Qubit

On my 3rd one, best car Ive ever had when considering all factors. Ive had 'better' cars, but all things considered this is my favourite, the combination of quick enough, comfortable, cheap to run, enormous boot etc is simply hard to beat. Glad to hear you've decided to keep yours (although Id probably have had it off you in a heart beat! :D)

Thanks for reply. This was all done by the garage (supposedly reputable and one of the few local who does proper alignments), wasn't able to witness any work as had to be left there. Top mounts not renewed. Did have to have new track rods/ends though. Long drive yesterday and wasn't overly happy with the handling. Might consider adjustable top mounts/ball joints to allow the camber to brought back into spec. No signs kerbing, alloys in decent condition considering the age. Extensive history and no mention of replacement alloys. Guess it could have been incorrectly jacked and the rear beam is bent.

oem

Have recently fixed this on mine. No pin to hand so I ended up cutting a hole (removed the pcb part first, which was frankly bloody awkward) to be able to access the pcb inside and soldering a wire (comparable gauge to the original) on to the remaining upright of the pin. I ran this out and down to the correct wire the other side of the connector (had to strip the wiring back a little). Tidied it all up and sealed everything back up (mostly using strips of Gorilla tape I admit). I also installed some drip feeds (cable ties) to guide the water away from the connector and the repair. Hopefully this will prevent a repeat occurrence. Thanks for the photos and updates in this thread. Very useful. Found whilst in there that the garage I asked about it some time back (charged me 50 quid to investigate) had broken 3 of the door card mountings and used some horrendous goop to try and reseal the inner membrane (Gorilla tape will fix it well enough). Want something doing? (you know the rest)

Should I be concerned with the result from a recent alignment? Some parts replaced (mainly new springs) and I think the opinion was that the subframe couldn't be moved (due to corrosion i think it was) and hence Camber couldn't be adjusted. Obviously it might well cause uneven tyre wear.

Would really appreciate it if someone were able to shed some light on this noise from my mk1 vrs - is it just a aux belt or is it the turbo? (or something else) Any help much appreciated. https://www.dropbox.com/s/9n0di2eu8jz4u2u/VID_20170129_141131195.mp4?dl=0

How bizarre, i was wondering what i could use, i found a picture of the inside of the door and thought it looks very similar to the underlay i used to put down a new utility floor before xmas. Ive actually been carrying the leftover around in the back of the car as it was apparently unwelcome in the house!!

Hi, thanks for your reply :) thats interesting, so im guessing putting that back correctly and intact is probably quite important!

Once again i must ask for the help of the wiser and more knowledgable than myself! I have a problem with my central locking, drivers mirror etc. Seems this is likely to be water ingress and a plug at fault. Before i go dismantling the door though, please can someone let me know if i need to remove a metal inner panel that has a seal around its inside (like on the leon mk1) or if just removing the door card is enough to access the problem plugs? (and whether id need to have a replacement seal handy after doing this). Cheers!

Interesting to read others opinions, dont get me wrong, i dont view the mk1 as being particularly involving, but definitely less detached than the mk2. To be honest the only thing i slightly prefer about the car is the engine, which pulls smoothly, strongly and linearly for a turbo - even if it sounds like a sewing machine at lower revs. Driving it reminds me somewhat of playing a video game (which is weird because im quite good at them, but not what i want from real life motoring). Don't think ill be keeping it sadly. All the talk of refinement is quite interesting, because crashing over every road imperfection doesn't feel terribly refined, and neither does the high levels of road noise. Oh well, and expensive lesson i guess. Problem remains what to buy. Another mk1, but when that dies in a few years?........

Ive just recently 'upgraded' to a mk2 vrs. Am alone in preferring the mk1 though? (before anyone says, test drives dont always show you very much and i needed a new car anyway, and it seemed hard to find a decent mk1). I think i actually find it unpleasant to drive, whereas the mk1 was a nice balance between fast enough and comfort. I dont think the 18" alloys help to be honest.

