shm

Thanks. This happened once about 4 months ago for 1 short journey but has been fine since ... until this morning.

Problem related to the gearbox appeared this morning. Drove the car yesterday, all fine. Started it this morning and the gears were very difficult to select. Ended up doing most of my commute in 2nd. My mechanical knowledge of vehicles is pretty minimal so I have no idea whether it’s something major like the clutch or gearbox, or something simple like a linkage. I can shift through the box normally without the engine running, if that indicates anything useful. Am I likely to be in for a huge bill ????

Cool,that's only 15 minutes from me. Cheers!

You should be able to replace 3 of the 5 SAI rivets with the SAI in situ. The alloy rivets will have corroded so can be pushed out and replaced with some M3 bolts and lock-nuts. Took me about 20 minutes.

And F14 it is! ... thanks for the help.

Just tried changing a blown interior bulb in the boot of my estate and something odd has occurred as now none of the following are working: All interior lights Electric windows Sunroof Central locking Headlight levelling I've checked pretty much everything else that I can and all seems OK. Referred to the Haynes manual for fuse diagram but the things that have stopped working seem to relate to several different fuses that are also linked to things that are still operating normally, so I'm slightly confused! Unless I'm being an idiot. Can anyone offer any suggestions as to what might have happened and how to approach resolving it? Thanks.

This thread sounds like exactly the same issue I'm having with my octavia - the temp displayed is always significantly lower than it really is. I'll try disconnecting the air box sensor and see if the readings are more accurate. What's the part number for this, should it need replacing?

Cheers, Pm sent

Went under the car to sort out the noisy 2ndary air pump a while back (as per the helpful guides on Briskoda) and discovered there is no undertray. Found this on ebay - is this what I need?: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111283151291 Or, do I really "need" to replace it? I presume it keeps all sorts of spray and muck getting up into the engine bay?

Main reason for looking at a smoke test is the vehicle is 10 yes old and I have no idea if any of the hoses/pipes have ever been replaced, and am also aware that these things are quite likely to fail at some point. This is my first turbo car, and since first driving it a couple of months ago it doesn't feel as if it has the same power. However this could be just that I've got used to it after a measly 120bhp Astra

I am wondering if my vrs is currently suffering a boost leak somewhere in the system. I have a generic ODB2 reader that has not flagged up any codes related to this, but am not sure if a leak in the system would necessarily result in an engine management code. Any recommendations for a smoke test of the car in the Stockport area? Thanks.

Is it realistic/doable(/sensible) to get some gasket material and cut my own gasket for the throttle body?

Remap was done by Hyperchips

Would unplugging the N75 cause engine management error codes?

Thanks. I'll do as suggested and see what happens - clean MAF & throttle body (need a new gasket first), and fit the new DV. N75 as the next resort ...

Being new to vRS ownership (and it’s also my first turbo engined car), I have a question about how the boost should feel (if I can describe it successfully). I can feel the turbo start to kick in at around 1800 revs, which I believe is about right. Under heavy acceleration it feels like it’s boosting well up to maybe 3-4 thousand revs, around which point the boost will drop, then kick in again, then drop, then kick in again ... etc ... I have no idea if this is normal, although I suspect not. The car’s a totally standard vRS with a stage 1 remap. Opinions sought on whether this is a symptom of a problem with the remap, a leak in the system, a worn/faulty DV, or something else? I have a new VAG DV ready to fit when I have the time and the courage to do it – it’ll be my first ever venture into engine mechanic-ing beyond changing the air filter and cleaning the MAF

Leeboy - locking and other electrics all seem to work, with the exception of the cruise control (not a big deal for the time being) and the light on the ASR switch doesn't come on when you switch off the ASR (dash light does though). I'll go over all the pipes etc to see if i can spot any obvious leaks, although I'm no expert! I did have my garage give the car a full service inspection, although this possibly didn't include a pressure/integrity test of all the airways and so on.

Cheers for the feedback so far. I'll investigate the timing belt further for evidence of it being newish. As for throttle body cleaning - will I get problems with it needing realigning using vagcom? I should also mention I have minimal experience working on cars (although am pretty practical) so is throttle body cleaning a relatively simple diy job?

I've read many useful and informative threads on this site over the last month or so since buying my first mk1 VRS estate. As far as I can see from what paperwork is available it's been serviced regularly and at correct intervals, timing belt & water pump were last done at 90k (it's now at 110k). There are no receipts for this but it's listed as being done in the service history. It had also had a stage 1 remap that was done by hyperchips (don't know if they're any good?). I've put in a piper cross panel filter and will be cleaning the MAF with some electrical spray just to ensure it's metering optimally. I've also got a new genuine VAG dump valve to fit as I believe this is worth doing seeing as the existing one is the one fitted at manufacture 10+ years ago. Is there anything else I should be changing or checking? I've read a lot about the N75 valve. I've currently got no reason to doubt it's working perfectly but is it a worthwhile replacement on an old car? Also - oversized TIP? worthwhile? diy job? easy/PITA? Thanks for any advice.

... or even an original VAG DV?

What is a supersize tip? And is replacing the DV a diy job (I am not a mechanic)? Where can I get hold of a new oem DV?

I am looking into upgrading the recirculation valve on my vRS. Other than Forge, are there any other brands worth considering or things to avoid? The car's had a Stage 1 remap. (Or, is it even worth doing at all?) Thanks in advance for advice!

Thanks Rocketeers. Finally got round to looking at the pump and it appears just the front 3 rivets were corroded so I replaced with bolts. No noise now so a successful fix (until any of the other rivets fail perhaps). Thanks to all for the advice.

Cheers, sounds like a plan! Thanks all for the advice so far.

Would car ramps give me sufficient room to work (20cm or so seems to be the extra height most would give me)?