craigowl

Thanks, Joe and VR6. Probably good time to renew throttle cable next opportunity.

DaveStorm and Kangarooboy thanks for your input. I now think it may be idiosyncratic of the car - or a Corrado quirk - as Dave terms it. I seem to remember reading something on this forum that made me think the rev surge could be a mechanism to prevent unburnt fuel screwing up the catalyst. Don't ask me to explain the physics - it was just something that twigged when I was reading remarks about the engine's behaviour. drmat - thanks for your info. Im not convinced that the clutch is a problem - it has good bite. Also, it was renewed during previous ownership. Neverthless, I will not dimiss your suggestions out of hand for the time being. Anyway, as you have a late VR6 do you not see an increase in revs on the tachometer between gear changes (up)? Regards Iain

I don't really know if this is a problem. It may not be. If it IS a problem, I dont know if the problem is with me, the Corrado, or other cars that I have driven. I have noticed that, since I got the Corrado over 2 years ago, when I am pulling away and going up thro the gears in the way most natural to me, the rev counter surges between gears. It doesnt go up by several thousand revs, or by anything that causes an unusually excessive engine noise, but the instrument dial certainly shows it happening. By altering the timing of the clutch/accelerator operation in a conscious way I can eliminate the surge as I watch the dial, but I feel the gearchanges are too slow and stilted then. VW garage and my local garage man, (an ex formula Ford racing driver and Ferrari owner) both said they could find no fault with the car's operation. But if you dont look at the rev counter, you certainly wouldnt. As with most C owners I am probably being over fussy, but it would be interesting to hear from others. The cars fuel economy is brilliant - 27mpg on the worst stop start journeys and 34mpg on a recent 200 miles plus run to the Highlands and back. The other car I mostly drive (for 12 years) is a Peugeot 205 1.9 Diesel with no rev counter.

I was almost stuck miles from home when I couldnt get reverse, 1st and another one. The fault was a broken plastic linkage bit under the bonnet, to the right of the engine down near the clutch. The AA man - a former VW mechanic - went to it straight away and fixed it temporarily with a plastic tie and superglue. The part had probably become brittle due to heat as do many such plasticky components on the Corrado and was just about to snap completely, being held by a mere thread of plastic. The part number is 1J0711256 - it is called a "carrier" and cost only £7.33 plus VAT. It is a white plastic part in the otherwise metal rods of the linkage. In view of my problem, I would recommend that anyone with a VR6 of similar or older vintage than mine (1995 "M") to check or replace this flimsy part. Frankly, I thought the gearbox's number was up and was relieved to have it all fixed for about £60 including labour, by VW. I trust this may save one or two C owners a bit of hassle and grief.

Davestorm said:- Rover 75? - Cheeky! Good car with BMW diesel and excellent value for money on used market now, but too big. Ideally, I would like a classy, sporty, distinctive, practical car with good visibility out the back, not too low for parking off road for camping, and with enough room in the back with the seats down for loads of luggage, gear, etc. I may go camping in the Highlands with the Storm instead of the Pug 205, and for this reason I will never lower it - I prefer it to be like a "4X4" as you young guys facetiously joke about non-lowered Corrados! My lad knackered the spoiler on his non-lowered VR6 when visiting our favourite glen to camp. The last time I noticed a Rover 75 it was at the front of a convoy we were in going at no more than 45mph on a reasonable rural A-road. The "old grey" driving it sure upset a lot of people.

Why so many tall twerps? I'm 5ft 6ins and after driving the Peug 205 find I get sciatica on driving the Corrado. Sliding into the car in our narrow garage is a real contorsionist's act, I find, and the steering wheel keeps getting in the way of my knees. I have stopped mentioning it to the wife tho' 'cos she kept saying "Well get rid of the car, or let me drive all the time."

kevhaywire said ...or followed an old Ford on the motorway.

Can't really tell you how to fix it MikeVR6, but how do you think the damage happened? The doors are big and hefty, but can they still be blown forward violently by the wind? I have always been careful since fibreglass door on new Reliant van (sorry guys! - it was many years ago) blew wide open on its hinges and had to be taken to garage for repair. Repair was done by inserting 2cm diameter iron bar between hinges and body of car and bending hinges back slightly - very sophisticated technologically, I'm sure you will all agree. Anyway, it worked and I was able to do it again myself when the pesky lightweight door flew open from someone's grasp on another occasion. Doubt if I would risk on my C, though.

