Alasdair1

Had a drum brake fail and lock up on my old Merc van when doing 60mph. Not pleasant at all and yes Code Brown is a good description. Wakes you up better than red bull though. Alasdair

I use toolstation AC90 (wd40) but found RP90 (rapid penetrating oil is very good if you leave it to soak) and a little bit of heat. Shame the abs sensor is plastic. As said mine was not coming out in one piece Alasdair

Yes thats whats happened to three of mine. No play just really loud. Was worried it would total itself while driving. Have heard of them seizing solid which isn't good especially if your doing 70mph Alasdair

Many thanks, Car back on road and running perfect. The old bearing didn't seem too bad. No play at all. It had a slight hum/rumble a few days ago but yesterday became very loud so thought it better to change it rather than risk it till Monday. Alasdair

rear wiper is a very common fault. I have had 4 go on me in the last few years and its always been water getting in and the gears/motor seizing. At least there fairly simple to replace. If all thats wrong is the wiper and door reckon you got a bargain. There great fun to drive but you can go through front tyres pretty quickly when you are having fun. Alasdair

Thanks for reply. Mine was so rusted in it just wouldn't come out without snapping. Soaked in wd40 for a few days but no joy. I had bought a new one in case which was only £7-00. Just wondering if there was a way to remove them next time if I am stuck for a replacement. Judging by the bearing and sensor I reckon they could be original so been on for 120k and 10years. I could tap the old bit out as I was changing the bearing anyway. Problem would be if the sensor failed and I snapped it and had to remove bearing to get broken bit out. Alasdair

Fair play to working on BMW. My son in law had an old 530i and everything on it seemed to be seized solid and snap. He kept it for about 2 month gave up and sold it for parts. Pity it was some car. Straight 6 cylinder 3liter and it used to shift. Saying that it had been lowered and had stretch tyres on it and a ridiculous exhaust so he kept getting pulled over. He reckons it had markers on it from previous owner for drifting/antisocial behaviour plus it was gold and windows were so tinted they looked black Hope all goes well with the subframes Alasdair

Hope so. Remember to check what bolts have to be replaced and not reused. If there very rusty then spray with penetrating oil etc and repeat over a few days. I bought a plumbers map gas torch with a small burner head to give them a bit of heat. Its more precise than the larger ones I also use a plumbers heat pad behind to protect paint/wiring/plastic Alasdair

Thanks so much Pete. Couldn't work out what serated meant but I get it now. 70nm plus 90degrees is what I need Didn't think it felt like 200nm plus 180 when I removed old one although it took a 6ft pipe to move it at first. 200nm plus 180 is really tight. Thanks again Alasdair

Not sure will be back in a minute

Hi sorry posted yesterday but no replies. Need the torque and angle tightnening for front hub to drive shaft bolt. Its 12 sided. Car is up on stands and need it for today as we are away tonight. Had to do bearing yesterday as it got really bad over a couple of days. Its a 12 plate estate 1.6tdi Wife not going to be happy if I don't get it back together. Have found 70nm plus 90degrees but confused re different bolts in Haynes Alasdair

Try https://www.wheelfitment.eu/car.html You can search by car or PCD etc and it will give you a list of different car wheels.with same PCD and centre bore plus list offset. You can get centre bore rings if the bore is too large. Just watch the weight/size of original car for wheel loading. Alasdair

Give it a blast of brake cleaner and let dry then leave for a while. It may be leaking as it leaves the reservoir to clutch. I've had a few leak there.

Might be someone close to you with vcds or similar? If the light bright aand goes off and then on its probably not the dash. Alasdair

Be careful with connectors. I would disconnect battery first and leave for a while. Its weird that there are no error codes unless your reader isn't compatible with airbag system for some reason. If the light is on then why no code? Is the light dim or the same brightness as everying else as there have been a good few falts on here that have been down to poor/loose connector at rear of dash causing random lights to come on but not full brightness. I had DPF,Airbag plus foglights and a few others.

