LucasRado - 2.0 16V - clutch slipping

[guildmage 11]

My history with Corrado started when I was at uni (2000-2005) and my roommate used to have a black Corrado 2.0 16V, it was a fantastic car back then, it was relatively new and just made a great impression on me. From that moment I always liked Corrados, the way they look and drive. It's been always one of "them" cars for me I wish I had. So, after toying with idea for a while I decided you live only once..

... and I finally it! My very own Corrado. Previous owner had it for 10 years, plus a lot of paperwork and apparently not too many issues... So I bought it, drove it all the way back to Leeds and it didn't skip a beat! I was extremely happy... but little I know back then about Corrado and it’s apparent Corrado curse

 

About the car:

As much as OEM as I can see and hopefully it will stay that way. Even if I have to bear consequences of the tractor look and funny looks from people in “stanced Saxo’s”.

 

It’s from 1995, 2.0 16V - LC5M which is Midnight Blue as you know. Comes with grey leather seats (in a very nice condition!), but not heated :( Also comes with Magnex exhaust that was fitted by previous owner.. for my liking its perfect. Not too loud and not in your face, but still with a subtle growling note which works just fine. Think it compliments the car very well.

 

Mods:

* Magnex Exhaust

* TT Wipers/Blades

* VR6 Leather Steering Wheel

* Uprated headlight loom

 

Issues:

During my ownership the car was/is rather stable. It lost its fuel tank pump and also radiator blew, hmm and had a shock leakage .. but you know nothing too serious. Ah yes.. I have an ongoing battle with ABS - which is driving me mad... and will pay any money, to anyone who is willing to come and fix it for me once and for all. Also my offside wing is rotten beyond recovery and there are few other rust problems but again nothing too serious (it’s a 17 year old car in the end) - I have a replacement wings in garage, so respray is on the agenda soon (ish).

Another thing is the sunroof, which only tilts and not slides, also the directional knob on the heaters is stuck - but the heaters works fine on all settings, etc … Electrically everything else works. Car starts every time, regardless if cold or warm...

As you can see, comes with “typical” issues for a Corrado... and it is my job to make it all fixed. I am a noob when it comes to mechanics or electronics, but doesn’t stop me from learning on the job - where there's a Will, there's a way!

 

Pictures:

OK, I think I bored you enough as it is, so will show you some pictures.

 

First three is when I bought the car:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]64437[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64441[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64445[/ATTACH]

 

This lot, from some various trips:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]64449[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64453[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64457[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64461[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64465[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64469[/ATTACH]

 

.. and these two from few minutes ago. She is in her new environment, on the driveway, surrounded by flowers and lots of love :)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]64473[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64477[/ATTACH]

 

Work done so far:

There has been a lot of work completed - still there is an ever growing list of issues to fix ^^ However, it a strange and comforting feeling that everyday this car gets older and the mileage goes up - yet she drives better and better!

 

2014-05-06 @135k Annual Service (oil, oil filter)

2014-01-15 @133k Clutch kit + gearbox oil

2014-01-06 @133k Bosch Silver S5 battery

2013-05-13 @130k Exhaust work (cut off old clamp behind CAT, clean up exhaust, fit new sleave and re-seal)

2013-05-01 @129k Annual Service: (oil, oil filter, brake fluid)

2013-03-14 @128k New clutch master cylinder

2012-11-24 @127k New door membrane + speakers Pioneer TS-G 1322I

2012-09-24 @126k Bushes (front wishbone bushes, front top mounts + bearings, front shocks + roll bar links, front outer CV boot, wheel alignment)

2012-09-03 @125k New tyres (2x Uniroyal RainSport 2, tracking adjustment)

2012-06-09 @124k Brakes (front discs and Pads, rear discs and pads, fuel filter, clutch slave cylinder)

 

2012-05-10 @124k - Drivetrain Refresh

- washer jets (replaced)

- N/S Steering rack boot + refit (gaiter twisted)

