huskie69

I've got an 06 MKII with Maxidot - do you know if this Erisin will work (straight swap)?

Thanks for all info guys - that site I linked to is the dogs b***** - shows all sorts of info based on the VIN. Sourced a replacement gearbox and I get the car back today

After 8 months off the road due to a gearbox issue, I finally get my beloved VRs back today! Prior to taking the car off the road, I noticed the sound from the door speakers was degrading to the point of crackling at higher volumes. I'm looking to replace them - straight swap, no real need for an amplifer as I have a subwoofer in the boot which makes enough noise. What should I be looking for? Sizes, power etc and is there anything I should stay away from?

Cheers. Getting underneath is a bit tricky too. However, managed to find a very useful (if somewhat questionable) site which can give you all the vehicle info based solely on the VIN. http://www.realoem.me/decode/vin

Hi all I'm on the hunt for a replacement gearbox and I've wondered into a veritable minefield. I don't know what my gearbox code is and most scrap dealers won't tell me if the gearbox they have is compatible without this code. I've tried to find the code by having a look "under the bonnet" but can't see anything (I'm guessing it's hidden out of the way stamped on the gearbox somewhere). I've even downloaded "Keith's VAG Transmission and Engine Code programme" but I can't glean anything useful from of it other than a list of possible codes based on the year the car was registered. For info, I have a MKII Octavia VRS 2.0 TFSI Petrol 6 speed manual reg KO06 VBD. Any info on how to find my code (without having to remove the existing gearbox first!) would be grateful! Many thanks

I had the gearbox oil level changed last year (allegedly! - I didn't really trust the mechanic so can't be too sure he actually did the fluids at all). The car does get through a fair bit of oil so it could potentially be low engine oil level, but then I'll have more on my hands than just a dodgy gearbox! It'll go into reverse and the clutch will bite and the car will twitch ever so slightly backwards, but then it just revs, like there's too much load. The only other gear it'll successfully go into is 3rd (or 4th, can't tell which one it is as it now seems to be the same gear/ratio) and it'll drive perfectly fine in this gear. Second hand I might be able to get a new box for £400 ish. Labour will be the killer so if I'm looking at a new box, it'll be clse to the £1k mark, it's not economically viable to keep throwing that kind of money at this car when it's 11 years old, done 140k and worth 2k at the most.

Hi all I think my synchros have been on the blink for the last few months - grinding when shifting into 4th and then recently also griding shifting into 6th. On the way home today, after accelerating from a roundabout, I tried to shift into 5th from 4th but it just grinded and wouldn't shift in. Tried 6th, same thing. I shifted down to 3rd and there's no difference between 3rd gear and 4th now - it seems to be the same gear (I can't tell if it's 3rd or 4th, I'm at 4500rpm at 60mph). I then slowed down and tried 1st and 2nd, and again it just grinded and wouldn't go in. I made it home in whatever gear I had left (luckily no stop start traffic!). I pulled up outside my house and had a terrbile feeling I'd not be able to revserse it onto the drive. Sure enough, no reverse. It'll go in reverse, it'll bite, but it won't budge and the clutch starts smelling. It's like reverse is now a reverse 4th. When the shifter is in neutral, it's actually in gear so will stall when the clutch is released. Any ideas what might be wrong? It's a 2006 VRS with 140k so if it needs gearbox tear down, then it's really not economically viable to get it fixed :'(

Hi Mike, it's Petrol. Clutch was my first thought but it's only noticeable when I change into 6th (I'd expect it to be every gear?). I've seen a few other threads which mention the synchromesh which has me a bit worried as I really don't want to fork out on a gearbox swapout/rebuild! I would have thought that if it was the synchromesh, it would have been noticeable over a period of time as it got worse? This was fine one day, and bad the next.

Hi all My Octavia MKII has recently developed a nasty grinding noise when I shift into 6th. It doesn't do it if the revs are very low but anything over about 2k and it'll grind on the upshift. It doesn't seem to happen in any other gears (although it was being a bitch hard shifting into 4th a few days prior when I was accelerating quickly). The clutch is being fully depressed. Before I get it looked at by someone who knows what they're doing, has anyone else had similar symptoms and if so, what was it? TIA Huskie.

Ok, I tried the double sided sticky foam last night and unfortunately it wasn't strong enough. Is there a specific type/brand I should be looking for?

Flash storage uses floating gate transistors which aren't affected by normal everyday magentic fields. The caveat here is that a change in magnetic flux can cause disruption. If the magnet was powerful enough (we're talking powered electro-magnets here rather than your basic rare-earth variety), and if I started swiping my phone across the magnet like a dingler, then there may be a small chance of data loss. Now if I took it with me inside an MRI scanner, then it might be a different story!!

