fendervg

Shiny! The non-return valve was a dealer recall item to stop people suing after the heater matrix dumped all its hot coolant on the passenger's legs. I think. Also often seen on MkII Golfs.

ABS is just a pita - mine has a temp related fault and a couple of errors on the pump valves. Could be the wiring, pump itself, or the PCB heating up due to a cracked case (that's my idea now after seeing the program), so will be on the look out for a pump that I can get reconditioned if anyone has one. I did like the vinyl stickers for refurbishing the front red VR6 badge - I wonder did they get them from Trimsport?

My controls - later type - have a tilt and a slide button. There's no real fix for these sunroofs - even if you rebuild them completely they will go again after a few years I'd say. And it's a full day's labour to take it out, repair and refit. If you can get a suitable moonroof that's probably the best option, but not original.

My wife works in TV as a director/producer - don't believe anything you see on screen - all needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. That was a lot of free labour that went into that car. No suspension work, clutch or chains done either - and no mention of the mileage, but by the condition of the gear knob and steering wheel it was pretty high. it may also have had some paint. Still great to see such positive coverage on a mainstream show, and a fair price at the end.

It's always the left-hand passenger side cable guide that snaps. Just seems to be the way. not sure who to thank for the attached, but it's a very good doc and is floating about on here. If someone wants to PM me I may have a "German" version as well.

The guide measurement is about the height of a credit card - 1-2 mm, below the hatch at the front, and above the hatch at the back. front --/--rear. apologies for crap ASCII art.

Do a search on here - it's been covered plenty of times. VW sell a special grease for sunroofs. I'd say any broken bit is going to cause problems. I had my whole mechanism rebuilt about a year ago.

I keep all receipts and car related paperwork. I used to stamp the VAG service book myself when I did an oil/filter/plug service about twice a year but that has run out now. I'm unlikely to be selling so not too bothered. It's mainly useful to have them if you are looking for an old part number.

Ha ha - "These are not the mirrors you are looking for..." ;)

Replaced my driver's side electric window regulator - now I don't have to get out of the car at a car parks and security gates anymore! (only been doing that for about a year) :)

Any decent 10w40 should do it.

Mine varies a lot - the scale on the gauge is not linear anyway. Coolant temp gauges on newer VAGs are calibrated to sit in the middle, bang on, unless warming up or cooling down, for peace of mind. I think people were getting worried when they were seeing the needle move as conditions varied. My VR6 will vary a lot, depending on fans running, moving on open road, or sitting in traffic. I'd only get worried if it shoots up or consistently reads high, and would not consider the older senders and gauges to be a particularly accurate combination - I'd consider them a guideline indication of coolant temperature only. You can always double-check by looking at the oil temperature on the MAF for re-assurance.

Does the hose from the thermostat to the radiator get warm straight away after starting the car?

There's always some condensation in an exhaust in the morning, so no need to worry about that. You probably just have a slight leak somewhere. Congrats on the MOT.

Blue is coolant temp for ECU. Yellow is coolant temp for gauge, fan and aux cooling. Radiator is the coolant fan control temp sender. Other sensor in the thermostat housing is for cars with A/C or secondary fans.

I'd say he got it on ebay or second hand or from the dealer - was available to order from VAG until recently.

Do you have access to VCDS or VAG.COM? Some of the readings would really help you out here as a starting point. Otherwise you'll just be wasting money replacing things that are not faulty - and the parts aren't cheap. Been there done that. Also, using 20+ year old second hand parts off ebay or a breakers may not help as there's no way of telling if they are also faulty or gone past their usable life without proper testing. Also, what's the deal with the emissions in the UK for the MOT? Over here, for the NCT an older car must only meet the standards that were in force when the car was originally made.

No need for the grille. That was for Canada and Scandinavia. There should never really be a problem with a VR getting up to temp as they run hot anyway. Diagnostics software will definitely help here.

ECU does not look at the oil temperature or pressure. It's just the coolant temp (blue temp sensor in thermostat housing on VR6) that dictates the switch from cold to hot engine map. There is also an air temp sensor in the inlet manifold and another one on the cat, but they are for a different purpose.

What car and engine? Where are you taking the coolant temp readings from - at the instrument panel coolant gauge, or with VCDS plugged into the ECU? Reason I ask is that they are two different senders. You can test all the senders by putting them in hot water, and the resistance across the sender will change based on temperature. Maybe your thermostat is stuck open? This would lead to it never heating up properly.

http://www.sealey.co.uk/PLPageBuilder.asp?id=20&method=mViewProduct&productid=9320 Works like a charm - just make sure you read the manual and keep the pressure at a reasonable level. All you have to do then is to make your way round every bleed point, starting at the off-side rear and working your way closer to the master cylinder. You can also release some air from the ABS pump by carefully loosening off the brake line fittings just enough so that you get some fluid seepage while the system is under pressure. Worth a try.

Got some from VW a while ago - weren't expensive.

Clever idea - need to sort out the battery life though for that or take a 5v feed off the battery for a charger and hide the wiring and the phone.

Best of luck with the test Jim - will be nice to have a reward and payback from all the hard work you've put in. Is there a low temp rad switch or thermostat fitted? Some people do that as a way of sorting out cooling issues on the VR, but a properly running car shouldn't need it.

Jim is probably correct here - the matrix is really only a radiator. But it will affect the temp of the water going in, and therefore the heating effectiveness.