Hardcore

Looks like subframe has to be dropped to replace these pipes. Had the Fabia 9 years and have spent about £1500 on it in the last year, but this is the nail in the coffin for me. I'm so burnt out from work every day I just don't have the mental capacity to deal with any more big jobs so just need to get some affairs in order paperwork wise and will get it listed for spares or repairs. Shame as has one of the rarer forge FMIC specifically for the VRS, Seat Surgeon Seats, original purchase receipt from Skoda etc but it's too big a job to do on my driveway for me and i can't afford to put more money into it, to have it recovered to a garage i'd trust to do the work for me. Being replaced by a Renault Modus of all things

The battery light does come on so not sure if that makes it any easier to troubleshoot from my side. Check wires? If so, which one, and could it still be alternator issue with compatibility? It looks like it's 3 pipes when checking underneath but the pipes so not sure if 3 different pipes or if all are the same. I'll need to wait to good weather to get them off to check design / shape and match them up. Will probably replace all 3 as they all look poorly.

The alternator from when i got the car in 2015 was a 90amp one i think and when the pulley on it exploded, I was looking at replacements and found my car was supposed to have a higher amp one (120amps from memory) as it had factory fitted electric seats and that's what I got. But i got someone else to fit it, as i was ill. Is it possible to leave something unplugged from the alternator and if so, is it possible to reconnect it, without removing the alternator? I guess i just assumed it had a single plug. Car registration is currently on a private plate as VR51 TAM. Built in 2005, but registered in 2006 if that helps (need to dig out the V5 for VIN) Hoping it's just a wire though. With work commitments and weather i've not had a chance to inspect it yet and looks likely to be next weekend at the soonest. It's had 2 x brand new replacement batteries in the same time period so maybe not, unless it's something else battery related. It happened the same day the alternator was replaced.

Hi folks, I had put through my 2006, VRS for it's MOT last month and it failed on the below. It shouldn't have failed on the EML being on as it's not testable on a 2006 diesel, last I checked. Oil leak was from when the tandem up was leaking for a while. It was replaced and cleaned up as best as i could prior to the MOT but the oil is still wet in areas. Brake pipes aren't corroded at all. But they're covered in grease so the don't corrode. Shame i didn't do it earlier on the power steering pipes. The stability management light issue is when the engine has been idling for 10 minutes, it comes on. It happened after alternator was replaced. I fixed the same issue on my Ibiza almost 10 years back and if i remember right, it was the load balance cable for the alternator loom. This time i'm struggling to find the break in the cable. Any tips? Or is it just a case of peel it all back and visually? It looks like one of the metal sections on the power steering pipe on the top of the picture is the one leaking fluid (i'd cleaned it all up here so i could access it better) The bottom pipe is on it's way out as well by the looks of it so i'd like to replace both. Is this a hard job to do? I'm okay with all things suspension, brakes and some light stuff around engines but wondering what i need to strip for access to make it easy on the driveway. I had a look on here, using search and it suggested the power steering pipes might not be available any more. is this true and if so, what have people been doing, to resolve it? Many thanks.

Thanks for this! This idea sounds the best for me i think maybe. Did you use o rings as a type of washer, or something more specific? Did you put one on both sides as well?

Hello folks, I thought i'd ask here as usually the answers are a lot better than the ones from the FB groups. I recently removed the registration plate on my Mk1 vRS to do some repairs to the paintwork behind it. It was sat in a plate holder and in turn it was screwed into the bootlid holes with some self tappers. After repairing the paintwork i've attempted to re-attach the plates with new plate holders but it looks like the screws that were originally holding it in are either not quite long enough, or the holes have stripped out. Can anyone tell me the following please. 1) What screws / bolts should be used to hold it in? Size, length, thread etc. 2) Are the inserts that hold the plates in, replaceable? If so, how big a job is it to replace them, and what's needed? Many thanks.

99% sure. I had a sticking handbrake cable previously, so every time it stuck i had to go under the car and release the caliper by hand. I done it probably 50+ times during then and i the piston actuator arm is heading is moving freely on these calipers. I haven't compared it to the other side however. But i'd expect the wheel to be binding after releasing the handbrake if it was related to them, and the wheel spins freely every time after releasing the handbrake during testing on the driveway and when i was inspecting the calipers / handbrake over the weekend. The compensator arm has never sat perfectly straight on my car ever and i've replaced both rear cables twice, with new calipers, discs / pads both times over the 7 years i've had it. But when i apply the handbrake, it generates equal force to each rear wheel, and when i release the handbrake, both rear wheels spin freely each time. This is my 4th set of calipers on the car in 7 years and since i done them 2000 miles / 18 months ago i'd be a little annoyed to have to do one again. Hopefully if the weather warms up a little i'll get out and do some more testing so at least if i haven't fixed it or figured it out i can come back with some more useful information from it.

