Alasdair1

I used kseal on a toyota with cracked head. It did work very quickly and lasted for about a year. Never had problems with heater matrix but I ran car with water and citric acid for a good few weeks to flush out rust and gunge etc and then drained and flushed befor adding kseal. See if a magnet will pick up the coppery coloured fragments. If it does its iron/steel if not its copper/alloy It may have been the heater matrix that was leaking? I would try and flush it from engine compartment using a hose and see if water actually passes through it. Alasdair

You should be able to get one but it would have to come from Skoda dealer. Not sure how much but it will cost and probably be a special order. Other option is as you mentioned a used one/aftermarket and have two keys.Either way the transponder chip in ignition key would have to be swapped or new key coded. Alasdair

In the expansion vessle it looks suspiciously like Kseal or hyperseal etc. It leaves copper coloured fragments in coolant. It may have been added if the previous owner thought the head was cracked or HG had gone. Its supposed to be ok for heater matrix etc according to the instructions but if the matrix was partly clogged it could have finished the job and you have an airlock. I think an coolant flush etc would be on the cards. Alasdair

Not an expert but the clusters are coded and I think you need to retrieve old cluster code first. Then use VCDS to delete and recode to new cluster. Someone on here will be more experienced. Might be worth checking that the connections are compatible and there are actual wire connections for wiring to the new guages. Alasdair

MIght be worth unplugging MAF and cleaning contacts and reconnecting. I had a Volvo 940 that had a problem with the MAF but after cleaning connections it was fine. In my case it wouldn't rev more than 1500rpm Was a very slow drive home in first gear Alasdair

Not sure re mass sensor but mine had failed glow plugs. Only spluttered/juddered on cold days but my mechanic mate did say that a failed glow plug can put EML on. Probably similar as it was a 1.9tdi pd. Before you change them he suggested some penetrating oil/engine oil around the plug for a few days and let it soak in while drivin and then remove them when engine is hot. I would replace glow plugs and reset codes and test drive. Hopefully you wont need to replace sensor. Alasdair

I assumed it was petrol. Not sure if you can disconnect aux air intake or perhaps splice it in. I once had a vw campervan with air cooled engine that I repaced carb, oilbath air filter etc with a twin choke webber and similar air filter. I think the carb made a huge difference but not the air filter but it looked pretty smart. Before it struggled to get to 50mph. Got stopped doing 80 when testing it out. Policeman was very interested as he had one as well but couldn't work out why mine was doing 80 plus. It was in the good old days and I got off with a warning after showing him what he needed to do to his. Alasdair

Think its an auxiliary air intake fan. Not sure either what its for. Something to do with cold starting. Alassdair

Just wondering if window reg is stiff near bottom and controller is switching from auto to manual as it thinks its jammed. I did my sons fabia and the controller/motor worked out where top and bottom was. I would doubt if you need for coding.

Get a bit of garden hose or similar and put one end to your ear and move the other end around engine bay. When the noise gets louder you have narrowed it down to a certain area. I had a weird rattle but it was the bearing in the aternator had gone and the fins were hitting the casing. Only happend when I revved it as the belt was pulling alt out of alignment. Alasdair

If its done 90k then I would replace waterpump anyway as it hasn't had much service history and could probably do with a new chain and coolant change. Not sure on the 1.4 but does it have chain driven oil pump balance shaft like the 1.2 ? I have read they are prone to wear and can cause rattling noise. Alasdair

When my son got his MK1 it had much bigger tyres that just fitted and no more. It handled terribly. Speedo was way out and was like trying to drive a space hopper. Scared the hell out of me so fitted standard tyres ASAP. Alasdair

I would ask who ever reconditioned engine to check it over. Check the intercooler plus pipes as well. Mine started using oil but no leaks or smoke from exhaust when driving or oil in coolant but intercooler pipes were full. Turbo seals were failing and dumping it there. Only smoked slightly after idling for a while then cleared when driving.

I agree a decent body shop would be able to straighten it out as long as theres no chassis damage. Get a second hand bumper etc and repair it. Might be worth getting a few quotes to see how much including second hand bumper and paint etc. Alasdair

Normally hire cars are full when you get them. Garage may assume that you didn't fill it up. Did you mention it was half full when you picked up car or is it noted on the hire agreement? Think they hold 45 litres full. Alasdair

Could be the battery. Check the voltage etc and put it on charge for a while and see if it improves. If its low on voltage it could be affecting motor and electronic controller. Alasdair

On my Octavia the wiper won't work if the boot is open. I assume theres a switch in the boot lock mechanism. Caught me out before including the front. Alasdair

The only time I removed and blanked rear wiper was for MOT as it had failed. Replaced it within a few days as the build up of dirt on rear window was really bad. I doubt it would show up any error codes. Mine is at moment disconnected while waiting for a new one again!! and no probs apart from not being able to see out the back. I'm used to driving vans so tend to use side mirrors a lot more. Alasdair

Hopefully you get a decent amount for it if they right it off. Same thing happened to my folks Fabia. Postie hit it side on and bent door pillar. Saying that I was surprised how much they got for it. Insurance guy said that they tend to hold their value quite well and even he was surprised. Alasdair

Not at all. If the temp is rising I would want to know as if it gets to the point an alarm or light comes on and you can't find a safe place to stop its not good. The old Toyota lucida I had had the temp sensor at front of engine but rear was always hotter so if it overheated they were prone to cracking cylinder heads between the valves. I also had an extra alarm that told me if the temp was rising quickly as the guage tended to show a lower temp than it was and was very slow to react. Never had a car without one. Alasdair

Not sure about INA . I always fit Gates and haave never had a problem on any of my cars going back 35 years. I am old school and still change them at 50,000 or 5 years. I know a lot of folk say longer but I like to be on the safe side. I also change any belt on any car I buy as soon as I can. (obviously not new cars) Have found a few cheap makes fitted in the past. Some I have never heard of. Last one I found was storm or sunny? Alasdair

I got one from ebay years ago for an old toyota that the guage had failed. Only fitted it as the 3CTE engine was prone to overheating. Looked a bit like this one. Not sure of the diameter of pipe on yours and where to fit it. eBay52mm Water Temperature Gauge 40-120℃ W/ 40mm Adaptor Join...High sensitivity and easy operation. 1 x Water Temperature Gauge. Sensor Mounting Thread: NPT 1 / 8 ". 1 x Sensor. Numbers and pointing clearly show the water temperature. Unit: Celsius Degree. Blu...You can also get a cylinder head temp sensor as well. Alasdair

Try Autodoc. They list OEM part numbers for aftermarket subframes. You might be able to cross ref part numbers etc.

If you are having to top up coolant then it must be leaking somewhere. Check oil for emulsification plus coolant tank for oil contamination and any coolant pipes unions plus rad. Another point would be coolant reservoir cap. If its failed it may be dumping coolant out of expansion hose as the engine coolant isn't getting pressurised properly. Check for bubbles in tank as well. (cylinder head gasket) Not sure why it would keep throwing a 1296 code as its normally sensor or thermostat related unless theres two sensors on yours? It could also be on a long shot an airlock if the system has been drained and refilled or the head gasket has gone. Keep squeezing top rad hose with engine running to see if you get any bubbles in expansion tank. Alasdair

Can you trace them back to see where they go. The small one may be a breather pipe. Not sure of the mid sized one. Alasdair