Alasdair1

Its not trying to regen the dpf. That can cause strong exhaust smell. Another point perhaps would be the Cat thats failing.

Are they rubbing all the way round or just at certain points. If its just at certain points I would check the trueness of discs. If the pads are new they may be slightly too thick if the piston is wound all the way in until they wear slightly? Alasdair

Had one fail on my old seat when I put it in for tyre change. Local garage managed to remove old bolt by welding a nut onto it. Ditched the offending wheel bolts and replaced with normal. The security socket seemed to be alloy and snapped. Local tyre service hates them. They said they either break them or can't find them in the car. They make a point of handing them back personaly to the customer and advise them to get rid of them and replace with normal bolts. My old volvo ones on the other hand seemed indestructible and were made of steel. Non of my cars have them anymore and nobody has nicked my alloys. A new bolt cost a few quid which is a lot cheaper than getting a broken one removed.

Sorry meant standard spline rather than torq. Brain hasn't woken up properly yet. Alasdair

They may well be triple square spline. VW/Skoda use them quite a lot. Different from torq although they could be torq as well if they have 12 splines. Alasdair

Might be a problem with drivers motor/control unit. On the MK1 the drivers motor controls the passenger side. Sons one passenger side failed closely followed by drivers side. It could also be a failing seized window regulator or motor on the passenger side. The passenger side can seize up as it normally doesn't get used so often.

The droning noise was only when turning at first but then became constant after a while. There wasn't any play in my bearing but just very noisy. If the tyres are wearing on the outside then it could be down to tracking unless the bearing has a lot of play and the steering is trying to compensate. I would change bearing plus check condition of track rod ends/ball joints etc and perhaps get tracking checked. Most good tyre services can do it. Same here re garages. All the decent ones are very busy. There is always the option of a mobile mechanic? although I wouldn't use one unless they were reccomended to me. Same as garages. Alasdair

If you are having trouble straightening it perhaps a local engineering company might be able to help. I straightened one years ago on a mates lathe. Wasn't perfect but it worked. Alasdair

Remembered I got this from Breezy_pete. It shows what I mean re grooved bolt. I couldnt work it out until I saw the pic. Was looking at the head not the surface.

Mine was noisy but less when I turned slightly to left. Was getting a bit of a habit slightly steering left to get rid of noise. The Torque setting depends on the type of hub bolt. There are three. Old style was hex (six sided)which required a massive amount 200Nm plus 180 degrees, Bi Hex (12 sided) without grooving on face of bolt) 200Nm plus 90 Degrees. The one that came with my new bearing was Bi Hex(12 sided) with grooving on face which is a lot less 70Nm plus 90 degrees. Hub to wheel bearing housing bolts if I remember were 70Nm plus 90 degrees.

I used to recon calipers as they were a few years ago expensive to replace plus you had to send the old one back if you bought new ones to get a discount. I now just replace them as they seem to be fairly reasonably priced. Last one for me was about £70 for front and £45 for a rear. VRS might be a bit more.

I used a 3/4 drive with scafold tube to loosen mine as I don't have an impact wrench. It was very very tight. Helpful if someone else can hold socket in place. Alasdair

Doesnt take much to cause a noise. Hopefully its just bedding in. Is there any vibration/wobbling when braking. I had a new disc that was slightly out that caused a noise when driving. I now check they are perfect with a dial guage against disc to make sure they are running true. Similar to this Alasdair

