flyferrari

Hi Zak, I know you said it'll cost £20 more for OEM plugs. Just to confirm that would be two OEM plugs onto the back of the headlight units and one OEM plug into the car's wiring loom. Is that correct? If it really ends up looking that tidy I might be interested despite the price hike. I know everybody else doesn't think it's worth it but I like OEM, tidy and, presumably, more water-tight. ATB, Kevin

Hi Dave, Can I take one of the full kits (inc drill/tap)? Please PM me payment details. All the best, Kevin

I've bought/fitted a neuspeed shifter......probably from the same place you got your price (MJM). They are a good place to deal with. I fly to the USA a lot so had it delivered to my hotel and brought it back with me. Just under the £145 taxable amount too! I would offer to help with importing one but I have a set of wheels to bring back as well as a speaker kit so thats my USA trips covered for the next few months. Anyway, the shift kit quality is excellent. The result is a bit notchy with the standard gearknob but feels great with a heavier aluminium one. I've got a Trimsport gearknob on mine. Be aware the fitting of this kit requires the dropping of the exhaust and will be pricey if getting it done by professionals. I was having the exhaust changed anyway so this didn't matter. Any other questions I can help with just ask. Regards Kevin

Like Mike said....me too! Kevin

So, given the "anything for a quiet life" intentions, you guys would still go for a 7.5" wide wheel rather that a 7" wide wheel? I know it would be more grief purchasing the 7" special but if you think that would give me a better guarantee of keeping out of trouble in day to day use then I'm more than happy to do that. Keep the opinions coming. Regards Kevin

Hi Guys, I'm hoping you can offer some advice on this. I fancy upgrading from my current BBS Solitudes to a set of 16" SSR Type-Cs as pictured below. IMHO they will look great on a black car and, at 5KG per 16" rim, they should save me 1 or 2 KG of unsprung mass per corner! They should be big enough to improve the looks, grip and turn-in without wrecking the ride or panicing me every time I see a pothole (of which there are hundreds round here!). I seem to have two choices. I can get a set of 7.5Jx16 in a 5x100 PCD and et35 offset off the shelf. I have been led to believe that I could special order a set of 7Jx16 with the same PCD and any offset between et32 and et48 (the two standard offsets for that size rim). I am planning on using standard 205/45/16 rubber and my C is lowered between 30-40mm all round. I can't see why I would want to go any wider on the tyres or lower on the suspension so these two things are likely to remain constant. So what do you think? Off the shelf or special order? If I go down the special order route what offset should I order? Would the standard VR et43 be the best? I have NO interest in getting involved with rolling arches or worrying about rubbing of the wheels/tyres on bodywork or struts. All informed opinion is greatfully received. Cheers in advance Kevin

Hi Andy, Are you still taking orders for the Plug'n'Play, top of the range loom upgrade? Regards Kevin

My understanding is that the captive nut is a blind nut, i.e. has a solid portion above the threaded bit. The doc I posted implies drilling through the solid bit and then tapping it and then fitting a longer bolt (VW part) to secure the subframe. This is what has been done to my car...I hope. If this info is not helpfull then accept my appologies for wasting your time but from your description of the problem this proceedure should help. It beats the hell out of taking an angle grinder to the cabin floor after removing all fuel lines etc. and then welding in a new pair of captive nuts. I would be surprised if you'd get change out of £500 for that! Regards Kevin

Hi Guys, I'm going through this mess at the moment. Before you do anything drastic check out the "official" way of dealing with a stripped thread in one of the captive nuts. As you can see it even includes part numbers for the replacement bolts. Regards Kevin P.s. hope I'm not too late

I take your point about the captive nut being an "act of nature" but that would apply the first time they removed the subframe. The first time they removed the engine it all went back together fine so the any element of siezed bolt syndrome had been dealt with. To take the engine out that way is questionable anyway but to do it twice is asking for it. The nut became free during the second removal and frankly that screams cross thread carelessness to me. Hell, there's even a VW approved procedure for how to deal with a cross threaded nut. I will be fighting any charges that head my way vigorously upto and including the likes of watchdog. I imagine VW would love to see their parts reliablilty questioned so publicly. Regards Kevin

Hi Guys, It hasn't been to Stealth but, to be honest, if I had a choice about who was going to do the work it would be at C & R already. Unfortunately they would charge for their labour(outragous!!!!) and VW will not. Mind you at the rate they are screwing other things up then there may be a break even point soon. The water pump was new just before the latest two engine were fitted. Whilst we're at it the engine was new, the rad was brand new, the hoses are new, the heater matrix and heater box are new (you should see the price of those from the stealers!!), the ignition leads are new, the thermostat/housing are new. You see the problem. VW are taking the head off this latest engine to see if they can see what is going on. I shall wait with baited breath....not!!! Regards Kevin

Hi Guys, New engines are going in each time, fully built up by VW in Germany. Only the ancilliaries (alternator, starter motor etc.) are being swaped over. The subframe problem is this. The rear, off-side mounting captive nut has broken free and is spinning. I now know that this involves removal of the interior carpet, cutting a hole in the floor and welding in a new captive nut. This is BIG money and VW are saying I will have to pay for this myself. B******ks to that. I will get the engine side of things done and then I'll be getting the beast up to C and R in Nottinham for a proper repair. I don't want a YTS body shop bloke anywere near my interior.....I need a company that has done this work before, not a learn-on-the-job outfit! I'm hopping mad now and I'm frankly surprised I haven't yelled at anyone yet. I can see lawyers getting involved with this. Thanks for the info chaps. Regards Kevin

