tony_ack

Alternator is sorted now. I still had the engine jacked up when I started it - this turned out to be a Really Bad Idea. I'm not too sure yet why it caused the rattling - I'd guess something was pushing the aux pulleys out of the alignment and putting pressure on the alternator shaft, causing the rotor to catch on the stator. As soon as I lowered the jack, everything was fine. I'm keeping an ear out for any further damage - luckily I only ran the car for a couple of seconds, so fingers crossed it hasn't buggered the bearings on the alternator, water pump, steering pump and engine itself. The next challenge the car has given me is the clutch. I notcied that it wasn't returning to the top each time - it would return 2/3 of the way back then get stuck -sometimes it would 'pop' back up on its own, sometimes it would stay there. I thought it was catching on the floormat/dash trim at first, but then I noticed that sometimes there wasn't really much pressure on the first 1/3 of travel (but sometimes there was). This sometimes gets worse - occasionally I end up with pressure only on the last 1/4 of travel, sometimes it is slightly better than that. Sometimes it improves when driving. I started by bleeding the clutch - for some reason eezibleed didn't work at all - nothing came out of the slave cylinder bleed nipple. I tried pumping the pedal and the fluid shot out, but when I retightened the nipple, the clutch just fell to the floor. What worked in the end was a gravity bleed - left for about 15-20 minutes with the nipple open and the resevoir cap loose, fluid dripped through slowly, and when I retightened, I had pressure again. The first time I drove it, the clutch felt like normal, but it's steadily got worse again to where it was before I bled it. I've only got a bit of actual clutch travel again now, and the gearchange is getting slightly less smooth. So, new slave cylinder is on order, due after Christmas - we'll see how that goes.

Right! Starting to get really fed up with the alternator issue. I ordered a recon Bosch alternator off eBay - I went for a 90amp one with a 7 groove pulley as the car had heated seats put in at some point. So they sent me one that shared the same part number as the 70 amp model, and one with another 6 groove pulley. I called them, and they said it was fine, it really was a 90Amp alternator really, andd just swap the pulley and it'll be fine. I said I'd try it, and get onto them if any issues manifested themselves. So I got the old one out, swapped the pulleys over and installed the new one. Straight away, the car seemed to be getting enough power at idle, the lights and heated screen didn't seem to stress it at all (though the heated seats as well made the dash lights dim slightly). The idle was also a lot smoother, no increase in revs as I increased the electrical load. Problem solved! Or so I thought. A week later, driving home in the dark, the battery light suddenly came on and the lights dimmed. Great. I tested the car once I was home, and sure enough, the car was running off the battery. The voltage increased slightly (about 0.5v) when I revved it. So I assumed it had failed. Whilst in dispute with the ebay seller, I found a second hand 90a alternator - it was from an Audi A3, but matched the Corrado VR6 90A part number. It needed a pulley swap when it arrived, but it was a clean VW exchange unit. I swapped the pulley, installed it, connected it, then started the car.. The battery light went out but the alternator made a loud rattling noise and then, woosh, a flash of light as the insides of it lit up. I turned the car off straight away. I loosened the belt, checked the shaft and it seemed to be rotating okay, so I've no idea what caused it. I thought it may be spinning the wrong way, but the arrow is pointing in the right direction So now I have 4 bust alternators...

Don't f'ing believe it - I bought a set of these way back when from Alex and now I need them, I've lost them. So... could I have a set of 4? Cheers!

I knew I was basing the price on something I'd seen before! As Kieren says above, £300 is steep, but I would go for it at half that.

Thanks Dox, that's what it is with the alterator. I checked today and remembered I had to swap the pulleys when I replaced the alternator a couple of years back as the new one had the wrong number of grooves. The original is on the car now - I compared the sizes of the pulleys and even with it on the car there's visibly a few mm difference - the one on the car is larger than the one supplied with the new alternator. I'm guessing I'd need to repace the whole unit for one with the correct size pulley?

Biggest issue is the flare where it joins the rear wheel arch when getting aftermarket sills to fit.

