Henny

Oi! GRINGOG60, Are you reading this? It's now bugging me as to what NITROX actually IS..... :wink: Answers please on a postcard to...... :lol:

I wondered when you'd tip up into this one with your fancy avatar numberplate and all... :wink: Come on then, what is Nitrox then?!? :roll: :lol:

Hiya! You can get different colour blacklight paints. They're available in different colours (in normal light) and can be a totally different colour when shown in black light. You can get it at most good gadget shops and party type places and I think even Maplins sells it. The problem would be getting a decent UV light in the dash pod which wouldn't ruin the effect of the backlit dials... I'll have a look around as this is the kind of thing that some of my mates who run clubs will have a lot of experience with... 8) (I used to work for a Dance radio station and have done alsorts of odd things with lighting over the years!) I definately think that the UV light + black light reactive paint on the needles is the way to go with this... Watch this space... I've got some broken MKI golf clocks that I'll have a play with and see what I can come up with... :) (as you can tell, I REALLY want a set of these dials! :lol: )

Never had a play with one of those, but, based on 1.8 16Vs, they are easier to do than the 8Vs 'cos the inlet manifold isn't in the way of the exhaust manifold. As with all exhaust manifolds, beware of snapping studs off as they do tend to go brittle with age... :shock: :? You're probably best to split the inlet manifold so that there's nothing on top of the head to impede your access to the exhaust manifold, it's only a few more nuts and one new gasket required, but it means that all of the pipework and throttle linkage etc won't get in the way of what you're doing... Anyone got any better ideas on this, as, like I say, I've not done one on a 2.0 16V before... 8)

I used to get about 350 miles outta my 1.8 16V 'rado (small tank) and I used to get about 320 miles outta my G60 (bigger tank). I have no idea what the fuel economy will be like with my new engine, but I'm guessing it's not going to be as good! :roll: :lol: 8)

Ah, thinking about heat shields, there's a metal shield that goes over the inner CV joint on the back of the engine that most people forget about... If you've got a large amount of cr@p stuck in there, or if it's bent this could also make this sound... Good bit is that it's cheap and easy to fix if it is a heat shield... 8)

At last, someone else that knows about that!! I've been telling people that eversince I've been fiddling with laserJet 2's (gives you an idea of how long I've been in IT :? ) and they never believed me! They usually say ozone is in the sky or Boyzone are a pop band and nothing to do with printers......morons! Kev Yeah, when you ionise O2 you get mainly O2 with some O3 mixed in. Lasers are very good at ionising O2 when used in a heating capacity like in a printer. You also get a funny smell with O3 which is a slightly stale smell most people think is the ink/toner drying... :roll: It's pretty basic Chemistry really. I failed my Chemistry A level, but I still know that! :lol: The reason it's toxic is because the body can't break it down to use it or get rid of it so it affectively suffocates you in a similar way to Carbon Monoxide.... Not good... :shock:

Stoner is this a 1.8 16V you're on about? If it is then it could well be the idler pulley on the engine... There's a twin pulley on one of the shafts (can't remember which one, but I think it's the water pump) This has the inner pulley attached to whatever it is (waterpump?) and the outerpulley runs on a very large diameter bush. The outer pulley goes off to the P/S pump IIRC. The bush that this pulley slides on is a thin metal and breaks down after a while which can cause this kind of noise you describe... :? The only thing is that this would make a noise on the Right hand side of the car (UK Drivers) not the passenger... It's worth a look though... 8)

Yup, I can also agree that this is NOT an easy or pleasant job... :( I've done one on a MKII 8V GTI before (basically the same as a G60 golf) and it's still not easy... I'd say you're best off taking it to a good local garage and just bend over and be prepared to take it... :shock: :?

yeah, after waiting 14 weeks for my arms and blades to arrive I eventually received a complete driver's side arm + blade and a complete passenger side arm + blade... Not what I ordered, but they're on the car and look good so far... I've not tested them yet 'cos the car's got no engine at the moment! :roll: :lol:

