juanse_2691
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Posts posted by juanse_2691
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@sepulchrave Thank you very much.
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Speaking of spark plugs, what's the consensus about spark plug temp range and gap? Would a colder sparkplug with a closer gap improve things, given that I have no say over the octane rating of the fuel?
I have noticed that the BKR6EIX-11 have a gap of 1.1 mm which is huge, but since is what NGK recommended as an upgrade to the original plugs (BKUR6ET-10) I saw no problem with it. Would a BKR8EIX work better?
Not to say I still have to check for carbon deposits and address the oil seepage through the valve stem seals.
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2 minutes ago, TMB said:
juanse, your English is so good. Are you Colombian?
Hello @TMB and thanks for your kind words. Yes, I'm Colombian.
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Great, thanks for the advice. I'll be a bit more zealous about the sparkplugs from now on.
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Also, this is the coil I replaced. Still the original unit apparently (33/06). There's another one like it so I'll change it as soon as I can, even though it hasn't failed yet.
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1 minute ago, Wino said:
Is your cooling system performing OK? Just thinking that anything above normal 90°C operation isn't going to help things. Thermostat ever been changed? Rad fan(s) fully working?
I had to change the smaller fan on our Fabia a few weeks back.
Once I'd performed an autopsy on the old one, it was clear that only one out of the four brushes wasn't stuck, immobile in the holder. It would start up sometimes, but often not, when the other fan did.
Thank you @Wino. My cooling system apparently works very well, I've never ever seen the needle going ever so slightly over 90°C even on traffic jams under the inclement tropical sun and AC on full blast, engine warms up fast, the one huge radiator fan works in its two speeds, there's no smaller fan present nor a suggestion that there should be one, which is weird, though I know there are different designs with one and two fans. Fan works without hiccups or worrying noises. Thermostat hasn't been changed to my knowledge, but it hasn't failed that I know. One thing I did change was the engine coolant temperature sensor but it was only ruling out fuel consumption problems. The new sensor didn't change things and the old wasn't faulty.
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26 minutes ago, Wino said:
When fuel quality is OK, I can see that working, but when poor?
I don't really know. Iridium plugs are the heaviest duty plugs one as an ordinary man can get if I'm not mistaken, save for some sort of racing stuff.
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That's the problem, these parts are engineered to perform under certain ideal conditions. The same happens to the engine itself, once its operating conditions deviate from the ideal, things start to go wrong and that's not the engine's builder's fault, conditions have to change to operate within range. No spark plug fares better in my experience, they only have to be changed more often, in fact it's usual here to change conventional sparkplugs every other oil change.
Since 95 is the best fuel I have available and using octane boosters is cost prohibitive, the only way I can see to ameliorate the symptoms is either lowering compression (moot point since the BBY has the same CR and runs fine on 95), using water-methanol injection (silly for a stock engine), or, most cost-effective, using a custom tune. I don't know if changing the thermal grade of the spark plugs would amount to something meaningful, but if it does, I'd gladly change them again at the next service.
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The advantage of iridium plugs resides in the material itself, apparently it's so resistant that it allows the use of a fine electrode. Rather than an inherent design problem, I think the conditions inside the combustion chamber are so violent that the plugs couldn't have done any better, with the continued use of 95, 91 or lower octane fuels, they could only withstand that much.
For reference, a new plug looks like this.
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12 minutes ago, Wino said:
Those gaps look huge; have you measured to see what they currently are?
Don't think I'll be rushing out to buy any plugs like those. What's the part number? BKR6EIX?
Great to hear you've finally got it running better.
@Wino gap is huge indeed. Gap was fine when I fitted them new 2 years ago (it's even documented in the forum on another thread of mine).
I don't blame the plugs themselves. These are NGK BKR6EIX-11, honestly one of the best plugs you can ever get for this engine, but remember the car has spent all its life using subpar 91 "premium" octane fuel, only until recently 95 octane started to appear in pumps across the country replacing 91, and there's even parts of the country where you can only get the regular 84 octane (!). With so much pinging due to subpar fuel it was only a matter of time, I guess.
Basically what @sepulchrave said.
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"You have to find the problem before you can fix it".
