare and you'll probably have to wait for some of them on back order anyway, then pay far too much for them. you need to collect a few lengths of rigid vacuum pipe a few right angle rubber elbows and some straight rubber connectors, perhaps the odd 'T' piece connector, these are used on most polo's golfs passats and Audi 80/100's up to 1996 at least.

lift the reservoir out of it's bracket, squeeze the sides of the bracket together about 5-10mm with an adjustable wrench (and something to protect the bracket paint, like a rag) and the reservoir will then sit a bit higher and clear the weight, you might have to twist the feed hose a bit from the resevoir to rack, may need to slacken and then re-tightenen the jubilee clip a small amount. It does make the shift in/out feel heavier and more purposeful, once you get the weight moving the momentum does seem to improve the shift a fair bit.

the system is pressurised when hot, the cap should have a symbol on warning you not to attempt to open it! :shock:

fitting a mk4 pop up style would be cool... ...but probably wouldn't physically fit above the fogs in the bumper thinking about it.

24 I think

you can buy the parts for the gearlever end from VAG, not GSF AFAIK, pain as you have to take the gearlever assembly out, by either removing the exhaust and doing it from underneath or dremmelling the centre tunnel a bit to get clearance to do it inside the car. I think the GSF parts are for the rod change mk2 box, sounds like that's what you mean Goldie as you said 'Golf and Jetta' ? The box end on the 02A cable change corrado/passat box is not the best design, and most of the parts will be hideously expensive from VW as it involves the whole shift tower, look for a late passat (93-96) or corrado one or possible a mk3 one from a S/H box, I've bought a couple recently for around 25 quid, just the selector tower, they vary from one year to the next as VW tried to improve them, eventually they sort of started from scratch and designed the mk4 system which would be more work to fit but possible.

I've never had any trouble with the OEM/Quality parts GSF supply, it's the cheaper pattern parts they do that can be rubbish. My first problem was a mk1 headlight, gave practicaly no beam pattern, but Hella one, (from GSF) was perfect @ 21 quid at the time Since then I've bought loads of distributor caps, bearings, plug leads, brake parts and filters and never had any trouble - just look for the names like FEBI, bilstein, bosch, valeo etc. and preferably find a sales asssitant that knows the VW parts well. GSF rear (BQ - best quality) disks should be fine, but their bearings have a bad rep recently (you need these for new rear disks really) they used to do SKF bearings and these have been fine for me for years, but I'm not sure they stock them anymore.

LOL, five of them trying to do the bushing with a vice! (that's the 'how not to do it' way, BTW)

You're adding 10% displacement so torque rises across the rev range in about the same proportion, expect around 125lb/ft from a healthy 1.8 and 140-145 from a good 9A. Even a standard 2.0 16v Corrado with it's flat intake cam feels more torquey to drive than a 1.8, so if you use the 1.8 K-jet and inlet cam on a 2L bottom end you will get a nice hike in power and low-mid range torque. Feeling quicker is a difficult one, if you use the 1.8 cams the engine will still have very much the same characteristics, just 10% more go over most of the rev range, it will definately be quicker but you soon get used to the additional power and it will still need 3,500-4000 revs before it really gets going on the 1.8 cams. I've found a 2L 16v audi block for 100 quid before (only the sump and oil pickup pipe are different) , so it is possible to do the conversion (using your own labour) for under two hundred quid, including all the consumables and even a headgasket set and bolts. If you find a running MOT failure audi or passat it's worth just swapping the lumps, if you feel a bit more flush and have the time and want to keep the car longer, then a strip down, re-hone of the bores and new bearings is a good investment, don't risk non VAG engine bearings though, far too many destroyed blocks around from taking that shortcut :(

