aclwalker

Thanks for the replies. I know what the problem is now. I noticed that I was also getting a noise hitting certain bumps in the road (it's impossible to avoid ALL potholes in Glasgow. You have to choose the least bad one.) and crucially when touching steep slopes at an angle. So, I guessed that my anti-roll bar link had snapped. I got the wheel off yesterday and that's indeed what has happened. The driver's side ARB link has snapped. This has allowed the free end to touch the outer CV joint when cornering to the right, because the weight lifts off but the ARB is not pulled down with the wishbone. Unfortunately it has torn off the large CV boot clip and there's been minor grease leakage. It doesn't look like the boot is ripped, but I'm buying a boot kit anyway, partly for the clip, but also in case I need the boot too. Anybody know where to buy just the clip, other than the dealer? I mean the proper ones that require the compression tool rather than just a jubilee clip.

Hi all, my VR6 was running great, just passed it's MoT the other week and everything was great until today. I've got a very heavy clunking when on the power and turning to the right. There are no clunks or noise when not on the power and none on full lock forwards or backwards. I had the same problem in the past when going to the left on the power and it turned out to be an almost siezed inner CV joint on the long shaft. I replaced the inner and out CV joints on the long shaft (driver's side) and the problem went away. So, my first thought this time was that it must be the other inner CV joint that I didn't replace. It's dark now and I've not been able to get under it, but I did reach down and I'm a bit worried now. There seems to be a fair bit of movement on the short shaft (passenger side), between the flange that the inner CV joint bolts on to and the gearbox. I think there's also play between the driveshaft and the inner CV joint, but it's hard to say in the dark and reaching down from the top. I'm worried that my differential is maybe worn allowing that whole end of the driveshaft to move around. Is this a possibility? There's no grinding or whining in normal straight line use or when coming off the power and everything is very smooth and running nicely, even still after these clunks. But just today I started getting this really loud clunk on applying the power while turning right (it first happened coming out a roundabout). Should there be up and down play between the flange shaft (I think it's called that) and the housing? I don't know if I'm imagining it, but I'm thinking it looks like it's sagging a bit compared to flange for the other shaft. If it is the differential packing in, what's involved in fixing that? I have no problem with replacing the CV joints as I've done the other side but I've never touched a gearbox or a differential before.

Mine has only failed once in the 7 years I've had it, IIRC. But I do go round and fix everything I know is a failure beforehand. Just passed again on Friday at nearly 210k miles. The one time it failed it was definately a failure; corroded brake pipes and bulging brake hoses! Just replaced all brake lines back to the ABS and the compensator valve and it passed fine.

Hi Charly, the whirring was definitely from the ABS unit, i.e. under the bonnet at the passenger side. It only did it after picking away or coasting slowly, not when standing idle. When I deliberately unplugged a front ABS sensor to force a fault, this stopped the whirring noise, which is why I suspected it was trying to pressurise itself. I seem to have sorted the problem now anyway. I went out for a drive and deliberately triggered the ABS about 30 times, which is much easier with baldy tyres! This seemed to drastically reduce the frequency of the problem, but it didn't go away totally. I then bled basically the whole system with and Eezibleed. Excellent piece of kit, by the way. First, I bled the clutch slave cylinder. There were a few bubbles in there. My clutch feels so much better now, much more precise and less 'vague'. I then bled the master cylinder, but no air came out. After reading lots about the ABS and coming to conclusion that the Teves 04 system does NOT require the ignition running when bleeding the rear brakes (like some of the other Teves systems), I bled the two points on the top of the ABS unit, but only after pressing the brake pedal about 40 times with the ignition off, to make sure that I got no nasty surprises when opening them up. I'm not sure I got any air out there, maybe a small bubble or two. However, my deliberate triggering of the ABS in the days before was in an attempt to shift any air OUT of the ABS unit, so perhaps my plan worked. Finally I bled each caliper, starting from furthest from the ABS unit to closest. I got air out of all calipers, and a lot out of the right rear, and some dirt and corrosion too. The other three were clean. I had to replace the front two bleed valves as they were severely corroded (just as well I bought spares a long time ago and had them sitting). I had to use the Irwin bolt grips on one of them, which scared me, but it came out fine. I went for a test drive and no more whirring. I also read that ABS problems CAN be caused by loose battery connections and I did notice one of my connections was not loose, but not as tight as it could be since fitting my headlight loom. I think this is a red herring in my case, but it's worth checking anyway. I've now driven it a fair bit since bleeding and no more whirr, so I guess my initial thoughts were correct, i.e. the ABS was having to repressurise the system due to air pockets. My clutch feels much better, and smoother. My brakes have significantly hardened although they're still not new car standard. I actually suspect that my servo may be leaking vacuum slightly, but I'm not going to worry too much about that. My brakes are definitely much better and the exercise was well worth while. I can thoroughly recommend the Eezibleed. Just make sure you pressure test without fluid first and take great care to disconnect the air supply when not needed, in case you forget the system is pressurised. I took the tyre down to 15psi and it worked fine. It says to use no more than 20psi. One thing to watch out for is that you might have to remove some fluid from the reservoir at the end as it will probably be above the maximum. I actually did this but over the course of the next day some pressure must've gone back the way because it actually leaked out the top a bit. Perhaps I didn't remove enough or forgot to account for the float when putting the original lid back on.

