Tomjones1995

There a surprising amount of people out there that think an Annual Service and MOT on a car by a garage means that their car is in A1 condition and perhaps that's the difference between myself and most people around here. Perhaps there's not many people with a car that is as old as mine that would want it in A1 condition and only want a run around, but it's meant a great deal to me since I purchased the car 6 years ago to keep it in A1 condition because that's how I bought it. It was my pride and joy and piece by piece, many different garages have let me down.

I was hoping to source Sachs parts myself but they wouldn't of arrived in time for my MOT. They said that Sachs weren't as good as Monroe and KYB and they were OEM spec or better. So you can imagine my dismay when I returned to the collect the car expecting new suspension all round to only have bits and pieces done with a brand a don't like/trust and is now giving me more problems. I also believe you have a good point about most people just being happy with an MOT passer every 12 months apposed to a car which is smack on

Yeah pretty much Lee, I was livid beyond what words can describe. Their was also air in the brake lines which I needed them to bleed the day after I had the car back. As you know, I've been trying to get this Polo to A1 standard for a few years now but I just am not having the luck with garages honestly. I don't know if they're just trying to save me money or what but it's doing my head in. I really just don't understand why I'm having soo many problems with garages and other people local to me seem to have no issues with their vehicles.

Just a quick update. I was going to order the Sachs that you guys helped me find but the tech preferred KYB or Monroe and eventually opted for Monroe. He put 2 new shocks on the rear with the old springs still in place, new offside front spring with the original shock still in place and nothing at all to the nearside front changed. I can tell you the front end ride has never been so bouncy, terrible to drive now. Thanks to all for your help and apologize for the wasted time Tom

Cheers Lee, I've had a look at the link you posted and I think it's the third one for sports suspension. It'd be the same as the Fabia Vrs which I'd of thought would be the same part no

Yeah but I think the dust cover might come with the bump stop that's the thing. I can't find 'bump stops' anywhere

Also, does anybody know the correct springs that I'm supposed to have. I've had a look on ECP and theres only one type listed for both standard and sport suspension? I'm also thinking along the Sachs springs and shocks route with meyle top strut mounts. Does that sound a decent stock setup for British roads? And to finish with a stupid question, is a bump stop aka dust cover because I can't find the correct bump stops either? Thanks, Tom

Looks lovely and clean Lee, not driving much these days? You should see the state of mine haha Thanks goodness for that, I thought their might of been a difference in stiffness maybe between them

Hi Everybody, I've got to have new shocks and springs to pass my MOT and the mechanic wants KYB to be fitted and I wanted Sachs because they're OEM. Is there really much difference between them? Thanks In Advance, Tom

I'm planning on sorting this myself tomorrow but before I do, I'd just like to know if its absolutely essential to prime the new fuel filter with fresh diesel or could I get away with just turning the ignition on and off to prime it? The reason I ask is my nearest fuel station is 10 miles away and I'm only going to travel if I absolutely have to Thanks again, Tom

The recycling centre, that's who 😂

Also, what do people think of Wix filters? That's all my local parts shop have in stock Thanks, Tom

Okay, so I managed over the weekend to look at the fuel filter and it's the type with the screw cap at the bottom. It's those rubbish plastic types and it seemed loose so I unscrewed it and re-screwed it as tight as it would go and now the car starts great so thank you to everyone for the help with that The problem is now is that the fuel filter is leaking from the bottom and it looks like it's going to need replacing because the bottom won't seal properly. So my question is, can I dispose of the old fuel from the filter in an old screenwash bottle?

That's great news Sep! I'm glad I didn't get rid now . Is the filter bowl what the fuel filter sits in? If that's the case, it should be a relatively diy job to make its airtight? Thanks again, Tom

Hi thanks for replying. I've tried that trick before and unfortunately it didn't help :(

That's more of less what I would be hoping to find in another car if and when the time comes to sell my Polo because my budget wont stretch to a VAG car under 9yrs old with decent mileage. Thanks for sharing 👍 its good to know that it is at least possible to have an old car that is also still able to be reliable

Hi Everybody, I know I'm reviving an old thread here but this issue still hasn't been sorted. All the above suggestions weren't the cause but I was told by a so called VW specialist without them inspecting it that it may be the injector seals, and with an alloy head such as with the BLT engine, they can never be resealed correctly and I should offload the car ASAP. I obviously still have the car and this has been going on for a while now so I wasn't exactly sure they were correct. The reason I ask now is it has recently got worse for starting in the mornings, it will just sit there for at least 60 seconds trying to turn over quite quickly and then after say, 45-50 seconds, it starts to splutter and then eventually start. Does anybody reckon the VW specialist is correct? Thanks in advance, Tom

I have booked them in for the end of the month to hopefully have them straightened out. The problem is they looked buckled sideways when it was on the wheel balancer a couple weeks ago and not like a 50p coin. I'm not sure if that makes a huge difference to straightening them out or not. I'm not sure whether the price was for tyres mounted or not but at that price they can forget it. I'l just take my chances at the wheel refurb place. To be honest I was hoping for around £25 per alloy, ever the optimist haha.

I just rang up a scrappy for prices on these buckled alloys and they're quoting 70p per kg to scrap them!! So I don't really fancy spending £400-£500 on a new set of alloys to only get about £30 back from the old ones so I'll just get these reconditioned and leave it at that I reckon but thanks for the heads up 👍

Oh right okay, thanks for the help Sep 👍

Oh right I see, so do you mean if I was to put 17" or 18" alloys on, that they must be 205/45/17 or 205/45/18 tyres because they are currently 205/45/16? Is that right?

Thanks for the link 👍 Does changing the alloy wheel size affect the accuracy of the speedo at all do you know?

Yeah my alloys didn't buckle until I changed my mechanic to a chap who lives nearer to home. He's down the beaten track a bit and the road is TERRIBLE! Safe to say I've reported it to the council and hopefully they'll resurface it now so I don't have to change mechanics again because he's a good lad. I've also done front to back a few times including with these XL tyres and it's still hurrendous to the point one of my droplink nuts unscrewed itself! Out of curiosity, a question to everyone, what size alloys are compatible for a MK1 fabia/ Polo 9n platform? Would running 17" or 18" be an issue for the Speedo? Thanks in advance, Tom

Only just seen your message haha. I could make my own each year after the winter

Yeah that's a good idea actually. I have checked the mot history of vehicles I was interested in in the past to check how many fails they had along the way, but hadn't considered whether the advisories were sorted year after year. The one thing I have found with personal experience is that different mot testers have different ideas about advisories and one mot tester can spot an advisory and it could go unnoticed by another as I have found. It is most definitely a difficult decision to make, so far I have done the A/C regassed once, head gasket replaced, two cambelt and waterpump changes, new radiator, new front light cluster (pheasant flew through it), three wing mirror (one in car park, one from lorry, last one wasn't adjusting), new rear wiper motor, two new rear wiper arms (original and 1 new one snapped), 3 new brake calipers (2 on the same corner). And I'm faced with a clutch & flywheel, car doesn't start first time in the mornings, 4 buckled alloys and dodgy rear brake caliper. These outstanding jobs will set me back a good £1,500 but it may well be a great car then for hopefully 12 months, two years for me. I could also buy a new car and have similar issues then so this is my predicament as you quite rightly say