Is the front bumper any good?

I see many cars I would be interested in but for the presence of a remap. Do most places charge to remove their software? Don't really want to have t fork out on top of the purchase of a vehicle.

Sounds a bit like mine at the moment, if i feed the throttle i gradually its fine but under load its seems to misfire or choke. Currently im still searching, the latest suggestion from a kind forum member is the fuel filter. Not sure im up to that myself but it could be as normally when starting from cold it seems fine for a short while.

Havent changed the fuel filter. Put in brk6e plugs. 170k! Think ill run some injector cleaner through next

Well ive pulled back more of the wrapping on the wires, i was previously investigating in poor light, to be honest on closer inspection i can't find any of the insulation broken so im guessing thats out. Ive also replaced the coolant temp sender, no difference though. Think im just about out really as even small amounts add up. One strange thing is that sometimes from cold its fine for a while which is weird. Could it be the thermostat or really left field -the secondary air pump is leaking and needs looking at - could this be causing issues, i know it only runs for 90 seconds or so.

Quick update, plugs changed and a coil pack swapped round to no avail, i have got a definite old coil pack thats faulty and swapping that in clearly results in bad running. After doing some more reading Im wondering if it might not be the coil pack wiring, it looks a bit knackered, cant see any exposed wires but that doesnt mean much. I'll look into splicing on replacements as i wont be able to trace the whole lot back and remove, but i can solder ok so worth a try.

Sorry think i confused folk a bit, theres no idle problem at the moment, but there was last year when the MAF proved to be faulty.

Yeh could be all of the above eh! Love the 1.8t There are no other symptoms that would indicate turbo issues to me, no whine and no excessive amounts of white smoke from the exhaust, but she does have a few miles on her so its not impossible. I think the coolant temp might possibly need replacing as its always taken slightly longer than my previous 1.8t to get up to working temp, but never seems to have had an issue because of it. Guess ill add it to the list! Ill try the coil pack first and maybe the plugs after that. Cheers

MAF was a used but functional one, has been fine ever since and runs no different when unplugged ( no guarantee i know). I doubt its the MAF, last time i had problems last year it idled poorly like you say, but no sign of that this time.

Hoping someone can maybe give some insight into a problem ive got (otherwise i fear its the knackers yard for my old vrs). 2 garages have been unable to help. My car seems to have developed a slight mis-fire (or similar). Ive run it with the MAF disconnected (no different- plus replaced 6 months back) and re-cleaned my throttle body (no different). Ive also tried 2 spare coil packs (but old, so could still be bad) to no avail, one made it much worse the other no different. There are no codes and neither garage thinks there's a leak anywhere. One recommended a new turbo. Im going to get a brand new coil pack from my local dealer in the morning and see if that helps. Other than that what can i look at - new plugs maybe? (wiring to the coils looks ok but who knows).

Which Bilsteins is it on, and is it still std ride height? Cheers

Thanks both, very interesting. The lumbar adjustment point is a very good one, i might not always think to check that! Anyone else?

Apologies if this is in the wrong place! I have a Mk1 Octavia VRS, I am probably going to swap it for either a MK1 or MK2 estate VRS. My question is. which seats are the most comfortable, the mk1 or mk2? (std seats, not LE or leather etc). I realise this is subjective, but I just wanted to get an idea, I have back problems so this is important. I will be trying some out, but short test drives dont often tell you much in that department!

Right I think I know the answer to this, but just wanted to check with those more knowledgeable than myself! Im pretty sure the Caster is uneven on my Octy MK1 VRS, theres a measureable difference between the rear of the tyre and the sill when comparing both sides, its also noticeably harder steering one direction than the other. From what Ive read the caster is not adjustable on the MK1 Octy without fitting caster adjustable bushes/arms - or can it be altered by other means? If it isn't changeable then the logical conclusion would be that some part of my suspension is damaged in some way (most likely an wishbone im guessing) as thats the only real way it could be noticeably different?