I've managed to have a fairly productive couple of weeks. First, the cooling issue - The fan after-run issue seems to have fixed itself now and only comes on when needed, not every time I switch the ignition off. Fuse 6 is the fan controller live signal feed on late VRs - it doesn't show in most fuse guides, but it is in the Bentley wiring diagrams if you look carefully. The feed to the fresh air blower splits just after it leaves the fusebox, with the main feed heading into the dash, and a smaller wire heading into the engine bay. With this in mind, and having replaced the fan controller, the issue has to be in the sensor inputs. The yellow and rad sender didn't make a difference, but the issue stops when the black sender is unplugged, so it must have been stage 3 coming on. I'll probably fit the new brown sender I have in my parts stock as I want to run aircon at some point (I have the 4 pin plug for it too). I just need some time to do a coolant drain and flush. I also want to change the blue temp sender, and the yellow one. The dash gauge reads way out - it doesn't even get to 70 before the fans come on. The oil temp has started working now too - the engine is getting up to temp fine, and the fans seem to be working at the right time (with the exception of stage 3 which is just unplugged for now). The idle is a bit erratic sometimes - it will be fine, then go up to about 800rpm for a bit, so I wonder if the blue sender is worse for wear too. So, on top of that I've: -Replaced the wiper motor -Fixed the OSF foglight - the issue was in the connector -Refitted the battery jacket which seems to have fixed the clunk at the NSF -put some cable ties around the exhaust rear heatshield and rear exhaust mounts, which seems to have fixed the rattles and clunks at the back -Traced an oil leak to the low oil presure sender, and replaced that (brown for blue) Next to tackle are: -an ominous issue with the starter, where it won't engage and spin freely sometimes -an issue with the alternator - it was a cheap replacement, and the lights will dim when the car goes back to idle - sometimes the battery light will flicker too as the revs come down and the electrics have got a fair bit of load (lights, rear window demister, etc.) I tried to upload a pic of the car, but it said the file wasn't valid for some reason.

I remember a group buy for these aftermarket switches a while back... My headlight switch is getting weak so I want to replace it before it's too late with one that won't suffer the same fate... Anyone got one? ----------- Now found.

It's half fixed - the run on issue sorted itself out which just left the fans coming on with the ignition. Pulling fuse 6 stopped it happening - I thought there was a crossed circuit somewhere as most fusebox guides say that fuse is just for the fresh air blower, but nope, buried in the late vr wiring diagrams, the circuit splits to send an ignition live signal to the fan controller. I found the connector behind the fusebox, disconnected the fan controller feed and the fans went off... I'd already changed the fan controller, so now the issue had to be in the signal circuits for the temp senders. So I went back to disconnecting the senders, yellow and rad sender no difference, but the issue stopped when I disconnected the black sender - it must have been stage 3 that was coming on, not stage 2. That's as far as I've got, I'm running without the black sender plugged in at the moment, next step is to order a new sender, plug it into the connector and see what happens. Or I have a brown sender in the garage (and new 4 pin connector) as I was planning to run aircon at some point. Other electrical gremlins are okay for now - rear light turned out to be that I'd dropped a small nut into the rear light bulb holder when reassembling the car after welding and painting - that was shorting the circuit and blowing the fuse. Horn is working for now, not sure what was wrong here, though the temp sender wiring and horn follow a similar route down the chassis leg. Sorry for all the detail, hope it helps though if someone is trying to diagnose a similar problem.

The late vr fan controller has two blade fuses on top. It's also powered by fuse 6 I found out...! Not sure about the early ones

If the rest of the wing isn't too bad welding might be your best bet. All second hand wings I've seen have some rust either at the bottom or on the arch. There are some new ones on ebay occasionally, at around the £530 mark. Getting them off isn't fun either - remove the arch liner and then quite a few bolts along the top, one underneath and a couple behind the bumper (yep, it has to come off). The whole edge of the inside of the wing that meets the a pillar is caked in underseal, and there's a bolt hidden under the sealant too. Getting it off is hard work, with generally poor accees

