TMB

Surprise surprise

It's a proper lump of pig iron.

I have the 1.4 mpi too and it seems be be a trait on them the revs drop fairly slowly when changing gear, etc. Took some getting used to when I first got the car. Throttle response on mine is also the same as you describe.

Good Scottish word there, Ryan 😁

EDIT: Never mind. Thought found one but it was not compatible.

Yep, still driving the same MK1 Fabia. I have seen quite a few people say that theirs pulled left as well. Better than pulling right though

Does it even if I drive on the crown of the road. My previous car never did it.

Had mine out three times & never had an issue. Have you got the little A/C pipe and glovebox light wires in the right position?

Here's a video of a VW Polo, which is similar....

You have to remove the four tailgate trim panels and disconnect all the connectors and harness clips then pull the harness & rear washer pipe out through the top of the tailgate.

My steering wheel is straight when going straight, Ryan. It's the car that pulls slightly left if you let go of the steering wheel.

How on earth did that happen? 😳

Hmmm, I used to PDI (pre-delivery inspection) new Ford cars and never seen noticeably unequal threads on brand-new cars. Certainly not to the extent yours are. However, you wouldn't believe some of the faults that cars came out of the factory with! By the way, mine has pulled slightly to the left ever since I've had it (2013) and just about everything on the steering/suspension has been renewed including tyres. It doesn't wear the tyres unevenly. I have seen people say that it's quite common with Fabias. I appreciate that yours was not pulling left before the work, though.

There are no 61 plate (2011/12) MK 1 Fabias. More confusingly, it says 2010 in your pofile. Those would be MK 2 Fabias. MK 1 ...... MK 2 ....

Well, as I said, judging from your pic, the strut has only ever been pushed into the hub carrier another few millimetres, because you can see the clean ring where it's been. If it's a genuine strut, I can't explain why it's like that when the other one is pushed down much further, as the hole in the plate dictates the position. I notice that one of your track rods has quite a bit more threads exposed than the other (I count about 13 threads on one and about 8 on the other). That means the steering isn't centralised as there should be roughly equal threads on both sides. The steering needs to be centralised before setting the tracking. Then, during adjustment, both trackrods should be turned equally, otherwise the steering rack won't be centralised. I remember years ago, having cars tracked by 'mechanics' who only turned one trackrod and you ended up with the steering wheel way off centre. The angles on turning are then not right. OK, well it has no consequence at all. Not worth worrying about. The vast majority of cars just have the gaiter loose at the bottom. When the suspension is down on the road, the damper rod is more than adequately covered. That's all it needs. Years ago, cars would be driving around with those gaiters completely shredded. It wasn't even an MOT fail.

Either way, you are going to need a new driveshaft nut as they are intended to be used only once. If using the proper steel bands to secure the CV boot, they need to be tensioned then crimped using a crimping tool. Seen people use nylon cable ties instead but, personally, I'm not a fan of that at all. Genuine Skoda boot kit with all the bits is part number 6Q0 498 203 B. You can also buy similar aftermarket kits on ebay, etc.

It's not a dumb question. What you have bought is a universal stretch boot. They are designed so that you don't have to pull the CV joint off the shaft but are meant to be installed over the whole thing using a stretch tool (might be possible without the tool but could be a tedious struggle). Personally,I find stretch boots to be rubbish & won't use them.

It does appear that some replacement non-genuine struts have slightly less tube length at the bottom after the bracket (it won't affect function, though). Genuine VAG... Aftermarket...

And as J.R. says, the dust boot is meant to just hang loose at the bottom. This was mine after replacing my spring...

Seeing as the strut looks newer than the other side, it looks as though it's been replaced at some point? I think maybe that particular brand of strut just has less length at the bottom by design, making it look like it's not fully home. Judging by the rust mark, it looks like it's only ever been down another few millimetres, which could be just a bit of slack on the plate hole? As for the flexi hose - it beggars belief that they've let you drive away with the hose postioned on the wrong side of the strut. That is downright dangerous and crass stupidity. This is why I try to do all my own work and HATE using garages.

The strut not being pushed far enough down in the hub carrier has got me puzzled because the pinch bolt won't go in unless the hole in the plate on the strut is aligned with the hole in the hub carrier.

One of the best improvements they did for the Fabia was giving the engine hydraulic valve lifters. Nice not having to fiddle with tappet adjustment all the time.

^ Back wheel off the floor 😁

ETKA shows different blocks between the 1.0 & 1.4. I presume one of the differences might be different size bores in the block for the wet liners but I'm not sure.

Both are 3 main bearing cranks.