tony_ack

Yep, you don't even need ramps, you can access the rear bleed nipples with the wheels on and the car on the ground.

Yep - see my reply to your earlier post in the drivetrain section!

It needs to be pretty tight. Clean up the caliper surface where it contacts with the washer if you're having issues. If everything is clean and you have the correct new washers, and it is still leaking a little, then tighten it a little! You're using an 11mm spanner so it'll take a fair amount of heaving with that to snap the bolt. For the bleeding, you should really bleed the entire system as the fronts and rears share a common (cross) circuit. Follow the bleeding guides on here - left rear, right rear, left front, right front, ABS pump, master cylinder. Make sure you either force open the bias valve when doing the rears, or bleed the rears with the car on the ground (fairly easy access to the rear bleed nipples from behind the car). I found mine pretty spongey after I did them, though not as bad as yours. I also did the rear caliper seals, so had to bleed the whole system. I then drove around for a week, and the brakes slowly improved. I bled the rears again this weekend, and they're much better now. I don't remember the exact figures for bleeding, but I think there should be about 200ml out of the rears, and about half that for the fronts. There shouldn't be much fluid between the master cylinder and ABS pump.

A couple of more mundane tasks this weekend. I did an oil/filter change. It went okay - I got the wrong size socket for the filter housing (managed to get it off by being uber-careful with a set of grips), and also the filter drain plug had been previously rounded, so I couldn't drain the filter first. Other than that it went okay. I used the Titan Race Pro S 10w50 oil as I've heard the VR6 likes it, and it has quietened the engine down even more. I also bled the rear brakes again - I didn't have enough fluid left to do the full lot, but it has improved the pedal a lot to the point where it is no worse than it was before I fitted the 288s and refurbed the rear calipers. I am about to lose my lockup where I do the work, so aircon is definitely on hold for the moment!

https://www.paisleyfreight.com/

As above, try the wiring and senders first - they do give off false readings when they get 20+ years old, and hopefully this is the problem. The bit that caught my attention was the buzzer going off around corners which as you know is a sign of oil starvation. I never had the buzzer go off at halfway on the dipstick, though the buzzer is known to go off if you are *really* thrashing it and going around a corner on the edge of grip. The worrying thing for me is that you weren't ragging it. If you're a belt and braces kind of guy, it wouldn't hurt to check the pump and pickup pipe (well, it won't hurt but it may be messy..). Dropping the oil will also give you a chance to check for signs of imminent death. Although I'm sure it won't come to it... a Corrado/MK3 Golf 8v bottom end and the PB head is the way to go if you want to keep it to 8 valves.

Very true, that's the lesson here. Several factors are against me 1. The biggest is that the car is not over 20 years old AND I do more than 3000 miles a year. This excludes me from pretty much all classic car policies. If either of those statements wasn't true, I'd be okay. 2. My postcode is high risk and rules me out for a couple of underwriters 3. The mods mean I can't go through a mainstream company (except Admiral) and comparison sites will always come back blank 4. My age and no claims are fine, but the non-fault accident will increase the premium for those that will cover me The Brentacre quote I got is underwritten by Highway, who initially came back with a price of £3600 until the agent spoke to them. ---------- Post added at 05:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:53 PM ---------- It doesn't help that they live 50 miles away!

I've added my partner as a named driver as I'd want her fully comp on the Corrado anyway (I'm also on her Golf and probably increase the price...). She has three points on her licence. I played around with the Admiral quote and if I removed her the price went from £980 to £1290. I could add my sister, but she has 9 points, is 24, and to be honest, I wouldn't want to insure her!

Apologies to Chris Knott - the 30 year old limit on big engines was a condition on the initial offer on the GolfGti forum a couple of years ago - I think it's been updated since then. Brentacre next... ---------- Post added at 04:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:43 PM ---------- Well, a shift in the right direction... Brentacre quoted £880.99, all mods declared, and with any further modifications up to 210 bhp (which is what the car is putting out now) The guy on the phone didn't think the alarm would make any difference, so it wasn't worth getting a replacement installation certificate. I'm really glad I started looking a month before my insurance expires as it gives me time to prepare myself for the shafting.

