Alasdair1

Sons 06 plate has front and rear mudflaps that look original. Different exhaust though. His is only the 1.2 petrol. Maybe an aftermarket tailpipe?

That was seriously stuck!. Sometimes it just wont come apart no matter what you do. Hopefully you can get the broken stud out eventually. Alasdair

Try some 5w30 oil or ATF rather than plusgas and some heat. I find plusgas/wd40 tends to evaporate when its heated. Alasdair

Bolts look pretty rusty so will probably have seized in alloy. Try some thin oil, leave to soak then heat and when hot more oil and some more heat till oil just starts to boil/bubble and keep repeating. The heat should expaand alloy and let oil into bolts. I use a plumbers heat pad to protect surrounding wiring/plastic etc. I also bought a map gas blow torch with small burner head so I could be more accurate to where the heat is going. Hopefully enough oil will get into bolts to free it off.

I dont suppose there is an OE part number on the old gasket that is readable if its been removed yet or perhaps a Skoda dealership you could contact for the correct part number Alasdair

I assume the different thickneses are if you have had to have head skimmed and by how much. The part number on the new gasket when searched in Vic Reinz cross ref gives OE 038103383E which according to Skodaparts.com is for the octavia 1.9sdi AGP 1997-2000. It may fit the fabia 1.9sdi but not sure what engine code you have. I would use https://web.tecalliance.net/reinz/en/home and see what part numbers they come up with. If the head has to be skimmed then you should be able to choose a slightly thicker gasket. Alasdair

Well done. I have a few bits and pieces created kicking about. Have a cheap socket set that gets welded and abused for exactly the same reasons. Best bit I bought was a flexi extension bar for those nuts and bolts that you cant quite get to

Quick update. Just noticed that the rear offside wheel seems nearer to rear of wheel arch (further back) now than nearside one. Not sure what bush/suspension issue would cause this but it may be causing wobble. Maybe a rear bush has failed or worn. Theres quite a few to choose from. Not talking huge amount and a rough measure its aprox 10-15mm closer to rear of arch on offside than nearside. Car sitting level. Feeling crap at moment so can't face getting under car but will have a look when feeling better. If anyone knows what part of the suspension controls the actual wheel position let me know. I know I have dodgy drop links at rear but I cant think they would affect the rear wheel position. As my old mechanic friend said if its not obvious leave it a while and monitor it and will become clear. Will post on here once I investigate further Alasdair

Thats not a bad price for a genuine new one. Its only about £20 more than the febi equivalent in uk. You can get a Febi 183760 for £40-00 including delivery from Autodoc but how long it would take?? Alasdair

I change mine every 60,000 or 5 years whatever is sooner. Bit earlier than is required but I am paranoid. As yours is 10/11 years old I would do it. Think these days skoda say belt for life but depends on what they mean by lifetime and also how long they expect the car to be on the road. For peace of mind at 89k and 10/11 years old I would change it. Not sure on those engines if it drives water pump as well but there is the tensioner and idle pulley to take in to consideration as well. You could ask your local skoda dealer. I was told for my 1.9tdi on an average mileage of 12k a year it should be changed at around 70,000 or 6 years. Alasdair

I removed mine as well as according to the info I got with the battery there for transit only if I remember. I believe the battery needs to be coded if its start stop. Someone on here may clarify that.

Try touching the battery cables together and leave disconnected over night with battery on charge to make sure its fully 12.6V or higher. Some say it works others don't. Mine was left for a good few weeks over christmas newyear as we didn't need car and it sorted itself when reconnected with a fully charged battery. Its also a long shot or coincidence but it may be the chip reader coil at the ignition barrel thats failed or the transponder in your working key. I always meant to get someone with VCDS etc to remove imobilser from mine in case it happened again. Alasdair

Not sure if it would help but could you remove the dog bone bracket/bush under engine and perhaps gearbox support and support engine. It would allow you to pull engine forward a bit to get more access. I take it its an allen key headed bolt. Soak it in penetrating oil etc as well. Alasdair

Happened to me on a Seat Altea xl. I used the spare key and the imobilser didn't like it and came on. Problem was it wouldn't go off even with the other key. Tried everything and eventually left car for a good while with battery disconected. Charged battery and reconnected and it was back to normal again. AA guy scanned it when it happened and said it could be the ECU that may need reprogrammed or reset but he couldn't access any of the imobilser functions etc. Luckily it seemed to reset itself . If that doesnt work it may need someone with VCDS? Alasdair

Will do. Havent been using it much apart from short journeys. Will need to get it sorted soon as I have a fair few long ones coming up. Not bad with me if your at a steady speed or in town. Only when accelerating 40mph and above.

