How (and why) to Ramble on your goat sideways
I'm poor becuase of the luck...but I'm surviving. I'll be debt free by April.
VR6 Corrado reliability problems:
Fun Corrado facts and reasons why I still have a powerful lust for them:
VR6 Corrado reliability problems:
- OEM coil packs suck, get Chinese replacements
- "crack pipe" should be replaced with a metal one
- Front control arm pivot bushings are trash, replace with poly (the poly ones last up to 2 years, lol)
- The diff will grenade the stock hardware, replace with Peloquin diff
- VW transmissions are huge pieces of ****. I suggest you buy a 6-speed from a respectable shop like SP with a Quaife.
- Spoiler electronics basically never worked from the factory, won't work now
- sunroof is already broken
- Every switch or sensor on the engine has failed by this point and is probably replaced by a World-Pack sourced part. O'Reilly or Rock-Auto parts are more reliable than the VW Bosch stuff.
Fun Corrado facts and reasons why I still have a powerful lust for them:
- OMFG, they sound awesome
- Turbo parts are cheap and since no one on Earth is dumb enough to track them, you can buy a fairly cheap one and make ~400hp on a stock engine
- OBDI means easy inspection and lots of Megasquirt people working on them
- Awesome interior
- The hood is so long, it's like you're piloting a ship
That really gives me some stuff to look into. Mad props for joo!I stopped by and looked at it at lunchtime without the owner. It looks like its on 90's vintage 15" aftermarket alloys (Speedline maybe?) with new-ish looking factory sized Kumhos... but its on coilovers. Headlights are eGay specials and the fogs are missing. The leather isn't anywhere near as bad as you white car, but its not great either. Interior is complete and ummolested and relatively clean. Trim and paint are not perfect, clearcoat is flaky in parts but ZERO rust (because CA.) Called the owner, he claims spoiler and sunroof work, but we'll see. Also says its all Samco silicone coolant hoses underhood, but I didn't ask about the "crack pipe"
Mileage is 173k (as opposed to the 135k on the window tag) and the owner thinks the engine has never been opened, so that definitely means timing chain set. He also said something about a "GIAC chip" so I need to look into that.Who is this SP you speak of in reference to transmission? I've literally never owned a FWD car.
It's been prodded at by "enthusiast mechanic" type folks, but its not cut up and retarded looking. Stock headlight and foglights may be unobtanium, and I'm looking at around $600 to replace the coilovers if they really suck. Everything else looks pretty decent. But seriously, this thing is cheap enough that my tax return will easily cover it with some leftover. I need to make sure the emissions stuff is all there (because CA) and that it has passed SMOG in the last couple years.
The problem is that I'm leery of buying a 20 year old VW when I already have a 13 year old Mazda kicking my ***. I just want something that's neat and runs, I don't need a 400hp finicky beast. Maybe I should buy an Accord
...but I did already look up Megasquirt options
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,402
Total Cats: 7,523
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
You know, it's really become cliché to compare the Miata to an old British roadster. In reality, the Miata is almost nothing at all like an old British roadster. It starts when you want it to start, stops when you want it to stop, doesn't spontaneously combust, has a functioning windscreen defogger, does a reasonable job of shielding you from the elements when the top is up, and can generally be counted on to fulfill most of the criteria associated with the word "reliable."
But it's funny. Every time I ride as a passenger in the S2000 owned by a co-worker, I think to myself "Man, this thing feels nothing at all like the Miata. It's all contoured and sleek and refined and stereotypically Japanese. By comparison, my Miata feels like an old British roadster."
Just an observation.
But it's funny. Every time I ride as a passenger in the S2000 owned by a co-worker, I think to myself "Man, this thing feels nothing at all like the Miata. It's all contoured and sleek and refined and stereotypically Japanese. By comparison, my Miata feels like an old British roadster."
Just an observation.
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I think a lathe is just perfect for this project.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
From: Republic of Dallas
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For the most part, yes. If you have a lift or high enough jackstands that will allow you to work under the car. You will have to remove the tires, and may even have to remove a couple bolts here and there for access.
But, if you have rubber bushings in the car, zerks would be useless, obviously.
Also, since you will not be able to observe full articulation of the suspension arms, it would really help to measure twice and drill once to eliminate broken/bound zerks later.
And, the drill bit needs to go in all the way down to the sleeve.
But, if you have rubber bushings in the car, zerks would be useless, obviously.
Also, since you will not be able to observe full articulation of the suspension arms, it would really help to measure twice and drill once to eliminate broken/bound zerks later.
And, the drill bit needs to go in all the way down to the sleeve.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,402
Total Cats: 7,523
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Oh, and that problem with the receiver? It was the impedance selector switch on the back. How is it that with something as complex as a first-generation Dolby Digital / DTS receiver, the problem is something as idiotic as a passive slide switch?
