Alasdair1

Hi quick question. I have a 12 plate 1.6tdi with dpf. What engine oil is reccomended. Cars before had no dpf so used 5w30 fully synthetic think 504 0r 505. Wasnt that fussy as cars were pretty old so used cheapest available. Read that if DPF fitted the oil grade is more critical. Should I use 507? as I now have dpf. Haynes manual doesnt cover the 1.6tdi. Oil gets changed at annual service.

Found this on parts in motion website RH6085 341mm length,99mm dia, 10mm thick RH6402 343mm length,96mm dia,10.3mm thick RH6086 342mm length,96mm dia,10mm thick RH5537 364mm length,111mm dia.11.8mm thick Can't guarantee the above is correct as its just pulled from a website and not the manufacturer. I once changed the springs on our old fiesta and was sold the VAN version without realizing. It ended up looking like a hotrod the rear end was so high and drove like a spacehopper. It was hilarious to look at and drive. Might be worth trying RH6402 as their slight thicker and just slightly longer depending on what you have fitted. A quick phone call to your local skoda dealer as well and see if there is an oem heavy duty option or what should be fitted to yours. As said folks 1.9tdi ambiente must have had HD springs as they carried a huge weight and never had a problem.

Had a quick look on KYB catalogue but no heavy duty ones but Fabia came as a van and as an estate as well as a hatchback so the springs I assume would be heavier duty on the van and estate My folks had the estate and never had a problem with weight and they loaded it to the max. Are you sure the ones you got are for the estate and not the hatchback. Another point would be the rear shocks as well. Have had cars in the past that sat low due to failed shocks. KYB RH6085 - fabia mk1 hatch 1.9tdi KYB RH6402 - fabia mk1 estate 1.9tdi KYB RH6086 - fabia practic 1.9tdi KYB RH5537 - fabia practic heavy duty 1.6tdi Not sure if the above would be interchangeable but the heavy duty ones are thicker at 12mm instead of 10mm You would need to find the dimensions etc Alasdair

It might if the wiring is broken or a bad connection/insulation somewhere that loses continuity when heating up when under more current.

Might be worth while getting it repaired. There are a few companies on line like https://www.revtronic.com Think its about £100 and will repair the unit and keep the coding/data. Not sure which company is best but maybe someone on here can advise. As to bypassing barrel it may be just the switch. Did read on here that mechanic had bypassed one with a button until new switch arrived. The barrel may have a transponder/key reader which will affect the imobilizer. Alasdair

That was from the local motor factors. Had to order in a special lithium battery for him and mercedes had to code it. Suppose thats what you get when you have a mega luxury car. This car has everything you can think of. Its I think an e63 amg estate v8 4litre auto. Problem is he cant afford to run it very much. It was over £80,000 new. in 2015. Nice car but no thanks Alasdair

I hadnt come across them either apart from my ride on lawnmower. I went by the review and guarantee. My mate got a merc e class amg that his dad had. It had been sitting for a year or two and cost him £400 for a battery plus another £100 as car had to be scanned and coded when fitting the new battery by Mercedes. Something to do with intelligent charging?? His mechanic said if its not coded it can damage the new one. Alasdair

I have Yuasa in both my octavia and seat. Their 096 and 76ah 680. Had to buy a battery from local motorfaactors for my sons fabia. It was a lot smaller but cost me £120. Would have order from tayna but he was stranded in town and the AA said his battery was toast and wasn't taking any charge at all. Alasdair

My old skoda had an 027 when I bought it. It was probably fitted as it was a cheaper option by the previous owner. My octavia and seat 1.9tdi both can cope with th 096 and so can my 12 plate 1.6tdi. I have 096 now in all three.

Ended up managing to pull gearbox aside enough to get to clutch etc without having to remove completely. Just left it suspended swinging. Main problem with fabia is the steel plate/gasket between engine and gearbox. It catches the gearbox flange on drivers side. I ended up pulling locating pins from engine and puting them in gearbox so the plate could drop enough to get the flange past it. Was a bit tricky lining it up again but managed it eventually afterwards, as you said raising and lowering a few mm at a time. would have been easier if I had someone else to help raise lower it Not too bad a job but I just took my time. Definitly worth changing slave cylinder while you are at it. Think drive shaft bolts are those triple suare spilne rather than torx etc Alasdair

Agree with above. Problem is getting car high enough to get box out and lifting it back in. Bought a engine cross bar for supporting box and engine which made it a lot easier. Sons fabia could have had two different diameter clutch and they got back to me within the day confirming parts and sizes. Have been fitting LUK clutches for years and had no problems with them. Alasdair

