Tempest

:lol: Yes, should be fairly easy on a 16V, as there isn't that much tubing in the way unlike with a G60 :lol: Changed the coolant flange on my DX and PG-engines, definitely preferred doing the DX :lol: Good time to then also flush the entire cooling circuit and refill with fresh G12+ mixture :-) Tempest

Hope you weren't one of them :lol: I'd still go hunting around for an injector engine version of the Mk2 Rocco, TBH, even though the GT2s may all be newer, but they do have the sometimes problematic Pierburg carbs to contend with. Tempest

Well, the meet apparently was a big success in Osnabrück, or so I'm told by the organiser himself, Martin. Amidst nice warm, sunny autumn weather a convoy of 15 Roccos went through the beautiful country side of Osnabrück. tyhe drivers/owners/attendees then listened to a Talkshow-style entertainment session given by Karmann's Schwebe, Wasilewski and Breford: Wasilewski: "We did want to do the plastic bits properly, but Willi (Schwebe) didn't want that!" Schwebe: "I'd rather talk about women! And cars." He then mentioned how much bodge-work goes on at Ford and Alfa Romeo, where identical parts sometimes have tolerances of up to 15 mm!! After having talked about his experiences with Brasilian women during his time for Karmann in Brasil (yes, they do have a factory in Brasil as well), he then left with the parting shot: "If I hadn't remarried at 65, I wouldn't now have to leave!" :lol: They're possibly looking at repeating the thing again, a so-called pre-Karmann-meet party in the spring of 2006 :lol: Might fly across, stay a few days at my parents etc., as flights can be a lot cheaper than ferries these days :roll: Tempest

Sweet looking Dubs? Nah, prefer sweet looking Karmann type 53s :lol: Tempest

Shouldn't have to, as my Rado regularly sits at home exposed to the elements for more than 2 weeks, especially during the winter months. Never had a problem with that, although I do tend to just roll it a wee bit now and then, so the brakes at least won't stick too badly. A garage is, of course ideal, as I can testify from my 2 Roccos, which are left in their garages for over 5 and 6 months during the winter. A gentle wake-up in spring, and they're alive again :-) Tempest

Have to agree. I managed to get normal hexbolts in on one side (as I just don't think it was ever a good idea by VW to use rusty Allen bolts in an area prone to water ingress, ie. tyre splashing on wet roads). I failed the MOT on the rear brakes this summer, despite my best attemptts to grease the point where the handbrake lever is located (water ingress, once rubber seal perishes, then rust etc.), but no, didn't help for too long. Had the MOT garage repair the thing, as I was too bl**dy angry with having failed on this crap rear caliper design. All they did was refurbish the calipers, fit new disks and pads, but they didn't change those b*stard Allen bolts on the left side, which is the main thing I failed on in terms of doing the job entirely myself. they actually re-used the old bolts :mad: Once I had the Rado back again, I ripped out everything, replaced the rear calipers with Mk4 units, and replaced the re-used bolts with new ones. Admittedly they already start to rust as soon as you look at them :mad: Anyone know of any good fastener places, where you can get stainless steel or galvanised stuff? Coventry has one, but I need to order in quantities of 1000s :roll: Tempest

Yes, class contributions to the forum here, great meet in person at BVF, hope you're staying with us, with or without a Rado (preferably with a Rado, of course ;-) ). tempest

Fixed the clutch cylinder problem following a failed bleed attempt yesterday. Tools used: A squeezy toilet cleaner bottle filled with fresh brake fluid :lol: Tempest

Thanks :-) Yeah, the one about not pressing the clutch pedal with the slave cylinder removed. Not anymore from tomorrow. Indeed my Bentley now almost consists of more added in leaflets than the actual book itself :lol:, as particularly on the G-Lader side of things it's, just like VW's information (who originally declared this thing as non-servicable :lol:), quite poor. Thanks for the offer Jim, but you know me, I'm a bit reluctant of having to shout for help in an emergency :lol: Tempest

Yes I realised that now as well, as that is normally how I bleed the brakes, but alas the clutch seems to be different. The other problem is that I don't have a 2nd person to help me (no girlfriend or wife, and having a friend come over is always a bit awkward, as I really don't plan these things :lol:). In the end I got there with a bottle of toilet cleaner filled with fresh new brake fluid, squirted that into the slave cylinder bleed valve until it came out of the master cylinder bleed valve, then rebled the master cylinder and job done. Tested the gears wth engine switched on, and they all engaged nicely, and the car also didn't start to roll out of its own whilst in neutral. Now why doesn't the Bentley mention anything about clutch bleeding, as it is so different to brake bleeding? :mad: Tempest

