Kevin Bacon

I know exactly what you mean and sympathise with you. Mine has arrived at the troublesome 80,000 mile stage where lots of things seem to need doing. The previous owner was wise to get shot of it at 73K! If you can't drive through the vibration I think it could be worn dampers. Knackered bushes normally manifest themselves as shoddy handling, tugging to the left or right under braking and clonking over severe bumps. Could also be top mounts but depends on mileage as VR6 top mounts are good for at least 75K. The rubber bush compresses way before the cartridge bearing collapses. That said, it could just be wheel imbalance. Not all tyre fitters do a good job of it and I had to have mine done 3 times (at different places) to resolve it. Kev

Yes that could be feasible and is the most common problem associated with the ABS system. If you've planning on keeping the VR6 for a while then I really recommend you purchase the excellent VAG-COM diagnostics system. It'll tell you in an instant what the problem is. By the way, the idle valve and electric water pump also make buzzing noises when the ignition is on, are you sure these aren't making the noise? Kev

Anyone moved this up to the airbox area to moniter intake air temps with the mfa instead of external temp? :lol:[/quote:977b4] The VR6 already has an air intake temperature sensor. It's on Block 1 I think on VAG-COM on the Engine's fault code page. Blocks 1 to 3 display Air intake temp, ignition timing, idle speed, throttle angle, O2 sensor output, EGR valve temp and a couple of other things. Quite nifty! Kev

A nice cheap fix for you then - not fair :cry: Kev

According to the user manual, the Fuses are above the main fuseboard in the car. There is a 30 amp (green) motor fuse and a 30 amp fuse for the main ABS relay. The ones under the bonnet are not mentioned but I'll assume they are also related to the ABS. The manual also states that the ABS pump can take up to 60 seconds to build up the required pressure. Maybe yours isn't pressurising enough? Kev

Just prior to starting the car from cold, try tapping the idle valve with a hammer. If it then starts and runs fine, that's your problem. Jammed internal valve. Another popular one on the KR 1800 16V is the cold start injector. It squirts fuel into the plenum chamber for approx 3 seconds in the mornings to assist starting. The thermotime switch then regulates base pressure accordingly (via the control pressure regulator) until the engine is up to temperature. The cold start injectors usually lose their circuit due to a bad earth. This was very common on Golf 16Vs and the earth was down under the battery tray, shared with a load of other earths. Not sure if this is the case on the Corrado 16V but it's worth checking. You can also put a 12V LED in the blue connector on the end of the plenum and see if it lights up when you crank the engine over. If it doesn't, you've either put the LED in the wrong way round or the 5th injector does indeed have a severed connection. HTH Kev

You have to choose an appropriate offset that prevents tyre contact with the inner arch on full lock and the outer arch lip over mid bend bumps/rounabouts etc. You should be able to keep the inner arch liners in place with 16s, so long as you don't go too low, 40mm should be OK. Choosing the right offset can be tricky but the general consensus seems to be 35mm. Kev

Maybe H&R have revised the damper rates or something because a few years ago, whilst being absolutely superb quality and very highly regarded (still are) they were known to be on the hard side. If you like them, fair dos and I bet they'll last longer than the Konis! Kev

You will do. Where does the vent hose begin it's journey to the front of the car from? Could you not hang it up in the rear arch with a filter on the end? The spinning rear wheel and under car air movement would draw the fumes out of the back as you drive along. That's basically how non CC equipped MK2 Golfs did it. Kev

You will get an "N80 - Frequency valve - open circuit" fault if you disconnect it. Or something along those lines. N80's job is to allow the vapours held in suspension in the CC to be drawn into the engine under load. At idle and over-run, N80 closes. If N80 sticks permanently open, you will get a rough idle and unresponsive/rough part throttle acceleration and also petrol smells at idle as the inlet suction pulls vapours out of the tank. The carbon in the canister absorbs hydrocarbons from the fuel vapours. As part of the EU 2 emission laws, all cars had to have greatly reduced hydrocarbon outputs, and that included the fuel vapours! Personally I'd relocate it. There is the potential danger of a fire if petrol vapours (the highly flammable part of petrol) get anywhere near the exhaust manifold or if someone does some welding (heaven forbid) on your car. An inline fuel filter over the end of the vent hose would reduce that risk though. Kev

Had that happen to me too, but luckily on the drive! Kev

Good race! You had a fair bit on the VR6. Are both cars standard? Standard v Standard, a UK spec VR6 would have been level with you as they also get to 60 in 6.9 seconds, according to VW. Fair play to you though, S2 cabrio 1340Kg plays VR6 1210Kg! Kev

I used to have a 2.0 Cavalier too and it never returned anywhere near that much! To get 41mpg out of a 2.0 petrol engine you need to drive it like Miss Daisy! Kev

Badgeless grille too. I'm thinking it's a regular VR. VW should have made more of an effort to distinguish the two imo. Something clearly visible like deletion of the sunroof and inclusion of Air con, perhaps? Kev

