davidwort

well the top nut isn't tight then.

that's a scruffy old car and those seats looks very tired, wishful thinking on the price I think, given the interior could do with a £1000 plus retrim.

Rolson :lol:

just get some febi ones, they might last, I've had a pair on my 8v that are fine but that's on standard springs so they don't get much of a hammering, either that or go for some mk3 spring top plates and the VR/mk3 GTI/MK4 2 piece mounts.

I think someone had water draining in through a missing or damaged speedo or throttle cable grommet the other day the worst possible cause is corrosion under the window seal, usually at the point the A pillar meets the bonnet and wing, the outser seal is just push fit so pull it up at the bottom/end and see if there is any rust careful with those door membranes though, there are little drain holes in the inner door skin and ideally the membrane should be stuck with mastic just below these to prevent water sitting in between the door skin and the membrane where it always finds a way in

is the mk3 mount the same style as the early Corrado, or is it the mk4 (separate bearing and rubber) type, you can't fit mk4/VR6 type two piece mounts to early spring plates, you need to change the top spring plate and make sure it has the matching diameter for the spring tops you have (there's a couple of sizes)

I never understood the mk2 scirocco, mk1 golf underpinnings (not great if we're being honest, at least once we got out of the 70's!) but heavier than a mk1, and then one of VW's first attempts at styling a car by themselves - and it shows. Then they only ever made the 16v in LHD. And the Passat parts bin raided wing mirrors are ugly, at least the Corrado got it's own!

right, after totally snapping the heater flap control cogs off their spindle (seems a stiff Bowden cable was the culprit after all) I decided to re-engineer the controls :lol: the heater flap knob moves two Bowden cables so is under quite a bit of strain and if forced enough (as I discovered) you can snap the peg the bottom cog rotates on. The peg is just a moulded part of the base of the whole unit an at 5mm diameter I thought I might be able to find something stronger and fit it somehow. In the end a bolt with a part smooth shank with the head cut off and a notch dremelled out of it in the tip, did the job. drilled out the broken plastic peg: Corrado heater control by David0011, on Flickr bolt fitted in it's place: Corrado heater control by David0011, on Flickr top of bolt (new cog spindle) needs a notch cut out for a lug on one of the Bowden cable levers: Corrado heater control by David0011, on Flickr unfortunately I'd already araldited it in place when I realized it needed the notch! Corrado heater control by David0011, on Flickr anyhow, Dremel to the rescue, crude but enough metal trimmed out for the lever notch to be able to move to the centre position: Corrado heater control by David0011, on Flickr

People who look after cars tend to hang on to them, you always have to ask why someone is selling a car, ok sometimes it's genuinely that they need something bigger or more economical but they'll always be outnumbered by the 'it's starting to cost me money, time to get rid' types. What really surprised me was how worn, damaged and also poorly repaired, many sub three year old ex fleet cars there are on the market, I've seen some really rough ones at some car supermarkets You've just got to keep searching for a good one, can be demoralising though!

bit like saying do you want a Corrado or a mk1 seat Toledo though...

V good price delivered, 10/40 semi or 5/40 fully synth www.carparts4less.co.uk/Engine-Oils

you tried AVS? http://www.vwspares.co.uk/corrado_cooling.php

the 1.8 16v has 3 identical small black top temp sensors and the thermotimeswitch, I think that's why there are 4 holes on the 16v head casting, the 2L 16v doesn't need one of them I guess.

also check the rear lights, and down the sides of the bottom edge of the wheel arches in the boot, water can run quite quickly into the footwells of the car from the back, but I have to agree the door membranes and door skin design are rubbish and this is where water usually gets in, unless it's on the passenger side when the fan intake scuttle seal can let it pour in.

like Jim says, you should just about be able to see any discolouration of the reflector by looking through the glass at various angles, tends to go nearest the bulb where it gets hottest. Bulbs also go off, so swapping them side to side may narrow down the problem, but I bet there's been some water ingress and corrosion on the connectors added with the aftermarket loom, have a good look at those.

I have a solution! simply bypass the control! troublesome cammed slot: Corrado heater control by David0011, on Flickr the fix: Corrado heater by David0011, on Flickr

I'd check where you joined wires back up after removing the HID kit, the originals must have been used to trigger it, Although, now you've explained it, the stalk 'flash' and 'switch on main beam' suggests the wiring is OK but the column switch is not toggling on/off

cheers, but I think it's the cammed/slotted section in the centre of the control gear that is cause the problem, it rides around in a circle doing nothing for 3/4 of the rotation of the knob until you get to the screen setting, it then curves abrubtly to move the screen flap cable, this has been getting stiff for ages and the slot itself is worn I think, no amount of white grease seemed to help and yet the bowden cable was easy to move manually once just past the start of the 'cammed' section very warm feet and a very slow screen clearing this morning :lol: about to go and have a look at it in my lunchtime...

I'm assuming nobody has added relays under the bonnet for the lights? all original wiring up to the headlight units under the bonnet? You can check everything with a cheap multimeter, I'd start by double-checking that the steering column switch is really triggering properly and providing the feed out to the lights, earth at the lights is shared with the dip so it won't be that.

I think the dirko stuff said wet-on-wet, so I put a thin bead on both sump and block and bolted straight up, left overnight before running but I don't think it needs that long. Use sparingly though, as on most flat surfaces you'll just squeeze loads out of the sides and you don't want bits of sealant possibly coming off inside the engine.

heater control bust on the screen/feet flap this morning, Bowden cables are fine and free, I know that from changing the air distribution unit, I have a Passat control panel in there at the moment and can confirm they are as 5h1t as the Corrado ones, thinking of swapping in an early dash now :lol:

I've used this on mk4 sump and have also used the white VW stuff, the Dirko-Elring sealant is pretty much as good as the VW stuff and it worked well on my Corrado gearbox selector tower bottom bearing cap too. Not sure why VW would spec a different sealant for side covers though???

Wire in pic 4 may be for the fan run on switch, to keep the fuel lines cool, switch is on top left front cam cover nut

I'd polish rather than paint an alternator looks good imo and more original, starters can have a polished top and silk black case to look new/oem

Happy new year everyone! ... and I'm never ever drinking again :-(