Mike Edwards

WIth the engine lifted up, access gets a lot easier. Alternatively, buy yourself a 1m long extention for your socket set...

Either the motor is on the way out, the drive mechanism is damaged, or the drive mechanism need lubing.

Okay... On a standard car with new sensors, no leaks in the cooling system, sufficient oil, decent petrol* and not being ragged you should be seeing about 90 degrees water temperature and up to 116 oil temperature. The handbook says stop and let it cool if the oil gets up to ~140 degrees from memory. *Cr*p petrol will make it run hotter as the ecu retards the ignition.

Depending on what's rattling, a small peice of foam wedged between the lining for the sunroof and the sunroof itself generally sorts it.

Oh I remember the MINI at AMD - it was what originally got me thinking about them. LOTS of modifying potential, good handling, solid residuals and I like the look (not sure about the dash though). Pretty much why I bought the Corrado VR6 - only I wasn't thinking of modifications - and the sound, well....

The (even quicker) method: - Undo lower bolts in front cross-member; - Place bottle jack under handy lugs on front of gearbox and lift weight of engine off the front cross-member; - Undo upper bolts in bracket; - Lift engine until old mount can be removed and replaced by new one; - Do up the upper bolts finger tight; - Lower the engine until just incontact with front cross-member - Do up lower bolts finger tight; - Remove the jack and torque the bolts up. Less messy as well... :D

It was the S. The 6-speed box is pretty close ratio and generally low geared so while acceleration in gear is fine, you need to change up when overtaking. It weighs the same as a Corrado VR6 btw...

IN the meantime... Check the waterproof membranes on both doors the windscreen seal and the seal on the air inlet for the blower. If the water is only on the top of the carpet, suspect the latter. If it's under the carpet as well, suspect the 1st 2.

Well, about the sunroof...

I test drove a MINI Cooper S. And I liked it... :shock: :oops:

Or you could perhaps talk me into selling my spare...

Volkspeed went to work for McClaren. The one I saw had a complete 20v engine in it though

3rd attempt... One of the causes of poor headlights on the Corrado (and an MOT fail in extreme cases) is that the finish of the reflectors in the headlights degrades over time. Basically the mirror finish goes dull and/or flakes off. If moisture gets into the headlight (say through a stone chip or perished seal) the condensation that forms inside the headlight makes this a lot worse. Higher wattage (and generally hotter running) bulbs accelerate this. The design of the wiring for the Corrado means that there are a lot of connections between the battery, bulbs and earth points. Oxidation of these over time results in lower voltage at the bulb. Cleaning the connections (particularly the earth) minimises this. If anyone really needs further explanation, I'll have another go using shorter words...

Okay, lets try again. :roll: Cr*p headlight on the C result from low voltage to the bulbs and knackered reflectors. The latter is made (a lot) worse by fitting bulbs over the standard 55/60W items and by water ingress. The former can only result from either: a. broken wires; b. dodgy connections/switch contacts. Both of these 2 will increase the resistance in the circuit from the battery to the fusebox, relay/fuse, switch, bulbs and eventually the earth, leading to reduced voltage to the headlight bulbs. Finding the fault - even if you don't fix it but fit a supplimentary loom - does at least mean the same problem isn't affecting the rest of the cars wiring. The ECUs for the engine management and ABS are significantly more voltage sensitive than the lights...

Even brand new genuine parts will manage that under some combinations of steering lock and suspension compression...

Henny, check for cracks in the wires - insulation may appear to be intact. The surface of copper wires will oxidise when exposed to air and moisture but this won't affect the resistance of the wire itself. Oxidised contacts are an entirely different matter though...

The wires are fine unless broken. The connections mentioned in my post however tend to go wrong.

If you ever have an accident where your Insurers will have to pay out, make sure these bulbs aren't in when the Assessor calls as they're grounds for declaring your Insurance Void. Which then leaves you open to proscecution for driving without Insurance. Obviously, it's your choice, but I prefer to trace and fix the source of the voltage drop*... *Earth point 1st, followed by relay, switch and state of connectors in the headlights, to the headlights, to the relay panel and to the switch.

Also, the higher wattage bulbs tend to fry the reflectors in the headlights - which you can't buy seperately...

Ahh... If you've already done it, it's a 40 minute job. If not, sticking nuts, where to put the jack and which spanners to use to give sufficient leverage/clearance will conspire against you...

Hmmm..... Ben - how much were you hoping for on the current engine???

So Kev, can I interest you in an early-style VR6 MAF???

Is it only when closing from the slide position, or tilt as well? If the former, stop using it NOW. You WILL damage the motor/snap a cable/scratch the roof panel. Budget £75 and a full afternoon to take the roof out and replace the rearmost part of the sliding mechanisms.

If the cables are working okay, just fit the repair kits for the water guide plates and and give everything else a good clean and lube. Only other problem is if the tracks have worn...

Well, you could certainly fit the mechanism to the roof and the panel to the mechanism, but I'm not sure it'd line up without going out to the garage with a tape measure.