I've not used Gunk since I wrote off a Citroen alternator with it over 20 years ago. The stuff got in the bearing. I have stuck with Autoglym Engine Cleaner followed - engine still wet - by Autoglym Vinyl Rubber Protector (as described in instructions on Engine Cleaner bottle). Excellent!

BeavisJem said Ah, the words of a true Corrado slave. Clearly, a mortal of certain weaknesses - - just like the rest of us!

Andyvlw Good useful link Andyvlw. No 10 in pic 3 is dashpot, though??? I reckon damper is not numbered and is just to right of "no10" and under "EU" of NEUSPEED. Earlier on the forum someone told me it can explode - I wasnt sure if we were both talking about the same component, but I am convinced now after seeing LicklePaulie's doobrie in pieces!

To prevent this, for years I have smothered the tray and the bottom of the battery in Waxoyl. Too late for you here Trilidon, but worth trying from now on. The sulphuric acid in batteries is hygroscopic - it attracts water vapour from the air - and only a drop or misting of it (as when recharging) on painted metalwork is bad news.

Chubbz you must have been specially selected from on high!

In G60jet's message: The lowest air temperature ever recorded in the UK was -27C at 2 sites in the Highlands of Scotland (Braemar and Altnaharra in 1995). Lower than -20C is unlikely in most winters in England and lowland Scotland, but the possibility cannot be ruled out completely. Glasgow Airport had -20C in December 1995, despite the 1990s being one of the warmest decades. -20C has been recorded in lowland England, too, within our lifetimes.

Yes, I have to say VWCCGB is well worth our support.

Apologies if its a daft question, kev, but are those "Ford" parts suitable for use on a Corrado VR6? Probably cheaper than VW?

Nightmare. So sorry for you.

Yes - take care. My son had a petrol leak from pipe under his VR6 - garage would not let him drive away in car until pipes replaced. Very hot exhaust, etc, can ignite petrol vapour easily. Better to be safe than sorry.

August's "Car Mechanics" (page 28) has a paragraph or two about the catastrophic failure of the timing chain on one of these cars at just over 90k miles. The mag. says they will be covering the rectification of the problem in another issue.

yellowsic said Yes. Fitting the Samcos, my garage broke the plastic heater matrix pipe and had to get me a new matrix. It was 9 years old/97k miles so not to peeved to have to replace it at cost price. Hoses are holding OK so far with Halfords hose clips (Quinton/Hazl?) Had to wait 9 weeks for delivery of hoses. 2 oil cooler hoses not supplied. Two hoses of 7 in set left over. Even VW dealership mechanic did not know where they went - he even phoned me up from the workshop to ask me! I found out on this forum that they went in PCV area and to ISV. Did not use PCV one as it dispenses with 2 components the original hose had. Samco did not phone back as promised when I left a query with them. IMO, Customer care 0 out of 5!

As I've said before, the previous owner of my Storm (he had it from new 1995-2002 - 96k miles) traded it in for an Octavia RS.

Kevhaywire said I had read about that. Water vapour molecules present in air in tyres also escape thro' the tyres by osmosis and assist deflation. I became interested in this as every time I went to use the C for a longish journey, I found that one or more of the tyres had lost pressure. I purchased by mail order some American goo called UltraSeal (50 squids worth for 195/50s) and have had no trouble for months. So pleased with it bought some for the Pug 205, too. My son's C also suffered from loss of tyre pressure before he sold it. "Expert" told him that corrosion where tyre rim meets wheel means you lose pressure. Repolishing by specialists can solve, but I went for the UltraSeal.

Yes, I found that had happened to my 1995 VR6, too, when I cleaned out the mud. I was told it is probably an earth for static so that your tank doesnt blow up when you bring the petrol pump hoze nozzle up to your filler neck. With difficulty, I managed to solder the thing back onto the metal filler neck. Alternatively, you could leave it off and only fill up your car when the humidity is high and static is unlikely to jump from pump nozzle to your car!

I've had 2 insurance repairs done to Polos at Protek on the Industrial Estate (Whiteinch? or something) located on the Blackburn Road at Bathgate. They specialised in VWs and I thought the work was flawless. A few years ago now, though, but I believe they are still there.

Sorry, dinkus - wasnt meaning to be a smartass. I know its normally a knee jerk reaction to go to GSF or similar first - Hell! I just got a Polo 3 radiator from them on Monday - I didnt even bother finding out beforehand if the VW dealer 5 miles away could better their price!