Warrior193

Important note, if asking 3rd party towbar prices, make sure the price includes full, canbus electrics - not just bypass relay.

I'm hoping that I'm wrong - but I suspect your problem is not just the glow plugs. AFAIK, they only activate at start to assist initial combustion.

PS, I had a Mk 2 Cooper S in my miss-spent youth, also much modified (as per icon) - I can't believe how big the BMW 'Minis' have grown now.

Hello Smaug, welcome to the forum. Do I assume correctly - Another JRR fan? To your question - my wife has a 2018 Fabia 1.0,110 PS, I think it is a very willing engine - not quite as smooth as my 1.4 Octavia, and torque pick up does not come at same point, but quite fun to drive. Take the test drive, I'm confident you will be pleasantly surprised.

Any induction air leak will almost certainly be part of your problem, it sounds as if there may also be an issue with oil leak. VCDS will hopefully flag what the warning message was that your driver saw. A cylinder compression check would be a good idea.

Hello, welcome to the forum. You need to be particularly careful if using any volatile spray, particularly on a diesel, when it is running - doing that could cause an uncontrolled engine runaway! As for the oil around the top of the engine, was the oil level checked - was it above the max. marking? If so, this could be a symptom of fuel getting into the engine sump. There could also be an issue with excess crankcase pressure from worn piston rings - especially at your mileage.

^^^^ - or worn syncro rings in the gearbox. A way to check for this is to double de-clutch when changing down a gear. A pretty much forgotten art unless you drive old vehicles (especially trucks) Old gearbox 101 - - When changing down gears, clutch in, select neutral, clutch out, briefly press throttle to increase engine speed to approx. same revs as you would expect to see at that speed in the lower gear, clutch in, select lower gear. The art is in doing all that fast enough to get a smooth change. The process can also be used when changing up a gear - except you allow the engine speed to drop when you clutch out in neutral.

That's not a problem, simply change one digit in the previous battery serial number - or even create your own number, one member has suggested using a number with the date in it I.e. dd.mm.yy or yy.mm.dd and add sufficient digits to match previous SN format.

Oh, what a cynical bunch we are 😆

Hello Blue, provided your local mechanic has the necessary equipment and knowledge, I'd personally go with him (or her?) does your mechanic have access to VAG online system?

Hi, most likely the fuse has gone open-circuit - I'm sure someone will be along soon with the correct fuse number, location and rating.

My understanding is that the Mit Silicat 'teabag' was fitted in the expansion tank to extend service life of the engine coolant and provide additional corrosion protection. I don't think it was actually judged to be obsolete, but advisable to remove to prevent issues if/when the bag fails, allowing the contents to block coolant passageways. IIRC, if the bag is removed, the coolant will require replacement at shorter intervals to provide sufficient corrosion protection.

I assume that it's not also dumping sump oil on the ground? A litre, even at 250 miles, sounds pretty bad.

My air filter was particularly dirty at only 17k miles / 4 years - loads of loose debris too. I don't drive in what I would consider unusually dusty conditions.

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps disconnecting the MAF is temporarily shutting-off the PCV - but to be honest, that's a pure guess. How much oil does it appear to be using - and have you done the smell test with the oil?

Good morning Gman, what did you 'grease' the starter pinion gear with? A good clean up, then apply a dry lubricant - or possibly Copper Ease to the starter motor shaft would be what I would recommend.

A thought just occurred to me, as you have a PD, have you checked the smell of the oil on the dipstick? Does it smell strongly of diesel? - if so, it might be a faulty fuel injector leaking fuel into one or more cylinders and down into the sump, which then raise the oil level to the point where it blows out of the sump from overpressure - but this would normally also be associated with difficult starting and a lot of black smoke on start.

100% agree, I wish it was an option for UK vehicles. Please can someone at VAG marketing take note?

^^^^^ agree with above. It sounds as if the starter pre-engage pinion is not being pulled away from the flywheel ring gear fast enough. Cure could be as simple as clean and lubricate pinion gear and shaft, but starter motor will need to be removed to do it.

And I don't think the Mk3.5 facelift had one either.

A compression check would help identify the cylinder at fault, but fixing the problem is likely to be uneconomic 😢

Good morning, no, it definitely shouldn't be spitting oil from the breather hose! I fear that damaged piston or worn/broken rings are the cause - at your mileage, depending on time scale this issue appeared, I suspect damage or failure rather than wear 😭 Unfortunately, the only way of verifying this would be an engine strip down.

Hello, S, not sure why the smoke stops when the MAF is unplugged - but from your description, it seems that your engine is burning lubricating oil. This could be due to worn piston rings or valve guides, but I would not expect that much wear at your mileage - are you sure of mileage history? Another thing could be PCV valve - which could fit with the symptoms - but high oil use from excessive crankcase pressure would still indicate worn or broken piston rings. How much oil is it using per 1000 miles?

I'm confused @toot, response was to OP with Mk3 Scout.

Air filter is pretty simple DIY job on Mk3, I don't know if it is the same for MkIV - for the Mk3, the trick is to completely remove the filter air box - there are screws in the base securing the lid - simply not clever!