Hi there, Just replaced a front bearing and bit confused re torque setting. Haynes manual describes different bolts and different settings. I assume the 1.6tdi is the same as the 1.9tdi as haynes don't cover that engine. Replaced it with an APEC bearing with black multi point bolt. Anyone know the torque setting. I have come up with 200nm plus either 90 or 180 degrees or another setting cant remember but left haynes manual in shed. Bolt looks like this and the one on the car was rediculously tight. Took a 6 foot tube to move it. Also the bolt I have doesnt seem to have threadlock so I am assuming I should I add a little but if its as tight as the original doubt I would need it Alasdair The other was 70nm plus 90 degrees which is a lot less than 200nm plus 180 degrees. Hence the confusion. I assume it depends on the bolt but its a huge difference in torque

Hi there just snapped another ABS sensor trying to remove it to change bearing. Is there a trick to removing them or are they generally rusted in. I bought a new one as its happened twice before but thought I'd ask for future reference. Alasdair

Years ago did an old Fiat. Fairly simple but the head was off for a gasket change. My local garage managed to change valve springs a few years ago by feeding 6mm rope through spark plug hole and then turning engine over slowly so the rope held the valves while they compressed them. Bit tricky but saved taking head off Alasdair

Yep its gone from 0C to 12C today so no annoying chime. Pretty wet but at least its warmer. Roads are really greasy especially at roundabouts. Quite happy though as we got to go to Dunblane on Saturday. Last year we got stuck in snow. Alasdair

I always do mine at 60,000 or 5 years whatever comes sooner. I have always used Gates belts/kits and have had no problems. In the past I have come accross genuine vw belts which seem perfect at 60,000 but the tensioner has started to fail or waterpump starting to leak. 125K is very long for a belt change and unless you were doing huge mileage a year I assume the car would be well out of waranty if it snapped at say 100k. Personally I would get it changed for peace of mind. Last one I did was a 1.9tdi. Got full gates kit from autodoc for around £100 Alasdair

Some of the bolts used in subframes/suspension are stretch bolts and have to be replaced when changing. Not sure of the torque but I assume they are skoda only parts from dealer etc so perhaps make a list and ask them for torque values when purchasing them. I did read if removing sub frame it would require an alignment before tighening bolts. Main probem will be removing old bolts. I would be spraying wd40 or penetratin oil for a good few weeks before atempting removal. If any bolts are inside the chassis try and get some wd40 into them. I had problems before but drilled a small 3mm hole from above/side so I could spray wd40 onto encapsulated bolts. Last thing you want is a snapped bolt or worse the internal fixed nut to start turning. A good rule is 1/3 turn to loosen lubricate and 1/4 back. Takes a while but you generally dont snap things. Do not use an impact driver unless absolutely nessesary. Quickest way to strip/snap things as well as crossthreading. Alasdair

Just ran into town and back. Car upto temp and oil level about 3/4 up mark. First change since I got the car and hasn't lost or used any oil before this oil change Old oil was I reckon well past it. Just wondering if the owner before didn't change oil and just reset service light. Supposed to have a service history but??? No signs of leaks apart from a slight weep around rear of sump. Was just a bit confused why it took a bit more than I expected. Just as well I bought a 5 litre. Many thanks Alasdair

Hi there quick question. How much oil does a 12plate 1.6tdi take. Was told 4.3litres at motorfactors but have just changed it and it took nearly 5 litres. I am asuming it could be that 4.3 doesn't include filter. Checked oil on level surface and its middle of the dipstick so reckon its ok. Did find it particularly annoying that you have to remove some electrics and I a stainless steel pipe to get the filter out. My 1.2 fabia and 1.9tdi Octavia are a lot simpler and easy to get to filter. Why do they design cars this way? Alasdair

Ah now I get it Pete. Loud and nasty is a good description. Didn't think about indicators. Will have a word with my son. Chances are his music is too loud to hear the indicators. Might try a bit of tape anyway. Alasdair

Had a quick look and it looks like the reservoir on a MK3 has a sensor not a float switch. The ones I have seen online don't seem to have wires from the cap. If the sensor has failed it would explain why no warning lights. Alasdair