bigjohn

Owatrol is a fantastic rust inhibitor that kind of looks like engine oil (be it in cans or aerosol) and sets to a kind of resin. I've used on suspension components including spring cups etc, inside wings (inner/outer), on steel sumps, body seams that are just starting to pick up rust. It is possible to paint over, it's also possible to add it to paint! I've used Waxoyl in the past but I've found if on external surfaces it washes off. Internally within sections I also had issues as it didn't really soak in to rust but kind of sat on top - angle ground out some sections cut out to repair with evidence of blobs of Waxoyl plopped on top of laminated rust. I had much more success mixing it with clean engine oil - and spraying into sections - saw a car recently that I'd restored in about 1988. Rust proofing still performing well. These days as well as Owatrol I'm a fan of Dinitrol within chassis/sections/sills/ door/boot/bonnet bottoms etc. Two Owatrol examples - photo's just taken! I painted Owatrol on Mrs BJ's 2006 Panda sump that was steel and starting to badly rust about 5 years ago - It's held it ever since. ok. I rescued a present Mrs BJ had got from a friend many moons ago (possibly a decade) that had awful surface rust after it's first night outside. A clean and literally a wipe over with Owatrol has preserved it (more or less) since

My recommendation on surface rust like that is Owatrol Oil :- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0038LWMFY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Magic stuff

Hose is rotten - time for replacement

When I changed the radiator on my mkI Octavia I was surprised as to how little coolant went back in after draining the system from the bottom hose. A lot must have remained in the engine & interior heater. I had a lot left over - everything was fine though. On filling I ran with cap removed until the fans kicked in - squeezing bottom hose carefully every now and again. PS change any O rings.

I thought the N279 valve was for cars with the aux heater - not normally fitted in the uk. It so the auxiliary heater only has to heat the heater matrix and not the whole cooling system. Not sure about the v6 but on my humble 1.4 all pipes lead up towards the coolant tank including a small pipe from the top of the heater pipes so should be self bleeding. Normally after filling you keep squeezing the rad bottom hose to encourage the air out of the system.

To test the speaker itself when disconnected apply a small voltage briefly from a 1.5v battery (eg AA) and see if you hear a click and can you see the cone move a bit. When fitting a replacement make sure the terminals are the correct way round to keep the sound "in phase" - important otherwise it'll sound strange.

In the UK the mkIII isn't available with a 1.8 petrol. The most similar version is the 2.0 tsi gen 3 EA888 which seems to be a much better engine compared to the previous gen fitted to the mkII Superb. Pre OPF (petrol particulate filter) versions have both direct and port fuel injection that helps to reduce particulate emissions and also has a great side effect of reducing the valves potentially carboning up as fuel washes past the valves when port injection is being used.

I err on the safe side so I stick to manufacturer intervals (3 then 2 years thereafter). I used to restore many cars and the hydraulic fluid I've drained from many a car has been frankly awful be it dark brown / milky etc. I also remember doing the brake fluid on my Dad's 1986 Volvo estate in the early 90's - it looked like the master cylinder reservoir was black but it changed colour as the new fluid was bled through. There were also signs of rust in the extracted fluid. The dual circuit light was upset for a few weeks afterwards. Saying that it was an amazing system - each front calliper had two separate circuits! In conclusion 2 years might be a bit OTT but in my experience 6 years is Houston. As it doesn't cost much really I'll stick to OTT.

I've been thinking about this. I think my older mkII Superb EA111 1.4tsi 125ps is fitted with a Single Mass Flywheel and I presumed the later more powerful manual mkIII Superb EA211 1.4tsi had a Dual Mass Flywheel. After a bit of research I'm now not convinced :- https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/03c105269p-flywheel-32125.html. Also I now believe the clutch slave cylinder is external on the 1.4tsi models so unlikely to be a hydraulic fluid leak issue. Probably unrelated but my previous mkI Superb 1.9pd (owned from 18 months old) had a bit of clutch judder first thing in a morning just after a service that went away after a few miles. In addition the oil level on the dipstick dropped fairly quickly down to half way then remained there until the next service. It was almost as if when full on the dipstick it was too full. When out of warranty and I moved servicing / maintenance to my local indy I asked them to slightly underfill when it was serviced I never had clutch judder again. I do wonder if there was a crank rear oil seal weep although it did it from nearly new.

