bmwcompact

Well I dont want to excuse sloppiness, disinterest, lack of integrity, downright dishonesty or whatever else some mechanics get up to. But if you work on an old car (like a 20yr old Corrado) you start to realise the dilemas that a Garage must regularly face. Seized bolts, parts that are coroded, parts that get broken- these all get in the way of schedules to be met and agreed prices. Its not difficult to see that it will often be a case of bodging and/or being economical with the truth rather than face an irrate customer with a hefty increase in the bill or a days delay while further parts are procured. As you work on your car and you spend hours cleaning or painting parts before reassembly with new bolts, clips, gaskets, seals or whatever, just think what a time consuming, expensive logistical nightmare it must be for your average garage (especially if they are not a marque specialist). So it shouldnt be such a surprise to find the jobs often not done properly. Likewise its not hard to see why tens of thousands get spent on renovating something as ordinary as a beetle or golf-its all about the cost of labour/overheads. Ive been fixing my own cars for over 40 years, partly cos I get the satisfaction of knowing I have achieved something, partly cos Ive saved money and partly cos then I know I've done the job right (or know that Ive done a temporary bodge that will be put right later). Occasionally I'll put something together incorrectly and sometimes it takes a while to diagnose a problem. But when you work on your own car(s) you see what will be due for repair or replacement, you see whats starting to go rusty, and generally keep on top of issues rather than suddenly being faced with an inconvenient surprise. I accept there are those who will always have to rely on others to do their repairs/maintenance. I think in that case its necessary to find a garage dealing with older VWs and built up a relationship of trust, where its clear to the owner that you, the customer, expect work to be done correctly and that you want to be informed of all issues good or bad relating to your car. Anyway I empathise with your need for a rant! And as a member of this forum I am sure you know already of the frustration and satisfaction of being your own mechanic!!

Hi James I see you've been kind of busy with the V6!! Since we met to buy your Westwoods, I've done a little to my 16v. I set about replacing the camshaft oil seal and timing belt, replaced the thermostat, seal and coolant, renewed the engine rear mount and gearbox mount and replaced the ARB rubber mounts (more hassle than I imagined). Still not 100% happy with the ride but others tell me I'm expecting too much by comparing the Corrado with my 318ti sport which is a great drive. I dont remember my Mk2 8v Golf gti being unforgiving of potholes. The good news is that it is now like a different car. It sounds quieter under the bonnet and in the car, it feels better on tickover and it picks up and goes like never before. The oil temp is now around 110 (previously 120) and indicated mpg has improved. Whilst replacing the mounts could contribute to the car being quieter, the coolant change possibly contributing to the lower oil temp, the performance increase can only be down to a change in valve timing. When I bought the car it must have been out by a tooth!!! Compared with what you've been doing any difficulties I had dismantling will seem minor!! Attached is a photo of my mounts (135k) the gearbox one was definitely shot, and the engine one made funny noises when I jumped on it. And the long awaited photo of my Pearl Grey 16v with your Westwoods. Everyone agrees it looks much better than with the Ripspeed 17" wheels. [ATTACH=CONFIG]59345[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]59349[/ATTACH]

There are 2 knock sensors on the front of the block. The blue plug shown is connected to the knock sensor nearest the gearbox. The cable should have a male connector and connect into the blue plug. Youll have a similar arrangement for the other sensor on the front of the block, ie the other side of the distributor. Car looks good-I really like the colour, mine is pearl grey not so pretty. I bought my 16v off ebay a couple of months ago and removed seats etc as you are doing. Since then I seem to have been doing non stop work to sort out all the mechanical issues. I'm not quite there yet. Anyway best of luck with yours.

