mancity

I missed that you said 'timing belt' and not timing chain, my mistake, you were spot on

is that actually true??? Don't they start to get noisy, i.e. loose, many thousands of miles before they actually really need changing?? (I think I read somewhere that they start to get noisy about 30,000, and need changing at 60,000? Maybe that's not true either!!! Blimey the internet is a game of chinese whispers isn't it? Hey, and if you're proud of your Skoda, let people know you're coming!!!!

It seems as though if you want a quieter engine, and it really bothers you then you can try getting the tappets adjusted, and then change the timing chain, and that should help matters, but from what I gather, the timing chain is fairly sturdy, and although noisy, will last a long time. So if you don't mind the noise, it's generally okay. As most Felicias now are only worth peanuts, then

I thought mine was really rattly too, and doing a bit of a search it seems everyone has a rattly Felicia/Favorit etc. Yours maybe really rattly clattery, and may need sorting, but it would seem that they are all a bit like that, perhaps a combination of both having a timing chain rather than a timing belt, and non hydraulic tappets (don't know what I'm talking about here really, but this is what i've read!!!) cheers p.s. what temp does your fan kick in at??? see my thread above, or below now

excellent reply, thanks John good to hear that others' fans cut in at 110 (according to the gauge!!!) your info regarding the coolant path, would tie in with my belief that the temp at the sensor will always be hotter than the temp at the bottom of the rad, where the fan switch is located, thus if the fan cuts in at real temp of 98c, then the guage should read a bit more than 98c. It makes me think that others' gauges must be wrong if their fans (by the gauge) cut in at 95 (this would mean that the fans were actually cutting in below this - if you are following me!!), maybe 90c, and this obviously isn't the case, as the thermostat only begins to only at 88c and isn't fully open until 102 according to Haynes. Maybe those whose fans are cutting in at 95 actually have the low temp fan switch installed!! anyway, thanks again John, and any other replies are really welcome. cheers

cheers for the reply Big K, 86!!! That's ultra precise from the gauge!! :-) Seriously, is this from in car experience, i.e. from the gauge temps or from knowledge of when the therm and fan SHOULD cut it?? and I go back to my thought about where the fan switch is and where the temp sensor is, and surely isn't the temp at the fan switch always going to be lower at the fan switch (bottom of the radiator) than at the temp sensor in the thermostat housing?? I think the fan switch should cut in about 97c REAL temp, and if this is the temp at the bottom of the rad, then surely shouldn't the temp reading at the sensor (i.e. just before the thermostat) be higher (if I'm right in thinking that the coolant flows from the bottom of the rad through the engine to the thermostat and then to the top of the radiator?) Is this correct? Anyone???? <> Isn't 110 still within 'range' for normal?? It's not in the 'red' at 110, and the manual says that if the temp goes into the red then that is overheating. cheers

I thought about that (an airlock), hopefully will go, if there, when I change the thermostat!!! An online parts catalogue for the Felicia (jmbutto or something) list a radiator bleed pipe for the early 1.3 felicia, I don't know what that is, does anybody else?? thanks for replies so far cheers

Hi Denis I don't!!!! (know the temp gauge is right that is!!) That's my next thing , well the sensor anyway (if the actual gauge has gone bad, then that's just too much work I think!!) Just trying to garner others experiences ( I'm puzzling over the thought that came to me as I wrote my first post - the fact that the fan is scheduled to come on at c.98c, but the switch for that is in the rad, which should be at a lower temp than the temp in the engine and at the position of the gauge sensor/sender, thus the reading on the gauge should be higher than 98c when the fans cut in, yes/no????? - logically to me it would appear that way, but I don't know much about cars, only what I've picked up from the various faults I've had over the years - which is too many though!!!) Any info you have would be appreciated cheers

Hi just bought a 1.3 Felicia, 96 N reg, and don't know what to make of the temp gauge reading, and was hoping to get some feedback on what others experience. My main concern is that the radiator fan is coming on when the temp gauge gets to 110, and although this is apparently normal according to the manual, I'd feel better if if came on a bit earlier. Upon first start the temp gradually rises to about 100, then I assume the thermostat opens and it goes just below the 90 mark, then back up to slightly above the 90 mark, and then settles at 90, and does so when either motorway driving or even round town as long as I'm moving fairly regularly. But if I stop for more than a couple of minutes the temp gauge rises steadily to 110 and then the fans come on, bringing the temp down slightly (maybe to 105ish roughly!), and then the cycle will continue, back up slightly to 110 , fans on etc. Now ...... I thought maybe the rad temp switch could be faulty so changed that, but same thing happening. Next I will change the temp gauge transmitter (the sensor next to the thermostat) and then the thermostat itself (it's a pre-plastic housing Felicia by the way). What I'm hoping for is some feedback regarding other peoples fan kicking in temp (according to the gauge). I think they are supposed to kick in at around 97/98c so I assume that everyone should see a temp rise when stuck in traffic, as 90 seems to be the normal operating temp, and fans kick in at 98. It may well be (I'm hoping), that the temp gauge sender is not as linear as it once was, and that small increases above 90 are just reading high. Or could it be a thermostat that's not quite opening fully, and thus the heat in the rad is always cooler than that at the thermostat (actually wouldn't it always be cooler at the fan switch position (bottom of radiator) than at the temp gauge sender?? and if the switch comes on at 98, then the temp gauge at the thermostat will always read higher than 98 when the fans begin to kick in?? ) It could be some sort of blockage I suppose, but it's rock steady at 90c on the motorway and general driving (could be that the much greater cooling of the coolant in the rad from general driving is enough to mean that a small blockage or partially open thermostat is still able to keep the temp at 90) Anyway, I'd be really grateful if others could tell me the pattern of their temp gauge readings, especially when stick in traffic!!!! And when they hear their fans kick in? Thanks in anticipation. And don't say head gasket!!!! cheers p.s. just seen a poll thing so might have a go at that too!!