Alasdair1

Make sure you look very closely at the fuses. As said my sons had a hairline crack which was so fine you couldn,t see it. We missed it the first time and assumed it was a wiring fault. Hope its a simpe fix Alasdair

You would need to get the transponder chip copied but if I remember correctly you used to be able to programme/sync a new fob by inserting into ignition and turning on but not starting. leave for 10 mins and then repeat. It worked on my old Seat but newer cars may need VCDS to assign a second hand fob to car. Still got to be cheaper than a dealer. Perhaaps someone on here near you has VCDS that could help? Had a quick google and found mobile locksmith in durham? https://mobilelocksmithdurham.co.uk/ There are a few others. I would give them a call to see if they can help. Alasdair

Maybe a bad earth thats fine when cold but poor when warm? Check the strip fuses near the battery as well. They can crack but sometimes arent noticeable. My sons ABS one cracked and was fine until car warmed up and warning lights/sound came on. It looked ok until I removed it and it split in two. Alasdair

Check your insurance. My policy will replace keys if lost. Not sure what the excess might be. Another option would be to buy a second hand fob and have new blade cut. A decent car locksmith should be able to copy the transponder. Alasdair

I think there is only a cat and exhaust system on the mk1 probably similar to the Mk2 1.9tdi pd that I have. No DPF fitted. The 1.9tdi pd has a VNT turbo that can seize up due to carbon deposits and my 1.9tdi has an EGR cooler as well. Alasdair

My 1.9tdi pd did the same. (It was actually a Seat altea 1.9tdi but same engine as my MK2 octavia) although the egr was a lot more accesible on it. I cleaned it checked and replaced but still same problem. Limp mode and egr insufficient flow code randomly. I replaced the vaccum control unit but still no joy. On the 1.9tdi pd there is an EGR cooler that can get clogged but in my case there is a vaccum valve on there as well that had failed and was sticking/not opening far enough. Replaced it and seems fine since then. It may be that you will have to remove egr valve and clean on bench but check there isn't another valve if you have the egr cooler on yours which is probably different to mine but may look similar to this part I had to replace.

Glad its fixed . You have had the usual nightmare of getting parts off an older car. At least its back together and no faults so far. Nothing better than a new shiny bit on car and problem solved. Alasdair.

Not sure on the fabia but the octavia has a metal clip system that secures headlight and enables you to pull headlight out which makes it a lot easier to get to bulb. (if its not seized like mine) If its very awkward and halfords say they can do it let them try. Worse case scenario is they cant so you wouldn't have to pay them. Its not too bad on the mk1 1.2 as theres not too much in the way. You would have thought that it would have been designed to be easy but I suppose thats modern cars. On my old Volvo 940 being RWD you could pretty near climb into engine bay to work on it. Loads of space and everything easy to get to . FWD cars seem to be a nightmare. Alasdair

When my sons failed first it would go down a bit by itself when driving. I stopped at lights and tried to lift window and push up button and it shot downwards. I had to drive home with window down in -5C with slush etc hitting me in the side of the head. Managed to get it back up eventually then grinding noise and it seized completely. As said not too bad a job once the door card and panel is removed. Hopefully its a fairl simple fix as your car is a fair bit newer than my sons. I think the repair kit was around £25-00 plus I had to buy the special skoda rivets. From memory they are 6.4mm x 10mm for the MK1 and a bigger rivet gun so not the end of the world when it comes to car parts. Alasdair

The glass slots into a couple of slot/clamps at base and is held in on mine with two bolts. It may have slipped out of them or the cable mechanism has failed. Happened to me when window was frozen and glass stayed put but mechanism went down. The garage should be able to tell once the door card is off. There are holes in the door to access the clamps behind the door card. If its the cables etc then the door would have to be dismantled. They wont need to remove door either way. Alasdair

Probably the window regulator mechanism. My sons mk1 failed as one of the cables snapped andd wrapped themselves round the motor etc. There are plastic wheels that can break as well. Went down and a little bit and then seized. I bought a replacement kit on ebay for it. On the MK1 the steel doorplate is pop riveted on and has to be drilled out to get to the mechanism. You need special rivets to replace and a big rivet gun. Fairly easy to do once its apart. Not sure about inside the MK3 door. Hopefully they have gone back to using bolts rather than rivets. Alasdair

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