monVR6

Thanks for the comforting words guys - I will check the rocker cover and I like the excuse for a good thrape at the weekend - fingers crossed for a crisp dry Saturday!!!

Hi all Noticed a sort of slight hot oil/burning smell over the last couple of days on my 12 mile motorway journey to work. I'm not thrashing it and the temp is fine - tends to get up to around 90degrees on the computer by the time I arrive. Anyway, today I checked under the bonnet and there is some slight mayo in the filler cap. I've searched under "gasket" on the forum and it would appear this should be nothing to worry about - just looking for some comforting words really. Car runs great and smooth by the way. Please tell me some good news - or any other symptoms I should check for. Any thoughts on the oily smell too ?? Cheers all !!

I've had a Weitec GT kit fitted by C&R today and the same tracking question was mentioned. Apparently, it is the near-side tracking that should not be adjusted. However, I understand that as long as the wheels don't foul any suspension etc you can still set the tracking up OK, assuming there is enough adjustment. No doubt others on the forum know more about this than me ! Only had a motorway trip back from C&R - but everything feels great so far. Fantastic service from them too !

The computer on my VR6 is a bit weird - as I scroll through the options, it reads fine for the first 5 - distance MPG, oil temp etc, but skips external temp. To make things more bizarre, sometimes it will display it for a couple of miles, then it disappears again ! Any ideas ??

Seen a light metallic blue VR6 near Rickmansworth a few times - (sounds fab under full bore acceleration by the way) - also a nice pearl white Greg G60 (I think) - nice kit on it !

My VR6 feels a tad lumpy and wobbly whilst driving, but this lessens if I dip the clutch. It also seems to be worse when the engine is cold first thing in the morning. I've heard talk of lumpy running being linked to the thermo time switch (??) Could this be the problem ? Where is it ? Is it easy to change ? Would I expect other symptoms ? Cheers

I had a very similar problem - the VR6 (95 73K) would start perfectly fisrt thing and was fine after work - however, when I tried starting after a few minutes/up to about 4 hours, it would turn over - then cut out. If I applied some gas, it would catch and run, but would die if I took my foot of the accelerator. Got to be a real pain. Took it to VW and they diagnosed a new stabilisation valve was needed - £178 + VAT (!!**£!"). Anyway - had it fitted as it was under a warranty and have had no trouble since. It may or may not be this in your case - hope from the cost it isn't !! I couldn't find another supplier - others on the forum may be able to help. Good luck !

Merry Christmas all ! I've heard that later VR6s (mines a '95) had softer suspension set-ups than earlier models meaning that earlier ones are actually better on the handling front! 1) Is this true ? 2) If so, can I fit the older suspension to my 95 model ? 3) Where is the best place to buy this and how much ? May sound like strange questions, but I'm trying to keep my car relatively standard and don't want a rock-hard suspension set-up. Thanks all

I will check for tracking and buckled wheels - is it still worthwhile changing the dampers and springs ? The garage that did the work are happy to do this as I am not fully satisified - so it would seem to make sense !?

OK - after recent posts regarding my VR6 suspension problems, I have carried out the following : - had new dampers with top mounts fitted all round. Rear axle and front wishbone bushes have been replaced and the geometry has been set. The car has done 73K on a 95M. I am still getting some jiggly vibration through the chassis - the best way to describe it is that it feels like vibration in the drivetrain - or like going over a cattle grid - (but on a much smaller scale). If I coast along with the clutch dipped, it still does this - I presume this means it is not engine-mount or clutch related ?? The overall effect is that each imperfection can be felt through the seat and seems to steer the car more and more left if not corrected. Other VR6s I've driven did not do this and felt much more controlled. Under hard acceleration, I'm getting a lot of torque-steer (which I would expect to a certain extent) but the car also feels unsettled when the power is cut during gearchanges. Finally, the steering feels heavy off centre and I think feels stiffer to the right lock. My thoughts now are to ask that the dampers be replaced again and matched to new springs at the same time. I will probably go to GSF for Boge gas shocks and matched springs as I am restricted budget-wise - I have heard this is a good approach if I don't want to go to huge expense and want to retain a (sort of) standard set up. I've also heard that original springs are vary-rated - should I be wary of replacing these with GSF items ? Sorry - a lot of questions here - anyone got any ideas as to where these problems stem from and whether the new springs/dampers will solve things ? Any other thoughts on what's going wrong ? PS - just seen posts about tracking and ball-joints - so will try this - any other thoughts ?? Thanks all

Thanks for the thoughts - sounds like I'm on the right track and it doesn't sound like a steering problem (phew!!!). The toe, camber, caster and tracking have all been set up within tolerance, so it looks like I will be re-checking and then going down the bush route. As I plan to get the garage to put stiffer shocks on, the set up whould be done again anyway. Are Boge gas shocks the best way to go once this is done or should I uprate further despite wanting to keep the standard springs ?

