VR6 quick update and stories of woe :(

[The_Dude 0]

I picked up the car yesterday from the lads at DGAutotech and I must say I'm highly impressed with both the quality of work and level of professionalism coupled with a friendly attitude. Its been there for two weeks, but that was more due to me living about 150 miles away and during that time Dave has kept me well updated as to progress with many PMs and phone calls. They found more problems than anticipated but always kept me in the loop so I was aware of what needed doing. I've got a new rad and fans with the DG brackets, also some serious fettling of the suspension which was starting to feel distinctly dodgy. With new R32 bushes, front ARB links and top mounts the car now feels like I am steering it, not the other way round. They also finished hooking up the water injection I got from the Schimmel group buy aaaages ago, something my previous useless garage seemed unable/unwilling to do. It now kicks in around 4.5k but its fully adjustable, both when it activates and the strength of the injection...they even road tested it hooked up to a laptop so it could be properly programmed and Graham gave a Type-R a lesson in how a real car should drive. :D Can't wait for the CF RR session in a few weeks time to see what difference it makes.

 

I'm very happy having got the car serviced by Dave and Graham, they both really know their stuff being Corrado enthusiasts and the personal touch they gave ensured my future business. I have no trouble recommending them to anybody on here. :salute:

and the Corrado Cam on the CCGB website meant I could show everyone at work my car in bits! :D

 

Next, I have some crazy fool idea for my Speeds...four words.....glow in the dark :shock:

[The_Dude 0]

Pics for you photo whores :D

 

Boost controller

 

Injector

 

Pump

 

Fans and watertank. thinking of relocating this to somewhere cooler, ie the boot.

[Martyn_McG 0]

nice car, loving your wheels, you sold them yet? and how much u going to be selling them for!

[The_Dude 0]

Today I changed my heap o' rust excuse for a driver's door for a minty fresh one I bought from Dazfxvw yesterday. :salute: The last two years of almost constant rain have taken their toll and the rust has grown considerably. I've had to change out most of the innards, but luckily it came with decent glass and all rubbers intact. It was surprisingly simple to do, apart from rehanging it, which was a complete and utter buttache. I guess it may have been easier with someone else there to hold the door for me, but no-one else was at home so what ya gonna do? So intsead I enlisted the help of 3 bricks and some padding to prop up the door whilst I swore at it. I didn't time it, but it felt like a good 20 minutes of trying to get the bottom holes lined up and then getting the bolt in enough so the socket didn't pull it back out again. :bad-words: But I got there in the end. The central locking pump was also shot, so I had to swap that for another I had. The doorcard is still off as I need to get some sheeting to go behind it. I think the reason my old door got so bad was because the PO had used some kind of foam instead of waterproof sheet and it held all the moisture in the door. :( Anyway, I'm chuffed because it was really letting the car down and was a bit of an embarassment tbh. It looks a slightly different colour but I'm hoping its because the rest of my car is dirty and the door is clean. I was running out of sunlight and didn't have time (couldn't be bothered!) to wash it. I'll do that tomorrow and see.

 

Anyway, pics for you who can't be bothered reading the above drivel.

Book1.pdfIMG00062-20090927-1457.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

stromlaufplan_gamma4.pdfIMG00069-20090927-1651.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

ETKA Corrado.pdfIMG00066-20090927-1651.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

stromlaufplan_gamma4.pdfIMG00067-20090927-1651.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

Corrado92.pdfIMG00068-20090927-1651.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

 

After a bit of poking

passat climatronic wiring diags.pdfIMG00070-20090927-1706.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

climatronic wiring-Golf from May 01.pdfIMG00071-20090927-1706.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

2.8l 24v Climatronic system.pdfIMG00073-20090927-1733.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

 

 

I've also hooked up a boost gauge courtesy of Revotec. Useful for comaring with my boost controlled water pump. Rock on. :grin:

IMG00041-20090820-1845.jpg[/attachment:1o9zxt86]

[Toad 0]

Do you want me to send you some plastic sheet? I am going to start making door membranes and selling them, but I've not gotten round to it yet...

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

There never seems to be any consistency with Corrado rust :? I've never seen a Corrado door go like that!

[The_Dude 0]

Do you want me to send you some plastic sheet? I am going to start making door membranes and selling them, but I've not gotten round to it yet...

 

Yes please Mr T. I'll drop you a PM.

[The_Dude 0]

There never seems to be any consistency with Corrado rust :? I've never seen a Corrado door go like that!

 

It was a bit rusty when I got it, but I guess having it live outside and not get washed much in winter didn't help! I'm getting a car cover this winter and I promise to wash it more.

