craigowl

Claybarred mine yesterday (stop tittering at the back!). Much easier than I thought, hardly felt anything. If it's like this, I suppose it proves your paintwork has been looked after by an obsessional neurotic or two and probably wasn't worth doing anyway? Gives you a psychological boost, though, knowing you have at least "done it" like most of the keen guys! :shock: ooh...err!

Agree with scarlett. Many of those who came to my inlaws' stables near Bracknell were ordinary "middle class" folks. Some even worked where I worked and I aint rich! I married my wife cos she had a horse, then found out she wasnt rich either! (Only kidding, darling.)

wilkes said My wife, who grew up on farm, confirms a horse bolted on the road with her on it and she could not bring it to a halt. That was about forty years ago. She agrees it will be much more dangerous on the Berkshire byways and highways now.

We'll be split on this one. Many years ago a lovely young girl who worked at my wife's parents' stables (not too far from Wokingham, Zippy) was killed when her horse bolted and crashed into a Land Rover. The girl was a reasonable horsewoman, but in my opinion that does not help much. The big animals are really stupid - I was thrown off once when the one I was on took a sudden dive sideways when it caught sight of its own reflection in a roadside puddle. They nearly sh!t themselves, too, when, say, a sparrow flies out of the hedgerow. One little girl at the farm had her spleen ruptured when she fell off onto the road and the pony stood on her. I then concluded that mountaineering was safer - at least you have some control over your destiny. It's what we call freedom, so despite the big mutts having no road sense whatsoever, as well as being much stronger than their riders, we will have to put up with them on our roads for many a year yet.

What is worse than a builder's white van?? I'll tell you. Two or three of the s0ds in convoy on their way home from a distant job during the rush hour! With the macho thing coming into play, in front of their mates, they chase, race, take great risks overtaking in an attempt not to lose face (or their place), and by god are we delighted when they disappear over the horizon in a cloud of over-rich exhaust fumes, with their feet to the floor. Oh. and any Fiat Puntos. (Sheer prejudice on my part. Hoping not to upset any really decent car-knowledgable Punto drivers on here.)

Vreds are well known brand. Very fussy/biased sporty drivers on here may not like them - I cannot say. You should get the suspension/wheel alignment ("geometry" as gaz says.) checked and adjusted using modern sophisticated equipment. VW garages will probably do it best but it will not be the cheapest. I had a GTI Mk2 done by them when the new equipment first appeared and it made a great difference. Probably cost effective to get VW to do it at least once while you own car.

I would say you definitely need to get that checked out. You could end up with bald Vredesteins in a couple of weeks - or worse.

marcus said I am sure your father is very much mistaken, but I admire his positive outlook - at least in front of his offspring!

Blimey, hope my daughter (25) doesn't read this. She was only asking the other day when she would get to drive the Corrado. She has only recently paid about £500 to have some paintwork & trim done on her mk4 Golf caused by her cavalier parking style in cramped car parks.

Rotten s0ds. It's strange how many of us seem to be strongly against the perpetrators of such mindless acts, yet they and their offspring continue to thrive unpunished in the community generation after generation, regardless of the decent majority's loathing of them. I went to a primary school with little sh1ts who would grow up to do that sort of thing - and worse. Now there seems to be more than ever of them.

supercharged said Exactly what I bought recently for these bolts. The tool bits seem well engineered and are a snug fit - cannot imagine a problem in removing a splined bolt with them and I am no great mechanic.

bojomobile said If I was rude, I would say you are talking bo!!ocks now. :wink:

Blimey! The world really is getting angrier and going nuts. Worst thing that happened to me was a builder's white van deliberately nudging me in the rear bumper at traffic lights in Edinburgh years ago. I must have done something to upset him earlier (don't know what, by the way) and machismo and testosterone caused him to go a bit over the top in front of his mates. Not that long ago, the only aggro on the road involved a bit of gesticulating and horn parping. I did that, too, when I was a young commuter. Now I try and keep a low profile and be as courteous as possible. Looks like this might be the best policy nowadays. Good karma works with most people but not always with those under the influence of "mind-altering drugs".

Does it/did it not say something in the Highway Code to the effect "never overtake on the inside lane unless there is a queue of slower moving traffic on the outside lane"? Don't suppose we can regard the driver on the outside lane due to turn right as a "queue"? I would probably go for it (with caution), though. The "turning-right" bit can apply on a dual carriageway, (e.g. Perth-Dundee road, wizardofodz?) but not on an M-way, of course.

s'charged said Thanks s'charged. I guessed that too, but you never know, what with sod's law and being older and much more cynical!

Thanks Doktor. :D The £150 ish former price is one of the reasons I attempted some preventative action.

Inspected this yesterday at 101k miles after reading useful article on knowledge base. Not noisy, though. After removing pulley, as an experiment, I put it in the freezer for 20 minutes to shrink the metal and allow ingress of some oil. On removal, pulley did not spin so freely - possibly due to grease hardening? or shrinkage? Anyway, dribbled some Slick50/oil mixture onto both sides of horizontally laid pulley and very gently prodded plastic seal with small screwdriver. Two or three air bubbles appeared through the oil, so I took it that at least a little of it had penetrated into the bearing. On spinning pulley it was more noticeably quiet - quite silent in fact. Mght prolong life of bearing - not really sure. Will keep forum posted of any developments/problems. Iain

Renewed the ribbed belt yesterday. (Took all afternoon, but I'm knocking on a bit and don't have arms like an Italian mechanic or a chimpanzee!) Diagram in "knowledge base" is for engine with air-conditioning. My C is without it. My question is: the inside ribbed side of the belt makes contact with all pulleys except the coolant pump pulley and tensioner pulley which are both driven by the smooth side of the belt. I take it this is correct? Thanks in anticipation of your comments.

Nice pics! - Love the Cairngorms. First went in 1964. Pic was taken from near car park in November 1969. PS Michael, forget about invoice for coilpack - I dare say I will not get a refund from Eurocarparts if anything went wrong, it being an electrical component and all and having been on car for a while now. Regards Iain

Yeah - shouldnt be tight. Spray some easing oil down it. I dont take my car to bits much, but that is one type of bolt Ive had off easily.

:D :thumb right: It's just that I thought I saw a picture of the correct one on here with holes in the metal end at the top. Mine ain't got no holes.

I now see after search that our truly wunnerful Mr kevhaywire gives the correct oil filter number as 021 115 561A, so I have got the correct one albeit in a box with number 021 115 562. Ain't life complicated these days?

supercharged said 562 is box containing filter (561/561A) PLUS gasket VAG parts say.

I believe (from helpful parts department man referring to computer listings today) 021 115 562 is oil filter element PLUS gasket. Part number of element ON ITS OWN is 021 115 561. My new element is in box numbered 021 115 562 and gasket is accompanied by element with number 021 115 561A stamped on it (plus "Hengst".) Parts man said he does not have 561A on computer! Everybody clear about this so far?? Does anybody have any comments on suitability of part number 021 115 561A for 1995 VR6, please?

Driver's door handle Headlight switch Coil pack on VR6 all seem to fail even on well-kept cars after about 8-10 years.