chrisw

Try letting Windoze search online for recommended drivers (this might be XP only). I have a lead from http://www.millisi.net which works with standard windows drivers or ones from their site. There were two seperate drivers to install. Then check Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager and make sure you can find the new port listed and double check whether it is installed as a true USB device or a Serial port emulator (COM1 to 4). You can update the driver from here as well. Chris

I am looking for some help on adjusting the brake compensator valve. Could the Bentley manual possibly be more cryptic? I don't have a clue what the recommended ABS procedure is on about, seems to be saying you need to plumb a load more stuff in to test it. I assumed you would just attach pressure gauges in the bleed screws and make sure the front/back ratio is ok (with the ignition on?). Has anyone done this and where do you get the gauges from? Chris

First test your interface, Options -> Test Make sure you select the appropriate COM or USB port on this page. I have a USB lead from China that installs itself as COM4 not USB. If this doesn't work you have a problem with the lead or the drivers are not installed correctly (you need XP and the drivers from Ross Tech or you can use generic windows drivers for my lead). Then go back to the start screen and: Select -> Engine wait for it to establish communication then select Read Fault Codes. Chris

Well damaged or not I am taking mine to the Cairngorms in two days! Bit nervous now though. My ABS really didn't help in this accident, it is bloody scary in the snow. I find it makes so much fuss you just can't tell what is going on at the wheels properly. Can I just take the fuse out in snowy conditions? Chris

Aaarghhhhhhhh! Just crashed my corrado in the snow. Slid down my street at 12:30 last night. It is v. steep and the thin layer of snow had frozen. As we were careering towards a car my girlfriend had time to issue some advice "Why don't you try the handbrake". Smacked into a parked M reg ZX and didn't stop for a fair way. Mounted the curb on the other side of the road but managed to avoid hitting anything else. Very nearly scraped the whole other side down a brick wall, phew. The annoying thing is we were going really slow. I don't like driving in the snow and was taking it easy. Anyway, pics below: The bonnet looks really bent in the photo but it is only bent to about three inches from the corner. Does the bonnet look repairable? Also, I was already wanting to replace the front winganyway because of rust. Headlight glass is ok but the top clips and plastic surround have been snapped off. Bumper seems fine apart from cracked paint. I am waiting for my third piece of bad luck (or incompetence) to strike. We returned from London on boxing day to find we had been burgled. A real cliched scene, every draw and cupboard turned out. I think they were a little dissappointed as we don't really go in for the latest gadgets. They do seem to have taken the spare keys for my girlfriends polo though so I have hidden it. Not sure what to do about this. Any ideas how much a full set of new locks for a brand new polo would be? Chris Edit: Fixed the image tags for you, but it looks like the site you're linking to is down :( - dinkus

New VAG front silencer for a VR6: £110! Does this thing actually do a lot? I was going to replace it with a plain supersprint pipe (£40) but then the parts man tempted me with a £15 discount :cry:

They look v. similar to ones I got off my car by pounding a quality 12 point socket on. A bit worrying for the axles, hub etc. but it worked a treat. I spent ages messing about trying to grind a socket to shape but even when it looked perfect it had no purchase at all. I think the lozenges had chamfered edges to prevent this. Get your hammer out and take out your frustration! (you will probably need 4 sockets for this) Chris

I've given the car a good shakedown today (30 miles+) and it is much better w/ a new filter but still a little rough on idle. It was perfect before. I had problems when I first got the car but after a good service I haven't had a stall (that was the car's fault!) for 6 months or so. Any tests that can be done on the accumulator other than replacing it? If the fuel pump is quiet can this be assumed to be okay? Chris

I ran out of petrol yesterday like a total idiot. No excuses, I was just completely daydreaming for about half and hour. Bad habit of mine. Once I left work to go somewhere and drove halfway home on autopilot before realising I should be going the other way. Anyway, now my Vr6 is running really rough. Idle problems & hesitant on the throttle. I am sure it sounds really rough as well, a bit raspy and boomy. I gather this is likely to be a fuel system problem. I have got a new filter which I will try later and some Redex, not sure about that stuff though. Failing that am I looking at the fuel pump? Any easy tests to try to isolate the problem? Seems like the rubbish in the bottom of your fuel tank theory must be correct. I've run out loads of times before in other cars (see above) and never had a problem, none quite as old as my rado though. Cheers Chris

