J.R.

Fatigue failure, on the MK2's they fail in the same way but only when they are completely rusted to hell and the material has lost most of its thickness. I would say that they have found a source of even thinner tin foil to make them out of if they are failing when there is no sign of rust, the dished part is a stress raiser but either the material is more brittle or thinner than before, probably the former to permit the latter.

I didn't know, I learn things the hard way, if all else fails RTFM etc! It was a big investment which I could not make today after losing all income but that makes me pleased I did it at the time as I wont be throwing money at the incompetent robbers here, £230 I think and despite my **** ups it has used suprisingly little although I reckon getting the last few kgs out will involve heating.

The grooved side runs on the grooved pulleys, crankshaft, alternator & aircon, the tensioner pulley is smooth & contacts the other (smooth) side of the belt, cant recall if there is a waterpump or idler pulley but the same applies.

Can you explain how the pumped sniffer works & how you use it, leak detection is my next apprentissage. Strangely mine leak, if there was one seems to have healed up after 2 subsequent top ups when my first recharge dropped its pressure, I got into all sorts of problems doing the first one through overfilling using the cylinder inverted, the pump hydraulicing, swiftly venting pressure & hence losing track of the weight charged. It then dropped pressure fairly quickly 1 I topped up twice using the guages as by then I had no idea of what weight was in the system. Its possible that somewhere along the line some air got in, does air have a lower particle size (or is it molecular weight?) than the refrigerant and more likely to leak out of hoses seals etc than the refrigerant gas? I know if I air test any plumbing I have done (dangerous, I get as much water in the system as I can first) that the test guage will gradually drop over 24 hours but a proper leak would lose the pressure much sooner, if I fill the system with water, purge the air, connect the guage and close the mains valve the pressure does not drop off, if it did there would be a water leak, could it be the same with air in an AC system?

I had a UK mot done before reregistering the Yeti in France, my pal who is the tester picked up that a foglight beam was too high (probably from the accident) and adjusted it. I have also had the same during a CT test in France on the Octavia so I know they put the beam tester on them and assume its part of the test régime but the French CT guy is a friend also so maybe not. Certainly if misaligned they are equally problematic to oncoming traffic as misaligned headlamps. Editted. I googled, you are right, ony testable after 2018 and maybe it could be failed under B2 defective lens "such that emitted light is adversely affected"

My Octavia 2 has those OE covers fitted and I once nearly made the mistake of jacking on them. If the Yeti has the same set up I want to replace them with hard rubber adaptors that I can jack under, there is only one place at the front of the car to place an axle stand safely and its the only safe place to jack as well, I dont like lifting on the sill in order to use the axle stand under the suspension point, those 4 factory lifting points seem to be the answer. At the rear its not so bad as I have a towbar that I can jack under. At the front its the undertray that causes all the grief.

I will need to retrofit the rubber parts, I was describing the plastic cap covering the metal location piece spot welded to the floorpan. The bits are expensive but there is something very cheap on Ali-Express for a Tesla which might fit or could be modified, I may give then a try but only if the Yeti has the same lifting points.

Re the toolkit, its removed for the photos but there is actually a hinged rigid plastic divider that seperates the tools in the upper lid from those in the bottom, it holds everything tightly in place when its closed, it is secured in the top part and can be released or removed, it also has a pictorial plan of where everything is and the sizes. The spanners lift out as a complete set in their own carry holder. I bought it for the mixture of 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive normal and deep sockets and also for the crowsfoot spanners which I have yet to use, it all seems very robust & high quality especially the box, its hinges and catches which can all be unscrewed and replaced.

@Wino This is the one that I keep in the boot at all times: https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Bahco-S138-7314150195022-Socket-Set-Of-138-Metric-1-4In-3-8In--1-2 A present that I bought myself even though I am not worthy! Its so comprehensive and such good quality that I rarely get out my proper mechanics tools, I bought the set because i am usually in another country to my workshop. It really was a good buy, I bought it from them because their delivery cost to France was very reasonable for such a heavy item.

In the measuring data if you type 'partic' in the search box it will bring up the measuring blocks you need to measure the soot and ash content. That has saved me no end of hassle in the future, I struggle to read the computer screen in the car (too close) and have to read through seemingly hundreds of parameters ticking the ones that seem relevant, its all to easy to miss some, I did not know there was a search function and/or did not think to use it, thanks a lot!!!