[The_Dude 0]

Recently I've been having running issues. Aside from the stalling, which is synonymous with charged VRs, my car was not performing as it should, suddenly cutting power, struggling under load and generally down on power. It was ok if I booted it, but that's not always practical in London. :D I had traced it to the maf wiring, but having the electrical aptitude of a beagle I decided now was the time for a management upgrade. So off to DG Autotech it went, along with a tasty Neuspeed rear ARB. I think it was a bigger job than the boys anticipated but I'm pleased with the results. She runs so much smoother now, the stalling is a thing of the past and it revs like good 'un! It got a live remap on the road rather than a rolling road and I think its a better way of doing it as RRs are an artificial test. (it was RR'd last november and got 305.7 bhp, but I dunno about now. I suppose that's the one disadvantage :) )The ARB has improved the handling too, it feels like the back of the car is connected to the front again, but I think I'm gonna have to watch out for that lift-off oversteer! Can't wait for the show season to start so I have an excuse to drive long distances :nuts:

Hats of to Graham and Dave for persevering thru illness, snow and popping hoses. :salute:

Oh and I have a nice black fanimold too, looks the dogs. Pics to come when its lighter outside.

[The_Dude 0]

I knew something wasn't right. I thought it was the old maf wiring but I was wrong. Very wrong. It was running fine while at D&G, but a few weeks after I got it home and had thrashed it a few times that I knew something was awry. Maybe it was the poor running and huge clouds of white smoke coming out the exhaust. Head gasket I thought. Not too bad if I don't drive it anymore and get it recovered to a garage.

 

Dave was a legend and came down to stick it on the back of an AA truck.

 

I was naffed off at the thought of having to spend more money to get it fixed again, but I received a rather shocking call this morning once they had got the head off.

 

Damage done to engine:

 

3 headbolts stretched leading to head gasket failure. They were standard bolts.

 

Cylinders 1 & 6 are heavily glazed and ovalised.

It would seem injector 2 has failed and caused damage to a piston.

There a deep gouging hone marks down all the cylinders.

The chains are worn down virtually to the rivets.

 

These last four points really feck me off (apart from the injector I guessas that's no-ones fault) as the main reason I bought the car was that although the bodywork wasn't amazing, it was supposed to have had an engine rebuild about 5k before I got my mitts on it. It would seem it has, but a very bad one. I'm pretty sure there is a charge for chains in among the rebuild receipt. I'm really really f*cked off and considering breaking it and starting all over again. Or even throwing in the towel completely and not bothering to replace it. I hardly ever use the car now and its costing me huge amounts of cash to not even keep on the road, which I just don't have anymore.

 

D&G already have a potential replacement engine lined up, but would obviously need a rebuild.....they have been awesome thu all this, some details I won't go into but I have never had such support from a garage before and it has lessened the blow. However I'm still sat at my desk utterly fuming. I really don't know what to do atm, I have had no love for my car for a long time now, I can't remember the last time I had a period of more than a few days of me enjoying it. The car owes me so much money and I know seling or breaking it I wouldn't even get a fifth of it back, but I hate it and am reluctant to spend any more f*cking money. :censored:

[big ben 10]

feel for you mate, really do!!

 

think you need to weigh up your options first though... you know your not going to get any money for it really, it needs sorting out and rebuilding to a good standard so it doesnt need doing again!! then your love will come back for it

[mrbeige 0]

Don't break it....

 

 

....let the DG boys work their magic ;)

[dukest 0]

I dont know if it helps Jim but I think for all of us who effectively have these reasonable to high performance cars, on this budget, of the age these are, that have been modified, then everything about them becomes a consumable.

 

I dont know where you're at, but say the car owes you £10k after you fix the engine, its still a 300+bhp car on reasonably modern management, with good suspension, bushes and a (proper) engine rebuild behind it. Thats still pretty good value compared with other cars out there. You could go and buy a Focus Asbo for similar money lets say, but even though that will be newer, you wont want to be driving an Asbo and anything else you buy for similar money wont have had everything on it replaced like yours will have.

 

I fully get that now having a house means money disappears frequently but i dont think that you're throwing good money after bad if you fix it - i think your only gripe really is with the previous owner or people that did the work.

 

Sometimes we all have sh!t happen - imagine if it had been you instead of me at that corner 18 months ago, this rebuild will be cheaper than that.. ;)

[MArrado 0]

I can totally sympathise with you - i too have felt the pain of constant car trouble over the past 6 months, with an engine swap being the largest outlay :brickwall: and yes, today is no exception. i've spent more time borrowing my mothers car than i have been in mine....it sucks. hoping for a trouble free summer to make it all worth while. today is front wheel bearings and shocks, tomorrow is camber adjustment, then its time to auction off some organs on ebay......cant help you decide either way as i have often considered getting rid also. good luck tho regardless and cheers for the thread.

[Jim 1]

It's a tough one and I know I've felt like throwing in the towel sometimes with my cars over much smaller problems.. I know how the Corrado can get you like that.

 

I'd say it's a pretty simple decision though - if you can afford to fix it, do it and get it done right with all the uprated bits and pieces you need and the engine rebuild. If you can't afford it, or would rather spend that money elsewhere, just break it and be rid of it.

 

It sounds like it'll be a diabolical bill whichever way you look at it (£3k at least) so you have my sympathy! Hope you come to a decision you're happy with.

[tandino 0]

My view is that you buy a complete car that has had a engine rebuild or that you know has had a load of work done or very low mileage that you can drive and test first, fit the engine and break the rest, cheapest way to do it.

Id even be tempted to use a 2.8 rather than the ABV if i was going for silly power, they seem to be more tolerant of abuse and dont seem to suffer the bore problems as bad as the 2.9...

