dr_mat

"Slight noise"? If it's a bit low on oil you might find it's unable to build enough pressure to keep the chain tensioned. First step I'd say is make sure you have plenty of oil, VRs seem to like having the level pretty much up to the max line. Second is to get inspecting that tensioner if you're worried about it.

Yep, disks were an "advise" at the MOT, so could do with sorting. Don't need them done right NOW though, and it's an easy job, so doesn't desperately need Vince's magic touch.. :) I'd try it myself, if it weren't for the caliper rewinding bit, which could get tricky... And yeah, I'm gonna stick to VAG disks. Even badly worn as they are, I can stand the car on it's nose, and give the ABS a fit, even on smooth, grippy tarmac, so I think that's plenty of bite for me!

Since when did they only charge £60 an hour at VW? My local dealer charges £80 + VAT per hour...!!!! Would definitely second Kev's comments on dealers tho. Find a decent independant VW specialist, don't even think about using the dealers.

Well the fronts are the most important, but ideally all round. So yeah, I'll give him a bell on Monday morning. :) How about brake disks too... (I always find other things to add..)

(That price I imagine doesn't take into account the fact that Kev had already paid for the clutch job a while back, so this was under warranty cos of juddering problems - unless Vince just recently dropped his prices!)

Presumably vince can supply VAG ones.. You know how long it takes, kev? D'you think he'll be able to do it one saturday morning?

Matt books his ball joint replacement... :)

I think the only way to check for bore wear is to either inspect it (head on or off, neither's easy), or I suppose a leak-down test might tell you if there's gross problems with the bores.

Has anyone called up their local Vauxhall dealer and asked about the aerials from late Astras..? Being, as they are, identical to those on our beloved Corrados..

I really wouldn't recommend being economical with the truth in situations like this... You're right, they do have a central claims record, but if you're talking to a new company to obtain a quote it's illegal to lie, either deliberately, or by omission of relevant facts. The company has to give you a quote based on the information you provide, and they must honour that quote, so if you don't provide all the information they simply won't pay out if you have to claim. Which is not what you want! (They can also take you to court for making a fraudulent claim.)

The smoke's still blue? And still happening at the same times? All the symptoms still the same, basically? Did they check the bores while the head was off at all? That would have been the perfect time to look around the bores and see if there were any nasties down there that might have been contributing to the problems. Do you get plugs oiling up or anything?

So, did it pass?!??! We ALL wanna know!!!

The only thing I thought about was maybe the steering column movement (up/down) was shifting the forces on the lower UJs, and therefore taking up any play, but I honestly can't see how that can be, as the steering column totally isolates the lower UJs from the position of the wheel with a UJ of it's own, and another shaft with it's own set of bearings and stuff. This shaft is bolted to the subframe at both ends of it's extent, so it's highly unlikely to be moving about at all.

Performance gains are VERY minimal, in fact there will likely be no measurable torque or power increase, but the engine will feel a lot more eager and willing (ahem), which will allow you to get the most out of it more easily.. (I suppose it may be that the car feels slightly quicker in first gear, but I'd imagine that the torque used to turn a 21lb flywheel is insignificant compared to the torque required to pull 1.2 tonnes of car along the ground.) All imho.. :)

I have a sneaking suspicion that the problem for most people here is likely to be the steering rack, not the column or the UJs... My rack has a tiny bit of play in it, and although tiliting the wheel slightly seemed to help, I think it was purely psychological, or at least just "different" enough that it takes a while to spot it again.. But - it'll be interesting to hear if there's another potential reason no question.

Very subtle. Everyone else was (ahem) skirting around the subject... ;)

Either way it sucks! Agreed! :)

Ironically, that is a wing, not a spoiler.

Somewhere on this picture, there's a Corrado. I can't see it tho..

VR6 front top mounts are not squishy! Drop a car on them and they deform by a mm at most! They are really quite hard! Many people don't like the ride that results from using solid poly bushes. Personally I'm of the opinion that new VW bushes will drastically out-perform 10 year old VW bushes, and will therefore feel worthwhile as an improvement..

But you didn't lose any no-claims, did you? From their view-point, if you have been *involved* in an accident, even if it's not your fault, you are more likely to cost them time and money in the future (you already cost them time dealing with the admin for that claim, although it wasn't your fault). Statistically this also puts you into a bracket where you are more likely to have accidents in the future (some people drive in such a way as to attract other people's cars - not saying you do, but ..). I'm not saying it's right or fair, but I can see how they justify it. They increase the basic premium for anyone who was involved in an accident, then they apply their %age no claims discount and you pay the result.

What's up with yours?

It should be written on the bit of paper stuck on the inside of the boot, IIRC...

.. admittedly, I usually find I've underestimated when I go to pick the car up too... :(

NINE hours??? I'd estimate 5-6 hours at the very most! What "other service items" are we talking about? The full service includes inspecting brakes, greasing sunroofs, spoiler mech, door hinges, checking lots of levels etc etc - a full service usually takes a couple of hours itself.