oneohtwo's VR6 - New Engine!

[1xshaunx1 27]

Don’t bother with the chromed aluminium radiator top hose connector either, the chrome comes off the inside of it and floats about in your water system. 

[ABV-VR6 12]

4 minutes ago, 1xshaunx1 said:

Don’t bother with the chromed aluminium radiator top hose connector either, the chrome comes off the inside of it and floats about in your water system. 

That's good to know! I wasn't aware of that, thanks! 

[oneohtwo 8]

6 hours ago, fendervg said:

As far as I know UK Corrado 2.9 cars with original ABS never used diagnostics to bleed the pump - it's not possible, and not available as an option in VCDS. This was only for the later OBD2 2.8 cars with a different ABS setup where the pump was integrated  into the master cylinder and reservoir - possibly also on LHD Euro and US cars.

Yeah, that's what I understood as well. Not really sure what they've done then. They are a VAG specialist so you'd hope they know what they are doing! 

That's a bit annoying about the metal crack pipe, didn't see that mentioned... I have an OE one as well, but thought I'd splash out as they're not exactly cheap. Maybe it'll bed in over time or something. 

[Keyo 47]

The plastics are not to bad to be honest its only when they get old they fail. 

[fendervg 29]

On 5/4/2021 at 11:37 AM, Keyo said:

The plastics are not to bad to be honest its only when they get old they fail. 

When you think about it, the OEM thermostat housings and coolant pipe have all done well over 100k miles and 20+ years, so I think the quality is fine. What they don't like is being removed and put back on, and you need to make sure everything is really clean and smooth on all the faces and use new seals and o-rings.

[oneohtwo 8]

Finally got the rear B12s fitted:

Here's how it looked before:

So looking a bit more planted now. Fronts the same in both photos as already had those fitted. Although it does look like the rears are slightly lower than the fronts, might be just me?

Anecdotally it feels like the car is now a little less crashy over potholes, nothing significantly, but who knows how old the old shocks were, so could have been pretty knackered.

 

 

 

[fla 9]

Looks great,  plus a bonus on the ride quality

[ABV-VR6 12]

Car looks fantastic! I does appear a tad lower at the rear. Optic illusion or not it's hard to say from here! 

[Keyo 47]

Is this possibly another Eibachgate scandal - rear shocks  too short ? 

Edited May 22, 2021 by Keyo

[oneohtwo 8]

Definitely got the right springs. The wrong ones came in the kit initially, but got the correct ones sent out. Got the wrongs sat downstairs in a box! Took another picture and it definitely looks better:

So might have just been bedding in. Although I thought it would settle downwards, not up! 

On another note I am getting fed up with garages damaging interior trim bits. Each of the last three has done something now, in the space of a few weeks. The MOT place just shoved the handbrake cover on instead of getting it on the clips, so it was sticking up all over the place and now one of the clips is broken. When I got it back from the second place doing the brakes the trim around the gearstick (where they'd been accessing the VCDS) wasn't laying flat, because one of those clips was broken, and now this latest one put the drivers side rear speaker trim and seatbelt cover on incorrectly. The tab for the speaker cover was stuck out in front of the leather trim, and so when the seat was pushed back that has snapped off. It's not like these bits are easy to come by.  Guess I will just have to try and fix them up, but it's just more time and effort. Anyway, rant over.

Next step might be to get the bodywork sorted now. There's various bits of accident damage that have accrued over the years. Some bigger bits on the passenger side and rear bumper (other people, and a disagreement with a concrete column), plus a variety of little dings and scrapes that seem to accrue over the years. One dent on the swage line has been there since before I bought the car. The paint itself isn't great either. It's had a poor respray at some point in it's life (before I bought it) so with all of that it's looking a bit shabby.

I was going to leave it a year or two having just done the engine, but I think now is the time really. If I leave it it'll just get worse and in some places the paint is cracked so it'll just start rusting. May have to just bite the bullet. Gonna take it into a body shop next week. 