Hi all, I've got a bit of a strange ABS problem and an imminent MoT coming up. Hopefully someone can help. I've done a few searches but can't find any similar problems. The pump appears to be periodically repressurising itself or something and over the course of a couple of days quickly escalated into doing it several times a minute. I can hear a whirr noise when it happens, and can feel it in the clutch and brake if I happen to be using either at the time. It only seemed to do it when the car was moving, but I didn't sit for ages at rest to check. The ABS light doesn't come on (I know the light works as the self-test is fine on startup). I have no fault code on VAG-COM. I was worried that I was going to burn out the ABS unit or something, so I forced a fault by unplugging one of the front sensors. Since doing that, it fails the startup test, as expected, and disables the ABS and I've not had the whirring noise since. Curiously, I was unable to disable the ABS by removing the fuse marked as "ABS" on the fusebox. So, forcing a deliberate fault was my solution. The only thing I can think is that I maybe have air in the master cylinder/ABS unit or possibly even the clutch. A year or so back I replaced all my brake lines from the ABS unit to each caliper, and I didn't bleed the ABS unit or master cylinder at the time, because I wasn't sure how to do it then. I was never really satisfied with the brakes after this, as I felt they were a bit spongy, but it has passed two MoTs since then. I did minimise fluid loss from the ABS when replacing these lines, by using a plug I made from a union with a proper copper pipe with flare with the pipe hammered down flat. This prevented excessive fluid loss, but clearly some air probably got in. I guessed at the time that it would be forced out of the line anyway, but maybe it's stuck around in the ABS unit. Could this whirring be the ABS unit reacting to air, and trying to maintain the pressure? I see no evidence of fluid loss as the reservoir is still full. Again, no ABS light, no VAG-COM code, and the ABS seemed to operate correctly (before I deliberately disabled it), but just has this constant 'repressurising' feeling and whirring noise. Any ideas greatly appreciated. Edit: Actually, I wonder if I should have VAG-COMed it before I disabled the ABS. I'm not sure if the self-test clears other codes out. Should I reconnect the front sensor I deliberately removed, and re-scan for faults as these whirrs are occuring?

Hmmm, it's unusual for iut to leak when cold. If you've got new hose, and used proper fuel hose clips rather than jubilees then all I can think of is corrosion in the fuel rail. Did you definately use fuel injection hose, rather than 'standard' hose? Fuel injection systems are pressurised rather than gravity fed like carb system are. The other thing to bear in mind is that the VR6 (I'm assuming you're talking about VR6 here) is about 1 bar higher in pressure than most cars, if I remember correctly. Check for corrosion in the fuel rail and also for nicks in the hose and also grit particles which may be preventing a good seal around the hose.

Spotted a very nice condition N reg VR6 in the big Tesco car park at Springburn, Glasgow today, around 3 or 4 pm or thereabouts. Very tidy indeed, a sort of metallic purple, but subtle purple if you know what I mean. Full black leather interior (like mine!) and 89k on the clock (as far as I could see). Much better condition than mine, I'm afraid :( but I've got more than twice the mileage. Wasn't in my Corrado at the time (test driving my pal's battery-challenged Punto at the time!) or I would have obviously parked right next to it. If you're on the forum, you should get a set of headlight protectors to protect those lovely headlights as they're discontinued if I remember correctly!

Thanks.

