dr_mat

Of course we all want a VGI (or even preferably a VSR). But back in the real world, we're not going to get one.. :( Most of us spend so much money keeping our C from getting worse, that the thought of spending money between the spending of money, with the aim of making it better is just out of the question! :)

It's not the power steering pump squealing, is it? That's the most likely if it's squealing when you turn the wheel. Though this would get worse if you're standing still... Can't imagine the wheel bearings would squeal though, under any circumstances. You might, coincidentally, improve things just by stripping and reassembling those components if there *is* something else in there.

The heater controls won't fit in the old dash. Changing dash is big big job. And totally not worth it. The late controls are deeply, inherently, weak, and 90% of late corrados have partially-functional ones. I have heard that VW are now out of gauge panels for RHD cars. Only LHD ones left.

But how much movement should I expect to see on a standard gearbox mount? Anyone with a stock, low mileage car care to comment? (Or who's fitted new OEM mounts.)

Well surely replacing it is the trick... With a new VW one, even!? It would be most interesting to compare the movement with another VR, to see if it's unusual. I didn't really mention above, but the other mounts don't really move at all, but that one allows the engine to lift (diagonally) quite noticeably. And don't forget this was only at ~ 1100 rpm - the handbrake isn't strong enough to put more power through than that. I'm inclined to think it's fubar, and it's worth replacing when a new one is £23.50 from GSF! Dunno how much labour is involved, but would expect it to be less than an hour (depending on how hard it is to get the bolt out, I suppose).

I had a shufty, the mount that's moving the most is the gearbox side mount. No major twisting of the engine when in 1st gear, but the back of the engine lifts a good inch when in reverse, quite a lot of twist there... That would explain why my top hose went west too... Interesting... I'd really like to compare with other people's cars before I decide it's shot, but that strikes me as more movement than I expected... Still, £41 from ECP, not too bad. Might get that looked at next time...

If the tensioner is a bit knackered, I don't see why you wouldn't hear the chain rattling. I wonder how much the engine block changes in size between 0 degrees and 100 degrees too? Probably enough to make a difference to the tension on the chain I'd wager.

(J reg is 92 - check both cars, apparently some late G60s had the later style bodywork..)

Probably. I'm led to believe there was a small revision to the shape of the (front) wings at the same time as the external shape overhaul in late 92/early 93.

An inch was side-to-side wobble, like I say, by hand it's difficult to lift the engine at all. I'll give that a go anyway..

Hi all, I'm beginning to wonder if my engine mounts are a little squishy, and was hoping someone can tell me roughly how much movement you should be able to engender in a well-maintained VR6 engine with a good shove? Cos there's pretty much nowhere to grab hold of the engine and it's quite heavy, I haven't yet found a sensible way of checking if it's moving up and down much (short of trying to drive it with the bonnet up!!), but just grabbing hold of the induction manifold at the front of the engine and heaving it side-to-side I can get rather more bounce than I expect. Maybe an inch total? Does this sound bad or not bad or normal or what? The only real symptom that I know of that kinda indicates engine mount wear is a little oscillation when pulling away - it's not nice and smooth as it should be. I also notice a little more instability than I'd like when under heavy acceleration and such, which also points to engine mounts. Any pointers appreciated.. :) Cheers, M.

Better ask kev, I'm sure he'll be along here sometime today... Best thing - don't worry about it. Just drive it carefully while it's cold and the oil is EXTREMELY thick (I hope you put the oil temp on the MFA when you start the car and keep it down to 50% throttle and 50% revs till it's warmed up??). Hey, do what a few people here have suggested: get a louder stereo... ;)

Oh, headlight? Um, ebay might come up trumps, but try gsfcarparts.com or gpcvwaudi.co.uk. In fact even the stealers may be able to supply just the glass for not too much dosh.

