fabia88

I would also recommend the 1.4 16v engine. Proving you change the cambelt and water pump on time they appear to be very reliable. We have one in the family for 6 years now it has over 100k miles and absolutely no engine problems even towed a 1000kg trailer with it for 1k+ miles.

Hi there, Whether that car is a good deal or not depends on the cars condition, service history, trim level etc and is something you need to find out from the owner or by seeing the car in person then comparing with similar vehicles for sale. From my understanding, the things to look for are: full service history (oil changed every 10-12k miles or 1 year), evidence of the cambelt and water pump having been changed within the last 5 years and 75k miles (I think). Also at that mileage I would imagine the egr valve has been changed or does not have much life left so look to see that's been changed. From the research I did before buying my superb overall they appear to be a pretty reliable car but I am sure there are some more experienced forum members who wil be able to offer more in depth advice as I have only ever worked on vehicles as an amateur.

Thanks for the help, I've just bought a kit made by sealey which contains both tools as you suggested just to be on the safe side. I've checked on YouTube and the official skoda manuals and it doesn't look to bad to change the timing belt so all should go smoothly.

The cars I'll be using it on are a 2007 mk2 fabia, a 2010 mk2 superb, a 2015 vw toureg and potentially another vw group car from 2015 to 2020. I'm guessing I'll need the full version to work on these vehicles.

Thanks for the advice, I'll go for the Ross tech version then, the last thing I need is more car issues. Also having looked at the various jobs that need doing, the savings I make on doing it myself will more than make up for the cost of the vcds.

Hi everyone, I am planning to change the timing belt and water pump on my 2.0cr tdi (cffb) mk2 superb and am looking for the appropriate timing tool kit, please could someone recommend me a kit as I have heard that some of the tools for the crankshaft in some kits have markings in the wrong place. Many thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, I am looking to get vcds software and the corresponding obd2 plug so I can perform more advanced procedures on mine and family members cars. Is it worth going for genuine ross tech vcds or instead saving some cash and getting a version off ebay? £225 for Ross tech vcds seems a little steep, especially considering the limitation to only 3 vehicles. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated.

I agree, the crossclimates really are a fantastic tyre that do everything pretty well, I've have them on the front of my superb for 5k miles now and they've taken pretty much all I can throw at them, even muddy fields and farm tracks.

To be honest, regarding your question about shell AVL or ECT, they are probably both more than good enough. I have used both when servicing my family's golf 1.6tdi, we had it for 120k miles, it was driven like it was stolen most of the time and only had the oil changed every 20k miles yet there were no problems with the engine or turbo, didn't use a drop of oil, somehow. I also used shell helix ultra (whichever was available/cheapest) in previous car for the past 5 years and never had any trouble from the engine and also received some hammer, it was a 1.4mpi fabia and I used to tow a 800-1000kg with it, when going up steep hills I'd drop it into 2nd or 3rd gear and hold my foot to the floor. That car now has over 100k on the clock and is still working, hardly burns any oil (maybe 0.5l every 5000 miles). The bottom line I think is, there is no need to worry, either one is probably more than good enough. I hope this was of some use to you.

Hi there, it's an interesting question you ask and I would like to know the answer too, but out of curiosity, why not use 0w30 oil? as from what I understand is it should flow better at low temps and therefore protect the engine and turbo better on cold start up.

Thanks for the suggestion, just googled them now, they seem like a very professional place, I'll have to get a quote from them.

Hi everyone, My mk2 superb 2.0tdi is due for a cambelt change and I've decided to have it done at a garage rather than do it Myself. Could someone recommend a good garage that are knowledgeable about vw group cars around either the Southampton or Bedford area. I don't mind driving 30-40 minutes in order to ensure the job is done to a good standard.

I'm not sure but didn't bmw get into a bit of hot water for offering 18k service intervals as it was found to damage engines or seriously shorten their service life?

I think these servicing options are pretty normal across the vw range, for example my mum had a 2010 1.6tdi golf and she had the flexible service interval option so it only got serviced every 20k miles. Again its always worth keeping in mind oil is cheap, engines and turbos aren't so I err on the side of caution. Also, I found it an absolute b***er to remove the turbo on my 2.0tdi superb so it's probably not something you want going wrong.