Do you mean the metal clips that the lugs on the panel latch into? If not, then I didn't realise the plastic lugs were replacable. Just thought it was one big injection moulded part. Kev

I was going to read them the part number but based on the preliminary enquiries, thought better of it. I also just assumed the number would be VW and confuse them even more. Nevermind, the job's done now and VW don't accept parts back that have been ordered in specially. Kev

The plugs are integral components of the panel, so if you snap the plugs, you can guess what's coming next..... Might I recommend you line the steel behind the panel with self adhesive felt? You can buy this from John Lewis or any decent habberdashery shop. I did this on an E30 325i Tourer last year as that is also renowned for rear end squeaks and rattles. It took me the best part of a day removing all the panels, lining them with felt and replacing them. When you take the panels off, you can clearly see plastic on metal wear marks and it is there you need to concentrate the felt/foam application. The effort pays off because after that, my E30 was quieter than my friends brand new 330i Coupe in terms of rattles. In fact it didn't rattle at all. The same principal applies with any VW. Isolate the noise and shut it up! Kev

Yep, you have El Solido hose. I tried getting the breather PCV valve from Ford but they were useless and my lie of saying it was for a 96 Galaxy back fired as they required a chassis number. When I owned up and said it was really for a Golf/Corrado VR6, they said "VR6 in a Golf?, F'ck me that must be quick". Hmmmm. knowledgable chaps. I just gave up and bought the complete hose (with PCV valve) from VW for £60 in the end. My original was looking tired anyway, so although a needless purchase, it's preventative maintanence, or that's how I justified it to myself at least :? Kev

That's probably due to the hot weather. Mine behaved itself perfectly during the recent hot spells but on colder, over cast days, the engine would misbehave. I just want the car to be tip-top for the winter period as I DO NOT want to be nosing under the bonnet in sleet and rain. I just want to get in it and drive it - huh, who am I kidding? It's a Corrado right? LOL! There is a good reason surrounding the hot weather synopsis. When the ambient temp is high, engines require less fuel and often operate more smoothly and keenly as a result, I know mine does. The opposite is true for forced induction though. So, there could be a fuelling issue if a NA car runs better when hot than on cold days. Over fuelling perhaps? Could be a temp sensor out or something. Anyway, I digress.....keep an eye on the idle and if it keeps stalling when you abruptly dip the clutch, chances are the idle valve and dashpot will need doing. As Dr-Mat stated, the rev needle should drop to around 1000rpm and then lower gently down to 680rpm. Mine just plummeted like a brick to 200 rpm and then bounced up to 680, or would just cut out completely. Mine now does as Mr Mats. Kev

Cable ties or jubilee clips wrapped around the rubber hangers has been done for years! The OE hangers are way too soft imo and putting a jubilee clip round the rubber effectively stiffens it up and stops the exhaust sagging and swaying about under cornering. Kev

Certain countries had VR6 engines with air pumps that blast air into the exhaust (before the cat) during warm up to reduce emissions. Vauxhall Vectras also do this and the pump is also in the inner wing. Could that be what you have on your car? Just make sure you blank off the connection on the exhaust when you remove it or you'll get fumes in the car. Surely the air flow underneath the car would cool the downpipe/cat? Kev

Mine was reading 94 degrees at 80 mph in 27 deg C heat today, but then I do have an oil cooler in front of the radiator :lol: The cooler has lowered overall temperature 20 degrees as I used to get 114 deg at 80 mph. Definitely worthwhile. When pushing it and crusing at 120 ish, it still only climbs to 102-104. Sits at 100 stuck in traffic. They are the temps I like to see personally, especially on the VR6 renowned for it's excessive heat soak. Kev

At least 1.8T owners are entitled to free replacements :x I'm considering mounting my coilpack somewhere else and using longer leads. You can buy silicon copper wire wholsale and just take the factory ends apart and make up some longer leads. Did that before on a 16V successfully. The low tension leads are easily extendable. The coilpack is also right in the path of rain water coming through the radiator too. Fantastic bit of design! Kev

Yeah the rigid VR6 inlet hose (integral with the breather hose) are rubbish and prone to leaks. The pre 93 rubber inlet hose is much better. The little valve on the breather hose also fails causing rough low rpm running and fumes to leak. Kev

Good news. A new idle valve and dashpot has cured the stalling. I am a little dissapointed the new ISV hasn't cured the rough idle but it has smoothed it out a little, none the less and is rock steady. Even better news. The new ISV has completely changed the way the engine behaves at low revs. It's a lot more eager off the mark and the engine is a whole lot smoother and more responsive/torquey below 3000 rpm. It's a pleasure to drive once again :lol: I suppose that makes sense as the old valve wasn't closing fully off idle, causing an unwanted air loop. The popping and jerkiness I used to get on over-run and part throttle between 1100 and 2000rpm has also gone, so all in an all, a worthy job. Kev