J.R.

Given that the smell seems to be returning when slipping the clutch I would say that Sepulchrave is correct. However in the past circumstances caused me on two occasions to seriously abuse what were good and relatively unworn clutches, once trying to get out of an icey uphill facing car park to get to work, another time reversing a seriously overloaded trailer uphill around a series of jackknifing curves. On both occasions the smell was appalling (the non asbestos linings smell like burning flesh) smoke was pouring out and the clutch slipping, both times I was convinced I had burned out the clutch yet the next day when everything had cooled they gripped like normal and I went on to do many thousands more miles in each car, 150000 miles in the case of the Octavia. There was also a phenomenon where the smell seemed to linger or come back at times, possibly when slipping the clutch again and warming up the linings like reheating a pan of smelly cooking oil. Are the revs rising when the car is struggling in 3rd gear on hills?

No you wont hear it engaging, its a clutchless system, no it wont pump refrigerant if the system pressure is too low. 2 ways to find out: 1 if the A/C cools then its working but in this cold weather its really hard to tell. 2 Find someone with VCDS to check the standby pressure and the pumping pressure if operative.

Would explain the use of the stock VAG response "yours is the only complaint that we have ever recieved" As soon as I saw that I had a feeling that you were wasting your time, now I have seen who is pulling their strings I am convinced. Should be renamed Dishonest John

I (respectfully) disagree Mac, no question that spraying is better for a whole panel repair but for that it will end up being feathered out over a much larger area and silver metallic sprayed patch repairs stand out like a sore thumb especially in a visible area like that. I had to do sideswipe repairs on my Octavia 2 which was the same colour, I actually managed to get away with one fade out on the door bottom, sill & wheelarch but only by using a masking line where the clear stick on protector would normally be and because the door bottom is in shadow, the corner repair on the front bumper looks as sh1te as I expected it to be. The touch ins that I did dont really show, but they need building up in several layers until they are standing proud & then flatting back with worn 1200 grit to level before applying the clear coat then further flatting & polishing. If the OP wants to improve on that he will have to do the above & build up all the touched in areas, alternatively leave as they are, the badge will take the eye from them and we dont have digital zoom function eyes, he has stopped & prevented further corrosion which was the goal.

I have a CFHC Euro 5 engine, I really wish that it was Euro 4, it has not cost me dearly yet but was very low on power & had poor economy until I cleaned all the clag out of the throttle body caused by the incessant EGR operation because sadly mine had already had the emissions fix. Its a great engine and maybe one without the emissions fix would be a good proposition. I have fitted an EGR emulator/simulator to stop the regenerations but because the engine believes that its still happening its doing DPF regens far too frequently which is something I really dont like, they are being triggered by the calculated soot loading and not the measured which is far lower so wasting fuel.

There are no separate VAG part numbers for the shear plate pulleys they are supplied with the compressor, to find one you need to do some Ebay searching, mine came from Lithuanian sellers. On the old school E/M clutch controlled compessors you could buy the clutch & pulley assembly seperate from VAG, it had its own part number.

I had Climatronic on my Octavia 2 and standard aircon on my Yeti, both use the exact same clutchless solenoid valve regulated compressor. The last VAG vehicle that I have ever seen with a clutch operated aircon compresssor was my 2001 MK1 Octavia. I just looked on Ebay using the part number given by the OP (which is slightly different to mine) many second hand OE compressors on there, all clutchless, here is just one as an example: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Audi-Seat-Skoda-06-12-Sanden-A-C-AIR-CON-PUMP-COMPRESSOR-5N0820803/202971439391?epid=13025930192&hash=item2f420a611f:g:xzUAAOSw0P5enseV

Same compressor for both set-ups and yes the pulley can be changed. Its a very large bearing and I am surprised that its noisy, does it sound like tinkling glass when the engine is running beside an object like a wall or shop front? It could simply be the shear plate or the hub splines stripped, a replacement hub & shear plate is an economic repair.

I think that could be very usefull for a future project and something to always keep as a just in case standby, I have bookmarked it, thanks for the info!