Hi there, I think the general consensus regarding oil changes is to change it every 10k miles especially if your putting the engine under heavy load. However there are 2 types of servicing, the first is a fixed interval option where they are done every 10k or 1 year, the second is a variable interval plan where you can go up to 20k (I think) or 2 years between services. I hope this is of some help.

It's quite a fidly job, access is very tight, it took me half a day to remove the egr with the car on ramps however this was my first time doing any involved work on a car engine beyond spark plugs, filters etc so I was going very slowly. One thing I did notice was that the aluminium the egr valve is made from appears to be quite soft, I managed to strip one of the threads going into the egr so it may be worth having an m6 helicoil kit just in case.

Thanks very much for all the information, when it comes time to change my tyres this is something I'll definitely be doing. I agree that for a car that's meant to be comfort focused the ride is a little crashy, and unsettled.

Hi, I am considering a similar swap, just wondering where did you get your wheels from?

I don't have experience with the htp or tsi, however I did have a mk2 fab with the 1.4 16v engine and it was very reliable, no trouble from it at all. In terms of power and torque it's a bit of a halfway house between the htp and tsi so it's a bit more capable of higher speed driving. I also found the fuel economy to be excellent, getting 48mpg on the motorway. In terms of durability I would also rate it highly, I was regularly driving fully loaded, down gravel tracks and even did about 1000 miles towing a one ton trailer and it still does not burn any oil at over 100k miles (my brother has it now). I understand this doesn't directly answer your query but may be something to ponder.

About 3000 miles ago I had to remove the turbo on my 2.0 CR tdi superb (cffb engine) and replace the exhaust manifold and turbo exhaust turbine casting due to a snapped stud on the manifold for the egr system. In order to check everything was still OK I pulled the intake hose off and checked the turbo, I could feel very slight play in the turbine shaft and a little oil ( I assume from the breather hose) as shown in the photo attached. To my untrained eye everything seems OK but I was wondering would some more experienced members be able to share their views as to whether it all looks OK? Many thanks

I think this is quite a big issue on modern cars as they get older. When I got my superb one of the first things I did was remove the 4 wheel arch liners, clean the metal behind them and apply a thick layer of waxoyl. Whilst I was in there I also sprayed the inside of the front wings, especially where the mud builds up. My old mk2 fabia had the issue where it was rusting quite a bit behind the liners when it was 10 years old.

Hi, sorry to hear your having problems with your car. Regarding the loss of oil, I would look for any oil leaks around the oil filter housing if the car was recently serviced. Also it may be worth removing the undertray to see if any oil has dripped onto it and check nothing is leaking on the and back of the engine. Another check you can do I remove the intake pipes leading into and out of the turbo, if they have a lot of oil in them it could mean you turbo is on its way out. The turbo can also be checked for excessive play by examining if there is any play in the turbine shaft. If the engine has been regularly serviced using the proper oil I don't think should be burning that much oil however I my knowledge is very limited as an amateur mechanic. Regarding the service indicator, the garage may not have reset it when they serviced your car. I hope this helps and good luck with finding the problem.

Thanks for the replies, I'm pretty sure it's paint as the gearbox is not oily or dirty and in one area what I believe to be the paint is flaking revealing the clean silver alloy underneath.

Hi all, The other day I was underneath my superb which I recently bought doing and oil change and noticed that the gearbox of the car is painted black. Does anyone know if the gearboxes come painted black from the factory? This may seem like a strange question but I am trying to figure out if the car has had a reconditioned gearbox fitted at some point. I understand that this engine and gearbox combination suffered from clutch failures which would also take out the gearbox. My car has currently done 78k miles and I'm thinking the clutch may already have gone on it as from what I have seen on forums maybe 70% to 80% of the clut failures occurred at 30k to 60k miles. Any information on this topic would be much appreciated.

Thanks again for the advice its really helpful, just been under the car today to have a good look around it.