Fabia general woes - engine, steering....etc

[jonboyuk]

Hey all,

 

Last week I spent the week borrowing my Mum's Citigo! I loved it, light steering, great mpg (although quite uncomfy after 500 miles)!

 

Anyway, I came back to my Fabia and I realised how poor it was compared to when I first bought it with 30K on the clock. After driving it to work today it feels like it has so many issues although no lights in the dash:

 

1. I've just had the cambelt changed and other stuff and I've spent around £500 on bits and pieces. For some reason, the engine feels like it has a weird murmur (I don't know how else to describe it). If it's idling it doesn't feel clean, I can feel a slight well...random murmur as if the car could stall. It never does but I can feel it when I'm driving on long straight roads where I stay in a single gear. Any ideas?

 

2. I did a 30 mile eco drive yesterday and only returned 31mpg whereas I can normally get about 40mpg.

 

3. It also feels like there's a distinct lack of power. Going up steepish hills requires second gear. third just won't cut it anymore.

 

4. The breaks squeak and my garage said that sometimes it can't be fixed! The pads have been changed and the guy chamfered them to try and stop it. Is this true?

 

5. The steering feels woefully heavy. There's nothing on in the dash to highlight any issues but it just doesn't feel light at all (at least compared to the Citigo which I know isn't comparing apples to apples).

 

I love my Fabia, but I'm a student and money is a big issue so I can't keep ploughing it in.

 

Can anyone offer any advice on the above?

 

Many many thanks, J

Edited 28 July, 2014 by jonboyuk

[softscoop]

If your cambelt has been changed and it's not been timed up properly, then that would describe points 1-3

[stevobeavo]

If you've had the cambelt changed then the first 3 could be it wasn't timed properly.

the brakes apply copper grease to all moving , piston, sliders etc that could help.

And as for the citigo could have light steering as its, well a city car and could have electric poert steering too.

[Toxicvrs]

5 - get the weight of power steering adapted on VCDS

4- sounds like there was no copper grease on the back of pads or fitting shims have bent!

[sepulchrave]

It's very difficult to incorrectly time the cambelt since everything gets locked up during the change. The murmur you describe and the lack of power and economy are almost certainly caused by coils/plugs/leads breaking down under load, you don't mention the year of your car but anything on the HT side of the ignition is not monitored by the ECU.

Edited 28 July, 2014 by sepulchrave

[jonboyuk]

Thanks all.... not sure which to pursue now!

 

- The mechanic who fitted the cambelt and claim that he's cocked the timing up...

 

or 

 

- Get the coils/plugs/leads changed. As far as I know, these haven't ever been changed since I've had the car. The car is 2000 1.4 16V (same as you Sepulchrave).

 

Thanks for the copper grease break help, I'll try and sort that myself!

[sepulchrave]

I've owned my car for five years and I'm on my third new coilpack and set of leads, admittedly the first two coilpacks were cheap, but this engine eats leads and plugs, I now change plugs and leads every two years and I use Iridium plugs to mitigate the drop in performance as they age, also change your ECT sensor as this is cheap and also seriously affects performance and economy. The whole lot shouldn't cost you more than £100 and are a doddle to fit. I'll run you through it if you want once you have the parts.

[jonboyuk]

Thank you, that's really kind! Could you guide me in the direction of the exact parts you use (as we have identical cars) so I can acquire decent parts. Once I've bought them (next month) I would really appreciate your help on fitting them.

[sepulchrave]

Eurocarparts is probably easiest:

 

Coilpack: http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Skoda_Fabia_1.4_2000/p/car-parts/car-electrics-and-car-lighting/ignition/ignition-coils/?413440290&1&b1c06e24529d5b1d72fe7fa65a3704a9ff889056&000197

 

Leads:    http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Skoda_Fabia_1.4_2000/p/car-parts/car-electrics-and-car-lighting/ignition/ignition-leads/?409445200&1&b57869c3e8d1cd637305fb2d6940b322cc8f9c30&000198

 

Plugs:     http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Skoda_Fabia_1.4_2000/p/car-parts/car-service-parts/regular-service/spark-plugs/?408440060&1&cb634a4d18b4d6d386e69f79ac47bda7f7568df8&000301

 

ECT:       http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Skoda_Fabia_1.4_2000/p/car-parts/engine-parts/fuel-and-engine-management/engine-management-sensor/?223440210&1&a3a7363afd7d340d770b80fbdefd920129dc7f65&000572

 

You need one of each and four spark plugs.

[jonboyuk]

Awesome, thanks. Is the temperature sensor the same as the coolant sensor (probably a really dumb question), only that I've just had this replaced because I had issues with the temp gauge in the car.

[sepulchrave]

Awesome, thanks. Is the temperature sensor the same as the coolant sensor (probably a really dumb question), only that I've just had this replaced because I had issues with the temp gauge in the car.

