Warrior193

At the very least, it looks like the mounting brackets are broken.

Has the 12 volt battery become discharged?

Highly unlikely for shaft diameter, taper or spline pitch to match, even between models - let alone different manufacturers.

Hello welcome to the forum. 3000 RPM seems rather high for manoeuvring, even on a slope - how steep was the slope?

Hello Abbey, welcome to the forum. Very strongly advise to fit only correct rated fuse to any circuit. Unless the actual capacity of the circuit wiring is known, there is a very real risk of overheating and fire if the current capacity of wiring is exceeded.

Disconnecting a battery connection while the engine (and alternator) is running can result in failure of alternator diode pack.

Skoda UK pervious recommendation for cambelt replacement at 5 years, regardless of mileage, was always out of step with remainder of VW Group manufacturer's (who use exactly the same engines) Skoda UK revised the cambelt replacement interval to match the others around the middle of last year.

Have you had a proper battery condition test done? A battery left completely discharged for an extended period is very likely to be fubar.

Pretty strong indication that something's wrong with 1st cluster synchro or baulk ring.

What you describe sounds like faulty baulk synchro ring on 1st cluster, I consider it's very unlikely for this difficulty in selecting 1st gear to be normal. Do you know how to double declutch to test synchro fault possibility?

Because of the way 1 to 2 and 5 to 6 gates are biased, you do need to maintain very slight left or right pressure on the stick to align those gates correctly, as the stick is weighted towards middle gate.

Is the 26 psi you quote the maximum difference across all cylinders?

It does sound to me that you have a fault with your gearbox.

Hello, never experienced any 'baulking' between 1st and 2nd in either of our M6 boxes. I do notice some slight added resistance from the synchro's if changing down to 1st in the Octavia on the move, but not something I would call excessive baulking - and not something often required, even on lowly 1.4. Will operate marginally faster with double de-clutch on down-shift though.

Hello, assuming this is a diesel, your engine could have suffered significant damage and excess wear if it has been running significantly under temperature for over two years. How many annual miles do you run? How frequently has the engine oil been changed? How often is it currently running a DPF regen?

Looking at the key you pictured, I'd say the press-button is to simply shine a light for locating the keyhole in the dark.

Hello, welcome to the forum. Are the affected bolts snapping while driving - or do they seize-up in use and break when you attempt to remove them? Are the longer bolts used from a reputable supplier - are they being tightened to the correct torque? Do you use anything to lubricate them when fitting? Apart from ease of mounting a wheel, there would be absolutely no difference between bolts and studs with respect to risk of breakage.

Especially when you consider that "New Road Layout Ahead" signage usually stays in position for years after a relatively minor change to layout.

Very unlikely to affect a proper RFID key - which, I have to say, does not appear to be what you have pictured.

Hello Jim, welcome to the forum. Are you aware that Skoda UK no longer state 5 year replacement intervals for cambelts?

I can't speak for the 1.5TSI, but I consistently see approx. 2 to 3% calculated better economy when I use E5 in my 1.4 - glad to have dodged the 1.5 bullet.

There are quite a few parameters that inhibit automatic idle stop/start - very likely irregular engine speed from incorrect valve timing will do it. You are extremely lucky that your so-called mechanic didn't cause some serious damage!

Age of battery can often be determined from 4 number code stamped into the top of the battery negative terminal (WWYY) E.g. code 3519 is week 35 2019.

I read the post as saying - original tensioner failed, then the replacement tensioner failed within a week - Is that correct @Dannh ?

Were the camshafts checked, could they be seized?