It's a steam cleaner you need and not just a presure washer, and protect your electrics, distributor etc, they don't work well damp :) The 16v cam cover seal design is pants, far too easy for the seals to not make a proper oil tight seal in the corners, especially where the seal goes over the exhaust cam/distributor drive ends, get the inlet off, clean the surfaces as free from oil as possible , fit a new seal and put a dab of silicone sealant in the corners (some people have told me they use a gasket sealant as some manufacturers specify, GM and some Jap engines I believe), try to spot the seal squeezing out of line anywhere as you tighten all the nuts up, don't overdo them, they only need nipping up and as they are small 10mm bolts only need about 10lb/ft of torque, best to gently nip up and put a dab of threadlock on each. Could be a cam seal at cambelt end or a leaking seal on the distributor itself if the distruibutor is worn, you'd get loads of oil inside the distributor if that's the case and they have a small drain hole underneath Rare for oil to leak from anywhere else really, head gaskets aren't prone to oil leaks AFAIK.

From what I recall if you disconnect both(?) elec connectors to the metering head the ecu will run in average settings, ignoring the signals from temp sensors etc, there was a 2.0 16v at Stealth like this at the last rolling road event which wouldn't idle or run properly, pulling the plugs made it run OK, and I believe it was the lambda sensor that was shot in the end they'd fitted a pattern part that was a pice of cr@p. I'm sure the 1988-91 passat Haynes manual covers this.

You'd be surprised what you can see by eye, using the rear wheel rim as reference, I'm not saying you could tell half a degree out on one side, but you'd certainly be able to tell if there was a major problem like positive camber. If you look at RWD cars on the road, it's pretty easy to see the negative camber on the rears.

plain old black, when it's clean.

cold start injector (valve) arrowed in red this is a pic of 9A 2.0 16v engine, basically the same system but with an electronic controlunit on the side of metering head instead of a warm up regulator bolted to the right hand side of the head

Passat and Corrado used the 9A (passat from around 1991-92, ABF 2L 16v in facelifted 93 cars, KR 1.8 16v in early 88-1991 cars) Audi 80/coupe used 6A (longways version of 9A, different manifolds and sump/oil pickup, same head and block/crank/pistons etc.) later cars (using EFI and longblock plus slightly revised 16v head) : mk3 16v/Ibiza cupra used (ABF) Audi 80/coupe (ACE) I think the toledo used the 1.8 KR 16v then moved to the ABF engine, not 9A

Going off topic again and risking opening a well worn discussion elsewhere, but supermarkets don't own refineries. The base fuel comes from the same places as brands. The main difference between brands and between brands and supermarkets is the additives, admittedly I don't have a Corrado that can take advantage of better fuel but my 16v has always run fine on Tesco Super and just as smoothly on regular, I've tried tanks of Optimax etc but it's never made any difference even though it was set up on a rolling road using Optimax. If you run on regular unleaded then Shell/BP etc does make a small difference to resitance to pinking, my dad's old coked up Audi 80 used to pink on Tesco regular but not Shell.

It's a 1.8 though, no cat or lambda. need to check the injector spray patterns by pulling them and running into jam jars, also make sure cold start valve isn't running all the time (un-plug? - right hand end of inlet manifold at the front) check fuel system pressures (gauge and right connectors needed) check air plate moves freely with even, smooth resistance from plunger in metering head (un clip air box to do this and gently push plate up) is air filter clean are plugs, leads rotor arm OK, hall sender on distributor might be dodgy, coils themselves rarely fail what is the condition of each plug, all the same would indicate fuel problem possible but would rule out a mechanical or electrical problem associated with one cylinder

park with the wheels straight ahead on the level, look down the side of the car from the front in line with the body/door, do the front wheels look like they have different camber to the rears, they should very slightly (by eye) lean in at the top, if the camber is way too positive, i.e. leaning out at the top the cornering would be poor, it could have a bent wishbone or something. Are the dampers leaking at all, are any of them really soft?

GSF supply exactly the same part for the mk2 front diesel mount as they do for a 16v mk2 (and Passat or Corrado 16v), they may have been different in the past? The genuine VAG front mount parts are both hydraulic but have different part numbers, I guess the diesel one is slightly tougher (unlike 8v petrol mk2's which are just rubber) Diesel and auto 16v's share the same part.