I just did one on a 2012 but should be the same. I replaced hub complete as it was easier. Loosen hub nut with wheel on ground (no more than 90 degrees if not replacing bearing) or get someone to press brakes to lock wheel Removed caliper, disc and hub nut. In theory you can push drive shaft etc back towards Gbox to get to bolts but I ended up removing bottom ball joint and track rod to get in past the gator as I couldnt get square on to the retaing bolts. The bolts are triple square splined. Torq won't fit. I removed ABS sensor as well as I wasn't sure if it would allow the old hub off. Refitting is the reverse but you have to torque hub nut with wheel off the ground as it can damage new bearing if weight is on it before tightening. Make sure you clean any rust etc from socket for new bearing. If you are getting a complete hub it will probably come with new hub bolt. If not get a new hub bolt. Not a bad job but make sure you clean out splined socket bolts to get a proper grip. Last thing you want is to round them and have to drill them out. Meant to add that the front bearing can have 3 or 4 retaining bolts. Make sure you order the correct one. My 08 has 4 but my 12 plate has 3. Hub nut from memory needs a multisplined socket 26mm I think but not sure. Alasdair

I was lucky in a way that it was the master cylinder that had failed. Clutch to floor one day but managed to get it bak up and it was fine. Two days later same and no clutch at all. Only dicovered the leak when it got winched onto truck and fluid came out from undertray. A lot of new cars have an internal slave or external that fits into bell housing so when it leaks it contaminates the clutch. Had a few older cars with an external slave and either rod or lever to operate clutch. Why they stopped making them like that ?? it was to me a much better design as if it leaks then you don't need a new clutch. Alasdair

Ran my car with ABS light on for weeks until I got round to fixing it. Brakes still work but no ABS. If theres only 1psi difference I assume its the sensor thats causing the problem. Alasdair

Always wondered as my Seat has the same system but not the system that has individual sensors in the valves. Turns out it is related to ABS sensors. How it works is beyond me. Perhaps a low pressure tyre reacts differently? As said give the offending sensor a good soak with plus gas or similar if its stuck. I have been using a mix of 50/50 ATF and petrol recently with good results. Hope your car isn't as bad with corosion as mine. Too much salt on the roads for my liking in my part of the world. Wish they would bring back tyres with the steel studs in them and stop using salt. Its death to cars and below -5C doesnt work well anyway.(sorry about the rant) Good luck Alasdair

If you can see the wire that feeds the solanoid from the ignition then you could strip it back slightly and connect another wire to it and touch it to the battery. The solanoid connector cover on mine is just a push fit. Alasdair

If the caliper was really tight to wind in then it may be seizing at a certain point. Normally they retract very slightly after braking but if its sticking the pad will still be in contact with the disc. Also the noise may just be the new pads bedding in. Another check is I have had some pads that need a little file down where they slot into carrier as they were a bit tight. Your brakes look a lot cleaner and in much better condition than mine. Alasdair

Had a look and can't find anyone in uk. Listed as No longer available. Might be worth trying VW/Skoda/Seat to see if there is any old stock anywhere? Another option is to find a blown engine and strip it down. You could try rolling it on a perfectly flat surface and try to straighten it if its not too badly bent. Aasdair

I had problems removing old sensor on mine as it was rusted in. Snapped it when removing but as I was replacing bearing anyway managed to get old bit out. Give it a good soak with penetrating oil for a day or two if its stuck and hopefully it will come out. If it snaps you may have to remove hub/bearing etc to remove broken bit. Check the condition of the connector and wiring as well first as if theres a fault it will put ABS light on. Alasdair

Long shot and sounds daft but try swapping front wheels left to right or if the tyres are directional front to rear. It might be a tyre related probem.

If the struts and top mounts were replaced 10k ago I doubt it would be them.(sorry missed that in the original post May be the bushes in the front wishbone. They are prone to failing but would have thought a garage would have noticed. Could it be a steering rack sensor/problem? If its a dodgy connection broken wires or failing sensor it might be affected by the bumps on the road. Not sure how to test sensor and rack but maybe someone on here can advise.

Funny how batteries seem fine and then suddenly fail completely. Sons was the same started no problem in morning and 1hr later car wouldnt start. AA said probably a cell or two that had failed. We tried charging it and it did look like it was accepting charge but didn't have any reserve power. Enough to start car and that was it. Alasdair

Check the strut top nuts are fully tightened. Mine was knocking after strut change and turrned out the strut top nut had come slightly loose or wasnt tightned properly. Wouldn't do it unless the car was moving.