Stonejag

I get almost all of my spares from http://www.vwspares.com - incredibly cheap compared to TPS/main dealer. Example: Thermostat is £16.38inc VAT, for a Meyle part. Many of the bits even come in the OEM boxes! Stone

I'll have them in that case :) Stone

Definitely the AA. Their parts cover has saved me over £1000 in the last two years! If they can't fix it at the side of the road and have to tow you somewhere, just get them to tow you to your friendly (VAT-registered) garage and they'll pay for £465 of any subsequent repair. Tends not to cover the whole bill but it definitely helps soften the blow! Stone

Was a good day, thanks for organising! Dave's engine bay really is a thing of beauty :thumbleft: Little disappointed by my numbers - 182.4bhp, 23% transmission loss - but I only got one power run as they fluffed the change to neutral at the end and it measured it all wrong... Good baseline before I do my head work and go for remap though. Nice to see another auto there as well, I think I convinced Ben at least...or maybe it was the roundabout drift that did it :lol: Had a great day out so thanks again. Stone

It started off blackberry, but has a nice mixture of black and white overspray - you wouldn't want it on the car without respraying, it'd look like you'd escaped from a Christmas scene :lol: Nice and straight though!

Autos are very good fun (the shifts are very quick on the 096 box when properly maintained!), but if it's not what you're really after then don't buy one. It's no fun having buyer's remorse when a nicer one shows up and you wish you'd waited. That's also well overpriced for what it is - as an example mine cost £2400 two years ago, and that was in a more desirable colour with heated leather and late interior, and only 15,000 more miles. Wait, the right one will come along :) Stone

That's StueyB's car with the magic exploding gearbox...you should have seen the panicked Facebook updates! :) It's a nice video too!

I've got a passenger door - only after £10 for the petrol I spent collecting it ;) Not got a door handle (inside or out) but has the latch. Think it has a window motor? Needed respraying anyway, I was originally going to get Audi handles welded into a spare set of doors but mine aren't bad and stripping them is a pain so I may as well just do them on the car. I'm just down the M1 so easy enough to get to.

'Most panel damage'? 'Fewest original parts'? :lol: Fingers crossed, looks like it'll be fun :) Stone

The blue temp sender definitely shows up, can't remember if IAT does but I think so. You can see it in one of the Engine measuring blocks as well though, so you can look at the reported temperature and see if it's sensible. Mine read 58deg after a 10-minute (spirited) drive, heatsoak is a big problem with the stock sensor in the stock location! I'm moving mine to the MAF body - and using a 1.8t sensor - so it should become a lot more accurate. This is a plausible cause of hot-start problems as a high IAT reading will make the ECU reduce the fuelling, and you need a touch more to start it so it'll struggle if it's not getting enough... Stone

I should have added - the fans were replaced after they seized and caught fire(!) and manually bridging the pins of the radiator thermoswitch connector runs it on speeds 1 and 2 correctly. I think that rules out the fan controller and harness, but then again thermoswitch is new as well... Not sure if I've tried the same test with the engine running though - could be the wrong live feed was used in a harness repair somewhere? Will be a hell of a job to trace through the birds-nest if so. Beyond that I've drawn a blank, which is why I've left it for so long ;) A dodgy pin or two in the circular engine harness connector, perhaps? :shrug: Ordered a new oil temp sender earlier so I'll give it a swap at the weekend and see if it helps :) Stone

Bizarrely it comes as part of the handle, with the cable already attached. You could try making something like the incredibly-overengineered gruvenparts one (http://gruvenparts.com/website/cart/cart.php?target=product&product_id=344&category_id=60) or crimp something together yourself... When I had the same problem it turned out easier to just buy and replace the whole thing. Stone

It's on the list ;) I've hacked a rear-windscreen-demist button to include the gubbins from a second button so I can use the blank space, just need to find time to wire it into the harness... Rang the garage to organise swapping the oil cooler but they told me not to bother unless all my oil(coolant) was full of coolant(oil) or it was visibly ****ing out somewhere. Which is reassuring! No sign of anything untoward in either so I agree the sensor's probably just gone a bit senile. Next job is to figure out which it is, apparently there are lots of different ones all superseded by different part numbers and vagcat's down again :bonk: Stone

Sounds like you need a replacement stainless striker. See here: http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?t=10426 Stone