That diagram may have finally resolved the mystery that I had on my MK2 Octavia, I too was looking for jacking points. I recall seeing the factory lift points at the rear and at the front in the position shown on the diagram were 2 round brittle plastic shields with a flat edge, they were let into and flush with those stupid plastic insulator shields which get broken if you use axle stands on the cill seam, I very nearly jacked up on them thinking they were metal. I think I levered one out and there was the round pressed cup shape donut underneath, I could not understand why it was there and why they went to the expense of covering it, being a factory lift point makes complete sense. Now I have to look & see if the Yeti has them and either make or buy some adaptors for my trolley jacks.

Is that a Bahco socket set case that the cap is photographed on? If so you are an even wiser man than I thought

Have a good look and make sure that the heads have not sheared off leaving the threaded shank seized in the aluminium cross member, if the vehicle has only been serviced from above using a vacuum pump then they will probably have sheared the first time someone tried to remove them.

Nobody would know that its there, it would only operate when cranking the engine, you are not modifying the emissions or anything, just allowing it to start.

Yes had exactly the same and some other erratic behaviour as well as sluggish running. It was water ingress through the spindle seizing the mechanism, also the motor bearings had dried out, worked fine and as it should afterwards. Like yours it was an estate, I think on the saloons the water ingress is from the rear washer piping.

I dont understand it like most VCDS terms but it does look significant and also out of place. Have you done any "adaptation" changes?

Just make up a relay circuit to fool the ECU and forget all about the from then on "non problem"

And....... BREATHE!............................................................................😀

At the risk of repeating myself, as I have already explained, either the engine is not turning fast enough for a hot engine start or the ECU does not believe it is. As was said if it isn't turning fast enough then the battery, starter motor and cable connections could each be the problem or contribute towards it, if it is turning fast enough but the ECU is not seeing that then the crankshaft sensor is the suspect. I already explained how you could wire a relay to fool the ECU that the engine is warm but not hot and hence remove the stupid requirement for rapid cranking when hot, without the stupidity the PD engine will start hot or cold with a lazy 1/4 turn on the starter or bump start. The mechanic is clueless if you have asked him the question and a light bulb did not go off in his head.

Yes it was but it was 225k miles.

Same on the Yeti. Is the 6l reserve within that figure?

I just tried to remove the cambelt cover to inspect mine, bit of a failure, far too many emissions pipes running over it preventing its withdrawal and TBH it feels like its catching on something, its all so tight that if it came off it wouldn't go back on so all I could see was the top (back) of the belt and the front side of the teeth, it all looked in good shape. Its done 79K miles in 5 years, I wont be looking again for another couple of years, on my MK1 Octavia Tdi I finally chnaged the belt (belt alone nothing else) at 275K miles when I could see the belt degrading, it was visible from the outside of the belt. Having inspected stripped/snapped belts in the past all those that failed on their own and not due to tensioner bearings etc would have been visibly degraded on inspection prior to the failure.

Signs To Show You May Need a Cambelt Change: If your cambelt has snapped the engine will not be in sync, I would have written that as, if you are driving and feel a jerk, lose all power, hear a rattling noise and see pieces of valve & piston bouncing along the road behind you then you no longer need a cambelt change

Air in the caliper or the ABS block will not cause the brake to drag, in fact putting some in might relieve the problem until it can be resolved. Editted, an airlock could act as a pressure accumulator so perhaps it is feasible, the valve to release the pressure would normally just pass a tiny amount of fluid to remove all residual pressure but if there is effectively an accumulator in the line then it would need to operate for a lot longer than its programmed setting. So I take the above back!!!

The King of darkness was never a good name! Its simply a recognisable name amongst all the Happygoluckymoonstarshinyeasternpromiseyoulikey offerings. What names still have a justified reputation for quality these days? I would say Bosch although their batteries are simply made & rebadged by Varta & sold at a premium. Varta................. And now I am struggling, I dont buy enough to know that the brands that were good quality havn't sold out and now trade on their name reselling cheap parts. Anyone?