Warrior193

Hello, welcome to the forum. I'd strongly suspect damaged or fractured wiring between body and rear hatch - you mention cracked insulation in gaiter. It is commonly reported for the internal copper wire core to work-harden and fracture inside the insulation.

The 'metal plate' you mention is likely the rear crash bar - AFAIK, this is removed and replaced with a different bar for the tow bar to be mounted on. This involves removing the rear bumper.

Verify which way engine rotates when cranked on starter.

@CianKT it would be interesting to hear a report back on old belt condition when it is replaced.

Are you doing the crankshaft seal as an 'engine out job'?

No, you will just be rotating engine in neutral gear. Ensure engine is rotated in correct direction. One advantage of this method is that it can be easily noted when relevant piston is at TDC.

Almost certainly the easiest way would be to remove the spark plugs and rotate engine using the alternator / Aux. belt.

You say the engine 'spins like mad' - does this seem to be much faster than previously? Is this is the case, I'd suggest getting a compression test.

Hello, welcome to the forum. Take a look at other trim levels of the Mk4 Fabia - I have a feeling that some models do have rear discs. Just be aware that there isn't necessarily a significant advantage of discs over drums on the rear due to braking effort being front-biased .

I also have never seen any reference to this drive belt failing. I know, never say never! ☹️

I haven't seen any reference of maintenance / replacement for this oil pump belt - I believe it is a 'For Life' item. Clearly, failure of this belt would result in complete loss of oil pressure and any such pressure warning should be acted on by immediately shutting down the engine and arranging recovery.

Hello, welcome to the forum. @pab567 may be able to offer some advice. Not sure but a 'reset to factory settings' might allow access - but I wonder if it is possible that the infotainment system needs to be unlocked to allow activation.

OPs original battery could well be EFB - but, if so, replacing with AGM will give better performance, but not especially necessary. Agree that correct adaptation (coding) to the vehicles BCM is important - but actual battery manufacturer is not. Critical battery adaptation information is - Type (AGM (fleece) or EFB. Capacity (Ahrs) Change battery serial number to inform BCM that a new battery has been fitted (this can simply be by changing the last digit of the existing serial number)

You have not said yet what service was done. As I have said, oil service and inspection are separate.

I don't know if the service/inspection reset procedure is the same across all models - but the Mk3 uses a combination of pressing and holding the Odo trip button with ignition switch-on - then toggling the trip button. Best to take it back to garage that did the servicing.

Hello, welcome to the forum. I assume your recent service was an oil change - is that correct? There are two servicing schedules, which require separate resets after completion - Oil service. Inspection.

Unless it's just a reflection, that round sensor looks wrong and could be the problem.

The damn fools have put the A45 spoiler on the wrong end!

Way past time for a 'calm' discussion then! What's your standard waiting time rate?

I would query the 'pressing the accelerator to the floor' part, as that will generate a message on the instrument cluster (ECU is set up to start engine at idle) - but that is generally correct. It causes more damage to allow engine to 'warm up' while idling, rather than start engine and drive gently until engine warms up (after clearing all windows, of course)

Presumably your Octavia does not have automatic Stop/start?

What @dsgman is attempting to warn you of is that the 1.5 ACT engine requires specialist (and expensive) locking equipment to maintain correct valve timing. There are many references in this forum where the cambelt change on 1.5ACTs has been done incorrectly.

Way, way too low with just ignition on - 8 volts is even too low while the engine is being cranked! Also check for loose terminal connections while testing the battery.

The second variant has to be for some extra ancillary, probably via a flat belt - suggest just getting the one that matches original.

Clearly, 225 deg.C isn't possible without the coolant system venting - so there is at least a sensor issue to address.