Here's to another 13 years of not having to shop for a new amp.
Here's to another 13 years of not having to shop for a new amp.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,402
Total Cats: 7,523
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Switch was intermittently flaky- I assume the contacts inside have simply become corroded with age. Hard-wired across the appropriate terminals on the back, and it seems that all is well.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,402
Total Cats: 7,523
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
This is what I hate about the estimated-tax system. You have nothing to base it on but your prior-year income. If you under-estimate, you owe penalties. If you follow their rules to a T and wind up massively over-estimating, you get no interest on the money that you over-paid over the course of the year.
Ah, well. Not looking forward to the state taxes. CA Form 540 is such an annoyingly disorganized document...
EDIT: I should qualify the above. Form 540 is fine. It's schedule 540-CA that's a pain.
Last edited by Joe Perez; Jan 30, 2013 at 03:21 AM.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
From: Republic of Dallas
For the most part, yes. If you have a lift or high enough jackstands that will allow you to work under the car. You will have to remove the tires, and may even have to remove a couple bolts here and there for access.
But, if you have rubber bushings in the car, zerks would be useless, obviously.
Also, since you will not be able to observe full articulation of the suspension arms, it would really help to measure twice and drill once to eliminate broken/bound zerks later.
And, the drill bit needs to go in all the way down to the sleeve.
But, if you have rubber bushings in the car, zerks would be useless, obviously.
Also, since you will not be able to observe full articulation of the suspension arms, it would really help to measure twice and drill once to eliminate broken/bound zerks later.
And, the drill bit needs to go in all the way down to the sleeve.
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I still don't understand why the presence or absence of a furnace is even a factor in the loan equation.
Let's say that you buy a new car and finance it. The bank doesn't make you jump through a bunch of hoops just because the car doesn't a turbocharger.
Or if you buy a new house and finance it, there's no question on the loan documentation asking whether the kitchen is equipped with a built-in dishwasher and over-range microwave oven.
In all of these cases, the aforementioned deficiencies are going to be remedied by the owner. If the car doesn't have a turbocharger, you are obviously going to add one. And if the kitchen lacks a dishwasher and a microwave oven, that's obviously going to be fixed within the first week of ownership.
Does the bank care whether the house has central A/C? In Flahrida, that's just as important as having central heat in Hoosierville. Yet I've never heard of a loan being rejected on account of a faulty air conditioner.
I'm not trying to be pedantic here- this literally makes no sense to me whatsoever.
Let's say that you buy a new car and finance it. The bank doesn't make you jump through a bunch of hoops just because the car doesn't a turbocharger.
Or if you buy a new house and finance it, there's no question on the loan documentation asking whether the kitchen is equipped with a built-in dishwasher and over-range microwave oven.
In all of these cases, the aforementioned deficiencies are going to be remedied by the owner. If the car doesn't have a turbocharger, you are obviously going to add one. And if the kitchen lacks a dishwasher and a microwave oven, that's obviously going to be fixed within the first week of ownership.
Does the bank care whether the house has central A/C? In Flahrida, that's just as important as having central heat in Hoosierville. Yet I've never heard of a loan being rejected on account of a faulty air conditioner.
I'm not trying to be pedantic here- this literally makes no sense to me whatsoever.
My understanding was the houses I could buy with the loans I could get must be "move in ready" and apparently a furnace is part of that. The FHA inspectors are supposedly tight asses, and will make the seller fix every little detail before the sale can go through. It was an FHA 30-year fixed that I was prequalified for.
If I wanted to finance that house, I would have to do a refurbish-type loan.
On the plus side, at least they aren't handing out houses to any idiot these days.
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 19,338
Total Cats: 574
From: Fake Virginia
"was"? "is"!
dielectric grease?
edited to add: I felt the urge to explain to my wife one reason she should not get a qwerty slider android phone was that mechanical stuff breaks much more easily than solid state. touchscreen has no moving parts and will not likely fail with repeated button presses. slider qwerty is all sorts of tiny mechanical stuff just waiting to disassemble itself at the weak points.
Oh, and that problem with the receiver? It was the impedance selector switch on the back. How is it that with something as complex as a first-generation Dolby Digital / DTS receiver, the problem is something as idiotic as a passive slide switch?
Here's to another 13 years of not having to shop for a new amp.
Here's to another 13 years of not having to shop for a new amp.
edited to add: I felt the urge to explain to my wife one reason she should not get a qwerty slider android phone was that mechanical stuff breaks much more easily than solid state. touchscreen has no moving parts and will not likely fail with repeated button presses. slider qwerty is all sorts of tiny mechanical stuff just waiting to disassemble itself at the weak points.
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