James I fitted the wheels a couple a miles up the road and drove 40+ miles home. Car feels much better on 15" wheels but alas there's still something not quite right-firm but still crashy on potholes. I'm happy with the look of original Westwood wheels. The only suspension/steering parts not replaced up front are the ARB bushes so they are on order. It may also be engine mounts that make it crashy on potholes and theres noisy vibration occasionally which could also be the rear engine mounts. Anyway the car is once more in bits. I'm fixing the camshaft oil leak and replacing the cam belt (its covered in oil) and while I'm there I thought I'd replace the rear engine mounts (Febi replacements). I mentioned the car is slow to warm up. I removed the theromostat and checked it. It opens at 87 as it should. Its a mystery. My Pug and BM are up to temp in less than a mile -the Corrado needs 10 miles????

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I dont know what others think, but I reckon a good fuel system cleaner works wonders for injectors. Ive used both Magic Bullet (around £10/12) and BG44 (around £20) in several cars in recent years. There also a product by Forte. May be worth trying???

The 2 on the filter are a low pressure switch ( I think its 0.3 bar ) and a higher pressure switch ( I think its 1.8 bar ). So if you have an oil pump failure they tell you at start up or once you're on the move that theres a problem. For example if you disconnect the higher pressure one (on my car its nearest the block) and set off, then once your engine revs rise, on my car I get an audible and visual indication of an oil problem (ie if theres no indication of the correct oil pressure). By the way over time these may develop a leak (out of the spade connector). I replaced one on my Mk 2 Golf gti and Ive just replaced one on my Corrado.

I have a 16v 2l 9A engine. Dont know whether its the same for a KR engine but suspect it will be. The oil temp sensor for the MFA on my engine is on the back of the cylinder head a couple of inches from the distributor and connected with a green/black wire. Sorry Ive tried looking up the part no but cant find it.

I too owned a mk2 Golf GTI 8v (for 10yrs) and have recently bought my first 16v 2l Corrado. I too am sorting out problems, spending money and have not got to the point where I love my Corrado! The oil temp sender for the MFA is behind the cylinder head close to the distributor and has a spade connector that slides onto the sensor head which is like a drawing pin rather than a normal male spade connector (if that makes sense). My engine runs at oil temp of about 110-I think thats normal. As for your running problems, and suspicions of issues with injectors I have a snake oil cure. Ive used 'magic bullet' in my BMW compact, my Pug 306 diesel and in my corrado and think it works!!! It claims to clean the fuel system and decarb the engine at the same time. It costs about £10/12 off ebay (car dose not m/c dose). All I can say is my experience is that after driving with this in the tank for 200 miles, the engine is more responsive, sounds different and appears to have lots more power. Ive used Redox and other products @ approx £4 over many years and dont think theres any comparison. In case youre wondering, I dont sell magic bullet, dont have shares in the company, have no connection with them. I am simply saying, an old car thats not done a lot of miles, has done lots of short journeys, wont run like a high mileage motorway car-it could well benefit from magic bullet/Forte/BG 44 or similar industrial scale fuel system cleaners.

Any set of 15" 4 stud wheels/tyres for my 2l 16v considered. Dont have to be Corrado originals. Main thing is that they are not expensive: I've spent my money on shocks, bump stops, wishbones etc only to find I cant live with the set of 17" wheels currently fitted. Located in south Cumbria so probably have to be sent by courier. UPDATE: LOOKS LIKE I HAVE A DEAL WITH JAMES!!!!!!

There are 2 knock sensors on the front of the 9A block.

I had the same issue a couple of days ago. I got my car a few weeks ago and found the impulse sendor unattached. When I found it should go around lead 4 (thats what the Haynes Manual 1647 says for A9 engine as fitted to the Passat), I checked the forum. Lots of posts said it should be on lead 1 ie timing belt end of engine. I didnt think the end would come off the lead either by pulling or unscrewing-I didnt want to wreck the lead. I too thought they were moulded (genuine VAG leads). Eventually I found the fitting did twist and pull off at the distributor end. It was a tight fit getting the metal clip on the end of the lead through the inpulse sensor (the polo). I then replaced the lead fitting. I havent noticed any difference in the way the car performs and wondered whether my impulse sender was in fact working-I went with Haynes and put it on lead 4 (gearbox end of engine). So I'd be interested to hear any comments on what this impulse sender is supposed to do! (It would seem to me to be a feedback loop, indicating to ECU when spark occurs in cylinder 4, to be compared with when the ECU intended it to occur??)

