octavia98

Been having various issues with central locking being a bit tempramental and windows winding themselves down at random either while parked, or moving... I've come to the conclusion the convenience unit in the driver's door has got damaged by a bit of moisture. I took it in to my usual VAG specialist in Milton Keynes the other day and they found.... nothing. I think it may be because it was a really cold day so any moisture had frozen away from the electrics. Anyway, I wasn't too impressed that they didn't seem to have even taken the door apart to investigate visually, just plugged in diagnostic tools etc. despite me giving a hopefully fairly good description of what was wrong. So, Inde-tech are going to have a go on Thursday. Mrs. O98 took the car in for them to have a look at this AM and they seem far more willing/able to get to the bottom of it!

I usually drive in the torquey bit (Just under 2k to just over 3k) but occasionally get into the power bit at 4k for a giggle...

I remember when I worked at a garage, they always said you could get a bottle of screen wash in a full reservoir once you'd 'tested' the washers a few times...

DS Motors, Stacey Bushes, Milton Keynes.

I do seem to recall something about bio diesel causing probs with some kinds of pipes. Try a bit of googling...

Garages sell you a different grade of diesel in the winter, with plenty of anti waxing additives, which is less efficient than the summer grade stuff.

As far as Tesco goes, I have it on fairly good authority that they renew their supplier's contract once a quarter, so presumably what you're filling up with could be different depending on who they're getting the stuff from throughout the year... At the moment, I'm preferring Shell to Tesco.

I've got a little mental list of things I need to sort on the old girl. Reduced it by two over the past few days. Firstly, I've been putting up with a Philips CD player that won't retain it's memory and can't receive radio signals for toffee. Now fixed after a bit of swapping of red and yellow wires in the loom and installing one of them Autoleads adaptors for the amplified aerial. Much more like it! Secondly, I'd noticed a bit of lumpy throttle response etc. and had been meaning to grease up the MAF sensor lead at some point anyway, so I had a bit of a rummage in an old tool box. I found some Tamiya (Model car) switch lubricant. I did a bit of research and it seemed to have all the qualities required, i.e. protects electrical contacts from the air etc. and is heat resistant so won't melt all over the place like Vaseline might. Anyway, it seems to work a treat, after having squeezed some into the lead 'socket'. Throttle response seems MUCH smoother! Also, I had noticed a bit of smoke accelerating from cold. Seems to be gone. The switch grease is the stuff you put on mechanical speed controllers in electric racing cars BTW.

The worst leak I had on my GLX was from around the tailgate hinge housings, letting water into the side compartments. Sealed up with a bit of clear silicon, dry as a bone since! Don't know if your boot problem might be related...:confused: Nice pic, BTW! :-D

Never tried any of the 'premium' offerings and can't say I've ever noticed any difference between Tesco/Asda/Shell (Being the main 3 I use.) I have noticed my fuel economy being slightly off of late, which I put down to winter grade stuff now being at the pumps... As for Biodiesel, I'm sure my owners manual says it's fine as long as it's to a certain standard. Don't fancy going for a look now as said manual's in the car and it's peeing with rain! :lol:

So it does seem to be the CPU/heatsink bonding stuff then? I did wonder! got some at home. Great! Can't see any reason why it wouldn't be fine with a petrol engined car. It's all about improving electrical connections, nowt to do with what fuel's used as far as I can see...:confused:

Look at the tailgate hinges. Do any of the bodywork seals round them look perished/worn etc? If so, get some clear silicon sealant and seal it all back up! I had water in the side compartments on both sides. Not any more!

There has been a bit in the news recently about car insurance scams, but that was more gangs deliberately 'causing' accidents. Maybe this is a variation on a theme...:confused:

I've heard that what really kills with that stuff is if someone's tried to 'bleach' the dye out. Nasty acidic stuff they use, I believe... On the veg oil thing, sticking in a bottle from down the shops every fill up or two should be OK then? I suppose the next question is which chain's value brand is best?

I recently managed to replace a passenger side one with the wheel in situ! Took a bit of squeezing into small gaps, but I did it! I would have taken the wheel off, but don't have anything other than the standard jack for keeping the car in the air...

I've got: Small HQ Symphony 2 line for messing about. HQ Beamer 1.8m for strong wind days/the kids. Radsails 2.4m Peter Lynn C-Quad 3.2m (Due to it's unusual design, pulls far more than the size would suggest.) Both of the bigger kites will give your arms a good workout on days with a bit of wind about and can pull me along a beach on my board. I'd say a 4 meter would be good for lighter wind days. A 3m would be a good all round size for a beginner. (Maybe even a tad smaller. Smaller kites will always be useful for big wind days!) Have a look at HQ; Radsails and Peter Lynn. Last time I looked, they all make reasonably priced kites in the size range you're looking at. Last word of warning. Be sensible/careful. You can get into big trouble if you don't respect big kites... (I won't bore you with advise about joining a club or getting insurance, because that's a bit OTT if you're a casual flyer, imho.)

I had problems with mine working intermittently. Turned out to be the electric fan motor, which was replaced by my local independant garage.

Imagine for a moment going round a bend and feeding some power in, only for the limiter to cut you off. Hello hedge at the side of the road! I believe the motorcycle community is up in arms about some such nonsense hat was being proposed for bikes. Basically, unexpected control inputs are dangerous!!!:thumbdwn:

My (Probably flawed...) understanding is that Free BSD has been heavily borrowed from for OSX. Run it on what you like!

Been with 'em for years. No complaints! Very helpful. Not sure about the online only statement thing...

My Octy is a recent acquisition. No probs with seat narrowness (In fact I'd like the sides a little closer, possibly...) but found 'em very hard coming from an old Citroen ZX. However, with a bit of adjusting to get my position just right, they now feel pretty good even on long journeys. I'd still recommend an Octavia to anyone, despite a few minor niggles I've had. Nothing a bit of DIY couldn't fix. Not bad for an 8 year old car!

Go to the NHS Direct website and put "How can I catch an STi?" in their search field... You're right though. Car ownership is an individual thing. Some people wouldn't be seen dead in a Scoob, some are still dubious about our beloved Skodas!

Is it just me, or would anyone else be dubious about driving around in a car badged as an embarrassing itch?

Your tank is nowhere near dry when the light comes on. In my TDI, I reckon I've got the best part of 100 miles to get to the next filling station. (Based on there being a couple of gallons left when the light comes on...)

I'd best get down to the gym then eh?