tony_ack

Push start might be hiding a broken ignition switch

The Corrado is SORN'd but is getting closer to being ready for her MOT. As there's no tax or test on it at the moment, I could do with somewhere local to take it. Does anyone know a reliable tester in Leeds?

Did you get the abs problem sorted? I struggled to get the diagnostics connected too - if you're using a laptop and cable, try increasing the latency of the port you're using to connect

BBS RC 16" alloy wheels for sale. These are a really lightweight wheel and look great on the Corrado. Wheels are in a mixed condition... 2 wheels are very good with just a couple of minor marks and with Continental Premium Contact 2 205/45/16 tyres with 3-4mm tread. 1 wheel has kerbing around 1/3 of the rim and also has a conti premium with 3-4mm of tread. 1 wheel has kerbing all the way around the rim and needs some love. This was partly caused by a puncture which flattened and shredded the tyre. Luckily this was at a low speed while in traffic, and the car only travelled about 10m with the flat, but the tyre is scrap. However I have a spare Bridgestone tyre with about 6mm tread that I can include, which came off my Fabia when I changed all 4. The Bridgestone is also 205/45/16 so matches the other tyres. Centre caps are all present but they suffer from milking. I'd love to keep these but I have an urge to go back to Speedlines, and it's one set in, one set out at the moment. Sorry about the pics, they were taken in poor light, by a poor camera! I'm looking for £290 for these, or swaps/part ex for some straight Speedlines with decent tyres. Collection from Pudsey, Leeds, I can deliver locally for beer money, or possibly can discuss meeting halfway for swaps if it's within a reasonable distance.

Red Corrado in Sheffield near drakehouse, unfortunately on the side of the road with its bonnet up. Not sure what type, it was a late car on estorils I think

yep, got the old man tickets for his Christmas present, weather forecast isn't great!

I'm after a VR6 downpipe in good condition, preferably a genuine VW one. Would prefer to collect locally to Leeds if possible? Thanks for looking

It's much easier now we've (hopefully) seen the back of winter. The Corrado *can* make a good winter daily, but it's a bit of a slog when you're driving along with the windows steamed up, the brakes whining and the suspension creaking, and occasional misfires/cutting out to the sheer amount of water on the road getting into the engine bay. Then on a nice sunny day, the first day that you can drive on a dry road with the sunroof open, the car transforms and you realise why you fell in love with it in the first place.

I did the same (early plates, late mounts). The car was tugging to the left for over the year and it took me ages to realise that it was because the passenger side had a tendency to push the middle of the mount up through the body, while the driver side remained at the correct height. I also went through a lot of bearings, as the spring plate rests against the bearing, and takes the car's weight I used pattern and VW mounts, and same result unfortunately.

I've got the same kit on mine. The H&R springs I have needed the early spring plates/top mounts set up on the fronts, but not sure if you can get different types of springs?

I've just cleaned up the rear brakes and changed the pads from the VW ones (which have always whined, even when I replaced the bearings, pads discs and refurbed the callipers) to Pagid ones, and the whine has gone! It's nice to have brakes that are silent again!

Mine did this, and then last week it started making a horrible grinding noise - I stripped down the brakes and the inner pad on the nearside was down to the metal! Caused by a stuck guide pin. The brakes had been stripped down and cleaned 2 years ago, and discs/pads/bearings were replaced 6 months before that. Clean up and grease everything. File off and wire brush any rust. There's so much potential for seizing on the rear brakes - the piston, handbrake mech, pads on the carriers, slide pins... if any one of those isn't at its best, then the pad is going to wedge against the disc. Check the wheel bearings are tight too - it's not these making the noise, but play in the wheels may be causing some uneven pad wear. I didn't know that the brakes needed re-greasing every year, but it's something I'm definitely adding to my service schedule now.

Living in Leeds now, but I still work in Rotherham for the time being!