I get you. If it's the offside rear getting cooked, i'd expect the nearside front as well due to any potential rubbing, but since it's easy enough to do that, then no harm in trying it. I've had it 7 years now and the amount of times i've had the rear brakes in bits, i've never wanted to go back to drum brakes so much in my life. I had the pads off at the weekend just there inspecting / cleaning everything but i'll do it again i think, crack nipples open to check for air and wind pistons back at the same time so they can adjust themselfs again as needed. It's possible, but i've not heard any of the usual wheel bearing noises. What's the best way to check for the rear bearings on these? Wheel on, horizontal / vertical push / pull check and freespin? Someone mentioned it could be an internally collapsed hose as well causing slow fluid return when releasing the pedal.

aving a bit of an unusual issue here so some backround first. Please bear with me on this as it's doing my head in and want to make sure i cover all the points Approx 18 months / 2000 miles ago i replaced / did the following with my MK1 vRs rear brakes. 2 new handbrake cables. 2 new rear calipers New discs New pads All 4 calipers bled. New anti squeal shims fitted on rear calipers New sliders fitted on rear calipers End result was good solid handbrake, and rear brakes were perfect. 1 issue that did happen is the reservoir went dry and took a big gulp of air, but after bleeding the brakes several times it looked like all air got out and has been fine for almost 2 years now. I noticed however the other day i could smell cooking bads and on further inspection the driver side rear disc was cooking hot. I removed the wheels and noticed that although the handbrake mechanism was fully released on the caliper and although the wheel was freely spinning, the pads were stuck in the carriers. I removed the pads, filed the edges to clean / remove all the rust. Cleaned the carriers. Regreased pad back plate and fitted new anti squeal shims and mad sure pads were able to move okay. Sorted, right? No! sadly. Rear brake is still overheating for some reason but handbrake doesn't seem to be sticking. The only thing i can think of is that rear caliper is coming on before the other brakes and is doing more work. My next plan is to remove pads again, wind the pistons all the way back in both rears and bleed all the brakes again then re-test. Wondering if it's a trapped airlock that got into the ABS pump and now it's moved to a pipe. When car is tested on the driveway with the handbrake released you can push it back with zero effort and no binding. With handbrake on, it holds. So unsure if it's fully releasing why it's cooking the brake on a short drive. Anyone else had a similar issue, or any other suggestions?

Hmmm doing some reading on it, the symptoms sound very similar to mines. My car is working just now, so i think before i go start pulling at the wires or swapping the starter i'll order a brand new plug and solder some new high quality wire to it so if i have any problems with my current plug being brittle then i won't be off the road waiting on a replacement. Just to check, it's a 2006, BLT Fabia vRS i have. Am i right in thinking 1K0973751 is the part number for the plug on it?

Am i right in thinking this is the solenoid plug going to the starter? This is just a screenshot i took from a Youtube video. If the wire comes away from the plug, how do you repair something like that? I've checked fuse 11, but not the bellows wiring yet.

Hello folks. Hoping someone can help me with a couple of weird issues i'm facing in my car. Mk1 vRS Start motor issue. Just over a year ago i done some repairs where my car was on my driveway for about a week and didn't start during that time. When it came time to start the car, it wouldn't turn over. No clicking from the solenoid starter. Nothing. I checked the battery and seemed okay. But re-charged it to be safe. Still wouldn't start. Tried to daily for about 4 days and stayed the same. Let it sit for a week and although i didn't change or repair anything it started starting again and worked mostly normal. I noticed sometimes i'd turn the key, and it would take maybe 2-3 seconds for the started to turn. The starter always turns at a good / fast speed. As the problem fixed itself, i didn't think much about it. But a few weeks ago the problem happened again. Refused to start / turn over. Tried it about 10 times and nothing. Tried a few hours later, and same issue. Tried it the next day and it was starting / turning over as normal again. The car will start with a bump start when it's like this. Electric window issue. Sometime last year my electric windows stopped working completely. Both. None of the switches would do anything at all. Fuse was showing okay. I tried disconnecting the battery overnight and re-trying but the issue stayed for about 6 weeks (everything else on the car was fine) then randomly one day they started to work on their own again and they were fine for almost a year. But recently, despite my car starting as normal etc, the windows have stopped working again. The windows issue was close to the time the starter issue happened but i never had issues with both simultaneously. I have a new started to fit shorty and i'll visually check / inspect the wiring to the starter at the same time. But what else should i be checking with the starter issue and the windows issue? Any tips / advice or experience of similar would be appreciated.

Hi all, Looking for some advice here. Recently, one of my rear brake calipers decided it didn't want to retain fluid any more and dumped it on a long drive home. I only became aware as it was on the motorway, when the handbrake light started flashing / audible warning me. I've fitted new calipers in the meantime but i noticed that it dumped most of it's fluid and the reservoir was dry. It's topped up now but between that and changing calipers there will be air entered from all ends. Bleeding the calipers themself is no problem as i've help and self bleeders available, but i read that i might need to bleed the clutch and also the ABS pump as well. The clutch seems to be working 100% normally, but would it still benefit from a bleed and any tips when doing the clutch (if i need to) Likewise with the ABS pump. How will i know if i need to do it, and what's the best way to do it? Many thanks.

Hi folks. Recently my Fabia stopped starting and it's throwing up the engine speed sensor, along with a flashing glow plug light. Engine speed sensor code shows the crankshaft sensor. I bought a new sensor and i've had a go of fitting it myself, but i'm having some problems removing the oil filter housing to get access. This bolt here, seems to be the last one i need to remove, but can't get a socket or allen keys onto it I was trying to avoid separating the oil cooler, from the rest of the housing as i heard the seals can be a pain to line up, but it looks like i have no choice? Any advice / tips appreciated