Right then, here you go... I've not done this on a VR before, but I assume it's the same as on a late G60 and 1.8 16V, if not, then I'm sorry to waste any of your time... Ask at your stealer's if the switch is the same, if it is, then the fitting should also be the same. 1 ) take out the driver's side seat (one bolt at the front of the runner and a plastic cover at the back of the runners) so that you can lie down in the footwell. 2 ) remove the driver's side under dash 3 ) remove the bottom of the steering cowl. 4 ) unclip all of the multiplug wiring around the steering column. (just helps with visability!) 5 ) place a large cushion over the center seat mount and lie down with your head resting on the brake peddle. With a torch you should be able to see up behind the switch. To the column side of the switch is a small, brass, crosshead screw. You need a thin handled cross head screwdriver to get at this... I used a watchmaker's screwdriver that I bent slightly to get in to the screw. It's quite fiddly, but persevere and you'll get it. 6 ) with the screw out, the switch should just pull out towards the peddles. 7 ) insert new switch and put the screw back in. You'll have noticed that the original screw wasn't mega tight, so it doesn't have to go back in that tightly either! 8 ) remove youself from the footwell (easier said than done by this stage... Glad I told you about the cushion yet?!? :lol: ) and re-connect the multiplugs to the switchgear. Test the switches NOW, before you put everything else back together! 9 ) replace the lower steering cowl and underdash 10 ) replace the seat ensuring that all 3 runners are in the channels properly and that you've replaced the bolt and rear cover. DONE... :D Easy huh? Like I say, it's a bit fiddly, but there's no major engineering qualifications needed or anything daft like that. anyone who can lie down, use both hands at the same time and use a screw driver should be able to do this in about an hour. 8)

Kevhaywire. Why do you need to take the ignition barrel out? If you only need to change the ignition switch, you don't need to take the barrel out. The only time you need to do that is if you are changing the lock/key part of the switch (for example if the only key had been lost, or something was snapped off inside the key hole) If you need instructions on how to change the switch, post here asking and I'll reply with a step by step guide on how to do it... 8) If you DO actually need to take the barrel out, then, yes, it's the same idea as the golf's ones, but I have no idea as to where to drill... :?

Ground level Ozone isn't good 'cos it's toxic! O3 (ozone) is also given off by laser printers and many other heat ionised electrical appliances... If you sit near a laser printer (or fax or photo copier) at work and get headaches, it's 'cos you are slowly being poisoned! :shock: IIRC Nitrox is also a brand name for a fuel additive that supposedly adds an oxidant to the fuel to make it burn like it's got a N2O shot attached... Was it a black banner with yellow writing on it you saw? If it was then, if I understand it correctly, it's basically the same as most Octane boosters you can get... :roll:

Time to upgrade to Lupo arms and blades methinks... :) As both VR6 and Kevhaywire say, it's probably the nut that's come loose... :?

Cupholder from a Passat will fit, there's a thread somewhere with part numbers for each colour too :shock: If you really want a light up mirror on the driver's sun blind, get one off a LHD scrapper 'rado! :lol: Passat's also had a nice little sun visor above the rear view mirror which will fit a 'rado, I guess that's if you can find one... Passat Moon roofs are very popular (I'm trying to find one and not having much luck at the moment... :? ) Passat mud flaps also fit and are still available from the stealers... 8)

I think that the KR engine with K-E-Jetronic to be one of the best, most reliable injection systems ever made. It's only beaten by the original K-Jetronic because of it's simplicity. There's only a couple of components and no sensors or ECU to mess things up when they fail! I think what CADman is on about is the vacuum hoses onto the airbox on the KR engines. 8) You really need to check all of these thin vacuum hoses for leaks, especially at the ends were they tend to perish and become porus thus not holding vacuum. This will bugger up your timing no end and make the car run really badly at higher revs. IIRC the Cam timing mark lines up an arrow on the top of the valve cover on the KR engines. 8) As said before, get yourself a haines manual that covers this engine... I've got both Golf II and Passat manuals and can pretty much deal with anything on a 'rado from a combination of those... Add in a Golf III if you have a VR6! :D

I think that late Scirocco seats may be close, but that's about it. Golf (and most other VW) seats will go straight in, but will sit too high... AFAIK the 'rado seats had the lowest sub frames of any of the VW range to give that lovely seating position... Anyone out there know otherwise?

