martinimcfly

Ok, thanks for advice. I just need to track one down now!

Hi, I'm looking to fit a Mk1 Fabia VRS steering wheel to a MK1 Fabia 1.9tdi Elegance. Can anybody tell me if there would be any compatibility issues? Also, I see that the 3 spoke wheel is also fitted to other Skoda models of that era- will these also fit? Is the airbag connection the same? Ok, I know it won't go any quicker by fitting one, but I can use my imagination!!

My cruise control recently stopped working on my Mk1 Fabia 1.9tdi 2004 and I had read that the one reason for this is that the contacts can get dirty inside the stalk causing it to stop working. I decided that I would try to take the the stalk apart to clean them up to avoid buying a replacement stalk. I apologise for not taking pictures of the process but will try to explain the procedure! 1. Disconnect the battery! 2. With the stalk left in situ, use a very thin blade to carefully tease out the thin strip on the rear of the arm, starting at the inboard end nearest to the steering column. Don't go too deep with the blade as you may damage the ribbon cable which is just inside. Two blades will make this easier as you work along to the tip of the stalk, taking care not to snag the ribbon cable. The back is slightly harder to come off at the larger end behind the ON/RES switch. Just take your time and eventually the back will release immediately behind the button on the end of the stalk 3. Gently remove the ON/RES slider switch by putting a blade under it and levering (If it hasn't popped off already!) 4. You can now access the switch. In order to clean the contacts, you could try just using an electrical contact cleaner but mine was so caked up, I decided to strip the black slider part of the switch by very carefully lifting the tabs that hold it to the switch track. There is a spring behind here so go careful and note where it goes, and also note the slider part position (with the sprung contacts). This allows you to clean the small brass square contacts and also the sprung brass contacts on the slider part. Re-assembly is the reverse procedure but be sure that the spring goes back in! 5. The end button contacts can also be cleaned by carefully squeezing the 2 small triangle shaped plastic sprung 'tangs' together that hold this to the main part of the switch, and you will then be able to pull it off the end. Again, there is a spring to note the position of. Clean the small brass contact squares and also the brass sprung contacts of the end button. To reassemble, push end button back in (don't forget the spring!) until the two triangle tangs locate. 6. Reassemble the arm by pushing the switch and rear backing strip back into place until the tabs click into place, ensuring that the ribbon cable does not get trapped. Replace the slider switch on the front of the arm (make sure it locates into the mounting hole correctly) 7. Reconnect car battery. Hopefully this will work for yours as it did for mine, if your cruise control is not working due to dirty contacts.

I had been experiencing a scuffing/low grinding noise from the gearbox (audible from the passenger footwell) on my late 2004 Fabia Mk1 1.9tdi Elegance (56000 miles) on acceleration and deceleration, especially at low speeds and in all gears. I had the gearbox rebuilt with a complete set of new bearings (including the diff bearings) and complete new clutch and thrust bearing. The gearbox was put back in......... and much to my annoyance and reduced bank balance, the noise was still there! I then jacked the car up and checked all the other components such as wheel bearings, budget tyre noise, driveshafts, exhaust, exhaust tunnel shroud, rusty brake discs, brake disc guards any other loose parts that may vibrate or create noise. All of these were found to be Ok/secure using the usual methods for checking. The noise was starting to annoy, and I was sure it was the gearbox despite the fact that it had been rebuilt with all new bearings, so I had the gearbox rebuilt again under the warranty given by the gearbox rebuilder. This time the complete gearbox casing was changed and also the differential from another sourced box. The result? A very quiet and smooth gearbox that has now made the car a pleasure to drive!!! Although I'm not entirely sure, I believe the gearbox had this fault from new, possibly in the casing itself or the differential- Maybe it was a 'Friday Box'?!! Thought I would share this as I couldn't find anything on the internet relating to a scuffing noise from gearbox. The gearbox was a 5 speed VW type 'GGU'