Purple Tom

I would say, not necessarily in this order: - Sherry Pearl Metallic - Aqua Blue Pearl Metallic - Bordeaux Pearl Metallic - Ice Grey Violet Pearl Metallic - Satin Silver Metallic They always seem to sell very well, but are obviously only found on the later cars. I think most of the earlier ones tend to be the non-metallic colours apart from the LA9V Brilliant Black Metallic. Just my opinion! Tom

Sounds like it could be the water pump on its way out, not circulating coolant properly. The pipes and heater will still get hot due to convection and heat transfer but it will warm up very quickly too. Worth looking at!

I got my rebuild kit from VAG for those calipers. It consisted of the dust seals and main piston seal and I think it was about £12 + the dreaded...not very expensive and if your pistons aren't scored then there's no reason why you can't re-use them anyway. As for discs and pads, I bought genuine VAG for both. Febi-Bilstein are pretty much of OE quality anyway, and there's a minefield of aftermarket discs and pads available too. A lot of it is down to personal preference though, the sort of driving you do and how much hammer you give the brakes. Personally I found the VAG discs and pads ideal, even 8 laps of the 'Ring in my old 8V didn't give them any grief. I guess what I'm saying is that if you're just doing pretty much normal driving in pretty much normal conditions on pretty much normal roads then there's nothing better than standard VAG. But if you want more bite, feel or any other number of variables then it's worth delving into the massive available supply of aftermarket pads. I personally would avoid grooved or drilled discs in all circumstances, unless you're looking at serious track use. That's all just my opinion though, I'm sure others will think differently. HTH a bit though! Tom

If you mean the standard calipers as fitted to the Corrado G60 and VR6 then yes the piston size is 54mm. There are some calipers actually called 'G60' which are a twin-pot design and fitted to the Audi S2 IIRC. I'm guessing you mean the standard Corrado calipers though :) Tom

No, but she's got a brother. Not sure if you'd be into man-love THAT much though? :camp:

I think I'm a lucky guy because my missus has said she'll go halves on a turbo conversion in a couple of years time once the rest of the car is up to the job (she loves the Corrado as much as I do!). Looks like I know where we'll be coming to get it done :D

The rear wheel bearings need to be literally only just finger tight. The VW manual states that it should be possible to move the flat washer beneath the nut with just sideways pressure from a screwdriver without any levering of any kind. It seems a weird way to do it, but it works. It should be noted that if you fit anything other than genuine VW bearings they won't last very long. I went through 3 sets of GSF bearings on a previous VW (Polo GT - same bearings) in about 4k miles before fitting genuine VW ones and forgetting about them. Hope that helps Tom

Don't get the plastic one, they're bloody useless. Well, don't get the plastic one if you want it to last longer than 2 minutes. I learnt the hard way and have now bought the proper steel one from VW, here's the part numbers anyway: Plastic - 021 012 213 - £15.06 + VAT (TPS retail price) Steel - T10029 - £23.46 + VAT (TPS retail price) HTH Tom

Getting there slowly but surely with it Adam, I'm just looking forward to getting the chains and tensioners done next week, will be a load off my mind once they're in and done. Forgot to say I've got 12 new tappets for it too, hopefully it'll appreciate all the work! Speaking of appreciation, it obviously didn't like being taken to pieces over the weekend because I went to get into it after work on monday and the bloody door handle broke :lol: Luckily I'd already bought a couple of door repair kits from Daves16V months ago when I had my 8V, so I set about having a go at fitting the kit to the drivers side. All I can say is once I got the handle off the door (door card off, cut the plastic door seal!) it was a piece of cake. The kit is very well designed and it took about 10 minutes a side to physically fit the new piece into the handle. I can't recommend the kit enough if I'm honest, and I'm pretty confident it'll never break again. Tonight I fitted the repair kit on the passenger side (not that it was broken, but I'm sure it would have been soon), cured a rattle from the rear speaker area (forgot to screw the seatbelt trim down) and also sorted a tiny coolant leak where a clip was slightly off-position on the hose that feeds the AWP from the thermostat housing. Then I took it for a long drive with the heater on full on the feet setting to start to dry the carpets, and it really is driving the best it ever has. Obviously this is all down to the new plugs and leads, but it certainly feels a lot more responsive. The old plugs that came out weren't in the best condition, god knows how long they'd been in for :shrug: I also had a play with an Astra VXR, not sure how hard he was trying but he didn't get past me, which was nice. Of course I didn't go faster than 70 :wave: Roll on chains, tensioners and OBD2 :D

Thanks Matt, doing my best for the old girl! It's hard work but worth it when I drive it :) Suspension wise I've got a Bilstein kit with -25mm Eibach springs, and I've got a set of ET35 16x7.5 BBS RC's :) Forgot to mention those, I probably won't fit the wheels until April though, no sense in getting them too salty if I can avoid it! Once the RC's are on I'm probably going to go up to 312's, but it'll mean finding some 16" winter wheels then, as the Speedlines definitely won't fit then! :lol: That'd explain why I haven't seen you walking to work anymore, are you enjoying it over there? Will definitely have to organise a local meet once it gets a bit nicer outside. Tom