Does anyone know if the 2x2 adapter is a simple 'mechanical' (i.e. plug-shape) adapter rather than an interface in its own right? I was thinking of buying this... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=300296370997&Category=30921 ...so that I can scan older cars too. I have an official VAG-COM interface but didn't buy the 2x2 adapter at the time as it was quite expensive and also unnecessary for my car, but if this one would work then I'd be willing to buy it so that I could scan older Corrados too. Can anyone who has the 2x2 adapter confirm this?

I'd just like to add how pleased I am with my headlight loom. I had terrible headlights due to the standard problem but additionally a badly de-silvered reflector. I got a reflector from somebody on the forum and fitted the loom at the same time. I feel I'm lighting up the whole road now. On full beam, I can light up signs on the horizon. Maybe the alignment is out! :wink: I fitted it today during nice spring (winter?) sunshine. Within 5 minutes of starting, my instructions were being blown away and the freezing rain had come on. I also had to dismantle the headlight to replace the reflector, so it took me rather longer than it should have. I got soaked and frozen and sprained a muscle in my hand due to the cold. But it was worth it for the drive home. :) If you have bad headlights then these looms are the perfect solution.

I got THAT nut off easily! It's the locknut on the rod itself that I can't get off. And I also now can't get THAT nut back on now, because the pin just spins. But your idea of turning the balljoint separator upside down to apply pressure in the opposite direction might actually work for me to get that nut back on if I give up on replacing the tie rod end until the better weather.

Having looked carefully at Bentley, I think the reason why it says you have to remove the tie rods with the rack OFF the car is because you have to grip the part of the rack that the tie rod screws in to in a vice. If you do it in-situ, then it's impossible to grab this bit and you are effectively twisting the rack part (i.e. the toothed bar) inside the housing. By holding the toothed bar in a vice, you aren't doing this twisting. The tie rod is supposed to be torqued to 70 Nm (IIRC) and also a locking compound used, so I guess you could cause damage by just unscrewing without holding the toothed bar. Have you experienced any problems with the steering since? Did you use a locking compound? Cheers.

Are butane blow-torches hot enough? Should I be trying to just heat the locknut?

Cheers, yeah. I'm thinking that maybe some sort of G-clamp to compress the tie-rod end back into the wheel bearing housing might give enough friction to allow me to tighten it back up. With the cold and rain just today (and probably tomorrow), I think I'd prefer to just connect it back up as the tie-rod end is actually OK just now. I could do then tackle replacing them in the summer.

Thanks for that. I'll give it a shot tomorrow, assuming the weather holds up. I've also found a suggestion to hit opposite sides of the locknut with two hammers at the same time, to shock the corrosion. I really need to get this tie rod replaced now, because I can't even reassemble the old one because the nut is just gripping the threaded stem and spinning it round! If the tie rod end had a hex recess, like the balljoint, then it would be possible to tighten it back up while preventing the stem from turning with an allen key or similar.

I have spent today replacing a front wheel bearing and have hit problems with the reassembly stage. Firstly, I was wanting to replace the tie rod end, but couldn't free the locknut off. After having good weather at the start of the week, today has decided to try my patience, by raining at every opportunity, and blowing rust into my face at every turn. So, as the tie rod end was not burst, I decided to reassemble and leave that for better weather. But I now have the problem that the nut to attach the tie rod to the steering knuckle was simply spinning round and round, taking the bolt part of the tie rod with it. I'm guessing that the tie rod is worn if this bit is spinning round. So, I can't get the nut back on, so I'm being forced to replace the tie rod end. Any ideas on how to remove the locknut for the tie rod end? Also, I noticed on another post, somebody suggesting to just replace the whole tie rod right up to the rack, and that these rods including ends were quite cheap from vwspares.co.uk. However, I see on Bentley that it says that the tie rods must not be removed from the steering rack when it is in situ. Is this really true? Is Bentley being over cautious here? Also, I'm concerned that even if I get the locknut off, that the tie rod end itself will be bonded on to the tie rod and I won't be able to separate the two, hence the question above about replacing the entire rod including end. The tie rod end itself has a squared off part for you to grip it while attempting to loosen the locknut. Is there such a squared off part on the tie rod itself? I couldn't see a section like this. Any advice greatly appreciated, as this problem has really deflated me after getting on well with the bearing.

