Alasdair1

thats not good. Reckon there belts are good but there cheaping out on the other parts. Bit worrying as mine are gates as well. Alasdair

Finding the more modern the more electronic problems and dealer only fixes. I would stick with the one you have although 220k is fairly high. I suppose it depends what you would get for it if selling? Alasdair

Same here re locking nuts. There awful. Tyre service snapped the only adapter which looked like some kind of alloy not steel and it was a nightmare to get stud out. Local garage welded a nut on the end to remove it as dealer wasn't very helpful re replacement and I needed tyre changed as it had lost shape. I remove them if their fitted. Nice tread pattern on tyre. I do prefer the herring bone pattern. Works better in my opinion in wet. Alasdair

My old 1.9tdi and newer 1.6tdi are 105hp which is less than the 1.0tsi. Torque on my diesels is 250NM which is higher than the 200NM of the 1.0tsi but reckon as long as your not towing you wouldn't notice. Alasdair

Our local taxis drive a lot of octavias. Reckon every second one is one. Last one I was in was a 1.0tsi and taxi driver said it was excellent. I too was really surprised when he said it was only a 1.0 litre. It felt like my 1.6tdi Alasdair

Could be a broken rear spring if it sounds metalic/clacky. Had one that the pig tail broke off an was bouncing around in bottom of swing arm on my octavia. It was difficult to see but worth a check. Not sure if the fabia mk4 has rear drop links as well. If worn they will give a similar clack clack sound. On the Octavia rear spring is easy to do. Alasdair

Was looking at a newer fabia for my son and read real world mpg figures are 45-55 on long smooth runs but 35-40 if journeys are short and lots of stop start city/heavy traffic Alasdair

From memory bearing has to come out to replace splash guard anyway and safer to remove sensor when removing bearing . Reckon easiest way is to remove knuckle and scrap it with bearing and replace with new/second hand knuckle plus new bearing,splash guard and sensor. Dont fancy trying to get the old bearing bolts out judging by the corrosion on knuckle anyway. Whats the other side like? Alasdair

Had another thought could be the coolant temp sensor thats failing when hot and sending wrong info to ecu etc? Alasdair

If fuel pressure is good then maybe its the DV+ as you suspect as I assume the garage found no fault codes. Maybe run it and see if it gets worse. Alasdair

Sounds reasonable to me. Start with tests and see. Was it doing it before injector replacement. Could be that one of the new ones is leaking. Can cause similar symptoms, Alasdair

If the compression test comes back good then hopefully its just surface damage to valves and pistons and the valves are still sealing ok. As long as theres definitly no sign of bit of sparkplug I would see if the noise is still there and carefully start engine. Any noise switch it off quickly. You may be lucky and as said just surface damage. By the look of the marks the sparkplug may have been well worn and only a small bit was left that broke off, Alasdair

I have read that as well. I always use their belts though. I tend to change mine every 5 years or 50-60k whichever comes sooner and so far havent had any problems with their pumps and tensioners. Last one I did was on my old 1.9tdi bxe and the belt,pump and tensioner after 60k were as good as the new ones I fitted. Not sure what water pumps have metal impellers According to google Hepu and Graf have metal impellers but most others are plastic Hepu cat https://www.hepu.de/en/parts-catalogue/ Alasdair

Have used Gates belts and kits for 40 years plus on loads of different cars etc and never had a problem. Alasdair

Its my sons car and I change oil annually. He does about 5 to 6 k a year but tend to give it an annual service just before MOT. I drive it randomly and cant say I have noticed any major rattles or noises. Was just a bit paranoid but reckon will leave it and keep an ear out. Alasdair

I did read that a failing leaking HFPF pump can cause long crank when cold as well as 2-3secs delay when warm. Might be worth getting fuel pressure checked to see if its dropping. If the GFB valve is easy to access might be worth removing and checking its not sticking or needing lubricated. At least that would rule it out. Alasdair

You could be unlucky and the battery has failed but check what voltage the alternator is puting out when car is running. If its too high it will fry batteries or too low and the battery will eventually go flat. Could be a failed voltage regulator. Had one fail years ago and was puting out 17 volts and above with high revs. New battery didnt last long. If its been flat for a week I doubt it would kill battery as its fairly new but battery may be down 20% due to sulfation Alasdair

Have been reading up on it and discovered its far from a simple job. Didnt realize sump had to come off as well. Cant hear any noticeable rattle as far as i know(find it difficult to tell) and car gets regular oil changes and runs great so maybe leave it till I notice something obvious. Not sure on the change interval and we got car at 60k with no service history. Been very reliable apart from usual wheel bearings and exhaust flexi etc. Not sure if you can check if chain is stretched on this engine with vcds? Thanks for the advice re brands. Alasdair

Read online that it might be high pressure fuel pump not keeping pressure when engine off when warm. Pressure dropping due to heat/failure when engine off and takes 2-3secs to get to full pressure again. Think you can monitor pressure with vcds. Could also be sticking diverter valve.(GFB) DV+ According to google its something to do with brass piston in alloy casing that can stick when hot due to metals expanding at different rates. If it was installed dry it may need lubricating with engine oil or HT silicone.?? (acording to google so pinch of salt may be required) Alasdair

I would replace sensor as there not that expensive and chances are if you have to change rear bearing the old sensor will be seized in and get ruined trying to remove. Cant see a crack. Soak sensor in penetrating oil for a day or two before trying to remove. Did the splash guard hit the sensor or cable or was it just wrapped round disc. It may have cracked sensor Alasdair

Hi I am thinking on changing timing chain on my sons Mk1 1.2htp. Its done 78k and want to be on the safer side. No rattle as far as I can tell. Looking for recommendations on make of aftermarket timing chain kits. I normally use Gates belts but not sure re chain etc. Plus I believe there is a chain driven oil pump and wonder if I should change that while I am at it. Alasdair

I agree decent if not full service history including dsg regular service. Check old MOT results as well. Amazing what comes up like bald tyres etc which points to a car that hasnt been cared for. Also MOT will note underbody corosion etc especially if its from a high road salt area. Alasdair

If the carpets are dry it rules out heater matrix and no white smoke headgasket is good. From memory the water pump is on the gearbox side of some engines on mk3 fabia so it may be leaking there or perhaps(hopefully) a hose/hose clip has given up. Garage should be able to tell quite quickly where its leaking from. If it does overheat on way to garage wait till it cools down before topping up. Hope its an easy fix Alasdair

As far as coolant leaks it could be anywhere but if tank is emptying quickly its a fairly major leak so check inside of car front carpets arent wet (leaking heater matrix) Check around any radiator hoses you can see for signs of crystals(dried antifreeze) and also radiator itself. Could also be a failed waterpump but not sure where that is on your engine. If you fill it to max and park over dry garage or even cardboard it may help pinpoint where the leak is. All depends if its dripping straight down or running along a pipe etc. Quite often drops onto undertray and runs backwards. Also does it drop overnight or when left for 24hours without starting?and is there white smoke from exhaust when car running. Alasdair

Car key blade should be able to get a new one cut and fitted. Try an autolocksmith or timpsons. The handle you will get the part number off LLLparts under original manufacturer diagrams although there are some on Amazon (chinese) cheaper. Alasdair