Just picked up a 288mm caliper setup on ebay for £62 including delivery.Came with pads came but no disks. I think I will get some Pagid FR and some braided hoses as everyone seems to recommend. I'm not sure what disks to get though: VAG, GSF or aftermarket ones? Can someone just confirm what braided hoses I need as well. The brakes are off a P reg Golf VR6 and I have a late model vr6. Chris

I am sure this argument raged on here before. You definitely couldn't have rears only on mine, a 94 vr6. I don't know if this applies to all late models, I presumed so.

Yep, that was the main reason I wanted to do this. Funnily enough, I used this feature today after doing this mod last night. Someone pulled out behind without their lights on, someone else was in front of me, so I gave him a flash of the rears and he turned them on. Winner!

I just modified my fog-lights so you can switch front and rears independantly. I have a late model vr6 with two switches: First take the switch out and pop it out of its casing. There are two switches which you can toggle back and forth. The one on the rear fogs (amber) side has two pads that you can see making the circuit when you toggle the switch whereas the one on the front side only has one pad. The inside pad on the rear fogs side needs to be covered up with a tiny piece of electricians tape. You can pop the plastic swivel bit out and get the metal piece, file down the pad by the thickness of the tape and cover it up. Try to keep the grease on it or put a dab on when you reassemble. Chris

Just support the engine on some axle stands and the car on its sills on some more axle stands. Then loosen all bolts and lower the subframe on a trolley jack, taking care not to rag on the power steering assembly which bolts to the subframe and needs to be seperated carefuly. It's a bit fiddly but if you get the subframe balanced nicely on the jack it is fairly straightforward. Take care with the subframe and wishbone bolts as they have been known to strip or cross-thread, causing major amounts of hassle. Chris

When in traffic I quite like cruising along at about idle speed in my vr, the beast just pulls itself along and you can give your throttle foot a nice stretch and rest (it needs it :D ). Is this a good idea? Both in terms of fuel efficiency and engine wear? Or is there a higher rpm you should try to keep the engine at? Chris

BTW, can you open up your lead? Might be worthing checking various components and cicuit paths inside if you can, make sure it's not a duff one. In essence it is probably the same circuit as in the link above.

Hi, Has anyone looked at this link : http://www.planetfall.com/~jeff/obdii/ I have built one of these and then realised that my laptop does not have a serial port (doh), so I haven't managed to test it yet. Only cost a few pounds worth of opto-isolators and components. Then you can butcher an old serial mouse or lead if you have one to make a nice connector. Has anyone else tried this and got it working? I resent paying silly money for such as simple connector so I am happy to spend a bit of time trying to make one. I soldered all this up onto a bit of breadboard and can supply a photo of my connections if anyone wants. Just be careful soldering chips and transistors as it is easy to blow them with the heat without realising. Chris

Like previous posts have said, you can reach the drivers side latch from underneath the car with a screwdriver or similar, but it is extremely fiddly, especially as with the bonnet stuck you can't really see what the latch looks like. Get under the car and get your arm up as far as you can between the engine and radiator, have a good feel and try to follow the release cable to the latch it should be pulling on. Then get a screwdriver and try to get it in the right place to pry the latch open until the bonnet pops. It took me about 15 mins of messing about before I cracked it. I then tied some thick cord between the pass and drivers side latches as a temporary bodge so you could just reach up and yank on that. Chris

No, but it is very similar. I have one on mine at the moment. The only difference (as far as I can tell) is the rear mounting plates that the ARB sits on are a bit longer and skinnier and there is an extra bracket for a vibration damper. The beefy bits that the engine and suspension bolts to are the same. I couldn't find a rado one so just modified the Golf one slightly with extra steel plate. No problems since then! Chis (sitting back and waiting for horror stories of snapped golf subframes on corrados)

I didn't realise you could just get a back box. Where do you cut though, because the pipe it fits onto would probably still need bending back into shape.