- rear wheel bearings adjusting

- N/S/R shocker leaking (replaced)

- O/S/F inner CV boot u/s (replaced)

- O/S/F outer CV boot worn (replaced)

- comp valve sized (free off brake compensator valve)

- rear exhaust hanger u/s (redrill + replaced + adjusted)

- rear axle bushes worn (replaced)

- N/S/F brake pipe u/s (replaced)

- both front to rear pipe u/s (replaced)

- N/S/R brake pipe u/s (replaced)

- N/S/R brake pipe comp to flexy (replaced)

- gear selection adjustment

 

2012-03-10 @123k - Centre Console swap (cable’s sorted, new stereo)

2012-03-03 @123k - Headlight refurbish (headlight de-assembled and cleaned up)

2012-02-20 @123k - Bulbs / Fuses (philips X-treme Vision H4, boot LED bulb)

2012-02-08 @123k - Radiator (radiator, coolant )

2012-01-23 @122k - Full Service (oil, filter, spark plugs, thermostat, coolant, belts)

2011-12-12 @122k - Oil Pressure Sender + Oil Filter + Oil flush/change

2011-11-12 @122k - Wiper conversion mod - Audi TT arms/blades

2011-10-20 @122k - In-Tank Fuel Pump

2011-10-20 @122k - ABS Rear - O/S Sensor Replacement

2011-10-01 @122k - VR6 Leather Steering Wheel

 

... ah that was a long post, hope you enjoy. I will try to update as soon as there are some changes.

Edited May 27, 2014 by guildmage
typos

[guildmage 11]

Quick update, managed to swap over old bulbs with some brighter, bit modern versions:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]64661[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64665[/ATTACH]

 

... and finally fitted my in-car camera - as a safety measure from all these idiots on the roads. As you can see it's attached on some velcro so I can easily remove it at any time. My windshield have this "blueish" sun strip at the top (think it came like that with the car) and luckily it is hiding the cam very well. I have been looking from various angles from outside and it is very hard to spot there is anything there at all. Need to check how it will perform with recording and visibility, but so far I am quite pleased with the outcome. Again few pics to show...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]64669[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]64673[/ATTACH]

 

...ah and also visited body shop and got quote for fitting N/S and O/S wings + spray and also fixing some rust around windshield area + rear arches. The quote is £680 which seem on a cheap side, but the chap seemed reasonable and genuine. However, other body shop quoted me well over a grand. Hmm... it's a bit bugging to be honest. Can a bad respray cause a lot of drama in future?

Edited May 31, 2012 by guildmage

[guildmage 11]

Another day of happiness :)

 

One of the issues I had (very rarely) was that my clutch pedal was not returning. Especially if I held clutch pedal pressed for longer periods. It sometimes just stayed on the floor, could return it manually tho by simply pulling it back. As you imagine it was a bit annoying so decision was made to replace clutch slave cylinder as bleeding made no difference. After replacing, all seems to be fine, needs more testing and driving I guess. Tried keeping clutch down for like 5 mins several times and pedal returning fine. It also feels much "easier" to press down now - but not sure if I'm not imagining it. Well, fingers crossed anyway.

 

Also I got replaced fuel filter as it was skipped on last service. Not sure if that made any real difference, but at least it's new now, so another thing out of the list of "things-to-do" :)

Finally, as my old brakes just felt really, really bad. Front and rear brake discs and pads also got replaced today. I have been told to take it easy on brakes for next few days to make them settle in and such. But still it's amazing what difference new discs and pads can make.

 

Now then, as a very last thing my ABS seems to be fine again! While at the garage (as per your advise) ABS sensors got cleaned and checked again. Been driving for a while today... and ABS lights stays off! Which is a great success, but... I'm not keeping great hopes... well will see.

 

As you see... quite productive day.

Shame it wasn't me doing the work but garage.. but I feel not confident enough to do such work... at least not yet (especially on brake system) !

