MrRedSquirrel

Yes, they don’t last long. mine was only 15 years old. Can’t get the quality nowadays. I noticed the end of the wiper was gradually moving off the bottom of the screen, so I kept nudging it up. I decided I should look at it properly and found the plastic moulding had separated from the splined connector. I pulled the wiper arm away, and that left me with the nut and splined bit on the shaft. Needless to say the nut was rusted to the shaft, and a lot of torque didn’t shift it. I used a die grinder with a cut off wheel, a Dremel like tool will do, to slit down both sides of the nut. I slotted a bit of card to slip behind the nut to protect the glass and sealing bush from sparks. Overkill probably, but a new rear screen is EXPENSIVE!!!, and the card was incredibly cheap. With the nut cut nearly through, I played about with it, trying to finish the splits with a screw driver blade. Eventually a spanner helped dislodge it, and I could remove the two halves. Put a M8 nut on the shaft, run it down, then back it off a turn. This is to protect the thread, and to locate the puller spindle. Next get my small bearing puller under the splined bit, and tighten it up, CLICK! and the spline separated. Tighten the nut down, and wait for the new wiper arm to arrive. The nut was a flanged type, but looked to have a smooth plastic washer embedded in the underside. Has anyone seen such a thing? Is there a reason for not using a normal flanged nut with the serrations on? I can think the sealing against water might not be as good I intend to use some Lanoguard grease for assembly, then it wont corrode again. If you do this, use a heat gun to warm up the grease to make it flow into all the cavities. Anti sieze compounds could be used instead, but they won’t coat over the nut and protect it. I’ve written this lengthy tome, as something as simple as replacing a part, when the bits are corroded, can cause plenty of grief, and if you get too heavy handed the job can escalate to catastrophic.The next thing to do is to look at the front wipers, and remove and refix them, then if anything fails the fixing will be trivial. Any car you have now is worth looking after, as the government is making life more difficult, and much more expensive.

Well, 10 years late, but I bought a 2009 Octavia, 89,000 miles, and it had a chuffing sound like you describe, but it would be doing it in a straight line as well. The brakes were worn, so it was new pads and brakes all round. That did not get rid of the noise. It was worse when going round a curve. I bought a kit of sensors to clip to the suspension on each corner to try and work out which wheel was the problem. Eventually guessed it might be the offside front bearing. Got that changed and it was ok for about 30,000 miles. Now the noise is coming back slowly. Most noticable at around 40 to 50 mph. So will have to work out where it’s coming from. The CV boots are old, but if it is CV boots, why doesn’t every VAG car do it? They all use CV boots. As for spraying the boots, there’s no problem doing that, a rubber or silicone lubricant wouldn’t damage them. I spray everything underneath with Lanoguard. If you haven’t come across it look up lanoguard.co.uk, it will save a lot of grief later if you keep cars for years.

Best get the belt done asap. It can turn into something big in an instant.

Belt or tensioner? Might be something else too.

The reason manufacturers use 0w oils is to get the fuel consumption down. Hereis something on oils https://youtu.be/zLBgIve1YzY? There are some interesting results.

The Vgate is described as a fit and forget. It’s a useful tool, but the obd port was not designed to have anything permanently attached, so it would be better to remove it when not in use.

I bought the Launch 129 EVO. It works and is fairly good, with free lifetime updates. I bought it from Launch UK. If you buy the Chinese version you will not get support from Launch UK. It will do the obligatory engine and safety systems scanning, but not comfort or body control etc. For that you have to have a much more expensive machine which usually have annual update subscriptions. I’ve stumbled across the Mechanic Mindset channel on youtube. There’s a lot to learn, and they do things in a straightforward way. The OBD scanner is only one gadget, two more important ones are a multimeter and a couple of test lights If you’re just starting another couple of channels aer Diagnose Dan and South Main Autos, and Milligan (he’s from Glasgow but I can’t remember the full channel name.

I have the same problem, but I thought the indicator was on the BCM, in which case how does it work with Carista and an interface? I understood that cheap scanners can check OBD functions but it costs an arm and leg to get a BCM monitor

I tried lithium grease, then followed it by some Innotec penetrating fluid, which will have washed the grease through. It’s not the end of the world though, as I can wash it through tomorrow, dry it out and put some graphite in. Though the graphite is used more for the Yale type cylinder locks which have sliders that have a weak spring to make them return to the key when it is pushed in. The Skoda and similar locks seem to have a more positive registering system, and given the number of spray lubricants available for car door locks I doubt there will be a problem

I have no key fob, so there’s no problem there. The cylinder on the drivers door makes a noise similar to trying to turn a spring inside a tube, while rotating it in its reverse direction. The door lock makes this sound in either direction. I have tried to squirt lubricant inside the lock, and some around the bezel on the door handle. It is still sticking and making a noise. Anyone seen this before, and fixed it?