It's been an interesting day. I went to the garage to get the car sorted. I was just arriving, parking the car, couldn't even get out of the car when my mechanic passed by, put his ear by the exhaust and greeted me with "Welcome. You have a bad coil"
Plugged in VCDS, lo and behold, misfire in cylinder #4.
Anyway, he wanted to check the condition of the spark plugs. This is what we found. Iridium plugs have only 30k km on them.
New Beru coil, new spark plugs and an oil change later, the car came back to life. MAP sensor is fine as I changed it earlier, and the O2 sensor was doing its job flawlessly.
Also put Cupra console bushes and new bushes and tyres all around while I was there.
Thank you everyone, the issue seems to be gone.
Next thing to service: valve stem seals.
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Being a 2003 it's possible that the housing and reflector itself is in dire need of an upgrade.
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Get good quality bulbs and have them aimed properly. That's it. They'll never substitute driving lights nor should they.
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Thank you very much.
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Should've put fuse #9, sorry.
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Good, thanks for your input @sepulchrave. I couldn't find any air or vacuum leaks in the usual places but now that you say that, removing cabin fuse #10 (10 amp "lambda probe" fuse) seems to alleviate most of the symptoms. At least power is restored. I guess because as you said, the readings lead to over leaning, maybe? With the fuse in place the engine stumbles quite badly and barely moves out of its own way. Would a dodgy O2 sensor cause this as well?
I'll have to go to the garage in the next few days to see what the readings say, hopefully we're going to finally solve this issue.
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Got ahold of a FAE unit while a genuine one comes from abroad. Disconnected the negative battery post while changing the sensor, got everything back together but I notice no change. Is clearing the code through VCDS the only way for the ECU to 'learn' that a new sensor is installed? Should I look for anything else?
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Check your hoses and connections going from and to the intercooler and turbo. Exhaust is behaving as usual or there's more smoke coming out of the tailpipe? Is the sound the same or is it a kind of muted sound compared to normal? Could be a detached hose.
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@Wino My 2007 Mk1 Fabia with the 02T HZK gearbox behaves in a similar way. I'd like a firmer pedal and if that doesn't take stripping half the engine bay it would be nice. Keeping an eye on your fixes if there are any.
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I've noticed that my brake pedal drops ever so slightly when I have it pressed and turn off the A/C. I didn't notice the same thing happening in any of my other VAG cars. I wonder if somebody around here with a healthy car and A/C can check if that's normal or if that is indication of something amiss. Servo hoses seem healthy, pressure equalizing port in the PCV seems to be working as it should. TIA.
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5w40 full synthetic on my BBZ. As long as it meets those requirements I use whatever is cheapest (but still reputable brands). 5w30 is suitable too.
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Ultrasonic cleaning would work I reckon?
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That you will lose some coolant is a fact, just keep some coolant at hand and purge system accordingly.
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It rarely goes totally deadlocked. The mechanical link from the handle to the lock still works. Driver's door is best as it normally unlocks the others as well, and even if it doesn't there's better access from there to unlock the other doors.
Mods and improvements
in Skoda Fabia Mk I (1999-2007)
Posted
-Get the best light bulbs you can.
-Stay on top of oil changes and make sure there are no leaks or oil consumption. Oil brand isn't really important as long as it conforms to the industry standard and you change it regularly. Conversely, get original oil and air filters or at least OEM.
-Tyres transform the way the car handles. Get the best ones you can.
-Cupra console bushes. Speaking of which, make sure all the rubber components of the suspension are fresh.
-Have the car properly detailed, all dents and dings repaired and painted, polish and restore headlamps, treat rust properly. That improves the look of the car much more than any set of wheels.
Getting more into the "mods" I would suggest:
-Sound insulation. Car audio shops could help you with that. It's a bit expensive but it will improve the sound your speakers make and also will reduce quite a bit of NVH.
-Get the seats reupholstered to your taste or get better SEAT/ VW / Audi sport seats from the breakers. Plenty of guides and threads about the subject in the forum.
-Upgrade your head unit I guess, hopefully it'll blend nice with the interior and look almost OEM while giving you better functionality. I haven't had problems with my original speakers but if you want to upgrade them, go ahead.
-Proper LED interior lights will at least let you see stuff at night. Go for warm white ones. Same with the license plate.
I haven't focused much on exterior mods, you're gonna spend more time in the cabin driving than looking at the car from the outside anyway.