[guildmage 11]

England? Yes, England. You know: fish, chips, cup 'o tea, bad food, worse weather, Mary ****ing Poppins... ^^

...I know it was London not, England but I do not live in London, and the "worse weather" is still just perfectly suitable atm - since my last update it was raining every single day! Yes, England :)

 

However, woke up this morning and hey ho... sunshine. So pulled out hose, all detailing products I have and managed to:

- sanded few rust patches here and there, then painted + laquered - a bit of a bodge job but will have to do for now

- wash and wax

- glass cleaned inside and outside + Rain-X applied

- full vacuum

- cleaned leather and applied the leather cream

- last thing is pulled one of the roof plastics as it wasn't seated properly and fitted it the way it should be attached

 

Very happy with results, have a look at the pictures:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]68070[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]68071[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]68072[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]68073[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]68074[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]68075[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]68076[/ATTACH]

 

... as I uploaded these pictures it started to rain again! Well at least it kept me busy this morning :)

[bmwcompact 10]

Hi Lukasz,

 

Car looks good especially the leather seats and the paintwork. You have the same Westwood wheels as I have, though mine came from an 8 valver-the car had cheap 17" wheels when I bought it.

 

I've had an L reg 16v for a few months and also been sorting lots of mechanical issues. I still have the rear axle bushes to replace, and though my ABS says its OK , I dont believe it operates. At the moment the bonnet is getting sprayed-tried to do it myself but my spraying kit not up to it and it ended up looking like a zebra. Its now in the hands of a pro.

 

Im guessing you are from Latvia or Poland....elsewhere to the East..... ???? You mention the weather-well I was at Uni in Leeds 40yrs ago (Mech Eng), but am now in the Lakes and can say its always much wetter here than in Leeds!

 

Glad you are enjoying your Corrado, I've not quite got to the point where I like mine, I can see the potential is there, but not yet happy with the ride quality.

[guildmage 11]

Thanks for nice words, you're guessing right, I am from Poland :)

Car looks much nicer on pictures... in real life? well, all little niggles come out ;) Like my O/S wing (arch) which is terribly rotten (I avoid that area on pictures , heh) However, I should have it sorted in 2-3 weeks.

 

Even thought I have a ton of issues to sort out, yeah I do enjoy ownership.

btw. ride in mine is also a bit "harsh" (especially potholes, and slow bumps) but on a nice roads its like a dream.

[CazzaVR 0]

Car's really coming together mate! Lots of hard work eh? That's Corrados for ya. Love the leather 8)

[guildmage 11]

Judgement day of 2012 arrived and... my little car passed it's MOT :dance:

I was worrying sick, due to fact it was first MOT while I am the owner + intermittent ABS light coming up some days. Gods must have smiled at me. It's a PASS.

 

Thought two advisories: front left and right tyre near legal limit... easy to fix.

[guildmage 11]

Hmm is this a Corrado curse or if it ain't broke don't fix it thing?

After work been to a place to fit new tyres (Uniroyals RainSport 2) and also did the tracking adjustment as it was needed. Drove off, maybe a mile or so... and this happened:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]69248[/ATTACH]

 

Simply saying engine just died, started again and it would not idle at all! The moment I removed my foot from acceleration pedal, it just kept dying. Checked engine bay, was maniacally tapping on the ISV. Disconnected most of the plugs, put them back. Checked for damaged hoses... but nothing seemed out of the picture. Started again... but would not idle, just kept dying the moment I removed foot from acc pedal.

 

Waited until engine cool down -> started again and TA-DA idling was fixed. Get back home fine no problems. At home checked temps (it was bang on 90C) and car was idling perfectly.

Switched off engine, waited 20 mins (so engine was warm but not cold, or hot) -> started first time no problem and again idle was fine.

Switched off, waited +90mins (engine was cold by now) -> started first time and no problems with idle.

 

This is the second time it happened to me... could that be the ISV on it's way? Or something else?

I am happy with cleaning ISV, but then when it works it's fine I have no problems with idle (or I think I don't have), so what else it can be? Or should I just source new ISV (any idea what is the cost of such thing)?