Sorry, should have said. Its a VR and they are replacing the WHOLE engine each time. Just ancilliarys are swapped over. They say the block/head is porous but I'm not convinced they know what is really wrong. Kevin

As those that saw my last engine related post will note that I bought my car with a 4000mile/16 month old engine in it that had been fitted by VW using all genuine parts, including the lump itself. It went porous and blew the head gasket just after I got it. New engine fitted by my local dealer under warranty last week. That lasted 15 miles.....yes 15!!!!!...before the gasket went on that. Today they fitted ANOTHER new engine. That didn't even make it out of the workshop before the gasket blew. What the f**k is going on. Just to add insult to injury, the rear-most subframe captive nut has stripped/broken free and they are saying I will have to pay for this to be fixed. Is this even reasonable? Apparently they will have to cut into the chassis leg to remedy! Does anyone know what is really involved to fix this properly? Thanks in advance for any help/advice. Regards Kevin

Silly question but could the reason the rake adjust doesn't work be a broken wire/switch etc that intermittently shorts to ground taking the fuse out at the same time? I would be looking between the power-in point on the rake switch and the power-in to the motor. If it is possible could you unplug the wires from the rake adjust switch and insulate with electrical tape. See if the fuse continues to blow. Hope this helps. Regards Kevin

A mate of mine who is the "Cheesewire" of the TVR S forum on Pistonheads has nothing but bad things to say of Hi-Spec. He found their product wanting and their aftersales service worse. I think he ended up with Willwoods on his V8S after trying every combination you can imagine. Regards Kevin

I second the previous opinions on fuse size....30A is fine. Any larger and you risk damaging the seat, your new wiring loom or (god forbid!!) your whole fusebox. You never said if the fuse blows the instant you applied power to the seats (i.e when the ignition is turned on) or when you try to use a motor. If it is when you try to use a motor then that motor is at fault/the mech it runs is at fault,dirty,b******d. If the fuse blows as soon as the seats are powered but with no other switch being pressed then you have a short to ground somewhere. In this case I would get someone who knows what they are doing to look at the seats....i.e. anyone with a multimeter. You will spend a fortune on fuses by the trial and error method! I am more than happy to help if I'm near enough...I'm near Robertsbridge, East Sussex. Regards Kevin

For anyone who cares about such things, I weighed one of my newly purchased Solitudes yesterday just before the new tyres were fitted. It is a standard 15" Solitude (6.5Jx15 ET43) and tipped the scales at 7.2 KG (about 16Lbs) without valve or weights. I'm only posting this so people have a baseline to work out if their "upgrade" wheels weigh more or less than standard. I couldn't find anything definative on the search. Regards Kevin

Wasn't meaning to be a doom monger......just trying to make sure an obvious culprit wasn't overlooked like happened in my case. I expended so much energy and cash chasing the symptoms (with profesionals who missed the signs too) before the real problem came to light. I just didn't want anyone else going through the same s**t. My new engine is being fitted as we speak!! Regards Kevin

Hi, Did you ever investigate why your matrix blew in the first place? I would be tempted to get a combustion gas test done on the cooling system to check all is OK with your head gasket. At £20 it can save you chasing round in circles trying to solve your problem. I agree with cheeswire that low temp stats and the like are the work of the devil and tend to mask the real issue by treating the symptoms and not the cause. You also say you are concerned that the hose to the matrix is hot and the return is cold......sound normal if you have the heater on full hot with the fan going......The matrix is a mini radiator after all. Regards Kevin

Hi guys, Final update on this problem. The car is now at VW in Ashford. They have diagnosed a porous head which caused the gasket to blow. Thats the bad news. The good news is that the lump is covered under a 2 year warranty...brought to my attention by C & R is Nottingham (thanks chaps!!)... and so will be replaced by VW. The engine is on back order but hopefully shouldn't be too long a wait. Regards Kevin

Hi, I've had a look in the Bentley manual at the circuit diagrams and I can't see any link other than the fuses. The fuses for the spoiler are numbers 16 AND 21. I would re-check that these are OK and replace if you are uncertain. If these are OK I would unplug the module and see if that gives you back your dash. Let me know how it goes. Regards Kevin

Does the spoiler work off the override switch or is it totally dead? The feed to the controller of the spoiler is taken from the instrument pack. I'm just wondering if the spoiler is the cause or the symptom. Regards Kevin

Hi Guys, Well I suppose an update is called for. The fault that has gone undiagnosed so far is.........a blown head gasket. I'm livid! A 10 minute job at my local garage confirmed this by testing for combustion gasses in the coolant. Big bill heading my way I fear. Not a happy bunny. I will keep posting as things develop but in the mean time if anyone has engine temps getting too hot, a simple check(£20 all in) will save a lot a f*****g around changing perfectly sevicable parts. Regards Kevin

Hi, I looked at doing this job as the next step in diagnosing my hot running problems (see my thread on this). The pump is £94 inc VAT from VW. The ones from ECP are cheaper but not enough to cover postage/possible grief from getting the wrong one. Unplug ignition leads from coilpack/dizzy noting which lead goes where.....I took several digital photos just in case!! They come off with fingers...no special tool required....any lay the ends out of the way. Remove the end piece of trim plastic.....its held on with three 8mm Spline drive screws (you might get away with a torx screwdriver but for a few quid for the right tool why risk it). You now have access to the pump. The hose connections are at the bottom and are held on with spring clamps. Once again the correct tool will make removal easy rather than risk broken parts/skinned knuckles using normal pliers. The pump is held on with two rubber supports(not included with the pump!) One of mine was b******d. After fitting refill and bleed the cooling system as described in the Bentley manual. Not especially difficult job. Regards Kevin