PhilsLadyC

Not really. Pretty straightforward except when it came to putting the break fluid back in! I took it to the garage in the end and they did the brake fluid change for £20. Most of the problems I had were to do with suspension and as I was replacing the front brake lines as well that was a bit tricky. Managed to break one of the fixed lines but got another one made up by a local pipe firm. These problems were mostly hard to remove fixings such as nuts and bolts but if you have a breaker bar you should be alright :D Next job is rear calipers (they are completely shot away but can wait for now), rear braided hoses and axle bushes. I'm told that's an axle out job which is not fun. Gotta do some more reading before I do that!

That's right, they are still bedding in at the moment so can't say as I notice an improvement so far but I'll let you know once I've done a few hundred miles.

When mine got broken into they didn't even stop to look at the handles they just took a screwdriver to the window frame to try to prise out the glass!

I got mine from Cister Automotive. Fortunately my VR has an OBD II connector so I only needed the entry level product at £139. Helped my diagnose an ABS sensor failure.

Hey Rams nice C. I live in Surrey Road Bournemouth but I don't seem to recall seeing you around. Got any larger pics? I've also just fitted 288mm ATE groved discs to my VR. There ain't much room left under my 15s now!! Hopefully getting soom 17s soon though :) Cheers, Phil

Well I ordered two of those nuts from the stealers after looking them up in ETKA so I can't see how they would be fixed. Well I guess we'll see when I pick them tomorrow :) Cheers.

I've not even considered the fronts yet but I'll probably sort out some bolts for those as well. One step at a time!

Thanks banana man. Just bought the torque wrench now. They're not cheap are they. I saw the breaker bar there too but would that help as the normal ratchet I have was just shearing the bolts anyway. Well I went to the stealers but needless to say they didn't have those bolts in stock so that's another wasted weekend. They're on order now. Should be in Wednesday. One day I'll actually finish what I started! Yea that bolt inside looks a bit odd. It seemed to have some extra lip on it and I couldn't get my spanner around it. Oh well at least next time I'll have all the tools and know a bit more about what I'm doing. Plus it's a satisfaction and thing and knowing you've done it with care and attention. :D When I first had the lowering springs put on the car a friend of mine told me that his mechanic would do it really cheap. It cost me sixty quid and the guy didn't even put the damn spring caps back on so I was driving a death trap until I took it to AmD for it's 60K service and mentioned that something didn't sound/feel right. When they looked at it they nearly had a heart attack and I had one when they told me how much the service would cost :shock: Such is life! Right I promise I won't ask anymore questions and Nike it (Just Do It!).

Thanks Roddy didn't see your post until I just posted. As I said I'm still waiting for the damn things to arrive at the stealers. You are right they do seem to know what they are. Actually maybe that's why they don't have any in stock. There are four bolts on the diagram in ETKA so maybe I'll ask for that part number instead. As you say if they've been superseeded perhaps there is a bit of confusion. "Hang on a minute lads, I've got a great idea!" - Italian Job

Well I took the plunge today (read: Sunday) but didn't get very far. After nearly breaking lots of important looking things I gave up and put it back together! Well, actually it wasn't really that bad. I'm still waiting for the stealers to phone me and tell me they've got my caliper bolts but I really need to do the shocks as I've gotta get the MOT sorted. The main problem I had was getting the bottom bolts off of the shocks. It's like they were welded. Anyway, I sprayed a load of PlusGas onto them and did everything back up again. Tomorrow I'm gonna get some spare bolts just incase I destroy the old ones. Anyone got any bright ideas for removing these? I found this article that mentions you need a torque wrench but I've never used one before. I take it Halfords would do them? Can anyone recommend one (local shop as I need it tomorrow)? Although I didn't actually DO anything I did remove the top strut bolts and have a good old poke around and what's more important fit it all back together again (Although it took a while mainly due to everything being rusted together). So I'm feeling a bit more confident that I can continue at least with the shocks. If all goes well I'll carry on with the rest of it. Cheers for all the help and advice. I'll post some pics when I actually do something!

Thanks Andy. Been perfecting my technique a bit actually and also found a good tip. If you put a bit of washing liquid in the water when wet sanding it reduces the abrasiveness and also stops the paper clogging. Gives a much smoother result IMO.

Got a problem regarding the bolts. My local Breeze doesn't have them. Anywhere else I can get them from? Tried GS&F but they don't stock them. Also I need four right? What are these for? One for each corner or are they just for the rears? I was looking on ETKA and it seems two bolts match the description on each corner but the part numbers don't match the one posted by vr6storm. Cheers, Phil

Thanks for all the tips guys. Well the weekend is upon us and it's time to get down and dirty (ooh err!). I've got a couple of G clamps but they are really small I take it I will need some decent sized ones. Someone mentioned the Caliper wind back tool to me so I'll be getting one of those. Also, spring clamps. I suppose Halfords would do those? Haynes Manual - Thanks for the advice Scott I'll be getting one of those. Yea someone on the Yahoo Group mentioned you should get new caliper bolts with the pads but not the caliper carrier bolts. Not checked whether I've got the bolts with my new pads I'll check when I get home. Thanks again to everyone for the help and advice. Fingers crossed I get it all sorted. Cheers.

I've now got ETKA but the part number for those bolts doesn't seem to match up. Any ideas? Not used ETKA before so could be my fault :oops:

Yea that's right. If you are a member then you should have received a notice about it by now. It's on March 23rd at 11am (AGM starts at 12). Junction 12 off the M40. Be there or be a four sided, equal lengthed, shape! :) Most of the guys from the Yahoo Group (and now this one I expect) arrange a convoy. Last year was an absolute stonker as the convoys on the last stretch of the motorway were a fantastic sight! All you could see were Corrados ... oh and the odd Golf here and there :)