I've had an ongoing coolant loss issue with the VR6 ever since I bought it, and I've replaced no end of things to try and solve it, to no avail. I've also had a constant steaming up problem with the car too, the passenger side has always been quite prone to condensation, and the windscreen takes aggggeeesssss to demist when it's a bit damp outside. I've secretly always known what the problem is but have been trying to avoid it by just topping up the coolant. You guessed it.............heater matrix :pukeright: To cut a very long story short, I finally replaced it over this weekend. Under the dashboard I found all sorts of horrors - bare wires where an alarms been badly fitted, poor stereo wiring, soaking wet insulation, badly fitted trim pieces etc etc. So what I originally hoped would be about a four hour job turned into an all-weekend mission. However, this is what I've got done: New heater matrix New 6N ignition switch Re-wired and re-wrapped the alarm wiring New ISO plug for the stereo, and re-wrapped the loom Fitted all the dash trim properly Repaired the centre console Fitted a bluetooth handsfree kit New Alpine 6x4 rear speakers New plugs and leads New vacuum operated breather valve (can't remember the name of it) I'm a happy, if tired, person :lol: More excitingly, I've got a week booked off work in a fortnights time to do the following: Chains and tensioners Clutch Gearbox Engine mounts Fit new front and rear shocks and bushes all round OBD2 conversion Headlamp loom Front wheel bearings CV boots etc etc.... Really looking forward to getting all that done, once I've had the alignment sorted I reckon it'll drive completely differently to how it does at the moment, can't wait :) I'll get some pics up of the big work when I do it, didn't take any this weekend as I was too busy! Tom

Looking good as always Matt :)

6 altogether on a Corrado: - 2 for the front calipers. - 2 for the pivot on the rear beam. - 2 for the rear calipers. I just bought a set for a Corrado G60. Tom

It's worthwhile getting the rebuild kit from TPS for the calipers too. Only about £12 ish and it's worth it for the peace of mind and it's a piece of cake to change the seals. I think I did my 280 conversion for around £120 including genuine discs, pads, the rebuild kit, braided hoses and the cost of the carriers and calipers. It is possible to use the 256mm calipers but you'll need to use the 256mm pads with a bit of material removed because the 280mm disc is 2mm wider than the 256. To save hassle later on it's best to just use the 280mm calipers though. Oh, I also got new rubber dust shields for the caliper sliding bolts too, simply because they tend to perish and let water in, I think they're about £4 for a set of 4. HTH Tom

Doing mine this saturday - looking forward to it in a weird kind of way, at least the car won't be steaming up and I can stop wondering where my coolant keeps disappearing to! :lol:

Yup, that's right. Worthwhile upgrade too, did it on my 8V and I felt a lot more confident about driving in general with decent stopping power. The 256's are pretty rubbish in my opinion. The 280's will fit under pretty much all 15" wheels too.

He says it's not down on power so it's unlikely to be a blown plug. Given that you say there was a slight rise in oil temperature I would say that the damage is bearing related. Something is getting very hot somewhere for there to be a noticeable rise in the temperature and my bet would be a big-end bearing somewhere, likely to be followed shortly by mains, little ends and camshaft bearings etc if you keep running the engine in that condition. Sorry to say but it doesn't sound like anything that can be sorted by an oil change or anything that simple. I would say that it's a least a sump off and inspect it job, likely to be followed by an engine removal and replacement/rebuild. If you can do the work yourself you could probably pick up a decent engine and rebuild it with new shells, chains etc for a grand or maybe a bit more, or just fit a known good engine and jobs a good'un. Hope that helps a bit. Tom

Repaired the rear number plate surround, de-rusted and painted it, and re-soldered a connection on the wiring which had caused the lights to stopped working. Oh, I spent 5 hours last night at work in the garage detailing the VR too, I'm on call so can't do much else, looks good now :)

Replaced the heater foliage guard seal and got rid of all the manky stuff from the scuttle tray. Took the passenger side doorcard off and sorted out an annoying leak which had been getting through the door liner plastic, then discovered that the heater matrix is leaking - job for next weekend methinks :lol:

That's what I was doing! (not denting the bonnet!) :norty:

Not sure how long this topic will be allowed to stay on for, but yes its very possible! Front seats if reclined, back seats if the fronts are folded forwards, and the bonnets on VR's are great if you've been for a bit of a drive, keeps her bum or hands warm :D

Glad to hear you've got another one, will keep an eye out for you! LA9V too, awesome colour, I had a Polo GT in the same. The Mk4 tank is a very worthwhile upgrade, so cheap too.

Yes there is a small plastic 10mm nut to undo which is easy enough to get to, I found that sliding the power steering reservoir out of the way helped things. You got another VR now then Adam?

Saw a standard looking silver 16V with a female driver going through Bakewell heading for Matlock yesterday morning in all the very heavy snow. Looked good and it was that snowy I had to double check that it actually was a C lol!

Agreed, the film is a mixture of terrible and hilarious, with some acting worthy of Hollyoaks! :lol: Was good to see a C though :cheers: