Roger Blassberg

Ignition switch is about £15 max. for a genuine VAG item, don't use a cheaper imitation because they are crapola.. They are quite fiddly to fit. X-relief (also known as load reduction) relay is position 4, i.e. fourth from the left on the top row of the relay board. I'm slightly confused by the symptoms; if the igniton circuit is remaining energised, why does it stop after 10-20 seconds? I would have expected it to just keep running. Best wishes RB

It's a very expensive place to have an accident; you pay for repairs to the crash barrier, for being towed in and for circuit, "down time", as well as for your own repairs when your insurance company has washed its hands of your policy. I wafted round in the S-Type R last Easter (well if Clarkson can get round in an S-Type, so can I), but didn't time it. Apparently the administrators don't take kindly to time trials or even on-board photography. Absolutely in awe of the likes of Nuvolari, Rosemayer and Caracciola going round in the 1930s with over 600PS, drum brakes and skinny tyres, off the ground for a good part of the time. Best wishes RB

It's normal to have one parallel-sided guide pin and one tapered/stepped. I can't say for certain if it is important which one goes in the top and which in the bottom (of the caliper!!!). Did you wind the piston back out to give the required clearance to the pad backplate? Did you clamp the pressure regulator when bleeding to open it fully? Have you bled the master cylinder? Best wishes RB

Is there any obvious problem with the engine? 130k may seem a high mileage, but unless it is burning a lot of oil or has horrible rattles, such as timing chains, then it's probably quite sound. A top end overhaul might be of benefit. Stealth Racing do a timing chains/tensioners, clutch and head refurb for about £1500. A rebuilt bottom end will probably be an additional £2000 (guessing there, someone will know better) More likely problems will be associated with faulty sensors such as the MAF, the water temperature sensor, or the lambda probe; rebuilding the engine won't cure those. So long as they are looked after, by which I mean regular oil and filter changes and no overheating, these engines will go on for a lot longer than 130k. Mine is currently on 206k. Best wishes RB

Glad you are unhurt and the damage is quite minor compared to what could have happened. The squeaking could be the result of some of that gravel getting into a brake caliper or being jammed into the back of the wheel - worth taking the wheel off and having a good look. Best wishes RB

My word, Craigowl !! That is a very tidy looking under-bonnet appearance - unless you just polished that corner for our benefit. Best wishes RB

Yes, you need to take off the plastic HT lead guide(s) which are held on with Torix screws. The pump is supported by rubber mounts (which may be perished) and the hoses themselves; it will become obvious as you progress. As I said before, make sure the electrical connector is compatible before you strip the pump off the hoses. And have a bottle of G12+ handy to top up the coolant afterwards. Obviously you need to pull the plug leads off, so you'll need the special tool for that or risk damaging them. Best wishes RB

As I understand it, the pump runs at all times that the ignition is on, and also together with the fans after a hot run with the ignition off. The pump normally makes a whirring sound and you can feel it vibrating if you touch it. It's reasonably easy to change, costs about £60. There are 2 different electrical connector shapes available, so make sure you get the right one or be prepared for a bit of amateur electrician work to splice a connector into the loom. Best wishes RB

ISV = Idle Stabilisation Valve. Around the back of the head near the throttle body , hoses connected to it, silver cylindrical thing, hisses when the engine is running. It gets mucky inside and can mess up the idle, and can be cleaned with brake cleaner. Btw, nothing wrong with your fuel pump if you can do 130 (kilometers per hour he meant, Officer....). But the relay may be intermittent, so worth changing. Best wishes RB

Maybe the fuel pump relay - it's cheap and easy to change. Best wishes RB

A word of caution, though. If the bore of the caliper is corroded, play safe and get a replacement. Best wishes RB

The trouble is that it may sieze up and shred the belt as well as overheating the engine. If the belt is running out of line it will also damage the tensioner pulley (which is plastic). Best wishes RB

I did the job 2 weeks ago, following the article in http://www.funkster.org/. Thanks to Andy for the link to that site. It really is quite easy so long as you have a reasonable socket set with extension bars, and a trolley jack to lift the engine. It will take about 3 hours at a leisurely pace, so even if you have to buy a trolley jack you will save a lot of money, and still have the jack at the end of it, as well as having the satisfaction of doing the job properly. Good luck. Best wishes RB

try releasing the bleed nipple before pushing the piston in. If that allows the piston to move, it indicates that the flexible hose has collapsed internally and is blocking the flow. Did you notice that the braking was uneven/pulling to one side before you started to strip it down? Best wishes RB

I second the notion of valve guides and/or seals. Seals can be done without taking the head off, guides cannot. Best wishes RB

Did you change just the bearing or the whole tensioner? There is a lot of shoddy rubbish coming out of China these days, so unless you can be sure that the bearing you used is of reputable and reliable quality, be slightly suspicious and check it again anyway. Best wishes RB

