Roger Blassberg

The part you described sounds like the idle stabilisation valve which shouldn't be the source of an oil leak. The only source above that would be the cam cover gasket. You would need to take off the inlet manifold to sort that out. Best wishes RB

Easy enough. You might need a strap wrench to get the old filter off. Lightly grease the rubber seal of the new filter, do it up hand tight, not with the strap wrench. And be careful with the sump plug as the hexagon head is made out of quite soft metal. 17mm socket if I remember correctly. Do it all with the engine warm enough to thin the oil but not hot enough to scald you. Safety/environment moment; don't get under a car supported just on a jack; use axle stands NOT bricks, under hard suspension mounting points. Do the job on level, hard ground. Dispose of the old oil and filter at your local municipal collection point. Well, you did ask....... Best wishes RB

Could it be something as simple as a spill during an oil top-up? If not, it sounds as though the inner part of the cam cover gasket has not been properly fitted or tightened. Try releasing and then retorquing the cover bolts - do it as you would a cylinder head, starting at the middle and working outwards gradually building up the torque to the figure given in the manual (I don't know what the figure is but it won't be very high.) Best wishes RB

It could be a brake pad just touching the disc, which in turn could be due to a slack wheel bearing or the pad moving slightly in the caliper (cure this by taking pads out and applying copper grease to the back plates). Try feathering the brake and listening for the squeak to disappear. Any evidence of the brake binding, like hot discs, higher fuel consumption, lots of brake dust etc? If so, the caliper might be need some attention. Best wishes RB

16V/VR6 Passat (so called "Plus" running gear). Best wishes RB

You can replace the dust seal - it's a bit of a fiddle. Check that the bore of the caliper casting and the piston itself are not damaged or corroded and replace the main seal too, which comes in the repair kit obtainable from VAG at about £10 per side. Blow the piston out with compressed air. You shouldn't need to bleed the whole system, but I would advise you to check the caliper on the other side too for similar damage. It might be a good time to replace the flexible hoses as well. Best wishes RB

Welcome to the joys of Corrado ownership. Headlight switch faults are very common too, so this may be the solution to your headlight woes. A new one is quite expensive but they come up on ebay. Or maybe there is a modified headlight loom installed and the fuse or relay has developed a fault. (Sorry to ask, but you have checked the lights with the ignition switched on I suppose; the headlights go off with the ignition). Or it could be the load reduction relay, sometimes referred to as the X-relief relay; this is the one which cuts out the headlights, stereo, heater fan, ABS circuits and wipers when cranking the engine to give all the volts to the starter motor. Sometimes they stick in the off position. This too is a cheap and easy fix. Look at the circuit diagram for the location of this relay. They are about £12 and and you simply replace with a new one. The reversing light switch is on the gear selector mechanism on top of the gearbox, a black plastic pot shaped thing with an electrical connector. They are cheap-ish. I don't think that there is any adjustment, other than to check that the 2 fixing bolts are secure (don't overtighten as the plastic casing is quite flimsy) When you say the heater struggles on flat out, do you mean that the fan doesn't blow hard, or that the air doesn't get hot? Is the fan blowing on all speeds? If not, you have a resistor pack problem which is again a common fault and easily fixed. Use the search for that. If the air is not hot enough there may be an air lock in the heater matrix or the control cables may need some attention. There should be an in-line fuse for the live feed to the stereo - have you checked that? Or maybe it's tangled around the heater control cables (see above). MFA faults quite often indicate that the dashboard has been interfered with. Best wishes RB

Sounds like valve guides and/or seals if it's only smoking after over-running. The seals can be replaced without removing the head using compressed air to hold up the valves. Obviously the guides can only be changed with the head off. Popping in the exhaust can be caused by a cracked flexible in the downpipe. Best wishes RB

Shall I ?? Shalln't I ?? No, it's too hot, I can't be bothered. Best wishes RB

No, the manual has been lost in the mists of time. But I still am in contact with the previous owner who dredged his memory and came up with this nugget of info. I had previously spoken to someone at Scorpion and to a local alarm installer; I assume that their professed ignorance of the re-coding procedure was based on the prospect of a nice little earner. Best wishes RB

