Jim

Have to agree. The fact that it's British engineering appeals (as really we've not had a lot to shout about there for a while!) but I just love how it looks compared to the others. Just gotta hope that lottery win comes in now..

One of Chris Harris's best videos really in terms of the cars he managed to get, and nice to see Tiff along for the ride too - what a legend! Great stuff.

Good luck!

Always think they look fantastic in white. That one is no exception!

Think this would be a great for a freshly painted car :)

Yeah - it's there mate. That picture was of a new old stock cam sprocket cover I managed to get hold of for comparison / testing. Pleased to say the cover is BACK ON and the cam cover is back in place. What a feeling of sheer joy to get this particular hurdle overcome - I was utterly mortified last week and at the verge of getting someone to just come tow it away and scrap it! Decided it's a good time to put down the tools, and if I get some time tomorrow afternoon may look at getting the refurbished injectors and injector rail reinstalled. Also gave the engine a full turn over by hand on the crank bolt to ensure timing is good and everything is moving freely and can confirm it all seemed quite happy and rotating freely. Phew. Picture as it stands this evening.. Just hope it actually runs when I get it all back together and turn the key....

Excellent. I think we may be back in business :) I think I may have found the reason why this problem is occurring. So I noticed that it's possible to insert M8 bolt on the underside in such a position that it's a few degrees askew and jams in place and would attempt to cross thread itself if I tried to tighten it up. I think when I'm attempting to install those bolts with the sprocket plate in place, the bolts are (for some reason) getting into that position and therefore will not tighten up. However if I lean the plate back a bit it enables me to overcome whatever reason it's ending up like that and start tightening them up - and can then push the plate into the correct place and tighten them up properly and also the longer M6 bolts which all seem to locate correctly / happily. Having finally made that breakthrough, I think I might get out there and get that damn plate reinstalled finally.

OK. Had another couple hours scratching my head on this one and given up before my fingers freeze off as it's not warm outside :) I've subsequently found that I can basically get the cam sprocket cover plate successfully installed *without* the two pegs / pins that sit at towards top of the cover plate. It means I can install the two M8 bolts on the underside sufficiently to be able to tighten them up (with the plate leaning slightly away from the head), and then push the plate into place and then install the 8 remaining bolts (all of which seem to line up OK). However if those two pegs are in place, I just can't get the plate installed. The pegs I'm talking about plug in here, and are kind of akin to wooden dowels you have when you're building IKEA furniture: So I've removed it all again and come back in to seek the collective advice of the forum. I'm so desperate to get this damn thing back up and running, is having them removed likely to cause me problems assuming everything else is correctly installed including the liquid gasket stuff, etc? Thoughts appreciated.

Lovely detail! I think I might have one of these coming as a christmas present so really looking fotward to it now! :)

There was a genuine VW grease which was recommended to be used (part number G 000 450 02) but I think it's obsolete now, so something like the above is probably quite suitable.

I think you're wasting your time trying to negotiate on price over the phone without even having to have gone to see the thing. I can tell you now that even as a private seller, if someone did that to me, I wouldn't be interested. Turn up, look around the car, and point out your concerns and then talk about the sale price. Given the high road tax on R32's I'd be surprised if pre-owned out of warranty examples are flying off the forecourts of dealers, and especially with christmas approaching, I'd be amazed if one wouldn't do a deal with you in person.

Drat. OK mate. Will keep on plugging away with it.

The issue is with the plate in the correct place, the bolts that screw up through the lower timing chain cover, won't thread in. I get about two turns and then they're stuck. However if I lean the top of the upper timing chain plate away from the head about 10 degrees or so I am then able to put these bolts in using my fingers no problem. However if I do that, there are some like locating pegs at the top of the plate and then these refuse to go into place - the only way I can make the plate sit flush, is my not screwing those lower bolts in first.... and in that situation, I'm not actually able to screw them in at all.

Oh? What did you do to resolve mate?

Definitely won't be bending the casting - no worries there. Appreciate the pointers / advice though.. this forum really is a life saver.

Hi mate - everything else seems to be aligned / straight so the suggestion of filing / drilling out the holes in the lower plate (if indeed it turns out to be a little deformed) is a good one, and what 2cc also suggested to me. Obviously with a heavily oiled rag sitting in the way of the timing chains to stop any metal debris getting in there. I've got a new top plate on the way so am going to use that to simply gauge which bit (if anything) is bent and then decide on the corrective action accordingly. And already have a set of files on order too to potentially tackle the job. Cheers :)

If I put the top plate in place and attempt to screw in the two bolts that side on the underside (that bolt through the lower timing chain cover) I can only get them in a couple of turns before they basically stop and become impossible to tighten. However if I lean the plate away from the head at about 10-15 degrees or so, then I'm able to tighten the bolts up OK using my fingers no problems..

Hmm... didn't realise that :( It was primarily really so I can see whether it's the upper plate or lower plate which might have become deformed somehow.. rather than actually planning to install / fit it. But that does limit my options somewhat if I can't actually use it if I find it's the upper plate which may be a bit bent. Either way will still take it and then just work out my options afterwards.

I think that's the most salient point - like I set out to do this with the objective of saving some money, but it has ultimately cost me so much more in terms of the snapped cams, the cost of buying additional tools, and now whatever work I'm going to have to undertake to fix the issue with the cover plate not fitting. If I'd deformed the lower cover plate somehow then that's basically a gearbox off job to replace... if it comes to that, it's definitely going elsewhere to get it done.

Two weeks after the complete f@ck up of my tappet and injector swap, finally went back to look at the car today after having someone far more knowledgeable than me with engine related stuff reinstall the cams. I'd also acquired the bolts, sealant, etc I needed to finish the job. I thought it would be plain sailing, but of course it wasn't - somehow thing I've managed to deform the upper or lower timing chain cover on the car during removal, now meaning I can't just reassemble it. Shut the garage again in disgust and will come back to it again next weekend maybe, assuming I haven't just set fire to the thing. After it's back together this last time, I'm not working on it myself any more - there's just too much anguish, frustration and flat out stress. It might be time to take up a gentler pastime - such as gardening, or crocheting!

Appreciated - but alas it does need to be the coilpack version. Cheers.

Hey mate. Seems to be a small handful of people really coming through for me on parts lately - it's really appreciated. Part number is 027109127B

Hi.. Just wondered if anyone had a spare VR6 upper timing chain cover plate for a coil pack engined VR6 for sale. I think I may have been too heavy handed during the removal process of mine and have either bent the upper or lower plate slightly meaning I cannot reinstall it correctly. Thinking an easy way of confirming whether this is the case, would be to pick up another one and see if the problems I have persist. If I can confirm it's the lower one, then I will know it's easier just to set fire to the car and be done with it :) Cheers.

Dynamat is very well regarded stuff I believe.

Doh :)