dr_mat

No.

steering columns, sunroofs, spoilers, ignition switches, heater controls, brake calipers, gear linkages, abs sensors, abs pumps, the suspension, the brakes, the bodywork, the chassis ... Well no, actually, usually the chassis doesn't need any attention! ;) All the above can cause problems, but then, you're talking about a ten year old car that's pretty highly strung, so none of this should come as a surprise..

Take a look at the regulated Nv lines on the clocks. They'll have a step-down regulator, probably running at 5v. I would guess that the extra voltage from the alternator (I'm assuming that's all working ok) is causing problems on the dash. (Alternator is pushing 13.8 - 14.4 volts, battery alone is only 12.6v) Obviously you also want to check the alternator output voltage and so on ..

I had steering play - it proved to be the column itself, not the UJs or the rack.. Check yours out..

You might want to do a leak down test aswell. Piston rings can form temporary seals (enough for a straight compression test) even when well worn.

If the flap is not there, what you in fact have is a very expensive standard manifold. You won't notice a thing. If the flap IS there, it defaults to "closed" so you get the low down torque but it may pink AND it will rob you of the high-rev power you're used to. i.e. you're now driving a hugely inefficient diesel. Great. Honestly, the VSR is not worth using without all those control and actuator bits. There's a couple of good threads from pre-history discussing at great length how the VSR/VGI works, have a dig around with the searchy thing at the top of the page.. ;) If you wanna sell it to me though, I'll fit all the actuator bits off my Schrick. I'll give ya £50 for it, since you've been so nice about it.. ;)

They don't *all* suffer from pinking. Just some of 'em. Anyway, that's only fixable with an ECU remap.

Does this imply problems with the front wishbone bush, perhaps?

"Won't make any real difference.." ... true enough, if there's no flap present at all. If there is a flap present, however, and it's stuck closed, you will have a nice fat lump of torque (and pinking, most likely) at 3500rpm and no power at all above 4000... But why would you bother fitting it at all until you've got all the bits together? I am guessing the auction never mentioned the ancilliaries ... ? :(

Sounds like the tensioner will go before your belt, mate .. :)

Voltage drop. Aux belt went dead, alternator went dead, water pump stopped turning. Dashboard goes bonkers, all sensor information on the dash is irrelevant there. So - fix the aux belt, charge the battery, top up the coolant and see if it's still leaking. Sounds like you could do with a replacement aux water pump too. Not uncommon at this age.

The ECU is too low. Put some books under it or something .. I'll get me coat.. (More seriously, it sounds like it's either a failing ECU or the chip itself is failing. Do you have a spare of either (perhaps the original chip)?)

Before you dive in buying a set of wheels, *weigh them*. If they're heavier than the stock wheels (which are pretty light actually), then you will notice the performance impact, and you might end up regretting it..

Putting aside all the dewy-eyed sentimentalism (people get like that when Corrados fail to cost them money for a week or two), you should realise that a 100k VR6 is probably well on it's way towards requiring at least the timing chains done, if not a top end or complete engine rebuild. Some of them do last ~200k or more, but the vast majority require at least timing chains at between 90k and 140k, and many require a head rebuild there too, and a few even require a full rebore... None of these procedures are what you would call "cheap". As stated above - it's all down to some unfathomable, and unproveable aspect of their early life treatment. You simply have to go on the car's current condition and the noises it makes. Buying an old performance car is likely to be an expensive hobby. No way of avoiding that.

All one assembly, welded together.

"May have" ?!? "definitely" caused the vibration, I would say! I had that once. The idiots fitted two tyres. One was fine, the other was left at 45psi, wasn't balanced, and the wheel bolts weren't fully tightened up. Funnily enough it drove a little funny for the 500 yards home until I fixed it up!

I assume at this point that given that you're now wrestling with the battery fixings, you've ascertained that the old battery is toast?

Not worrying about billable time, I'm not going to argue, but I can tell you that the Bosch Silver would be £45 from Costco. £38 if you only want the 54Ah one.

Well. Two sides to every argument. The environmental impact is the biggest issue. The engine is running incredibly rich during this time, pumping fumes out the back and you are getting ZERO work done for the sake of burning all that fuel and poisoning yourself and the neighbours. No doubt we will get the usual responses about "I like paying for fuel just to heat the car up so I get a sweaty crack", but if you consider your actions in perspective, it's a little selfish. Not only this, but the engine tends to clatter more at idle than at 2-3k rpm when extremely cold, and even to my uneducated ear, more clattering = more metal hitting metal = more wear. Whether it's significant or not I don't know.

Surely you must be bored by now? ;)

Like anyone has the original jacket on a ten year old car ..? And anyway, why wouldn't the bosch fit?

It'll be the same model as the Golf VR6 battery, and the Passat VR6.. If there's a booklet I'm sure you'll find it.

Dunno the exact model number, but get some approx dimensions, make sure it has the right battery posts and get the 64Ah one and you won't be far wrong. The halfords battery load tester is an evil piece of kit. Essentially it just dumps current through a fat resistor and measures the voltage drop under this (massive) current load... You can simulate the same thing with a volt meter and trying to turn the starter..

Aye there should be about 6500 16v/G60s out there, total. Or there once were.. Bear in mind a lot of the 1.8 16vs are much older and less likely to still be around, and the G60 never sold that well, certainly not like the VR..

Appreciate the offer Jim. Not planning to replace any more bits though.. (Ha!) :)