StevesTruck

I'm going with boost leak.

Thanks for that - BXE rings a bell, it's not BJB (just because I know it's different to our old Caddy). So (after fuses) in the first instance, I'm looking for a straight 12v down pin 2? I'm just wondering if it's 3,4 or 5 that's not going through, if that coincides with the glowplug fault at a multiplug or if they go straight back the ECU?

Thanks @WinoIt's a 2008, can't think what the engine code is off hand, will check in daylight and come back to you. I'll bleep-check all the fuses in the morning just to be sure, but I think I did that when I bought it.

Car is a Mk2 Octavia 1.9TDI 105ps DSG Since I've had it (about a year), I've had the following fault and an engine light on the dash. 000258 - Mass Air Flow Sensor (G70) P0102 - 000 - Signal too Low Live data reads 0 at any engine speed. I originally assumed it was a faulty sensor, so I changed it for a Chinese one, which I think knocked the light off for a few hours (long enough for an MOT test), then it came back on, so I assumed the sensor wasn't great. Today, I live-data'd the MAF on a scrap Ibiza I've got in the yard, and it seemed to be working (went up and down as the engine speed did). The part number was the same except the suffix (-B on the Octavia, none on the Ibiza), so I decided to give it a try and throw it on. I cleared the codes on the Octavia, and the light came back on shortly after, with the same code, and reading of 0, regardless of engine speed. Here's the engine codes it's giving. The overboost is a new one, but I do remember nailing it with the trailer on a couple of weeks ago, so maybe that caused it. The glowplug one's been there forever. From what I understand, there's a known issue on these cars with the glowplug wiring loom? Car runs fine, a little rough when cold on a cold morning, but to be expected from an old diesel with no working glowplugs. Drives fine, gets 60mpg. Just puts the light on because of the MAF. 6 Faults Found: 000258 - Mass Air Flow Sensor (G70) P0102 - 000 - Signal too Low Freeze Frame: Fault Status: 01110000 Fault Priority: 0 Fault Frequency: 1 Reset counter: 255 Mileage: 296523 km Time Indication: 0 Date: 2000.00.00 Time: 19:06:50 Freeze Frame: RPM: 798 /min Speed: 0.0 km/h Load: 0.0 % Duty Cycle: 64.7 % Bin. Bits: 00101000 Mass Air / Rev.: 240.0 mg/str Mass Air / Rev.: 0.0 mg/str 005658 - Glowplug for Cylinder 1 (Q10) P161A - 000 - Open Circuit Freeze Frame: Fault Status: 01110000 Fault Priority: 0 Fault Frequency: 1 Reset counter: 255 Mileage: 297394 km Time Indication: 0 Date: 2000.00.00 Time: 08:55:50 Freeze Frame: RPM: 903 /min Speed: 0.0 km/h Load: 0.0 % Voltage: 14.21 V Bin. Bits: 00101000 Temperature: 14.4°C Bin. Bits: 10110000 005659 - Glowplug for Cylinder 2 (Q11) P161B - 000 - Open Circuit Freeze Frame: Fault Status: 01110000 Fault Priority: 0 Fault Frequency: 1 Reset counter: 255 Mileage: 297394 km Time Indication: 0 Date: 2000.00.00 Time: 08:55:50 Freeze Frame: RPM: 903 /min Speed: 0.0 km/h Load: 0.0 % Voltage: 14.21 V Bin. Bits: 00101000 Temperature: 14.4°C Bin. Bits: 10110000 005660 - Glowplug for Cylinder 3 (Q12) P161C - 000 - Open Circuit Freeze Frame: Fault Status: 01110000 Fault Priority: 0 Fault Frequency: 1 Reset counter: 255 Mileage: 297394 km Time Indication: 0 Date: 2000.00.00 Time: 08:55:50 Freeze Frame: RPM: 903 /min Speed: 0.0 km/h Load: 0.0 % Voltage: 14.21 V Bin. Bits: 00101000 Temperature: 14.4°C Bin. Bits: 10110000 005661 - Glowplug for Cylinder 4 (Q13) P161D - 000 - Open Circuit Freeze Frame: Fault Status: 01110000 Fault Priority: 0 Fault Frequency: 1 Reset counter: 255 Mileage: 297394 km Time Indication: 0 Date: 2000.00.00 Time: 08:55:50 Freeze Frame: RPM: 903 /min Speed: 0.0 km/h Load: 0.0 % Voltage: 14.21 V Bin. Bits: 00101000 Temperature: 14.4°C Bin. Bits: 10110000 000564 - Boost Pressure Regulation P0234 - 000 - Limit Exceeded (Overboost Condition) - Intermittent Freeze Frame: Fault Status: 00110000 Fault Priority: 0 Fault Frequency: 1 Reset counter: 255 Mileage: 304814 km Time Indication: 0 Date: 2000.00.00 Time: 12:13:33 Freeze Frame: RPM: 3045 /min Speed: 88.0 km/h Load: 83.1 % Voltage: 14.52 V Bin. Bits: 10101000 Absolute Pres.: 2029.8 mbar Absolute Pres.: 2346.0 mbar Readiness: 1 1 0 0 1

It's a bit of a rough way of doing it but.... Make sure the fluid it topped up. Get an assitant to pump the clutch about 10 times as harshly as you like. On the last stroke, hold the clutch down. Get a jam jar with some brake fluid in and a bit of hose that's long enough to be immersed on the brake fluid at the end. Put the hose from the bleed nipple on the slave into the fluid in the jar. Open the bleed nipple. Get your helper to pump it about 10 more times, hold it down on the last. Close the bleed nipple, top up the fluid. There's no reason it should work better than pressure or vac bleeding it, but I've had it work a few times on cars that wouldn't bleed up right using the proper tools.

