corrado wannabe

Yeh, Thanks for that Ron, currently 16 degrees and pi$$ing it down in sunny Scotchland. Hope you have a nice holiday ;-) Dougie

Mike, Check the wiring on the car side of the block connectors for the lambda (oxygen) sensor. It has been posted many times on here not to go and buy a lambda before checking the wiring first. If only I had taken heed on this advice before I had done just that. I replaced my lambda sensor to find that the wires were broken off from the connector on the loom side. Worth a look before you go and spend the dosh. If you do need a lambda sensor I just bought one of these genuine ones: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-G60-Lambda-02-Sensor-Genuine-037906265B-/161599669938?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item25a01746b2 Dougie

Hi mate, Thanks for that. Bit of an update, I took off the distributor cap and both it and the rotor arm were covered in a black sooty powder. Cleaned it all out and the connections are in fairly good condition. Changed the spark plugs while I was at it. Changed the lamdba(oxygen) sensor and found that the wires on the loom side of the connector are broken. Is it possible to buy a new block connector to splice the loom into? The wires have broken at the connector itself so I dont have any room to splice in a section of wire. Any help would be appreciated, as my local dealer told me today that they don't stock parts for a van!!!! Clowns Dougie

I knew you would dredge that up

And another thought,its a bit of a strange install that, mine has got a sub in the boot.... badoomtsshhhhh

Wonder if it came from an Aqua Blue car?

Bit of advice or general thoughts please, 2.0 16V 9A Engine, have been experiencing some strange running issues with it recently. Car starts perfectly, tick over is on the button, however if I drive the car off on a journey immediately it will run well for about half a mile then will start to backfire, very hesitatant under partial throttle and appears to be fine on full throttle above 3k revs. If I switch the car of when this happens and restart it immediately, it starts well and hten does exactly the same, ok for half a mile then symptoms appear again. If I nurse it through the symptoms for a further half mile the car then drives as normal. Now if I start the car up and leave it ticking over for 5-10mins then drive it off, it is fine, no issues with running at all. So my question is what do you all think? To me I think it is temperature related, the guage has always read on the low side, but the heater etc is as hot as it should be so I dont think it is a thermostat issue. Temperature sensor? What about the Lambda probe, What are its parameters for working? Answers on a postcard please Dougie

Lol Bill, Dont be a miser and get it bought lol!

Very nice Corrado in July's edition of practical classics. All cars owned by the lads keeping the Battle of Britain planes in the sky for us all. Nice little write up about the C as well. Dougie

Ok, as always happens, people nominate the cars they own! We went with the a5 sport back after having the coupe. In practical terms the boot is bigger than my old a4 avant (b7 shape) Obviously there are some tasty engines available for it as well as Quattro plus you still get the good quality interior that comes with an Audi Dougie

Ask trading standards Jim, or your local citizens advice. Who knows where you stand legally in terms of time and ,mileage etc, but they will be able to give you a steer. At the end of the day, you paid a company money to carry out a service for you, if it is not up to scratch then it does not matter if the individual is a former or current member of this community. However, I think the correct approach is to do all the background stuff offline as it probably wont do any good to name and shame if you have no legal recourse to a refund etc. Good luck with it though, as you have not had your problems to seek with the car over the last wee while. On a happier note, how is living with the Fiesta getting on? You still enjoying it? Dougie

Out of interest, what do you have now Kev?

Who knows what is going to become a classic. Could you have predicted 30 years ago the prices of 70s and eighties fords? Austin Allegro's, boggo standard renault 17s etc etc etc. There is one thing owning a car and appreciating it, then there is another claiming that it is going to be a "future classic" Opinions are what make the world go round, but just a group of owners talking up, or down, a particular model is not going to make a blind bit of difference as to how the market looks at or values a vehicle in twenty years time. Just my tuppence. PS Mk4 R32, 25K? Not a chance. Dougie

Well done for doing this Dave, I am sure it will be much appreciated by all. Dougie

I would agree with the sentiments above regarding the readout on the guage, mine does exactly the same as yours. If it wasnt for the heater not producing hot air, I would say dont bother, but there does seem to be two issues, which may or may not be linked. Dougie

Jim, sorry for the delay in getting it on here: n/s is part number 535 971 851 o/s is part number 535 971 852 Hope this helps Dougie

I can maybe help with that when I get home Jim, I think the part numbers are still visible on the plastic bits on mine so I will post them up in case they are different on yours. No doubt someone will beat me to it though. Dougie

JIm, I tried to take pictures of the beam I have lying in the garage at the moment. Unfortunately: A: The pictures were shheeeiiittee B: I dont know what age/vehicle it came off. I am sure it was from a late 16V. But both the one on my car and the one in the garage dont have a theraded stud on them, it as the ones in your pictures they have a small flat top to them that the clip slides onto. Just a thought, are the black plastic fittings handed? Dougie

Can you not try some thick or heavy duty electrical wire? Preferably with the plastic coating on it? The Bentley manual recommends you use the cores from a speedometer cable. Hope this helps. Dougie

Leon, Many thanks for your reply. Thanks for confirming what I thought. Can I keep you in mind re the Eibach bolts? At the moment I am looking to order the vw ones as I am planning on finishing the job 2 moro. Am I going mad, or did older Golf Gti's (Mk1 and Mk2) have an eccentric top bolt? Dougie

Quick Question peeps, Are the two bolts that hold the bottom of the front strut to the hub carrier (and are used to adjust camber) the same? I was always under the impression that the top bolt was the camber bolt and was an eccentric bolt? The cery helpful partsbase site that was posted a few weeks ago, does not show the bottom bolt in the exploded diagram so I am leaning towards both bolts being the same? Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Many thanks

Good call on the Lambda probe socket SuperCharged, seems the closest to the VW tool for the job as per the Bentley

Its more about the tightening Sanky. Although when loosening, if the shock is fooked it will turn as well. Even with the wheel on the ground if you don't hold both the nyloc nut and the Hex nut, the shaft of the shock absorber will turn. This can loosen the collar nut that holds the Macpherson strut together. Bought another 22mm socket and will use the grinder method and torque using the Hex bolt.

Top work chaps! Many thanks. Dougie

Oeerrr misses! Not sure if I have the brass neck to ask for that in a shop!