Roger Blassberg

Thanks Fendervg. I am coming to the same conclusion myself. I will replace all the relays, maybe one or more of them is suffering similar heat/ pcb problems. I will also do a complete fluid flush as I had a caliper changed very recently so there may be some sludge that has been moved about in the pump or valves . Latest analysis is of pump signal out of tolerance. Failing that it is a trip down to BBA REMAN in Rochester to have my credit card assaulted. best wishes RB

Thanks for your quick response Sean. I will try the substitute ECU tomorrow and take it from there. I am sure it can do no damage if it is not fully compatible. Any further comments about the underlying fault and its possible causes are greatly welcomed. best wishes RB

Happy New Year to all. I am having ABS problems. The warning light does all the right things when starting from cold (on then off, stays off after test cycle a few metres down the road), but after a warm start it comes on after the test cycle. The next day, this sequence repeats itself. All three ABS relays, 2/179 and 1/79, are functioning and the 2/ 30A fuses are good. We have interogated the inner soul of the ECU and it brings up a fault on the pedal position sensor. So I have replaced that with a spare one after checking that the variable resistance, err, varies, and that the colour coded spacer is correct. Still the same problem. (By the way, getting the circlip out is best left to a gynaecologist) The ECU , part nr 1HO 907 379C seems clean and dry with no obvious corrosion inside or out or on the 55 pin connector. But I am tempted to try a spare ECU from my B4 Passat, part nr. 1HO 907 379E. Both ECUs are for ABS/EDS. Does anyone know if the Passat ECU is compatible despite different part nr. suffix letter. Any observations and suggestions are welcome. best wishes, RB

Wheel off. Take out the two hex head slider pins, then gently lever off the caliper. Support it dont let it hang on the hose.Take the pads off the carrier. If you need to change the disc, undo two bolts holding the carrier to the hub, then undo the locating screw holding the disc. You may need to tap the back of the disc to get it to come off of the hub. THOROUGHLY CLEAN all mating and sliding surfaces before reassembly. The piston can be pushed into the caliper without winding, but check the condition of the dust seal and generally check for fluid leaks. Also inspect the flexible hose for swelling and cracking, and metal pipes for corrosion.Lightly smear copper grease onto slding surfaces of back plates of the pads, NOT onto friction surface.The caliper carrier bolts are done up to over 100Nm. It is all mu h simpler than the rear discs. best wishes RB

Does the whine go away , or indeed does it get louder, if you depress the clutch pedal? If the release bearing is dry or worn it will be noisy under load. If the release bearing fork is bent or cracked, the bearing may be contacting the pressure plate and spinning all the time and therefore be worn and noisy. If the whine goes away when you depress the clutch pedal, it indicates worn bearings in the gearbox. Obviously need to get the gearbox off to rectify these faults. Best wishes RB

I think that you may have one or more sticking calliper guide pins. There are two each side. The callipers are the floating type, which means there is only one piston and the calliper slides to equalise the pressure on each side of the disc On light application of the brakes, the outer (piston side) pad will be sufficient to brake the car, but when you press harder for higher speed braking the calliper will then stick on one pin and apply the pressure to the pads eccentrically. This will jam the pad into the disc causing it to judder. Fairly straightforward to check and rectify if the pins are not corroded or contaminated and the plastic bushes in the callipers they slide in are not damaged. Parts are available. It looks as though your car is almost completely standard, so you may be averse to modification, but if you are needing to replace components, consider using 288mm discs, carriers and callipers from a Golf VR6 together with braided flexible hoses . The increase in pad area makes for much greater resistance to brake fade and the reinforced hoses decrease pedal travel a little. It is a completely reversible modification if you are worried about losing originality. They look entirely standard unless the callipers have been painted (usually red). Best wishes RB

Certainly the track rods are readily available for TRW rack at a reasonable price (about £45 3 months ago). RB

My 94 VR6 has a TRW rack. I believe, maybe wrongly, that this the usual fitting for a UK right hand drive cars. Best wishes RB

