g0ldf1ng3r's VR6

[SR_Neale 10]

Got a horrible feeling that I'm gonna need to do mine soon. Hadn't tried the heat until the other day and it was barely warm is that what yours was like?

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Got a horrible feeling that I'm gonna need to do mine soon. Hadn't tried the heat until the other day and it was barely warm is that what yours was like?

 

the valver had a matrix bypass fitted when i brought it back so no it was purely cold air only

 

having done mine i would say don't stress too much about tackling the job. make sure you are well prepared & have read a 'how to' guide a few times to familiarise yourself.

 

i have a word doc with loads of pictures if you don't have a guide & i can send it you. it was originally done by Kris on here but the version on the wiki lost all of its images, i managed to find them & rebuild the guide.

 

do you have a garage you can do it in? i found having a long bench where i could lay each part/s out as i removed helped a lot. also i used normal packaging labels to label each connector/wiring once unplugged & then envelopes to store each section screws & wrote a description on each accordingly

 

i think the hardest parts of the whole job was

1 - the rear clips which hold the main air box to the blower motor feed as you cant see them, you cant get your head in to see them & you kind of have to lie on your back in the passenger footwell trying to find them by finger tip lol

& 2 - getting the 2 nuts back on the bolts which actually hold the dash to the bulkhead - very tricky!

 

oh & it is 100% worth spending the money on a hose clip tool with auto lock off as it would be seriously hard to get the clips back on the matrix pipes on the bulkhead without one

 

i would offer to lend a hand when you tackle it if you weren't so far away m8

 

PS try to make sure you get a Valeo matrix ;)

[SR_Neale 10]

If you could send that over would be appreciated. Never thought to check the heater when I bought the car in the summer. All the interior will be coming out over winter any way to fit the leather and fix some rattles so probably a good thing I found out now. Don't you just love 20 odd year old cars.

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

If you could send that over would be appreciated. Never thought to check the heater when I bought the car in the summer. All the interior will be coming out over winter any way to fit the leather and fix some rattles so probably a good thing I found out now. Don't you just love 20 odd year old cars.

 

certainly m8, just PM me your email address & i will send it over

 

although my valver is an early model the guide was still fairly spot on.

 

leather upgrade sounds nice! is it heated?

 

i find the a good thing about 20 year old cars is that we can actually work on them ok. modern cars are a nightmare & can be diagnostic hell lol

 

plus the grin factor when random strangers are lusting after them :D

[Dox 22]

I did mine outside the garage so I could open the car doors fully.

 

I folded the rear seats down and used the boot for storage. The dash itself was stored in the garage

 

I used dog poo bags for screws, caps and clips etc tying the handles to the parts themselves through one of the screw holes

 

Some of the screws are at difficult to reach angles with a straight srewdriver, use a ratchet and posidrive bit to access them

 

Replace the flap sponges while the heaterbox is out, I didn't and regret it.

[seanl82 23]

@SR_Neale

 

Check your thermostat is working properly first. When you start the car from cold, feel the lower radiator hose. If it starts warming up quickly then its almost certainly the thermostat. It should remain cold(ish) until up to 87 degrees at which point the stat should open, pass through the bottom hose and allow coolant to circulate around the radiator.

If its correct though, (its a valver you have isn't it?), remove the bypass valves and put some copper pipe in its place to ensure the coolant is circulating around the matrix.

[SR_Neale 10]

Will check thermostat as you said its a 92 g60 but would have thought it is the same principle. Just remembered had a similar issue on my old mk2 gti and managed to flush the system out with pressure washer and it worked well. Goldfinger your not wrong I love the thumbs up you get from complete strangers when out and about.

[davidwort 0]

I've ditched the old by-pass valves, they seem to stick with age even when I've only ever used distilled water and coolant in the engine and they restrict the flow of water through the matrix, I only ever got much warm air on full heat setting, so much better with them out and the replacement matrix should be stronger and not need the by-pass anyway, another good reason for getting a proper valeo one.

of course the lack of heat could be the matrix itself blocking up, another good reason to replace it, it's giving a warning possibly

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

I've ditched the old by-pass valves, they seem to stick with age even when I've only ever used distilled water and coolant in the engine and they restrict the flow of water through the matrix, I only ever got much warm air on full heat setting, so much better with them out and the replacement matrix should be stronger and not need the by-pass anyway, another good reason for getting a proper valeo one.

of course the lack of heat could be the matrix itself blocking up, another good reason to replace it, it's giving a warning possibly

 

good info

 

i guess if SR_Neale is taking his interior out to swap it isn't too much extra to take the dash out as well so probably timely to do it then

[Dox 22]

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

thanks Dox

 

I will scan & post the KUR2Y fitting instructions once ive dug them out this weekend

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

thanks Dox

 

I will scan & post the KUR2Y fitting instructions once ive dug them out this weekend

 

EDIT: Jim is it worthwhile putting the ryan instructions on the wiki to help people in future?

