Alasdair1

The stop leak additives work on orings and rubber seals that have gone hard. They soften rubber and swell it slightly and generaly work for a while unless they are completely shot. Daughter has a 205 gti and got a replaement gasket on ebay for about £20-00 on hers its a rubber type shaped seal. Not sure on the 207 but if its rubber then an oil leak additive might work short term. Alasdair

I have a flexible drive in my 1/4 socket set that I use a lot plus add extra bars/universal joints etc to get to nuts like that On my sons fabia I think the new relay is actually cable tied to the old one. Alasdair

£400 is a bit steep!. Last one I bought was about £15.(after market) I would ask the dealer how much an oil sensor actually costs and how they came to diagnose the fault. On my old 1.9tdi I think I just unscrewed old sensor and replaced with new. Didn't take long so even if the sensor is £50 cant see £350 labour unless its a porche garage. Alasdair

My old garage said it happens a lot. Even if theres 10-15k left they will try and get you to change them. He reckons part of it is cause its still under waranty you have to take it to them to preserve the waranty another part is to cover themselves. Once its out of waranty the only folks I know that use main dealers are ones with loads of money or just don't have a clue how much more they charge or if the car is leased and it stipulates main dealer. Some folk also believe that cars worth more if serviced at dealers. That may be true but I reckon you are paying a lot more than you will save. As long as its got a full regular service history with service stamps etc is what I look for. Alasdair

If that is for your engine it makes sense. They normally get tightened from centre outwards in stages. If loosening then in the reverse order. Make sure he cleans out the thread holes in the block completely. All it takes is some coolant or oil and you can crack the block when tightening.(end of engine). Also clean bolts of grease/oil as this will increase torque. If I remember you should always use new bolts as they are stretch bolts especially if they have already been torqued twice now. I gave away my fabia MK1 workshop manual as I don't have the car so can't check for you ut someone on here will be able to confirm that the above is correct or not. Alasdair. When its all baack together I would drain and flush coolant system to get rid of any oil.

Meant to add I doubt it would be the battery as if its voltage had dropped to the point the car shut off it wouldn't start or turn over again. Same with key fob. The reader in the ignition barrel reads the chip in the key. The battery is to operate the lock unlock and I doubt once codes are cleared a new battery would make them appear again?

I think you need to get it scanned either at a dealer or someone with vcds. The scanners that RAC AA use sometimes don't pick up faults in certain sections. As previously said it does sound like an electrical fault that is ok when car is cool but happens once warmed up. A first place to check is the strip fuses in front of battery . They can look perfectly good but have a tendency to develop hair line cracks which are very difficult to see. The crack opens when warm and breaks the electrical circuit and reconnects when cool. Sons ABS warning used to come on every day after about 5 miles. Leave it for about half an hour and it was fine then back on again. Not sure what you mean by red electrical wave warning? Alasdair

Not sure but doubt it the weight of the engine even from one mount would distort the block. I have changed clutchs with engine lifted from one end and also removed engines with one hanger and had no problems. There are a couple of things I can think of. Cylinder head is warped and needing skimmed, Block itself is cracked or its the wrong gasket or gasket perhaps fitted upside down/back to front. Sorry I cant be of more help

Doesnt look good. Hopefully just waste oil in coolant passages but could be cracked head/block,head gasket perhaps wrong one? I wouldn't have thought some grease would cause the problem so soon unless its affected the heas bolts torque. Alasdair

Its fairly straight forward. Once its fitted from memory you turn engine over by hand a couple of times and check again. If the locking pins don't line up you can finely adjust with the three bolts on top wheel. When I used to drive volvo 940/960 I have in the past just marked old belt and pulleys with tipex and then just cut old belt off and used as a template. Marked new belt from old and lined everything up. Saved trying to work out where TDC was. I always use Gates and have never had a problem in at least 30 years. Just avoid the cheaper ones. Alasdair