Lucky you!!

If the track rod end is only a couple of years old a ball joint separator should work. If by ball joints you mean wishbone bjs, then I have found once the pinch bolt is out there is not usually a problem separating bj from wishbone. I've replaced both my PUG 306 and Corrado wishbones recently and in both cases heat and hammer were needed for the pinch bolts which were siezed. In both cases they were first replacements (16yr and 18yrs). If your w/b bjs have previously been replaced shouldnt be a problem.

I replaced both mine a few week ago. The bad news is that neither would budge no matter what I did. Different ball joint splitters wouldn't shift them no matter how many times I applied heat. In the end I cut them off the hub with an angle grinder, more or less drilled the pin out of the hub and used a hammer and drift to remove the remainder. Not much fun, but I did this after struggling for a couple of days with no result!! Hope you have better luck with a separator.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]55725[/ATTACH] For those of you who are unclear what a potentiometer looks like here is a photo. This is vw 048 133 154, Bosch 0280 120 426 which Vagcat parts catalogue says is the correct part for my 2l 16v 9A engine. It costs approx £120 from VAG. There are no other switches associated with this throttle. Normally such a device is called a throttle position sensor and feeds precise information to the ECU. Perhaps now readers will understand why I wished to establish whether this is a true TPS or just acting as 2 switches indicating throttle opening and throttle reached wide open!

Thanks for your reply. So you also reckon this is not being used as a tps but just 2 switches. If thats so then I dont have a problem. I still dont understand why VW have used an expensive potentiometer instead of 2 position switches. Im sure thats all my Mk2 Golf and Scirocco had.

Thanks for the reply. But Im not sure we are talking about the same set up. Was this on your present 16v or on a previous car? My throttle body has a potentiometer on the end of the butterfly spindle connected via short cable/socket to the loom. It doesnt have a switch for full throttle unless you are saying its built into the potentiometer too. Ive seen photos showing a separate switch for WOT-I dont have that. Since the so called potentiometer costs over £100 I thought it must be a TPS and not just 1 or 2 switches. I've only recently bought the car so cant be certain fuel consumption is high. The MFA on my golf gti and scirocco were both accurate, Ive checked all the vac hoses but havent yet filled the tank so not done a manual check. The reason I was investigating the various switches was because a couple of days ago the car started but wouldnt rev and kept cutting out-then it started to rev and was OK. This made me suspect the ECU was getting some false inputs. Posts here suggested the tps was often the cause of such problems. If anyone else has anything to add I would be grateful.

Jumped the gun

My TP sensor (048 133 154) shows either zero ohms or infinity as soon as the throttle opens (I hear the click as I open the throttle). Should it not show a steady change in resistance as the throttle opens? Right now its simply acting as a switch to show the throttle has opened? It seems to me that as its operating now its telling the engine ECU that the throttle is wide open whenever Im on the move. Maybe thats why my fuel comsumption is poor! Info greatly appreciated. And if my TPS is duff where do I find a new one without paying silly money or will I be looking for a used one?

Rear VW badge please

Its good to get confirmation the used cylinder I've bought is the correct one for the Corrado. Its even better news that a new replacement has been identified albeit with a minor mod to pipework. Ive Googled the new cylinder and see lots of companies in Germany etc selling it 170-230 Euros (but nothing in UK). I think lots of owners will want to know this info. How can it be made known to them-they wont necessarily read this thread and Im a Newbie so dont know how you handle these issues!

