J.R.

Dashboard removal whilst it may seem daunting is actually remarkably simple, I had to remove and replace mine after airbag deployment, I will try and add some photos so that you can judge if you will have enough access to repair the chewed parts. I would not even think of fitting a new loom if the existing one can be repaired, I fitted a new one to a burnt out 1995 Galaxy and even on that I chickened out of dropping the headlining and cut n shut the new loom to the existing undamaged one runing over there.

High side pressures are dependant on ambient temperature and humidity, there is also a difference between the VCDS reading which I think is absolute pressure and the guage pressure reading from my A/C manifold set. You start by measuring the system pressure with the engine not running and you compare that to the charts, if its too low then you need a top up, if thats OK then look at high side readings with the engine idling, AC and blower fans set to maximum cooling, you should see the high side pressure rise to somewhere above the region of what the graphs say (it depends on ambient temp) both fans should cut in and it should then stabilise at the graph pressure. Doing it in the current hot temps is the best time to test, I am going to check mine tomorrow.

I need to buy a big exaggerated cartoon type boxing glove to cover it!

Some lessons you dont forget, to my surprise I have yet to walk into this one (famous last words) but when I do you can be sure the memory will remain and I will develop a reflex action of swerving well wide of the rear of my car. People never park close to me any more but get very agitated when I am reversing towards them, especially as they think I am not looking whereas in fact with my reversing camera I can judge it right up to the point of impact.

Yes they are very firm but suit me well and I find them comfortable after a long journey which I didn't expect.

I have a bag I picked up cheap at a Rédérie, that has shown me where to put the plywood and how to fix the thing to the roof bars. Not having really thought about it I was going to fix the plywood to the bars & then find some way of strapping the bag to it, silly in hindsight. It will probably never get made unless one day I need the bag.

Why is that? Is it oil leakage related?

I am retracting those comments in the light of what more experienced people, yourself included have said. It would be true for any other bearings but given the rotational speed and operating temperature I can see that some play when cold would be needed, I'm just suprised that on such a small diameter shaft you could see it on a video. Every day is a learning day! Have you ever looked at & listened to the rattling of a shut down but slowly rotating aircraft turbine engine with the wind blowing through it? Talk about a bucket of bolts, it doesn't inspire much confidence but that clearance is needed for the same reason.

That looks like a usefull thing to buy and which will probably get used as a material sledge more than on the roof. Once apon a time thats what a real roof rack looked like, anything less was an imposter!

Not unless you want the aluminium cross member threads to corrode even more than they do with the standard zinc plated bolts. Mine are now drilled out and have plastic inserts bonded in place so I can use the same threaded fasteners used for the rest of the undertray, they will never seize again, I can do the whole job with the one Torx bit and wont pick up the wrong fastener from my magnetic tray when working by feel.

Yeti roof bars will take the weight of a Robin helicopter, if you dont freeze the video and look too closely that is!

Thankyou once again for your kind comments.

"Tried all the tricks in the book...................." You have to wonder what the book was dont you!!!! "A hundred and one ways to destroy things with a sledgehammer"

I wish you luck in that case.

Give it a try and you will soon see why I am smiling at your intention Wanna buy some plywood?

If you can see and/or feel movement then the bearings are shot.

Thankyou for your kind words The person was complaining that their clutch released very high up, if that is the case then something is out of tolerance and not within design limits, there is nothing to be gained by depressing the clutch significantly further than the point that it disengages and there is no clutch drag, doing so with a clutch that has an abnormally high biting point will be overthrowing the diaphragm for no good reason, its not likely to break (although I have had one do so) but given the self destructing Sachs clutch diaphragms fitted to many Skodas it should be avoided. The advice that you are telling others to blindly follow when selecting reverse gear was indeed good advice some 30 + years ago before VAG gearboxes had synchromesh on reverse gear.

I dont think that there is a gasket between the bellhousing and the engine and what you have photographed is the weep hole intended to drain away any engine or gearbox oil that finds its way past the seals. I cannot see any JB weld on your photos, there doesn't seem to be enough oil to complain about certainly on a 15 year old car but if the engine mounting is wet that is another matter, perhaps there is another oil leak higher up.

A tenner for one from a MK1 or MK2 Octavia from a breakers, all the MQB vehicles have the same width between the wheel arches, it takes just a small amount of woodworking to make it fit, cutting to length if required (for the Yeti you simply remove one section) changing the rear profile if you are really OCD and modifying the height of the side rails. I have done the above twice on a MK2 Octavia and a Yeti, a very simple DIY job that looks 100% OE when done.

Why on earth are you trying to push the pedal to the floor? You risk overthrowing the pressure plate and its really uncomfortable to control the clutch with the leg bent at a larger angle then necessary. If you are very tall, perhaps too tall for the vehicle I could understand or also if you have a problem with the brakes where you need the full pedal travel to the floor to stop. I will happily swop your problem for mine where frequently the clutch pedal has to go to the floor to declutch and the bite point is very low, been trying to resolve it for months, my final theory is the internal spring in the concentric slave cylinder has broken, I have a new one after replacing everything else more than once but I'm not dropping the transmission to find out, I have found a wat to live with it.

I had that in mind, it was indeed the case but with a specially designed petrol not diesel engine, 3 narrow main bearings, one piston ring, no oil scraper rings, low friction seals etc................... The key thing is that a petrol engine has the best thermal efficiency on a wide open throttle where there are no aspiration losses. These chip tuning companies are remapping diesel engines to produce more boost and consume more fuel to produce more power across an (in my case) extended RPM range, the diesel has no throttle, practically no induction losses, you cannot make them accelerate without adding more fuel, you cannot make them accelerate faster without adding even more fuel, the tuning companys cannot change Newtons 2nd law.

That is contrary to the laws of physics which is why it earned a "laugh" vote from Avocet and myself, it is however par for the course in terms of the idiotic claims they make.

Thats looking favorite, lucky OP if he has one fitted!

So we have "rear sidelights" and "rear daylight running lights", are they not both simply the rear tail lights? Or are there seperate bulbs for these functions? I agree with Root whatever he is calling himself now, if you really feel the need for them then the lack of visibility would dictate that you turn on your headlights. As for disabling the vehicle rear lights when towing that is a daft idea, even brake lights dont dazzle & you would normally be looking forward when braking anyway, the high intensity rear fog light is disabled for good reason but sadly many trailers will not be equipped with one so even that can be a bad thing.

The larger grey blades I thought were insulators, seperators if you like and also to prevent the mating plug from being inserted the wrong way round, the smaller silver ones being the Lucar connectors. Its bugging me because I have come across something similar somewhere. Could the car perhaps have been an emergency services vehicle in a former life, are there any signs of equipment being removed, holes blanked off? Anything signs that something might once have attached to the front of the vehicle? Any cables running around under the bonnet spliced into something else? I am speculating that the vehicle may have once been towed using an A frame and that connector is for using the vehicles lights as trailer lights, I did a similar thing on my Westfield using a standard trailer socket spliced into the loom and a trailing lead with a trailer plug on each end, some of my van trailers have the same system. A trailer socket would be too large and visible but that connector could do the job.