Alasdair1

It could also be the connection to the cluster. If the ECU can't read cluster it may well put imobiliser on. I would start with a known good battery first. Alasdair

I agree a failing battery can cause loads of electrical glitches. The cars dont seem to like low voltage. If its 16 years old you have done very well. Sons fabia was similar then one day no start at all. Put battery on charge overnight and seemed to take charge. Next day no start again. New battery and no problems since. Had same in my Octavia. Older cars seemed to cope better but with modern ECU etc low voltage can cause loads of problems.

Mine was the same on my Octavia as well as my sons Fabia. I reckon water gets into them if the window is left down when raining. I bought cheap aftermarket ones off Amazon and so far so good. Check the wiring as it comes through the door pillar as well for breakage. On the Fabia (not sure on Octavia) the window controller drivers side also controls the passenger side.

If you can source a decent 1.9tdi they are bomb proof. Had a 58 plate for 6 years and no problems apart from a sticking turbo actuator and the usual ball joints etc. plus a timing belt change and waterpump. No DPF to worry about and used to get 60+ MPG. They are getting rarer in good condition now though. Not as refined as more modern ones but I reckon thats why they are so reliable. Alasdair

Have you checked your getting 12v to the actual bulb. If you are it may be an earth problem. I assume you checked bulb actually lights up. Have had a few that didnt look visibly blown but were Could also be a connection problem in bulb holder. Alasdair

I used copper grease but someone on here pointed out that a metalic grease may affect ABS sensor. I have had no problems although I used a very thin smear. Next time I will use general purpose lithium as I have a good few tubes. Also pointed out on here use grease on bearing press screw while inserting bearing. If you have permatex I reckon it would be ok as well. Alasdair

If it was refilled properly to the correct level and there is nothing showing on dipstick now not sure where oil would have gone unless theres a major oil leak or its burning it/turbo seals if you have one. If its got a turbo check intercooler isnt where the oil has ended up. I would top up oil on a level surface and monitor the level. Look for oil on undertray and also check the car isnt smoking badly. Also check theres no oil in the coolant. I have had oil in coolant but no coolant in oil before. Alasdair

Good call re nonmetalic grease. Never thought about that. Luckily I used very little so no probs with the ABS sensor. Remember mate used too much on sparkplugs and ended up with no spark Alasdair

I agree just swap headlights. There easy to remove and replace as long as the release lever isnt seized like mine was. Keep hold of the old ones in case you need to drive in uk. Alasdair

To be absolutely sure there must be timing marks somewhere. It may not work but if you still have the old distributor there may be a mark where the securing bolt was as long as the new one went in the same position. I did find someone using VCDS to set timing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPZKEZXusLk Not sure if its the same engine as yours but distributor looks similar. Alasdair

Shouldnt cause any probs. A few warning lights like steering etc until you drive around. On my octavia I have to put all windows down and hold for a few secs then up and hold for a few secs to enable one touch up or down. If your car has auto stop/start then it may need a new battery coded. If your just cleaning terminals then its the same battery should be ok. All mine are older without start/stop and I have been informed don't need the battery coded. Alasdair

Maybe a blip in the reduced oil pressure switch or perhaps the switch is failing/wiring problem Alasdair

Disconnect passenger motor. If it still blows then its a wiring short somewhere. If it doesnt then reckon its the motor. Not sure on the Ovtavia but on the Fabia mk1 the drivers window unit controls the passenger side as well. Check the bulb in the door exit light and wiring. It may be the same fuse? Alasdair

Think I used a very light film of copper grease as it was all I had at the time. Had to spend a fair bit of time cleaning up rust etc from grooves in bearing mount etc. Old one came out with a fair bang. Thought I had snapped the bearin tool. Took a fair bit of force to release it but it had been in for nearly 20 years. New one went in fine and has been no prob since. Broke the ABS sensor when removing it but had ordered a spare anyway. You will need a new hub bolt if the bearing doesnt come with one as they are use once and throw away. Remember to tighten/torque bearing hub when car is off the ground. Alasdair

Yep did my sons a while back and didnt hear much of a click but yours looks just like his did. Alasdair

Glad its running well and hopefully the oil will disapear/burn off fairly quickly. If its a new turbo then perhaps an other oil change and filter in the next few months depending on the mileage your doing. Had a turbo blow on an old volvo 940. Never seen so much smoke ever. Filled Lidl car park within about 30 secs. Lucky I noticed it (hard not to) It was dumpng oil into exhaust etc. Weird thing was there was no warning. Turbo seals seemed to fail instantly. My old mechanic friend reccomended an oil change after a few thousand miles as it was a new turbo. Alasdair

It may not be the same but my octavia judders/wobbles at certain points as well. No fault codes or misfires but I think I have narrowed it down to drive shafts/worn cvjoint. It seems to do it more when cornering under acceleration. If I lift my foot of the pedal it disapears. It happens mainly at 40-50mph. Alasdair

Failing injectors can cause misfires and bad pattern/clogged nozzles can cause black sooty smoke and low power plus poor mpg but if the throttle flap isn't moving then I would start there. It may be the wiring to the throttle body? Alasdair

Just wonering if its a failing exhaust sensor? It might be connected to the rich running although I would have expected fault codes EML light. Is there anyway you could get it scanned with VCDS it may well pick up codes a generic scanner misses. I think as well the throttle body flap should be almost closed when car isnt running. Good luck

They are triple square by the look of them. As said maybe the throttle body? but might be bad pattern injectors. Try a tank of supreme diesel and also some injector cleaner as well. The limp mode sounds like my old 1.9tdi. In my case the actuator on the turbo was stiff and caused overboost at higher speeds. I sprayed with oil and manually operated it until it free off. Just before it went into limp mode it made a very slight blow off sound. Alasdair

If you have drained as much as you can then I would put exhaust back on and give the car a really good run. It should eventually burn off once upto a decent temperature. You could also try compressed air first. Wrap a rag round compressed air hose to seal it at one end of exhaust and see if it helps to remove anymore. If the turbo blew it might be worth checking intercooler and clean it as it may well be full of oil as well if it hasnt already been checked Alasdair.

I replaced my drivers side on my old octavia as it had started to fray and MOT advised. I went to local scrap yard and found a non crashed octavia MK2 and salvaged the belt. If your buying second hand its worth seeing the vehicle its coming off to make sure it hasnt been in a major crash. Alasdair

Check it has a DMF some of the MK1 had solid flywheel. My sons petrol has solid but I think from memory my folks old 1.9tdi had DMF. If its a failing DMF then it should be fairly noticeable once gearbox is out. If the flywheel is ok then it might be worth replacing bearing at same time as the gearbox will be out. I replaced the slave cylinder on my sons when I did the clutch as his was starting to leak slightly. Alasdair

It could be as simple as a failed LED or dry joint on circuit board. Not sure how you would test it though. Alasdair

If yours has a DMF then it could very well be flywheel thats causing rattle/shaking. If its a solid flywheel it may be the clutch release bearing or clutch related. As you said it may also be the input shaft bearing. If its any of the above I reckon the Gbox would have to come out to check. Alasdair.