I spent several weeks looking for a 16v C and finally after long telephone conversations took the plunge. Almost banger money but with a full MOT and some tax! So I collected my 94 Ebay purchase (134K) and drove 3 hrs up the M6 with mixed thoughts: no rust, clearly some recent parts, better history than expected. It was immediately apparent the suspension needed attention. First tasks: a good Tcut and wax, then all seats removed to clean and dry inside followed by a general cleanup of engine bay especially around air intake box. After a week it was time to start the real work. The rear shockers were removed. A siezed lower bolt caused problems. The bump stops had disintegrated. The protective covers were missing. So new bilstien B4s and Febi bits inc top mounts ordered. The brakes had been overhauled 15months ago, with new calipers, cables, discs and pads. But it had been thrown together with chewed up bolts, a rotten backplate on one side and even an incorrectly installed pad! There was fun trying to remove the carriers: heat, oil, a new Allen key socket all failed but I discovered Irwin bolt removers which worked a treat. They also came in handy removing the stub axle bolts to replace the backplate. So everything cleaned up, painted and reinstalled with new bolts from VW. The test drive showed that the backend was sorted but the front still felt terrible. So same procedure on the front for struts and brakes. An impact socket was need for the carriers-normal sockets just wouldnt grip. I also found problems with the wishbones-perished front bushes and a ball joint with a torn rubber boot. Thats when the problems really began! One of the front w/bone bolts wouldnt budge. Over a couple of days it was finally moving but not coming out. Eventually 2 hours of turning forward and back with lots of oil extracted it through the offending steel sleeve. Then both ball joint pinch bolts were siezed. Another day of soaking , heating, swearing before these were finally hammered out and thankfully wishbones separated. I thought I may as well replace the trackrod ends while I was at it, the anti-roll bar links having both sheared off when I removed them. The rodend nuts came off but the joints refused to separate: no amount of oil, heat, use of various separators would move them. In the end after sleeping on it, the rodends were cut off with an angle grinder, the pins virtually drilled out of the wheel hubs, and the remnants driven out with a drift and hammer. Everything was cleaned up and painted, new parts/bolts bought and reassembled. Right now I'm waited for the struts to arrive to complete the task and looking forward to the test drive. The car is standard apart from 17 wheels and I will keep it so. I expect it to stay with me for many years-I had a Golf Mk2 GTI for 10yrs. I'm already buying used parts for storing for future use. So, I've not yet had the pleasure of the Corrado experience, and already spend more time and money than anticipated in my first flush of enthusiasm. Its about 45 yrs since I first overhauled the brakes on my Dad's car, so I wasn't entirely surprised that things didn't go to plan. But I bought the car as a Summer only second car-to enjoy driving. Lets hope this one lives up to the Corrados star billing! PS. Despite the new MOT, the car has a disconnected ABS light. Yes theres a fault there, sensors all check out resistance wise, so thats the next investigation unless I find cleaning up everything has solved the problem. Update: Struts fitted, car tracked and suspension/steering sorted, though with 17 inch wheels the potholes are a problem!

Mine is cast iron. It looks almost new-I think it must have a replacement. But be careful, there were several MK3 Golf cylinders on Ebay which definitely were not the correct one.

The Brake master is VW part no 358 611 019D: My original post was to try to ascertain sources of used cylinders cos its not possible to find a new one!! I'd read that some Golfs with ABS from 92-94 had the same part. There were some for sale on Ebay for example. The ATE part no was not identical to that on my car. I have ATE 10.6123-0680.3, the 6123 says its got a 23 mm bore (23.8). If it was 6122 it would be 22mm and not suitable. I found a cylinder with ATE no 10.6123-0690.3 from 94 Golf GTI 8v. So what's the difference between these cylinders? By checking other listings on the ATE online catalogue, I concluded that 0690 is a slightly later version of 0680 but in effect the same cylinder. Thats my belief, I am waiting for someone to agree/disagree. On that basis I have bought a spare from Ebay 10.6123.0690.3 to store for possible future need. You need to do your own investigation, but if you come the the same conclusion as me, then the Golf is a source of a replacement brake master providing it meets these citeria.