dr_mat

It certainly shouldn't come on for more than a few minutes after the engine has been turned off. Definitely not - there's a timer on the circuit, no matter how hot it remains..

'Ere! Who are you and what did you do with Kev Hayward?!!?! ;)

I reckon we know what it looks like now tho.. ;)

Personally I like this aspect of owning a late model VR6... :)

Looks in desperate need of a Schrick to me!! ;)

The plot thins, is more likely! I have to say the new ball joints have made a difference - I get much less clonking on big potholes/ruts now. But I think the only way to fix it, once and for all, is to whack a new steering rack on the beast. Which isn't cheap... One thing - talking about oil leaks - my rear engine mount (gearbox side) blew about a year back and deposited a shed load of sticky black oil on the rack and various other components around that part of the car. (Subframe/diff/inner CVs etc etc.) I wonder if this might have penetrated and rotted the rack's PS seals..

The fact that I couldn't buy one NEW!!!

The weather has been very hot... I would say that as the lower fan speed should cut in at 84 degrees it's quite possible your gauge is inaccurate enough for that to be the real temps under the bonnet. Anyway, if you're really worried about it, it might be worth swapping the fan thermo switch.

It's ok for normal driving, it's not like the car actually wanders or anything, but it certainly detracts from the steering feel in a noticeable way. But the biggest problem is when you get up to higher speeds, particularly on rough roads, with no steering feel, and with *some* play then it starts to get hairy.. Steering becomes something you do by committee. The placing of the car is just imprecise and you can't trust it as much as normal... Dunno how badly worn Kev's is, but that pretty much sums mine up right now. Feels good-to-great at low speeds on smooth roads, but feels bad-to-scary at high speeds on rough roads....

I would suggest you find a local VW specialist, I can't imagine how badly VW are NOT interested in looking after your Corrado. They just don't see cars this old any more, and they have little or no experience of working on them either. Sure they have the manuals, but so do local specialists, and then they have actual experience of working on older VWs too. Not to mention the fact that they are going to charge you about 50% of the VW hourly... There must be some folks on here that can point you to some specialists around the cambridge/essex area? (BTW - while you have warranty on the work that's already been done by VW maybe it *is* worth going back to them, but ONLY if they're working on this as warranty, not if it's new work..)

I'd be surprised if it'll maintain 300rpm without stalling.. Stalling is a common feature of the VR6 engine, it's a result of the ECU being over-frugal with fuelling is the speculation at the moment. It has been known to be fixed by: o) engine speed sensor replacement (they *did* torque the new one to the correct settings, didn't they??) o) injector problems o) fuel pump o) MAF problems o) ISV problems o) fuse/relay (dunno which one) o) any one of a dozen other, non-related things!! If it didn't stall before the engine speed sensor and now it DOES they should double check the mounting of the sensor (it has to be installed a certain way). Also, when removing/refitting the front engine mount, there's a load of cables to the front bank's knock sensor that have to be cleanly reconnected (not to mention a row of temperature sensors that have to be reconnected). Any of these cables badly damaged or just plain not reconnected will cause unknown problems with the engine's running.

It's in the manual I think.... Otherwise follow the menus off http://www.powerbulbs.com..

Well to be honest, there's little or no point chasing failed MAFs if you are having plug fouling issues. Depending on how long it takes to foul the plugs, it's time to sell up or get it fixed! How much oil is being used? (And what type is it?)

(OT yes that's true. If you've got oiled spark plugs it's most likely either the head valve stem seals etc or it's the cylinder bores causing it. Either way it's easily going to cause fairly major rough running...)

I just might... LOL! :) No way I'll be buying a new one...

Dilated, that seems to be how the late model VR engines all handle a MAF-unplugged situation. Unless we've all got knackered MAFs I wouldn't worry about it..

There's nowt wrong with the sensors, I suspect. Odd thing was that the faults weren't marked as "intermittant" but the light wasn't on when we scanned them... There's some sort of algorithm that says "if fault doesn't return in N reboots, store it and turn the light off".

Both rear rotors are there, no probs. The wheel bearings were changed ages ago, as were the disks. I just wonder if the bearings are getting loose, and causing the rotor (attached to the hub) to wobble around a bit. But then, back when they were really bad I could tell really easily through the steering before I got any ABS problems. The ABS light comes on once in a while, but certainly not all the time. I suspect these rear physical problems *are* related to the valve warning in the pump though.

Do the Passat roofs last longer than the C mechanism then? This is the kind of thing I'd really like to get. The interior of the C is really dark and uninviting (black with black leather!), and it would really benefit from a suitably tinted glass roof (with a blind for those few days when the sun is strong enough to warrant it!).

ABS pump: Indeed it is. Very sealed, very non-serviceable. I will be going the 2nd hand route, if it turns out to be necessary. Funny thing about the rear sensors tho. I wonder if my new wheel bearings are causing problems, or if maybe the hubs are a bit knackered. I can't see why both would suddenly start reporting problems tho. As for the steering, I think I was already aware there was some slight play in the system when under load, but tightening up the strut positioning (with bjs and tms) just shows it up a little more clearly.

It's true, there's not many Cs without sunroofs about. But you don't have to *use* it if you have one...

I can confirm that ....... my steering problems are more clearly discernable now the ball joints aren't wobbling about all over the place.. :lol: There's a tiny bit of play in the system, which is only really noticeable when you're moving at slow speed, but which can really become a problem on bumpy surfaces. It just detracts from the steering feel, more than being actually dangerous. The variable steering weight is still there, though slightly less extreme at the moment (probably the weather). I suspect this is the rack power assist valves being flaky myself. Oh and just in case that lot wasn't enough I got three ABS error codes: BOTH rear wheel sensors (physical fault) plus a rear right valve in the pump itself.. Smeg!!

Gets my vote - licence to breed! It worked in Sweden for a long time.

Personal thing, I know, but I hugely dislike the enormously rolled arches...

... unless you've had your fuel pump replaced a muppet, in which case you still have 12 litres left even when you get down past the red..!!! :( VW are not the fastest adopters of new technology: the lights-on buzzer and the fuel-low warning lights were very late additions to the range.