So, not had much time to fix the car up due to the young family, but I've got a couple of things done. I've STILL not had chance to wash it yet though! The biggest issue is still the radiator fans - this still rumbles on. I've disconnected the fan controller which stops the fans coming on - I'm only doing short journies at the moment, and the gauge hasn't even hit 70, even without the fans (another issue in itself...!). The fans also don't come on if I leave the fan controller plugged in, and disconnect the output to the rad fans, so the fault is definitely before the fan controller. The fan run on has stopped now, so obviously something has changed. The o/s rear light fuse had blown - I changed it but then it blew again. It seems okay now that I've disconnected the fan controller though. I've tried a new yellow sensor in the harness, and no difference I've tried a different fan controller (thanks Keyo), but still the same I've pulled the related fuses (19, and 13 just in case) but the fans still run, despite the fact they should have no power. So next I started just pulling fuses out one at a time to see if it was being powered by another circuit. It turns out it is being fed off Fuse 6 (Fresh air fan/AC) The fresh air blower circuit looks pretty uncomplicated - comes out of a blue 6-pin plug at the back of the fusebox (connector Q). It's more complex for cars with A/C, but mine has neither the A/C relay or the additional A/C fusebox connector (N) for this. So that's where I'm up to. I have a Climatronic installed and looking back at my build thread (8 years ago!!). I think I powered it off Fuse 6 - at the very least the blower power would have been routed through the climatronic unit. I've taken out the lower dash now, and unplugged both the 17 pin and 12 pin plugs from the climatronic, and the rad fans still come on. That's as far as I've got - next is to unplug the connector out of the fusebox to see whether it stops, and if so, see whether there is a short in the wiring. between the fusebox and climatronic loom. One success this week is I've managed to get the car onto the recently refurbed Speedlines with nearly new tyres - they look pretty incredible and I'll post some pics soon.

would be interested if price is in the £50 each ballpark

A couple of weekends ago now, but I spotted a Nugget Corrado on the A65 near Horsforth - it gave me the inspiration for the final push to get mine on the road again!

Wow that is cheap... I've gone with a bit of vaseline for now, as the blades aren't actually split or particularly worn, just the rubber was really hard, and a new wiper motor is waiting to be fitted, we'll see how that works.

I used to use my Corrado as a daily, and last week got it on the road again. We have a 16 plate Touraeg as our main car which my wife uses. If you want a picture of a Corrado as a daily (this is probably worse than normal due to the ususal 'coming out of hibernation' niggles, but to be honest, you need to expect anything)... Last Sunday my wife was out, and I had the kids. I wanted to take them to soft play, but had to head to Halfords (yes, it was an emergency) as the front number plate had fallen off, and I needed a new one. I finally got the three kids, including the screaming baby, into the car, sat down, went to start it. Enging turned over, but would not start. No smell of fuel. I'd had the fusebox out to try and diagnose a fan problem - maybe I'd disturbed the after-market immobiliser fuel cut-off? I fiddled behind the fusebox, made sure the relays were home, basically just tried to shake the wires, praying I'd push a losse connection back into place. Nothing. Battery was weakening due to it not being used much, and the fan running on for the full 10 minutes every time I turned the engine off. I had no other car to jump it off. The kids were getting fed up. The baby started screaming louder... I had a quick look on Google to see what else it could be. Aha!! the crank sensor! I'd disturbed the wiring when trying to work out the fan issue, and it had a loose connection before I took it off the road. Up went the bonnet. I gave the wire and connection a wiggle. Went to start it... hurrah! It came to life. I had to stop off at the petrol station - two of the tyres were low due to corrosion on the alloys. Pumped them up, visited the drive thru with the kids. The radiator fan is stuck on stage 2 with the ignition on, so I queued in the traffic with the fan whirring away for everyone to hear. They told me to pull up to wait for the food and turn the engine off... I sat there with the fan running on, draining what little power was left in the battery. Would it start again? Luckily it did. Baby was asleep now, and we headed to Halfords. The car park was full, and the spaces were tiny. The Corrado is quite a small car, but it does have big doors which can be problematic when trying to get big things (say... kids) out of the back seats. We managed to get a decent space with just enough room to get the baby seat out of the back. We went into the store, got the number plates, fixing tape and panel wipes, and we all headed back to the car. I got back, and someone had parked a Range Rover quite close to me on the driver's side - not horrendously close, but close enough so I couldn't get the baby seat in. So I had to get the other kids out of the car again, and put the baby seat in through the passenger side, with my legs dangling out of the door. I then went to put the number plate on - the rain was starting and I had just managed to stick it on when the heavens opened. Luckily the adhesive held. We drove off to soft play. I stuck the wipers on and they moved really slowly across the window (it has TT wipers and blades). I put them on the highest speed and they were still slower than the normal standard speed and just about cleared the rain. And then the car steamed up with us all inside. I put the fan on the highest setting, which just about cleared a space in the windscreen for me to see through. We arrived at soft play an hour late. Kids had a great time. The baby slept. I spent all my time on Amazon/eBay/the Corrado forum excitedly ordering the spare parts I'd need to fix all the problems...

