kentdale

Hi paulkennedy and duck, I did notice on some replacement boots that they were made from differing materials. Yes I will change the boot with a genuine one assuming I can get one at the moment. Martin.

Hi Wino, I wasn't sure about the rusty surface or the thickness of that metal . Sounds better on the pocket to just replace the boot, they have lasted well being around 15 years old. Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi again, can anyone recommend a driveshaft make for my Fabia vrs, its a bit like choosing wall paper with the wife, lots of different makes and costs, but there is always a reason why some are more than double the cost. The outer boot has a split on the drivers side on the shaft next to the boot clip so maybe the joint is ok. The wheel ends of the cv joints metal cover is very rusty, they have date stickers still intact from new, the actual shafts are in rust free condition and the boots look fine. Another option is to replace the whole outer cv joint although never done this type of job before. Any advice welcome. Martin

Hi Lofty, I have a friend who lives in Prague, who has relatives who work at the Skoda factory,( I know this is hard to believe Its not a wind up). I will ask him if there is any chance that the material is still available although its probably a long shot. Martin.

Hi Adrian, unfortunately my son disposed of the original radio much to my disappointment now that the car is mine, he fitted an after market one , this one does turn off when I remove the ignition key but bleeps as it powers down which is annoying. Nice looking Vrs. Martin

By the look of images for the Octavia (not sure which year) the shield on the rear bolt independently from the hub bolts not as in my Fabia vrs. Oh and my local TPS has stopped private customers buying due to covid as it's not good here., been looking at autodoc. Anyhow thanks for your thoughts. Martin

Hi, yes I intend to buy and fit new front ones, its the back ones that are the issue regarding removal and fitting of new ones, have you fitted new back ones without hub removal? If you look the back disc shield appears to be fitted with the hub bolts. Martin

Working on my vrs brakes unfortunately the front dust shields more or less disintegrated as it touched them,I can see that they are easy to replace, the rear ones are almost in a similar state although it looks as though the hub along with the bearing has to be removed to allow shield replacement. I have looked into the implications of the MOT and as long as there is no impedement of the braking system it's not a fail. Any thoughts and advice appreciated. Thanks. Martin

Just found this project, I like what you are doing and interesting read. Martin

After changing all the internal door handles and re painting all our internal doors and trims over the holidays, I decided to have a look at the brakes which I knew would be in poor condition. The front offside was shot, the steering knuckle was very rough in appearance with 1mm plus thick rust scale all over. I decided to carefully remove the rust with a combination of hammer and old wood chisel and wire brush. Whilst this worked fine I was rather alarmed at the thickness of removed rust, I put a post on the Fabia forum and was reassured by Sepulchrave and Wino that it would be ok. As Wino stated rust expands to look a lot worse than the actual thickness lost, well something like that, I seem to remember that from something I read. So its good to get opinions from others. The front disc shield was holding together with fresh air, as soon as I touched it it folded over, one of the bolts that retained it is reluctant to loosen, wont tighten slightly either to help removal so liberally coated with wd40 . Anyhow I am not replacing brakes with the new ones as yet because of burst outer drive shaft gaiter, so put old stuff back for now. Looked at the back offside all ok there, handbrake mechanism working as it should with strong return also Bowden cable feels free. Yesterday looked at the back nearside and found the brake was locked on solid, I struggled with this side to remove the calliper carrier even when using a two foot breaker bar due to clearance from the floor. Anyhow finally managed its removal. The hand brake mechanism was also working fine, strong return action and cable nice and free, this had me confused that is until I looked at the carrier and found that one of the slider bolts was solid in its housing. I managed to finally work it free with mole grips. I was expecting a split rubber boot but that was ok, there was no sign of grease at all in its hole or on the bolt, bearing in mind both back calliper's have been replaced at some point, some one possibly forgot to grease that one who knows. Anyhow all cleaned up, the bolt had a minute area of discolouration but no rust, used 1200 grade sand paper on it and now slides in ok, just have to re grease and fit back then check if that has sorted the sticking brake. I know its not much progress but every little helps. Plus its cold in the garage at the moment. Martin

Hi Sepulchrave and Wino, I did think that rust was expanded so to speak and am now confident it's OK to keep them, I want to give them a proper more thorough cleaning up and paint them, would hammerite be OK or should it be heat resistant paint. Thanks both. Martin.