[big ben 10]

whatever happens, you are unfortunately going to have to fork out some cash... on a new car, new project or repairing the one you have! i think getting this running better than ever before would be my target

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Id even be tempted to use a 2.8 rather than the ABV if i was going for silly power, they seem to be more tolerant of abuse and dont seem to suffer the bore problems as bad as the 2.9...

 

Yeah with my experiences of ABV engines, that's what I would do too.

 

Find a decent AAA lump, throw it in and move on :D

[The_Dude 0]

I dont know where you're at, but say the car owes you £10k after you fix the engine......

Sometimes we all have sh!t happen - imagine if it had been you instead of me at that corner 18 months ago, this rebuild will be cheaper than that.. ;)

 

and the rest....i stopped counting at 10k and that was quite a while ago. which is why i'm so reluctant to keep chucking money at it.

if it had been me, at least i would have got a respray out of it and not have to worry about bodywork either, which seems to get shabbier by the week. i wanna be getting that looking good, not spending inside the engine bay.

 

My view is that you buy a complete car that has had a engine rebuild or that you know has had a load of work done or very low mileage that you can drive and test first, fit the engine and break the rest, cheapest way to do it.

Id even be tempted to use a 2.8 rather than the ABV if i was going for silly power, they seem to be more tolerant of abuse and dont seem to suffer the bore problems as bad as the 2.9...

 

don't have the readies to buy a new C, i can stick the rebuild on the credit card and pay for it that way, but as for cold hard cash, i have none :(

 

I'd say it's a pretty simple decision though - if you can afford to fix it, do it and get it done right with all the uprated bits and pieces you need and the engine rebuild. If you can't afford it, or would rather spend that money elsewhere, just break it and be rid of it.

 

unfortunately its never that simple. i can afford it if I card it as said above, but having just cleared my card and moved into a flat i have other priorities to spend my wonga on and am reluctant to whack another huge car bill on the card. having said that, i really love corrados and driving a 300 bhp monster and hate being without wheels...i live to drive basically and love everything that comes with it.

 

i need to see what i can sell....anybody want some TH monos? or a kidney? :lol:

 

 

Id even be tempted to use a 2.8 rather than the ABV if i was going for silly power, they seem to be more tolerant of abuse and dont seem to suffer the bore problems as bad as the 2.9...

 

Yeah with my experiences of ABV engines, that's what I would do too.

 

Find a decent AAA lump, throw it in and move on :D

 

but i won't have as much powerrrrrrr then and i'm maxxed out on what the V9 can do. :shrug:

[dukest 0]

I'm sure the monos would go easily and that takes a whack out of it - there's always wheels around to swap with people if you get bored - i seem to have 3 sets at the moment..

[vwdeviant 0]

Jim, don't break it...

 

or you'll find yourself like me... stood staring at an empty driveway... I hate that! :(

[KADVR6 0]

been there done that and broke mine :(

 

you could sell the v9 and all the 12v engine bits, then buy this engine and all the other bits the guys selling viewtopic.php?f=13&t=91124 and have a nice healthy 244bhp on a lot newer engine.

 

or break it all and buy coullstars 24v.

 

just a thought.

[The_Dude 0]

been there done that and broke mine :(

 

you could sell the v9 and all the 12v engine bits, then buy this engine and all the other bits the guys selling viewtopic.php?f=13&t=91124 and have a nice healthy 244bhp on a lot newer engine.

 

or break it all and buy coullstars 24v.

 

just a thought.

 

don't wanna take a step back in power :) if i'm gonna do that, its going to be the power of 2 legs that propel me along.

[bananawhip 0]

Sorry to hear that mate, Don't understand why it's going to cost you much at all though?

 

You're OBD2 now so a replacement low milage engine won't cost more then about £300 and they're 10 a penny, If your staying 2.9 then factor in a longer wait for a good one and £200 quid more. If you're that bothered about losing a bit of power then while it's off just chuck a LW flywheel in with the money you've saved going 2.8, less stress on the drivetrain and I'd imagine it helps remove the flat spot before the V9 joins in later in the rev range.

 

10 hours fitting time, obviously not including if you get a rebuild while it's out but don't see why that's essential if it's low milage and you're staying around 300bhp

 

Job done!

[The_Dude 0]

Sorry to hear that mate, Don't understand why it's going to cost you much at all though?

 

You're OBD2 now so a replacement low milage engine won't cost more then about £300 and they're 10 a penny, If your staying 2.9 then factor in a longer wait for a good one and £200 quid more. If you're that bothered about losing a bit of power then while it's off just chuck a LW flywheel in with the money you've saved going 2.8, less stress on the drivetrain and I'd imagine it helps remove the flat spot before the V9 joins in later in the rev range.

 

10 hours fitting time, obviously not including if you get a rebuild while it's out but don't see why that's essential if it's low milage and you're staying around 300bhp

 

Job done!

 

 

Cos I don't want to be in the same boat 1 year down the line with another blown engine. I'm gonna get it all done properly or not at all. I still don't know what to do, I have to wait to find out the final prognosis of what is f*cked and what is not.