 

Yes, they are one and the same, so you don't need one, there is only one on our cars and you've had it done.

 

Edit: Is your temperature gauge sitting dead centre once the car has warmed up, if not then you need a thermostat instead.

Edited 28 July, 2014 by sepulchrave

[jonboyuk]

Actually, I had another thread about this! It's never bloody dead centre, and it's doing my nut in! Sometimes now it just about gets there and then slips by about 10 degrees to the left. I've actually bought the thermostat now but not sure how to fit it!

[sepulchrave]

Actually, I had another thread about this! It's never bloody dead centre, and it's doing my nut in! Sometimes now it just about gets there and then slips by about 10 degrees to the left. I've actually bought the thermostat now but not sure how to fit it!

 

Thermostat fits down below the ignition coil near gearbox linkage, it's tricky to get at, you need to shift into fourth gear from memory so that the thermostat will come out once the cover is off, drain all coolant first into a washing-up bowl, drain tap is under the nearside front on the bottom rad hose barb.

[mrdaf]

I wouldn't suspect the timing is wrong per se, Everything is marked and locked, and pretty easy to do. The tensioner however, if too tight can cause slight drift.

 

Make sure you've got the right thermostat, I can't remember where I got mine from, but it was wrong the first time, you want the one that looks like this:

 

 

It is pretty simple to fit, as sepuldave has said. Once you get the cover off, it should slide straight out. You may struggle to get the cover back on with the new one in, but just tighten it up gently and evenly and you'll be alright.

[jonboyuk]

I think this is right...after looking at yours. It also came with another bit, looks like some housing. Clearly I'm clueless!

 

 

Is this a job from the top of the engine or underneath? I didn't fit the temp sensor my mech. did it! I do as much as I can, but I would hate to screw my car up!

[mrdaf]

You'll need to take the lower engine bay cover off to access the drain plug for the radiator, it's possible without jacking it up, but you'll have to get down on your back. You'll also struggle to get a container under there to catch the coolant.

 

Once you've drained the coolant, you'll need to:

Take off engine cover/air filter housing

Remove battery

Remove battery housing

 

You'll then have access to the thermostat housing. I used mole grips on the sprung hose clip and removed that before taking the housing off, made it just a little bit easier to manoeuvre, but I think it can be done without removing the hose.

 

Then fit the new thermostat, and put everything back together. 

 

If there's one thing I've learnt from this car, is that it's really easy to get to grips with, incredibly forgiving, and you'd have to seriously f**k something up to ruin it. Don't be scared of it, having the confidence to do things yourself is 1/4 of the battle. (1/4 is knowledge, 1/2 is having the right tools!)

Edited 29 July, 2014 by mrdaf

[jonboyuk]

Ah, that's cool thanks for that explanation! Is it safe to go under the car with the supplied jack? Don't want to die If all fails, I noticed you too live in the Bristol area! (Don't worry I'm jesting). I've actually done lots of things to my car before believe it or not, but all electrical! Mechanics scare me!

[mrdaf]

Always good practice to use axle stands. Where abouts are you? I'm in Bedmo. If you want a hand, give me a shout. Not around much this week, but from Wednesday next week I'm available most evenings.

[mogwye]

Always good practice to use axle stands. Where abouts are you? I'm in Bedmo. If you want a hand, give me a shout. Not around much this week, but from Wednesday next week I'm available most evenings.

 

Nice to hear, nice gesture.

 

If you have no axle stands, chock the rear wheels front and back, then jack up the car and slide a brick or block of wood under each front wheel and then lower the car back onto them, it just about gives enough room to slide under to undo the torx fasteners that hold the undertray in position, it's much safer than just using a jack alone.

 

DB.

[jonboyuk]

Thanks Mr.Daf, I'll have a go myself first and if all fails maybe sometime next week or after that I might borrow your brain for half an hour! I live on the outskirts of Bath but regularly drive in and out of Bristol. Cheers.

[jonboyuk]

Well bugger. I had my mechanic try and fit the thermostat and apparently the housing is at a different angle to the one that's already there :( I'm sure the thermostat is okay though (hence the photo above). Perhaps I could just change that without changing the housing? I might have to borrow you after all mrdaf!

[jonboyuk]

To carry on my little saga of the thermostat & housing, I wrote to my supplier and they said:

 

"Hi Jon, You are correct. Apologies. Our listing is in error - we are revising it now. The thermostat is correct, but the cover is not. We have no source for the correct cover. We are refunding your purchase. Please keep or dispose of the parts as you see fit. Our apologies again."

 

Well obviously this is nice because I got a new thermostat for free, but do I need to change the housing in that case? If so, where can I source the correct one?

 

Cheers

[Toxicvrs]

Ebay? Or tps?

[jonboyuk]

I acquired the first one from ebay. What's tps?

[Toxicvrs]

TPS is the Vag group parts supplier of original parts! Some sell over counter some don't! Or Eurocarparts?