The opinion of the group seems to be split 50/50... Some people say the tensioners are gone at around 80k in pretty much all cases, some say what about my 160k engine then? As usual, it's really down to how the car has been driven and maintained. The noise you're describing, however, could also be a touch of piston slap (I think Kevhaywire mentioned this as a possible). Everyone is agreed though that the timing chains VERY RARELY break. Even completely shot tensioners will be very unlikely to result in any long-term damage. But if you're having the clutch replaced (pretty short life for a clutch, 70k!) anyway, it is definitely worth getting the lower chain and tensioners done at the same time. In other words, unless you're feeling exceptionally wealthy, leave it till the clutch is done and learn to love it.. ;)

No. Well at least they might, but they won't look the same as your old ones.

You've spent some serious money there... :( It's not unheard of, but the good news is that if you can put up with the tapping and rattling the chain is unlikely to ever actually *break*. Worst case scenario is slipping a tooth so the timing goes out. AFAIK you can replace the lower tensioner with the engine in the car, but you need to support the engine on that end as it's no longer supported by the gearbox mount. You definitely have to have the 'box off though. I'd be interested to hear how you get on, as mine makes similar noises and I had put it down to the auxiliary belt tensioner. Mine has 116k miles, by the way...

Most refurbishers will supply you with a loaner set of wheels, for a fee of course. On the other hand, I may have a set of used speedlines coming up soon. You could keep a spare set for track days or emergencies or something.

My point was made as a potential buyer though. Whatever your personal opinion of the ride height on coilovers vs standard and the softness of the standard setup, even the guys on the forum that are into serious mods will tell you that they usually look for a car that's as standard as possible to use as a base, cos it's more likely to have been driven carefully and looked after. I'm keeping my tractor ride height, too, given the size of the speed ramps round here.. Admitted it's a bit soft for track use, but on the road it's a nice compromise, IMHO. Even in standard form this car is WAY better suspended than anything made in it's era.

My late interior has seats that tilt and raise/lower... Though the raise/lower function just pivots the seat on the front mounting effectively..

For example all that detail about the possible ABS failures - just a one liner would suffice: "ABS light - if this stays lit (or doesn't light at all when the engine is started) it could be a simple fix but could be a major headache - walk away if the seller won't get it looked at before you buy." But it's easy to snipe at other people's work, so I think you're doing a pretty good job so far.

Fogs and indicator costs: early fogs: £35 + VAT + P+P from GPC late fogs: £55 + VAT + P+P from GPC indicators are about £50 new from VW, but can be had from scrap yards more commonly than "good" fog lamps. 2nd hand they seem to fetch about £25 the pair. For me (speaking as a purist) I'd like to see less emphasis on the "a good set of coilovers .." bit. Nothing wrong with stock suspension, and chances are if you find a car with good stock suspension it's likely to have been driven less hard than one with coilovers... Same goes for big alloys, blue LED windscreen squirters, etc, etc... :) Good plan, however. One thing though - this could wind up too critical. Given that every Corrado on the road is now 7+ years old, it's going to be pretty much impossible to find one where EVERYTHING is perfect, so it'd be useful to concentrate on the main things. It's a lot to remember when you're going to look at a car aswell...

By the way, for all the information I can spout here, I just have the factory-fit tape unit with the factory-fit speakers in my C, and 99% of the time I even leave the fascia at home when I go for a drive... The engine is the best noise you can make in a VR6.. ;)

Oh, and they often use a 1kHz sine wave, which is nice and EASY to reproduce, whereas proper hifi is rated with white (or pink) noise - a wideband noise to really test the system bandwidth under load.

And not only this, but the quoted figure is often measured at some ludicrous level of distortion (10%+) by which point you'd hate the sound so much you'd already have turned it down. Proper hifi is measured at 0.1% distortion (or lower). My Cyrus amp has a rated 60W/channel RMS but at 0.003% distortion... Very clear and clean!! :)

The standard passat V6 is a proper V - two cylinder heads. The Golf uses the VR6 engine though, yes. There's also (I believe) a "Passat V6" that does use the VR6 engine, just to confuse matters..