Jim

It was pretty darn mint :)

Welcome back :) We knew you would be.. eventually..

Knowing how good a job you did on your last Corrado, I'd love to see you do another project on this one but if you have the money / option to build something serious like an Ultima then you might as well do that!

round..

As David says, the cam cover gasket(s) are easy to replace as is the inlet manifold gasket - an hours work at worst. It could just be those leaking and indeed it's quite common for them to fail with age. There are two gaskets for the rocker cover - the main outer one and then an inner one to seal the spark plug "chambers". A little oil down those chambers goes a LONG way - I spilled a tiny bit when topping up the oil once and it took me ages to get it all out of there. Every time I pulled the plug lead to check there was a bit on there for a long time after.

What did the parents say when you talked to them? Did they acknowledge it was a problem or just fob you off? I don't accept that this is "just kids" - I don't remember kicking my football around peoples cars when I was a kid! My parents would have gone ape ****.

Not entirely. The lead is designed to be undone so that you can put the sensor on but I think only genuine VW leads are actually designed well enough to allow you to do it. The more expensive of the leads I linked too will work fine but you just may have to be willing to dismantle the lead a little - will take you 10-20 mins tops. To be certain you get the right ones you could just go to VW :)

Googling around it sounds like it needs to be 16mm! Regarding the other leads mentioned by Purplebagheera - they sound worth a punt if they have the knock sensor already included! Handy!

They look superb I have to say! :)

Indeed - it's not part of the lead. The end of the lead will unscrew allowing you to remove it but I'll warn you now - it's a complete f@cker to get off and on. The plastic loop on the sensor seems just too small to get over the metal bits crimped onto the lead (you'll see when you unscrew them) - I ended up having to spend a lot of time trying to reshape it, warming up and greasing the plastic sensor to make it easier to slide on, etc etc none of which worked. I think what I ultimately ended up doing was unpicking the metal crimp, putting the sensor over the lead, and then reassembling the crimp. New sensors are still available from VW - they cost in the region of £60 if you fancy changing it at the same time. :)

Do a search for this information mate - I went through it extensively when I went through the same process and documented where I got my leads from. You need to get a set which actually allow you to unscrew the plugs at the distributor end to put on the reference sensor, and the vast majority out there which are "compatible with 2.0 16v (9A)" are anything but! ---------- Post added at 10:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 AM ---------- I believe it's these ones: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CORRADO-GOLF-PASSAT-1-8-2-0-16V-86-IGNITION-LEADS-111-/230829314293?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item35be7fd0f5#ht_535wt_844 The seller does another, cheaper set which are not compatible (OEF 520).. but these should be (OEF 111)!

Could be an airlock.. could also the thermostat being stuck cause similar problems to this?

What - 0 RPM? :)

Agreed on new ignition switches - the ones currently being sold by VW feel totally different to the knackered old ones.. worth just putting in a new one and forgetting about it.

Indeed. But it's not that simple sadly. Logistically it'd be hard to put together, not to mention the simple fact that Andi owns The Corrado Forum and (as far as I know) has zero interest in aligning it with the CCGB in any way.

The Corrado Forum (this place) is generally a lot busier day to day than the Corrado Club Forum - people are creatures of habit and this place was around for quite a long time before the CCGB got a forum sorted :) There are other benefits to joining the club vs just being a corrado forum member however. The club has money which enables us to put on meets, subsidize ticket entry to a number of shows, and we have an events organiser specifically who books club stands for club members rather than just depending on a single forum member to charitably take responsibility for arranging a club stand... But (and if I'm being frank here) don't expect instant gratification for your £10 - you will get some club magazines through the post but it really is down to you to make the most of your membership fee throughout the course of a year - such as coming to things like our National Day, etc (which unfortunately you have missed for this year!)

Always quite sobering to see posts from someone who was a member on here, and has now passed away :( I can only hope, for his partner, that she gets an easy sale of the car. Looks like he put a lot of time and love into the car.

Seems to be a real influx of new members. Welcome to the forum! :)

Fricking awesome work - you guys made it look easy (though I'm sure it wasn't!) Did you replace the entire engine wiring loom or is most of the stuff you need in the loom already there?

The only thing I would say (and hate to say this now you've done the work!) is that if it's the head bolts you're "torquing about" (geddit?) then I thought they were stretch bolts and should only be used once? If they've been fitted, even if not done correctly, there's a good chance you've got more headgasket woes awaiting you if you didn't get new head bolts... or use ARP ones which are re-usable..

There's no point in getting a part number - the red ones are not available from the dealer any more and the ones that come up for sale normally do so at an extortionate price :( It'd be excellent if Classic Parts reintroduced them as it'd stop the stupid profiteering that people exhibit when selling them.

Spoiler came today - thanks very much mate. Left you some good feedback in the Good Seller thread! :)

Just received a complete spoiler mechanism from PurpleTom - what hero! Included all the bits I think I need, posted quickly, well packaged and I can see that postage cost him a small fortune - so the price I paid was very reasonable indeed. Thanks dude :)

It could be an electrical problem... like HT leads? I was having a number of misfire issues with mine, especially from cold and it only running on 3 cylinders and when I took the leads out, one of them basically fell apart in my hands! Replaced them and, unsurprisingly, it was fine again!

What engine?