Been having some trouble with my oil temperatures recently. My fans haven't worked on stages 1 and 2 since I've owned the car (over the last 18 months I've changed all the senders, thermostat, housing, hoses, aux pump, fan controller - basically everything but the harness and heater matrix!) so maybe it's just because the weather's been a bit warmer. Anyway, I haven't noticed any difference in driving, it's just been looking like it's getting a bit toasty on the MFA. It's regularly 15 degrees over the water temperature now, where previously it used to track it very closely. It's only a 20 mile drive to work, but even driving really gently I've still been getting over 108 on the display. Previously the same drive would only have got it up to 96 or so. After getting stuck in traffic it gets really warm, in the 120s. Had a couple of worrying moments when it just starts clicking up and up, an extra 2 degrees every 5 seconds or so. It still seems to be working plausibly - getting out of the jams and driving a bit faster, coasting down hills or driving very gently all reduce it as the water temperature comes down but it's still heating up faster than the cooling system seems to be able to get rid of it. Here's the weird thing - when it's heated right up, turning the ignition off and then on again will instantly cut loads off the reading. I had to pull over on the M3 at the weekend with a reading of 140 - after stopping the engine and then turning the ignition back on it was reading 98! Obviously that's not sensible, but I don't know if it's likely to be reading distressingly high but actually be fine, or if it's reading wrong after switching off but is actually getting that hot. It seems to be consuming a bit of oil but it's not been really low or anything. I'd prefer not to drive it until I know what's going on but it's my daily :( Planning to get it booked in for a new (stock) oil cooler at the weekend, any ideas I can try before that? Not sure if I can get to the sender beforehand, maybe it's just electrical but it's still worrying! Thanks in advance, Stone

Yeah, it's easy to get it all apart once you have the right tool :) I got this one by Sealey: Once you have it in roughly the right place you wind the valve springs down until you can see the whole of the split cotters that fit into the three grooves in the top of the valve stems. Then wobble the compressor slightly and it'll make a hollow popping noise as the cotters come out of the coned indent in the retainer. They're steel so I just magnetised a long screwdriver and extracted them with that - just try not to dig around too much to avoid scratching the valve stem. Once the cotters are out you can release pressure on the valve springs - the valve will then drop free of the bottom (you'll have to help it through the stem seal, just pull) and you can remove the twin springs and the retainer. Then just get the stem seals out - grip around the outside with the pliers and pull while wiggling them. If you try and grip through the middle you'll either gouge the valve guide or tear the stem seal, neither is good as they're in at least three parts and it's a devil to get the little bits of rubber out if they disintegrate! Then just bag everything up per valve or per cylinder - per cylinder is fine as the exhaust and intake valves are different sizes and the valve springs/cotters/retainers are all identical. Number them up so you know which valve goes in which hole and you're golden! I recommend getting an ultrasonic bath to clean the bits with - Maplin have their smallest model on special at the moment for £23 - I get excellent results with a bath of hot water, a dash of washing-up liquid and a glug of white vinegar. The valves may need multiple (read: many) cycles but they come up beautifully and you don't need to risk harming the surface as when you wire-brush them! The springs/retainers/cotters only need ten minutes or so. Before and after pic: Have fun, it's really rewarding :) Stone

Aqua blue, late, on the A5 between Markyate and Dunstable around 1630 today - sorry I didn't spot you in time to wave, after getting stuck in traffic my oil temperature was at 122 and I was fretting about it :lol:

Same here: starts first time, every time from cold but when warmed up, if it decides it's not going to start then it just won't! I'd noticed it improved the odds if I turned the key and then waited for the fuel gauge to level off before trying to start it, which also makes perfect sense. Also looks fairly easy to remove: 11: 078133534C pressure regulator 12: 037198031 gasket set for pressure regulator 13: 037133047A retaining clip Stone [edit: just tried it on my spare fuel rail. It's not fairly easy to remove! Maybe there's a trick to it, but pulling straight out isn't shifting it...]

Thanks for sharing that, now I know why mine is so hard to hot-start! :) Doing exactly as you describe. Luckily I just had a new rail and injector set turn up! Stone

Haha, the dog looks so confused! :lol: Yeah, I'll have it, let me know bank details (sort code / account number / account name) and I'll transfer it over :) Nick

Really, wow! Definitely go with half-orange then, I might even do mine :)

If you need to work around a broken switch, just disconnect the switch at the rear connector. Then crimp 4 spade terminals onto 4 wires and crimp all four wires into a single spade connector at the other end. Plug the four-ended spade into the middle row, middle pin, and plug the other four wires into the other four contacts. Can't remember off the top of my head which one is the starter, but plug the other 3 in first and then tap the starter pin to start it. No good for stealing Corrados with (as you still need the correct key inserted to turn off the immobiliser and unlock the steering lock!) but great for when your switch dies :) Stone

That bit I can help with - it's on Bentley page 15.19-15.20. 140±0.1mm from the factory, minimum refacing dimension 139.5mm. How long are your stem seals? Those look longer than the ones I have from BG automotive, mine are exactly 10mm long. Once the shoulder's machined off, do you just push them all in to the same depth? Was hoping I can get away without doing them, but if it's going to knacker the seals it looks like I'll have to... I'll get a dial indicator on them tomorrow and see how bad the guides are. Stone

Could I have a pic of the dubpower manifold, please? Will take it if it's the matched-length 6-branch type and has the mounting studs for the stock heatshield. Cheers Stone

Riley: please explain how your reverse light can shine white after you've tinted the lens orange? Changes the output colour... Stone