Newbie with VR6 problems.....

[freddy_t 0]

Hi guys,

 

New to this forum, been an enthusiast since a kid and had many VW's but need some help with my new corrado VR6 (93) which i picked up yesterday!

 

Its my new little project which I want to get back to its origanal conditon and any help or feedback from you guys would be much appreciated.

 

Right...

 

1) Picked the car up knowing it was low on coolant so topped it up at a petrol station, whilst buying more water from the shop for the journey home (incase it needed) it i came out to find hot water pouring into the footwells whilst the engine was running. I panicked and called out the AA and they disconnected the heater matrix pipes and diverted them. The car then ran fine! Are these symptoms of the heater matrix needing replacing? If so how much does this roughly cost and does it involve removing the dashboard?

 

2) What temperature should the oil be running? Sat in London traffic it was sat at 104 degrees and after the two hour drive home it was 110 degrees. Is this normal?

 

3) After taking it out for a spirited drive that evening, I came home to find smoke pouring out of the front wheel arches (smells like clutch/rubber) in a huge cloud....could this just be the brakes as they havent been used for a few months? Or deeper issues?

 

4) Looking at getting the car resprayed in its original dragon green as the paint work needs attention. Can anyone recommend a good paintshop that deals mainly with VW's as I want a professional job? Have any of you had difficulty blending the paint in on this colour?

 

5) The accelerator pedal feels extremely stiff, does this just need lubrication or could there be an alternative problem?

 

Can I thank you all in advance for realing this and hopefully I can gain some useful information from you all.

 

Thanks

Fred

[Goldie 2]

Welcome to the forum freddy_t.

 

Question 1, carry out a search, ive read about that hapenning to guys before.

 

Question 2, 110 is nothing to worry about, itll get hotter than that if you cane it.

 

Question 5, the accelerator pedal is stiff on them all. When i get in any other car i rev the ass off it because after the Rado i think its too light!!

 

Im sure others will come to your rescue for the remianing questions.

 

Good luck.

[2corrados 0]

HI Fred

here's my limited knowledge.

1. Yes matrix, or pipework has gone,,a nd yes dash out job, or leave in divert from AA and freeze.

2.Temp is fine

3.Probably due to being sat, see how it goes

4.Pass, better to get the car right first then worry about it looking good.

5.make sure linkage is greased and free moving, springs in right place etc.

 

Have fun, I now have 3, just bought one for £150, mrs nearly killed me...........

[TIMMYVR 0]

Hi fred wellcome to the forum, does sound like your heater matrix is gone. is the windscreen also very greasy? Oil temp at 104 is ok all the vr6s ive had have run around that, 110 is not extreme. The smoke from the front wheel arches sounds like the brakes are binding but im sure someone else will be able to enlighten you futher. The accelerator pedal being stiff is simmilar to mine when i got the vr6 i have now. I sprayed wd40 down the cable and it soon loosened off. Hope this helps you a bit mate.

[Taggart 0]

New throttle cable could be an idea too, not too expensive.

[ZippyVR6 0]

Welcome along,

 

Hate to say it but you seem to have a few probs there, I would expect to use some of your re-spray budget on getting it straight,

 

Heater martix is definatly shagged. cheap job to fix but a PITA to do. matrix costs about 40 quid from GSF, and the job can be done with out total removal of the dash, but expect to spend some time swearing and grimicing whilst in some very uncomfortable positions.

 

Oil sounds normal to me, Dont stress it, the car gets hot, Symptoms of big engine in small place. Ive had mine up to 130 in peaks of summer, you only need to stop and let it cool if it gets above 140 according to VW.

 

Hmm brakes? not sure about that one, could be binding, has it sat some time?

 

If you are having a total respray they dont need to wory about blending in. but dragon green is still available.

 

Basically the best advice I can give is use the search. Type teh words you are looking for in to the search bar with the word "and" inbetween, ie "heater and matrix" or "oil and temp" and you should be well on for sorting her out,

 

Best of luck.

[freddy_t 0]

Wow! Cheers guys wasn't expecting such a huge response so soon!

 

In response to the heater matrix, yes the windscreen is greasy! What does this mean?

 

Are there any guides available online how to change the heater matrix?

 

Yes the car has been sat for a couple of months however the brakes didn't sound like they were binding. Smoke only appeared after some hard braking and as before smelt like clutch or rubber??

 

I will lube up the throttle cable and look for an improvement!

 

No doubt there will be more questions to follow.....

 

Thanks ever so much again.

 

Fred.

[Crasher 3]

For Christ’s sake do not use a pattern matrix, buy a genuine late Golf 3 matrix from the dealer, the pattern matrix from GSF whether branded Valeo or not are utter crap and fail again in no time on the VR6. I am prepared to go out on a limb here and say that, knowing that GSF and Valeo would come back at me over it if they dare, they dare not because I have proof!. Also, if a genuine matrix fails, VW will do the whole job for free including parts and labour even though the matrix was fitted elsewhere, that’s right, you fit it and it fails, they will change it. The usual cause of matrix failure is the electric water pump behind the coil pack or distributor depending on the age of the car. It takes over a day to change a matrix and it is a git of a job so please do not fit a pattern matrix or else, like one of my customers, you will fit three before fitting a genuine unit.

[vr6storm 0]

stiff throttle pedal is normally new throttle cable time

[Roger Blassberg 0]

If there are smells and smoke coming from your brakes they must be binding well and truly, and their efficiency must have faded, not to mention what it is doing to the hydraulic fluid by being consistently over heated.I would say that this is the first port of call for your time, effort and money.

 

It could be that one or both calipers are seized due to corrosion and/or a hardening of the main seal(s). Check that the calipers slide freely on the guide pins. If that's not the solution, change the seals which are available in a repair kit from VAG at about £10 per side; it's a fiddle but fairly basic. The main difficulty is getting the pistons out, and then back into the caliper. I have a pair of 280mm calipers in the garage which you could have if the problem is more serious. Or go the whole hog and put on a 288mm setup which is well worthwhile -(now you can understand why I have a spare set of 280mm calipers and carriers....),

 

As others have said, the best solution for the stiff throttle is to fit a new cable.

 

I have Dragon Green; a good paint shop will be able to match it and you'll never see the join.

 

Best wishes

 

RB

[Andy T 0]

The usual cause of matrix failure is the electric water pump behind the coil pack or distributor depending on the age of the car.

 

Crasher, never heard of that one before, does the electric water pump have to be worn, faulty or totally dead to cause matrix failure? What causes it to happen and what should we be looking out for?