Just ticked over 239k, I reckon I'll hit 250k this year if all goes well

I've got a few issues with the brakes on the car - the issues have been annoying me for a while, but seem to have got worse recently. I've swapped the fronts to 288mm discs a couple of years ago, and the car was lowered 30mm at about the same time, but otherwise the brakes and suspension are standard. The first problem was that the rear brakes were making a loud whining/groaning noise when reversing - it's been like that for a couple of years now, but recently it's started to do it a lot more, including when I'm driving forwards and braking/coming to a stop. Also, the wheels at the back are constantly covered in brake dust, whereas the fronts rarely are. There really doesn't seem to be a lot of braking force - the car does stop if you slam on the brakes, but it doesn't really feel sharp at all. I adjusted the bias valve last year, which improved things a little, but it seems to have got a lot worse again now. In the last few weeks, after first starting the car and moving off, the first time I brake at the end of the road (on a slight downward slant), the pedal goes almost to the floor. After that initial scare, the brakes firm up quite a bit, and were fine, although today it seems to be doing it while I'm driving normally as well. The first time I push the pedal, there's very little resistance, but if I release and brake again, the pedal is a lot firmer. The fluid was changed about 18 months ago at the same time as it had some new front to back brake lines. The garage spent a lot of time bleeding the system to get the pedal feel back, including a lot of time on the ABS pump. The bias valve was replaced about 5 years ago, and seemed to move okay the last time I adjusted it. Any ideas at all?? It's getting pretty dangerous now!

Thanks, Could you send pics, including a close up of the rust?

Hi mate, I'll take the cabin filter

I'm after the little strip of metal that houses the number plate lights, attached to the tailgate, under the spoiler. Needs to be rust free. I'm not fussed about the lights themselves and the rubber gaskets - just the metal is needed. Colour not important, as I'll paint. Thanks!

Mine mists up a little. There's a hole in the back of the car under the bumper which doesn't help with the rear, and there's a track out on the demister. The windscreen occasionally mists up but the climatronic fan soon takes care of it, even on low speeds. Side windows are a bit more of a problem, though the cabin and carpets are dry. I had a headlight out earlier this month, but it turned out to be broken wiring - soldering in freezing weather wasn't much fun. Rear brakes are whining a lot, but handbrake is mercifully okay. If it's really damp she struggles to start a little. Otherwise okay so far.

Could be many things. Check the springed latch on the left side to make sure it's not getting stuck in the grove - if it is, the cable may be a tooth out, or the rubber feet wear down, so replace these if it's a problem. The best thing to do is get it out of the car, take the panel off and operate the mechanism back and forth slowly (stop if you hit too much resistance) to see where there's anything broken, or anything getting stuck.If it's still no clearer, take out the cables and check them for wear, or if they may have snapped.

The fault may have been with the controller - I've replaced it and it's been okay so far. It was intermittent though, so may end up as one of those annoying problems that you think you've fixed and then it reappears 6 months later. The clicking from the control box seems to be deliberate - it's the door light switch that's triggering it. Thanks for the info on the timer - I thought there was something at work there as sometimes I can close my windows with the engine off, and sometimes not. Always learning with the Corrado...

I've had a KR in my old MK2 Golf, and ran it side by side for a while with the VR when I got that. They are both fantastic engines, and while they both take a while to get going, they do feel very different to drive. The KR pulls okay up to 4.5k, nothing epic, but it does match/exceed the torque of the 1.8 8v (though it doesn't feel like it) which was famed back in the day for it's mid-range pull. Then at 4.5k you get a bit of a kick and it pulls and pulls and pulls all the way to the red line. The VR is super lazy low down - I was underwhelmed when I test drove mine for the first time. If you start at about 1.5k-2k rpm it just seems to take forever to gain revs, then things eventually improve and when you get to 4k it takes off with brutal acceleration which the KR just doesn't match. It performs well up to the red line too, though the limiter kicks in well before the KR's does. I felt I had to wring the neck out of the KR to get the best out of it - it's pretty loud and unrefined (in a sporty, raw kind of way) when it gets up the range. But then that's what makes it fun to drive - it makes you work hard to get every last bhp out of it. I've never driven a Corrado with a KR, but it is slightly heavier. With the VR, it's lazy, but you always feel that a change down in gear will wake it up and bring it back to life. It's much more refined, easier to drive, and the noise is epic. It's pretty mild mannered around town, but if you open up the induction a little (BMC) and get it onto the open road, and you feel like you might be driving a supercar.

When I open the driver's door, the module that controls the windows clicks, like a relay is activating inside it. Is this normal behaviour? I've just replaced it because I thought the old one was faulty - sometimes the driver's window wouldn't close on full-closure. Could it be dodgy wiring in the door?

I work in Hellaby during the day - if you want and are able, feel free to come and see these in person.

Here are the pics... ^^^^^ Note that the streaks are just because I didn't clean it properly - the finish on this one is like the others ^^^^ This is the worst curbed one ^^^^ What they look like on the car.