Not sure if your petrol or diesel. Think 096 for diesel and 027 for petrol. Both should fit. I have 096 in both my octavias (diesel) same in an altea xl 1.9tdi. The newer octavia still has the insulated battery cover which is 096 size. Have used Tayna battery a few times and found them a lot cheaper than my local Mfactors and their service was really good. Not sure how the guarantee works. If it fails they may want it back but have had no problems so far. Think mine are yuasa which are about 3 years old Alasdair

I assume 103 supplies power to the glowplugs. I have an old octavia that only has 2 working glowplugs. It starts very well when car is cold unless the weather is really cold and well below 0 degrees. In cold weather -5C- to -10C sometimes runs rough for about 20secs then is fine. I need to replace them. Alasdair

I now understand what you mean by lightbolts. The sparks are either a short or bad connection. Continuous sparking would I think blow fuse or eventually burn out cable at a connector. It will need to be repaired. It could be the glowplug itself or perhaps the wiring that joins them has broken or insulation failed or both. I would replace the wwiring harness. I think you should be able to get a repair kit. Alasdair

Not sure if I am correct but I think the glowplugs are controlled/connected via engine coolant sensor. If its unplugged or failed then they may be staying on for too long hence burnt out wire and blown fuse. Does the temp guage work? Sorry cant be of more help

Not sure but think 103 is glow plug relay. It could be that the glowplug wiring is shorted or failed glow plug thats cause a short. On an old fiat van I had similar and it was the glow plug timer/control unit that had failed. Sorry not sure if the Octavia has one or where it might be. Alasdair

A brake fluid change shouldnt be too bad to do as long as the bleed nipples arent seized. I have never bothered as all my cars are old and have had calipers or flexi replaced at some time and I tend to bleed them for a while afterwards to get new fluid through the system. I normally use penetrating oil for a day or two before hand and then use a little bit of heat on them and a spray of penetrating oil then some more heat to let it soak in. Havent snapped one so far. If I'm fitting new calipers or bleeding old ones I always use a smear of coppaslip grease on the bleed nipples before put them back for future removal. Alasdair

Could be a faulty speed sensor but if its doing it while stationary without engine running maybe the connector at rear of cluster. Is the rev counter working as normal? Alasdair

Hi need to order a front wheel bearing and a few other bits but its coming up with two. One with 3 bolts and also 4 bolts. Cars away at moment for a couple of days and bearing is getting pretty noisy so does anyone know what would be fitted to a 12plate 1.6tdi estate or will I have to wait to check if its 3 or 4 Alasdair

If its still the same as before I would take it back to the garage. If they diagnosed it as camshaft/lifters and did the work they either didn't do it right or misdiagnosed the fault in the first place. Alasdair

I use any odd oil in an old fashioned oil can for lubricating nuts and bolts etc. You can also mix with petrol or kerosene and use as a releasol. I have one of those pump up 1 liter sprayers. Alasdair

Cant see engine oil being used for dpf regen. Its normally diesel only. It must be either being burnt or leaking. If you were burning that amount you would have I reckon a fair bit of blue/grey smoke unless the DPF is catching it and continuosly regenerating? Check that the intercooler pipes arent full of oil as well. Had an old volvo940 that was losing oil and turned out turbo seals had gone and it was being dumped into intercooler and pipes as well as burning it. No DPF on it so was fairly noticeable especially if at idle for a while then loads of blue smoke when taking off Alasdair

Depends on the aftermarket make. Some cheap ones the cv boots don't last. Try https://www.partsinmotion.co.uk/ I have been using them for a while now and find their prices and service are pretty good. Depending on what front calipers you have it may be them. I get a clunk from mine when I reverse. They are ATE and have an external spring. Alasdair

Not sure of clamp but I use blank electrical grommets instead of plugs if I can get the right size. You might be able to find them on https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/ Alasdair

Thats funny we have 58 plate which I was trying to get through another MOT but ran out of time and effort as it was -10C Its rusty so working on its a nightmare. ended up buying a 12 plate 1.6tdi. Hoping to get the old one back on the road though. It was treated as a shed as well but never gave us any real bother plus went like a train. Did a lot for the last MOT but reckon it might need a new rear subframe and maybe (really hope not) a little sill welding . Not too bad a job as long as the old one comes off. Welding another problem. 192K on original clutch is impressive!! My record is 140k on an old volvo 940.