Lovely looking car you've got there... I looked for ages for a Blue (I'm pretty certain yours is Aqua blue like mine!) 'rado with a black interior and eventually gave up and bought the G60 I have now with the dark grey interior... 8)

I can heartily recommend Audiolectrics in Macclesfield for ripping out original alarms and fitting Thatcham stuff instead. They've done my last 4 cars and I've not had a problem with them once... :D They're not the cheapest place about, but they do a good job, and the price they quote IS the price you pay... No hidden extras... 8) Stoke, Newcastle, Sandbach, Barcelona, Belgium and Hungary?!? :shock: That's some commuting you do! :lol: I thought 300 miles a week was a lot :? :lol:

I'm from sunny (!) Congleton... Why? Are you from 'round 'ere too? :? :D I'd forgotten that VR's had factory imobilisers... (never had a VR you see... :roll: :lol: ) IIRC there's a chip in the key that activates a sensor in the column by the key switch... It's one of those "wave the key near the correct place" systems that was aimed at the switch by the factory. (also known as a proximity activated switch! :roll: :lol: )

Hello again! Right, I got my camera out, pulled the engine outta the car and can now put up a picture of the exhaust shield rattle inhibitor that I'm on about (ie, here's a pic of where the big jubilee clip goes! :lol: ) I have removed the heat shield on my exhaust manifold itself at some point, I don't actually remember taking it off, but I know it was on there before I took the head off to have it ported/polished, and it's not on there now! That's how I cured that rattle! :roll: :? :lol: The pic below shows a view you won't get of your 'rado unless you pull the engine out, but you can get the idea better of where I mean to put the jubilee clip on... 8) It's pretty easy to fit it from under the car, just make sure the exhaust is cold first!!! :roll: :lol: Hope this helps!

And more photos from today's session... I've now discovered that the when the bolt sheared it apears to have done no damage at all to the pistons or valves... :shock: However, the bores are VERY worn so a rebore and rebuild would have been required fairly soon anyway... :D After 225K + miles, I'm not very suprised though! :lol:

I've got a G60 and she's got 225K miles+ on her! Admittedly she's now getting a full engine rebuild and upgrade to a 2litre, but I threw 19K miles at her last year with very few problems! :shock: 8) For 5K you'll quite easily get a nice low milage 'rado which will easily see your 18K a year and then some! 8) :D You're in the right place to learn about what to get too! Welcome, and good luck in your search... 8)

I dunno if they ever sorted it out in the handling stakes, (I only drove a couple when they first came out) but the MKII MR2 was a lot more tail happy than the MKI and had a very nasty habbit of very suddenly snapping to extreme over-steer if the driver was going a little too fast into a corner and let off the gas... :shock: Not something I'd wish on any girl of mine to experience... :? I saw a couple of these in a right state off the same road I crashed my first 'rado on a few months before my little outing, and it put me right off 'em... :shock: :? The 'rado, on the other hand, has pretty nice neutral handling with a slight understeer tendancy which is predictable and easy to get around... 8) (unless there's diesel on the road, in which case you're screwed in either case! :roll: :lol: ) I know that experienced drivers love the MR2 for it's arse out stance (I would too! :lol: ) and I have no idea how good or bad your girl's driving is, but it's something I feel you really should take into account and add into the decision... However, if she's just gonna pootle around and pose in the car then most of this is pretty irrelevant... 8)

Ooh, two posts I've read in a row where I can put: "Could be a dodgy ignition switch causing hassles... They've been known to make all sorts of weird things happen when they're failing... :? :shock: For the £12 they cost and less than an hour on your back swearing, it's worth doing it just for the peace of mind... 8) " I'll have a look at my Bentley manual in a bit if no-one else puts up anything more knowledgeable and see if I can spot anything on the wiring diagrams... 8)