Bob's Dad

Turns out it was a bad ground to the engine, likey caused by original sparking incident. Someone grounded the engine with speaker wire and ran it directly to the negative post clamp. Thanks for the help and support. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Went thru everything. Finally swapped ignition coil tonight and got it running. Took victory lap and stopped at the store. Now starting all over, but it's not in my driveway. One of the start attempts had the relay clicking real fast, that was weird. Guessing there is a short or something. Damn. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Ooh, yea, that'll help. Its a 1992 VR6 living in the USA.

Short story: Weak battery, got it started anyway ... then stalled it trying 4th gear engagement ... and then it only cranks, won't start. Thought maybe I flooded it, waited overnight, still won't start. Plan: Check fuel pump relay and check for spark. Then maybe actual fuel flow. Longer story: Was fiddling with lower cable on the shifter (grinds, won't engage 2,4). I did short the battery with the wrench, may have weakened the battery, can't imagine this would cause other electrical issues. It had been sitting, Bob had left the door open earlier in the week. So slow cranking, but it started. I tried 2nd (pops), then 4th and it stalls. Yay, it engaged. But can't crank now. Jumpered it and that's when I thought maybe I was flooding it, trying to hard to start it. The next day cranked it and it still won't start. I'm afraid to mess with the trottle when cranking, I've never had a problem with that. I can't believe that stalling it or shorting the battery would cause any problems. But here I am, and I guess I'll have to start with the basics, but not my expertise. We're still on our first tank of gas since getting this in February, the shifting problem was frustrating enough, this is :bonk: :scratch: :geek: . Any tips are appreciated.

Well, I've fiddled enough with the shifter bolts that now I can't get/find 5th gear. Sad Corrado can just hit 1, 3, and Reverse. Enough to run around the block, Bob's not happy, and I'm frustrated. It does seem that 2nd and 4th not engaging would do with the linkage, not the tranny itself. I've googled and googled for ideas ... it could be the synchros, it could be the teeth on the shifter post, it could be bad cables. Sigh.

Thanks Sean. Good help on the shifter stuff, I'll dig into it next week. Nothing like winding her out and not being able to get into fourth. I did find this on another form digging around about the old/new tensioners:

So its been a couple weeks and Bob & I love tooling around town with the Corrado. The first time we had a Jetta guy with his face plastered on his window looking at our car as we passed, I couldn't stop smiling. We've tackled the e-brake to fix first, easy enough. Of course the lever was about pulled off the center hump, and the guide tube broke due to rust. But as soon as ebay delivers, we'll be done with that. Next I have two projects, I'd like help with some info ... Chain noise ... I can't really tell if there is any, the seller said we should check on it. Here is a start-up video if anyone cares to check it out. The VW mechanic said to try replacing the tensioner bolt first. Sounds easy enough. But I bought 'the new style' without a hole in the tip, which seems like I can't use with my 92 VR6. Question 1: Easy question ... Do I need to find the old style? When I ordered it, I didn't know there was a difference, and hadn't encountered any for sale of the 'old style'. (2.8L USA version) Shifting problems for 2nd, 4th. ... A few times after running it for a while, getting into these gears means hold down on the shifter, they'd either want to grind or pop out. Last run-around yesterday, I didn't seem to have this problem, or I am getting used to compensating. So there are three things I can do: fiddle with the shift lever on the transmission, take apart the shifter, or hope it goes away. Question 2: where would you start? Related to the shifting problem is the fact that the cables run very close to the aftermarket header as they both enter the center hump. Could the heat here be a problem? It looks like something melted on the one cable shield already. Question 3: Is this something I should be concerned with? [ATTACH=CONFIG]85637[/ATTACH] Anyway, any help on these would be great. Hopefully soon we can get back to the fun stuff like buying wheels.

Okay, trying to figure out shifting problem (2nd & 4th not engaging/popping out after running a while), I noticed the cables running awfully tight to the header. Is this normal ... and is it possible that the heat would stretch out the cable during use? Etc. [ATTACH=CONFIG]85583[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the replies, they are exactly the viewpoints we needed. I think Bob is thinking more toward the classic 15". Thanks @Endeegee, I've been thinking if the chain has to be done sooner or later, why not sooner. I'd try it myself, but I haven't pulled a tranny since I was Bob's age, and he's not ready for that, either. So will talk to the local VW mechanic.

My son and I bought a Corrado last week as a fun/project car. It shows a lot of signs of tinkering by previous owners. But it still looks a lot like an old car. The seller was kind enough to hint that a timing chain repair would be in our future ... I'm hoping that and a slick pair of rims will be our only major expenses in the near future. It will need fresh paint at some point. So, the boy (19) wants to get cool wheels, who cares about a timing chain :) We aren't afraid of staying at 15", but fashion these days is for bigger. Any problem going to 16, and what aspect ratio tires would suit 16s? Oh, and yes, this has coil-overs and is lowered. Or if we stay at 15s, is the stock 205/50 ratio the way to go? Dad's noob question is that after our first extended drive around town, found it wanting to pop out of 2nd and 4th. Maybe I need to get my old touch back, or is there something to be concerned about? Thanks in advance, I see lots of questions to toss around here in the future. [ATTACH=CONFIG]85509[/ATTACH]