£1734, and that doesn't even include the engine or suspension changes.

Footman James - won't insure me under a classic policy due to age mileage, and they won't cover me on a modern policy Greenlight - don't cover my postcode Peter James - won't cover me due to mileage/age of car (max 3000 per year on 16 year old car) Adrian Flux - quoted £1300 but via online quote so far. Admiral - not got the renewal through yet, but got a new business quote of £980. Made no difference when I specified a Cat 1 alarm. Performance Direct - £1300 through online quote, but will ring to see if I can get better. Not tried Chris Knott, Brentcare or HIC yet. For Chris Knott, I have read they won't insure me on a VR6 until I'm 30, and my 30th birthday isn't until 3 weeks after I need the insurance to start. Running out of places to go and out of ideas.

Time to get a new certificate then! The irony is that the factory immobiliser is far more effective than a cat 1!

Right, I think I may have found one reason for the high quote - I listed my car as having the factory fitted immobiliser, but I did not list the car as having a Thatcham approved alarm as I didn't have the installation certificate (it's got a Cat 1 alarm installed). Is this likely to make a significant difference?

What's it worth questions are decidedly tricky... I paid about the same for my VR6 12 months ago with beige leather, and similar cosmetic issues, and that has a working engine..

Okay I'll need to give them both a call - can't use the Peter James online form due to the modifications. I've checked my postcode and it's in a high-ish risk area, so that may be another factor (still doesn't explain the increase...)

The car isn't garaged, so they won't cover me on a classic policy

Really struggling to get a renewal on the VR6 this year. I'm 29, approaching 30, I have 5 years no claims, no points and will do 8000 miles a year. I have had one non-fault accident a year and a half ago, the third party accepted full liability and I did not lose my no claims. The car has BBS RC alloys, a Schrick manifold and lowered on Konis My renewal is over £1000, up from £600 for this year My renewal is so far my cheapest quote. Comparison sites won't give an quotes. Performance Direct wanted £1300 I tried Greenlight online, and they quoted £3200, and declined to insure me. What the hell have I done wrong?!?

Cupholder was off eBay - it's out of a Passat (can't remember if it is B3 or B4). Cost about £30 though so not cheap, and it was new old stock. I find it isn't a completely perfect fit, but you can only see that when you're installing it, and it looks the part as you say. I want to paint it beige ideally but I need to find paint that won't peel off and is scuff resistant.

I always assumed that if you put a Golf OBD I 2.8 engine in a Corrado, you kept the Corrado intake system and ECU, as this is what gives the greater power? Obviosuly with OBD II you swap the lot. I also thought that VW engines were generally quite good at keeping their ponies in check? I'm on over 200000 miles with a Schrick and map, and it's putting out 211bhp - probably only about 5-10 bhp down on where it should be. Rob - I completely sympathise - I would be in the same situation as you if I needed a new engine. All I can suggest is seeing if you have a good samaritan local to you who's into VWs and has a bit of garage space. With a bit of luck you may get someone not only to give you space for a couple of weeks, but also to help you out when doing the swap. If you still want a Corrado, another option may be to buy another if you can afford it, swap other all the 'good' stuff (interior, plate, etc.) and then sell the old one on to someone who wants to fix it. The sad fact is that you'll struggle to make back the value of the interior and plate if you sell it whole, and you don't have room to break it.

You shouldn't really have rubbing on 14s! Have you got aftermarket wheels fitted, and has it been lowered? For tyres, just shop around and see what you can come up with. The Golf had 2 new Proxes on a couple of months ago for £105 fitted. Other than that, good tyres are your usual suspects: Eagles, Contisports (though this is really a summer tyre), Rainsport 2s, etc.