Yeah its the one piece jobby. What was the reasoning behind this engineering marvel? Basically I have a fading hope that the one piece can be salvaged for a total cost of £0+VAT.

Yesterday I went up to the Yorkshire Dales with a couple of friends. On the way into the car park, we were having a good laugh at the Polo in front, body kit galore, and so low it could barely clear the speed bumps. Ho ho we said, bet he never puts his foot down. At that moment, I checked my rear view, spotted a place to park and gunned it in reverse straight into a low boulder :oops: Obviously everyone thought it was hilarious except me. Anyway, the upshot is that I hit the rock bang on the tail pipe and have bent the box at the pipe between the rear and mid muffler, where it goes over the axle. The tail pipe is about 3 inches from where it should be and interfering with the bumper. I was trying to remove the box last night and discovered you have to drop the rear axle to do it , and of course the compensator must come off as well. A couple of questions: 1) Is there any realistic chance of removing the Vr6 box, bending it roughly back to shape and refitting? There are no cracks in it and it sounds fine when running (v. surprising, mind you, it weighs a ton!) I am not looking for perfection, just good enough to pass the MOT and not interfere with the chassis. Or is the box likely to be on its last legs now. 2) If not, where can I get a cheap VAG exhaust? It seems GSF used to do one for £155+VAT but there are none left. I am assuming it is about £300 from VAG? 3) Is there enough play in the axle to remove the exhaust by dropping only the drivers side of the axle and sliding it across, or does the whole axle+compensator need to come completely off? I tried just disconnecting the struts so the axle drops a bit and there is nearly enough room to slide the back box out. I feel if the car was on a lift I could flip the box 180 and slide it out like this, is this true? Obviously the alternative is to chop the old exhaust off and splash out on a 2 part aftermarket jobby. I'm not keen on any increase in noise though. I won't ask for recommendations. :D Cheers guys, I don't think I could afford the Corrado game without this forum. Chris W

Cheers for the replys. I was thinking that the tensioner should last a bit longer as people have been finding theirs in a worse state than mine. I agree it has almost reached paranoia on this forum but when you open it up and find cracks like that, whether its got 50k more in it or not, it doesn't inspire confidence. Maybe I shouldn't have looked until I had the time to do it! Chris W BTW : What is the AMV xxx sealant that is recommended for the mating surface of the sprocket cover? Any generic equivalents?

I've just been replacing the rocker cover gasket and took the upper chain cover off for an inspection on a 107k mile 94 Vr6. My car was making no noise at all and was owned for the best part of its life by a retired company director so I was hoping they would be in good order. I was fairly horrified by what I saw: There is a crack in the guide rail and the top little bit of the plastic has snapped off as well as some fairly serious scoring. Obviously I want to replace these ASAP but I am a teacher and will not get a chance until half term to do this (back to school tomorrow :cry: ) . Do you think I will be okay until then (about 2000 miles time) to just put everything back and leave it. Is this sort of crack to the guide rail common? Thanks, Chris W

I've just found a subframe for £50+VAT so that will be easier than getting someone else to repair it for me. Thanks for your help. Yeah I was holding my breath doing the 6 subframe bolts, they were very easy to undo though. Toughest were the caliper carrier bolts. Especially after you have removed the hub assembly and only have a B&D workmate to hold it in. doh. So far I've sheared two BJ bolts, sheared a little splash shield bolt and rounded two more, snapped an engine mount bolt, and rounded a caliper carrier bolt. Some of these were unavoidable, a couple were incompetence :oops:. All off now though, except this one bolt, and I have learnt a lot as I have never really worked on my car before. I realised if I wanted a Corrado, I couldn't afford to not do. Just can't wait to see how it drives after new engine mounts, control arms, ball joints, tie rod ends, ARB bushes and bearings. Chris