[Jim 2]

It's a tough one but it could be the ISV. When you did have your foot on the throttle (in between it cutting out!) did it accelerate normally? It could well be the ISV.

 

Keep your eye on eBay for a good / pre-owned one. The VR6 one also fits / works fine on the 2.0 16v and you should be able to pick up a good working one for £20 or so. New ones cost so much, it's worth going through a few used ones!

[guildmage 11]

Hi Jim,

Yes it did accelerate fine, no flat spots, basically all was 100% fine. RPM needle also behaved normal, no jumps or erratic behaviour.

This morning car started fine and got to work without any problems. Im worryin tho if it happened twice it will happen again! So i am on a lookout for ISV now...

[Jim 2]

Good luck with it. At least the ISV is easy to change on a valver! :) Tempest had to replace the ISV on his Porsche 928 recently and it was an utterly horrendous job!

[guildmage 11]

Just been told by a colleague that my car got quite a visible scratch on the arch!

Thought it's a joke! Went out to check it and yes... Some fak** assho**** done my car! On a freaking work parking!

[ATTACH]69272[/ATTACH]

 

Im a bit speachless at the minute and trying to find out as much as poss. But i can smell it from a mile it is going to be costly!

[Jim 2]

Oh FFS mate :( Is there any CCTV there so you can find out who did it and confront them? What a complete *******. Good luck getting it sorted :(

[guildmage 11]

Well then after cleaning it all up, there are no dents but still the paint is damaged and bumber scratched. Will have to be that way for now, will tackle it next year. CCTV although exist there was nothing there. I have no clue?! I'm sure it happened at work car park... but then some people are arseho*&% and you just cant help it.

 

I was actually about something new that happened to my car:

- new wishbone bushes,

- new front top mounts + bearings,

- new front shocks + roll bar links,

- and finally full wheel alignment,

 

Car feels different in a good way. Had a bad day at work and also was raining so much whole day - so didn't do much of "feel good" driving today. Maybe I should? Tomorrow, tho, I am going to Wakefield so will check it out on my little journey.

[guildmage 11]

Wipers working again. Got parts on Friday (thanks to g60knight) and swapped them this morning. All fit like a dream.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]70091[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]70092[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]70093[/ATTACH]

 

...and while we're happy again, a quick photo from Knaresborough - Autumn on it's way.

[guildmage 11]

The other day was investigating why my right door speaker is not working, so stripped the door card and was presented by this nightmare...

 

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Decided, while I'm at speaker issue I will re do the door membrane at the same time so collection of parts began. I've used following parts:

• Butyl tape roll strip + gaffa tape
  
• Heavy duty (1000gauge) polythene sheet
  
• New speakers Pioneer TS-G 1322I (nothing fancy, but I have no amp so it will do just fine)
  
• Speaker connectors - as didn't wanted to chop original cables
  

 

Today I've carried the work. Nothing difficult there, maybe except removing old sealant - it was right pain to remove tbh. New membrane fitted nicely, I even made myself a template from cardboard :)

Put the new sealant around the whole door and then gaffa taped on the outside - just in case. Then fitted new speakers, connected them up, put back the door card and refitted all trim. All worked perfectly ... I had a moment of panic as my window would not move on the button, dunno what happened there, but after 10-15 minutes it decided to work again.

Quite happy with the work, can't comment on membrane yet but the speakers seem OK.

 

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[Jim 2]

It's always annoying that people butcher the membrane. The sticky silicone used to hold it in place can simply be peeled back, and then stuck back in place - it's like some super special reusable gloop.

 

Good work on effecting a tidier repair though mate!

[guildmage 11]

Thanks, well I imagine the original sticky thing yes, you could re-use but in my car someone completely bodged it. There was a mix of gaffa tape, masking tape, some strange hard glue and only remains of original sticky stuff. So replaced it all with butyl tape - it's as close to original thing as I could see.