SDI camshafts don't normally wear like PD ones do, so I wouldn't be in a rush to change that. Yes, always worth soaking new lifters. Normally I prime an oil system by turning the engine over, but not starting it. On an SDI, I'd unplug the stop solenoid to allow this to happen, but I can see why people might disagree with me on this.

It's possible. Either that or some sort of contractor's vehicle that had chevrons on? Quite often, they'll apply an oversized sheet, then trim it down, so what you're saying would make a lot of sense. Alternatively, someone might have been a bit rough taking a rear windscreen out to replace it. Just from one of the jobs I used to do, 6 months ownership would make me think it was either a hire (not necessarily a bad thing, it could have been one person's company car the whole time), or a demonstrator or pre-reg'd car.

Yeah, it's about as high as a standard felicia will go. New shocks and springs will help a bit, and you mentioned those spacers. They are pretty good offroad as they are, especcially if you put some mud and snow tyres on.

Just realised, I never asked what engine's in it? The diesel engine is heavy, 1.6 lighter, and the aluminium 1.3 the lightest of all.

There's an old lad with a felicia down the road, who's just had the wrong springs fitted on the front and he looks to have about 4-5 inch of arch gap I'm trying to remember if pickup springs fit in the car spring seats. It's probably as easy just to order a full set of springs for a 1.9D pickup truck if they do.

Diesel springs on the front and estate springs on the back should do it.

I'm getting two stories on the subject of changing the heater matrix. Some people say it's like a Golf and you have to have the whole dashboard and half the interior out. Others (mostly with LHD cars) say you just need to take the trim panels in the passenger footwell out and be a bit dexterous. Anyone got any hands on experience of doing one of these?

Mk1 Fabia Polo 9n (bug eye) or 9n3 (facelift) Ibiza 6L Fit new top mounts while you're there, and it's well worth changing the console bushes for Ibiza Cupra ones. https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/ibiza-cupra-uprated-console-bushes-for-vw-polo-skoda-fabia-and-seat-ibiza.html You'll also want a spreader tool for opening the hub up where it clamps on the shock (you can crack the hub if you try to spread it with a random chisel. This one's a pair of Sealey ones, so good quality. You can buy cheaper if you're not planning on using them much. It's worth having a new pinch bolt and nut to hand for the same place in case the old one doesn't come quietly. Febi part number 27876 https://www.vwspares.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=953

Any sign of oil that might have come up the breather in the air intake piping? Any smoke on startup when it's been sat overnight? Piston ring issues do happen on the 1.4. Take your spark plugs out and see if there's any oil on them, and their general condition. Might be worth doing a compression test if you've got a guage.

I have a few bits of wood flooring. Goes under the boot carpet without leaving a bump, stronger than it looks, and if need be you can stick a bit of gaffa tape round them to make a thicker peice.

That's the question, and I suppose really it depends what amount of space you're happy to work in. A decent pair of ramps is probably your best bet if you're doing the job on the driveway.

As above, the factory coating on a MK2 octavia is very good - I'd say you're more at risk of making a moisture trap if you seal over the existing protection. I'd personally get it in the air, drop the trays off, and do localised repairs to any damages bits of the rust proofing with something along the lines of POR-15, or whatever the fashionable one is at the minute, basically thick enamel paint. If you don't mind an off-brand, the metal paint in Lidl is very good.

We've got a couple of sdis in the the family. Dad has a MK1 fabia and I have a MK2 caddy. They can move alright when they want to, just have to use a bit of driver ability to stay on the power. The best thing you can do for them is get the cambelt changed and timed up well if it's not had one recently. They can stretch older or cheaper belts, which results in a lot of power loss. It's never going to be fast, so just enjoy it for what it is. I probably have more fun driving my 68?hp caddy than my vrs that's got about 100hp more.

185k, the car's got 99 problems, but the engine most certainly ain't one.

And again, that's just the way these are, the throttle response is pretty slow on them. A bigger cold air intake between the grill and the airbox (Ibiza cupra was a popular mod back in the day, not cheap now though), or just taking the pipe off altogether can improve it. You probably won't get it to rev-match nicely. I normally rev-match in my SDI caddy, mainly because I've got **** knees, but the fabia doesn't like it.

I think 950rpm is the standard idle speed on these. Both my fabia and the Ibiza before it seemed to sit there. I'm guessing vag made it that way so it sounds smoother.

Not really, no, as long as all the holes are intact. It'll have scuffs and scrapes, but who's going to see it? It's worth getting some stainless steel screws and dipping them in grease before you refit them.

I can't see it being much different. Mine was repaired using a lead pair off a scrap Audi TT. Worst case, the support grommets won't be in the right on place, but a bit of rubber hose and a couple of cable ties will fix that.

Yeah, looks like the rod's knckered at both ends. Febi Bilstein ones aren't particularly expensive on ebay.

When I've finished with them.... not many get sold. I think Heinz bought most of them.