Author Topic: And another one...  (Read 8020 times)

Offline robz

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #10 on: 03 November 2010, 13:32 »
no, leave it in the rado!!!
much better place for it to be!! :D


Believe me its a dead ringer for you! Even says something stupid!

Offline tony_ack

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #11 on: 04 January 2011, 21:07 »
I've been driving this as my daily over the last couple of months and the Golf has been garaged. I originally meant to swap them every so often, but then the weather turned and the rado was warm and cosy...

I really could do with getting the Golf out again, but it seems a shame since it's nice and clean and the roads are a bit of a state at the moment.

Took the Corrado for a service at a VW specialist last month - I would usually do it myself but I fancied another stamp in the well maintained service book, plus I think it was several thousand miles overdue. Nearly £200 in the end (most of it parts) and a list of customer notes as long as your arm:
-Rear bump stops perished
-slight play in rear wheel bearings
-play in n/s lower ball joint (aka CLUNK)
-slight play in inner steering track rod inner joint (i.e. whole new track rod needed)
-rear brake discs poor
-n/s rear tyre tread pattern distorted
-leak on PAS pipe (pump to rack)
-o/s wishbone bush slightly split
-front to rear and rear metal brake pipes starting to corrode
-osf tyre 3mm

Shet that's a long list!

I've got most of the parts - I started with the rear bump stops as I thought they'd be hardest, turns out they were really easy



Then I moved onto the rear brakes. I've also got a snapped handbrake cable, and the remaining cable freezes in the cold. Unfortunately I had nothing to press the new bearings into the discs with, and I almost destroyed the carrier bolts (Mr. Irwin saves the day again) so I've had to order some of those. End result: Same crappy rear brakes and noisy bearings for now.

I've got a front bottom ball joint but I thought I may as well wait until I get a track rod too so I only need to do the alignment once. Track rods are £100+ from VW... f that, I'm off the ECP... Also, I don't dare attempt the wishbone bush so I'll get a garage to do that.

I picked up a set of speedlines second hand - the original plan was to get some budget winter tyres on them, but the rubber on them already looks okay. Only thing is they're 195's instead of 205's, and two of the tyres look like they've been rubbing pretty bad on the inside of the wheel.

I still think it rides a little high - it would look good dropped 30-40mm, and handle a little better too. I'm still have some doubts though as the ride is fantastic (am I getting old?). If I could lower the car without sacrificing the ride, I'd be happy.

Also think that a set of 16" or 17" wheels may finish it off nicely, though the speedlines have grown on me. I do like the BBS RXs (single piece), but I am not paying stupid money for them. Any other suggstions for good quality and good looking wheels that suit the Corrado and don't break the bank? (pics please!)

I also need to do a few more jobs... I'm picking up a replacement sunroof tomorrow, as the cable guides are borked on mine. I've also got a new passenger door with glass and mech, as the one on the car is pretty dented and scratched, and the window doesn't work. There are other little niggly bits wrong too - heater controls (levers on the heaterbox are broken - just what I wanted - a dash-out job...), heated mirrors don't work, leather needs a refurb, cracked foglight..

That's all the car's getting for now, I'm out of money, so nothing else until I sell some parts! My next priority has to be a new set of tyres unless I decide to use the ones on the spare speedlines.

Here's a pic in the peaks yesterday:



And a belated pic in the snow:

1992 VW Golf MK2 GTI
1995 VW Corrado VR6

Offline tech1889

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #12 on: 04 January 2011, 22:01 »
looks really nice mate i still prefer the mk2 tho  :smiley:
Mk4 Golf GTI anniversary and mk6 golf tdi :)

Offline tony_ack

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #13 on: 05 January 2011, 01:45 »
I thought I did.

The MK2 is... different.

I love the retro looks of the MK2, but the Corrado is a beautiful car (though I much prefer the front of the MK2).

The 16v is eagar, revvy, light and nimble, but the VR6 is smooth with loads of low end grunt and just pulls at whatever speed, whatever gear, whatever revs. It glides through the country B roads.

The sound of a valver on cam is addictive. When I got the VR6 I couldn't understand why people were so hyped about the noise it made as it is pretty quiet in comparison to the Golf, but now I get it. That subtle, throaty growl at full throttle takes time to appreciate.

