DurhamRed

Check the rubber pipe work for any splitting

Breakers yard has surely got to be the first port of call? It could be a good source of other bits and bobs whilst you are there!

Its okay if you fancy a bit of haddock or cod! But its no good for a felicia petrol engine.

Thanks mate, a very balanced factual post. I guess I was annoyed as I actually bought the car for my mother in law as a get her to work vehicle and because it 'seemed' in such good nick both body and interior (the car not my m-i-law!) I thought it seemed a bargain. I'm actually a Quality Manager and was in the automotive supply chain until early last year (Aerospace now) and so I spent a lot of time on site at many car plants so I saw first hand the manufacturing process's used and to be honest I guess my expectations are some what clouded by the reliability I have had from my 2001 Volvo S40 and also until recently my wifes 2002 Clio although we just bought a Meriva to replace the clio. I expect problems with a 9 year old car but the windscreen issue to me is a big failure on Skodas part such that modern manufacturing techniques shouldn't allow this to happen. As for the strut mount - well you had to see it to believe it; it really was rotten. I'll keep the skoda now as it is MOT'd untill Feb2008 - it may last a year after that who knows - but I don't think I'd buy a felicia again. Maybe an old 1.3 pushrod escort of the same age may of been a better option?

Had our old Felicia in for MOT this week - 63K on the clock one previous owner etc etc 1997 R plate. Immaculate body and interior I thought! So far this car has needed since October 2006 when we bought it for

I'm not surprised the renault 5's suffered the damage - most rotted away in the UK years ago!

The best way to reset / adjust a cars running logisitcs is to give the vehicle a good run out on a fastish road like a motorway which will enable a basic ecu the time to monitor and analyse and set fuel, ignition, crank timings. What you want to achieve is normal running temp with as little as possible stop / start traffic.

Regarding timing chains; As far as I'm aware there is no scheduled replacement as such for a timing chain on any modern petrol or diesel engine. However as a precationary note it is wise to investigate any rattle (you will know when a timing chain is rattling!) because it may indicate some slackness in the chain and a replacement would be wise. Bear in mind replacing a timing chain is not an easy job and most owners do not bother and just live with a rattle. I find it hard to believe it will knock the timing out just because it is slack - that is very unusual. Oh and by the way - Nissans are most known for timing chain failures and have been known to fail in low mileage motors.

We had similar problem when I got our 1.3 Mpi Felicia because it was owned by an elderly gent and as such had never gone above 40mph. When we bought it the idling was poor, the fuel consump crap etc etc. So it got a service from me (oil & filter, air filter, brake adjustment) a blast down the A1 at 80 mph for 3/4 of an hour and after a new cam sensor was fitted as well now performs brilliant and is pulling fine and returning 40mpg.

You could have exactly the same probs with other cars mate; For instance, My brothers 2001 Pug 306 leaks water thru the windscreen. My 2002 Mondeo had an appetite for screen washer pumps My 2005 C Max had major dash rattles My 2005 Focus had a cam sensor failure, air con problems and a water leak So maybe, just maybe your luck will change, I hope it does, but believe me the Felicia aint that bad. Mines my back up car and it s a little trojan.

No probs, glad to help.

1300 doesn't have a cambelt. So, in my opinion, a change of oil, plugs, air filter, oil filter, fuel filter should do the trick. Thats the most a garage would do. Plus maybe a brake fluid change if it hasn't been done in the last 2 years and a coolant flush if not done in the last 4 years.

I had a probelm with my 1.3Mpi felicia - only it was that it just wouldn't start (Ran ok for 1 month from purchase but then just refused to fire one day). Towed it into an independent garage that had diagnostic equip and it showed the crank sensor was duff. So I got a new one and the 'fly lead' adaptor, mines a 1997 vintage, it appears a mod was intoduced later hence the need for the fly lead. This was duly installed, the car had other sensors showing faults which were reset (i.e ecu memory wiped clean) and now the car is running superb. All in cost me £120 to fix but worth it - don't guess when it comes to electrics on modern day motors just get em plugged in and find the fault. Thats my best advice.

Our Felicia 1.3L 1997 model has a wet carpet on the drivers side front section. The car is in good condition, I'm unsure how this has got so wet. Is it a fault with the door seal? My mother in law recently jet washed the car so I suspect this is how it has happened. Has anyone else got any problem of the same nature on these models and maybe know where the leak is occuring. Underneath the car is sound, no corrosion and no holes!