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

thanks Dox

 

I will scan & post the KUR2Y fitting instructions once ive dug them out this weekend

 

instructions dug out but I didn't do any car work on sunday - the gf made me relax & play GTA5 all day :D

 

should be able to scan today or tomorrow & hopefully fit it as well

 

I should thanks Zak (KUR2Y) for making time in his busy schedule to construct the loom for me & it looks the usual excellent quality of workmanship :)

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

If you could send that over would be appreciated. Never thought to check the heater when I bought the car in the summer. All the interior will be coming out over winter any way to fit the leather and fix some rattles so probably a good thing I found out now. Don't you just love 20 odd year old cars.

 

hi m8

 

I found the below when looking for my loom instructions - thought you might want to get some for when you swap interior (door card clip things)

[SR_Neale 10]

Cheers. I used to be a strip fitter for fords years ago and still have a huge box of clips from all makes and models. So can always find some thing that fits. What I am short of is the correct screws as more than half are missing. Can't complain to much though how do you think I ended up with so much stuff? Lol. Also could you do me a favour and pop over to my thread and cast your opinion on the wheels as I can't decided and it's doing my head in. Cheers

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Cheers. I used to be a strip fitter for fords years ago and still have a huge box of clips from all makes and models. So can always find some thing that fits. What I am short of is the correct screws as more than half are missing. Can't complain to much though how do you think I ended up with so much stuff? Lol. Also could you do me a favour and pop over to my thread and cast your opinion on the wheels as I can't decided and it's doing my head in. Cheers

 

a strip fitter - if you hadn't mentioned ford I would be asking for more details ;) lol

 

I know what you mean bout trim screws, I should order a bag of them myself for spares really

 

ok m8 will go have a look in a mo & let you know :)

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

update to come late as I managed to fit the uprated headlight loom on sunday :D

[Chuggs1 10]

Cool... Was it easy?

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Cool... Was it easy?

 

hi m8

 

I have a full update planned & took lots of pictures for you

 

my apologies though as I had full intention of taking lots of staged photos but then got wrapped up in the job & didn't remember until it was all nearly back together

 

however, as I find with most jobs if you assess the job in hand so as you know the various steps prior to starting, make sure you have the correct tools & then take your time things tend to go ok until you hit a hiccup (like one of the hidden headlight screws not coming out for example)

 

I also need to scan the guide & PM you a copy

 

it is a fairly simple job m8 & I think my biggest challenge will be to now adjust the light angle as they were pointing too far down

[SR_Neale 10]

Lol that is exactly the same as me I always intend to take photos but get carried away with the excitement.

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Lol that is exactly the same as me I always intend to take photos but get carried away with the excitement.

 

best intentions eh & all that lol

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

fitting of KUR2Y 3 relay uprated headlight loom (chuggs1 I will try & be as detailed as possible for you)

 

firstly, I need to scan the guide Zak does for his looms but I left it at home today

 

in essence it is mainly a case of disconnecting things & then reconnecting them, with a little opportunistic cleaning here & there lol

 

(for those that do not know I prefer, personally, the looms Zak makes as he uses 3 relays. one for each side dipped beam & then one for main beam. this means that should a dipped beam relay fail you will only loose the relevant side dipped beam light. handy if on country lanes when this happens & an advantage over the 2 relay versions)

 

tools required: Philips screwdriver, socket set with extension bars, 10mm spanner, electrical tape, cable ties, cable tie tidy things (adhesive backed plastic things shown in pics to help secure cable ties in desired locations)

 

first of all disconnect the battery terminals & then take the battery out of the car so as access is easier - socket extension bar handy here as the bolt holding the battery clamp is quite far down

 

remove the front grille taking care not to break any of the tabs as they are very delicate

 

(FYI this is the 3rd loom install I have done & if possible the job is made much easier if you can get the headlights out but it can be done with them in place)