The whining could be the serpentine belt tensioner bearing. Easily checked: relax the tension by screwing a long M8 bolt into the thread on the top, then spin the pulley by hand to check for rumbling or end float. Could also be alternator or water pump bearings. best wishes RB

I, and others,have had the same sort of experience from BBA Reman, reporting no fault despite there manifestly being one. It is possible that you have a wiring or relay problem however. best wishes RB

So good to read once again highly detailed and technically excellent contributions from our late lamented RW1. RB

The sump is the same for early and late cars. [email protected] , will get you a sump for about £35 delivered from Aylesbury. Fit and forget for the next 20 years. RB

Autodoc.co.uk About £16 delivered to your door from Berlin. Manufactured by Elring. Part nr. 021 103 609B for later VR6. Do not use jointing compound on this later gasket, the advice in Bentley manual is for earlier gasket. As said by others, do not overtighten the 3 bolts in the flywheel end or this simple job will become much more complicated. I replaced the sump as well for the sake of £35. The old one was very rusty and was weeping oil. Best wishes RB

Have you also lost wipers, headlights and heater blower functions? If so, the load reduction/x relief relay is isolating these circuits. Check the relay, (can't remember which one it is!). Best wishes RB

Be very careful undoing the two bolts holding down the hose elbow, they screw into captive nuts cast into the plastic top tank of the radiator. If they are corroded, (they will be.....) the nuts will spin and break the radiator itself, and then you will need to replace the whole thing. Give the bolts a really good soaking in WD40 over several days before trying to undo them. Best wishes RB

Is the warning light on or flashing? Fortunately I have never heard the oil pressure buzzer but I expect it would be quite loud.

Any vegetable oil will do. Peanut, olive, rapeseed. It is cheap and effective. It will last a few weeks, maybe months. Just rub it on with a cloth.

Probably best not to use petrol based solvents, very volatile and flammable and will make you feel ill. Obviously use any solvent in a well-ventilated place. I found white spirit to be a good and easily applied solvent, together with a rigid plastic scraper. Brake cleaner will evaporate and disappear too quickly as a main solvent, but is excellent for the final wipedown. The new self adhesive soundproofing really will stick like the proverbial; you get only one chance to put it in the right place, so take care

The 2 OUTER bolts on each side i.e. front and back, hold the bumper brackets and the crossmember onto the car. The inner/middle bolt each side locates just the crossmember, not the bumper irons, but do not rely on them alone to support the front of the engine. Prop the weight if the main bolts are out, and most definitely do not drive the car or you will have a major incident.

could be a dodgy lambda probe or wiring if the mpg has gone down. RB

Another vote from me for Uniroyal, although I don't think the Rainsport 3 is quite as grippy in the dry as the previous Rainsport 2. I hasten to add that I don't generally corner harshly, but for example when getting away from traffic lights they seem to come unstuck more easily.Generally though a very good compromise between long life, good grip and a fair price. Best wishes RB

You can open the sunroof manually using the allen key inserted into the motor. No need to have the battery connected. There is a special tool to dislodge the inner panel but you can probably do without it. Just get a lever into the front of the trim panel from the inside and sharply tap it to force it back. Best wishes RB

in your situation I would replace all the cooling system plastic parts including the transverse pipe and associated o rings. There is a strange shaped one in the thermostat housing.That way you can forget them for years to come. Be careful if you try to undo the bolts that hold down the elbow on the top of the radiator because they go into captive nuts cast into the top of the matrix. If the nuts start to turn, the radiator top will crack and you will need a new complete radiator. Best wishes RB

Be prepared for a "HOW MUCH???!!!"moment. Stalling at junctions is avery common problem and there are lots of threads on here dealing with the causes. It may well be that the dashpot is not the only one. Best wishes RB

The Hella radiator is good quality. I would advise against trying to repair your old radiator, having taken the trouble to get it off the car it would make sense to replace it for the sake of £100 or so. The a/c radiator is held onto it by some substantial steel brackets. Your problem will be to get the a/c hose connections undone without twisting the unions off of the radiator, and as Hasan has said it will almost certainly disintegrate when you move it. best wishes RB