Glad you got it fixed. The splined bolts on mine were nerve racking to undo as was the hub nut. When they finally came loose with 5 foot scalfolding tube and a loud crack I first thought I broke something. I did the timing belt on my 1.9tdi a few years back and it was fairly straight forward. I bought a cheap locking kit on amazon that did the job. I used a gates belt plus wpump kit. If I remember corectly there are three bolts on the top pully that can be loosened to finely adjust the timing if the locking pins don't quite line up with the new belt. One thing I did find was the amount of crap behind the plastic wheel arch which made me remove other side and clean it out as well. No wonder they start rusting at the bottom of the front wing/door pillar/sill. As for a stuck caliper years ago I would have bought a seal kit etc but now I just get a new one as the prices aren't too bad plus you get a new bleed screw that isn't seized solid. I also remove bleed screw and coat with copper grease for future removal. Couldn't work out how to drain coolant from block before removing wpump. Doesnt seem to be a drain plug on the 1.9bxe or I couldn't find it so be prepared for a bit of coolant spillage. I drained mine from bottom of rad first but I found out that there was still a good bit in block. Alasdair

If the key isn't being reckognised by the ignition I would suspect a faulty transponder chip in the key. The fact the other one works tells me the reader coil in the ignition etc is working. It may have been damaged somehow or perhaps fallen out when the battery was changed. A decent car locksmith may be able check and copy the chip in the good key for you. Alasdair

I agree as well Faulty brakes do not drive even to garage! If you have an accident and you know the brakes are faulty you are very liable. Its also shocking that a dealer would let the car go without resolving the problem and telling you if it fails again bring it back is wrong on so many levels. I would perhaps check to see if theres another dealer near you and if its under waranty contact Skoda direct. It could be a number of things but if the fluid level is ok and no leaks I would suspect a failed brake master cylinder thats allowing fluid past the seals internally. As said get it transported to garage or get them to pick it up if its still under waranty. Alasdair

Had a quick google and a few posts came up with dirty/failed throttle body plus throttle position sensor/pedal sensor. Might be worth checking and cleaning throttle body as well. Alasdair

I would get the EGR valve checked to see if its sticking. As it tends to do it in traffic it may well be the problem. If I remember EGR works at lower revs etc. MY old Seat altea had similar problems but it was the valve on the EGR cooler that was sticking. Alasdair

Not sure difficult to hear on my laptop as speakers are rubbish. If its a diff bearing then it would need Gbox out and inspected plus repair then probably a new clutch and slave as its done 115k as you may as well if the box is out. I assume the garage checked the drive shafts etc for play and wear. As it does it when accelerating I assume its when theres power/under load. It could be a CV joint /drive shaft etc. My Octavia judders/wobbles when accelerating but stops when you stop accelerating. In my case after a lot of checking I think it may be a worn drive shaft or one out of balance on mine. Alasdair

P1142 I think is MAF or vaccum leak. Worth cleaning contacts and check hoses etc. I did read somewhere on a similar code but it was a bad EGR and dirty throttle body? Alasdair

Does it make the noise in neutral when you press the accelerator. Alasdair

If the belt has just been done it could be the timing is slightly out? You said it tends to overheat when uphill/under load. Does the car sound and drive ok and has the MPG changed. Alasdair

I know the problem re mice. We are out in country at an old farm. Advantage is I get to keep my old cars for spares or repair if I ever get the time. I have over the years saved a fortune in paarts but under pressure now to reduce the number. Have nine at the last count plus two on the road. Bad point is the number of mice. They can destroy a car if they get into it. Got loads of traps permanently set in and around them. Numbers seem to be reducing now its got warmer but over winter I caught dozens. Hope the sound proofing helps. Alasdair

I replaced mine with an aftermarket one that didn't quite fit so used black silicone sealant. Worked perfectly. Alasdairr

Good news plus get some mouse traps. Folks old fabia 1.9tdi had a major diesel leak under waranty. Skoda garage said very unusual but maaybe rubber seal to tank gone hard. When they removed tank it was mice nest on top of tank and in there boredom had eaten one of the stub return pipes. No surprise that waranty didn;t cover it. Expensive repair as tank had to be replaced. I now have mouse traps set around where I park up the cars. Alasdair

Hope a quick scan will help pinpoint it or hopefully its a one of. Alasdair

Difficult to describe Similar to subaru impressa/ mitsi evo but much much quieter. Almost sounds like a quick puff noise from exhaust. Alasdair

Used to make a slight blow off noise. Hardly noticeable then limp mode with sometimes EM light on other times not. My actuator was sticking. I sprayed with oil and manually operated it until it became free again. The lights would go off and limp mode cancelled if I pulled over and stopped then started engine again. If your lights coming on randomly and going off when car is restarted I assume its not a consistant fault. Alasdair