Wullie

When you've finished polishing etc you can come and do mine, build up you're experience. Often thought of doing it, just never done it. Basically I'm a lazt auld Bu**er.

Just looked at that pdf. Between pages 8 and 12 it shows how to set up all the various mark. If you can print it out and highlight all the bits you need and just work through it.

Hi, ben out being poetic again and just in. The pdf file on page three has diagrams of where all the marks shoud be when setting up the engine. I think its about page 8 or 9 of the file. Have a look and check, double check and check again. Go for it. Wullie

Hope everything turns out OK. Just take time before you do anything. Sure everything will turn out OK.

Just in suffering from a surfiet of real ale. Yup, that sounds as if you have found the problem. Probably best to get the head skimmed now and rebuild with new gaskets, head bolts etc. In my geriatric way I'd probably clean and polish everything as you rebuild. May fortune folow your spanners. Given the availability you have for other engines I would, if it were me, grab one and take some time to strip and rebuild one to the spec you want and when you have some free time swap it over. wouldn't mind doing that myself one of these days. Good luck and happy Corradoing Wullie

Try getting a couple of heavy lumps of wood. Use one as a fulcrum down through the engine compartment and the other as a lever against a convenient part of the head. Heading off now. Good luck whatever path you take, you seem to have a surfiet of engines. Wullie

Did you take the bolts out? LOL. Seriously though, check that you have undone everything connected to the head, alternator will need to come off, any wires etc. Mark everything, take pictures. If you disconnected the exhaust at the downpipe leaving the manifold on you can grab that and yank at it to try and rock it free. Patience and persistance is the key. I'm heading off shortly to be a poet at the West End Festival in Glasgow and flog copies of my book, so will be out of touch, inebriated for a while. Post your progress and I'll try and log in where and when I can to see how you're getting on. Where abouts are you? Wullie

The head will need to come off before you can take the valves out. You will need the splined key to undo the cylinder head bolts. First though, now the tappets are out you should be able to see the valves, springs etc hiding down where the tappets were. Have a close look at them to see they all sit at the same level, push them down with a dowel and feel if the all have roughly the same resistance to moving. If one moves easier than the rest it could be a broken valve spring.. Mark everything up to make sure they go back in the same holes etc. I use old fashioned bottled tippex a lot for this, it dries quickly and can be easily cleaned off when reassembling. Its also useful for marking the position of things that have to be replaced in the same position. Drain the water if not already done. You will need to undo the exhaust manifold if not already done. Undo the head bolts in the following sequence, loosening each a little at a time 1 7 9 5 3 4 6 10 8 2 Once all the bolts are out you should be able to lift the head off. If it’s tight a persuasive knock with a wooden/plastic mallet should do the trick. DON’T jam a screwdriver between the head and block. You will probably get a bit of residual water splashing about the place, dry it up with some towelling Once off you can turn the head over and have a look at the valve heads for any sign of damage. To remove the valves you will need a deep reach valve spring compressor, beg borrow, steal or,as a last resort, buy one. I normally do the next bit but it’s not compulsory, but I’ve found it makes thing easier. Get a small block of wood which will fit inside the combustion chambers in the head. Place it inside the chamber and turn the head so that the combustion chambers are on the bench with the valve stems/collets upwards. Place a piece of rag over the valves that are supported by the wooden block and get a largish socket, place it over the rag and give it a sharp tap with a mallet. This should break the seal that forms between the upper spring seat and the collet. (I've done this but tapped a bit harder on other engines so that the shock pops the collets out of their seating saving having to use the spring compressor for removal. Wouldn't reccomend it on the Corrado. It demands more respect.) Do this for all the valves and then use the compressor to compress the spring and remove the collets. A screwdriver with a blob of grease on the end will help fish them out. As you do each valve assembly place all the components in a freezer bag or the like to keep each set together. Now examine everything you’ve just taken apart and hopefully find the cause of your problem. Check the face of the cylinder head with a straight edge or suchlike to check for warping. I keep a sheet of plate glass which I squirt with oil and lay it oily side down on the head. If the head is true there should be no air bubbles showing on the mating surfaces. Smash a shop window, they’re a great source of plate glass, or see your local glazier and ask if he has any scrap plate. Hope this helps as it’s mostly from my fading memory. If I’ve missed something I’m sure someone else will point it out. Wullie

If the engine is still in the car there shouldn't be much in the way of oil running around. Depends how far down into the engine you end up going. Personally I'd drain it anyway, never know what might come out along with the oil. Drain it through a sieve and have a look for wee dods of metal. If there's none give a little cheer.