I suggest that you look at your water pump. Release the belt tension by screwing in an M8 bolt , take out the airbox for easier access, and check the water pump pulley for any untoward movement in the bearings and that it turns easily and freely. I just changed mine; it was so bad that the pulley was running out very badly, so much so that the belt was all over the place, and there was a horrible clattering noise. When I removed the old pump it was practically siezed up, I could hardly turn it by hand. One new pump and a precautionary replacement ribbed belt, and say goodbye to noisy engine misery. Whist you're in there, check that the tensioner pulley bearing is ok; there's an article in the knowledge base on changing that. Run the engine briefly with the belt de-tensioned to check that the noise is due to one or other or both of these causes. Best wishes RB

I have just changed the battery on mine and there seemed to be no adverse effect on the running, idle, mpg is as good/bad as ever, etc even without doing a basic settings. As has been said by others, it will re-learn the necessary lessons just by varied driving. Incidentally, just getting the battery out is quite a task. I ended up taking the headlight out to get e proper look at the fixing clamp bolt which was well-and-truly corroded. I finally got it out with one of those left hand thread bolt shifter sockets. And my car has aircon so there is another hose in that area to get the battery past. Ideally you need an assistant to hold the hoses out of the way whilst you get both hands on the battery. Or alternately a beginner's course in gynaecology....... Best wishes RB

Job done with no catastrophes. Everything came apart easily and the only slight difficulty was threading the new belt between the pulleys and the chassis. Thanks to all who gave advice. Best wishes RB

Andy, many thanks. It looks a lot easier than I imagined, and if that doesn't tempt fate, I don't know what does!! I would have thought that at least one drive shaft would need to be released from the final drive flange, but I'll have a go and see what else can get broken in the process. This is all very embarrassing. When I bought the Jaguar, I intimated to Mrs.B., under pressure, that the Corrado "might" be surplus to requirements and cluttering up the place. I had hoped that it would, little by little, be accepted back into the fleet as a harmless and inexpensive (self delusion can be rather pathetic) novelty. But all this and the various other "minor expenses" associated with getting the paintwork back to first class order, have conspired to raise the profile again. Thankfully selling prices are relatively low at the moment so the arguement that summer is the time to sell don't really work. And after all there are still the chains and tensioners to be done, parts already sitting in the garage. And I still have some knuckles to scrape (on the car, not on Mrs. B) :norty: Best wishes, RB

That's where I looked first of all, but there's nothing there. Any other suggestions anyone? Best wishes RB

The car (VR6) has been offf the road for a while but I decided to resurrect it for a few weeks. Now I wish I hadn't. Already this week I have needed a new battery, and now read on.... Driving home yesterday, all of a sudden no power steering and the charge warning light was on. So I looked under the bonnet and the belt tensioner pulley was totally fried and disintegrated resulting in no belt tension. Well, I had replaced the bearing a few months ago so I assumed that the pulley had cracked and broken up; the bearing was still freely rotating i.e. it hadn't siezed. By luck I was able to get a new tensioner almost immediately, got back to the car with it and the necessary tools, expecting to change the whole thing in a few minutes and get going again. I put it all back together, started up and immediately there was the most horrible clattering noise and the belt started to wander around on the pulleys, particularly the water pump. So I released the tensioner and checked the water pump pulley for sideways movement; sure enough there's lots of axial movement and it turns qite stiffly, although no water seems to have escaped. The pulley itself looks very shiny on its circumferential surface so I assume that the belt has been slipping on it as it started to fail although there were never any squealing noises. I assume that this indicates that the water pump bearings have packed up; all the other pulleys run freely (aircon, alternator, pas). I remember seeing on here a guide to changing the water pump in situ by jacking up the engine, but I can't find it now. Please would someone assist with locating that article? Also comments are welcome on my analysis of what has gone wrong. I imagine also that the belt itself is also no longer of much use. To cap it all, I had transferred the recovery policy to the Jaguar I bought in April, so I had to pay a recovery charge home as well; no engine=no power brakes or steering=too dangerous to tow. This may just be the final straw........... Best wishes RB

Also, it depends on what colour the smoke is/was. Black smoke indicates over-fueling which I believe is not unusual at high revs and much preferred to under-fueling. Blue smoke is an indication of burnt oil. As has been said, unless you are getting through serious amounts of oil, plugs are fouled,etc., it's not the end of the World. Best wishes RB

I drove the Corrado for the first time in 3 months this weekend, after having kept the battery charged every 2 weeks or so during its layoff. I came to drive it this morning and the battery was still alive but only just, not enough to turn the engine. So it's new battery time which is no surprise as it has been on the car for at least 5 years and has been a bit neglected over the last few months. My question is this; if I connect the battery leads to a charger and then disconnect/reconnect the old/new battery will anything on the car, such as the ECU, be damaged during the transition? The "method in this madness" is to keep the ECU energised throughout the process of battery-swapping, and thereby avoiding having to do a basic settings? Best wishes RB

There are 2 knock sensors, one on the front and one on the back of the block. I would have thought that all that VAGCOM looks for is electrical continuity (ie is it connected to the wiring loom and not broken?), but I stand to be corrected on this. Best wishes RB