Roger Blassberg

Which sender?? The yellow 4-pin or the black 2-pin? Having trouble with my fans as well - see separate thread. Thanks RB

Thanks Hasan. I'll bridge the yellow sensor outputs first to see if I can coax life out of the fan controller. The thing that confuses me a bit is that the stage 3 fan comes on. Maybe the yellow sensor feed to the temp gauge is lying too and the water temp is very high despite the reading, but I don't think so - hoses didn't feel abnormally hot or over-pressurised, no steam or water coming from the expansion tank. I'll check the fuse in the controller as well. Speak soon, RB

Rather odd goings-on in the engine cooling department. The auxiliary (electric)pump comes on with ignition, and goes off without over-run. So the pump is ok but its control is not. The engine is running a bit cool, around 75 deg, rising a bit in slow traffic but not overheating (at least not according to the temperature gauge). I changed the thermostat about a year ago. Most oddly, the stage 3 cooling fan speed comes on in short bursts (typically 5 seconds) at indicated water temperature well below 90 deg, with ignition on, but if ignition is turned off the fan does not run at all, at either stage 1,2 or 3. I think the stage 3 fan is preventing the water getting hot enough to trigger "normal" fan operation. Fuel consumption is as I would expect, no evidence of overfuelling so I think the blue sender is ok. My theory, having read the "Definitive Guide", is to suspect the yellow, 4 pin sensor as a first port of call; it is not apparently telling the fan controller to switch on. By the way, I have changed the radiator 3 pin sensor recently too. What do you think ladies and gents? Next move is to bridge the wiring to the yellow sensor and see if the fan controller can be persuaded to come to life. Its rather dark now, so it will have to wait before I can check. Thanks for all interest and (hopefully) solutions!! RB

If I were you I I would first take off the gearbox /clutch /flywheel/bottom casing to see what has happened to the bottom chain sprocket.If it's worn, which may have been why the chain failed in the first place, you will need to budget for a new crankshaft.Be really scrupulous in inspecting this sprocket, if it is worn it will kill a new chain quite quickly and you will be wasting your time and money if you skimp on this detail. This will probably determine whether you decide to carry on with the current engine or go for a replacement. (Don't forget when inspecting it that there is one tooth that is filed partly off to give a timing mark, so don't condemn it on that evidence alone.)Of course the crankshaft from a 2.8 will go into a 2.9 as it is the bore diameter alone that differentiates the two capacities. Good luck RB

The bottom chain has clearly broken so it is a gearbox/clutch/flywheel/bottom timing cover removal scenario. Pray that the chain sprocket on the crankshaft hasn't been damaged, because it is not removable or repairable and you would need a replacement crankshaft. As above comments, you clearly have a replacement simplex top chain arrangement, maybe an AAA 2.8 engine rather than the original 2.9 ABV. You'll need to check the head for bent valves particularly as you have no compression on at least one cylinder. It's an unusual failure to break a chain, unless the bottom tensioner failed completely and the chain was repeatedly snatched from tight to loose. A rebuild is going to be expensive especially if the head needs work and the crankshaft sprocket is damaged too. A reasonably fresh second-hand 2.8 AAA looks to be your cheapest option. Best wishes RB

Where's the bottom chain? RB

It's not an automatic by any chance is it? If it is, it could be the Park/Neutral position switch or associated relay that is faulty. Best wishes RB

Speak to John Mitchell (16VG60 on this forum). He's in Littlehampton West Sussex, and knows the subject inside out. RB

No, not full of grease. The pins should be clean and free of rust. Without the pads in place, the caliper should slide easily on the guide pins to equalise the forces on both sides of the disc, otherwise you end up with pads wearing unevenly. Obviously a damaged dust seal will let the pins corrode and get sticky. RB

Or very low oil pressure. If it was left for a long time the oil pump pickup may be blocked with old oil residue. I which case you are in danger of damaging the engine. RB

I used Tiger sealant - it is used for sealing bodywork seams such as wing/body joint. It stays flexible for a long tome. Quite expensive, but has not leaked. Best wishes RB

There's a good body/paint shop in Harpenden - (Prestige, part of M Chapman's St Albans based organisation, call Mike on 01727 844 179) They did wonderful things to mine a couple of years ago for very reasonable money. I hope it turns out to be repairable. Best wishes RB

Ignore these people with their foglights on. You are driving a Corrado and they are not, which is the ultimate satisfaction. Revenge and retribution are the territory of Saxo drivers. RB

There were two different OE steering rack manufacturers, TRW (formerly Lucas I think)) and ZF, whose racks were fitted to our cars, presumably on the basis of whatever was available at the time to VW. They differed slightly one from the other. My understanding is that you cannot replace the track rods for a ZF rack with ones for a TRW rack, and vice versa. My local VW dealer was unable to say which rack belongs to my car just by the VIN; you have to clamber underneath to identify the manufacturer's stamp/ID or deduce it from the inner diameter of the rubber clamp bush (ZF=50mm, TRW=44mm). I have just been through all this with my Passat B4 Good point about undoing the inner ball joints. Certainly that clever tool in David's thread looks to be the way to do it - David, is that tool yours or did you borrow/hire it? Best wishes RB

The manual advises (quite strongly) to remove the steering gear from the car before undoing the track rod from the rack. The rack itself should then be held in a soft-jawed vice so that the undoing of the inner end of the track rod does not put stress on the rack/pinion meshed gears. I thought that this was a bit over-cautious. David, how did you hold the rack whilst undoing the track rod inner end? Another linked question (sorry to hijack this...)are the track rods still available? Are our right hand drive Corrados all TRW racks; left-hand drive ones are ZF or TRW. Best wishes RB

Put an ammeter in series between the earth strap and the frame of the car with everything switched off. Theoretically all it will see is the power to the alarm arming system, so 90 mA is reasonable. DO NOT switch anything on with the ammeter in the circuit, most multi meters have a very low current tolerance. RB

You replaced the caliper at the rear, but are both calipers sliding freely on their guide-pins. They have a tendency to seize up in the carrier and then you only get one pad (on the piston side) making contact with the disc. Best wishes RB

That plug looks ok to me - maybe running slightly hot. The oil is only on the threads, so perhaps some spillage when filling the sump or a weeping cam cover gasket?? It's no 1 and No 6 that usually get oily first as the bores eventually go oval. Have a look at those. Best wishes RB

Yes I have dealt with them in the past - in fact I went down to their place in Rochester this time last year to take an ABS unit and to have a nose around. They know what they are doing. Best wishes RB

I wouldn't worry about it. The difference between pound foot and Newton metre is about 35%, but its the two 90 degree rotations that really do the stressing and straining. As long as you haven't bottomed the bolts out in the block (which would cause the bolts to shear off), and you have done them up in the correct sequence working from the middle outwards, you should be ok. The advice is to lighty lubricate the threads and both sides of the washer under the bolt head before insertion into the block. Best wishes RB

Did you change the broken top guide rail then? If "yes",was it possible without taking the gearbox etc out? Do you have a single or double row top chain? Best wishes RB

What happened to this? Is it still "work in progress"? I am very interested to make this improvement. Happy New Year RB

What happened to this? Is it still "work in progress"? I am very interested to make this improvement. Happy New Year RB

Take it to your local east european carwash and have them pressure jetwash it. You don't want dirty oily water all over your driveway or in the drains. RB

Also check the release arm as well as the bearing itself. It could be cracked and/or distorted. Best wishes from sunny Azerbaijan RB