Late GT2? Make sure it's an injector, though. That means go out abroad and get one, as all UK GT2 were carbs :roll: Well, going out in my Mk1 is always a bit of a different experience. Everyone just stares, does the usual 180° headturn. The Mk2 Storm also makes the occasional people turn their heads, whilst when out in the Rado in Coventry, you sometimes get some sad student types trying to challenge you in their Fiats (fully loaded, of course with no less than 4 students) :lol: Ahem, I must admit, I once was a student, too :lol: But I didn't drive a Fiat :-) or Fiasco, or something else typical studenty :lol: The thing I noticed with Rocco-drivers in the UK is that because a Mk2 Rocco is now so dirt cheap, they tend to fall in the wrong hands. hence their owners don't care about the Rocco, and are then somewhat bewildered, when they're waved at by another Roccodriver. VW: Launch that new bound-to-be-crap-Rocco and prices for Mk2s will undoubtfully go up, stopping them from falling in the wrong hands :-) Tempest

I'd still be very careful about posting those pictures on a public forum, folks. It regularly happens on German forums that Lexcom inteferes with threats for legal action. Just a thought ... Tempest

OK, thanks for the tips so far. I already thought of the cylinders having failed, but why during a bleed? Before everything was working fine, as far as I can tell, no clutch binding (suggesting good pressure on the push rod inside the gearbox) or slipping (suggesting no fluid leaking into the clutch housing). I'll first check the blue-textile wrapped feed hose to the master cylinder to see whether that's clogged, as soon as the weather permits again :roll: Really could do with a 3rd garage :lol: Tempest

In order to further investigate the funny and annoying squeal on my US-G60 Rado, and because the weather was pleasant today, I decided to bleed the clutch cylinders. Starting with the master cylinder, I opened up the valve, pressed the clutch pedal, and immediately noticed how the pedal stayed down :x OK, brake fluid did come out of the valve, so by hand I operated the clutch pedal a few more times, and with the pedal down, I closed the bleeder valve again. A few presses on the pedal later and enough resistance was there again to make the pedal return by itself, although it was softer than before I started the bleeding process. There was no noticable difference in fluid level in the reservoir :x OK, on with the slave cylinder, same thing again: Open the valve, press the pedal, it stayed down. Operated the pedal by hand a few times, fluid came out of the valve, with pedal down closed the valve again. Again, after a few more hand-operations of the clutch pedal it decided to stay up again. Pushing the pedal was noticably softer than at the beginning of this entire excercise. Confused by this, I repeated the process a few times, and eventually the clutch pedal did not return to its original position at all any more :mad: I also noticed that hardly any fluid came out of the bleeder valves any more. It almost seemed as if the master cylinder wasn't sucking in any new fluid from the reservoir :roll: Can that be? Shot master cylinder? Couldn't see any signs of leakage when I started this whole adventure (wish now I hadn't :lol: ). Both cylinders seem to be able to pump out fluid, the master one just not feed itself with fresh liquid :roll: That's the Midlands Meet slightly screwed then, as I have no car :mad: OK, as a last resort I could attempt to bleed the clutch cylinders using the front left brake cylinder, but I haven't got a hose that's long enough to reach :mad: Any suggestions, ideas? All welcome :-) Tempest

Amen to Jim, there :-) I for one am bl**dy proud of the 3 generations of type 53s that I own, but must also admit that the non-acceptance of the Rado amongst the Rocco-owners is greater than vice versa. As far as VW is concerned: I should really remove all those horrible VW-badges on my Mk2 and Mk3 Rocco, as I don't drive VWs, I drive Karmanns. VW just doesn't do it for me anyway anymore since they stopped ordering Corrados from Karmann. Touareg? Phaeton? :lol: Gimme a break ... :roll: Tempest

Ahhh, the word from Germany is that the alternative to the forecast miserable weather during the Midlands Meet is a meet in Osnabrück (don't know what the weather will be like in Os) with Schwebe (ex chief design engineer Karmann, responsible for the Rocco, the Rado and the legendary Ghia), Breford (yes, the guy who's selling the 176th of the first 400 hand-built Rados from the 0-series), and Wasilewski (ex head experimental labs at Karmann) attending :shock: Well, I'd suggest, we all hop onto a plane, and get across :lol: Tempest

