Boatman1

Have been running mine without shields for years with 312mm discs on the front. shields rotted about 5 years ago.

update, had the cooling system flushed, new coolant same colour as the old stuff after 100 miles, also loss of coolant about one pint, could be down to an airlock but am regularly having to top up the coolant, no overheating of engine according to the gauge but am beginning to think head gasket car has only done 59K any ideas welcome.

A gungy rusty coloured deposit was being produced in the cooling system, I assumed the coolant was being broken down due to heat. Silica is usually used for air absorption, not clear on why this would be added to the reservoir and could get no sense out of Skoda.

Blairyc let us know how you get on, I have the same issue though fluid not as dark as yours, yet. Garage seems to think it's the head gasket but I'm thinking it's the original water pump problem. I had the silica bag in the reservoir and though the bag hadn't burst I had a blocked heater matrix twice. There are other threads on this topic and it seemed to come back to the water pump not being able to circulate the coolant resulting in a breakdown of the coolant hence the silica bag as a bodge solution. Many owners got their dealer to contribute to the installation of a new water pump/drive belt assembly. My coolant was a more ginger colour with a definite residue and drop in coolant level.

Agree with you (the client) they treat you like a fool, my silica bag was intact the matrix was completely blocked, the garage couldn't unblock it, needed a new one.

I have a 2014 Octy estate which had a bag of silicon in the coolant reservoir. I have suffered 2 blockages of the heater matrix after which the bag was removed, the coolant had turned a gungy rust colour. After running the car for a year without the bag, the coolant is once again discoloured. I contacted Skoda to ask why this silica bag was installed in the reservoir, the unsatisfactory answer was that the reservoir was made by a third party company who are not part of the VW group and the reservoir came with the bag already inside it, they could offer no technical reason as to why it was there. Has anyone come across similar problems?

Yup it's the bearing thx

Whining would be a good description will driving with it cause any damage?

Hello all, I have a noise that sounds like an electric motor coming from (I think) the drivers side front wheel, it seems to be aligned with the wheels turning, have tried coasting in neutral it makes no difference to the sound, becomes quite pronounced when slowing down. Is this a sign of a worn bearing of some sort? recently had new discs and shoes fitted but I don't think there is any binding going on, no pulling in the steering. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks sepulchrave your past advice has always been sound

Turned ignition nothing, no clicking zero, car running fine yesterday, all lights come on including headlights has my starter motor packed up?

Had to replace the original matrix on my 2014 Octavia 46,000 miles because it was blocked. I read on a VW forum that this was caused by corrosion within the VW cooling system also that this corrosion leached silica out of the coolant hence the silica bag in the filler reservoir to prolong the life of the coolant. I replaced it with a Nissens matrix which apparently has wider veins . Does anyone know whether the silica bag is still required in the coolant reservoir, was it just the matrix that rusts or are other parts of the cooling system prone to rust? Apparently this is a problem throughout the VW range from 2013-2017 anyone else encountered this problem?

Had the same thing happen to me, the garage replaced the whole alternator which was the original 2006.

Think this is going to become an increasing issue for Mk1 owners so yes. I would like to know how long it took you to do it.

Had to replace the original matrix on my 2014 Octavia 46,000 miles because it was blocked. I read on a VW forum that this was caused by corrosion within the VW cooling system also that this corrosion leached silica out of the coolant hence the silica bag in the filler reservoir to prolong the life of the coolant. I replaced it with a Nissens matrix which apparently has wider veins . Does anyone know whether the silica bag is still required in the coolant reservoir, was it just the matrix that rusts or are other parts of the cooling system prone to rust? Apparently this is a problem throughout the VW range from 2013-2017 anyone else encountered this problem?