Silver Bullet

What can happen if you bleed the brakes the traditional way (ie someone opening the bleed valve while you push the pedal to the floor), Over a period of time the seals in the master cylinder create a slight wear ridge in the bore, usually at the point at which brake cylinder piston travel usually stops. What then can happen is when pushing the brake pedal to the floor is that the piston seals travel past this normally stopping point and the seal lip catch on the ridge in the bore and turn inside out partly or all of the lip invert, thereby allowing all or partial pressure to be lost internally. This happened to me many years ago, there was no brake fluid leaks and the reserviour level didnt drop but there was no pressure resistance at the pedal, it went down to the floor pan!!!. Now I alway use a pressure bleed system like Gunsen Eezibleed (about £20)

KEEP IT !!!!!, The bodywork looks good, all cars need work doing at some time, its better the devil you know etc. Good ones are becoming rare so I would hang onto it, but, at the end of the day its your decision,

Welcome to the Vrs club Lots of Mk1 Vrs have had a stage 1 remap done by quality companies such as Revo Technic. In standard form the 1.8 Vrs chucks out about 180bhp, Wth a std engine cofiguration and having a stage 1 remap this can be increased to about 200 - 210bhp (very dependant on state of engine and its parts), some say more some say less. Assuming all is good the engine can handle this extra grunt no problem (clutch / gearbox) The downside is ;- the modification road is a money hungry road to walk . Regarding the OCC, a very good mod to have just remember to drain it every few months especially when its colder as it does also create a lot of condensation internally.

Ok, The return spring mod has solved the sticking caliper for quite a few members but sadly wasnt to be for your car, the only other thing it could be is a sticky handbrake cable, worth trying to see how easily it slides to and fro. They are not that expensive, (a sod to fit) but fingers crossed, could save you some money if you decided to give it a try. For your info:- Part No: 1J0 - 609 - 721 AP (Handbrake Cable 1698mm long), does both sides. Good Luck with sorting it out

Have you tried fitting audi return springs to the handbrake actuator arm on the caliper?. They are so cheap its worth a try. Mine started to stick on the o/side, fitted the return springs and problem went away. Sorry my pics vanished as i refused to pay Photo-Buckets new annual fee,(it used to be free). This llink is my post with the Audi part numbers:- https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/231841-handbrake-return-springs/

Ummm yes, the parts are there for a reason. Its official title is:- "Crancase Ventilation Pressure Control Valve" Part Number: 06A - 129 -101 D Function:- As the name implies it allows excess crankcase / upper engine air pressure to be released back into the engine intake for combustion in a controlled way. (Item 11 below). NB: Try using the search function first thats where I found this useful diagram

NP Samuel, Okk, before i fitted my OCC I pulled off the black plastic "Hockey puck" thats sits on the top of the fat turbo intake pipe, put my finger inside and felt a slight black oily residue on the pipe walls. I did replace all the charge pipes (post turbo therefore pressurised) and a small dribble of oil came out of the intercooler outlet prior to the change, thats normal on a std set up, a bit more on a higher mileage engine. As regards symtoms:- 1/ Sudden Increase in engine oil consumption. 2/ Noticable loss of performance leading to eventual engine mis-firing as plug/s oil up as they try to burn off the excess oil in the fuel/air mix. 3/ Blue tinted exhaust gasses (White colour exhaust gasses are ok, this is normal and just condensation burning off in the cold weather, they all do it). 4/ Turbo eventually starts making new sounds, as bearings overheat and begin breaking down. 5/ Possibly a oily fleck residue starting to appear on car body around exhaust pipe. The thing is, as this engine operates using a "closed air system" ie: crankcase / camshaft gasses are fed back to be burnt off, hence the "oily stuff" goes back thru everything, one way valves, intercooler, all sensor bodies (post turbo), and finally throttle body. Good Luck

