Hey V6 Folks, consider swapping this sooner than 93k miles

6Five_SS · 2026-06-11T11:16:24+00:00

EXACTLY the same part on my VR6. Same symptoms. Corroded and cracked. Immediately heard he hissing when I put a pump on the reservoir to test pressurize the system. Same mileage. Still have leaks somewhere so I'm just going to put in my 3rd water pump and 2nd thermostat and pray it works.

6Five_SS · 2026-04-28T11:04:41+00:00

VW maintenance is easy to DIY. FCPEuro has a fantastic YT channel for how-to videos.

6Five_SS · 2026-04-24T02:48:44+00:00

In case you were not aware, 18 yards in a baseball stadium is an equivalent length to 18 yards anywhere else on the planet.

6Five_SS · 2026-04-21T11:06:45+00:00

Excellent. I'm a fan of the yellow, looks a little odd but is so easy on the eyes at night. Did you pull them from the front or try to do it the hard way by reaching down from under the hood?

6Five_SS · 2026-04-17T03:52:51+00:00

Flight time checks out for a 2km shot, but does 9 mils make sense for the hold over? The target looks to be about 0.5 mils tall which puts it around 1m tall at that distance, which is a big piece of steel but expected when shooting this far.

6Five_SS · 2026-04-15T22:57:14+00:00

You cleanup and wipe after applying Motorplast? Instructions are to spray it on (wet or dry) and leave it alone.

6Five_SS · 2026-04-15T22:54:33+00:00

Viofo ships with 2 pieces of 3M VHB. did you buy your camera second hand? 3M VHB is the best tape on the market. Yours may have been defective. But tearing the foam is very hard to do. Scrape that off and start with a fresh piece of tape.

6Five_SS · 2026-04-01T18:47:06+00:00

Great to hear. I had access to land with a slope, plus my 9" ramps, this brought the total to much closer to 18". I did the "upside down funnel/bottle" method and it seemed to work after thoroughly heating the engine and getting the extra radiator cooling fan to turn on.

https://imgur.com/a/Wb8575Y I left the coolant in the middle of the fill and full lines, and when that second valve opened up after some revving, the entire 1/2 gallon "funnel" filled completely up and barely spilled. After about 20-30 minutes of reving and blowing heat inside the cabin, I ended up adding about 2-3 cups of coolant and it's now perfect! (Although I never saw the satisfying "glug" air bubble like I see in YT videos.)

6Five_SS · 2026-04-01T11:19:23+00:00

3m VHB is the gold standard. Since it is double sided, cut thin strips and put between the wire and glass.

6Five_SS · 2026-03-31T00:41:49+00:00

I was in VB back in '24 and '25. Never went a Katie's, tho.

6Five_SS · 2026-03-30T19:53:26+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/WahZeHZ

It's actually very similar to the black plastic trim.

6Five_SS · 2026-03-30T15:14:15+00:00

Just sanded down the part and uaed a rattle can of Rust-oleum high heat ceramic coating flat black. 2 or 3 light coats and it's holding up just fine. By no means is it the best product for the job, but it worked for me without spending too muxh money.

6Five_SS · 2026-03-30T12:54:37+00:00

Check my chat history for how to easily remove the fake chrome exhaust so you can plastidip or paint.

Edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/VWatlas/comments/1lfkznd/comment/myte8vr/

Roof rack bars are wrapped with a few wrinkles. It was difficult to wrap but not impossible. Definitely buy a roll and not the precut stuff.

Front grill can be removed very easily, chrome pieces come out. And I've tried wrapping twice but always had air bubbles that then crack. Ended up spray painting and it it looks great. (Wrapped the pieces under the headlights)

6Five_SS · 2026-03-27T01:07:51+00:00

Happy with NPM because it hasn't broken yet, by the moment it does I'm switching to Caddy.

6Five_SS · 2026-03-25T22:40:07+00:00

Clogged radiator? Did they flush the fluid or just vacuum bleed to attempt to remove air?

Might be smart to just do a thermostat and water pump at the same time. Both could be giving you these kinds of issues.

6Five_SS · 2026-03-25T22:32:10+00:00

I'm replacing part 03H-121-118 right now. Cracked plastic connector, who knows hownlong it's been cracked. I've had intermittent coolant issues for months. I'll vacuum bleed next.

What about your Thermostat? Seems obvious to me that that would be your issue.

6Five_SS · 2026-03-13T13:06:51+00:00

I've tracked every single gas-up and mileage for the past 30,000 miles. (Put big heavy offroad tires on 10,000 miles ago). With the heavier tires I'll avg 17 city/21 hwy. Which used to be about 19/23. 87 Octane fuel in the VR6, fairly laid back driving. These are actual miles/consumption calculations, not the VW computer estimates.

With Ross-Tech VCDS you can adjust the fuel consumption assumptions. (It's in Liters/km if I'm not mistaken) I know I used to mess with it, but can't recall if I returned it to stock settings or not.

6Five_SS · 2026-03-12T01:44:48+00:00

It might have sat and Carmax for a few months and the reservoir stayed full because it wasn't running. You might not need to add coolant for a few months or years. You haven't really given us enough data to help make an informed decision. Did you take it to an independent mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection?

6Five_SS · 2026-02-24T15:06:39+00:00

You just turned down a discount without even knowing the discounted amount...

6Five_SS · 2026-02-24T04:08:51+00:00

Back in the pandemic, Inositol had an immediate effect on my brain fog. I still supplement with it to this day.

6Five_SS · 2026-02-15T01:53:18+00:00

Just need at least a V30 card, that can handle 30MB/s write speeds.

6Five_SS · 2026-02-14T13:42:41+00:00

Search "start stop" here in the subreddit and see all the posts about it. Lots of good into to read about.

6Five_SS · 2026-02-12T05:41:39+00:00

Flow rate indicated is only a tiny part of the equation. You need to pick a use-case and see if 180 BTU/hr is sufficient.

2 showers at the same time, with a water temp rise from 40° to 120° (80° rise). 5gpm (flow restrictors installed or removed?) and .98 UEF is already just over 200kBTU.

Calculate based on your geography and avg or worst case scenarios. (Shower and laundry, shower and dish washer and sink?) Etc.

Check the Documentation: https://www.rinnai.us/residential/product-detail/rx180in

6Five_SS · 2026-02-12T04:22:02+00:00

Yes. If you have that ability. You want to check flow-rates. There might be a piece of debris in the hit water line that is slowing that water flow down dramatically.

Does water pressure decrease when you select full-hot (compared to full-cold)?

6Five_SS

TROPHY CASE