Alasdair1

On mine I do the timing belt at 50-60k or every 5 years plus water pump. It may be getting to the mileage/age it should be done but difficult to tell if theres no history of when it was done last. Might be worth inspecting or getting someone to check belt to see if its in good condition. Have seen a few that are just holding on and no more. Alasdair

Try a length of garden hose. Put one end to your ear and move the other around the area where the noise is. You should be able to pinpoint where its coming from or at least narrow it down a fair bit. Check theres no damage or wear on alternator belt or alternator bearings. Had one fail and alternator fan was hitting the casing slightly making a tappet noise. It may be the tensioner or timing belt/water pump. When was it last changed. Alasdair

Maybe someone on here near you has VCDS that could scan car for you to see if it pings up something that your scanner has missed. If thats the second abs sensor it may be the bearing/magnetic sensor ring thats causing problems. Try a multimeter on sensor I think it should be 800-2000ohms and a steady reading. Change to AC volts and spin wheel. If the sensor and magnet is working you should get varying voltage as wheel speed changes. Thats for a two wire sensor. Think its 0.5-1volt at low speed. Alasdair

Sons is the same. I think on his its slightly worn rear bushes. Not sure what to lubricate with. I was thinking a silicone spray. Alasdair

If its not wiring then it could also be a problem with the steering angle sensor not being calibrated properly. If a manual reset doesnt work I read it may have to be done while driving and using obd11 or vcds which is a bit beyond me but someone on here will know. Alasdair

Wonder if you could get an old one from a scrappy to see if it fits. They are fitted to a lot of different cars. Alasdair

I use Febi parts finder https://partsfinder.bilsteingroup.com/en They have excellent pictures and dimensions etc plus what vehicle its used in an oem cross reference etc Alasdair

Is yours petrol or diesel. The diesel drive shafts I think are shorter but dont know if the fitting is the same. Had a look at Febi parts finder and Febi 181993 is used in 1.4tdi/1.9tdi MK1 and is shorter than the one on my sons 1.2 petrol. Think its 30mm shorter. Alasdair

On my sons mk2 you lever around the edge of the black trim where it meets the grey consol. His was really tight. I used an old flat narrow scraper and gradually worked around it. You are better with plastic trim removal tools as its easy to damage plastic.

Maybe by lowering car drive shaft is too long or at different angle causing strain or cv joint is failing. Check its not hitting anything as well. Alasdair

May be a wiring fault to ECM or perhaps a failing relay. Did read that it could also be a fault stored in ECM that is affecting other systems. According to rosstech the fault within the ECM will have to be adressed before the fault codes on other systems can be cleared. Alasdair

It could also be front spring or perhaps top mount. Had a small section broken/missing of front spring at top so it caught and clonked when turning wheel to full lock. Difficult to see on car and didnt seem to cause any other problems. Alasdair

Local garage stopped fitting certain brands of clutch due to them being cheap and not lasting. I have been fitting LUK or Sachs for years on there reccomendation and have had no problems so far. There not that much more cost wise but seem to last. I would check what brand of clutch they are actually fitting in case its a cheap one Alasdair

Yes a faulty plug should ping up a code. Years ago had a diesel van that gloplugs were ok but timer/sensor failed so they werent on long enough? Cant see a rocker cover seal causing oil in piston but if your crank case/engine breather is blocked/failed then maybe to much pressure thats forcing oil in somehow and causing smoke. Cant remember how to check it sorry. Hope you get to the bottom of it Happy Xmas

It may be the glowplugs or glowplug circuit/wiring/timer?. My old octy had two bad plugs and would start no problem when weather was mild but when cold would still start but would take more cranking and then sound rough until warmed up after 20secs If your compression test is good then the oil may be coming from valve stem seals but you mention febi cylinder head cover. if you mean head gasket it may be that the febi one is wrong or the head is warped aand your getting oil in that way. Alasdair

Probably the drop links or maybe the ARB bushes. The drop links on both my fabia and my octavia seem to be prone to wear and knocking. I have done quite a few in the past and in all cases so far there seems to be no movement when on car but when replacing they were a lot looser with a small amount of play than the new ones. Twice the MOT guy either didnt notice or they were only slightly worn. I reckon the tension of the ARB makes it difficult to check. It doesnt take much wear to cause a clonk as I reckon its amplified by the ARB. Alasdair

Out of interest for future problems on mine I checked and read a few posts which seems that to adjust camber on mk2 front involves adjusting subframe. The bolts are singe use but 10mm in larger holes. Dont think its possible as a DIY as you are adjusting camber as well as caster plus you will need new bolts as they are stretch/single use and an accurate way of measuring. Probably why garages/alignment specialists say its not possible. Alasdair

Has it been like this since the top mounts/front suspension was changed. The top mounts have a specific direction they have to be fitted. Its not unnown for one to be fitted the wrong way which I assume would affect camber? If you are going to adjust camber then I would make sure all suspension bushes/ball joints are spot on first. If the car steering isnt central it may be the rack or steering sensor that has a problem?

Could be a worn top mount or other suspension issues. My old Octy front tyres were wearing badly although alignment was spot on. When I replaced the front shocks and top mounts it improved it. Dont think there is adjustment but I may be wrong.

Had the same problem with my sons rear wiper. Absoloutely solid. I just kept spraying with wd40 for a few days and finally managed to carefully remove it. Tricky to use puller as nothing to grab I normally put a small smear of copper grease when replacing them. Alasdair

They seem to be sensitive to bad connections. Probably a poor earth at cluster on mine. Seems to confuse the hell out of the car. Alasdair

Might be the cluster connection is loose or got some corrosion. My Octy had weird warning symbols illuminated that made no sense like dpf when it didnt have one plus a few dim ones and fog light symbol on all the time even when lights were off. I removed cluster, cleaned and replaced and it was fine. Remember to disconnect battery before removing cluster. Alasdair

I used to go out with mechanic at garage to show them the problem. Once a decent mechanic with loads of experience gets the problem its a lot easier to explain to them whats happening plus easier for them to diagnose. Hopefully they will get to the bottom of it for you. Alasdair

A lot of garages do rely on diagnostics. My old one (sadly retired) took cars out for a spin as well as scanning. He always said theres still a lot of mechanical bits on a car that scanners cant check plus you get a better idea of what might be wrong especially if its a sporadic fault with no codes. Hope they send a decent mechanic out with it. Alasdair

Glad you solved problem. I have seen a few diesel cars with rad cover. Used to have one on my old landrover as it took about 45mins plus to reach temp when cold in winter. Main reason was non electric fan Alasdair