Alasdair1

The road tax on my old MK2 1.9tdi pd was £190 the tax on my 1.6tdi MK2 is £35-00. Maybe something to take into consideration. Neither are Ulez complient as well. Still prefer the 1,9tdi though Alasdair

Check the fuses in front of battery. The strip ones. I think its 60 or 80 amp for Psteering. Look carefully for hairline cracks. Its sometimes difficult to see them. Sons Fabia ABS one was cracked and as car heated up it opened the crack and put on warning lights. When cool it was fine

Just realised its a MK1. On the MK2 there are rear suspension arms with upper and lower bushes. They also have concentric bolts to adjust the wheel angle at top. Not sure if the MK1 is similar. If they do go you normally notice uneven tyre wear at rear and can cause clunks etc. Alasdair

Sorry meant the links to the anti roll bar at rear.

Sounds more like a failed bush or ball joint or more likely a drop link. Just did my front drop links on my MK2. They looked and felt ok but only when they were removed you could notice a fair bit of play. Doesnt take much play to get a clunk expecially with the condition of roads. Alasdair

Could be a worn outer or inner CV joint if its being heard at full lock. I had similar sounds on my old Octavia and first I thought it was the steering but it only happened when it was moving so ruled that out. It did sound like it was high up as you said and only could be heard at full lock and low speeds but turned out to be worn Inner joint. Hopefully the garage will track it down for you. Alasdair

Many thanks. Will have a look at MK2 elegance and see waht I can find. Not sure of the MK3. Its getting a bit too expensive and more complicated for my liking. Its not me its my partner who wants one. Alasdair

At 240k I would say the clutch if hasnt been changed will be pretty worn including pressure plate and release bearing. I would try bleeding clutch first and see if it makes a difference. My folks old fabia was like that but improved when new clutch was fitted. The brakes may need bled or perhaps a fluid change and see if it helps. If not it could be the brake master cylinder thats failing and letting fluid past the seals. Also check that the fluid in the reservoir isn't dropping as well in case you have a small leak somewhere either in clutch or brake system. Alasdair

Hi there, quick question, Are there specific models ie elegance or L&K that have sunroofs or was it an optional exta. Looking for an estate with sunroof but finding it hard to source one. Alasdair

Might be worth an oil and filter change. It could be that the oil is past it/low or filter is clogged. Alasdair

Check the connections and wiring to headlight for corosion/looseness plus earths if there are any and you will have to check wiring. Also check that the fuses are tight and no corosion as well. As it happens when its damp I reckon its a bad loose connection somewhere thats confusing the blown light system. Have had similar with odd bulbs causing it but as you swapped left to right I would as said reckon connections/fuses Alasdair

Probably a small stone or piece of grit that caused the groove. It will be long gone now. I doubt it will cause any problems with brakes and should wear out eventually. Alasdair

No but both my both octavia came from small independent garages that sell a few second hand cars. They were fairly cheap as they were older with around 100k and had full service history plus had belts etc done. Not perfect but well maintained and a lot cheaper than a dealer. Gave up trying to buy privately as so many were walk away now or the person selling never gets back to you or in a few cases its sold by the time you travel to look at it. Not many up here in Inverness at reasonable price so had to travel a good bit further south. Alasdair

Its surprising what you can find out using DVLA MOT history check. When we looked for a fabia for our son we found loads in so called good condition and supposedly well maintained. MOT check proved otherwise with underbody rust, weakened rusty sub frames, bald tyres with canvas showing and brake pipes etc covered in underseal which I assume is to hide corosion to name but a few. Avoid any that don't show number plate in advert if buying privately. Theres a reason they don't want you to check up on the car. As your in kent look for local registrations as they will be cleaner due to less salt on roads in winter. Up here in Inverness the winters are death to cars. Sons fabia originally came from I think cornwall and for an 06 plate is pretty spotless underneath where as my 08 plate Octavia is now past MOT due to severe body and subframe rust. Keeping it as a donor car for spares. As long as they have an excellent regular service history mehanicaly should be ok Alasdair

Not sure but personally I would look for 1.9tdi MK2 PD engine. Had one for 5 years with high mileage and no problems. No dpf fitted and best MPG was over 70. Apart from odd bushes and ball joints it was bomb proof. Alasdair

Not sure on your model but on mine MK2 hot air to cabin has a climatronic flap system to mix hot and cold air. The flaps can get worn or stick and cause no heat or no cold air. Think theres a way to reset them which might work if they arent worn out. Sorry don't know on the MK1 Alasdair

I wouldnt drill thermostat but try squeezing top rad hose with engine running. Squeeze and hold then release and keep repeating. Have had similar airlocks on other vehicles and in my case you eventually get big bubbles in tank. I havent come accross an elec control thermostat but some I believe have heating elements in the body which may be what you mean. I think its for quick warm up icabin temp in cold weather so shouldnt affect low temp. Check the pipe thats leaking for corosion and also if its still round. Alasdair

Originally sounds like either an airlock or blocked heater core and by flushing heater you have cleared it. The fact that the hose is new and still leaking may be that its slightly too large internal diam. Is it a genuine VAG hose or a length of replacement. I have found in the past that the external diameter of aftermarket hoses can be the same as original but the internal diam can be larger. ie thinner hose. Also check for continuous bubbles in expansion tank as if the head gasket has gone it could be pressurizing system and venting coolant out of expansion cap when driving as well as the leak. If the heater core is leaking then you normally notice wet/ damp carpets and car steams up all the time. Alasdair

I remove mine and replaced with standard bolts as I have had on two occasions broken the only key I had when changing wheels Managed to just remove them the first time it happend but second time had to get a garage to weld a nut onto the locking bolt to remove. My local Skoda garage used to keep a range in their workshop but its now part of VW group. Local tyre service hates them as they quite often break. Worth a quick call to see if yor local dealer can help remove them and replace with standard bolts unless you have expensive tyres and alloys I doubt there a theft risk these days.

My mistake, Mine is a pd 1.9tdi Alasdair

Not sure if the biodiesel/veg oil is suitable for the engine. On all my diesel skodas 1.9tdi and 1.6tdi it says on the filler cap No biodiesel. Its ok with upto B7 but any higher I think can cause problems with seals etc. if your using that amount of oil I wonder if the stem seals have gone. Alasdair

Glad you got it sorted and it was a fairly simple fix. Alasdair

Very probably over boosting. Same happened to mine. Loss of power, turn engine off and on again and it was fine for a while. It could be stuck turbo veins but in my case the actuator was sticking. I sprayed it with oil and moved it manually for a long time until it freed off. It could also be a dodgy EGR valve. Get the car read for codes and see what comes up. You will probably have an EGR cooler on that engine if its the same as mine and theres a small plastic vacuum valve at rear of engine that caused the same problem on my old Seat altea (same engine). Its I reckon overboosting or insuficient egr flow and its going into limp mode. As said see if there are any codes stored. Alasdair

Glad you got it fixed. It would be expensive as the labour cost of removing matrix etc would have been pretty high. At least you now know it will be fine and no more wet carpets. Alasdair

Are you sure its not the actuator thats sticking. My 1.9tdi had similar code but the actuator was sticking at a certain point. Loads of spray oil and manual operation for a good while and its been good ever since. I have read that the problem with Mr Muscle etc is it can eat alloy. Personally I would remove turbo and clean it on a bench or replace turbo core. Aladair