MikLSP

Well I meant that it had a defined pattern within it like something repeatedly going up and down for example. I'm just imagining a flailing chain to be more erratic in it's noise but as I haven't heard either before I will just have to wait and see! I had no chain noise before this but I know that doesn't always mean they are fine. It is being towed to the garage as we speak :)

I haven't turned it over, certainly had no intention of doing that. Incidentally the noise was quite cyclic and seemed to follow a repeating pattern rather than a random flailing sound.

Thanks Reggit, much appreciated. Got the car safe at my mums now, the garage should be sorting out getting it back there hopefully on Mon.

It'll probably go to the same place in Burnley who has had it in for the previous jobs, just getting it there is the problem, I resent paying for recovery when I need that money for the repair lol. Can't say I'm really feeling the benefits of Corrado ownership so far! :-(

That would be very much appreciated actually, the car is stranded at Salmesbury KFC near Blackburn at the minute, just round the corner from my mums. I'm probably going to need to shift it somewhere soon though.

I don't have anywhere near enough time to do this myself unfortunately so it will have to cost me more. At least it'll be piece of mind on the head gasket afterwards though and also I have a small oil leak from the rocker cover so that will be sorted too. Does anyone know an approximate cost for this sort of work?

I am at least thankful that it didn't happen at high revs so hopefully it hasn't had knock on effects. If a valve has gone what tends to be the extent of the repair and would I need to replace them all to stop the same thing happening again? Mik

Hi all, it seems I have a pretty major problem with my VR6! :-( I had just driven the car with seemingly no problems until I parked up and came to restart the engine. The engine fired up but with a loud metallic clatter! I immediately turned the ignition off and had a look under the bonnet for anything obvious. There was nothing loose so I thought I would quickly try it again to see if the problem persisted and if I could tell where it was coming from. Sure enough as soon as the engine turned over there was a terrible clatter which sounded like loose metal parts coming from the top of the engine! I'm obviously assuming that this is going to be costly no matter what but would like some advise on what it likely to be the problem and what I will need to do to sort it properly. Is it most likely to be a dropped valve and if so what sort of knock on effect could this have had? Mik :-( UPDATE 1: OK, got an update and the news is not great! -The timing chain guides and tensioners are damaged. -8 (eight) valves are damaged!! -Lips on the edge of the bores Advise is rebuild! UPDATE 2: Had the head reconditioned, 8 new valves, cylinders re-honed, new piston rings, bottom end rebuild, oil pump rebuild, all new chains and tensioners. I think we may have found the original cause of the problem too, the tensioner bolt was unable to retain oil pressure so the seal must have gone resulted in a loss of chain tension and skipped teeth on the cams Ultimately we have here a £1500 cost due to the failure of a £40 part!

I've just had mine sent away for a rebuild and it cost me £420. There are cheaper options like fitting another used box instead but at least this way I know it's right and can have confidence in it for the future.

Hi, just thought I'd throw in an update to this now that things are sorted... Having had the gearbox removed and sent away it turns out that my problem was a broken first gear housing and bearing which seized then turned. There were also several knock on effects which I'm afraid I can't remember seeing as I don't know the first thing about gearboxes. Ultimately the solution was a box rebuild for £420 so if you come across a noise like the one I had, bear this in mind! Mik :salute:

It seems like I've been away from here for such a long time while getting on top of the Corrado repairs! I'm happy to say that some real progress has been made and most importantly that gearbox is now sorted! I've had the whole thing rebuilt due to it having a broken 1st gear housing, knackered bearing which had seized and then turned and a host of knock on effects. (Sorry I don't remember the specifics, just trying to remember what I was told over the phone) Got a new clutch in there while the box was off as well. It also has a complete set of new brakes. The old one really show how dodgy some "full 12 month MOT's" are!!!! The engine is running better now as well after new plugs and leads and finding a fuel leak! One thing I'm left with is the oil leak though. I thought it was the oil cooler but after replacing that seal the leak persisted. now had it traced to the rocker cover so any advice on that would be appreciated :) Cheers, Mik