If the slabs in question are for a Brookside type patio dont forget to allow another 70kg in your calculations for 2 bags of lime

+ 1 to that. This car forum would be a million times better for having done so, the Brexit and political mudslinging aside it is by far the best forum community I have ever experienced and in stark contrast to most others.

Some of the partners looked Frankenstein like, I can see why the guys wanted a man cave to escape to. Pete Watermans was the best especially what he had cleared out to make room for it and his buddies.

40 years ago now (how time flys) but I loaded some proper council ones in the back of my Suzuki Jeep which had a bone jarring ride on really stiff leaf springs, cant recall how many but it was too many, it didn't seem to noticeably drop on the springs but as soon as I tried to drive off I realised that I had made a big big mistake. The car was never the same after that short drive, suspension and transmission felt & sounded like the vehicle was 20 years old & had been to the moon & back, not the almost brand new vehicle that it was. If you just sit 2 adults on the rear loading lip of an Octavia Estate it is already on the bump stops, you need to get the slabs as far forward as you can to share the load between the axles.

A bit aggressive eh? I shall heed your warning and take it that my advice was not gratefully recieved.

Are they the council street paving slabs? Your first question will be can you even lift one and load it into the vehicle without a helper? Some of them can weigh 80kg. Watch how the springs sag, you will be surprised how few it will be before it's dragging its ar5e like a dog with worms! I bet you chicken out before 7!

I have found that its the suffixes that can make a difference, for trim items they signify the different colours or finishes available. When I phone TPS I like to give them the part number, they will then read back the description and ask if its the correct part but also saying is it suffix AB-AB for matt black or XY-XY for chrome finish?

Given that the battery companies will not accept a battery returned for warranty if its cell voltage is under I think it was 12.2v on the basis that it has been discharged below the limit where it will be damaged I am amazed that they would send out a battery with such a low cell voltage, even if it were to hold a charge it would not last 5 minutes.

The OP stated in an authorative manner that there was one more click left in reserve, are you saying that there are many more?

Absolutely, if Ecomatt had ever removed and replaced the poly-vee belt having to back off the tensioner to do so he would be in no doubt and not suggest that the garage check the tension. The tensioner or idler pulley bearings could screech and I believe that failure of the one way sprag clutch on the alternator pulley can also create a hell of a racket, I had to change the one on my MK1 Octavia, I recall it was really loud and took a long time to diagnose but not the actual noise, although like all of these things if I were presented with an engine making the same noise I would recall it instantly.

Regardless of what the test parameters are you have a problem with your handbrake which will only get worse and you only have one click of reserve travel according to you. How do you even know that it has one more click? In my 45 years of motoring (of which the first 40 cars were complete dogs) the only time I have known how many clicks are available is when the cable has snapped. What you have is not acceptable and should be repaired ASAP. If your footbrake went nearly to the floor before the vehicle braked to a stop would you say its OK because if you push harder there is another 1/2" of pedal travel before hitting the floor?

Kilen or Lesjofors (same company) are excellent, buying from Skoda does not guarantee the same parts as fitted in the factory which is just as well in the case of coil springs, brake discs or brake backplates. Carlston is the oracle when it comes to springs, what he doesn't know is not worth knowing.

Point taken, I agree! Probably on the wrong range.

It has a 200 millivolt DC range so will be perfectly up to the job, sure you could buy better for the money but there is no point discarding that one.

Yes they will be but dont expect to find them using a generic OBDII reader, you will need VCDS or similar. It really will pay for itself in avoiding playing parts bingo not to mention the time saving and avoiding frustration.

All it takes to prove the presence of a leak is to do a pressure test, preferably a hydraulic and not a pneumatic one, that is to say fill the overflow tank to the brim and pressurise the system with water and not air, lock off the valve and wait to see if the pressure drops to zero. You can do this by pneumatic pressure but it takes much longer for the pressure to drop although in doing so it will displace a considerable amount of coolant which will be easier to trace.