On my Octavia MK2 FWD the bottom ball joints are definitly left and right. When they are compared together there is a noticeable difference.

Might be an air leak in intake system? Are there any stored fault codes? Alasdair

My 1.9tdi did that before randomly going into limp mode. It sounded a bit like a siren in the distance most of the time but would get noticeably louder.(bit like a blow off valve)before going into limp mode. Turbo actuator was sticking causing I think overboost. Had P0234 fault code. I sprayed it with wd40/penetrating oil and manually operated it for a good while until it freed off. Been fine since then although I did put a couple of bottles of wynns turbo cleaner through the car in case the turbo was carboned up. If your turbo is like mine and variable vane then it could also be that the vanes are carboned up. Alasdair

Yes, Once you remove door card I think there were 3 screws then it pulls out with one wiring connector. I also had to replace window regulator system a short time after as the cable snapped. You have to remove steel plate in door for that. On mine the plate in door is riveted so had to drill out remove Then fitr repair kit. If you have to do it they are special rivets and you need a very heavy duty rivet gun to replace them. Not tricky either but a bit awkward. I got my motor repaired. If you are looking for a second hand one be wary as there are a lot from LHD vehicles on ebay etc. They will not fit a RHD car. Same if ordering from Autodoc etc. Check the part number on the old one first. I cant remember if RHD parts start with 6Q1 or 6Q2 but make sure you get the correct one. The rest of the part number is the same apart from the 1 or 2. Alasdair

I replaced my sons switch first as the easier option but didn't cure the problem. His drivers side window either didn't work or was jittery. Can't remember if the passenger side was jittery as it never really got used. If passenger window is fine with its switch but both windows are jittering with the new switch from drivers side only it may be the motor/control unit unless you got a defective switch which is highly unlikley. Not sure exactly how it works but the drivers door unit controls both passenger and drivers window motors. I would also check the wiring from door pillar to door in case theres a broken wire or bad connection. Alasdair

I assume yours is the same as my sons. One switch on passenger side for its window and two on drivers side. He doesnt have elctric rear windows If the drivers side motor electronics fail it also stops the passenger side as well. My sons passenger window was fine before they both stopped. It was the drivers side that was either jittery or just wouldn't work randomly. I doubt its the window regulator mechanism on both windows as you said its only when the drivers side is used.

Before ordering a new stalk it might be worth trying to bypass the old one to see if it actually is the switch. or use a multimeter to check it. It could be wiring related. I assume the hazard switch bypasses the stalk?? If its not the window switch it could be the drivers side window motor/control that is failing. It supplies and controls the passenger side as well. My sons failed eventually and both windows stopped working. I got it repaired very quickly on here by breezy_pete. Alasdair

Not harsh at all. Its your car and your money. How someone can give a fixed quote without looking/checking or knowing the engine would worry me in the first place. Once got a quote to replace timing belt on a Toyota lucida people carrier. Seemed very fair price until the garage realised that it involved removing front seats and floor pan plus front Aux shaft just to get to timing cover. They had no clue the work that was involved. When I took it in they made up some excuse and said they couldn't do it after all as they thought it was the petrol version even when I had told them it was a 2.2 3cte turbo diesel. Probably just as well they didn't get the job. My local garage(retired now) used to always inspect cars before giving a price unless they had worked on the car before. Alasdair

Your not the first one to miss a blown fuse. Keep a few spare in the car in case it happens again. Fuses will degrade over time and can blow sometimes for no reason. If it blows again then further investigation may be needed. Hopefully it was something simple like a frozen window etc. Alasdair