 

disconnect the electrical plug connecting the headlights to the factory loom - gently prise the metal clip up to release the connector with a flat head screw driver

 

there are 3 screws holding each of the headlights in place - 2 on the top & then one hidden one visible through the peep holes. be prepared to have a battle to remove the hidden ones! it is recommended to put some release spray on them a few hours/days earlier. once they are removed the headlight should wriggle out. there are 2 thick plastic tabs on the headlight underside which locate into slots on the slam panel, they can be quite a tight fit so wriggle but carefully

 

with the lights out I gave them a quick wipe over & then installed the new bulbs. personally I use Ring Xenon Max bulbs & find them to be awesome when powered by an uprated loom. FYI by taking the headlights out it makes changing the bulbs a thousand times easier as god damn those clips are tricky!!

 

I also took the opportunity to clean the slam panel under where this lights sit as it was bloody filthy - it is not an easy place to clean with the light in place

 

ok so loom time...

 

this is difficult to describe but hopefully the pics will show it ok

 

put the loom in by the battery location & then feed the drivers side of the lead between the radiator fan housing & the headlight location such that it protrudes out of the slam panel where the grill would be

 

feed along the slam panel, under the horns, & then back into the drivers side engine bay in a similar as the passenger side

 

don't bother securing it all yet as that will be done last so as to get it positioned nicely

 

once loom is loosely where you want it go to the drivers side, rest the headlight on the bumper & your knee so as to steady it. take the new loom connections, you will see the wires match the colours of those in the factory loom which you disconnected, & plug the female spades into the headlight taking care to match the wires colours & positions.

 

when looking at the factory loom they are (as per pic included):

brown = top left

white = top right

yellow = bottom left

grey = bottom right

 

still on the drivers side - there is also a small grey wire with a male spade a few inches back from the female spades, this needs to be plugged into the corresponding female socket in the factory loom IE grey to grey

 

once confident these are correct take your time to seal both ends up nicely with electrical tape. again on the headlight end this is much easier if you have removed the headlight

 

the driver side headlight can now be reinstalled & over to the passenger side

 

passenger side - just behind the headlight recess you will see a 2 yellow connectors plugged together. this is the dim-dip feature which needs to be disabled. thus unplug them from each other, tape them up nicely & wedge in somewhere to stop them rattling

 

position the light same as before, take the female connectors on the new loom & once again plug them into the headlight matching the wire colours. tape up as per drivers side & reinstall headlight

 

next is to connect the new loom to the power source - take the negative lead on the loom & connect it to the negative battery terminal thingy (10mm spanner time), then do the same for the positive power end

 

try to position the loom wires & relays out of the way whilst you jiggle the battery back into the car (a 2nd pair of hands or some clips come in handy here)

 

reattach battery clamp, again taking care not to trap any of the loom or wiring in that area.

 

at this point it is timely to review all you work for all the above steps to double check everything is in the right place & attached ok prior to reconnecting the battery. once happy reconnect the battery. start the car & then check sidelights, dipped beam & main beam. if done correctly you will see a huge difference in light output for the 2 latter :D

 

now it is just a case of tidying & securing the install. personally I try to position the loom so as it holds itself away from any potential sharp metal edges but if it has to go past some, which it does, then I put a few extra winds of electrical tape in that section to restrict any chaffing

 

this last bit is easier to grasp in picture so I will let them do the rest of the talking. all in I'd say it took me about 3 hours but I was taking my time & had a few tea breaks lol - it could be done in under an hour easy

 

once loom is secured op your grill back in & then check the light output for height & adjust accordingly - I still need to do this last bit as it was far too low when I checked it last night

[SR_Neale 10]

Top popping. If you don't mind me asking what is the cost of the loom and where did you get it from?

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

Top popping. If you don't mind me asking what is the cost of the loom and where did you get it from?

 

thanks Neale. it will be lovely jubbly once I have aligned the light output properly

 

I get my looms from a user called KUR2Y n here, his name is Zak. you have probably already read why I prefer his looms over others

 

he has been very busy lately & as such not been very active on here but I do know that if you act quickly he is currently intending to make a few up

 

check here m8 & drop him a message http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?41616-Uprated-Headlight-looms-for-2013&p=1090204#post1090204

 

"the uprated loom he say let there be light" :D

[SR_Neale 10]

Cheers m8. Would be nice to take Corby out and not have to worry about getting home before it gets dark.