Not knowing if you have a oil catch can fitted to filter the oily air from the crankcase and upper engine area and assuming you dont have one fitted my initial feeling is that its a oil / air residue build up on the tube wall that has run down and has started leaking out. If it is oil the sticky feel could be as a result of the intense heat generated in that area affecting the oils charactaristics. Many years ago when I was an apprentice my Suzuki 2 stroke (20/1 petrol oil mix) m/bike would dribble what looked like tar out of the twin exhausts and id have to pull out the baffles and clean them with caustic soda on a regular basis. However in worse case (I hope not), the turbo seals have popped and the oil carried up, heated / and is leaking out. Good Luck

+1 Front discs are ventilated 312mm x 25mm Thick..... Part Number..8N0 - 615 - 301A (£88 each Main Dealer price)

Bottom left picture, screws comprise Items 41 to 44 inclusive.

Those of you who have owned a Vrs for a while or are new owners, you might find this useful. On the car there are 2 number plate bulbs covered by separate plastic lens. Each lens is held in place by 2 self tapping screws. The first problem is they are mild steel and corrode, soo if a bulb blows your b*******. I have replaced those screws 3-4 times, so today after replacing a bulb i ordered some No: 10 x 13 long A2 stainless steel pan head pozi drive screws from ebay (£1.50 for 10). Secondly, to push the bulbs (W5W) into the socket is a real pain cos if your not careful the whole bulb holder disapears into the tailgate and you have to remove the black inner cover to retrieve it. Trust me by now patience has vanished screaming over the horizon !!!!. Hope this helps

Hi, Engine mounts best from a dealer. Regarding the cam belt work, I did watch the work being done (never having done it myself) which was :- 1/ Undo the round engine coolant tank from its mounting, leave hoses attached and rest it on area just in front of the screen. 2/ Undo dog bone bolts (long one that is vertical and the shorter one). Leave the d/bone bolted to the sub frame. 3/ Remove plastic cam belt cover (left of engine) 4/ Support engine from underneath (drivers side) and only undo those engine mount bolts on that side. Buy new ones as they are stretch bolts (one off use). 5/ Jack up engine to give access to cam belt, water pump etc. Thats all i can remember the mechanic doing. Good Luck.

dutchboyvw " Silver bullet, thanks for the info! I might as well change it whilst I’ve got stuff in bits" Good Idea, you will find it a very easy job. HI bspman, I did exactly that, the OEM bushes are made of rubber and eventually lose thier stiffness. The front bush (the round one), you can press out in a std vice or use a long nut and bolt and washers / or sockets as spacers. The rear one is in 2 parts and is held in place with 2 bolts to the subframe and comes apart quite easily. Do a search using the above part numbers and you will get a idea of how they look.

Regarding the Dog-Bone bush I did this mod early on soon after I got the car. As Im sure you know, the problem with front wheel drive cars is, if you "give it the beans" 4 things will happen:- 1/ The front of the car will lift. 2/ You will get "wheel hop" as the engine tries to rotate around the crankshaft thereby flexing the engine mounts to and fro. 3/ There will a loss of traction between road and wheel, lots of wheel spinning and little forward movement, visually iimpressive but a waste of petrol and tyre wear. 4/ The exhaust downpipe will have to flex to accomidate the engine radial movement, and over time I believe cause eventual failure of the pipe The counter to all of the above is to fit a more rigid bushing kit to the dog bone, this is the main anti-torsion arrangement for the engine/gearbox. I initially fitted a Powerflex bushing kit (yellow), but found the cabin vibration was so bad it made your teeth rattle, tolerated it for 500 miles, but coiuldnt put up with it any more, so I replaced them with a Superpro dog bone kit (2 parts). The blue polyurethane is slightly more softer ( 80 shore), still gave me slight vibration initially but more more liveable. Wheel hop is almost non existant. To do the mod takes about 2 hours (cleaning getting the old bushes out / pressing the front one in, this is the round one at the front. Superpro part numbers bought from Jabbasport Tuning :- SPF 2576K......... FRONT DOG BONE BUSH SPF2577 - 80K....REAR DOG BONE BUSH (80 shore)