Definitely has to be a record for such an old topic which is still relevant ;) Plus it only 2 years not 3 8)

Sorry for digging up this old topic but I guess it's better than starting a separate one. I would also like to recommend DUBpower on grounds of their customer service and it seems Sharon is still the one keeping things in order. I just bought some ignition leads from them and was charged £5 for delivery which seemed fair enough. When they arrived though the postage paid was only £3.49 and the packaging was a tatty, re-used envelope with a 2007 postage stamp on it. Now this is something you would often get from ebay sales but is not the sort of thing I would expect from an established company so I thought I'd just mention it in my email while acknowledging the receipt of the leads. After a short while I received a reply from Sharon thanking me for letting them know and promising to refund the postage costs to my paypal (which has indeed been refunded). She also said that the leads should be dispatched in custom produced boxes from a third party so if anyone else receives leads from DUBpower in a recycled envelope do let them know as that is not the service they believe to be providing. Seems like some people at the third party dispatcher may be in trouble! ;) Mik

I keep finding conflicting information. There are quite a few sources saying they are exactly the same but then other list things like this: Corrado VR6 2.9: -1st 3.78 -2nd 2.12 -3rd 1.46 -4th 1.03 -5th 0.84 -final 3.39 Golf VR6 2.8: -1st 3.30 -2nd 1.94 -3rd 1.31 -4th 1.03 -5th 0.84 -final 3.39 Are these Golf ratios for the synchro box then perhaps? I think it's probably best to just speak to Vince at Stealth for a conclusive answer ;)

Thanks for the reply :) Yeah I was aware that 1st and 2nd were on the same shaft but didn't know if they could be separated (and didn't realise reverse was attached too actually). My only worry about putting on another used box is ending up swapping one problem for another :S What about using 1st & 2nd from the Golf box? Will I lose a lot of acceleration? Mik

OK, back onto this... I now know that my first gear is definitely knackered after having it looked at and so I'm looking for advice on the best course of action. My options are: Scavenge parts from a Golf VR6 box to repair 1st (& maybe 2nd) gear. Buy a used box for a straight swap. Have the whole thing rebuilt. What would be your advice on these? Is it feasible to use gears from the Golf or are the ratios going to make a mess of things? Mik

I was going to reply saying it's normal for some to get there via the breather but I must admit I didn't expect to see as much as you showed in that picture. I've just had mine off for a good cleaning and while there was a small amount of oil there wasn't nearly as much as that (not trying to make you worry) I think I'd have been inclined to ask as you have if mine was like that but I found more dried on black deposit than anything else which again I believe to be normal as I've had the same with other cars.

OK, I think I've finally overcome the leaking thermostat housing but it seems that the top radiator hose didn't withstand being removed more than once! Once everything was back together I found I had a slow drip coming from the top hose where it attaches to the thermostat housing. I tried to refit it numerous times, ensuring that the clip was tight and correctly positioned, that there was no dirt breaking the seal etc. but no matter what there is still a slow drip. I can't see any obvious cracks or splits in the hose but I'm guessing that when it's stretched over the housing it's there. I'm guessing this is one awkward and expensive part looking at the branches to the reservoir & throttle body so I'm wondering what my options are? Is the hose tapered to fit the housing or would it be ok to cut it back and refit it a little further down? If that's no good what's the best place to get a new one OR does anyone have one available? ;) Cheers, Mik

Oh dear, sorry to hear you got it in the face. Mine wasn't under much pressure and it just poured out when removing the sensor but then again maybe that was thanks to the leaking thermostat housing :lol:

Dragon/Pearl Green 16v J45 REC going into Lancaster around dinner time (that's 12 o'clock by the way not 5) ;)

No, didn't expect you to guarantee it. I just meant that a part from VW is going to fit and not give me the problems I had today.

Thanks...and a guaranteed fit :cry:

Tell me about it, I can't wait to do it all again after wasting my time today!! :brickwall: How much was the housing from VW then?

Mine was £20 so I suspect from VW it will be more than that.

Make sure they cleared the VAG-COM codes and checked which came back.