Go-rado

Quick query for anyone knowledgeable in Corrados and Golfs. I know you can do a seat swap into a mark II, but what about a Mk III, fronts and rears? Any advice appreciated Thanks Lee

Just a thought, you are supporting the engine from above before you go any further aren't you? I don't know how different the VR6, but I have done this with a 4 cylinder rado and didn't have too much bother so long as the rear of the engine was supported before removing the engine mount bolts. Re the steering rack, you can of course release the rack at the UJ pinch bolt and drop the entire assembly including hubs etc, though you'll have to take the brake calipers off and hang these out of the way. Hope this helps

I think the key here is preparation. If you remove all impurities prior to lacquering then you'll get a lasting finish so long as dampness and salt etc is kept at bay. Where white spots are described, these will be down to the original oxidation prior to polishing, indicating you've not got back to un-oxdised alloy; shot blasting is perhaps the most reliable way to full remove all traces of oxidation. Lacquer over oxidation and after a while you'll end up with unsightly white spiders crawling under the lacquer in the same way alloy wheels can go after exposure to a couple of UK winters.

Rainex is like wax for your windows. Makes the water bead. I use it and makes for much greater visibility especially if you do motorway driving in the British summer time :lol: If you top up the application regularly, most of the time, intermittent wipers will suffice. Only down side is that on damp cold mornings, condensation reforms very quickly until the glass drys so you have to keep using the windscreen wipers when you first drive away. Other plus point is that when there is moderate frost, I find rainex treated glass doesn't freeze over. Go get some - also looks top notch to have beading water on windows as well as waxed body work!

Unless you have a supplier in mind, you might want to try these guys: www.vehicleproducts.co.uk They do battery/starter cable by the metre in black or red. 40mm[sup:28ku6g04]2[/sup:28ku6g04] with an O/D of 11.8mm is good for 300 amps, and costs £5.84/m + VAT and delivery (£3.95 for UK orders less than £100). They can supply lots of other very useful stuff too! Lee

Assuming your connector has located correctly into the instrument pod, I might suggest that maybe an earth wire has become detached in amongst all the fiddling about with the dashboard. These are the brown wires and there are a job lot plugging onto a metal disc thingybob at the base of the OS A pillar - worth a look here?

I've not looked at the guides mentioned above but I am intrigued as how you can get the heater matrix out without removing the dashboard shell, if you need to strip off all the facia panels and vents then an extra ten minutes taking out the last few fixings surely would make it some what easier. I've been swearing at my ventilation system for the last couple of evenings, mainly because one out of the three stud fasteners that go through the bulkhead was ceased solid, rotating both the nut and stud. I resorted to cutting the nut off (again not easy with an attached washer flange on the back of the nut) - this was relatively easy as my bay is currently engineless. Not an easy job I envisage otherwise. If you do have problems with these stud fasteners rotating freely, torque them back up (the interior side is a self-tapping thread that will cut further into the plastic casing of the ventilation system. This may work for you if they are corroded to any significant degree. Meanwhile if you need a matrix, there are these on ebay, although I can't believe they are genuine VAG at that price. In terms of quality, others may be able to comment. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=022 Lee

You think £82 + VAT was steep for your engine mount. I enquired back in June at my VW parts counter and they quoted nearly £125 + VAT for a genuine item :shock: Regarding the manifold/down pipe I spoke to awesome GTI about this last year and they couldn't guarantee that a Miltek SS manifold they could supply would fit; some knock on the steering rack, some do not... If you have any success, please let us 9A people know. Lee

Very much in agreement with this. Unless you suspect actual problems, it could well continue to run. Rebuilding will only be as good as the parts used in the rebuild (which can fail just as easily as the existing components) and the abilities of the person undertaking the job. Other than out right mechanical failure, on an car that has done a lot of miles, I would suggest that it is the ancillary bits that are more likely to let you down, i.e. cooling system, and electrics. Maybe you start looking at these bits and replacing those you suspect to be on there way out. Of course if you are set on supercharging to significantly increase power and are going to be driving the end product hard (i.e track days) then yes a rebuild will almost inevitably be required, not least to ensure that higher compression ratios and oil pressures/running temperatures can be maintained without oil starvation etc!

Meanwhile, various bits have started to be purchased such as new control arms, bolts, clamps and other shiny bits and none more so than this: 50 mm intake manifold, smoothed and chrome plated! What seemed to start as respray and clean up in the original colour is evolving into what I hope is going to be a show car standard Corrado, with a

If the fluid absorbs 5% (presumably by volume) of moisture a year, how come the reservoir doesn't start to overflow. I have mne changed every two years but in the meantime, I don't need to top it up and the level stays on maximum. I can't imagine it evaporates at the same rate to compensate.

Two votes for Febi and I see they're cheaper again. Thanks for info!

Has anyone had experience with using the rear engine mount listed on GSF's website (part no. 10139A ) for £42.50? I'm looking to replace mine and have a price from a dealer for a genuine VW replacement of £123.50. Is the GSF item worth a go and how well does it line up with the subframe and engine mount bracket? Thanks in advance.

More progress over the past couple of weeks. Some heavy duty castor wheels from Screwfix (£14.99), a few lengths of timber from Wickes (£15) plus a few screw and a home made trolley to simply wheel the engine out of the bay; priceless! And for a bit of fun, why not a longitudinally mounted engine? Looks so much better in there than transverse. Now there’s an idea; stop dreaming well beyond my capabilities….

My first techie question, short and simple (I've done a bit of a search) concerning 4cyl model front hubs and ball joint removal. Is the pinch bolt made to be removed once you've undo the self locking nut? Mine don't budge despite hammer or trying to rotate with a socket, although the Bentley manual suggests it is separate. Does this bolt need to come out before you can remove the ball joint? Ta Lee

This would be why trying to steer modern cars with the engine off is much harder than I always remember cars being say 20 years ago when PAS was not a standard feature? Back to the question in hand though. When I removed and refitted my PAS pump (on a 4 cyl engine), initially it made a great deal of whining sound. Rather than slipping belt, it was the opposite, too much tension on the belt. So after slackening off the belt, much better and only whinging on full lock. I would say that the bracket affair for adjusting the PAS belt is somewhat complicated to describe where to adjust, but it is a case of slackening off bolts until to get the desired effect and then retighten. I assume the VR6 pump is mounted in a similar fashion to 4 cyl engines.

For a only vaguely mechanic person like me, relatively straight forward. You'll need to support the engine/gearbox from above (since my support was a homemade affair, I'm using a trolley jack in the photo to support a bit of the weight too. How easy the subframe comes off will I guess be dependent on how much corrosion exists on the various bolts. Other than the pinch bolt on the end of the steering column UJ, everything was fairly accessible and relatively easy to remove (if you have a 24" breaker bar) - you'll need the elusive 18mm socket though for the subframe bolts, a size which doesn't tend to appear in most socket sets. It would probably be simpler as a two person job, but cause I'm a Billy no mates, I had to support the subframe with the Halfords trolley jack and gently lower it once free, with the hubs lashed up to my engine support brace to keep the assembly balanced! The complete assembly is explitive heavy, which raises questions about re fitting it as a complete unit, so this is probably best done in bits. On mine, the engine/gearbox is coming out next and I will refit the subframe/steering without the engine in place making this less of a headache.

As suggested, subframe now removed and as of this evening, now dismantled. Photo prior to spannering apart: So far so good!

As suggested, I

Definitely Dragon Green, other photos out of the sunlight have it green rather than the apparent blue shown here!

My first post to the Corrado forum having joined earlier this week, so by way of an introduction, I