26.4 currently, the commute is not kind to the old girl.

I think I know what you're saying about the clutch, though if it's working and seemingly healthy now, what's the problem? Whether it wore quicker because of the cable or not, since you were expecting to replace the clutch anyway, any improvement is a bonus?? The missus runs toyo proxes on the golf though that has 15" bbs ras on it. I personally find them average on the golf - a good solid tyre but no world beaters. I did run them through the winter on my old 8v golf with no dramas.

Cheers Hasan - I saw your update in the 288mm thread on this after I'd done it! The 2nd hand setup I got came with chopped flexis, so I still had the bolt and washers on that. The bottom washer unfortunately didn't come off the bolt without a bit of brute force, so I bent the washer... I just hammered it back into shape and hoped for the best as I needed the car back on the road - luckily it's not leaking! Other than that, the 288mm swap was pretty straight forward. Before I started properly, I cracked open the bleed nipples on the rear calipers to make sure they were okay, and I also loosened the brake line > flexi unions on both front brakes. These were the two areas where I knew something could have gone wrong, so I wanted to make sure I wouldn't get stuck. Stripping down the old brakes was straight forward, my big breaker bar made short work of the carrier bolts and the discs were off within 30 minutes or so (would probably have been quicker if it wasn't for lack of space in the lockup!). I had foolishly split the dust seal on one of the 288mm calipers, so I reused one of the ones off the old calipers. Ideally I would have got new seals, but couldn't afford them, and the old seals were intact and healthy any way. I swapped over the calipers and flexis quickly to minimise fluid loss, then built up the rest of the brakes. Next I moved onto the rears. One of the rear calipers was sticking slightly, so I had some new seals. You get seals for both sides in the kit, so I did both sides - no dramas again! I reassembled the rears, checked for leaks all round, and got ready for bleeding. I messed up the bleeding, as I forgot to open the bias valve (though the car was supported on axle stands under the rear axle). I also wasn't helped by the fact the old brake fluid was the same colour as the new fluid, so I had to 'guess' when each side was done. I did all four corners, then bled the master cylinder and ABS pump. I found the Easibleed very useful! Brakes are now a bit spongey (or rather spongier). They seem to behave okay under light braking, but under heavy braking they don't seem to bite too well even when I put the pedal right down, and then the ABS kicks in (probably activated by the pedal position sensor). I guess this may also be down to the fact the discs were a little rusty (but are almost new - they've just been lying around for a few months). I'm hoping the braking performance improves this week as rust wears off the discs and the brakes self-bleed, and if not I'll have another go at bleeding next week, with a different colour of fluid! Here's a comparison, side by side of the 280s and the 288s.... it's pretty obvious why the 288s should be a lot better.

Hmmm... you seem to know what times I'm going to be browsing the forum... are you stalking me?! Cable clutch pedals get high over time for the same reason that your handbrake does - the cable stretches. You should try adjusting your cable first - iirc the clutch release arm should be horizontal at rest when correctly adjusted. If there's no more adjustment in your cable, get yourself a new one - to be honest if it has got significanlty worse over a short period of time, it's usually a sign that the cable has stretched almost to failure point. I've heard bad things about the auto-adjusting cables but to be honest I've never had any issues with them. Clutches on MK2s can last anything between 70k and 150k depending on how the car has been treated (so probably similar reliability rate to the gearbox!) As for your clutch, it may or may not be on the way out, though you'd usually feel it slipping if it was.

Wasn't the Golf also originally part of the wind theme family, and the 'Storm' models an extension of it? I vote for a sports coupe by the way - I pictured the Corrado as being designed for weatlhy couples to go on holiday to the Black Forest, the South of France or the Scottish Highlands, with a couple of cases in the back, arriving in comfort with a smile on their faces. It is designed for driver fun and comfort for 2 front plus an 'occasional' 2 rear passengers. I don't think the Corrado was ever designed for the track or for motor sport