Happy day last Friday, 8 months after I first got a quote for the welding, the car passed its MOT! I've done the painting myself - it's not the best job but conditions weren't the best over the last two weeks. Should be fine until the Spring. The original exhaust was ready for replacement too, so it's got a stainless Jetex on there now. I got the car back that night, and straight away started making a list of the things that need fixing... Biggest issue is the rad fan coming on stage 2 instantly with the ignition, and then running on for 10 minutes after its switched off. The car's not got off the cold map since I got it back, so getting through a lot of fuel... The horn has stopped working as well, interestingly both the fan run on and the horn are on the same plug at the back of the fusebox, with the fusebox having been half-out until last week, I think the probelm might be there. The deluge of rain yesterday also showed how inadequate the wipers are... it already has TT arms and blades, but the blades need freshening up and the motor is past it. Lots of steaming up inside yesterday too, I'd love to finish the climatronic install (8 years later) and install aircon, but it's pretty far down the list at the moment. She's also got a 'back on the road' present - a set of recently refurbed Speedlines and nearly new tyres when I get the chance to fit them. Like every time I've got it back on the road, it needs a few weeks to loosen up and get the niggles fixed, but I'm looking forward to getting it all working again!

Hi Jon, Interested in the parcel shelf strap, and also a set of tank straps if you still have them! Many thanks Ant

Thanks, I've got a yellow sender on order now, so will give it a try. Kieren - I'd be interested in the fan controller, there may be a couple more things I need, so I'll let you know. Not sure if it is just a coincidence, but the horn and o/'s rear tail light stopped working at the same time the fans started playing up. I've not looked at the horn yet, but the tail light issue is definitely not the bulb or the fuse..

Stage 2 is coming on as soon as I switch on the ignition, and staying on constantly. When I switch off the ignition, the fans run on for 10 minutes. It's been off the road for 2 years, fans were working okay when I ran it on the drive and the problem has started now I'm driving it. So far I've: Checked the fuses on the fan controller Unplugged the temp senders on both the rad and the crack pipe. If I unplug just the rad sender, the fans still come on with the ignition, and run on with the ignition off If I unplug just the yellow sender, the fans still come on with the ignition, but switch off when the ignition is off If I unplug both the rad sender and yellow sender, they don't come on with the ignition. So, it seems it's not caused by the senders themselves. Any ideas? It's a late VR with late fan controller

I know the part you mean, they're super-delicate. I think you can get these from a MK3 Golf sunroof.

Hi there, Anyone got an intact and non-soaked piece from the n/s/r? Most of mine is in good condition, but I think I've lost this one. Thanks UPDATE: I found it, no longer need this

Thanks for the advice, I've learned over the years that it's all about the prep, environment and patience. I guess dust masks aren't going to cut it with 2k paint...!

I need to paint over some repairs to the lower side of the car - I'm not looking for a factory finish, but something passable. I've had some decent success in the past with aerosols from Paints4U over smaller areas, but I've found they can be a bit hit and miss and prone to splatter and uneven flow. I've got a compressor and am planning to get a paint gun, probably a more traditional one as it won't handle HVLP (8.7cfm) I had a look at this thread (http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?96600-Home-respray-advice), and over the internet but I've still got a few questions It recommends this water-based paint (http://www.paints4u.com/ProductDetai...productID=6056), looking at the spec sheet it looks like it is suitable for air-drying and needs approx 200ml thinners for 1000ml of paint. What is recommended for the clear coat? A few times the thread states to avoid 2k (why is this - is it due to drying times/less than optimal spraying conditions?), but they seem to be the most popular options for clear coats? Also, what sort of volume of paint will I need? I need to paint the sills, bottom rear-quarter and rear panel? Thanks!

Regardless, it's going nowhere either way!