tony_ack

We were all young once... Live and learn... live and learn :)

With the leak, it could be a small drip when cold and under normal atmospheric pressure and not moving, but once the engine is running, the water is pumping around the engine, and the pressure increases, it could gush out of any small leaks. Another possibility is that it could be leaking into the cylinders due to a faulty head gasket, but this isn't particularly common on the VR6 as far as I'm aware, and you'd have other symptoms too (steam from the exhaust when warm) With the water level, the light in the dash is from the level sensor - hence why it is still running at the correct temp even if the light is flashing. The light flashed to tell you the coolant was low (which turned out to be correct!). Also, the water rising up the expansion bottle when you remove the cap is completely normal behaviour - water (and the air in the expansion tank) expands when heated. Because the system is sealed (apart from your leak :-) ) the water cannot expand, and is pressurised. This is actually a good thing as it prevents the coolant from boiling at operating temperature. So, when you remove the 'expansion' cap (clue is in the name!) the pressurised air escapes, and the pressure on the water is released, allowing it to expand, and rise up the expansion tank. If the coolant is very hot when you remove the cap, then it will boil as it returns to normal atmospheric pressure and overflow, leading to burnt hands - I learnt this the hard way! From experience, when you fix a leak on an old car, it just moves elsewhere. I changed a leaky crack pipe and thermostat housing last month. I replaced that, but ended up having to also replace the radiator and water pump a week later. As the crack pipe leak had been fixed, the system operated at normal full pressure again (i.e. there was no pressure relief from the leak), which finished off the weak water pump and rad. ---------- Post added at 10:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 AM ---------- Actually - the reason it may be low in the morning is because you topped it up when it was hot? The coolant would contract as it cooled. You need to top it up when cold to get a true reading. The coolant leak could be minute as you say, and the level may have dropped slowly over time - you only noticed when the light came on. Then you opened the expansion tank when hot and it returned to normal, so you left it. The water contracted when cool, so you thought it had lost water again, etc., etc.

8v Digifant to 16v ABF is a common conversion in MK2 Golf circles, and as close to plug and play as you can get for a whole engine swap. You can keep the Digifant 3 from the ABF.

Speed awareness course was offered by S Yorks police to my sister when she was caught, and to one of my mates as well. It may not mean anything but my VR speedo was pretty much cock-on on standard wheels. The Golfs always over-read by about 7-10% but they were cable driven speedos.

Just get yourself a second hand stalk - they're not that expensive, and not being able to use the MFA will just bug you after a while... Dash blanks shouldn't be pricey either - anyone asking more than a couple of quid for one is having a laugh!

Went along for a couple of hours this morning. Parked in the general parking as I didn't know there was dub parking around the corner, but managed to park next to a nice Mystic Blue Storm, so all was good. Lots of nice Corrados and MK2 Golfs, so we were happy. Also called at the Autosmart van for some Biobrisk to replenish my stocks! It was a shame there wasn't a bigger auto jumble (I only say one stand outside?), and the music in the hall was a bit loud for me - I don't mind loud music but it was difficult to hear people speaking to you. I decided that Mystic Blue is a great colour (saw a couple of these), and I am also starting to like the painted grille look...

Ouch - looks like a bit of a bodge on the wiper stalk! Is it flat black, or metallic? The Le Castlett alloys and rainbow interior (yep it is to answer your question!) are the hallmarks of the 1 in 10 million campaign edition. But it does look like the flat black, so maybe not. It could be that someone retro-fitted the interior - only the campaigns and the very last runout 8v (92 model) came with the rainbow interior. It was standard on 90 spec 16v As you suspected, that tailgate has gone beyond saving already - they tend to rust from the number plate screw holes, and from the number plate lights/pinth (like a Corrado I guess..). Pretty easy to change with two people, and tailgates aren't too expensive.

You'r right to check the earth strap on the rocker cover - non-working rev counter is a common problem on the MK2 and it's usually a dodgy earth. Since it worked once for you at least you know the wire is connected! Is the hazard switch on the steering column (CE2) or dash (CE1)? Late 89/90 was the switchover to CE2. The later (post 90) clocks can be a little unreliable. Worst case scenario is you'll need a new set of clocks (you can swap your speedo to keep the mileage). There's a chance a new set of clocks will come with a new vac sensor too, so you can sort your MPG problem out too! 8v Clocks go for about £25 if you shop around. Here's a link to the Digifant tuning guide: http://www.clubgti.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-124949.html And here's a little info I put together a while ago: http://www.vwgolfmk2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3482 Tuning is pretty simple - get up to temp, disconnect blue temp sender, rev cleanly through 4000rpm three times (returning to idle each time), then set the timing to 6 deg BTDC at 2-2.5k rpm (it must be set at this, not at idle!!). Then set CO to 1.8 and idle to 850rpm 8v aren't the quickest car in the world, but they should pull well from 2000 revs up to about 5500 If you think you still have problems, replace the blue temp sender (you should probably do this anyway) and also replace the vac lines in the engine bay (there aren't too many luckily). A leaky PCV bung can also cause issues For rust, check the usual Corrado places, as MK2s tend to do the same (arches, sills, lower A-pillar, fuel filler). Any serious and visible rust on the fuel filler is going to be a cut out and weld in jobbie. ---------- Post added at 08:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:58 PM ---------- Oh, forgot to add, if you're removing the clocks, take out the driver's lower dash for better access to the speedo cable and wiring plug.