Thattached .pdf file might be of some assistance. Gives some detail on stripping and rebuilding. Wullie

If the head is still on the engine try the following to check the tappets are OK Turn the camshaft until the lobe of the cam is facing away from the tappet to be checked and push down on the tappet with a wooden or plastic something and measure the gap between tappet and cam. IIRC it should not be greater than about 0.1 mm. This is normally done after the engine has been run and warm so some allowance may need to be made. Some of the more expert on here will be able to clarify. If everything seems OK at that point check the obvious timing marks that are all over the engine and if still OK then the only way I can see forward is to remove the head and look deeper. Trouble is you can't really see too much like valve springs etc without removing the camshafts and the tappets themselves. Hope I don't sound too much like a harbinger of doom.

I had the broken grub screw scenario. Drilled it out starting with a very small drill then a slightly larger one etc. Eventually the heat on pressure of the drilling freed it off enough to let me turn it out with a file tang tapped into it. Took time and a bit of care to make sure the first drill was vertical and centred.

I went to the local Autowindscreens and looked suitabley confused and thick and asked if I could get a discount, showed them my geriatric travel card and they refixed it for no charge. Such a nice young man.

Got pulled by the police a couple of years ago and on the slip to produce my documents he wrote Sciroco, when I sai it was a Corrado he muttered a bit and changed it to a Curdado. When I pointed it out at the station the next day the guy on the desk looked at the number on the form and said"Oh him, dickhead, I always liked them calibras." Being the soull of diplomacy I smiled, nodded and left."

The only way to find out is to pull the head off and look. If it's a loud tapping it may only be a hydraulic tappet that gone. Grab the other engine anyway, it can always sit there for you to play with, take apart and rebuild ready for a real disaster.

Mine is destined to be my coffin when the time comes. So you'll need an exhumation order to get any of the bits.

Now there is a thought. Be intriguing to find out.

If memory serves me correctlythats a blanking plug for a distributer thats used to to sit theere on some variations of the block. The dizzy on my Scirocco was there.

Discovered a while ago when doing a bit of paintwork. When I undid the number plate screws the whole panel came off! No clips at all. The plate screws just went straight into the bodywork. Not what I'd have done but its never moved berore or after I put it back together.

I had a similar problem with my 16v. Turned out to be dodgy wire/ connection at the alarm unit under the bonnet. Found it when I jiggled all the wires I could find until it cut out. Don't know what kind of alarm it was, kind of big thing with an on off key and a couple of connector plugs with very fine connectors and wires. I just srarted pulling all the wires around the fuse box then moved under the bonnet and after about half an hour found it.

Argos do a range of seat covers from basic water resistant , keep yours good ones clean at about £7.00 for a front set. They have a decent selection up to about £30. Grab youself a catalogue or visit one of their stores for a look see.

He wasn't even in a good band either. Nevermind is quite a good album, but all the others are complete rubbish! Wullie, I enjoy a bit of Montagues and Capulets by Prokofiev and Mussorgsky's Night On A Bare Mountain for a classical thrash. Not too much of a Mozart fan, but you can't beat old JSB. And its not an age thing, I got into classical in my early 20s (i'm 30 now) and also like heavy metal! :D I'm also liking Head Shoulders Knees Toez by KIG...is that wrong? The best music is the kind you like. Doesn't matter who or what. I was a hippy in the 60's (So I'm told) and grew up with Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and that and was heavily into folk music. Now I just listen to anything I enjoy, non genre specific but mainly opera and classical. A little of what you like does no harm.

I'm not a great "pop" music person, but love to screw the C along some twisty road with "The Ride of the Valkeryies" from Wagners Ring Cycle turned up to the stop. Motzart for sensible driving. It's an age thing! :nuts:

Thanks Arnau. The next time I'n in the scrappys I'll be staring under the dash of every old VW I see. :nuts:

Do other Vw's have the 99 relay and if so could I just stick it into my 1990 valver. Something extra to look for when crawling around the scrap yard.