VWD

Panic time . Somehow I've managed to misplace/ loose my locking nut key for the wheels. Any suggestions where to find a replacement would be appreciated. From a check the internal measurement is is circa 17mm

Many thanks .

On the petrol models ( according to the gospel of the prophet Haynes and his photos ) topping up the brake master is simple, but on the diesel models it's a bit more difficult, due to the pipes running across the top of the master cylinder. I've solved the problem for my self( other methods might be available). I simply place a small funnel between the pipes ,so that fluid drops into the master and nowhere else.

Apologies to those who gave me the data some time ago ,but I've lost the volume needed and can't find the answer on a search. I'd intended doing a much overdue fluid change some time ago, but put it off I've acquired a leak from a rear wheel cylinder and it's time for a new rear cylinder and a bleed. Most probably the line to that cylinder has fresh fluid, but since I'm going to have to bleed ( possibly rears, and possibly fronts), it might be worth flushing out the old. So what quantity of DOT4 do I need to flush out the system, considering that last year I had the other rear wheel cylinder replaced and system bled. And just in case of problems- any other source of the retaining M6 bolts . I've micked them as circa 8 mm long, but can't find any.

I always mention mine as an 04 model , MK1, but I've added the year to my profile and from document in last post, 04 ,1.4TDI is an AMF . Haynes only gives AMF as engine in the 2000-2006 range ,which was the era of MK1 , ANYTHING after 2006 could be either BNV or BNM, but I'd suspect that the start letter "B" is indicitive of a new marque, known affectionately amongst MK 1 OWNERS AS "SPONGECAKES"( from the TV ADS)

Skrrrda- No criticism, just a comment, as one worthy poster has in his signature "Knowing your car's engine code (and maybe putting it in your profile or signature so people can see without asking) is a fantastic way of helping others to help you with your car. It's listed on the data sticker on the boot floor (and there may be a duplicate in the service book). If you can't work out which letters are the relevant ones, just pop up a photo of the sticker (obscuring the VIN if you're shy) and someone will tell you." That reminds me that I should perhaps add my engine code to my profile, but as MK1 1.4TDi has one engine code ,I wonder if it's worth it.

If there can be any comparison, my 1.4Tdi gets warmish a lot quicker at this time of year. In fact diesels only really get warm when working. ( Witness many a winter night shift on standby on site in a Transit. I used to take it for a warm up run before we stood down. And then it was on with the cold weather suit and only run the heater at low speed with the engine on idle .Any faster and the engine ran cold). Good test is to get engine up to just temperature and no more, then sit stationary with heater on full and engine idling. The temp guage should start to drop. That is why on cold mornings it's pointless to sit with a diesel engine idling and expect the heater to get hot. As for the heater output- it's a good way of checking for leaks if the temp guage plays silly. Set heater to max temp and check heat output. Should be hot. If output gets cold with engine working, then I'd be looking for a leak in the system first. I'm aware of the sticking flap, but if output is hot and then goes cold with no heater adjustments, then it might just be worth checking the coolant levels.

For years we've had the problem of a dark kitchen. Then we fitted two sets of 3 lamp spot units. Great, but we needed more light in certain areas. So we moved to two 4x50 watt units with adjustable lamps. Great, till we had lamps fail and problems getting them out. My theory is that 50w GU10 units are not up to the current passing through the contacts. Then we found 50w LED equivalents in Poundland. £4 to refit one unit, and light was almost(if not equal) to the 50 W lamps, but lamps were rated at 5W. As the 50W lamps failed, we replaced them with Poundland 5w=50w LED units. At kitchen refurb ( June 2018) we'd had all the lamps replaced with Poundland LED. To date, we've not replaced any.

As Wino says, biggest faff is getting lower dash out. There is a guide on here, but I found that using common sense to locate the screws let us drop lower dash, and then next faff is the heater pipe to tray in RH dash. At that my back gave up and SIL took over . He tells me that the brake switch is sort of "keyed" into the bracket. One way right-other way wrong and switch does not sit right. The guide on Brisky mentions taking the light switch out, but we just removed the plug from the light switch and removed the section of dash with switch. With a slow starter it cold be either electrical or mechanical . Electrical- a solenoid is basically a relay operated with a low current to allow a switch to make a circuit capable of carrying a higher current. In older ones it was a copper plate pushed across a pair of contacts. One carried 12v heavy cable from battery, the other carried current to the motor. Over time the copper plate got corroded and ended up HR. The simplest way to test for this is to measure the voltage accro9ss the solenoid contacts at crank. I remember 0.5v being the upper limit, and I used to be able to get in and clean the plate to get below this figure. These days, I'd suspect it's new solenoid. Measuring that low voltage needs a meter. Mechanically it could be a sticky/dirty clutch or other mechanical part ,caused by dust from the brushes, which could be worn enough to cause problems.

Engine light- no idea, but from a lot of other posts (and experience) coil light flashing could be brake light switch fail. Are brake lights on when pedal down ?

Thanks -Amanda- I've settled on a Tenda PCIE . I seldom do Bluetooth transfers as I've found Cloud better.

Just noticed the bits about cracked solder. Normal tin/lead solder does not like extremes of temperature. BR in old days used to solder external joints to find that in cold weather the joints crystalised in cold weather and I've seen joints in high power radio transmitters needing plumber solder to cope with the heat. They also do not like any vibration added into the equation. On old copper rads I used to do something I ( unlike some of the new so called telecomms jointers) learned as an apprentice- the art of joint plumbing. In the heyday of the art, the maestros used a moleskin cloth to do a solder wipe. I found that a bit of emery cloth wiped over with flux/tallow worked as well. I used the reverse side, wiped well over with tallow. It's an art- not handed down to the know it all would be jointer.

