dr_mat

If you don't have the adjustable column you've probably got a loose column mount. You'll have to take the lower dash out to have a look. It's nothing to do with the rack though, and the fixed column is pretty cheap even from VW, so you're not looking at a pot of cash.

Push the locking arm home. The adjustable column is never rock solid, even when new, so the best you can hope for is "acceptable" instead of "good"..

Sounds like you have fuel supply problems to me ..

I believe it's 12 degrees full retard on the VR6 ecu, but it probably never gets all the way to 0 degrees retard except with VERY good fuel anyway.

The interesting thing about this particular statistic is that it is used completely out of context. In fact Barnet council removed humps as part of a general program of road safety changes, so any "improvement" in accident rates MUST take this into account. Plus the fact that there's generally less accidents in the early part of the year (is there? I don't know for sure, and you know what, they should at least compare with the same period from the year before to be reasonably sure) - all really means that this statistic is likely utter bollocks. Can't argue with the rest of the website's discussions about speed humps, but that particular statement is so far from a reasonable conclusion, it could be lifted straight from some Rupert Murdoch daily toilet roll.

You made that up on the spot!

It's alkaline actually, not acid, but the effect is the same ...

What do they care if a few people (a minority remember) will leave because they're no longer doing 3pft?

Statistics, don't you just love em?

Indeed, when the engine is running the alternator should provide MORE than enough juice to run the ABS with no problems whatsoever.

Signs of a failing crank sensor are: - engine hiccups when warm, - followed by complete failure when hot - followed by a refusal to restart until it cools down. Anything but this is probably caused by something else ...

It could wind up running a little rich if there's a sensor fault, yes.

It's not unusual for old engines to blow a bit of smoke, but the amount of oil consumption should be your guide to when things get serious.

There's one regulator for both rear brakes. It often seizes up, so you should get some WD40 all over it and waggle the arm to free it up. It's obvious once you look under the back of the car, tbh. It shouldn't cause the brakes to stick on, however, more likely is your rear calipers are seized ...

It's too hot, no question. When cruising at a constant 70 or so you should see no more than 90 degrees on the water, and no more than 120 degrees on the oil, even on a hot day. As you say your oil temp is reading way wrong though, so that doesn't sound too bad. Basically, sitting still in traffic you should see 100 degrees on the water and 100 degrees on the oil - the radiator fans should be capable of preventing the water temp going any higher. There have been numerous reports that VW-supplied thermostats don't open wide enough for the VR6 engine any more, so it might indeed be caused by that. It would not surprise me if your hose blew as the weakest point in a system that is over pressure. Perhaps you should get a new expansion tank cap - that's where it's supposed to blow from .. Also check the rear engine mounts - any excess movement from these will put extra stress on that particular hose.

Sounds like a lean cut to me. You need to make sure all the engine sensors are in 100% working order, otherwise it'll run lean till the lambda detects it, at which point it will dump extra fuel in and take off. (Lambda is too far from the block on the VR6 to be fast responding.) Key things to check: - sensors (MAF, lambda, throttle position) - air leaks - make sure there's no way you can leak air into the inlet manifold post-MAF. - fuel pressure (you might have a faulty pump/FPR). If the pressure is low, the injector timings will be calibrated wrong. The fuel pressure at least is easy to test.

Almost looks like your VGI is staying shut.. The peak at 4000 is about right (it comes in earlier with standard cams though), and you have the normal peak at 4600 ish, but you're missing the second peak that occurs in the mid-5000s. Are you having fuel supply problems? Got any dead sensors? Scanned the ECU error codes? You might have a cam position sensor fault? (Did you transfer the trigger wheel to the new cams?)

There are two knock sensors on the VR6, you are probably messing about with the wrong one ... ;) There's one on each side of the block, for the two banks of cylinders. The ECU can't detect anything other than closed or open circuit, it doesn't have any way of telling if it's screwed into the block or not. Also note that if the ECU thinks a knock sensor is dead, the engine will run fine, but that bank of cylinders will have their ignition timing 100% retarded. (i.e. you will lose performance.)

Did you put new disks/pads on recently? I heard that the carriers can get "notched" from the movement of the old pads, and the new wider pads get stuck in the notch and this can result in sticky brakes.

Ah, so nothing to do with the throttle position sensor then.. :) They will be adapted to *your* car, not much point in comparing them to anyone elses really (and I can't remember what they are anyway!). The learning process can take some miles, and the values will vary from 0.90 - 1.10 or thereabouts during that time as the ECU responds to instantaneous fuelling differences and so on.

In theory this would short the battery through your multimeter, depending on what mode the meter was set to. I'd rather not throw several-hundred-amp sparks around by the ECU, personally ...

Cages aren't expensive, from what I hear. Note that the G60 ECU doesn't record faults when you turn the ignition off, so you must read the error codes while the light is still on.

There is a special tool that VW will use to adjust the rear brake compensator valve, essentially you leave the unladen car on it's wheels, stick the tool on, tighten the bolt and bingo, it's adjusted right.

You shouldn't have error codes unless you unplugged stuff while the ignition was on, and if you're going to reset the ecu it will lose them all anyway ... but if you want to clear the ECU you'll have to give me a few days notice to bring the laptop in. I don't have a registered vagcom so I can't do the full procedure, btw, I can only read error codes and measuring blocks.

I have to say it might well be worth rebleeding it, because it went slightly notchy once before and the problem went away after a bleed through. No signs of leaks, tbh, I'm not losing fluid at all (level in the tank stays the same for ever). It only really gets notchy once the car warms up, too, it's usually pretty smooth when it's cold. Good info on the GSF slave cyl, if it's the exact same part as the VW one gotta be worth getting hold of one of those. Cheers all.