wonkydonkey

Castrol Edge 5w-30

ALWAYS drive gently when the engine is cold (whether running in or with 100k on the clock) ALWAYS let the engine get to full operating temp before giving it wide throttle openings (whether running in or with 100k on the clock) When warm drive it normally, give it wide throttle openings but try not to exceed 3/4 throttle Don't let the engine labour in a gear that is too low DO NOT RED LINE You want to bed the rings in which is why you need to give it something to do but the bearing surfaces are really rough (compared to what they are like when bedded in) so you need to treat them with some respect as well.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility The 1.4 16v engines don't seem to be able to make it 5 years with confidence though i'd say it was a hefty handful of both

Any impeller made of plastic has the potential to break up because as plastic ages it gets brittle we do see plastic pump impellers on diesels with blades missing, just not as often

You can get metal impeller pumps from factors like GSF, only a select few come through metal from VAG We still see broken VAG pump blades

All timing belts have a time limit on them after install Skoda/VW used to be 5 years now it's 4 I can only think it was a bit of a marketing thing as to not state it in the manual, and on the flip side a bit of a money earner now they have changed it to 4 across the entire range. Extend the interval at your own risk. In our experience it's the 1.4 16v engines that are the trouble makers, they are the only engines we have seen problems with because the plastic part of the tensioner fails.

Orange sounds a bit odd Change it out for the G12 plus plus, it's due for a change anyway G12 plus plus is a lovely lilac colour in case your were wondering

Because G12 plus plus only came out a year or two ago so you won't have the lifetime fill coolant in there, you have the old G12 or G12 plus coolant which is 5 year max interval.

For some time Skoda If it's a metal impeller i agree, check the bearings feel good and if they do, do it on the second if it's a plastic one, which it probably is on a diesel, then change it out i don't need opinions, i have seen plenty of impellers with blades missing after one interval

It's definitly 4 years or 75000 mile interval on yours bud up to 07/2003 is 60000 / 4years 08/2003 onwards is 75000 / 4 years

It is very rarely a manufacturing issue when it comes to timing belts chap as they are so simple and made in batches of 1000's, if it's a manufacturing issue there would be 1000's of failures due to these tensioners, the tensioner bracket (circled) that says made in Canada on it will be made by Litens who make the original did he replace the whole kit or just the belt, like cossie nutter says it looks old but it defo has a non genuine SKF roller (nothing wrong with that as they are OE quality)so maybe he did. It looks like it was incorrectly tensioned, especially as it has destroyed the bearings in the roller too it's 99.99% of the time a fitting issue if it is an SKF belt kit then he needs to get onto his parts supplier/factor and they will get SKF to send someone to inspect it. If it is a manufacturing issue then the head/engine will be replaced free of charge under the warranty. You may not need a new head/engine if it just died without making any clattering noise, you may be lucky. Don't be surprised if they say it was a fitting issue though.

Blimey sounds like it could be belt only lol there should be about £150 (kit, pump, bolts) worth of parts on a VRS cam belt job

Mobil is a quality product Mobil 1 is the top tier obviously with the Super 3000 sitting just below it, both are very good Shell Helix Ultra is still a very good oil with comparable wear protection with Mobil 1 according to the "Bob is the Oil Guy" forum members who regularly do UOA's (used oil analysis) We use Mobil Super 3000 Formula V in most of the Skodas in our workshop, with the exception of early PD engines on fixed servicing Formula V as far as i can tell from comparing tech specs is Mobil 1 ESP 5w-30 in a different barrel both are PAO synthetic have the same VW specs, pour points etc

It's a double edged sword more profit for the garage obviously and a definate benefit to the customer because of the reduction in deposits both in the fuel system and the motor when you use them every service it's easy to think that they do nothing because they are keeping the motor at a reasonably constant level of health but if you use them on a car that has never had them before then you will feel the difference. We use them at our garage and of the cars we service we have never had any sludge problems and we have never changed an injector in 30 years. My advice would be to use one as most VAG dealers do In the US where the additive market is very big additives are approved by VW BG make the best ones

Skoda pumps are £41.89 inc VAT for the VRS pete