JAMES399

Here's a pic of the Crank Assy. There is a metal lever that I have highlighted. Is this some sort of lock ? ?

Site deleted some of my post. Supposed to say, " Does the small lever on the front of the crank assy have anything to do with it ?? I can't get it to move in any direction either."

We.'ve owned our '94 forman wagon forever (it was parked for 5 years.) Over the past few years I've going completely through it, and now EVERYTHING has either been replaced, upgraded, or rebuilt. It rides, handles, and runs better than a new one. We leave our new cars at home, and always drive it when we go on trips because it's comfortable, economical and fun to drive. One of these days, I'll get around to having it painted. I still have 2 problems with it: First, I have never been able to get the sunroof open. No matter how hard I try to turn the crank in either direction, it refuses to break loose. The manual does not tell which direction to turn the crank to open it. Even if it did, I don't read Czechoslovak or whatever Eastern European language it's written in. Does the small lever on the front of thI've included pics of the crank assy in this post. Second, I want to replace the stock steering wheel (which is toast) with an aftermarket wheel, but can't locate a Skoda steering column adapter kit. Does some model of VW steering wheel fit our Forman ?? I can get a kit for VWs. Anyone have the answers to these Questions ?? Help please !! - JAMES P.S. I'll post the pics in a minute or two

We have a '94 Forman that we have owned for the past 10 years. When it was our daily driver, it served us well considering that it was beat to hell on our rough dirt roads every day. When the local roads were finally paved and we were able to afford newer cars, we stopped using the Forman, and it's been parked for the last 5 years. My wife has a new job that requires a lot of driving on the back country dirt roads here, and we decided to resurrect the Forman rather than beat the crap out of her brand new SUV. I flushed the fuel system, put in fresh gas, changed the oil, primed the carb, and she started right up. Runs perfectly. Trouble is ... every morning she refuses to start untless I pour some gas down the carb. After the first start, it starts and runs perfectly all day. But next morning, it refuses to start again unless I pour gas in the carb. I bought a 2nd carb rebuild kit and am rebuilding the carb now, because whenever I pump the throttle in the morning, the accelerator pump doesn't seem to be squirting any fuel into the engine. Hopefully this will fix the problem, I'm posting this to ask (especially Ricardo M) If this doesn't fix the problem, WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE ??? Ricardo ... did I miss something ?? The first time I had the carb rebuilt, I took it to the so-called Skoda carb "expert" to have it done, and had same problem after the rebuild. Other than this starting problem in the morning, our Forman is 100% reliable. We NEED to get this morning hard start problem resolved!! PLEASE HELP !!!

I stand corrected. But the bottom line is that there is probably nothing wrong with the cooling system in D.FYLAKTOS' Felicia. - JAMES

Looking at the diagram that RicardoM posted, it looks like what is happening is just normal operation. As the engine warms, the temp gauge sensor (which is on the engine block side of the cooling system) makes the gauge read higher and higher until it reaches 93C. At this point, the thermostat opens and coolant begins to flow through the system. If you look at the diagram, notice that the coolant from the radiator side enters the engine block on the opposite end from the temp gauge sensor. It will take a little while for this cooler coolant to reach the sensor (especially at idle), and when it does the reading on the gauge will drop suddenly and then rise slowly as the system temp stabilizes. Because the fan thermo-switch is located at the radiator outlet (which is always the coolest point in the system) the fan won't start until the coolant temp stabilizes. I don't believe that you really have a problem. - JAMES

Thanks Ricardo and Nu99et. I ordered a full set of bushings for our Forman. Hopefully this will solve the problems James

Nu99et - Thanks for the reply. Your link was for the REAR bushings, and I need the front. I checked the site, and the front bushings are not available. Thank you for your help. I found a site called SIBERIAN BUSHINGS that may have what I need. - JAMES

I have had to replace the rubber front lower control arm bushings on our '94 FORMAN several times. Our rural Colombian roads are dirt and ROUGH. They beat the Forman's suspension unmercifully. It's held up very well considering, but goes through control arm bushings like crazy. only OEM bushings are available here. Does anyone sell heavy duty polyurethane bushings for our Forman?? Are the Skoda pickup truck bushings any tougher?? - JAMES

VERY good suggestion.

The instrument panel switches on our Skoda Forman are, in a word, JUNK. Headlight, parking light, fog light, emergency flashers, are all push-on, push-off style switches. When we bought the car, only the headlight switch would stay in the on position when it was pushed. SO ...I bought a complete set of new switches, which were unbelievably high priced. After about 6 months, one-by-one, they all failed again. I disassembled one of them and they looked like something you would find on a Mattel toy. Very poor cheap design. With as good as the quality of the rest of the car is, I expected better. Does anyone know of a better quality replacement switch that will fit into the stock openings in the instrument panel ? I can use aftermarket rocker switches by enlarging the switch openings slightly, but will have to use them to control relays and rewiring them will be difficult. The wiring diagram in my Haynes manual requires a rocket scientist to figure it out. Can anyone help me with this ? - JAMES

ZIMO - I think you have a very good plan. Welding a steel surround will give more strength. Paint the rusted areas with red oxide primer for extra rust protection. Seal the welds with plasticoat or auto body sealer. I would suggest using aluminum diamond plate for the bed floor. Strong and nice looking. Cut an access hole the same size as the original one above the fuel gauge sender, and use the original cover. Remember to be extra careful when welding around the fuel tank. Maybe cover it with wet rags or somesuch. Good Luck - JAMES

