Gurps Chana 10 Posted June 1, 2012 Just brought a Corrado 1.8 16v with 69,000 on the clock. seems to be a very well looked after car. As I'm not 100% familiar with these cars (Im more of a MK2 Golf GTi person), I'm hoping some one can point in the right direction in regards to the following issues - 1. Ive got a Golf MK2 Gti 8V so i have a rough idea as how much power i should expect. The Rado has NO power at all...really really sluggish and no poke at all. Idles fine hot & cold. apparently the new owner has changed the plugs, leads, oil/filter..a mini service basically. Any ideas as to why this is and where i could begin? it has an stainless exhaust back box (not my kind of thing). could this help onwards the loss of power? 2. When the car reaches about 4000rpm, it gives out a slight raspy rattle. quite annoying. 3. reverse and 1st gear crunch at quick changes. is this common? any help would be great... hopefully you'll bear with me as I'm a Corrado learner at the mo :). Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted June 2, 2012 Welcome to Corrado ownership! The KR engine is pretty gutless below 4k RPM to be fair. Very little Torque, but it does like to be revved, and pulls very well all the way to the redline from then on. Other than that, thing to check would be to get timing if it feels sluggish. The rasp you get is probably the backbox resonating at that particular frequency. Could also be any part of your exhaust baffles slightly loose. I know how annoying it is, as my mid box baffles are completely adrift by the sounds of it, and its driving me up the wall! The syncromeshes are notoriously weak in both these gears. You need to be at a complete standstill to select them without it happening, although yours is pretty low milage so your best option is to protect it as much as you possibly can. Was the same on my Golf Mk3 too btw. Get your gear oil Changed. Redline MT90 is the recommended tipple for this application. If this doesn't cure it, new selector and shifter bushes and alignment are the only other options before big money is needed to be thrown at it! Don't worry too much though, they're reasonably strong boxes otherwise! Hope this helps mate. :thumbleft: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gurps Chana 10 Posted June 6, 2012 Thanks for the quick reply! The gears just seem to crunch if i engage them quickly rather than at a stand still, especially 1st gear. I have to engage 1st gear quite slowly in order for it not to crunch. But I'm sure ill get used to it. I have fiddled with the dizzy housing in order to get it to respond better and it has worked! so i think a timing gun is the next step in order to get the timing bang on. will check up on all the pulleys aswel. Is there anything else i should check up on? any other common faults with these cars which i should keep an eye on? thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m4ttj4mes 10 Posted June 6, 2012 nice engine choice ;) would say all i have found which appear to be common throughout the KR engines are split vaccuum hoses (underneath all the induction piping) replaced all mine and made for a better idle if any have small splits etc. as said the rasp sounds like a knackered exhaust; mine had this, sounded awful when accelerating - was around the manifold area unfortuantly and it was subframe down job as i replaced the lot. other than that as long as its serviced regularly and the injectors have good rubbrs then i havent found much go wrong! just rebuilt mine with nearly everything brand new - 2 months and it started first turn and idled perfectly - well chuffed! enjoy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gurps Chana 10 Posted June 7, 2012 found the rasp/rattle...i think... theres some sort of heat shield thats loose or clips must be broken near the backside of the engine (nearer to the windscreen). it seems to be attached at the top but rattles and is loose from the bottom end. any idea how this is supposed to be secured? also, the electric windows only seem to work if the drivers door is closed. is this normal? idle after rebuild...must be the best feeling in the world! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted June 8, 2012 Bottom of the top piece just rests behind the top of the bottom piece. If you know what I mean! :grin: I'm assuming its the one where your speedo cable goes through that your talking about.? I actually removed mine if it for this exact reason too. :thumbleft: Windows will only go up or down one at a time, although I cant comment on door open, but I don't think thats right. :shrug: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