Thanks, Amanda. I've googled version 2 and still baffled. I'd hesitate on a dual card as this house is old brick and although my signal is strong- excellent, that from both sides is well down ,even at 2.4. My router is dual and only time I get to use 5Ghz on tablet is in front room, where router is. Think I'll settle on the Tenda one at moment as funds are low.

Lady E- I've found what I think is problem. I had another TP LINK I had sitting spare -Same model. Possibly coincidence with W10 updates arriving at same time as old dongle going faulty. Changed them over and problem has stopped. No more problems with resets. I've tried the old one back in and problem reappeared. Problem with this dongle had sort of put me of TPLINK, especially as I've had no response from TP Link . I've spotted a couple of PCIe /PCIe2.0 / ones on PC world at roughly same price , Tenda as a PCIe2.0, other TPLINK just PCIe - both with 3 year warranty, so I might keep the dongle as a JIC and try the TENDA . Next Q for the wise . The cheaper one ( Tenda) is 2.0 whereas the TPLINK one is just PCIe.

Aspman- it's my PC. BT master is in lounge ,so to save any messing around routing cables through the house , I decided on a dongle as the router is about 2-3 metres below. No problem with performance (38 down/20 up , on a BTW test on an up to 36 link) . I could easily ( if my hip will let me) , re route the incoming line 2w up to my room, split the ADSL and reroute the phone line back down,. (means only one filter is needed). Amanda- might have a look at that.

Usual reason is most likely a section 38 rejection. i.e. road was inspected as per schedule and passed clear. I had one last year-fortunately only a repair bill of circa £200 . Your best friend might be Google streetmaps as the pothole might be visible with a date stamp. But then, depends on the road schedule. Google showed my pothole as existing in June, two months after an inspection, with my damage as in August. Personally next time, I'll try a no win no fee firm and see how I get on .

You would have loved my Victor FD. A previous owner had changed the servo and master cylinder to that of a Ventura (3.3 L). When the master cyl failed I changed it and played with the servo pin. I also changed the tyres to larger and wider. Result - it stopped on a sixpence. Maxi1750- tyre change got me that safety factor. Sierra benefited from a change of tyres. Replace ( as Ford had done) the narrow rear tyres with decent tyres and brakes were fine. Same with Cav- add in decent tyres and things got better. Makers just sell cars with no safety built in. Just cost of new cars. Skoda are no better. My 1.4 TDI came complete with 70 MPH certified tyres, for a car capable of a lot more. Bloke at the local tyre place gasped at tyre specs on mine. He could not believe that a maker could send out a car with 70 spec tyres on a model that could well exceed that speed.

Sep- sadly I have memories of Minis( first to sport the MINI badge)/ Old Vauxhalls(last of the bedford 4 cyl 2litre /FD range) and Maxis(1750 model) where no fluid change was needed . Apart from the Minis the rest were discs up front and rear drums. My driving style has not changed. But I've noticed a degradation in fluid and a lot of brake fade ,despite various makes of pads. This thing about fluid changes seems to have come up a a money earner for either garages or fluid makers in the past few years. Even going back 20 years ago to my company Sierra or more recent to my old 2L GL cavalier, we never had this need to change fluid. Brakes just worked and kept on working. Spring/summer/Autumn/Winter - they just worked without lack of performance or change of fluid.

What has happened to brake fluid? 50 years ago we only changed fluid to bleed. These days it seems that fluid needs to be changed every other week. Personally I never buy as bottle to top up with. IMHO ,from over 50 years, if brakes need topping up, it's either new pads/shoes needed or a leak.

Sep- any advice on upgrade pads ? Point I was making about discs was fitting something like that on Vrs. (with callipers to suite ).

My 04MK1 1.4TDI came with a steel full sized spare as standard.

Steve - long time ago a constant problem with washers ( especially rear ones) was hoses popping off. I remember a mention on here from Skoda to the effect that the wash bottle required 50% mix otherwise the SG of water was too high and caused hoses to pop off. I bought mine from a large chain which promised a 35 point check , and surprise I found that the rear washer did not work. I did have a nice pool of liquid under the front of the car when rear washer was operated. I also had door seals leaking, so it was off to Skoda under warranty, where the pipe was found to be off under the bonnet. (nothing to do with door seals). Since then I've used a minimum of 50% screenwash, mostly 100% since I can't remember what is in the container. Furby is over 16years old and I've never had a washer problem since.

Obvious to me might be a broken wire in the loom or corroded connectors at the pump end.

Andy- that 's my opinion from a lot of years looking after battery rooms and a lot of years driving older cars . That's why I suggested an alkali applied to the bar to try and reduce the PH level to normal. But from years of experience with overalls with holes ( courtesy of H2SO4) , ACID BURNS ARE NASTY.

At moment ,I'm using a TP LINK dongle to connect to my router. I've not had any problems with phones or tablet when connecting to router, signal good in any part of house ,and even in car on road. But with all the constant W10 updates, I find that the driver files are being corrupted and I loose contact with my router. Sometimes a disconnects and reconnect works, other times it's a full blown repair on the drivers. And that can be halfway through replying to a post. Anyone suggest a more reliable dongel ?