dr_mat

Yep - if the light comes on and stays on, you have no ABS... So we're agreed then...? ;)

The 95 VR also uses the OBD-2 style four-pin thin-film MAF sensor... Not so sure about the suspension tweaks, I thought the wider track was common across *all* the VRs from day one. The so-called "plus" suspension kit.

Kev, the "EDL valve" is one of the "push" valves in the ABS unit. These valves push extra pressure onto the line for a given front wheel. There's no diff-lock as you would normally understand it.. The other valves are "pull" valves - they reduce the pressure in that brake line. It's worth fixing, as if it comes on at the MOT you'll fail...

Correctamundo - if the ABS light is *on* the ABS won't work. If the light goes off at engine restart the ABS will work ok again - until the light comes back on again.

Particularly the ABS pump type stuff. At least do it with frequent reference to the bentley manual if you're going to have a go yourself. The ABS pump itself contains a pressurized cylinder that contains brake fluid under thousands of PSI - if you don't release the pressure and this comes out explosively, the jet will cut through your skin... Scared enough to get a specialist to do it? I'd highly recommend it!

Do you ring them every day and remind them?? ;)

I'll ask Vince to take a pic - he might have a cam, but I don't..

I also say "procrastinate", "anthropomorphic" and "perspicacity" amongst others. Go on, I can feel the waves of hate washing over me. Let it all out... ;) What I don't say are words like: "synergy", "team-building", "pro-active", "engender". My hair is not pointy. Hmm. Is it just me or did we turn this poor guy's thread into the "Matt, Kev and Phat Show"? /me shuts up.. ;)

Is it possible you have iffy wheel balance or maybe iffy wheel bearings? If the wheel's position starts to oscillate, a borderline sensor might start to get the wrong data back..

It'll work, kev. In fact, the missus' peugeot 206 has an OBD2 connector aswell. It's a standard protocol, so *any* reader can talk to it, but it simply won't understand what the codes mean. The "pro" readers are just ruggedised mini-PCs with plug-in memory cards that hold all the e.g. VW error codes. If you want to work on a Peugeot you should buy the memory card with all the Pug error codes on it, and so on.. #include

"£2000 and rising" .. That'll be the infamous slam panel then. Around £700 + VAT from VW, from what I hear... Still, it'll be a good thing - all new panels means no more rust bubbles around the headlights...

Ok, I stand corrected.. :) The later VRs definitely used the later, OBD2-style MAF and connector, however.. Or am I making that up too? ;)

Could well be the ECU. I don't think these cars are new enough to have ECU-incorporated immobilisers, or are they? Maybe you need the immobiliser circuit and the original key that matched that ECU? Don't see why the ECU would fail with the injectors open tho.. You taken the injectors out and checked what's coming out of 'em?

All the Corrado VRs use the OBD1 protocol, but the very late ones had the OBD2 wiring loom, or so I've been told. On the Golf the OBD2 engine came with a fly-by-wire throttle body, I'm led to believe. I can't really offer any more info on the pros/cons of coilpack vs dizzy tho.. (Mind you, given that the dizzy is not cheap either, you may be better off looking at other aspects of the car than things such as that.)

Mine is being wired up as we speak... :)

Yeah, but the red tint is very light. I know, the missus has one. That red tint is more a "hint of red" (it's more or less clear) than the kind of red tint that's getting sprayed onto Corrado lights, which is "really really red, no I mean it, this is totally and completely red". That's what it says on the tin, anyway.. Different ball game. One subtlely adds a red tint to the light, the other blocks everything other than red light..

The later engine has the (theoretically) more reliable thin film MAF too, not just the coil pack, and all the other late electronics pack. (OBD2) Also, I think the coil pack gives more freedom to the ECU to control the spark timing. Correct me if I'm wrong but can the ECU control the timing on the distributor engine too?

It's often hard to tell the difference between that and pinking, when the engine's running and warm.

You can hear the noise of knackered big ends by finding a clapped out Sierra (330k miles) being driven by a frugal mini-cab driver. Each time he pulls away in 2nd gear up that hill outside your house at 3am at 214.53 revs/min, you will hear his piston rods slapping about like a whale in a goldfish bowl... The other type of mini cab driver prefers the 4000rpm method, and generally has shares in clutch companies.

This forum is a really good source of information on the best places to get things done, no question. There's a lot of places that may or may not be doing good work but will charge over the odds for it regardless. I know exactly what you mean about wasting money on repairs. I hate having to pay god-knows-how-much to get simple stuff done, but when I just don't have the time or the space or the tools I have no choice. Well I do, but that choice was made some time ago, and I don't wanna move house! :) But then my original hope was that I'd buy a Corrado, and then it'd spend a day a year in the garage being serviced and MOTd. I could live with that. How little I knew!! :(

One thing to remember Phat, not many people like doing these sort of jobs on the dining table... ;) Also, it's a bit annoying to have to spend a load of cash buying tools that you will only use once... Of course it'll cost a fraction of the price if you do it yourself, but for those of us that weren't born with a spanner in our hands, there's the very real risk that we'll arse it up, and wind up having to buy another head altogether, or putting it all together and having it not work. So please don't disrespect those of us that choose to ask skilled spanner monkeys to do our work for us, accusing us of being lazy or cowards...

And I *have* seen people run wider tyres on the rear of their Corrados, but frankly.. It's a front wheel drive car, you do the maths... Each to their own, but it's certainly not for performance or handling.

The "81V" is the weight rating. In general a wider tyre can support more weight. The VR6's 205/50/15 tyres are "86V". I'm not sure how that relates to actual number of kilos.. The "ZR" or "V" or "W" rating is the speed rating. So my VR6's 205 50 ZR15s can still be 86V weight rated...

Yeah but that ported+polished head is an exchange, so presumably you are getting refurbed valve stem seals, lifters, valves, etc etc for that at least. You get the opportunity to send your old knackered head back..

Sorry, Henny, it's not that easy: "Two overlapping primary colour filters can remove (virtually) all visible light. A primary colour filter overlapping with its complementary secondary colour filter will also remove (virtually) all visible light. (Virtually, since it is extremely difficult to produce filters with a sharp cut-off of light transmission at a certain wavelength. Most coloured filters "leak" some light at other wavelengths.)" So. One green filter on the bulb, and a red filter on the lens == almost no transmitted light. Filters don't work in an additive way, they become subtractive. The green filter on the bulb will only pass green light, removing any red. The red filter on the lens will remove the green, only passing any remaining red. So you're at the mercy of the accuracy of the colour bandpass filters.. Tho I have to say I've not tried it... ;)