Alasdair1

Had similar problem on mine and suspected air somewhere that wasnt coming out with manual bleeding. I got a Gunsons pressure kit and after a while a large bubble came through and brakes were back to normal. Not sure where the air was trapped but definitly not ABS as kept fluid high at all times. Wonder if theres a brake compensating valve for rear it was stuck in. Alasdair

Do a dry compression test and note readings. Then add a little oil to each piston and do another. If the results are a good bit higher after oil it may be a piston ring problem. If nothing changes much then its probably HG or valves. Hope its something fairly simple. Have had broken spring on valves before and got misfire plus very low compression. Garage managed to repair with head in place. They fed soft string into sparkplug hole and turned engine over carefully and using piston to jam valve and managed to compress spring to replace. Alasdair

The oil in throttle body and blue smoke as you say in bits so I assume its not all the time. My old volvo 940 used to do the same re smoke. If it was idling for a while when I took off it produced blue smoke due to seals failing in turbo which cleared once driving. The intercooler on mine was full of oil. It may be that the smoke and misfire are not related and are coincidence but the low pressure test reading does point to HG or valve spring/seating problem. I would redo the pressure test to make absolutely sure. I normally remove all plugs so engine spins at max speed. If its the same then further inspection of head/valves I think is required. It may be that the valves on the cylinders that are low and lower are carboned up so not making a good seal especially c3 or as said weak broken springs. Check the coolant level plus check for any signs of oil/bubbles in coolant. Alasdair

C3 and C4 are way down especially C3 at 20psi . It could be a failed HG on C3 and maybe C4 but it could be a broken valve spring or burnt out valve etc. The misfire will be down to poor compression on 4 and no compression on 3. Unless theres an obvious broken valve spring I reckon head may have to come off to check. Alasdair

Could be as you said a vacuum leak . Check the pipes from servo for cracking etc. If you pump pedal with engine off till hard and keep foot on pedal and start car if the servo is working the pedal should drop slightly. It may be a slight leak that once the car is running its generating enough vacuum to compensate for any leakage. Meant to add if the pump is electric check the wiring to it plus any related fuses for looseness/corosion. Might be worth getting it scanned to see if there are any stored codes that could point to the problem. Alasdair

If you go to the link above and check fitment it gives you a fair list of vw,seat and skoda cars it fits. Might help widen down your search at breakers etc. Alasdair

Glad it was the sensor not the DPF. Read it can be a fairly common problem. Alasdair

If its on one side I would either jack it up and check bearings for smoothness etc or pop into the garage you use and get them to check. A failed bearing will get progressively worse as will the prop. To be on the safe side I would get it checked out in case its low on diff oil or the haldex unit is needing serviced. Bearings are relatively cheap as is prop junction but Haldex/diff will not be. Alasdair

Doesnt take much to make a bad connection and cause voltage drop. At least if it does it again you can rule out what you have done. Alasdair

Meant to add if you think its transmission/haldex then maybe a gearbox oil level check and also a haldex service including rear differential oil. Could be a clogged haldex filter causing pump to work harder. Alasdair

Is it a transmission whine or perhaps a bad bearing. Try turning slightly left and right when driving. If its a bearing it may change pitch or get less when turning. Alasdair

Something else to check may be the cam position sensor. Perhaps its failing/sending wrong info at revs above idle. Have had some fail without creating codes. Alasdair

As there are no codes it may be a leaking PCV/air intake or carbon build up on valves. I would have said coil packs first but again no codes/misfires and they have been replaced. It might also be a dirty throttle body but I would assume it wouldn't idle properly. Alasdair

Might be a faulty DPF pressure sensor/wiring. When towing the engine will be under more load so may be getting confused and sending wrong signal or due to towing at lower speeds with engine under more load it may not be regenerating properly. Might be worth getting it scanned with vcds and also check soot/ash levels etc. Check exhaust system for leaks as well. Alasdair

Chances are that Skoda may have come across this before and will be able to change it. As said my old garage changed my folks one but not sure how. They did not have vcds but may have got someone in with it. Alasdair

Thats odd as my sons 55 plate 1.2htp has one and also my folks old 1.9tdi estate 56 plate had one that got disabled as it kept going off randomly. Both were mid range not elegance models. Maybe it was an extra spec when ordering from new. Alasdair

I only give up on my cars when the rust is terminal. I also tend to buy older and run into ground hence I have never sold a car apart from scrap although I still have a fair few sitting around for parts. Nuts and bolts and mechanics wise manage to keep my cars going for years. Electronics side is a different ball game. When something major like injectors fail etc I will try to repair if the car body and underside is in reasonable condition. ie I will get another year or two out of it. I do 99% of my own repairs so no labor charge which keeps cost down a lot. If you know the car and its been reliable probably worth repairing as when buying another its a bit of a lottery unless its new or under some warranty you have no idea what might go wrong. Alasdair

As said it will have stored a code/codes. It sounds like its gone into limp mode and by stopping and starting again has reset itself. My old 1.9tdi used to do similar due to sticking turbo actuator and overboosting. Worse when going up hills like you were. Turned off and on again and back to normal. Alasdair

That was on my mind to ask next. Glad you got it sorted. Its amazing how a radio can affect them. Last one I read was no OBD2 connection/communication Alasdair

Came accross similar in my folks old MK1. Service kept coming on at 6 month intervals. Garage said it may have changed as it was only used for very very short runs and as never got up to temp properly may need oil etc checked more frequently. They reset it to annual service. Alasdair.

I agree with ABS sensors including wiring to them . Theres something not right. It would perhaps explain tire pressure code, power steering and transmision code as well as the ABS errors. I would check all earths especially ABS and ECU and inspect wiring loom and connectors to ABS/ECU etc as well as relevant fuses and check if theres a relay involved. Alasdair

The braking faults 0668 could be caused by a low power connection to ABS or bad earth but you seem to have a fair range of faults mainly electrical What is the condition and age of battery. Might be worth checking voltage with engine off. A low battery can cause all manner of problems. Also check the fuses in engine bay near battery for corrosion or looseness as well as earth points etc. Alasdair

Check that the alternator connections etc is making good contact as well plus maybe check fuses near battery for corrosion or looseness. Alasdair

That's odd I thought they all had anti theft alarm unless someone has removed it. I had a quick google and 2001 I think uses Immo2 which is simpler. 2003 I think uses Immo3 which is more complicated. At this point I am now lost as its above my learning curve. I would assume by swapping all relevant modules etc it would work. It must be an imobiliser problem or incompatabilty somewhere. Alasdair

Think they worked with both. Some systems can-bus and rest K line. The symptoms are definitly imobilser linked. Wonder if the newer uses more Can-bus or perhaps something else that requires coding to ECU. Not sure but maybe BCM although don.t think its imobilser linked but may be linked to cluster. Alasdair