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Well due to lack of funds I have decided to do my brake overhaul myself rather than paying a mechanic to do the job. In order to stop me being in a position of having a partly disasembled car and having to get a taxi to halfords etc I was hoping someone could talk me through the procedure and and tips for things I should be real careful about (ABS?) I am pretty handy with motorcyle maintenance but have not done car brakes before.. ..how hard can it be? dreaded last words.. I know I need copper grease, wire brush, brake cleaner.. etc.. how are the brakes mounted to the hubs? Allen bolts? Do I need to soak them in WD40 overnight? Cheers :wink:

Oh - forgot to mention - I'm not after race brake pads that need heat in them. My driving is all city work so they wouldn't be needed. I just want predicable strong braking 8)

Hello, I just went to German and Swedish to get some service bits. I bought some Zimmerman disks which I hear from you lot are pretty good. I was also going to get some Pagid (standard) pads. However the bloke made a mistake so gave me some Textar ones instead. They look very similar and he said they were superior. I've never heard of Textar before so are they good or was I being fobbed off? I have also decided to do the plugs and bought some Bosch Super (FR8LDC) plugs which seemed too good to be true at £2.50 per plug :shock: I know that I should fit platignum NGK, but I have done 2k in my car in the last 8 months so don't think I really need a super long life plug. Are these OK? Also any tips for swaping the disks out? I'm not a superb mechanic but work on my motorbike a lot and cars are just bigger right? :lol: :roll: Thanks!

Hello.. I was hoping someone could enlighten me. I'm not really into car tuning or cosmetic upgrades as a rule. Nothing against it, just each to their own and all that :lol: However my VR6 has suffered from being a London car all its life and as a consequence the alloys are looking awfull. I was thinking of getting them refurbished but second hand rims in excellent conditions I would imagine might be a cheaper way to go. Now this start me thinking maybe getting a second hand set of alloys might be feasible too. I don't really want any suspension modifications and I can't lower the car as its low enough for the road I drive in London already. I don't want to have to calibrate the speedo either so my numpty logic suggests I should be looking for a pair of 16's with a low profile tyre!? Can anyone tell me I'm talking bollocks or let me know the 'lug pattern' or whatver wheels are measured in so I can know what to look for? I would also imagine that there must be a place where you can buy sell alloys on line too.. thanks in advance..

Wow - what a selection.. now I'm even more confused :? :lol: VAG sounds good to me. I want the car to remain stock. Any idea on prices? Do they use standard VAG? pads? I guess German and Swedish are the place right!? Sorry for the dumbass questions.. I'm stll learning..

My corrado VR6 is totally standard and I am planning on keeping it that way. The front brake disks are pretty knackered and are starting to suffer from fade. Can you guys recommend replacement disk that will go straight in. I don't want race systems or anything radical, and most of my work is town stuff so no disks that need to get heat into them. I'm on a bit of a budget (all my money goes on my bike :roll:) but I like a good set of brakes and don't mind spending a bit if its really worth it! Thanks! :wink:

Sorry don't know about your idle problem but there are headlights on ebay.. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... egory=9889

I've just popped into City VW to get a quote for a basic 70k oil, lubricant, and vehicle check service and they have quoted "a bit over £200 sir.." Apparently it's that high as it's a large engine so it need more oil :roll: I asked how much it would be if i provided my own oil and apparently I can't do that as it's part of the package.. I don't really need a VW technician to tell me my ashtray needs replacing and my carpet matts were worn (listed from the last survey) I just want someone to change the oil and give me that stamp. Am I being tight or is this really too much. Can anyone reccomend any VM dealers either in London, Surrey or Bucks please who will talk to me like a normal person rather than a walking wallet.. :wink:

Good question. I had a 91 CRX Vtec and I can say it was the best car I have ever owned. I never had any bother with it and it took a lot of abuse. I don't drive very much and just needed an occasional car and I don't like depreciation. I looked at 6 CRX vtecs before getting a corrado but couldn't get a good one for a good price. But they are out there but you will need to spend a lot of time looking. I like the VR6 as its a real sleeper. I like to cruise around but have the occasional blast. The CRX vtec is very similar. But hit the 5500 rpm and you will know it. Great cars (like corrados ;)) End of the day if you like revs and top end rush get a VTEC, if you like torque, get a VR6 :D (BTW - I am only considering a mk2 VTEC engined car.. The del sols should not be worthy of the CRX badge and the mk1s are well past it now!)

I'm pretty new to corrado ownership and have to say it does handle well. Better than my GTiR that I had before. I was driving my g/f's golf TDI thing the other day and though I rated it highly I almost understeered off the road at one point. I guess the VR6 has a different setup but I definately rate the corrado. doesn'r understreer and the back feels planted. :)

never thought this has happened but this weekend I've been razing around in my girlfriends Golf.. it gets worse... its a diesel :roll: Yep its a golf TDI company car and it shifts.. Got a big turbo boost which is a big primitive for my liking but I was cruising at 110 without realising, and that I have only ever done in the Corrado before :wink: Got back in the corrado and it felt like a slug. Brakes felt really wooden too :cry: Maybee my VR6 is down on performance or are these things more powerfull that I thought :!:

Pleased to read this thread.. I think..

It's easier than you would think to take it out. Just removed the plastic on the corners and slide it out the rear. Be very carefull as its very flimsy and is really a two man job to get it back in.