This what I always get replaced:- Timing Belt Water Pump Auxilliary Belt Timing Belt Tensioner with new Idler Roller Tensioner Damper Engine mounting bolts Usually done every 30 - 40K Plus replace some Anti -Freeze you will lose (about 1-2 Litres) Its a bit OTT I know but worth it for peace of mind

Items 2 and 3

From what you have described it sounds like the engine or parts of it (ie camshafts) have siezed up. The same thing happened to me with a twin cam rover sei, i ignored a blown head gasket, eventually it lost power on the way to work and eventually wouldnt start.. Garage stripped head off to reveal oil galeries to the cam shafts were blocked and the cams had aluminium deposits fused to the bearing surfaces. They fitted a exchange engine in and I traded it in for the Vrs. These cars (Vrs) thrive on regular oil changes using a good quality oil, I always use Castrol Edge fully synthetic 5-30w every 6k miles.. If you had taken it off the road the first time the light came on you might have saved it, These engines tend to clog the oil pick up pipe in the sump, im sorry but I think you have cooked it. Consider the turbo as a example. runs at 20k+ rpm plus the heat it generates, starve it of oil, bearings overheat goodbye one £600 turbo. You mention it had a flush, was the sump removed and the pick up pipe gauze end checked for blockages?, I dont think a flush can guarantee that the deposits are shifted as they can bake onto the metal and reduce pick up volume. Im really sorry buddy I know its not what you wanted to hear, I wont advise you what to do as either route will cost £££££. (Despite all this they are really good cars you only have to seach this forum) Good Luck with whatever you decide

"I'd go for TRW or Lemforder. Make sure the garage fits them to the correct side as they are sided." Totally agree with Tom, I bought Lemforder ones, I paid a bit extra so mine came with balljoints already fitted in place, they are very well made. I would never scimp on tyres, brakes or suspension, it could save your life one day.

Confusion ?????, The one i bought has a right hand thread (hold unit with the tee bar next to you and the pegged disc furthest away) turn tee bar in a clockwise direction (as a clock hand). That is a right hand thread. simples. This will then screw the piston back into the caliper.

Hi, I bought a Laser 1314 Brake Rewind Tool same as this one on flea-bay:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Laser-1314-Professional-Brake-Caliper-Rewind-Tool-Kit/361400055677?epid=1838320432&hash=item54251f377d:g:sr0AAOSwTEJaKTk0 NB: Before rewinding piston back into caliper, using nylon wire brush carefully clean all the crud off the piston area also check piston sides for rust. If its present carefully remove using somethin like 600 wet and dry.

Now the night time temperatures are falling I decided to invest in a new battery charger. I opted for the C-TEK MXS 10. Why ? well its a very versatile electronic charger, has 8 charge stages, and can, if the recon' program is selected desulphanate the battery plates thereby restoring the batteries capacity. Also, as my other car is a 4.2L Range Rover with a humungous battery, with this set up I can connect up to a towing power socket with a adapter I bought and recharge without having to disconnect the battery or lose any settings, With the Vrs im playing safe and did disconnect the battery, the ECU will just re-learn the engine state by driving it through the gears at various speeds. The same with the one touch window controls. Its not the cheapest of chargers but im very satisfied with its versatility and manufacturing quality.

Are you sure he wasnt pulling your leg?, as CWARD says it doesnt matter either way up.

Lots of useful information in this thread :- https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/319645-what-do-i-need-breather-hoses-under-inlet-manifold/?tab=comments#comment-3832238

I would be inclined to go for OEM rear springs from a Skoda dealer, not the cheapest way but you know it works. Part Number is...... 1J0 - 511 - 115AA (coil spring RS) (Info EKTA) Colour Code........ 1 Silver paint mark with 3 Blue paint marks (Info EKTA) NB: If you plan to do towing there are different part numbers and colour codes for the rear springs.