Skimask

Stunning.....

Cool Steve - that was most likely myself - heading home :) I didn't notice you - that queue was something else on the southbound side!

The new points rules is the way to go.....the previous points system encouraged mediocrity. I think it will spice the season up - but we'll have to wait and see how it goes this season.

If you get a chance try this wee one - Aberfoyle to Callander - it is superb!

the jacks supplied now are pants! A halfords one lasted over a year before leaking. Yes you can top the oil up. Just unscrew the valve that lets the jack down. Be careful - it is a spring and ball bearing affair. Hold the jack upright with the valve assembly at the top and pour a few drops of oil into the hole and work the piston - it will suck the oil in - then add a few more drops etc. Clean the ball bearing/valve and spring and finally the slotted bolt. I found I had to keep the valve closed when finished - this was causing a leak. My first jack lasted 20 years - now you only get a couple of years out of them.

Don't have any space in the boot - having to carry a load of tools and spares just in case it breaks down!

I don't notice much difference using Shell V or optimax - whatever its called. But in the valver it made a big difference in performance and better mpg as well.

The serpentine belt is around £25 from VW - and replacing the bearing is quite easy, and yes you can do the belt without jacking the car up. My tensioner went from making a noise at idle - to collapsing within 10 miles.

He....He....He....nice one BillCor

hi Boost, no problemo - I know pattern stuff is shite - but it is a spare Corrado - I only use it when the VR's are not working. So it doesn't cover many miles in a year - so buying an OEM radiator is not justified. Yes it did fit Ok - but then again my valver is a 1.8 - probably because its the same rad as a golf MKII I too have a bee in my bonnet regarding pattern ECP wheel bearings, engine mounts - 3 months tops is what you get out of them!

On a single 350 mile motoerway trip - the last tankfull cost £48 - 51.7 Litres - this was last week. The same trip in a valver cost around £10 less.

Or as I found out this morning......The pin holding the plastic connector on the rear of the distributor had fallen out. The rotor arm was turning freely! Now I have a pin somewhere in the engine! So this afternoon - going to take the rocker cover and chain off and see if I can find it!

i suppose it depends on the type of snow and the car. the last time I tried to drive the valver in the snow - the wheels just spun when you let the clutch out - and the engine was just idling!

Just completed this last week, I took some pics as I went along. I'll put together a wee document when I have some time! I bought one from GSF - it was the Valeo one - is that the OEM version? It cost around £40 and the pattern one was £22.

I just bought a radiator for my 1.8 16v yesterday from GSF - £28 + VAt - I know it is a pattern part - but if it lasts a couple of years I'm happy with that. It only takes 20 mins to fit as well. i already have the old one out - ready to fit the new one. But at that price - it is cheap. Normally I steer clear of pattern parts but in this case I'll make an exception!

cheers guys. I won't get back to the car until the weekend - and figure out what went wrong! I think I'll contact the RAC and see what happens! I have 3 corrado's only 1 is working....he...he....he

Hi Folks, Just thought I'd ask - has anyone on the forum had the breakdown service damage their car? My VR6 petered to a halt on Sunday night - and I called out the RAC. The guy duly came - after 90 minutes. He asked me to sit in the seat and try and start the car on his signal. He was working away in the engine bay and then asked me to try and start it. I did - and there was a loud explosion and lots of smoke. I asked him what he had done - he said he sprayed damp start into the intake system. This blew the throttle damper apart. Anyone had this happen - and did you report the incident?

Try a new oil pressure switch. there are 2 on a valver - operating at different pressures. I had a similar problem - to check the oil pressure - bought an oil pressure gauge (£20)and fitted it to the top of the filter - just to make sure the oil pressure was OK. Obviously it was!

No Adam, As I had the engine dismantled - The bores had very little wear - which I was surprised at!! I also removed piston No6 just in case a broken ring was hiding in there - but they were all OK. However as I had removed the piston I also replaced the big end shells and bolts on No6 - I just didn't want to put the old ones back on as I had 'disturbed' them. The bores were all the same across the 6 cylinders - so OK. It's just Cylinders 1 and 6 that get more heat and perishes the valve stem seals more! Besides the engine was putting out 208 BHP - If there was excessive wear - then it would likely be a lot lower than that.

Adam, I think you'll probably find the guides won't need done - but you will not know until you've removed the head. I had a problem with plug no 6 fouling up after a few weeks - and lots of blue smoke on over-run. When I removed the head and valves there wasn't any more play on the valves on no 6 than any of the rest. When getting the head skimmed I asked the shop to replace the guide - but he told me it wasn't necessary - it would be the valve stem seal that's causing the problem. You won't know the condition of the head until you remove it matey! As for the tappety noise - I don't think worn giudes would produce that type of noise. Even though you've replaced the lifters - it could be the cams are worn. I did find a lot of pitting on the exhaust valves - and asked the machine shop to grind them in when skimming the head. Grinding in the valves is an awful job - if you can let the machine shop do it. Has it cured the oil burning - I don't know! The engine is a spare sitting in my hut with all the chains and guides done, and hasn't been run. I remember the head gasket set - lifters, head bolts and timing chain parts came to about £200. The head skim and regrind came to about £70.

I Need these type bolts the one on the right - but longer- without the shoulder on the original...mmmm Anybody know where to get these?

Hi folks, I need an 8mm spacer to make my new wheels fit. The front wheels are catching on the caliper carrier! I know Halfords do spacers - but what about longer wheel studs to allow for the spacer? Where is the best place to get longer wheel studs?

There is a lot of discussion on the value of your respective cars. Bear in mind the value of your car as your insurance company sees it. If you are unlucky enough to have a slight scrape, the insurance company will look at the value of the car (see screenshot) and if the repairs are above 60% of the value according to Glass's guide - then it is written off as CAT C. My car was written off for a dent in the front wing and a broken headlight tab. The point is - make sure you have an agreed value with the insurance company before taking the policy out! You don't plan on having an accident but it happens.

Had the same problem with a cheap VAGCOM USB lead- You just have to adjust the timing of the ports on your laptop - it will then show the ABS Controller: Although at first VAG-COM couldn't detect the cable - I turned down the COM port settings on the laptop. Go to Hardware - Device manager - Ports (COM&LPT) and Properties of Communication port (USB) usually Com4 and in the advanced settings turn down the 'Latency timer' to 5 - it worked for me. It depends what COM port you have the connection configured for in VAG-COM, my one only worked on COM4.

Hey Joe, Yes - a bit late in answering - but electrical problems, indicator lights stayed on and headlights flashing - not good. Think it's fixed now! Where did you spot me matey?