why oh why did i buy a rado

[steve4179 0]

well so far i have been driving it for 2 days and it is the worst handling car i have ever driven due to sloppy steering, and where the car has been bodged up over the years, replaced ball joints for mot and noticed lower arm bushes are shot so now got new lower arms and poly bushes to go in, went to get the tracking done to find out someone had cut the locking nut off with a grinder and hit the threads so cant track it, now i have bought a new track control arm and tie rod ends which i have to fit which is bound to be a pain, and i also found the bushes that attach suspension to top mounts were missing so had to replace them, and my alpine stereo wont fit in the dash cos it has to many connections and gets caught

did i do the wrong thing buying a corrado???

[bristolbaron 10]

Nope, you just bought a bad one..

[steve4179 0]

dont worry it will be a good one by the time im finished, just means my golf will be on the back burner for the minute

[OllieVR6 0]

Doesn't sound like anything unusual with an old car. Even buying a 'good' Corrado for top money you are going to find things break, bodge jobs by previous owners or garages and so on. Obviously these things aren't limited to Corrado's either!

 

Stick with it, when you get the handling sorted you will change your mind for sure! Also, there is LOADS of room in the dash for the head unit and all the connectors you could possibly want it just takes a bit work to get it all tidy. I would suggest perhaps removing the lower shelves to give you a better view and easier access.

[joby 0]

dont worry it will be a good one by the time im finished, just means my golf will be on the back burner for the minute

 

Thats the spirit, Just look at having to replace all the underpinings as you would expect from an old car like the corrado thats what i have done and im still sorting other bits

[steve4179 0]

yeah i know there is gonna be the odd problem as i have found with my mk2 golf ive been doing up its just a pain in the a##e at the moment as im off work on the sick, luckily i been working on vw's for years so i can do all the work myself, im sure once the new lower arms and track rod arms/ ends are on it and all tracked up properly it will be fine as for the stereo we took the lower part and the glove box out and still struggled

[carrots 1]

ive felt the same as you mate,fix 1 thing and something else would brake.thing is i still love it

[steve4179 0]

Im sure once i got the handling all sorted ill love it, plus on the up side the spoiler coming up and down is awesome

[Jim 2]

They are honestly a great drive when they're all sorted.. but as you've found, there are some abused and neglected examples out there. Spend some money on sorting the suspension / drivetrain issues and I'm sure it'll put a smile on your face :)

[Supercharged 2]

As above - should feel like a MK2 Golf only better handling, more confident and (aero) dynamic.

 

I've just done an 850 mile round trip of Wales in mine and absolutely loved it, great roads and car handled sublimely!

[stereoflaver 0]

I would suggest perhaps removing the lower shelves to give you a better view and easier access.

 

Thats how I got all my cables in behind the dash, reaching up n pulling them through.

[steve4179 0]

well after a weekeend of work new lower arms poly bushes track control arm and track rod ends, and she is now a hundred times better, still not as good as i like, as it still feels a bit sloppy but i am happier with the car now just got to clean the throttle body get it laser lined cos so far its only tracked with a diy kit and get a new exhaust next

[jamiehamy 0]

well after a weekeend of work new lower arms poly bushes track control arm and track rod ends, and she is now a hundred times better, still not as good as i like, as it still feels a bit sloppy but i am happier with the car now just got to clean the throttle body get it laser lined cos so far its only tracked with a diy kit and get a new exhaust next

 

Remember the camber. Waste of money doing tracking without camber at same time. Trust me, I've chewed enough tires to know!

[carrots 1]

how do you adjust the camber

[steve4179 0]

yeah i just gotta finda place local that can sort camber adjustment

[jamiehamy 0]

Short answer - go to a reputable garage.

 

Not so short answer - loosen two bolts holding the strut to the hub and adjust.

 

Long answer - With car on a flat surface, use a camber gauge to measure the camber on each wheel(using disck is best as means you have a common point to use with wheel off and on). I got a Sealey one from ebay. Ideally you are looking for about 0.5degrees negative, which means the top in slightly further in the the bottom. (there are figs on here on another thread).

 

Work out how much you need to adjust each side to get to desired camber. Jack up, remove wheels and loosen the strut bolts, but slowly and carefully. You don't want them too lose as you dn't want them to move from original position yet.

 

Place the gauge back on disk and start to lever the strut/hub until the appropriate adjustment has been made, then tighten back up. remember that the gauge won't show the proper camber due to being jacked up, but you can use the gauge to make the required adjustment e.g. 0.5 degrees positive if you have too much negative camber etc..) Repeat for other side.

 

Replace wheels and lower car to ground. Take a very small drive (probably reverse out the drive and back) and start again. This ensures the springs have settled and so on and stop a false reading.

 

If you've got the adjustments right, you'll be sitting with the right camber. If not, hopefully you are closer and repeat.

 

Only once the camber is set should you do the tracking.

 

Hope that helps!