 

 

 

[1xshaunx1 27]

If it was me I’d patch the rust and have a year making sure all the running gear is all sorted before having bodywork done, if it gets damaged by the mechanics after bodywork because something has gone wrong, it will send you over the edge. 

[oneohtwo 8]

You make a fair point.... that'd certainly wake one up at night in a cold sweat!

I didn't really have any immediate plans for the running gear to be honest. It seems OK at present so wouldn't really know where to start, other than to just strip the axles and subframes off get them cleaned up to like new, but unfortunately I no longer have any garage space and the car is on the road so I am limited. I guess I could get a garage to replace bearings and bushes all around. 

Although having seen your respray I just want that now!

Edited May 25, 2021 by oneohtwo

[1xshaunx1 27]

5 hours ago, oneohtwo said:

You make a fair point.... that'd certainly wake one up at night in a cold sweat!

I didn't really have any immediate plans for the running gear to be honest. It seems OK at present so wouldn't really know where to start, other than to just strip the axles and subframes off get them cleaned up to like new, but unfortunately I no longer have any garage space and the car is on the road so I am limited. I guess I could get a garage to replace bearings and bushes all around. 

Although having seen your respray I just want that now!

I’d wanted one for couple of years

I’d definitely want a couple of thousand miles on it since all your work before I had it done and everyone is busy/expensive catching up after lockdown.  

There isn’t another person who cares as much as you about that car, as such even well meaning mechanics can catch the wing with a screw drive or open the door into a tool box never mind a bloody idiot. 

[_Matt_ 26]

Good work and defo agree with using it for a bit before jumping into bodywork although be prepared that bodyshops are just as crap at putting a car back together as garages! I stripped the interior of mine before the respray but I still had my fair share of putting right afterwards -

- spolier not tightened down and leaked water into the boot,

- grommets on badges left off and stuck on instead also leaked in the the boot

- dash was loosened to weld a corner of the screen but never re-tightened so rattled

- fuel tank was taken out and put back without the breather pipes attahached and also pipes not located through the hole in the chassis leg

- windscreen cracked on drive home as it was badly fitted

- headlights not put in right (flopping about)

- wrong screws used everywhere - the VW ones are coated in something so don't rust - the cheap shit the bodyshop used did 

- I found the sills and underside needing attention from their bad jacking so have just refurbished the underside. 

So, go in with your eyes open on the respray - can be headache - I would definitely recommend if you to strip the car back yourself as you'll no doubt be putting it back together properly anyway! 

 

Also what was the deal on the B12 kit? The first pic looked like eibach fronts and standard rears? I had eibach change the springs on the rear on mine. Incidently the part number on the rears they replaced them with are the same as the springs used on the mk3 golf. Mine sits just like your last pic

 

 

 

[oneohtwo 8]

Wow, that's quite a list! Just seems some very basic stuff. I know they don't care like we do, and are trying to get it done as quickly as, but even so.

Anyway, I think that's some sound advice both. I did take it to someone to have a look at to get an idea of where I stand and they quoted £15-20k, which was a bit eye watering. In fairness they are a very good place, and the level of stuff they usually do is way above Corrado levels. When I went they were stacked with E-types, XK120s, Aston's (had a DB5) etc... so 15k on the value of one of those is loose change. 

it was partly why I picked them out, because it's so hard to tell with bodyshops - the few I have had cause to use in the past around London have left a lot to be desired and wouldn't trust them with a full respray - but I clearly overestimated!

How much did you chaps pay for yours if you don't mind me asking?

On 5/26/2021 at 10:49 AM, MJA said:

Also what was the deal on the B12 kit? The first pic looked like eibach fronts and standard rears? I had eibach change the springs on the rear on mine. Incidently the part number on the rears they replaced them with are the same as the springs used on the mk3 golf. Mine sits just like your last pic

Longish story but when I had the car in my garage I was able to fit the fronts, but ran out of time before a house move to fit the rears. So the second pic up there is B12 fronts, stock rears, hence why the rear looks jacked up. I got a garage to fit the rear B12s the other day, but when I picked it up it looked lower at the rear than the front (1st pic). Since driving it a bit and parking again it seems to now be sitting correctly (last pic). Not really sure why it looked lower at the back initially. Optical illusion perhaps. 

I made sure I had the correct springs from Eibach last year, so there was no issue there.

[_Matt_ 26]

Sounds good on the springs, i think they are a little softer than the ones Eibach supply originally (they were noticeably stiffer to push by hand I thought) so contours in the ground tuck the wheel up when it's parked. Mine was the same when i took some pics in a wooded area - rear wheels tucked up but stil nice a level like yours on flat roads.

RE respray costs I think you're better off going for somewhere decent that can restore cars - I was quoted 7-10k originally by a place with a good reputation (Finishline in Stevenage) and that wasn't a full respray - it was just the sides, welding of sills and fuel filler area. I thought that was a bit expensive at the time.

I found another place called Top Gunz in the Naezing/Essex/Herts border who quoted £5k cash for a windows out jobby and weld in a fuel filler area piece and "fix anything needed". He has done corrados before and lots of vws. I thought great just what i was budgeting for. However his business is painting cars, not restoring cars. I did have some work to do on the sills which i have now sorted my self now as that shop just left it. 

I guess my learning is to find a place that can restore cars - they can fabricate metal as well as paint. These cars are old now so a blow over won't last if there is metal work to be done. My actual paint job is good enough but i wish i paid a bit more and went to Finishline as have spent months putting the car straight and sorting areas like the sills myself. Plus side i've learnt to weld and paint but downside I'm redoing work that I had paid for.

Also defo take out the rear 3/4 windows - i've seen too many paint jobs crack around the corner over time.

 

 

[1xshaunx1 27]

Paint guys like you say are on the whole lazy, it’s finding a firm that can be arsed to do things like rub down the rubber left over by cutting the windows, out most of them want to spray straight over the top. 
I didn’t get mine back perfect to be honest I had to finish buffing it as he wanted it out of the shop but for the money I paid I still think they did a great job. But mine had very little rust and was mostly strip the old paint and spray. 
I suppose it boils down to how much rust is on your car and how stripped you can get it before it goes to the body shop as to what type of and how expensive a firm you need.

Maybe get the rust areas sorted and primed by a restoration company and finished by a firm like MJA used

[Cressa 43]

You need to bring it up North. Mine was 3.5k. Admittedly I had stripped it, but they still took all the doors off to paint. Bumpers, sunroof panel, wing mirrors,  number plate light surround.. were painted off the car.   No welding but some rust to sort out

If a company is stripping it for you, then that is big bucks £££ in labour time 

As Shaun says,  get the glass out. You are spending good money and this is the only way to get a great finish

[_Matt_ 26]

I forgot to say on mine - i stripped the whole interior out (just incase work was needed on floors but they were ok) but the bodyshop took bumpers, doors, wings etc off

 

If you have the balls for it it is worth taking a wire wheel on an angle grinder on any rust so the bodyshop can see and quote for repairs. Can always blast it with epoxy primer to re-seal whilst waiting for works.

[oneohtwo 8]

This is all good advice chaps, cheers. I will definitely look for a restoration place if I go ahead with it. Certainly the couple of paint shops or body repair places I have had the misfortune of using around London have been shocking. The paint I had done on the number paint plinth is already bubbling and lifting and that's just a small bit of plastic. Might just be London though, but there seem to be a large number of cowboys operating from whatever tiny premises they can find - makes me wary. The Taunton place that repaired the rear ender I had did a top job on the other hand.

The place I got the quote from certainly do full bare metal ground up restorations - he showed me the work they had done on a bare metal E-type body shell, and you couldn't see any join at all on the panel they made for the rear haunch. They had all the old panel beating and bending machinery as well. Actually turned into a really good day out!  Southern Classics if anyone has something a bit more high end than a Corrado around SW London area. The chap also advised having the underside looked over to make sure there's nothing nasty hiding there. I'd love to take it there, but I don't think it is justifiable at that price.

Unfortunately my capacity for taking bits off and storing them is now vastly reduced so I'd have to let the shop do it and take the windows out, but also we're now planning a house extension so I may have to knock the idea on the head for now anyway. I think I'd rather spend the money on a respray...

 

[oneohtwo 8]

Bit of a small update- it's been a couple of months of driving around in it and am enjoying it! The engine is running smoothly, and feels nice and strong pulling away. Handling feels much improved with the B12s and the ride is certainly no worse. Still running the engine in as per Stealth's guide so up to 4000 rpm now. Will be nice when I can give it the full beans!

Carried out a coolant flush at the weekend with the VW orange flush stuff, which is a pain in the arse having to wait for the engine to cool down each time. Anyway, definitely got some gunge and deposits out, but the effect on engine temps seems odd:

A) At motorway cruising temp seems to have gone up compared to before and sits at just under 90. I'm sure was at closer to 80 before

B) In traffic seems to have come down slightly from 110 to about 108

I wonder if A) is perhaps because the rad sensor was covered in deposits so slightly insulated and reading lower than the actual temp, hence a perceived increase? The only thing I did notice was that usually when I got out of the car I could instantly feel the heat radiating from the engine bay and that wasn't the case this time so maybe it has improved cooling. The thread post where I put the Hella radiator in says it was sitting at 90 in traffic and the engine was old then. May have been being optimistic but seems odd, as before the rebuild it was definitely getting hotter than that.  Only had 1 run in it since doing that so will keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

Couple of other minor niggles:

1) Oil is leaking from around the sump gasket. Annoying as it was a new gasket, torqued correctly and I used some gasket seal

2) Got an intermittent starting issue whereby the car starts instantly from cold, instantly if straight after stopping, but if left for a few hours it struggles. Takes a few seconds of turning over then struggles into life, spluttering a bit before idling properly.  It used to do this but I didn't expect it to keep doing this since the rebuild. Any ideas?

Anyway, arty shiny engine bay pic:

 

 

 

 

[fla 9]

thats oil temps you're talking about is it?  90 at motorway speeds is not bad tbh, in winter it will likely be lower.

 

I had what i thought was a leak from the sump gasket.  Turned out to the be the oil filter cap.  In the meantime i had changed the oil filter housing seal (the '8' shaped one) and used a new sump gasket with some light gasket sealant.  I think the lip of the sump catches any and all leaking oil

[1xshaunx1 27]

If you do some research the fuel problem is to do with the tank and the fuel filter. VW had a dealer fix for this. But basically i think if you put a non return valve in between them it stops the fuel line bleeding fuel back into the tank.  

[GrahamU 5]

You must be talking about oil temps

90° seems about right for oil on motorway, same as the water, 

I've never owned a VR so could be wrong but my old G60 would get higher on motorways and my turbo cars sit around 90-100

I did fit an oil cooler to the 1.8T when it was on the road and the oil temp stayed lower by 20° which is not great for the engine

[oneohtwo 8]

16 hours ago, fla said:

thats oil temps you're talking about is it?  90 at motorway speeds is not bad tbh, in winter it will likely be lower.

 

I had what i thought was a leak from the sump gasket.  Turned out to the be the oil filter cap.  In the meantime i had changed the oil filter housing seal (the '8' shaped one) and used a new sump gasket with some light gasket sealant.  I think the lip of the sump catches any and all leaking oil

Sorry, no I should have said water temps. I think the oil gets a bit higher but can't remember. I think the temps are within acceptable range, although just under 90 when motorway cruising seems a little high - I just thought it odd it had gone up after a coolant flush when I expected it to go down if anything. I did notice it fluctuate a bit so maybe 40-55 mph it would be mid to low 80s, then 60+mph  would be up to 90. Engine working a bit harder I suppose, but then more airflow over the rad. 

15 hours ago, 1xshaunx1 said:

If you do some research the fuel problem is to do with the tank and the fuel filter. VW had a dealer fix for this. But basically i think if you put a non return valve in between them it stops the fuel line bleeding fuel back into the tank.  

Ah thanks, I will look into this. I suspected it might be a fuel issue.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by oneohtwo