ATTEMPT 7 at sorting out the suspension! I bit the bullet today and got a new set of Koni TAs from Larkspeed in Leeds. Rang them this morning to confirm they had them in stock, and collected this afternoon (in the Golf - I wasn't driving the Corrado further than I had to!). They were the cheapest web price I could find too, so that was a nice bonus. I got round to fitting fronts before it went dark. Driving up to the lock up in the Corrado was a fight to keep the car out of the kerb. The tyres had worn quite a bit on the inside. The new struts were easy to work with, though I forgot to bring the new top mount bearings with me, so I had to fit the old broken ones. So they'll have to come off again soon. I guesstimated the camber somewhere in the middle, and the wheels look a lot better now. I think there's a slight toe-out, but nothing too bad. And it drives better too! It's like driving a normal car again! I've set the fronts at 1.5 turns from soft, and the rears were left at 0.5 turns, and the ride is actually pretty good. I still want to fit the new rears (though the current rears seem okay-ish), and I also need to replace the front top mount bearings. Then I can get the alignment done and finally I'll be able to draw a line under the whole suspension saga!

Cheers - I probably sound like a jessie worrying about such a small stretch compared to what some guys are running!

I have BBS RCs 16, 7.5j, ET35, 30mm drop. Current tyres are 195/45/16 but two are getting low so I want to replace all four. The stretch is a little much for my liking - I'd prefer to go to 205/45/16 or even 215/40/16. I am worried that the latter may give me too harsh a ride and be close to rubbing, but the former may still be too stretched. The car's a daily, so rubbing really isn't an option, and the ride needs to be as good as possible. Any thoughts on whether it will rub or not, and whether the ride will be nasty on the lower profile tyres? Any pics of 205/45 on 7.5j to give me an idea of how much they will stretch?

I drove it again home from work and it is really shocking to be honest! Every time the left-front (the leaky strut) hits a bit of bad road (and there are a lot of bad roads around here) I feel like I'm going to end up in the kerb. The right front isn't so bad, it doesn't move around quite so much if I hit a bump with that. I'm also getting a lot more wheel spin when moving off, and can hear the tyres screeching a little when in car parks (so doing about 5-10mph!) Settings are currently half a turn from the softest setting all round, except for the leaky damper which is turned up to the firmest (that corner still bounces a hell of a lot more than the others though). Since there is no real difference to the 'bounce' of that corner of the car if I turn that one up or down, I may adjust it to the same as the others, just in case that's causing my problems. All the signs suggest to me that the leaky damper is causing the problems, though running what looks like full negative camber isn't helping! The steering wheel isn't straight when driving straight either so I wouldn't be surprised if the toe is way out too. Shame about all the bank holidays now - looks like I'm not going to get my replacement until next week at the earliest.

Got some nuts yesterday! I also drilled out all the plates and washers. They were fitted in 15 minutes, and the car was road-worthy again. Well, kind of. The car is incredibly skittish over bumps to the point where I'm struggling to keep control over bumps even at low speeds. I lose all feel over the bumps, and bump steer is a lot worse. There are a couple of problems that may be causing this.. Firstly, I noticed that the box that was used to post the struts to me had a big oil stain in it. I checked all the struts, and sure enough one of the fronts is leaking from the top adjustor. I bounced all four corners of the car, and the leaky strut offers very little resistance compared to the other three (I've even firmed this strut up as far as it will go, but still no difference..) The guy I got them off is sending another one to me. Secondly, the alignment is probably miles out now. I can see the camber is way out, so that's probably not helping things. There's no point paying for wheel alignment yet though until I change the leaky strut. The back is a bit creaky in reverse, but I think I may have tightened the top mounts too much. It didn't help yesterday with the ABS kicking in every time I braked for the first 10 minutes - it was a relief when the ABS light finally came on (and stayed on), disabling the ABS. ABS is better today though

