micro

And finally closure, job finished, had an extra crank seal that needed replacing also as mine was leaking. The verdict is: The old water pump appears to be faulty, looking at resources online. Took the solenoid off, and the diverter sleeve appeared to be stuck at a slight angle (with the impeller and metal surfaces covered in that orange scale I found inside my coolant reservoir). A bit of prying with a screwdriver and it popped back by itself, but always sticking back towards the top of it's travel.

Hi mate, I've had a good push/pull of the aircon pulley and nothing seems out of place. It's gone in to have the belt/water pump done at a VW dealer, and i've asked for the water pump to be retained so I can see it. A good deal on it really too, they beat the fixed price of Skoda/VW even after Skoda's "you need to do this" discount of £60. And for some more good news, since refilling the coolant i've lost none, so hopefully just lost some to evaporation because the cap wasn't fully shut. - micro

Funnily enough a flyer through the door today, code CAM10 with Skoda and 10% off cambelt and waterpump. Unfortunately with the service and MOT, we're still hitting £7-800... looks like lots of overtime is going to need to be done for next month!

Well, that's exactly what I thought I was doing. Which in my mind should not be possible... I've noted the coolant level and will keep an eye on it I've inquired with some local garages as to cost and availability!

Bag removal went really without a hitch (so far!), removed the reservoir from the car and tipped it as I removed the two hoses, then proceeded to tip it the other way and douse myself and the drive in coolant Only damage caused to the bag was by me on removal (although there is an orange scale that i've managed to remove some of inside the reservoir on cleaning it). Having had the bonnet open and running the engine, i've noticed a weird "grumbly" noise coming from the drivers side. It's a bit weird, and doesn't seem to overly change at increasing rpms. You might be able to hear it in the video behind the normal engine noise. Something that was a bit un-nerving was that putting even slight pressure on one of the side covers (the cover physically moves in a small amount) causes a rubbing sound (like a pulley rubbing on the cover). Water pump suggestion immediately springs to mind :( Engine_Trim.mp4

Hi Nick, Haven't topped up the coolant since I checked on Thursday, and although I was sure the ground was relatively level, i've checked it again and it's back half-way between the min/max, and looks fairly level in the reservoir (this time on the drive at home, which is level). The only difference is today i've checked it whilst the engine is warm, and the engine would have been cold on Thursday. I've had a look round the engine bay, and aside from a bit of water/dirt on the undertray (believed from todays rain and driving), there are no telltale skid marks anywhere on the engine. Coolant reservoir off tomorrow to remove the bag and then will top-up with diluted G13 (which is surprisingly purple compared to the coolant already in the reservoir...).

I'll have a good look around tonight and tomorrow, if nothing i'll monitor and ask the garage to inspect the water pump when they do the timing belt. Cheers!

Hey guys! Nearly 2 years on from buying my Octavia, and the big bills are starting to come in (Timing belt/etc due August). I've noticed over the past 12 months i've had to top the coolant up as was just below the min line - topped up to mid-way between min-max and it was then good again for another 6-9 months. We're back below the min line again. Probably covered 7-8000 miles in that time. I can't see any *obvious* leaks, although I did realise the cap wasn't fully screwed on (had another 3/4 turn before it clicked shut). I've also got the silicate bag so that is going to be removed first thing Sunday morning when I have some coolant to replace what i'll lose removing the tank - the bag looks intact, and coolant a clear pink colour. Is there anywhere in particular that tends to leak? The heaters are warm, the engine warms up and runs fine, no error codes, etc. Or does this just sound like a bit of loss to atmosphere (through cap)? My previous car never needed topping up, although had it's coolant replaced fairly regularly I believe by the garage doing the servicing.

I looked for any options to flip the video - but when I found out that the lines were from the camera not the MIBII head unit then definitely camera at fault. I had those options on my previous Android based head unit.

And our survey says - dodgy camera. The red wire in the signal cable that comes out of the inline connector measures at 12V, and is definitely a power wire. Not sure whether it could have touched bodywork where it was mounted and heatshrunk, but was exploring all options. Tested with a TV and 12V DC power adapter The camera popped up, indeed lines on the bottom, and camera image flipped, with the inline connector getting extremely hot in the process. Joined the wires directly (removed the inline connector), and the camera popped up again then went *poof* permanently. Opened the camera module up to find, seemingly, good build quality with the entire unit potted in a soft rubbery compound, except for where the wires had been soldered. There is a visible char mark on the 12v+ wire, and not beyond the realms of possibility that the positive wire has been intermittently touching nearby components. My theory is that the inline connector has been high enough resistance to keep the current low enough that it hasn't just gone immediately poof before. Luckily it appears that my park pilot system is intact in the car - have had to de-code the reversing camera as otherwise the OPS screen gets confused as there is no camera signal then goes "Park pilot unavailable". Have ordered another camera from a different supplier on AliExpress, supposedly marked as a "Pro" version. The pictures show them using standard phono plugs for the video line and DC barrel jack for power, but then so did the original camera then came with the inline connector!

Hey guys! My reverse camera has had flickery lines for a bit then totally cut out a few days ago. Occasionally it'd come back, but then go again. It's an AliExpress boot handle special. Removed the rear trim from the tailgate and reconnected the signal ground wire which had broken - connected it all up and started the car again... the camera image is perfect BUT vertically inverted (park pilot buttons and guide lines are all the correct way up). Had a quick look in OBDEleven but the coding is all how i've left it. Did notice the slimline inline 4pin connector was getting warm (probably 30 degrees C or so) when powered, so am probably going to cut that connector out and splice the wires together. There is a red wire coming from the camera which I had left disconnected originally, but it feasibly could have touched bodywork - maybe an option wire?). Not sure if anyone had seen this before and had the solution or not! Cheers