dr_mat

£115 for a heater matrix? Wow.. I thought they were about £30 ..

Two questions you need to check: - are they approximately the right lengths - do they have the right connectors. If you can say "yes" to both these questions, then they're fine!

If the light goes out and stays out it's working. Move on with your life ....

The book says 8+ hours. The clutch alone is 3 hours. I think Stealth quote based on it being 6-7 hours, and they do this all the time. If you're not so familiar with it it'll take a little longer.

Two circuits control the fans. As you've no doubt worked out. The ignition on circuit uses the thermoswitch in the radiator. The ignition-off circuit uses the control box in front of the expansion tank. Sounds like you need a new thermoswitch ..

BTW, the pro wheel refurbishers consider "buckled" to mean that the wheel isn't straight, i.e. when it spins on the bearing the rim wobbles left-right .. This means you have to heat and re-bend the wheel spokes, not a simple repair. Just a "dent" in the rim is much easier to push out, because the whole wheel is still straight - i.e. it's a localised repair.

I would imagine that the car would fail an MOT with no front bumper, due to the extra risk of injury to pedestrians in an accident (can't see how you can hide all the sharp edges!), and therefore I would say no.. Unless you're just talking about driving it 500 yards to the bodyshop ...

Based on the above comments, perhaps you should get the twin fuel pumps checked ...? ** -- edit - "modern cars"? You're talking about a 14 year old diesel here ...

Alright, once AGAIN I'm going to point out that my '95 VR6 with a 4-pin MAF and an OBD1 ECU does NOT STALL when you disconnect the MAF at idle. And that is with a new MAF, which I know is working. The "stall test" is not conclusive. (And this isn't just me that says this.) The big problem with the MAF is that it's job is to measure flow rates in a turbulent fluid. Tricky. But if you take it to bosch there's a test rig. Push a fixed flow rate past it, measure the output voltage. If it's to spec, tick the box, move on. (Minor variations will be adapted to by the ECU anyway.) That said, one way to test the MAF is to disconnect it and attempt to rev the engine. The idle may not be altered, but you'll sure as hell find the car doesn't want to rev and chokes every time you touch the throttle. If it revs like normal with the MAF disconnected, then the ECU is ignoring it and it's time to get a new one. Other than that, your only real option (unless you happen to work for a Bosch test shop) is to try another one and see if the car drives better. *** -- the above document is quite cool. You just have to figure out a way to leave the multiplug connected and tap off these voltage readings. The pros have intermediate connectors with t-pieces.

There is no "tank" visible for the ABS. It's one of these: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-Golf-mk3-VR6-A ... 0031298055 If you have one of these, you have an ABS pump unit. The "reservoir" for the ABS is inside that unit. You wouldn't have an obvious clear plastic container, because it has to withstand several hundred atmospheres pressure...!! This whole unit should be fitted to the bulkhead (i.e. the metal wall between the engine bay and the passenger compartment), beneath the engine coolant expansion tank. It is just above the gearbox engine mount. Short of opening your bonnet and pointing, I'm not sure how I can describe it better! ;)

Ask if they guarantee to sell your car. If they say yes, tell them you want it in writing..

Funnily enough you get used to the big bright light after a month or two ...

The pump unit is supposed to be attached to the bulkhead, below and behind the coolant expansion tank. It really sounds to me like someone has ripped it out... ALL VR6s came with ABS, no ifs or buts (particularly if you have the dash bulb and the ABS ECU!). I would say you have been stitched up, on the whole mate! :(

VAG-COM = third party diagnostics software. They quoted you on the wrong part. The crank sensor is the £130 one, the cam sensor is *definitely* around £40, even from the dealers. By the way, as everyone above has said, you know you have a crank sensor problem when your car either stops when it's hot, and then won't restart for a few minutes, or it won't start at all. As also said above, THE ERROR IS ALWAYS THERE if the engine is not running - whether it's faulty or not. Anyone who buys a new crank sensor based on the "No Signal" error has been ROBBED BLIND...

More likely it's the voltage output regulator on the alternator. Doubt it's related to the battery, since the red light comes on/off based on the feed from the alternator .. Voltage drop? Get the voltmeter out ... ;)

Could also be alternator belt slip at high revs ...

Actually when the VR came out it would have been fitted with 15w40 in the factory, like it says in the guide book. 10w40 semi synth would NOT have been fitted. Of course after the first dealer service all bets are off...

"Mass Air Flow meter, MAF." There's no easy test, you have to use a test rig and an oscilloscope or accurate voltmeter to see if it's within calibrated range at each fluid flow rate. But they often show up on ebay from cars that are being broken. Get one cheap. It doesn't really matter if it's 100% or not, just *any* improvement in behaviour tells you your original one was probably not working right.

Most modern fuel injection systems have a two-pump system for the fuel delivery (diesels and petrols alike). But also check for air bubbles in the fuel lines. If they settle to the "top" of the system when you're parked up the hill that's a problem .. They can be caused by simply not using the car much, or also more worryingly by having a leak in the lines somewhere..

Try another MAF too ...

What COLOUR? You'll definitely see steam when it's still cold, can be a bit unnerving at first..

There's no rules, no regulations. You can say it has a full service history of course, but anyone reading the book would say "you did this yourself?" .. and at that point it becomes "do they trust you". The only reason a full dealer history is prized is because you can ring the (independent) dealer direct and they will confirm/deny doing the work.

Hmm. Sideways in the wet? No ABS? Sounds like your brake balance is a bit tail-happy. Car lowered? Brake load proportioning valve adjusted properly? Even in the wet, you should only be able to provoke tail slides with seriously unjudicious use of the brakes at those speeds. If you were talking about snow or black ice, well I wouldn't be surprised ..

Well.. on my VR the MFA is within 1% of the real figure, as tested by me, with a calculator. ;) And according to that same calculator, a good 30mpg should result in ~470 miles range on the VR's 70 litre tank ..

The ross-tech website has full details on what types of devices are compatible with which version of the software. I got an old lead (not KKL-compat) with opto-isolators a year or more ago, and it works great with the old VAG-COM 3.11, but I think those leads are getting harder to come by. All the newer stuff requires newer VAG-COM..