I could be speaking rubbish here, but does that not risk damaging the master cylinder? in what way? ive done it for years...never had a problem.[/quote:19v8064d] I think the argument goes that there is a large part of the piston that never goes into the master cylinder and is open to the elements. In cars the age of ours, this part of the piston can be quite badly corroded and if you force the pedal to the floor when doing brake work (e.g. bleeding) then this rust actually tears the rubber seals, causing fluid to leak out of the master cylinder. You would probably get away with this on a new car but on old cars it is risking master cylinder seal damage.

Thanks guys, it all makes sense now. As for not putting the weight on the car until torqued up, I was aware of this. Once you get the thing apart you can see why this is the case. The axle part of the CV joint actually takes the weight of the car alongside the bearing and hub. If it is not fitted, or loose, then the bearing and hub takes the full weight which could easily make the bearing collapse. Also, it should be possible to lock the disc with a screwdriver in the disc vents and pressing against the caliper. This would make it a one-person job.

Excellent, your attachment just confirms my second post. 50Nm is for compressed splines, which is probably the "B" version of the hubs. Finally the confusion seems to be over! BTW, What is "autodata"? That looks quite good. Is it a website or something?

Interestingly, I've just done a Google for "vr6 hub nut 50nm 30 degrees" and come up with two interesting PDFs: http://www.veedubz.co.za/tech/VW%20Haynes%20Mk3/TRANSMISSION%20REMOVAL%20&%20INSTALLATION.pdf and http://album.seehere.org/albums/userpics/10001/Mitchell_Repair_Information_Company_-_VW_Golf_3_Repairing_Handbook.pdf Both seem to originate from a "Mitchell Repair Company". The first one is a South African link and confirms the three possible torques: 265Nm, 90Nm + 45 degrees and 50Nm + 30 degrees (after putting to 200Nm then backing off one full turn). It says that 265 is for "Without Plus Suspension". 90Nm is for "With Plus Suspension, except Passat". 50Nm is for "With Plus Suspension, Passat". Not exactly very helpful. And what is "Plus Suspension"? The second PDF is quite interesting though. It's a massive almost 1000 page document. It also confirms the three possible hub nut torques above, but gives a different explanation as to when they are used: In addition to the Passat bit above, it says: With Tripod-Type Joint 265Nm. With Bonded Axle Shaft Splines 90Nm + 45 degrees. With Compressed Hub Splines 50Nm + 30 degrees (after going to 200Nm then backing off one turn). So, I think we're finally getting somewhere. The tripod-style joint refers to the inner CV joint on non-VR6 cars. The inner CV joint on the VR6 is a ball-bearing joint like the outer (but obviously without an axle). The difference between 90Nm and 50Nm seems to rely on whether you use bonded axle shaft splines or compressed hub splines. I remember reading some people saying that the hub splines should be bonded with some sort of loctite. However, mine were GREASED when I took them off before, with what looked like copper grease. So, the VR6 torque would now seem to rely not on the bearing or housing, but instead on the hub and outer CV joint (which the axle shaft is a part of). I'm just going to check ETKA again and see if there was a change in hub or CV joint... OK, this is getting interesting. ETKA lists only one part for the hub for the VR6, but crucially, it's got a "B" on the end, which means it's the second revision. This suggests that all replacement hubs are probably going to be the second version, which would suggest that they should be 50Nm + 30 degrees (after 200Nm and backing off one full turn), given that Supercharged and Yandards mentioned that "late VR6s" are the lower torque. ETKA only seems to list one outer CV joint for the VR6. I've checked my third party replacement hubs and they say they replace the VW part number with the "B" on it. I've not got my other spare CV joint here to check its OEM replacement number. So, to summarise, it looks like if your hub is already the "B" version or if you are replacing your hub and the new one is the "B" version, then use the 50Nm + 30 degree (after going to 200Nm and backing off one full turn). If you have original hubs, which are not the "B" version and you are reassembling everything (e.g. after CV boot replacement but still using original hubs), then use the 90Nm + 45 degree setting, plus a locking compound. And never use 265Nm for a VR6!!! I would hazard a guess that the change was to save the hassle of using a locking compound, which probably only really works on new, unrusted cars. Clearly it's much easier to just torque and be done with it, rather than messing around with locking compounds. Does my investigation and its conclusions make sense?

