fendervg

Yep. I use a miniature ratchet with a Philips hex bit on it to get at those screws - gives that right angle that's needed.

Just take your time, take plenty of pictures and make sure you label everything. Be very careful with any plastic held on with metal screws, as it might break, check that the three stud nuts in the engine bay (bulkhead side) come off before you do anything else - these and the glove box were my biggest problems as one of the studs had seized. You can do it without removing the whole dash, but it's nearly the same amount of labour and clearances are very tight. As said above, replace the seals and felt, reline the flaps in the heater control box, look at the bowden heater control cables and replace if needed, check the heater controls for wear, tidy up and wrap any loose cabling, replace any blow bulbs in the dash, put a fuse on your headlight switch earth, replace the matrix feed and return hoses etc. There's loads of really good guides on the heater matrix replacement procedure - do a search on here or your search engine of choice and you'll find plenty of info. Oh, and don't put a cheap matrix in as replacement - get a good quality Hella or Valeo item or go to the dealer - you won't want to be doing this again in a hurry.

Is this the spring loaded item with a rubber sleeve that slows the throttle return? Long NLA everywhere it seems, and even hard to find second-hand (which will have done the same amount of work as the one you're replacing). I've been looking for a new one for a while, but no look so far.

No, but that's one way of doing it [emoji39] When you get it out (eventually) you'll see some plastic ridges underneath that will have been causing all the trouble - feel free to take a hacksaw or a Dremel to them.

Amen to that.

VAG optional VDO volt and oil pressure auxilliary gauges - should have been fitted at the factory. Oh, and a VW Motorsport VSR (not that I have one, only wishful thinking!)

Is this really worth it unless you have a track car and are burning through discs, or fancy the cosmetics of bigger and vented rears? Having the bearing integral to the disc is admittedly an outdated and awkward way of doing it,but how often do you need to change them? If you fit good discs and pads you'll get plenty of miles out of them, the discs will last for a few pad changes, and the VAG OE bearing lasts for a very long time once properly adjusted. If there is play in them they cam be tightened within tolerances. Besides, the rear brakes do very little unless the car is loaded up, or as above you are on a track.

I don't know about the "tool tray" part - anything you leave on it just slides off and falls into the engine compartment. Did you check Classic Parts and Heritage? I have a vague recollection of seeing these available new somewhere recently...

Are the coilovers the same as stock struts, where you hold the strut in place with a hex key, and then use a hollow or open socket to tighten the nut?

There are two types, a rubber one which tends to last well, and a later plastic part which can crack very easily. I think both are no longer available new, but there should be plenty second hand. I looked into the 42Draft part for my own car, but they couldn't guarantee it would fit a 2.9 UK spec Corrado without modifications as it was made to fit the 2.8 VR from the Golf. Some sites that sell it state that it definitely won't fit, others that it will - on the end I decided not to take a chance due to the cost and import duty. I guess your mileage might vary, or there might be others on here that have it fitted who could help. I think the problem is the location of the strut tower relative to the intake angle, and the custom part metal, so not flexible.

The dealer will have them. The N part code is used for all sorts of fittings that are common across the range. TBH a decent stainless hose clip will work fine there, that hose is for inlet manifold vacuum to the brake booster, not fuel or coolant.

It's supposed to do that I think. Should come on and then go off when ignition is switched on, and will do it again when starting. Is it just on during cranking?

The panel itself is only held on by four screws, two each side. It's unlikely the mechanism broke by removing it as you would simply put the roof into tilt position and undo. It might just have been about to go anyway. Be very careful with the replacement - I've seen them go straight away, so it's best to make sure everything works before going to all the trouble of the labour required to fit it. Often the second hand ones have been left sitting around for so long that the first time you try to retract them the left hand slider/cable stop snaps - which is most likely what has happened to yours, as well as the little wheel breaking. I'd recommend putting it on a bench, removing the panel and then giving everything a really good clean and lube, and then wind the motor manually with an allen key to ensure everything works as it should. If you feel the slightest bit of resistance when retracting the panel, stop immediately and check everything again.

Check for any vacuum leaks on the inlet elbow and manifold, and the PCV tubing.

I think the consensus is that "performance" panel and cone filters do absolutely nothing except give more noise, if that is your thing. For me the jury is still out on the BMC CDA, some claim a proven increase in power and response, some not. I don't think the kind of gains they might give are reliably measurable, unless under extremely controlled conditions. The BMC is not cheap either. OEM airbox and paper filter elements are a good compromise unless running forced induction etc, and even then if you look at fancy factory FI setups, they still mostly use bog standard airboxes and filters.

Hopefully they should be ok - I have 288s under the standard Speedlines and they fit fine without a problem - and these wheels are of a Mk3 VR6, and they came with the 288s, but I'll do a trial run before I go any further.

Thanks for the reply Roger - I will give this a try - I suspect I might not be getting full servo assist, or possibly have a weeping seal in the master cylinder, so this will help with my investigations.

Best of luck - it's a tricky job but can be done. Just be aware that the B3\B$ and A3 roofs use exactly the same mechanism that breaks exactly the same way - so it's not really a case that you are replacing the Corrado one with a "better" part - but it's possible to cobble together a working one from parts. Regular maintenance and lubrication is the key for long life sunroofs. VAG do't seem to yse Rockwell as a sunroof manufacturer any more - I wonder why...

Ah, no worries - didn't see them at the time. Would definitely have been interested in them had I seen them.

Now he tells us [emoji41]

Cheers - I managed to find a relatively decent set with the all important ever elusive centre caps included - they'll be going for a full refurb soonish, payday permitting! Will post photos once they're on, and then the Speedlines can go for a spot of well-deserved R&R for a while.

Great idea and a neat solution. Also look out for the rear slider bracket near the door lock end that is supposed to be glued to the glass, but is often not, and will just rattle around against the rail and the innards of the door.

Thanks easypops - the framses are all more or less the same between the Corrado, Mk3 Golf (A3) and Passat B3/B4, and the mounting ho;les will all line up. The Golf roof panel curves slightly too much, so doesn't fit or look right - some use some washers to space it, but it still looks off. The Passat moonroof panel sits perfectly. All made by Rockwell International - but now most VAG sunroofs are made by Webasto - go figure! I've had all 3 types apart at one time or another (all broken the same way, rear left cable guide failure) and I can't see any difference between the slider parts and mechanisms at all - the only things that appear different is that the solid roofs have a lifter on each side for the internal panel that moves up with the roof in tilt position, and the moonroof versions have some stop buffers on the slide rails for the internal slideing panel. The thing that kills them all is lack of lubrication and use - I'd say maybe only dealers ever followed the service check list and did it, if at all, and then any car that was serviced independently or left sitting for a while will have suffered. I've a working standard roof in my car at the moment, but would like to go the glass route for more light in the cabin and because I think it will look well with the grey paint.

Cheers Kev - all those mechs seem to be the same - complete POS. A3 and B3/B4 ones use exactly the same mechanism and cable guides. I have a few bits and pieces together and will see if I can make up a working hybrid unit from them.

Only option is to buy one or more second hand roof units in the hope they work or try making one working one from the parts.