I've used the same seller in the past to buy a fully assembled rear brake drum back plate/shoes/cylinder/springs for my old 2001 Octavia - saved writing the car off at the time.

https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/3t0035411j-bass-speaker-14385.html

Can't really comment since 2019 as once my car was 5 years old and potentially needing front brake replacement etc I moved my servicing to my fabulous local independent garage. Up until 2019 I found them good Indeed.

Is it always juddering in first gear or is it when the car is first used? - I've known condensation cause a bit of judder first drive in a morning on a previous car. Also - any sign of an oil leak or hydraulic fluid leak? I would have thought that DMF failure would be not as likely on an 80k 1.4tsi as the engine has much less torque compared to the bigger diesel versions - never say never though.

Sorry - didn't read correctly - yours is DSG auto so not manual clutch and hydraulic slave cylinder!

I'm not surprised, what happens if it's not the right part - it's a lot of work to pull off the gearbox etc. Are you fitting a new clutch / slave cylinder as well?

After I found out that my old previous 2003 mkI Superb has just badly failed it's MOT re body rot ( looking like it's been caused by trapped water in the sills) - I decided to re examine preserving mine a bit more so I investigated the sills on my mkII. No drains or bungs to speak of along the full length but I have found drain channels at low level front and rear behind the wheel arch liners accessible by removing a bolt or two. I'm glad I found this as on one side the rear drain channel was blocked. Fortunately no evidence of water or rot thus far. I've liberally sprayed DINITROL ML PENETRATOR WAX using the extension spray tube inserted into drain channels each end - it's made a right mess but it seems to have done the job. On a mkII it's really worth checking the front and rear sill drains - and clear out if blocked!

Has the car had the burst silikat bag issue? Is the coolant header tank stamped with "mit silikat"? If the silikat bag fails the contents circulate turning the coolant a muddy colour and blocking fine tubes especially those contained within the heater matrix. Why was the heater core changed? Also could be a good old fashioned air lock.

The wording in the Skoda brochure mentions "VIN plate MAY not show any towing weights " so I suspect it's pot luck. I suspect some models will require upgrades elsewhere to support towing - eg charging system, cooling system etc.. If I ever order a new Skoda I'll try to remember "tow bar prep" as part of the spec - it's not that expensive when an original option.

Has the car lost some settings when the battery was disconnected / replaced?

Is your battery on it's way out? I think there is a self preservation feature that turn's off non essential battery drain items. I seem to remember a thread on this forum some time ago. [EDIT]

I thought you need "towbar preparation" to be able to fit a towbar and it can't be retro fitted? The cars VIN plate also usually reflects this. Might be different with Belgium spec though. [EDIT] From the Scala brochure - https://www.skoda.co.uk/_doc/fec3158f-9dc3-4b41-8d0a-c5faad85f1f5 :- "Tow bar preparation - Please note, if a tow bar or tow bar preparation is not fitted on the car, the VIN plate may not show any towing weights and the car will never be eligible for towing. As such it may not be possible to retrospectively fit a tow bar if the car is not fitted with tow bar preparation at Factory. Please speak to your Retailer to confirm the exact towing eligibility."

Could this be tyres? The Superb II is known for strange wear patterns especially on the rear. Noises such as this can be difficult to pin point - try swapping wheels front to rear / rear to front to see if the noise changes.

The more powerful supercharged/turbo charged version of the 1.4 16v EA111 as fitted to some VAG cars including the petrol vrs Fabia was a disaster area. Known for piston, cam chain, plug failures etc. Despite knowing this reputation I took a chance in 2015 with my turbo only EA111 1.4 Superb as a friend of mine had run a 2011 1.4 Octavia which had been (and still is) really good. The reality is it's now done 100k miles without drama.

Is it ? - My son never has to top up his 2016 Octavia 1.2tsi EA211 with oil. My older 2014 Superb 1.4tsi EA111 doesn't seem to consume much oil. I once topped it up just before a cross continental run as the oil on the dipstick was marginally down. Not done it since. It's now done over 100k miles.

Power steering faults can be a first indication of a failing battery - it's a high current item, as are the headlights. Low voltage does strange things. Just a thought.