My dad just ordered the Sealey YK10B, which is on offer at about half price just now until the end of February. We've ordered it from justoffbase.co.uk and it's £184.xx, delivered. Perhaps a bit extravagant, but I like tools and don't like waiting around for mechanics to be bothered fitting you in, then probably not bothering to clean up the old housing and contaminating the new bearing etc. We went for the Sealey for a few reasons. While it was twice the price of the other one, it was also half its normal price (a genuine reduction), is smaller (bench press rather than floor press), has a pressure gauge which will allow you to see if you're approaching a pressure which might damage it, has a removable ram which can be used for other purposes, and has repair kits available from Sealey. I'll let you all know how I get on. :norty:

You definitely DO NOT use brake fluid! I'm guessing one reason is that it would probably attack the seals in the jack. You must use proper jack oil.

I'm soon going to replace a front wheel bearing as the noise is becoming intolerable now. On this forum there's a lot of confusion about the hub nut torque for a VR6. Some people mistakenly say it should be 265Nm. This is clearly wrong as this is for the non-VR6 models which have a 6 point nut rather than a 12 point nut like the VR6 has. Bentley says 90Nm + 45 degrees. Some on this forum say that Bentley is wrong for certain late VR6s and that it should be 50Nm + 30 degrees, after first tightening to 200Nm then loosening. Supercharged and Yandards have both said this, if I'm not mistaken. Some questions that I can't find the answer to, however: 1 How is "late VR6" defined? I can see no changes in ETKA in this area on the VR6, which suggests that they are all the same. How do you choose between 90Nm or 50Nm? 2 Does "late VR6" simply mean that VW realised after a few years that 90Nm was too tight? If so, that would suggest that ALL should now be set to 50Nm, not just "late VR6s". 3 Where have Supercharged and Yandards got this information from? I'd like to see the reasoning behind changing from 90Nm to 50Nm as 50Nm seems very low for such a critical component. (I'm not saying they're lying but it would be good to see the original source for this!) 4 VR6s of that era (Golf, Passat) seem to all have identical part numbers in relation to wheel bearing housing and the bearing itself. Any other forums/posts about VR6 based cars from that era seem to say 90Nm. Why is the Corrado apparently different? For what it's worth, when I did my CV joints on one side, the hub nut did feel about 90Nm when I loosened it. It was definitely NOT in the hundreds. I didn't replace the bearing then, even though it was starting to go, because it was an emergency CV joint repair and the weather was really bad. I did tighten it up to 90Nm and it seems a bit 'stiffer' (i.e. in terms of rotating the wheel) these days than it was before. It is definitely more difficult to rotate than the other side. So, either I have tightened it too tight at 90Nm, or it's just a natural progression of it failing from when I did the CV joint, as it was making noise even then before I undid it for the CV joint. Please can Supercharged or Yandards clarify the reasoning behind the apparent change from 90Nm to 50Nm? Could they please also give some guidance as to how you decide between the two or if, indeed, all VR6s should now be 50Nm? After all, there is only ONE bearing and ONE housing listed for ALL VR6 Corrados (and, it seems, all VR6 VWs of that era), so I can't see why some would be 90Nm and some 50Nm. Perhaps a final clarification or definitive answer could be stickied and/or put in the knowledge base, as I know it's an often asked question but unfortunately confusion still remains between 90Nm and 50Nm.

Well, like I said, I never go under a car without stands. What's more, I almost never take a wheel off without a stand under it, even if I'm not going under it (e.g. for brake pad work). I would only not use a stand if I was just swapping a wheel or something quick like that. I don't think there is a real safety issue with this approach, whether the jack slowly 'sags' or not to be honest.

Not that I've ever use a jack without an axle stand in place if I was going to lay under the car... :) Yes, exactly. I only ever use a jack to lift a car and never go under unless axle stands are there. I also usually leave the jack in position so that if a stand collapsed then somebody (my dad is usually with me when working on cars) can quickly raise the car again. When I replaced all my brake pipes I think I had 4 axle stands and two jacks under the car, including the scissor jack that comes with it. I've also used a bottle jack to provide localised pressure, e.g. gently raising the engine at one side for engine mount replacement. I've never really used the 'wheel under' trick as I think it's overkill when you have multiple axle stands and jacks, but the wheel trick did save my grandfather's life when he was a young man and a bus jack/stand collapsed while he was under it. He got crush injuries but wasn't killed. Much better to use proper stands though rather than wheels, but I guess health and safety attitudes were a lot different back then.