[guildmage 11]

Good luck with it. At least the ISV is easy to change on a valver! :)

I sourced ISV some time ago but since my ISV stopped playing up was waiting with replacement. Today was just about to go with misses to cinema and... it happened again. Car struggled to start, u need to help with acceleration pedal and then would not idle at all. RPM would plummet and engine stopped.

One philips screwdriver and new ISV later (10min job) and car started straight away and perfect idle ;) Great success. Was waiting with replacement as wanted to be 100% sure that replacing it will fix this. So far so good Hope it will stay like that.

[Jim 2]

Bonza :)

[guildmage 11]

Well not exactly :(

 

As mentioned above, after replacing ISV car started fine and idle was fine. We decided not to go cinema so I took the car for a spin and all was fine - did good few miles. Came back home, made above post, had some food... 2 hrs passed and decided to take car for a spin again - just to be on the safe side. Car started up no problem , idle was fine, but half a mile down the road engine died on the crossroad with the same symptoms - no idle. I can start engine fine (with acceleration pedal), but it will die straight away as soon as I remove my foot. Limped back home... and well that is where I am now.

 

Damn it, what else it may be?

[OllieVR6 0]

Hmm, I sadly know nothing about that type of engine but surely it has to be a sensor on it's way out?

 

At least you have a spare ISV you can sell :)

[guildmage 11]

At least you have a spare ISV you can sell :)

That is a brilliant ability to always search for a positives regardless of what is happening. I like.

 

This morning (woke up at 5am to avoid morning traffic) tried to start the car and issue re-appeared. It would just not idle. Decided to still drive to work. 100-200m into the journey and problem got fixed on it's own. Arrived at work. Stopped, restarted engine like 10 times and all is well... But I know it isn't! The danger is the moment the engine dies, it removes power steering and also brakes... it's super dangerous to drive like that.

 

I'll look into sensors, but should I start replacing them one-by-one in a lucky bid to replace the faulty one? I need some 16V gurus, please... Can take it to garage, but garage will not research issue that is not happening at the time, surely?

Edited January 10, 2013 by guildmage

[james153 0]

That is a brilliant ability to always search for a positives regardless of what is happening. I like.

 

This morning (woke up at 5am to avoid morning traffic) tried to start the car and issue re-appeared. It would just not idle. Decided to still drive to work. 100-200m into the journey and problem got fixed on it's own. Arrived at work. Stopped, restarted engine like 10 times and all is well... But I know it isn't! The danger is the moment the engine dies, it removes power steering and also brakes... it's super dangerous to drive like that.

 

I'll look into sensors, but should I start replacing them one-by-one in a lucky bid to replace the faulty one? I need some 16V gurus, please... Can take it to garage, but garage will not research issue that is not happening at the time, surely?

 

You're quite right a garage will struggle like hell to fix a car with an intermittent problem as they have to keep using it until it breaks again. we've all been there, its not fun. a late 16v is a very simple engine really, fuelling is electronically assisted mechanical injection and idle faults usually arise from broken air pipe as the system works entirely on vacuum.

 

The ISV is an solenoid valve allowing air to bypass the throttle butterfly in order to maintain a vacuum even with the throttle shut off. This will only engage when a)the throttle is closed and b) the engine speed is below 1200RPM. So perhaps it's not the ISV at all, but more likely a dirty or faulty switch on the throttle body.

 

Best course of action would be to set up a breakout wiring rig inbetween the ISV and its plug and get an LED to light up on the dash when its working, that way you can tell if it is getting the appropriate electrical signals.

 

If you're still worried about it being the ISV, there's no need to keep changing bits willy nilly, across the 2 pins on the back of the ISV should give you a resistance of between 4-12 ohms.

 

As for sensors, I wouldn't recommend changing them all as they also have test procedures so you can actually determine the fault, but there aren't any sensors I can think of off the top of my head that can cause your symptoms.

 

Sorry if I have waffled a bit, but hope this helps.