Stonejag

They were outlawed in the last changes to the MOT rules (from April) so you can only have HIDs fitted if you have headlight washers and a self-levelling system. Don't think anybody's gone to the hassle of doing it properly... Stone

My second spot of the weekend - a black C heading southbound on the M3 between junctions 2 and 3 at around 16:15 yesterday. I was heading north so just a glimpse this time :) Spoiler was up so not hanging around...

Exchanged waves with a dark blue one on the seafront in Weymouth yesterday, around 0945. Had some smoked rear lights on too. Nearly missed it looking at the Sealife centre :lol:

Lovely, thanks. Stone

If you unplug a working sensor it stops showing up so you'll just have unplugged it. Keep looking :) Stone

Just replaced my door handle (again...) and it works fine, but when opening the door the handle sticks in the pulled-out position until I nudge the handle body or push the handle, at which point it snaps shut normally. It feels like the striker may be binding on the central locking cable - how is it supposed to be routed? Looks like it should go straight out from the handle and between the two prongs of the C-shaped piece that engages the locking lever, but there's not really any room. There must be an official way of doing it :shrug: Cheers, Stone

If it's a full-width one (235mm?) and includes the thermostatic takeoff plate so I can keep the stock oil cooler in addition, I'll have it. I assume it's used? Stone

Bit concerned about my oil temperature readings. Cooling system seems fine - thermostat works and radiator fans kick in at around 110 degrees. However my oil temperature readings climb very high during a sustained run - cruising at 80 (around 3000rpm) for ten-fifteen minutes yesterday gave me reported oil temperature of 134! Turning off the ignition and restarting (at traffic lights, not on the motorway!), the temperature reading immediately dropped to 106, rose to 108, then jumped to 122, then back to 104, where it stayed for the last five miles of my trip. What's going on? :shrug: I assume the sensor is near the oil filter, are they known to fail? Not sure if the high readings are actually true or not which is making me a bit nervous! I do intend to fit an oil cooler fairly soon but would much prefer to know what's going on first. Any ideas? Stone

Had I realised that was the stand I would have parked a bit closer! Maybe we should invest in one of those nifty banners like the other lot, I did have a good scout around once I'd seen the attractions and spotted a few Corrados but obviously didn't get close enough to read the (tiny) print on the mirror-hanger... Some quick shots of those I spotted: Saw this one sprinting - anyone remember times? My lady friend and I did enjoy it, yes it's a bit tacky in places but there were still some very nice cars, including that Belgian one. I mainly went to get a few ideas for body work and that was successful enough so I call it a win. Especially since the gf discovered a love of Lupos...and we caught up with this chap at the services on the way home! Stone

My (lack of a) door handle is winding me up now. Anybody got one kicking around? With barrel and without key is fine, likewise without key or barrel. No need for a stainless striker either, I have spares. Just needs to last me a couple of months until my respray, I'm having Audi handles cut in as this is my fourth handle since last August! :epicfail: Thanks in advance! Nick

Free bump for the terrible pun :lol:

Forgive my ignorance, but you don't see a lot of these! What's the green bottle for, vacuum accumulator? Stone

I'll be going from M1 J9, might see you on the way up :) Expecting to leave around 10. Look for the orange rear badges ;-) Stone

My mistake, they do check headlights. They're going to be utterly useless in fog though, the light will just flood out in all directions instead of piercing it forwards. And it's technically illegal to use them when it's not foggy! Really don't understand why anyone would want to do this, no mod looks good enough to justify causing an accident with :shrug:

I've had both 215/40/17s and 205/40/17s fitted. The 215s made the steering noticeably heavier when on the front (not good for a car phone to understeer!) and always rubbed the arches. 205s were slightly better but in the end I swapped to 195/45/16s which are a vast improvement - same wheel diameter but nearly an inch of extra rubber between you and the road. It'd take some truly amazing wheels to tempt me back to 17s, 16s made a massive difference in handling / comfort, and I think they look better too! Wider tyres also scrub more, which I think contributed to the appalling state of my rear beam bushes. My arch liners have seen better days as well... Stone

Is it worth me pointing out for the millionth time that you'll end up with an illegal beam pattern? Not only will you fatal you MOT but if plod stop you you'll get done for no insurance, as it will be invalidated by illegal mods. Unless you change the optics for a projector (which would actually look pretty cool IMO!) it'll just blind oncoming motorists and get you six points when someone complains. Just buy some yellow halogens, they're the only bulb that will work correctly in unmodified light units. Stone

