kentdale

Test drove a Volvo xc 60 d4 inscription and a Superb sport line plus estate 8 months old with 2,900 miles on the clock, 20l. TDi scr dsg 7 speed. I specifically told both Volvo and Skoda dealers that the vehicle must be able to tow a caravan 9trading in a Volvo xc70 owned for 13 years. The Skoda was the car we chose, drove far better in all respects apart from wind noise at 70 mirrors might be the cause. Paid deposit , now received e mail that whilst the Superb has factory installed pre wiring for the tow bar the Skoda garage cannot fit the fold away tow hitch or any other one. The salesman suggesting I see an independent tow bar fitter that he deals with and supplied prices for fixed and removable. I discussed the bar fitting prior to test drive and paying the deposit and salesman confirmed that the tow bar has to be Skoda fitted so as to make the dsg box and the car that it is towing once a trailer 13 pin plug is fitted to the car socket. Also no discounts on a 5 year service plan , only a monthly more expensive payment scheme. Any advice/ help would be very welcome, what about warranty issues if things go wrong .further down the line.

Thanks for the info,how does 9 mpg in the volvo during a steep long climb in the Black forest 6 miles worth!, normally 25 mpg towing and 40 solo.

Hi Varaderoguy, yes I thought that also 190 better, our Volvo is a manual, never had an automatic and towing puts extra stain on things but has self levelling rear suspension which is better but Volvo have gone silly with prices. Which car do you use to tow with. Appreciate your thoughts. Martin

Hi Swirly, did you get a Skoda tow bar fitted and is the tow ball fixed or removable/fold out of the way, what body type is the car. Is the car firm riding when solo, and is it dsg. Appreciate your thoughts. Martin.

Hi, as a previous owner of a mk1 Octavia hatch which was the last ones made before the mk2 it was a hatch pd 130 and used briefly to tow an 1100 kg caravan, 3 children and boot full of stuff! It struggled more than expected so was swapped for a Volvo xc 70 d5, looking to change tow car again, so looking at an Octavia end of line 2019/2020 Octavia estate or hatch. I have seen one physically at our local Skoda dealer ex management sel 150 dsg diesel estate, low miles. Does anyone have similar gearbox/engine and tow a 1200kg all up weight caravan with 2 persons and associated gear in the boot, I read that it is a good match weight wise or should I consider a manual, or 190 hp td , a petrol engine or a vrs version, with slightly lower suspension! td or petrol. I have looked at the latest Octavia and it does look very swish but as with all new car versions until the new model arrives the current model is the bees knees, also put off with the tech issues mentioned on here and the Skoda garage mentioned that they have had to replace some control units or something , so they are being honest at least when questioned. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Martin.

I have subscribed to this chap last year, he does carry out real world tests, we need more charging facilities though and prices must be lowered /incentives to swap ic. cars. The Enyak version looks better than the VW in my opinion from what I have seen.

Just wondering if anyone has replaced their cylinder head on the asz 1.9 pd engine and any pointers , I have read that the AMC make is of good quality. Thanks Martin

How about a scrap yard

Brings back fond memories of our new mk1 elagance pd 130. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

Hi Sepulchrave, its a Darkside one fitted off site by them in Carlisle not Barnsley ,the back of the car was no longer yellow but a greasy dark grey/black after a couple of months ,I told my son that it looked over fuelled, they are supposed to be a good tuner!! but it has ended up causing head lift, if they had only recommended stronger head bolts which they actually sell the head lift may well have not happened as its a mild tune. Very disappointing to say the least.

I wish to remove the tuning from my VRS , its not a tuning box as far as I aware, I assume its been programmed in the ecu. I suppose the answer is take it somewhere that does this type of work and get it back to standard tune or do I get a spare ecu but chances are it may be tuned and require programming to my car? I used to smoke really bad when I followed the car whilst driving, I guess it is over fuelled/bad tune. I suppose I may have answered my own question. Thanks

Very true Lee, but it did when I was there as a guest of a family in 1976, lots of Russian soldiers walking around in pairs tho at that time.

I thought it was a very tidy prepared engine, and good news its up and running.

Looking very nice, prefer the TT wheels to the vrs ones.

I think that the wheel looks good in dark grey, I spoke to a bloke about re furbishing my Fabia wheels last year but on hold at the moment, might try to refurb them myself although I cant stove enamel them.

You are right about the seat clips, I have memories of dealing with them , nasty things.

That looks a strong brace.

Moving things slightly forwards (hopefully) now I have never attempted this type of work before but what the hell if I make a mess of it all is not lost as parts a still readily available. With the aid of a Haynes manual, this forum and youtube I got to it although the car is on axel stands the working space is rather tight. I removed the offending driveshaft with the split cv gaiter (offside) from the car yesterday, the three captive nuts on the lower ball joint were in a sorry state , when I liberally sprayed them with penetrating fluid 3 weeks ago I wrongly assumed that they would un do fairly easily, how wrong could I have been! One out of three complied, second one with the aid of a Stilson wrench came loose the last one refused and with no room for the wrench I had to hacksaw it off being careful not to catch the surrounding suspension arm. The drive shaft was complete with manufacturer's sticker and dated 2005 so was original issue to the car, once I had the one shot locking drive shaft off the shaft would not come loose from the hub. I remembered I bought a set of "British made" 3 leg pullers when I was 18ish so I gave them a go and with a slight bang they pushed the shaft loose. I then cleaned an area on the gearbox cv joint so as I could tip ex a mark to allow re fitment in the same line up when repaired just in case of balancing issues. I clamped the drive shaft in my vice and decided to loosley fit smaller nuts and bots through the gearbox end cv holes in case I came apart as there appears to be several sections , then I de greased this joint with brake cleaner and covered it with a plastic bag. Today I have removed the outer cv joint with a soft rubber hammer and carefully eased out the six ball bearings and the two cage thingies, de greased all parts and looking to paint the rusty part of the cv joint. Now I am no expert there does no appear to have been any ingress of foreign bodies from the gaiter split as the bearings, cages and main joint look in amazing condition, there are some vey slight marks but I am hopeful all will be ok once I re assemble with new grease and boot.

Good to hear.

Hi Wino, I would be asking the same questions but what about dropping the sump to look for metallic residue in the oil and oil pick up strainer, not so easy on the pallet though, having said I hope you have got a good one and all goes well. Martin

Nice one Trevor, as Lofty said some good stuff you got there, I could do with some better struts as well. Looking forwards to further posts on this tidy lot. Martin

Just an update, I fitted the new discs and pads to the front due to the fact that both fronts had pads friction material that detached from their steel backing plates once I got them off the callipers. Following on from advice from- TMB, Wino, Peterj22, duck and Paulkennedy on my drive shaft issues -split offside outer cv gaiter I have sourced the relevant tools and parts to get the repair attempted. Hope to get this sorted shortly. I have also removed the front grille and bonnet slam panel , the grille retaining brackets were starting to rust as was the slam panel especially on the spot welds. Used a drill with various wire brushes to remove the paint/rust then used 800 grade emery paper to smooth the metal work down, I left some of the underside paint intact just rubbed it over with the emery paper to provide key. Martin. Martin

I had the same issue,the part was missing,I sourced one from my local car breakers yard, it must be the same part for all models as i got it from a basic older model. Hope that helps. Martin

Hi Sepulchrave, many thanks for your help,will get one sorted.

Hi, can anyone advise me of the correct 12 point removal socket, I have been trying to find reference to this , I seem to remember a post that said it was 36mm. Do I require a deep socket or will standard suffice. Thanks. Martin.