Jay23Sx

Well I finally managed to find a new (to me) garage where one of the guys used to come and fix our Polo - good mechanic and with any luck, quite cheap :) I'm quite eager to find out if the bearing going has caused any damage to anything else. I imagine I'm expecting a big bill, although I may end up with all new front suspension ;)

Well as the title suggests really I had a wheel bearing collapse on me tonight while I was on the A264. Unfortunately it seems to have knocked out my brakes as well, either because of the amount of wheel movement causing the calipers to be pushed to far back or because of a brake failure at the same time. Luckily I still had some stopping power (if I pushed my foot through the floor) and avoided a collision - remarkable really as all the cars were bunched together slowing down for a roundabout. To sum it all up I had my first trip home behind an RAC van, probably not my last, and as my wheel feels like it's about to fall off I need to find a mechanic to work on it by the side of the house rather than take it away. Don't you just love C's ;) Edit: Oh, no warning on the bearing collapse either - I'm familiar with all the signs and didn't have a single one of them.

Yellow C turning onto Hills Farm Lane in Horsham at about 8:30 last night, as I was turning off of it.

You're not joking either, the producer put on his blog that it was being moved because of the X-Factor. After they gave in and moved SCD I don't think the BBC want to put the most viewed BBC 2 show at risk.

But more advanced alarm systems roate the keys each time you use the fob, meaning any information gained from scaning the transmission is useless. The cheaper keyless entry systems, no alarm, tend to use the same key each time. Edit: Just noticed the system quoted at the top addresses this and mentions it as a feature (4.3 million combinations auto-rotate or something) but make sure any system you get from places like eBay have something similar.

I'm pretty sure I've got the only red valver in Horsham so could have at least told you it was no longer there :) I paid £700 for mine last year at 134k so at least he's being sensible about the buy it now price.

Not sure he didnt say, on the mot paper it says it failed because the reading was to high after the 2nd lamda reading! Whats an Italian Tune up? Adding something to the fuel isn't it ? :)

Didn't think the Mk1 Focus came with an RS option ? Wasn't until Mk2 until the ST came along and only recently the RS.

Thats cheaper than at the dealers, VW want about £4.50 for one, Halfords wanted £5.99 for own brand or £6.99 for a Champion one.

Recenlty I've been using Mobil Super S 10w40 - handily on special at Halfords. Edit: Oh, and if you didn't know it VW filters are cheaper than any you can get on the high street so you may as well get the proper ones.

Saw an L reg blue (I think) C at GCS Engineering in Horsham on Thursday (mine was ill) - didn't get much time to check further details as it was late and I was picking mine up. They also had a very very very very (yes, that very) lovely Mk1 rocco in, factory fresh and I wanted to jump in and take it home there and then.

Admiral definately had the best price for me, although it wasn't around the £300 mark .. more like £900 :) (I've only been driving

I think mechanics generally look at: 1) Wrong grade of fuel (unledeaded, not super unleaded) 2) Idle speed 3) Engine temp (a hot engine can cause run-on)

ah cool, didn't see they did the flange bolts, they seem quite difficult to source generally. Don't believe everything you hear, VW still sell the flange bolts (obviously not in stainless) even though quite a few people have reported on here that they've been discontinued.

Yes, it probably has. I imagine it's got the coolant flange o-ring, downpipe gasket and valve stem seals in it (maybe even more) .. all things that you might as well replace while you've got access to them.

The whole thing comes off just like the standard manual one does (although I imagine the manual one is easier to remove).

It really is only one screw, it's got a little hammer on it which strikes the door pin when you operate the handle - it's not directly connected to anything (except for a couple of electrical wires for the central locking).

G12 is the right way to go, but you need at least G12+ if you don't know what's already in there (G12+ mixes OK with other stuff, G12 doesn't). If you buy any new coolant from the dealers it's G12++ these days.

You recall correctly :) The light, in normal operation, indicates low coolant (the level is calculated by the two probes and plug attached to the expansion tank - so check it's connected) but it is also a high temperature warning once the gauge actually gets up towards the top (110+).

I think it is :) 2009_0909Image0086.JPG[/attachment:babda1hz] Sorry, but to me it looks unfinished. Black primer anyone...??[/quote:babda1hz] Well the pictures in the other thread do make it look like the matt black paint was sprayed straight on top of the original colour with no prep. Not sure if that's true or not, just what the photos make it look like.

And if you've never removed the door handle before then the wiring will be clipped to the inside edge of the door (a right pain to get it undone without breaking the clips).

Nah, unfortunately not. I paid £700 for mine last year with a recent MOT (and only a few rust spots on the bottom of the drivers door) and loads of history and receipts. He'd already knocked it down from £1300 to £1000 and then took my offer as he still couldn't sell it. As Corrado owners we all like to think we'd get loads of money for them but that attitude doesn't = sales, certainlly at the moment.

Most garages will charge you about £10 per wheel to remove. They tend to do it in one of two ways: 1) Weld a pole to the nut and use that to undo 2) Break the nut (more risk of damage to the alloy)

Before long you'll find them for the same price as I paid for my valver :) (£700 btw)

I think there has been a lot of debate about prices lately, and at the end of the day it boils down to what work has been done to this car. It's low mileage, does that mean it hasn't had any of the work on chains etc. that you'd normally expect to have done by now? If not, that's £6 for a low mileage car but one that you're going to have to spend more money on in the near future. Or you could spend less on a higher mileage car but one that's already had all that done recently.