Phil Diment

:)Apologoes for the bad link. Try "www.cover-systems.com". As for a cover £5 from Lidls, try leaving the cover on with the car outside in the rain and see how much condensation builds up under the cover rusting away at out pride and joys bodywork. I'd recommend a "breathable" cover; like anything else you pays your money and takes the your choice. Cheers, Phil

:) Hi, I don't know if you can get a custom one for the Corrado but I bought one made by "Cover Systems"(UK) off the Internet which is outdoors and breathable; comes with a central strap and tabs at front and rea for bungees if neede and access when on to both doors. Cost around £100. Try their website at www. "Cover Systems". Cheers, Phil

:) Hi, Try taking the bulb out of the boot light and see if it makes any difference. I had the same problem with my VR and doind that has "cured" it. Cheers, Phil

I nominate Corkills of Onchan, Isle of Man now known as Lancaster - main VW dealer Reasons: Refusal to honour my warranty claim for my VR based on excessive oil consumption/lots of oil smoke after having had the car for 1500 miles and with new valve stem oil seals having been fitted immediately before I bought it. Their skilled mechanics didn't notice the valve guide wear? (the rest of the story is elsewhere on these pages); No warranty claim without my paying for a head stripdown first at around £500-600 in order for them to decide whether it's a warranty claim at all. So, distinct possibility of engine in bits; "it's not a warranty claim at all sir" that'll be £500 plus VAT. Stuff that, they will never see any business from me and as many people as i can persuade not to use them. :mad:

:) Just a wild query: I've been offered a Passat VR6 engine (1995);apparrently in good condition as a replacement for my worn VR6 - will it fit onto a standard VR6 Corrado manual gearbox or will mods be required? Many thanks, Phil

:) Yep or as near as I can get for the money I have. i haven't got £2700 plus VAT for one from Stealth Racing and the one's I've seen on E-bay with 140,000 k are probably nearing rebuild time. Cheers, Phil

:)Might sound stupid but does anyone know how much a VR6 engine and box weighs? and/or dimensions i.e length/width? I'm planning on getting one shipped over here and need to tell the courier company. Many thanks in advance, Phil

:( Be very careful if you take it to Lancaster for any service/repair work on your VR6. In my experience/advice, after my experience with them I wouldn't trust their warranty/ service department at all. If you do take it there expect to pay big bucks; and after the work is done check as far as you can whether it's been done properly. I bought my VR from them. See "Disaster-advice required guys" ( late March/early April) in the "Problems" section of the Forum. Still VW UK might come up trumps...... From now on I'm doing all the work on my VR myself or with a mechanic I trust if I can find one. Cheers, Phil.

For what it's worth: Corkills (now Lancaster) charge £65 p.hour labour minus 10% for VW's over 10 years old) plus VAT and parts. You're probably looking at £200 plus for your service. Cheers, Phil.

:) Hi, Hope this will help.With the mileage your VR has don If you've got the head off check: 1) The head is flat - it may have warped especially if the car overheated leading to head gasket failure. Any engineering shop should be able to skim the head if this needs doing. 2) Check your valve guides (where the inlet and exhaust valves are placed). if they're worn then they'll need replacing -old ones pressed out; new ones pressed in -machine shop job. The new guides will need to be "reamed" once fitted to ensure the inlet/exhaust valves theselves fir correctly. 3) The valves may need recutting/grinding in to ensure the head is gas tight. 4) Fit new valve stem oil seals to the valves. Obviously take any carbon off the head. 5) Use Volkswagen gasket set; there are some on the german E-bay site for approx £50 as opposed to £100 + for the Volkswagen ones but I'm not sure how good they are. Good luck, Phil

Update :mad: Valve guides according to the dealer; normal wear and tear therefore not covered by warranty. The "full head rebuild" they did immediately before I bought the car was only oil stem seals replacement even though it says "full cylinder head rebuild" on the invoice. Discussion with Customer Care at VW: They want more evidence namely a cylinder head stripdown to confirm what the problem is before consider/rejecting my claim. Further discussion with dealer: They will strip it down at £60 per hour times 7 hours plus VAT plus parts; but they feel it will only confirm what their technician knows: it's valve guides; waranty will not pay. Therefore I pay; with car in bits if I don't Catch 22 but i feel an angry letter to VW coming on. Cheers guys....

:) Hi, The head rebuild issue is that usually VR6's need a rebuild of the head with new guides/oil seals etc around 100k.Cost around £500-600 Check when testing for oil smoke (blue) on the overrun; especially when pulling away downhill; make sure the engine is warm. if the car's been used for lots of short journeys then it may need a head /engine rebuild much earlier than 100k as I've found out with my 57k VR. A full VAG history is no guarantee of good condition. £5995 sounds O.K. pricewise but look at the buying guide on this forum before you inspect it. Just my 6 pennyworth in a slightly pissed off frame of mind. Cheers, Phil.

:) No other Social Workers then? I work with people with disabilities, head injuries, and/or mental health needs (including the rest of the Social Work team in that). If the stereotype is correct I should be a pipe smoking; duffle coat wearing 2CV driving person...... The usual comment is: They obviously pay you too much if you can drive something like that (the Corrado) but it's a good talking point especially with the ex racers amongst my clients. Cheers, Phil

Many thanks for all the advice; I'll be seeing the dealer tomorrow and will keep you updated. :| Cheers, Phil.

Update: I've just pulled all the plugs out as suggested - No's 1 & 6 were extremely oily, although the centre electrode was grey/white in colour it was surrounded by thick black crusty/oily deposits. The other cylinders were dryer but all seemed to show some oil deposits with the centre electrode being the same. From this does it support the idea of ring/bore wear; especially on No's 1 & 6 ? I've got a compression test due next week so I guess this will confirm things or not. Thanks for all the advice. :cry: