Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 24, 2003 Hey guys, I went to Cornwall for the weekend - and on the way back, i got as far as Exeter (about 70 miles from home) when i heard a *thump* noise and the car shook slightly, and then i could hear a grinding noise when i accelerated. the grinding soon disappeared, but when i pulled over, there was oil pissing out of the little rubber bung on top of the gearbox (look directly under the dizzy cap, you should see a rubber bung - if you pull it out youll see the flywheel). I managed to get the car to a garage (about 5 miles) and called my breakdown cover. Whilst i was waiting (took them 2 hours!) i asked a Golf GTI owner if i could see his engine (to see if it was the same as mine) and it turned out he was a mechanic - he reckons my Crankshaft Seal has popped and as a result its splattering oil everywhere. He says at the very least the gearbox will need to be removed, at most its an engine out job. Hopefully the gearbox isnt damaged (still had all the gears) and also i hope no oil got on the clutch as ill need a new one of them too if thats happened! The car didnt run out of oil, so hopefully ive not done any damage there. In the end i got brought home on the back of a flatbed - was a bloody nightmare getting the car onto it, various bits kept scraping as its so low! God knows what im gonna do about it, im skint! Anyone got any encouraging words or advice as to what its likely to be? Cheers chaps (and chapesses!) Dave oh, and btw, the idling problem got worse over the weekend - didnt want to idle even when warm. Problem disappeared when the seal blew (or whatever it is!) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted March 24, 2003 Dave, I am really sorry to hear that mate :( I haven't really got any words or advice as I am most certainly not a mechanic.. just keep your fingers crossed and hope that its going to be the cheapest & easiest route to getting it fixed!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 24, 2003 Cheers mate. Its going in Autotrader the moment its in a sellable state. After 3 weeks of Corrado ownership im throwing in the towel. Ive had more niggly problems in 3 weeks than i had in a year of Golf GTI ownership and now this has happened - ive lost faith in the car and even though it will most likely be a pukka motor when its fixed, im going to get rid and get something cheap, slow and hopefully reliable. thanks for you help mate! Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo-corrado 0 Posted March 24, 2003 Your after some encouraging words , maybe not on this one . Sounds like the diff in the gearbox may have collapsed and worn through the gearbox casing , causing the oil in the bell-housing / grinding noise under acceleration . Was there much oil under the car from the gearbox when you stopped ?. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 24, 2003 "oil under the car from the gearbox" How would i tell mate? Basically i could see a trickle of oil coming out from around that rubber bung on top of the gearbox and all of the top of the gearbox (and subsequently the bottom!) was covered in oil! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo-corrado 0 Posted March 24, 2003 Was it engine oil or gearbox oil ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 24, 2003 Looked like engine oil, was black - but then i probably wouldnt be able to tell! I certainly THINK it was engine oil... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo-corrado 0 Posted March 24, 2003 when u checked the engine oil ( via dipstick ) did u notice the level was low ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 24, 2003 Yup, it had lost quite a bit of oil mate. Was just above the minimum. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo-corrado 0 Posted March 24, 2003 When u was driving , was the car vibrating as the engine revs increased , as you were going through the gears ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 24, 2003 no mate, it drove absolutely fine, didnt seem to have affected it at all.... (BTW thanks for taking the time to reply here...) :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo-corrado 0 Posted March 24, 2003 Strange , if its engine oil the gearbox will be ok , the only way engine oil can get into the bell-housing is the crankshaft oil seal . But i cant understand the thump / shake / grinding noise. Unless the clutch has broken up slightly and spun something into the oil seal causing it to leak . What i was getting at before with the car vibrating is , my crankshaft broke on one of the web's near the clutch end , causing it to vibrate / leak oil into the bell housing . Even though it was broken the car was still able to be driven , untill i totally killed it !! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 24, 2003 The mechanic i met said the crankshaft oil seal would be the culprit! Thanks for all your help mate - ill have to somehow get the car to a garage and see how much they charge me to sort it! Ill keep you all informed :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
146 Jockey 0 Posted March 25, 2003 Dave_Corrado16v Dave I know how you must be feeling after 3 weeks of heart ache. The only thing is that when I bought my C it was in a bad state and it caused me some much hassle to get it right (over a year). Its so frustrating when little things go wrong one after another and you have friends, girlfriend etc telling you I told you so! There were times I wanted to drive it off the pier and walk away. I still have it and at the moment it is running sweet(It would want to be after all the money I spent on it!). When you get them right thay are such a fun car, just depends on patience at the end of the day. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vr6storm 0 Posted March 25, 2003 Cheers mate. Its going in Autotrader the moment its in a sellable state. After 3 weeks of Corrado ownership im throwing in the towel. Ive had more niggly problems in 3 weeks than i had in a year of Golf GTI ownership and now this has happened - ive lost faith in the car and even though it will most likely be a pukka motor when its fixed, im going to get rid and get something cheap, slow and hopefully reliable. thanks for you help mate! Dave the thing to remember is that your Corrado is likely to be 12 years old at its youngest....so a lot of things will be wearing out and ending their service life.....your previous gti's etc might have been older but they probably too had similar problems appear but were probably fixed prior to you buying..........my first 2 weeks of corrado ownership resulted in a £75 bill just for a h/light switch....and thats was on a 38k mile 1-owner 6 year-old fvwsh example..............all german motors are pretty reliable but at the same time you have to be pretty reliable yourself with servicing and preventative maintenance and general mechanical sympathy with it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qrugh 0 Posted March 25, 2003 I remember hearing a valuable piece of wisdom many years ago. Most cars go through a period when they are between 10-12 years old when all the major things and lots of minor things break or go wrong. This is a generalisation I know but I have found it to be quite accurate. Moral of the story: if you are not interested in having to do lots of work on a car then buy one that is either less than 10 years old (with the intention of selling it before it gets to that age) or one that is more than 12 years old (by which time most things should already have broken and then been fixed). Personally I would rather buy a car that is just entering this 'difficult age' as it gives me the opportunity to take it through this stage myself and so at the end I will know it is all properly sorted. If you buy someone else's car then you always run the risk of inheriting all their problems. I should point out that my Corrado is 12 years old and everything it just starting to break! Please don't anyone tell my wife what lies ahead!!! :twisted: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 26, 2003 UPDATE: The garage found the time today to drop the gearbox out (charging me £65 for the priv!) - apparently the diff in teh box exploded pushing a bolt out thru the bellhousing/gearbox casing (or something - im no expert! lol). Basically as its so badly mashed i cant even get a recon box on exchange - ive got to buy a new box outright. Total cost of the repair quoted is £640. As a result the car will be sitting at the garage until the weekend when hopefully i can hire a trailer and get the thing home - then itll sit on my driveway until i can find a second hand box to put in it. Could be a while unless any of you guys have a box lying around?! BTW am i right in thinking that the gearbox on my 1.8 16v Corrado is the same as the box on the Mk2 Golf GTI 16v? Thats the same engine i think, so hopefully the box is the same? Please tell me is it! lol. I might be able to buy a cheap/crashed mk2 Golf GTI 16v and swap the box myself if its not too much work.... Thanks for all the help and advice guys - ill keep you informed! Anyway know a good place to get a cheap (but still decent) gearbox? Cheers again Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted March 26, 2003 Dave, Sorry to hear that mate :| You could try a lot worse than this (http://www.volkswagenspares.com) place.. I checked their 'currently breaking' section and there are a few promising candidates - no Corrados this year, but a number of Golf GTI's which could be potential donors!! (This sounds promising - about 7 cars down, green Golf MK3 GTI - "GOLF MK3 16VALVE 2LITRE ABF ENGINE CODE 4 X DOOR, NO DAMAGE ALL PARTS AVAILABLE") I am sure some of the other guys will post some more well known breakers for you.. keep us up to date though mate! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VR6 0 Posted March 26, 2003 I am sure some of the other guys will post some more well known breakers for you.. keep us up to date though mate! How about this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted March 26, 2003 Oh! Here is the answer if ever I saw it mate!! Posted on the CCGB mailing list which I suggest you sign up to if you wish to pursue this one any further! (simply because Yahoo! hides email addresses so you'd have to get on there to be able to email the guy) Im having to get rid of my 1990 16v corrado, has med/heavy front end damage...(twot in corsa killed it head on),damaged or missing bits include,front bumper n/s/f wing,n/s/f headlight,subframe,radiator,oil filter/cooler housing,bonnet,leather seats(have 94 vr seats includes rear arm rest in black cloth),door mirrors and handles,the leather door cards are still in the car.engine was good at time of crash just havent tried getting it goin gearbox was good has new clutch,the car is black ,can dismantle most bits upon request.looking for serious offers.im in west sussex near gatwick. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo-corrado 0 Posted March 27, 2003 Sorry to hear the bad news , i thought it sounded like the diff had collapsed when i spoke to you last night , but you threw me abit when you said it was engine oil that was leaking out . The gearbox in your c should be a cable gear change , but the gearbox in a mk2 golf is rod change , the mk3 golf had the cable change gearbox . Also you cannot fit an 8v gearbox as the splines in the center of the clutch plate are diffrent , also the 16v has a LSD ( limited slip diff ) and the 8v does'nt . Hope you have some luck finding one . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 27, 2003 Jim Wow, thanks for that mate! Whats the address of the Yahoo groups mate? Could you do me a favour and ask him to email me or PM me on here? My email address is mailto:[email protected]. Either that or could you let me know the address of the yahoo groups so that i can join myself? Cheers mate! Dave PS im collecting the car from the garage on saturday, hiring a trailer - apparently the gearbox also incorporates the rear engine mount, so ive got to take a bit of wood over to support the engine! lol. Also means i wont be able to close my bonnet :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 27, 2003 So i could fit a box out of a mk3 Golf GTI 16v? Isnt that 2litre tho? Will it still fit? Hopefully ill be able to contact that bloke on the Yahoo groups! Ta guys Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_Corrado16v 0 Posted March 27, 2003 PS is the gearbox on the Corrao G60 the same? Ta Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted March 27, 2003 Dave, I have emailed the guy so hopefully he will be able to get in contact with you! The address for the eGroup is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Corrado-UK/ - look for the post (once signed up) called "FOR SALE whole or in bits 1990 16v corrado" HTH mate.. hope you get a reply out of him!! Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