I'll give the WD-40 trick a try and see how it goes!

Storage device? In my phone? Not at all - solid state storage isn't susceptible to magnetic interference. The only thing it's likely to affect is the magnetometer/digital compass, but I've tested this already and there doesn't seem to be any detrimental effects.

2 years out of an LED? That's dismal! Definitely not worth the costs and effort. Maybe they need a power resistor in wired series to take the load off? From what I've seen of other Octavia owners on YouTube, it should be a farily straighforward process: 1) Remove nut 2) Pull the hook outwards (towards the centre of the bonnet) 3) Win! It's the pesky release hook that's giving me grief - I've pulled on it for all it's worth even resorting to pliers and nothing seems to give. Both units are equally stubborn and I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right!

Funnily enough I bought some on a whim last night for a different project but then didn't think it would any good for the car. Will try it out this evening.

I can't even get the bulb housing out to get at the sidelights! The unit just won't budge. And the YouTube vids make it look so easy!

Thanks Silver, this hadn't even crossed my mind but does make sense. I do hope the industry make some headway in the adoption of LEDs as a standard where beam distance isn't a requirement (especially rear clusters).

Hi all Has anyone had any luck sticking anything to dash before that can be safely removed in the future using a solvent? I'm looking to affix some fairly strong neodymium magnets (to hold my phone in place) onto my dashboard slightly below the air-vents on the centre console. The rear of the magnets are pre-coated in 3M adhesive which would take some force to remove if stuck to something solid. However, the dash on the Octavia in dimpled, and maybe even coated in something which repels anything remotely sticky! TIA

Thanks for the info. I think I've just been a bit unlucky with having so many go at all at once. I always drive my lights on so it's inevitable they're going to blow eventually. What I don't like doing is replacing for example one rear bulb and having it look brighter, dimmer or a slightly different colour temperature than its counterpart - it looks terrible! So I end up buying a pair and replacing the set which ends up doubling the cos:/ As for LEDs, (with the exception of bulbs for lighting the road ahead) it seems ludicrous that 'old-style' halogen bulbs are still "certified" where longer life, lower maintenance, better looking, and in my opinion more visible LED lighting is still seen as a taboo. I think I'll try my luck with a handful of LEDs and see if they throw a canbus fault or not. I prefer the idea of being more clearly visible over any arbitrary EU certification rules!

Hi all Apologies if this has already been posted (I couldn't find anything similar). In the last fortnight, I have one sidelight (501), one low beam (H7) and 3 rear (P12W) blow. Probably as a consequence of the lower temps and higher moisture buildup. Excluding the beams (H7 / H1 etc) is it "acceptable" to replace all the old halogen style bulbs with LED versions? I'm fed up of replacing these things every-time it gets a bit cooler! I've seen some people driving around with naff purple or blue sidelights which are obviously not legal, but what about just a single white LED in each sidelight? Same goes for rear bulbs - is it legal to swap them out with an equivalent LED alternative? TIA as always Huskie.

Yep, 19" and 24" for the front - thanks Ryan and Dave for the info.

Hi All I have a very quick question on some parts I need to replace as soon as possible... I've no idea what dipped bulb my VRS MKII takes (to be fair, I've not flipped the bonnet open yet to have a look but the rain is hammering down at the moment so the less time I spend in it the better!!). Before I go tinkering, can anyone tell me what bulb type the dipped beam is for a 2006 VRS MK2. This is a stock VRS so I'm confident it's not had an HID kit fitted or anything. Additionally, I'm on the hunt for a new pair of wipers. Am I right in thinking that the each wiper is a different size? They don't sell them in pairs in fleabay and I've seen both 19" and 21" for sale. TIA Huskie.

Thanks Andy. I'm having it serviced next month so they should be able to resolve it for me (I'll be a little suspicious of their abilities if it's still registering a misfire after the service!!). What I couldn't get my head round is that it was always a constant 1 in every 10 each time I ran the test. I would have expected some tests to yield a count of zero.

Thanks Trundlenut. Could I just confirm from other Octy drivers that after a run of more than about 30 mins, there are water droplets collecting around and below this metal pipe?

I think I've found the cause or at least something related to it. I noticed some drops of water pooling in the 'engine bay floor' near the radiator. I first thought it might be a radiator leak but after feeling the hoses etc I noticed one in particular has water near its connections/joints. It's a metal pipe and cold to the touch. I'm sure it's a refrigerant leak and the water droplets are the refrigerant. I'm guessing the clicking noise is caused by maybe a drop in the pressure during air circulation or something.