Alasdair1

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.

Have a close look at the front struts/springs and top mounts. The creaking sound when steering could be a failed top mount bearing? Had an old van that used to jump to the left and stay there as the top mount was worn/seizing it only did it when turning left. Alasdair

I agree with scaling. Perhaps been topped up with concentrate and tap water instead of distilled. Had same problem on my MK2 so bought another tank. Wasn't expensive but when it arrived the problem stopped so never got round to fitting it. Might be worth a coolant flush if the scaling is bad. Alasdair

Oh well can't be that then. Is the cat still fitted. Just wondering if its restricting the flow/blocked. Try running it on supreme diesel for a couple of tankfulls if your not already if VCDS doesnt find anything. Might be worth a bottle of injector cleaner as well. Long shot but It could be a bad pattern from an injector. Alasdair

Thats not a bad price especially as disposal is around a £5-00. My local garage used to fit new tyres and balance them for me if I bought lunch for the staff but he retired so stuck with the tyre services. Might try some of the part worn sellers to see wwhat price they will give for fitting. Have one locally thats cash only which I got 4 part worn for an old fabia for £100 fitted and balanced to get through an MOT. Alasdair

Just wondering if its a problem with DPF if fitted. Have heard of cars juddering when trying to do regen? It may be a bad engine mount as well but I would have thought it would be present at lower gears unless its speed/torque related. Hope VCDS helps. Alasdair

If your getting them mail order(no fitting) make sure your local tyre services will fit them or you know someone who will. All of mine now fit new tyres they supply themselves or charge a fortune. Mate found out after ordering from Oponeo.

Better than getting stuck in the sunroof. Alasdair

I assume you mean opening the bonnet lever rather than the one in the car. Just put it in neutral and push it back a bit. Get the builders to help if there still there. Alasdair

Glad you got it sorted. Just don't lock it again until you know what went wrong. Alasdair

Try spraying wd40 or similar into drivers door key hole. It may be seized due to lack of use. You could also try and pull window down a little bit. Put on rubber gloves to get a grip of the glass and see if you can hit the unlock button inside the car with a stiff bit of wire or similar. Alasdair

Meant to add that I have had two cars fitted with Michelin when I bought them and both had tyres that went out of shape with plenty of tread and within 5 years from date stamp. Not bulging but almost twisted. Tyre service who are very good said that they get a lot of Michelin tyres like that especially after a few years. Said for an expensive tyre they seem to get them more than others. Alasdair

Budget or cheap tyres are fine for an MOT if your selling the car on. Best option I reckon is to go by personal reccomendation and not by the labels. I find that cheap budget tyres seem to go almost hard and lose there grip after a year. Tried a good few when money was tight or needed them for an MOT. They preformed ok when new but soon lost there grip etc. Personally I would avoid Autogrip,Comforser and Tomket to name a few. I generally go for mid range as I don't drive like I used to anymore and don't have the need for anything better. Alasdair

If your looking for an all season son has GT radial on his MK1 and there excellent. Good grip in wet/snow etc. Think they were around £70-00 fitted. I run GT radial summer on my octavia and have had no problems. Avoid budget comforser I fitted two on the front and first roundabout in the wet went straight on. Wasn't a one of either and I wasn't pushing it at all. Next day went back and got them swapped for GT radial. Kept the comforser as spares. They were good in dry but awful in wet. Tyre service also said that the wet grip rating on some tyre manufacturers tyres is down to the manufacturer and not independantly tested. Alasdair

Maybe VCDS will ping something up. Just wondering if its a failing cam sensor or similar. Alasdair

Not sure but will have another look at gear selector lever mechanism. Gears engage but selecor seems vague and Cast steel arm is slighly rubbing on top of box and seems loose on spindle. You may be correct with all neutrals or perhaps it seized up inside/selected the wrong gear and broke something. Seems fine when manually changing but the play is pretty bad. Got a lot on in the next few days but hope to get a look at it this weekend. Son in law is free then so will hopefully get to the bottom of it. Noticed the gearbox has an internal slave so will check it out as well as the release bearing. Alasdair

Mechanic has removed gearbox but left RHD shaft including transfer box to rear is still in place. I have the LHD flange but the RHD if there is one is still I assume part of the transfer/bevel system. The splines for the RHD are fairly deep into gearbox as the bevel drive is in front and shaft goes deeper. Had a quick look today and tried the following. With Gbox in gear Turning LHD flange and RHD splines turn in opposite direction. No movement at input shaft Turning RHD splines with a dowel and LHD turns in opposite direction. No movement from input shaft. The above are easy to turn but you and can hear a rattly sound. Hold LHD flange and tried to turn turned RHD one either direction. Solid Neither moved with no movement at input shaft. If I rotate input shaft the LHD flange plus RHD rotate. Bevel drive rotates constantly when turning input shaft. Hope the above makes sense and many thanks for the input. Noticed today gear selector doesnt seem to spring up properly when selecting gears ansd feels loose. Will be back once I have time. Thanks again Alasdair

Had loss of coolant on an old toyota and couldn't work it out. Not much at all but tank level would drop very slowly over a week or two. Couldn't find any noticeable leaks so I tied a plastic juice bottle onto end of expansion tank hose and after a day or two it had some coolant in it. Car wasn't over heating either. New cap and it was sorted. Alasdair