Our 1994 Forman was parked for a few years and I got it going again. The exhaust system was toast and the car was very loud. It's a 2-piece system and both pieces were rusted and broken. Our local Skoda parts place actually had the front section, but not the rear. Skoda Bogota told us it was No Longer Available. We purchased the front section with the idea of modifying it by adding a resonator that would exit ahead of the rear wheel. Had to order a resonator from the US, as we could not find anything that would fit locally. Yesterday, I removed the old system and installed the front section. It was a real PITA because the new piece did not line up with the hanger posts on the car, but I finally got it done. Too late and too dark to take a photo. Car is very quiet at idle and cruising, but loud under acceleration. We're hoping the resonator will correct this. I'll post an update with photos after we get the parts and I install them. Wish me luck. - JAMES

Our '94 Forman is 1.3L carbureted. I recently got it running again after it was parked for a few years. Ran great, but the idle was lumpy at best. Looking down into the primary venturi at idle, I could see raw gasoline dripping onto the throttle valve from the float chamber overflow. I assumed that the float needle valve was not closing properly when the float chamber was full, so I bought a rebuild kit and installed it. Same problem. To make a long story short, The problem was that the return line to the fuel tank was blocked and when the float chamber was full, fuel was not being sent back to the tank. The excess fuel pressure was pushing gas past the needle valve and overfilling the float bowl. I found that the metal return line tubing was crushed under the floorboard. I cut out the defective section of the tube, replaced it, and now the engine idles perfectly. Just a heads-up for anyone who may have the same problem. - JAMES

Hello. I have posted on the forum several times but not in this thread. We have a 1994 Forman GLX. Very good overall condition. It developed an engine problem, and we parked it for almost 3 years. My wife needed a car to carry things to our businesses, and I resurrected the Forman. Now runs perfect. I completely stripped the interior, cleaned everything and my wife loves driving it 1.3 carbureted engine. Factory options: fog lamps, digital clock, electric door locks, tach, aluminum wheels, center console, 4 speaker am/fm stereo radio, rear defroster, rear windshield wiper, 60/40 split folding rear seat. Nice build quality and very easy to work on. I took the photo of the motor while I was still working on it. - JAMES

UPDATE: I was unable to find what I considered a "decent" used distributor for my Forman. So, I got out my jeweler's eyepiece and checked out my distributor as best I could. I disassembled it down to the advance weights, and blew it out with an air gun, cleaned everything, and reassembled it. Installed it back on the engine, fired it up and it ran perfectly. My wife has been driving it every day for a week with no problems. I knew that the problem was somewhere in the distributor, yet I have no idea what I did that fixed the misfire. But ... it's good to go and that's the bottom line. - JAMES

The problem appeared suddenly. Engine is carbureted. Another thing ... When I connected my inductive timing light to plug wires 1, 2, & 3, the light fired normally on those cylinders. On #4, the light was flashing all-over the place. I am going to Medellin tomorrow. Maybe I can find a distributor. - JAMES

I have a '94 Skoda Forman. Recently the engine has developed a misfire which I traced to the #4 cylinder. I replaced the #4 plug wire and plug, and the motor ran perfect for about an hour or so, and then began to misfire again. I replaced all the plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor. No improvement. I performed a compression test per the factory service manual instructions, and all cylinders are within spec. No broken valve springs and the valve lash is spot-on. I need to test the distributor. Is there a way to do this on the bench ?? I suspect that there is a problem with the reluctor's #4 leg, but do not know how to test this. I have an oscilloscope , if that will help. If the distributor tests good, what am I missing ?? I don't want to tear down the cylinder head unless I absolutely have to. Thanks for any help. - JAMES

I desperately need to replace the carpeting in my '94 Forman. Anyone have a source that ships to South America (Colombia) ?? - JAMES

Actually I did search for "Skoda Forman door seals". Just spelled it wrong here. Anyway, are there any sources out there for these seals. Skoda is a popular brand in Colombia, but the local Skoda dealer tells me that the parts are NLA. There was a parts store here that sold Skoda parts only, but the owner died last year, and his family sold the business to someone who moved it who-knows-where. We live on a farm, and one trip down the dirt road fills the car with dust. HELP !!! - JAMES

I am looking to source a complete set of door seals for my Skoda Foreman. I have done a google search and haven't come up with anything worthwhile. Any source, anywhere, as long as they ship to the US. Thanks, - JAMES

Now that I have everything working properly, I would like to look into installing a tilt steering wheel in my 1994 Forman. Does anyone know of a steering column with tilt that is a bolt-in replacement ?? Maybe something from VW or Audi?? Also, I would like to replace the sheet metal grille insert between the headlights with something more custom looking. I can't find anything here in Colombia. Anything available in the UK ?? Thanks. - JAMES

Thanks Ricardo, I think I saw that diagram in the forman's owners manual, but my Czech is kinda rusty. I appreciate the reply. - JAMES

I have a '94 Forman, and the previous owner cranked the sunroof open/close knob down really tight because it was leaking. I repaired the leak, and want to open the sunroof, but I cannot break the knob loose by hand. I am going to use a tool to give me more leverage, but I need to know which direction to turn the knob (looking at it from inside) to open it up. I'm afraid if I try to turn it the wrong way, I'll break something. Anyone help me out on this??? Thanks. - JAMES

The vinyl sheets used by printing companies to make signs and graphics are what you need. Available in many colors and thicknesses. Most have adhesive on one side for easy application. check this site for an overview http://www.signwarehouse.com/blog/a-basic-guide-to-vinyl-signs-graphics/ - JAMES