Another week, more problems. I guess it's becoming the norm now. The door handle repair kit got here on Tuesday, so I fixed the door handle on Wendnesday. It's a little fiddly to manouvere the spring out of the way, but I got there in the end. I did it all without taking the door card off as I didn't fancy wrestling with the weather seal. That said, the weather seal isn't great anyway and I need to do both sides at some point. The biggest danger with the job is damaging the central locking wiring when messing with the clip, but I took it easy and it was fine. The handle now moves nicely (after a good 'grease up') but I'm missing the white plastic clip that keeps the middle of the handle tight on the door. I looked at doing the passenger side, but didn't have the time or inclination to tackle another handle, especially since the mech was still intact, so I just sprayed loads of grease on it, and it now feels a lot better as well. The car has developed a new problem - it really struggles to start sometimes. I noticed it more this week, and then also noticed that I had been subconciously and habitually starting it with a bit of throttle to make sure it starts okay. It cranks and turns over fine, but struggles to start without a bit of throttle (even then it doesn't always start without a fight). I tried starting today with no throttle, and it just cranked and cranked. I could hear a relay clicking in the fusebox, and I heard some misfires from the exhaust while cranking too, accompanied by the smell of fuel. Occasionaly the relay would click, the starter would stop, and the dash display would go out, before coming back a second or so later. Looks like another one to investigate. The car runs fine once started (hot and cold). I really hope it's something simple like a relay as I don't fancy getting to the injectors under the schrick. Today was attempt 5 (FIVE!!) at getting the konis and H&Rs on. I tried cutting the top nut off the front suspension, but it was a job too far for my dremmel, and it kept overheating. I decided to try an impact driver (I had been trying to get a new battery for my impact gun for a while but they're impossible to find). A few hefty bangs (and a numb arm) later and the nut was finally loosened! The hub bolts didn't really give me too much trouble - not sure why VW used 18mm bolts here. I didn't have a 1/2" 18mm socket, so I had to resort to trying a 19mm with the big strong arm - luckily there was more than enough grip and the bolts loosened with zero rounding! Camber looks to be way out now - I thought about getting it booked in for some alignment, but then I saw a thread about making your own alignment tools, and was intrigued... Rears were pretty easy too once I'd worked out the best jacking/axle stand combo (support car on axle stands, use jack on axle to push new struts through the turrets). Bottom bolts came off nice as I did the bump stops a few months ago, and top mount came out nicely as well. I noticed that I had put one of the top mounts together wrong last time (whoops). Then disaster. The VW top mount plates and nuts don't fit the Konis, and as the Konis were second hand, the guy I bought them off hadn't sent the Koni plates/nuts. I called the missus to go to B&Q for some M12 nuts and a 12mm drill bit, but the only nuts they had were the wrong thread. And then to top it off, the drill batterty died on me halfway through drilling the first plate. It was already getting late so I had to call it a day. So the Corrado is off the road again for a week. I've ordered some nuts (M12 1.25 pitch, 19mm thin nut), and have brought the plates and drill home so I can work on them here. In another week, she may just be ready to go?

In the pic, are you on dipped beam or full beam? Right headlight looks like it's on full beam, left headlight on dipped beam (though it's hard to tell properly from the pic) If it's the full beam, then a cheeky trick may be to replace the fuse before the MOT, and then don't use the lights until the day. When checking the lights, the tester will only flash onto main beam for a couple of seconds, so the fuse may hold for that long!

I think most Corrado owners are experts!

Metal expands when hot - just a thought but maybe there's a leak at one of the joints or gaskets at ambient temperature, but the metal expands to plug the leak when hot? If the manifold gasket has just been changed, then that may be a suspect!

http://www.spturbo.com/onlinestore/index.php/vw/vw-engine/vr6/12-valve/cylinder-head-valvetrain-parts/12v-vr6-camshaft-set-263-street.html Yep from the US And yep, direct from the manufacturer

Definitely sounds like seals in the master cylinder

It is the internal hex nut - that's the best way of describing it I think! Dremel now on charge, time to get a new nut from VW :-) Had one day of trouble-free motoring today at least (well, except for having to reach through the passenger side to open the driver's door, and the intermittent ABS light that's been causing grief for a while)

If you mean the lower scraper then it's not water-tight anyway - the door membrane behind the door card does all the work!

Did you find one mate?

Get yourself a water pump too - may as well do it all in one go. From experience leaks tend to move to the next weakest spot once you have fixed them! Hope your matrix is strong.. Rads are about £250 retail inc VAT from a dealer, so not really *that* bad

The transponder is in the key itself (the black casing) - there is no seperate fob

New rims! Photos to follow... Otherwise it's been a bad week for the Corrado. The factory immobiliser started playing up on Wednesday and Thursday, but luckily it was at home so I wasn't left stranded. Finally got a chance to clean the contacts on Friday morning, and all is okay again for now. Yesterday evening, having now got a deep offest ring spanner for the front top mount nut, and a good hex bit/ratchett to hold the shock in place, I had yet another go (fourth attempt) at undoing the top mount nut. One came loose, but on the other one I ended up destroying the hex 'bolt' on top of the strut (not rounding it off - actually cracking the whole thing). I'm at a loss now as to how to get the damn thing off. I may have to cut off the nut/top of the old strut which isn't ideal. I can't believe how hard these have been tightened on. And then today the driver's door handle broke - usual problem. When does it end??