Been busy at work, alas, loads of work, hence only can get really going in the evenenings, after my mod-duties on where else but the German Sciroccoforum :-), where I spend far too much time, closely followed by this forum :lol: Right: Roccos: My personal opinion is that they can be regarded as a wee bit more reliable than an average Rado (my 2 certainly are, and they are 21 and 24 years old, respectively :-) ). Probably due to the fact that they rely on solid tried and tested technology, whereas with the Rado VW/Karmann introduced lots of new concepts, that hadn't really been tried and tested on other models. The Corrado is definitely compared to the Rocco a much more modern car with all the associated problems. More modern means more electronics, more gadgets, all of which are wonderful when they work, but can be pigs to repair when they do go wrong. Compared to that the Rocco is a simple yet effective car, where due to a lack of all sorts of useless gadgets there is little that can go wrong, and those things that do go wrong can be easily repaired. You also have acres of space inside the engine bay to get working whereas a VR6 engine bay is a sheer nightmare to get into let alone get any tools into. Mk1s still do it for me as my all-time favourite, but they are very difficult to get hold of without too much rust, not too good for daily use (as they are prone to rusting with the wet British weather), and are also starting to go up in price, as fewer are left, yet they are becoming a well and truly sought after classic 70s car. Mk2s are dirt cheap on the other hand, and it's unlikely that they will get any cheaper. If you look around a bit, you can't even get a horrible Mk2 Goof for the money you can get a decent Mk2 Rocco for. Exceptions are, of course special editions like the Storm. Both the Mk1 and Mk2 Rocco are A1 chassis cars, i.e. based on the Mk1 Golf (also designed by Italdesign, incidentally), and hence spare parts shouldn't be too much of a problem. British spec Roccos varied greatly from German and other country spec cars. For example, all GT2s in Germany were injected, either sporting the 8V JH-code engine or the PL-code 16V engine, both CAT-engines. Personally I would always take the injected version. For Britain this means the DX-engine, the immediate follow-up to the legendary EG 1.6 GTI engine, that started it all (Bosch K-Jetronic et al). This engine has loads of bottom-end torque (that's why it only had 2 bhp extra compared to the 110 bhp EG-engine, depite it being a 1.8 engine, it was a longer stroke engine), and is still very rev-happy. They are almost indestructible, based on the 827 block developed back in the late 60, early 70s (that is what I mean by solid tried and tested). OK, the G60 also uses an 8V engine based on this block, but the G-Lader as well as all the ancillary electronics (Digifant) can cause serious problems. There is no electronic stuff other than the ignition module on the DX engine, less to go wrong :-) 16V Roccos: Yes, never quite understood why GB didn't get more. In the meantime there are, of course, some more 16V Roccos than the originally imported 10 LHD ones, some have been converted with KR engines taken from Golfs (problem of the intake manifold being the wrong way around, hence need to shuffle everything around in engine bay), some have been imported later on, one of which I helped import from my mate Dirk in Germany (a fully specced Mk2 GT2 PL-engine Rocco with airco, underengine cover, PAS, the lot). I am actually sometimes looking at a 4th car, folks :lol: Just as a daily basher, as all 3 my current cars are too good for that. Everytime I find myself invariably looking at a Rocco for this purpose again. Why not a Corrado? Too complicated and too expensive to use a daily driver, too many things to go wrong, hence I keep my Rado just for fun, not for daily use :-) Driving Roccos? Great fun, curvy roads are their main territory :-) Up to certain speeds, I'd prefer a Rocco, but particularly on the motorway at high cruising speeds (from 120 mph onwards), the Roccos tend to lose out in terms of handling, comfort, road and other noises etc. to the Rado. The Rocco chassis was simply not designed for the speeds the Rado is capable of handling effortlessly. Tempest

Agreed :lol: Same may threaten to happen, IF VW decide to go ahead with their new Scirocco. Those that would own one, would well and truly get looked down upon :lol: Ahem, I as a proud Roccodriver will let that go unnoticed :lol: Tempest

Well with those high ex-manager salaries (whores, jewelery for the missus, and other slightly less kosher benefits), no wonder, they're having to save money :lol: Tempest

http://www.v-dubs-united.co.uk/forum Looking at the list of forums available in the UK, is it just me, or are there simply too many? The problem is that a lot of these forums tend to be regionally bound, sort of replacing the old (mail-based) regional clubs. Shame really, as it doesn't make brining people together any easier, let alone when you're trying to sell a car. Tempest

Including my 2 pre-Rados, known as a Mk1 and a Mk2 Rocco, I own 3 Karmann type 53 coupes :-) Oh, and a shedload of parts for all 3 :lol: Tempest

This morning probably was the odd one out. Tonight at home I have been able to reproduce this annoying squeal with the engine idling, giving sharp(ish) kicks on the accelerator pedal, and letting go again (squeals only when pressing down the accelerator). When depressing the clutch pedal fully whilst doing the above little manoeuvre, the sound was still there. Moment of relief, as I think I can therefore rule out the gearbox, too. That still leaves me with the question, what causes this annoying squeal? Midland Meet folk: You're going to be the guinea pigs doing the listening this Sunday :lol: Tempest

US-spec Rados suffer a bit from the old rust worm where the 3rd brakelight sits, and let's not forget the rear licence plate light holder. Then there's the occasional tailgate window, especially in either or both of the 2 bottom corners, where rain water likes to collect, when the Rado's stationary. Tempest

Marketing bull, typical ;-) I trust the ADAC. Chinese cars may ultimately get there, but like their Japanese counterparts many years ago, still aren't there yet. Never mind the dull styling ... ;-) Tempest

Same here, I sometimes have to pass over certain jobs to garages, but I generally hate doing that. Not so much because of the £ spend (which I then still feel ripped off for), but mainly as I just don't trust anyone on my babies. I generally always re-inspect work done by garages, which they hate me for. Last one job done by a garage was to repair the seized rear calipers. Not happy with the job (enough to pass the MOT), I did the lot all over again, this time using Mk4 Goof calipers :lol: Tempest Tempest