Rams - beware if you get a bike you risk losing interest in cars altogether! I've not run a car for two years and had to buy one to keep my no claims bonus. Believe it or not I bought the VR6 as because going fast in a car just doesn't do it for me. The VR6 suits me as its great for fast touring and distance whereas I have this for fun. I had a ZX6R ninja on a P plate as my first bike and it was a superb machine. It will do 160mph and has a great revvy engine. However I'd say get a supermoto as you'l have soo much more fun, just below 100mph :D And yes I have crashed several times but the bike just needs kicked straight. Crash the ZX6 and you'll have a £1000 bill! If you can get a ZX6 for less than £2000 I would be wary. They are top bikes and will do big miles but you will need to budget for a new rear shock and the consumables (like chain & sprockets) will probably be knackered too! If you need any advice let me know..

Good work! I would be keen to findf out about the cold air feed. I'm not really into tuning and like the sleeper feel of the VR6 but I'm suprised at how how the engine bay gets and a cold air feed can only be a good thing :)

Good quesion.. one I was going to ask :roll: I don't seem to be able to lock myself in the car either. I guess this is some safety feature as there aren't any buttons anywhere. Don't like driving in london with unlocked doors, makes me nervous if I have anything on my passenger seat :(

Might be a long shot.. but it paid off :D Yep I took them all off and two of the dials (the heat and position) are identical and the other one has an extra notch on it that looks like it pushes the electrical contact round :oops: I now have speeds 2,3 and 4 and I think I need to work on 1 as it's a bit dodgy, I probably bent the contact slightly... CHEERS! :D

my '93 VR6 is suffering from the apparently common problem of the heater dial not being able to select the windscreen setting. I took the whole assembly appart to regrease the cables behind and managed to get some grease in there. I didn't completely remove the heater matrix, I just removed the ashtray, ashtray holder and cigarette lighter and then managed to get access to the rear of the left hand (vent position) dial. In true Haynes style re-assembly was the reverse process and I was pleasantly suprised to see that the heater was now working perfectly.... .... or so I thought :? I then realised that the blower was only operating on position 4. I decided to attack i t all again and when I pulled the knob off the heater burst into life :roll: Now the heater works fine in all four speeds provided the plastic dial is removed :?: as soon as i put it back on I only get speed 4. There aren't any electrical contact on the plastic knob so I don't know where I've gone wrong :cry: I hate electical faults, do I need to take the whole assembly out after all?

Thanks Kev, your a gent. :D I'll order some of the 'arms' tommorow and see if they make a difference. I think I'm gonna have to strip it all again to clean the tracks and re grease properly though. ..still should take less than 6 hours this time as I'll know what I'm doing... sort of ;)

I would appreciate it if you could. Please don't if you have to drop the roof lining though :!: You have lost me here. What does the rubber tubing do exactly? My roof kit has little plastic plug that fit in the end of the subframe. I guess their job is to stop the grease coming out and the rails going back to far!?

Cheers Kev - I had another play tonight with the roof still in the car. I have greased the tracks to death but in my haste didn't re-grease the tubes that the cables run in very well. I think all the little hairs from the old guides do a good job of clogging the channels too :( I think I'm gonna when I get time have to remove the whole thing and jetwash the subframe to get the most of the old grease out of the tracks. The roof wound back ok today but whilst winding it forward the left side jammed :mad: fortunately I am becoming pretty goog at alligning and closing the roof when it sticks. I just undo the motor bolts and the roof slides really easily. Then just re-attach and wind the last bit closed. The motor is still puzzling me though. It was working before I started but now it just clicks. I thought it was just overloading but it does the same with the motor detached too :(

Sorry for the dumb question but when I pull away when the car is cold after having travelled approx 5 - 10 meters I get this 'graunnnch' noise from the front left wheel area. :? It only does it once and its not really noisy but you can 'feel' it through the pedal. The ABS all works fine and the steering geometry seems ok (no bad tyre wear or weave) and the car otherwise drives fine. I haven't had a chance to get the car up on a jack and inspect it but any ideas what I should look for. It sound like a seized caliper binding to the disk and then releasing but I would assume that would be more severe.

Kev - quick question for you.. when you fitted the roof was there a little lever (looks like a finger size handle that turns 90 degrees. It's purpose is to help lift the inside of the interior roof lining when its in the tilt position. ETKA number is 357 877 269(70) Mine only had one on the passenger side and I managed to snap it :( but the one on the drivers side was missing!? I just wanted to confirm it should be on both sides..

Yes indeed I have but I failed in getting it working properly! Well Kev I'm in the same boat :cry: my attempt seemed to have been a spectacular failure. I got the assembly all out without any problem. I found my problem was that both guides had snapped :? Lucky that the repair kit has two! Anyway after mush stripping and cleaning I got the new cables and guide blocks on. The mechanism moved easily in the slides freely and I was pretty pleased with my self... The roof would slide back all the way, come forward and then tilt all as it shoud. I then re-attached internal roof part and the mechanism got snagged on one side :cry: After dropping out the motor (several times) I got the guides straight again and tried it with the roof attached. No matter what I tried I couldn't get it all to work together :? After almost stamping on the whole thing I calmed down and had a cuppa then tried again. Got the roof attached and sliding back OK so re-mounted the subframe in the car. I managed to get the internal roof part to slot in fine this time :? but it made the winding the mechanism a lot harder. End result was the roof will now slide back and forwards ok but the motor will only click when button is pressed :cry: Tilting is not an option as one of the little handles (that lifts the internal flap) is missing altogether. I didn't lose it - it was never there :? To put the icing on my cake the roof will not close in the hole properly. If I remove all the bolt that hold the panel on it sits nicely but if I try to get it screwed in it lifts slightly at the back so there is no seal. Not watertight either :x The problem is the assembly that the roof attaches too is just slightly too high. That can't be adjusted as far as I can tell. So the car is all back together and the roof slides back with the key and quite frankly I've had enough of it.. not sure where to go from here. :cry:

Forget to mention I will NOT scrimp of service items. The car will get what it needs.. its just the part will not be fitted by a VW dealer!