Yandards

There are 2 types of spark plug socket, you want the smaller diameter one. If you go to Halfords etc you can see the 2 different types.

Yeah just waiting on the mains coming over from Germany. Been using the nice weather to sort out the garage for the winter, hopefully fixed the leaking roof, painted the floor today and tomorrow its the walls. If it's bit a less gloomy in there I might be more inclined to get in there! You could have come over for a brew with your lunch, I am only down the road from Lossie (strange it being work and all :))

AH the chasing of the illusive rattle, that's a rubbish game! I intend to get the back of all my plastic trim flocked at some point, should help keep the squeaks down a bit.

Idle MS will give you a much higher idle (around 1500 rpm upwards) BTS will have little input on a warm engine as the failed condition means the ECU assumes a value of 60 degrees coolant temp, giving you a stable idle in a warmed up car. Only thing that really affects the idle that much at idle is the ISV, an irratic warm idle points towards the ISV failing as the resistance on the field windings is breaking down with heat or it cannot adapt quickly enough due to a oil contaminated jacking piston. Take it off and give it a clean out with carb cleaner and see if it improves. Note that it will only be a temporary fix and your ISV will need to be replaced.

You can't get it anymore from the dealers :( I tried with my Mk2 and its all been deleted Er your dealers lying to you then, all the rear suspension (and front for that matter) is still available for both 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder models. It's not cheap though at £100 per side for a rear damper and £60 for a spring. But you can still buy the stuff. If I ever get enough money together to do it I was always planning on a complete OE rebuild of the suspension on my nugget just to see what its like, no one has done it so it is difficult to be objective about the quality of the original set-up when you don't have an 'as new' base for comparison.

Yes, you need to set-up the timing dynamically at around 6 deg BTDC at 2000-2500 rpm. I assume you are getting fuel flow?

Having both types of column to drive I can say the fixed column feels tighter, however my adjustable column is no-where near as bad as Jim's was. Given the age of the car and the previous history (high mileage, slammed with really wide streched rims) it is not suprising the tie rods and steering column have become that worn. Glad you think it was worth the effort Jim, a new rack may not be needed, I would expect swapping the tie rods out will improve things even further and a rack swap will give you little noticeable gains. Interesting that the difference you experience seems to suggest the lower UJ may not have as much input into vague steering as has been suggested in the past.

Yes a blowing exhaust will cause that. The lambda sensor downstream of the blowing point on the exhaust is telling engine to add extra fuel as it thinks (thanks to the blow) that there is not enough fuel and too much air.

You can still buy fuel pumps but be prepared for a very large bill..

Pull the spring clip towards you and then the end of the plug at the spring clip should lever out and unlatch the plastic lug at the other end. The sliding black plastic style ECU connector is not used on the G60s or KR cars, it's a later style ECU/electrical plug locking feature. Sounds like one of your vacuum pipes is loose or the idle screw is not in the right spot and the ISV is trying to compensate, did you make sure the ECU vacuum hose is 1 meter in length? Did you do the full set-up procedure after changing the idle screw (Timing check, CO mixture adjustment and idle adjustment)?

no trouble fitting it - but the spare one I had the filter ring is able to move along the "rod" part, where the one I took out the filter seem to be stuck in one place - was just wondering what was "right" - also could a bad vacuum hose on the FPR cause it to operate wrongly at startup maybe?. No the filter element should be fairly well stuck be as it sits on a lip in the fuel rail it will hold it in place ok and it is 'just' a filter element. As for the start-up problem, no it won't be the FPR vacuum hose as that would cause poor running regardless of cold or hot.

Any luck with these fella? Yeah ordered them yesterday.. Obviously was pretty pee'd off with the car when I got it home so it has sat in the garage for a couple of weeks and I then went on holiday for 3 weeks. Current plan depending on when the bearings arrive is to get the job done in a weekend so I can keep the build debris down to a minimum. If the bits arrive late next week that would be ideal. I would like to be able to drive it before the gritters take to the roads for the winter so will be aiming to get some miles in as soon as it's rebuilt and subject to some good (11 bar ish) compression figures. If it still won't go then it will down the route of an ABF with stacked head gaskets instead of the KR lump..

The later style shifter towers also help with gearshift as the design was continually modified to compensate for the movement of the engine, again not a cheap option but Dave Worts valver has a sublime gearchange and he spent a good few years swapping parts to get there. The Corrado gearbox change mechanisms went through a few revisions during the production cycle with the addition of a balance weight (it's terrible without it) and the cable mount bracket on the gearbox is changed too. You will also be suprised at the number of folks driving around with their gearbox cables not quite set-up correctly; this can really mess up your gear changes, especially under heavy load. Unfortunately the VW tool to do it is not readily available and you have to do a best guess by eye.

Filter ring (o ring seal) need to stay in place on the rod, these newer style of FPR are a very neat compact design and both fuel into the rail (the large filter element area) and fuel return 'rod' need to be sealed from the outside and each other. If you are struggling to fit the FPR then try lubing the o ring seals with some brake fluid.

Yes, the tweaks to both the cams and flywheel will affect the idle note considerably, stiffer mounts should have no effect on the smoothness of the idle but will provide more feedback of the engine noise than stock mounts.

Another option is to consider the DG Autotech chip remap, most VR6 owners report better idle behaviour and smoother power delivery with the flat spots removed. If you really want to go crazy then the same thing can be said of switching to the MK 3 Golf style OBD2 engine managment, this uses an idle stepper motor instead of an ISV and again the reports from people that have had this done lean towards smoother idle, increased fuel economy and driveability.

It's just part of the normal process all cars go through as they get older in terms of values. The previously mentioned Mk 2 Golfs being a prime example, 3 years ago a minter would set you back around a grand and it's now at least double that figure, the Corrado will go the same way and low mileage/well cared for examples will always command a premium but condition and maintenance becomes more and more relevant as time goes by. As for people just wanting the VR6 in the longer term, folks still want both 8v, 16v, G60 and Rallye Mk 2s with a strong demand for all of those varients, yes more people will want the VR6 as it's the more famous powerplant but if you have never driven a 4 cylinder you don't know what you are missing.

I cannot recommend polybushes for anywhere on the car. If you fit poly rear beam bushes you will loose the passive rear steering function that the rubber ones provide.

MOT passed today, bit of a suprise as it usually fails on something!!

Come up nicely Paul. I will say despite the overall paint finish being worse (more orange peel) on the early cars they definitely did a better job with the protective wax. You need a new bumpstop on the N/S/R too, it's minced and looks like it has some oil residue on it, that'll be the damper on the way out (Sorry).

Usual gunk in place. Unlike the darker colours cleaning the arches on red/white/silvers and nuggets really does stand out.

Despite all the hassle it has caused me over the last week this one is my new desktop

Prices are starting to creep up a little, especially for cars in good condition. There are less breakers up for sale and new spare parts availability is a lot worse than it was 2 years ago. They will go back up again in the next couple of years without doubt but I have no idea how quickly or by how much. If I had to guess I would say good Mk 2 Golfs prices plus a little extra.

Moved to suppliers :)

Interesting, although he was just hitting on your wife. The new 'rado rumours have been running around for years, although if one appears looking like the one in the Australian design study from about 6 months ago it would be no bad thing. I really can't see it though, the new 'rocco is expensive enough and the only reason the R spec one is not 4 wheel drive, unlike all the other R spec motors, is that is would compete with entry level TT's.