£2k?! Like the others said that's decent respray money. And it looked great as it was! No idea how he drove it away looking like that, I'd have paid by credit card then reversed it the second i got home. Nowt as queer as folk... :shrug:

I also get people trying to race me off the lights from time to time. I shocked a 3-series yesterday by playing along, and winning :lol: Been flashed by a lot of older VWs - Mk3s around me tend to be mostly people out for cheap old cars rather than enthusiasts, but all the Mk1s and Mk2s wave, same with the buses. I think they're a bit old for the traditional boy-racer type so you get more of the classic car vibe than the sporty thing. I know these days I'd lose to most 2.0Ts and upwards so not much point bothering to play :) Stone

One of my rollers escaped from the mech last week - found it in the bottom of the door and reinstalled it but it's incredibly squeaky now! There's copper anti-seize over everything so I assume someone's bodged it in the past. Anybody know what grease is correct for them? Would white lithium be ok? Will be stripping everything out of the doors for my respray soon so I can give it all a good clean then. Stone

Doesn't quite count but I saw quite a tidy Mk3 (lowered and stretched tyres) on the M1 yesterday, s/b around junction 10. Imagine my surprise when I overtook to find it had a Corrado bonnet, grille and headlights! :D The owner looked quite surprised to see a real one...

You can't even get close to a legal beam pattern with HID bulbs fitted to an unmodified headlight unit - some people try and bodge in the projector units from a different car's headlights or modify the reflectors, in which case what's left of the headlights is scrap. Looks pike yours have just had some of the illegal hybrid bulbs put in though, just swap them for normal ones and you should be ok. Carefully doublecheck the inside of the lights for heat damage before you do though - HIDs run too hot and sometimes the plastic melts! If nothing's visible you may have got away with it... Stone

How much extra work is it to change the chains over when fitting cams? I've seen it can be done without taking the head off but not quite convinced that it's such a good idea... Since I'm only on 87k my chains have never been done - any other awkward service items that I should consider getting done at the same time? Quite tempted by a set of lightened (and shiny!) alloy pulleys from ARZ but I need to watch the spending a little :lol: Stone

Depends what you mean by 'conversion'. Some of them just use HID bulbs on a halogen-compatible base - these are illegal and unroadworthy, as you found out. If that's the case, swapping the bulbs is all you need and it only takes a minute or two. You can get complete headlight units designed with projector units for HIDs - they're very expensive but often don't include the self-levelling functions etc that are now compulsory. If the latter then just unplug the connector at the back, remove the three screws and replace with standard light units. If it's been butchered to 'make it work' then the easiest way is probably to get two new headlights - expect between £45 to £70 per side. Stone

I need to replumb my gearbox cooler, and since the dipstick reading is only valid at one temperature, I'd like to incorporate a temperature gauge so I can tell the gearbox temperature from inside the bay. I have an adapter to add a 1/8NPT connector in-line with one of the hoses, and what I'm really after is a mechanical gauge without any capillary tube, just a single connection which also supports the gauge body. It doesn't need to be illuminated but I can find a switched feed (or leave it disconnected!) if that's all I can get. I've seen similar things used to monitor the pressure in the fuel rail: the gauge just mounts directly onto the rail. I might just be using the wrong search terms but why can't I find one for oil temperature? :shrug: I'd be very grateful for suggestions if anybody has any ideas... Stone

VW consider the gearbox 'sealed for life', so it won't have been done before...the reason is the box will outlast their factory 60,000 mile drivetrain warranty and after that they don't care! Definitely change the fluid if it looks dirty. It does take a fair while to do it properly so maybe they just topped it up and lied? It should definitely last longer than that. Burnt fluid indicates high heat internally - could be the cooler is failing (apparently they tend to burst internally and leak coolant into the ATF...!) - it's possible that he left it with 'issues' too long and damaged the clutch packs. You may be able to salvage it by doing an extra-thorough flush to get the gunk out, mine was pretty bad when I got it but is fine now. One word of advice, if you do fit an external cooler don't use Mocal's smaller model of oilstat - the gearbox pressure's too high for it and the two halves will be forced apart until it leaks...mine's drinking ATF until I can get the replacement fitted. That said my gearbox temperature is constantly between 10 and 15 degrees cooler than stock so it's still worth doing! Stone