Ever since I had the car, the spare key fob hasn't worked. The battery was replaced, the light came on when the button was pressed and it gave a signal of sorts (checked by a local alarm installer) but did not communicate with the central locking system. I have always been paranoid about losing the one-and-only operational key fob, so I finally decided to get it sorted out. The solution was too easy to believe. Simply hold down the operating buttons of both the working and non-working fobs simultaneously for at least 10 seconds, within range of the receiver unit and, "Bingo!!" they both now work perfectly. Perhaps everyone already knew this, but I think it is useful enough to be be considered as potentially sticky. Best wishes RB

Thanks for all the replies. I intend to stay overnight in Rouen in any case, so I have factored the trudge into and out of town in my schedule. Best wishes RB

Had a slight, ahem, incident with the Passat a few weeks ago which necessitates a rear bumper replacement. The old bumper is of the "painted all over" variety; I have bought a very good second hand bumper, which is the wrong colour and will in any case be professionally sprayed to match. The thing is, this bumper has a black plastic unpainted top to it. Will this surface take the body colour paint without undue risk of peeling off sometime soon? I could live with the black-top bumper if absolutely necessary, but would prefer to get it all back to original appearance. best wishes RB

Did anyone go to Le Mans this year? I am driving down to SW France this summer, and my question is, "Is the Autoroute between Rouen and Le Mans now completed?" My 2005 vintage map book shows it under construction. Thanks best wishes RB

Stud extractors, sometimes called "easyouts" or similar. And lots of WD40 or PlusGas. You could try drilling out and re-tapping or helicoiling, but you have to be accurate.

Try manoeuvring without the engine running, such as if you have it stall when coming up to a roundabout. Then you'll realise that it's dangerous to have no PAS. Totally impossible to turn the wheel when the car is stationary. Replace the fluid with the VAG green stuff, not red automatic transmission fluid. Best wishes RB

As the good Doctor says, or at least implies, if that "new" one fails after a year or so, there are loads more of them around. It's not as though a malfunction leads to total brake failure, in which case it would obviously be vital to be safe rather than sorry and have it rebuilt. I would tend to do everything possible to ensure that no dirt gets into the union connections before installing it, thoroughly bleed/flush the system once the installation is complete and take it from there. On the other hand, the professional engineer in me says, "Get it rebuilt anyway", and rejoice in the fact that you have still made a massive saving on the price of a new one. Best wishes RB

ooh er!! Perhaps the pump is a figment of my imagination, which may explain why it occasionally malfunctions........ Best wishes RB

The part number 358 614 217 appears on mine. Best wishes RB

There are 2 pumps on ebay at the moment. Search for "corrado abs pump". Best wishes RB

At work at the moment, so not able to quote number. You may find it stencilled in white ink onto the old hose. Best wishes RB

There is a branch off to the inlet manifold/throttle body heater from one of the pipes in this area. The VAG hose cost me about £45 last summer, absolute daylight robbery. The clip on the bulkhead end is a bit of a barsteward to get at. Best wishes RB

There are semi-circular plastic plugs at each end of the head, in line with the inlet camshaft, which should have been replaced at the same time as the cover gasket. Maybe the one at the drive belt end is leaking into the belt cowling and dripping down. Best to check straight away because you don't want oil contamination of the cam belt. Best wishes RB

I would throw it back to Stealth if they changed the gasket and it's still leaking. It sounds as though the central part of the cam cover gasket is allowing oil into the plug recess. Best wishes RB

The head on mine was very badly pitted when it was taken off, so be prepared for that. Maybe it had been run on plain water in the past with no corrosion inhibitor, but it was effectively scrap. At the time I got a VAG exchange head complete (valves, springs, cams etc ) for about £800,- A lt of money but obviously it minimised the labour cost and was guaranteed. I hope yours turns out to be less damaged. Best wishes RB