J.R.

Most faulty wheel speed sensors will still show a plausible resistance but the ECU will log a fault code for no signal or intermittent/implausible signal, the OP has not mentioned this. I agree that a faulty sensor will cause all manner of other warning lights and fault codes, I was getting "no communication with ABS module" which had me scared and would be a right little earner for the unscrupulous garage but it went when the sensor was replaced. To the OP - Have you also had a wheel speed sensor fault code?

Ditto for me, passed test the same year, you had me worried but mine does not expire until I am 70, were you 22 when you passed your test? I have never exchanged mine as I refused to pay again for something that was valid and to keep paying every 10 years. £5 sounds a lot, as much as I paid for my first car, I only earned £16 per week gross.

No need to remove the fuel, the engine will adapt by reacting to the signals from the knock sensor in exactly the same way that it does when using the specified fuel

Do you not mean the Haldex controller?

Stop somewhere safe, leave the engine running at the high tickover, switch off the air conditioning, get out (or open window) and listen/look to see if the cooling fans are running, if they are then its likely to be regenning and you will probably smell it. It should not be regenning that often so the next step would be to have diagnostics done to check the DPF load and the DPF pressure differential sensor. Its 35°c here most days at present and I have noticed my car ticking over several times at 1k rpm at traffic lights but it has not been regenerating, I think possibly me having the AC on max may mean it needs a higher tickover on these hot days, that said the revs did not drop when I switched it off but perhaps it was going through a shut down cycle first. It could be something else for you to try if your weather is as hot and you are maxing out the aircon.

I replied earlier but for whatever reason it has not posted. I dont know where you get the idea that I was advocating a replacement axle, I was suggesting that it be realigned to the thrust axis of the vehicle if that can be done with a live axle like it can with the IRS version to get equal toe on each side before shimming to reduce the excessive toe angle.

I never got to contribute any more to this thread because unbeknown to me the 2nd dose of Covid I thought I was suffering from turned out to be a massive bacterial infection to the head which put me in intensive care for a week.

Another question for the OP. Does the car have the all singing & dancing "coded" towbar electrics? If so then maybe the fact that it is detecting a trailer attached (by the insertion of the lighting socket) is for some reason triggering this anomaly, almost certainly in conjunction with something else misbehaving. I suggest that you try towing a similar weight but for the test do not connect the lighting plug, if the problem does not manifest then we will be one step closer to nailing it down.

No I did not suggest that the wheel was off the ground or spinning, I theorised that for some reason possibly a malfunction of a wheel speed sensor that the system might be activated. The OP said that he was walking beside the car, the wheel would not have been off the ground and the car not accelerating to spin the wheel. Editted, I can see now that I did not put my thoughts over coherently, I was in a rush before going out, I neglected to write that for some reason the system is acting as if it had lost traction but I did say later "but I cannot see why it is happening"

Nobody has said that the front wheel is spinning. Vehicle does not know how much nose weight is on the tow ball and mine at least does not know whether the springs are on the bump stops or at full extension.

None. The different sized tyres may well have the same or very close rolling diameter.

No wonder they outsourced the customer service function.

Get someone to walk beside the vehicle watching the front brake disc and caliper to prove or disprove my hypothesis, if its not that they will be able to localise the sound better than you from the drivers seat.

I know what it sounds like and what I think it is but have no suggestion as to why it is happening. I believe and others may correct me here, that if the left front wheel has no traction lets say offroad you are cross axled and the wheel is off the ground, then there would be no drive to the rear wheels because that comes from the bevel drive from the right driveshaft which would be stationary while the left wheel was spinning freely. To counteract this the ABS controller will brake (severely) the left front wheel thus allowing drive to the other 3 wheels. My MK1 Octavia used the same system for traction control and it made a horrible graunching sound each time it cut in from when pulling across a junction smartly if the road conditions were greasy. If you are pulling away against a severe braking force on the left front wheel front brake it would sound as you describe but I cannot see why it is happening, have you had any warning lights on for ABS, Traction Control, ESP, TPMS etc?

I'm not surprised there was an unholy screeching, you are supposed to carry the horse in the trailer not attach it to the back of it! If you are lucky you might just get away with new horseshoes on the front end.

The toe in is fixed by the manufacture of the axle unless someone has already been playing around with shims, I called it shonky because one degree fifty minutes of toe in on a non driven rear axle is shonky! The axle is also misaligned, correcting that will not reduce the toe in but should make each side equal.

How much? That will give a clue as to what you will be getting.

I would unless it was a driven axle.

With independant rear suspension yes, you have a beam axle and a shonky one at that given the excessive amount of toe in. It is also not centralised so the vehicle is crabbing, OK its within the specified limits but for a modified car you want it central especially before you start adding toe out shims.

How do you manage to mark a number, letter and a photograph onto the locking wheel bolt head and isn't that just giving a thief all the info they could want?

Thats what the diagram indicates, the torsion spring will rotate the brake pedal shaft bringing the brake pedal up, the other spring looks like it pulls the clutch pedal down taking up the slack in the cable, I am assuming that its a cable clutch.

It will bring up a non comm fault code on a VCDS or VAG scan, ideally the alarm needs removing from the installation list.

Did you buy the keys cut and programmed for the vehicle? I'm not sure if they will start the car without it being connected to their computer, I'm pretty sure it has to be for the old keys to become voided and inoperative. That is based on my discussions with a French Skoda main dealer when I wanted an additional second key, I still had the first functioning key, in the end I took the cheaper and less hassle route for me of two cloned keys.

Damp with what, hydraulic fluid or water & rust? If the former you need to trace the source of the leak as replacing the pipe might do nothing. If the latter you could remove the rust and use an acidic rust convertor primer and a protective topcoat, no need to replace unless they are leaking. The former could equally be spillage from engine oil filling.

Deleted, I was asking you to confirm that the electrode and not the outside of the plug was oily, I can see the question was already asked and you have done so.