Hi all Since my last post about suspension problems, I have had new shocks fitted and all the top mounts done at the same time. This was done at my local tyre/suspension centre (not Kwik-Fit) who have always been good, but this has not solved the problem. They are saying they can replace the shockers with different units and I plan to get Boge gas shocks from GSF. I've heard talk of "turbo shocks" are there two version then - the turbo and the standard? Anyway - I also plan to get the bushes replaced at the same time and hopefully this will tidy up the handling, but just to ensure it is right this time, these are the problems I'm having - will my suspension plans solve this or is there something more sinister - perhaps with the steering going on ? When I hit a bump - (large or small) - this seems to affect the direction. Often the steering goes light as if the tyres are slipping when they actually aren't. Car feels understeery The steering seems detached and there seems to be a bit of play around the straight-ahead. The car wanders quite a bit - even at 70mph on the motorway. Car seems to pull to one side under heavy braking. Apologies for the lengthy note, but I just want to get this right !

Hi all I'm looking for a good (fairly) local independent VW specialist to service my VR6 as I've had loads of problems with dealers and have completely lost faith in them !! I live in Watford, Herts - any suggestions and contact details if you have them ??

Hi all - Hey all I seem to do is pick all your brains for thoughts and answers!! Latest problem is hot starting - I never have any problems starting from cold but when hot it often just churns over, sort of catches but then just dies. By giving it some gas, it'll run and sometimes will settle down and idle OK after a few vigourous blips - but mostly (to get home) it's a painful (and dangerous) brake and throttle juggle as it just won't idle. I don't think it's the immobiliser as it will run - and I've tried using my spare immobiliser key - (as suggested elsewhere on the forum). Any ideas - this is getting quite frustrating.Thanks in advance.

As far as I know the car is standard - AmD didn't say there were any mods when I gleefully asked about the pre-mod 198 !! Just need to sort the clutch and tighten up the handling and I'll be sorted. By the way, the remap was £250 + VAT.

Thanks to you both - I will get this checked out. By the way - good day at AmD - came away with 213 BHP - it was actually running at 198 before remap !!! I am well pleased !!

Hi all - I'm off to AmD for a re-map tomorrow - hoping for some good power gains - I'll let you know how it goes !! In the meantime, I have a bit of a clutch problem. The clutch has always been a bit "juddery" and I've read in the forum that this is quite common ?? - but now the clutch seems to be "sinking" overnight. With a good pump (!!) it seems to be OK and this suggests some sort of leak - has anyone else suffered with this ? Any ideas ? By the way, I got some good suggestions about the handling on my C last time I posted - AmD are going to give me their thoughts too whilst I'm there tomorrow. Cheers all.

Hi Chris - From memory it was £8,000, but this was about a year before I bought the blue one. It was older and had had some spraying done (done well though), but the main problem was the cost to change at £5K + my Golf - couldn't afford it then ! In hindsight, it might have been a good buy !!

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone - looks like bushes and top-mounts are the place to start - I'll keep you posted and also think about a trip to AmD :) Great forum - in the words of a certain Austrian "actor" - I'll be back !!

Hi all - just discovered this site and it seems you are the people who can tell me everything I need to know ! I've had my 95 VR6 in met blue since December last year after chopping in a VR6 Golf. It has cream leather heated seats and has done just 70K miles - (it's also substantially quicker than the Golf !!). I do have a few questions though : Before buying this one, I test drove a violet 37K VR6 which was extremely tight, handled superbly and was extremely controlled and confidence inspiring on bumpy old straights- alas I couldn't afford it - but this one, although it drives OK, I feel it should be better. Basically, I want to keep it fairly standard and don't want to lower it or get a rock-hard ride. Going into corners, it rolls quite a lot and feels nervous on your typical B road with a bit of lateral movement making me back off a bit - the violet one wasn't like this :( I also feel I need to continually make constant steering corrections. I'm told the shocks and springs are fine, but the top mounts need replacing - also been suggested that I uprate the anti-roll bars (Eibachs ??) - is this a good idea ? Can anyone help with other ideas - engine mounts, bushes, strut brace etc - and will I notice the difference ? Any thoughts would be really welcome. Also, has anyone heard of, or fitted a "Chip Star" to their C ? If so is it any good - or are other Chips better ? Am I going to get walloped by Mr Insurance man ?? Thanks all - look forward to hearing from you . .