Spent a few hours checking the offside front brake calliper and noticed the steering knuckle was quite rusty,the disc shield was rotted and fell off, there was about 1.5 mm thickness of scale rust on the casting so it was removed with wire brush and scraper, hammer and old wood chisel. My question is this acceptable for safety as obviously it has lost some strength although it looks ok , but how do i tell?,or do I replace both sides along with associated bearings. Any advice would be great. Martin

I would keep it for now, I suspect this year will be a drag again like last year and our miles covered will be a fraction of normal, if the body/ engine are good why change. Like the photo.

Don't worry I knew where you meant.

Hi Diesel Monte, never thought of clamping, I have loads of joinery clamps that I use for work, so I don't have access to a computer programme that would sort out any issues with the abs, so am looking to buying a power file,I have an angle grinder and oscillating battery tool but power file sounds best if I keep the beam on the car, I need to access the garage and not disable the car at the moment. Cheers Martin

Hi Lofty,well I want to improve it and I know the brake pipes would require seperating, and removal of the beam would be the best idea but that would take longer and more involved as you say,but I would be more satisfied doing this myself than getting others . Never bled brakes before but the callipers need renovating along with lots more, would the abs valve cause me issues when, if it empties of fluid as regards to bleeding. I have some Hydrate 80 ready to use on such as this ,but never had need of a powerfile, the spot welds are just as you found so I can see why one would be good to use. Martin.

Hi, I know TMB has given you info on the roof rack trim caps but I carefully removed the whole roof trims from a scrap car as it had the four bungs in good condition, two on my Fabia are pushed in and bust. The trim was quite a tight fit as you would expect, held on by rubbers on the trim its self , it bends very easily though as well ,if that's any use. Martin

The first owner was from Halifax, the my Son in Cumbria who more than doubled the miles to 75,000 is. It is possible that salt was left on its underbody as the front suspension is also very rusty. But it is 15 years old.

Hi Diesel Monte, yes it don't look good, that's why I need differing opinions, I have thought of removing it and giving it a proper check over for perforation weakness on welds , and yes sand blasting is an option (don't have the gear)but would rather clean it up it myself with elbow grease! Or swap it out for a refurbished one, I thought of looking for a scrap yard one but chances are they will be in a similar condition. Anyhow thanks for your input.

It's been a while since my last post, since there was an advisory on the last mot for brake discs I decided to take advantage of the black Friday discounts from ECP and bought new front and back discs from Pagid along with Brembo pads. Today I decided to look at the rear offside brake as I have recently been putting the car out of the garage on to the drive, it has been noticeably reluctant to move and any movement is accompanied with squealing and a hand brake that has suddenly become reluctant to release. Nothing untoward with the pads or disc and the handbrake lever calliper end is free to move with strong return off movement. Sliders that hold the calliper are also moving freely. The calliper is a Lucas one but in silver not green so I suspect that this one is a replacement. I decided to replace the existing disc and pads for now. I need to look at the nearside brake next as there was noticeable groaning from that side as I lowered the car off the jack. I also managed to get pictures of the rear suspension beam which looks rather grim with eruptions of rust on top and underneath, I know it has been covered by other members , what it best to do, I don't think it is perforated , I think it needs to either replaced or restored, I found a seller of new -restored ones that are not expensive also comes with bushings. Has anyone done a restoration on a beam and would removal, replacement affect the cars tracking, not sure if there is any adjustment. Anyhow Happy new year all and hoping for better times than 2020. Martin

Hi, just found your posts, interesting what you are doing to your Fabia.

Hi all, I am planning to replace my vrs brake disks and pads over the Christmas /new year break, it was an mot advisory whilst my son was last driving it. I have also bought a pair of handbrake spring assistors after reading about issues with the pads possibly not releasing once the hand break has been released, Ford galaxy ones as it did occasionally object to reversing slightly even when the handbrake was not applied. Is there any easy way to identify if the hand brake cables are sticking inside the protective flexible outer sleeve, I am asking this because I had the car out of the garage and noticed the handbrake pulled up exactly 4 notches, (read it here somewhere) I normally push the lever button in when applying. Went to move the car back and the handbrake lever was reluctant to push to release and obviously the pads were still against the discs as it sounded as though I had a squealing piglet on board. Just to mention again car still not driven for the last 18 months but it has never done this in that time. Just probably over thinking in advance. Any helpful advice appreciated. Martin

Just seen this post I have the same issue that has recently started in that the secondary catch works but not the main one, had a brief look a month ago but it helps if you know what could be wrong, now I know ,nice one Lee.

Thanks both, just ordered a cheap wind back tool.