I got back in the Golf after driving the Corrado for a few weeks and it felt so... square. It never felt like an old car when it was used as my daily, but it felt like it that day. For two cars that share half of the same chassis and a lot of the same parts underneath, the Corrado is miles ahead in terms of comfort.

All that said, I long for a warm sunny summer day and a drive in the country in the Golf with the roof open. If the weather improves enough soon, I may swap over for a week or two again - 25mpg in the VR and nearly £90 to fill up is a big minus point.

1992 VW Golf MK2 GTI
1995 VW Corrado VR6

Offline tony_ack

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #14 on: 05 January 2011, 01:50 »
But here's the Golf again to keep the MK2 lovers happy, peeking out from the long grass

1992 VW Golf MK2 GTI
1995 VW Corrado VR6

Offline Peej1981

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #15 on: 05 January 2011, 08:55 »
MMM mk2's luv them and that pic is awsome  :grin:


Id Rather Push A VW Then Drive A Ford. 

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Offline tony_ack

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #16 on: 09 January 2011, 11:24 »
Finally got round to having another go at doing the rear brakes on the Corrado. I tried last week but I got stuck when I had nothing on hand to press/hammer the bearing races into the new discs. I also destroyed the carrier bolts so had to get some new ones during the week.

It was still an all day job when it should have taken a couple of hours.

Everything needed cleaning up - the car went for a service last month but it looks like they never even touched the rear brakes as they were still caked in brake dust. The old pads had pretty much seized into the carriers and needed a hefty hand to prise them out.
I only took the carrier bolts off last week, and deliberately didn't overtighten them to make them easier to get off this week, but they were still a pain, and I had to resort to the bolt extractors again for a couple of them.

Once everything was off I cleaned up the carriers, filed down where the pads sit to get a smooth-ish surface, and greased the slide pins. I noticed a tiny leak on one of the flexi hoses to the calipers, so that's yet another job on the list.. The calipers themselves look past their best, and could do with a good refurb and new seals. They took a bit of effort to wind back, but seemed okay once they were freed up.

Once the discs were on, I noticed that one side was quite noisy. On further investigation I found that I had damaged on of the new bearing races when getting it into the disc. Luckily I had a spare kit which was for the Golf, so I used the race out of that (sorry Golf..)

The handbrake cables were a nightmare... I knew they were bad as the handbrake only worked on one side, and only if you pulled it right to the top. What had happened was that the stops on the cable that stop the cable being pulled into the guides into the cabin had themselves been pulled into the guides. As a result one of the cables got stuck in the guide when I tried to pull it out. An hour of cursing and swearing, and one slightly butchered guide later, and it was finally free. Luckily I managed to salvage the guide.

After that it was straight forward to fit the calipers and pads. I copper greased everything I could (pad edges, carrier bolts, caliper bolts, wheel bolts, wheel centres) in a hope that it will be easier next time. And next time I'm servicing it myself so at least I know everything is done properly.

Started at 11.30 and finished at 4.30, so 5 hours in total. Probably saved myself £150 in labour though so I'm happy!
1992 VW Golf MK2 GTI
1995 VW Corrado VR6

Offline SoundillusioN

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #17 on: 11 January 2011, 11:14 »
Good work... i've still got work to do on my brakes, really not looking forward to it.  :sad:

Offline tony_ack

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Re: And another one...
« Reply #18 on: 13 January 2011, 18:49 »
Good work... i've still got work to do on my brakes, really not looking forward to it.  :sad:

Wasn't that bad to be honest - a set of irwins and a breaker bar for the carrier bolts will see you good. Just make sure you get some new bolts.

As long as you have all the tools to hand, and lots of space around the car like you have then it's not too bad.

I've wimped out of doing the ball joint and track rod and booked it into a garage instead. The problem isn't that I'm scared of doing it, it's more that the lock-up where I work on the car currently stores my MK2 project, so I need to basically no matter what job I do, I need to make sure the car is driveable at the end of the day. I can't take the risk of not having the right tools or missing a part I need when everything is stripped down.

Also got a quote to do the leaky PAS pipe so rang up VW to see if the pipe was still available... £250 for a new one... WTF!!!!! It appears to be the same part used in the MK2 Golf, MK3 Passat, etc. so I think I'll go for a 2nd hand one...
1992 VW Golf MK2 GTI
1995 VW Corrado VR6