Dunkuk

Recommended one is Unit18 in Milton Keynes.

You should be able to change gears without the clutch by matching the engine revs. Not easy in 1st but very easy in 5th and 4th. You just push the gearlever gently into the gear you want and move the revs up and down until it slips in. If you can do that then yet another indicator it is a clutch problem.

Thanks, I'll think i'll pay for it on my credit card!

Have a look on euro car parts for a price. Not sure how easy they are to fit but on most cars they are easy to get to.

Mine did this when they got wet, been fine since. Leave your windows open a little bit and park it in the sun, should dry out.

Hi, I'm having my gearbox reconditioned on Tuesday after having a big dilema on what to do. Here is the thread about it: http://www.briskoda....ich-one-to-get/ Sadly the gearboxes on the SDI wear out quite quickly. Costs of repair are quite high, all these prices include vat, some garages quote without VAT, no idea why as even if you are VAT registered you still have to pay it. Anyway there are 2 options. 1. Buy a 2nd hand gearbox, for around £150 - £300 depending on condition etc. Then have your old box removed and the new one fitted, labour is about 4 hours or £200-£300. Unit 18 quoted about £225 total for labour + oil + a release bearing. 2. Have it re-conditioned. I got some local quotes and the total was £1,000 in the Guildford area. I have now found a company in east london called Helical Gearboxes that will do the whole job for £480 which is a good deal, I phoned around quite a few places and this seemed pretty good. My original plan was option 1 but doing the labour myself, it is not a complex job but it is a long one, and you need some special tools, I worked out that I needed a trolley jack, a clutch centring tool, a hub socket, and probably some splined bits. Perhaps £50 of tools. The thing that put me off was the fact that I could replace the box only to find the 2nd hand one was worn out as well. Also like you I could not find a box with the same code. Then there is the delivery of the gearboxes and disposal. Hence I thought I'ld get the box fixed. This budget car is turning out to be expensive to run, but it was cheap to buy so I guess it evens out.

Hi, yes I understood it completely, I do quite enjoy law! The garages won't warranty the parts if they re 2nd hand. In fact they told me they ask for cash up front as they often have problems. Having dealt with money quite a bit in former jobs I know that when you take someones money it is very difficult for them to get it back! Anyway I have got it booked in at a refurb specialist in East London so all is solved now. I decided that a 2nd hand box might be just as worn and I would'nt know until I fitted it, and I will need the car over the next couple of weeks so will get it fixed.

Cars that might be the same are the Polo and the Ibiza. You should be able to find someone who is breaking one though, there are usually some cars being broken for spares on ebay.

Hi all, got a quote from Unit18 and its around the £170 before oil and release bearing, not sure what the total would be, release bearings are about £15 on ebay, and oil I think would be about £40 so perhaps £225 all in. I think I might take it to them. I have found this page which has all the codes on it, after being sent a message by a member on here that the gearbox code is on a sticker in the boot! My code is GDR, this looks like it could be hard to find as the gearbox was only fitted for a year 6/2002 to 5/2003. http://skoda.workshop-manuals.com/fabia-mk1/index.php?id=1761 What happens if I put on a gearbox from say 2004 or 2001 will it still fit and work ok? Time to get round to phoning some people up I guess (I have been side tracked as have bought a Mazda 2 on behalf of my sister and have been servicing it this week).

At first listen I thought it sounded like a diesel should sound, then I realised yours is a petrol. My mum had a rover years ago that suffered from piston slap and it sounded like a diesel, I noticed someone else above suggested this too. Isn't it a common fault on these engines? Is yours a high mileage one? The oil change may have made everything else quieter so the noise seems worse, I don't think changing the oli would have done anything. If a garage did it make sure it's not overfilled or very low. Here is an example on youtube of piston slap.

Just found this thread where someone had a gearbox swapped (not including 2nd hand unit) for £125 including the oil which is about £40, at unit18, that sounds unfeasably cheap, I will contact them too I think. http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/218054-gearbox-removal/

I'm going to try a call to sco-spares about equivelents, eg VW/Seat , and as someone has suggested to me have a look on the sticker in the boot for the gearbox code. I'll update when I know more.

Hi, I can't see the garage being liable if they fit a 2nd hand gearbox? Anyway I don't see how talking about legal matters is on topic to be honest, I thought this was a car forum. Can we stick to nuts and bolts please. I will probably give it a go myself, might make a separate post about gearbox hunting, anyone know if that Polo one I linked to on ebay is the same? Polo SDIs are surely the same?

My advice is to buy a cheap one say for £1,000 or £1,500 and then save £1,000 to get work done as things go wrong, because they will go wrong. You will need a cambelt change for example, as people often sell their car when they are told they need a cambelt and service, £300 or so for the cambelt and £100 for a service and people will say "I'm not paying £400 on an old car" and sell it. You may have other things fail, like door locks, or electric windows, air-con etc. If you expect things to fail and budget for it, it wont be a dissapointment when it happens. My advice would be to get one with good bodywork and interior as you can't fix those bits cheaply, then drive it for a while and see if anything is wrong.

Hi, about the comment on whether the pads and discs are suitable for 10,000 miles a year. Yes it is always best to get good discs and pads ( I would go for Pagid), they will just wear out quicker the more miles you do, there are no such things as low or high milage brake parts.