Funkystanley

I do carry a medium load (IT kit) in the boot,but can't remember if I had it in when I had the tyres changed/rear wheels aligned. Maybe they adjusted the cam bolts to the full extent with the load in the boot. Perhaps they should have relieved some if the load (ie,maybe Jack the chassis a little) to allow an additional turn or something.

It has independent suspension. He did give me the printout but said he couldn't reach the correct parameters that are required as there was no more adjustment left in the adjusters......which does concern me as the Hunter people might have the same issue.

I had the rear tyres changed about 20k miles back as the inner edges had worn to the canvas. The tyre garage then adjusted the alignment at the rear "the best they could" and said "the rears can't really be adjusted" !! The noise Is apparent at most speeds now. There's no saw tooth wear as yet.

Hi all. Anybody used MGAJaguar (Derby Whell Alignment) and had good/bad results? Took my car in for what I thought to be a failed wheel bearing. The technician said it sounds like uneven tyre wear to him. I've read on here that Hunter are the only way to get all wheels (especially the rear) correctly.

True. SKF have a good reputation so happy to go with them.

I might struggle to find a road in the UK where you can get to take a corner at 60mph, crawling along at 20 seems to be the norm in Britain at present, what with all the roadworks and potholes. I've booked it into a garage and asked if they can diagnose which one is at fault, while up on the ramps....if thats possible.

So, would you say then that the nearside one has failed now or the offside aftermarket one? Would a wheel have to vibrate (which it dosnt, btw) the steering that much to damage a new bearing? I agree that the impact would have probably been the cause of the original failure but do we then think that the aftermarket one has just failed!? Would it be a god idea to buy genuine then?

Hi all Can anyone recommend a good alloy wheel straightener in the Chesterfield/Sheffield area? I hit a kerb (in the snow) two years ago and this led to a front offside wheel bearing failing (droning noise). Had the wheel bearing replaced about a year ago, which cured the droning but now after only a year I’ve got droning from the front end again. I’m thinking that a buckled wheel has caused the bearing to fail again after only a short time but the only problem is, I don’t know which wheel was the one that hit the kerb as I switched front to rear and possibly left to right to work out if it was just a buckle, and now cant remember if I fitted them back as they were. If I swapped left to right then the buckled wheel might have caused the nearside to fail this time, so dont want to replace what might be a good offside bearing. I think the best thing is to get both front checked before having the bearings replaced.

i've got a decent socket set and bought a good set of wobble extension bars in all drive sizes. I also bought a hose circlip clamp/pliers. I think manufacturers are designing cars to require special tools to deter DIY's....suppose its a matter of economics. I'm going to take it to a garage as i dont want to spend any more time, money on special tools (which i might never use again) and dont really have the facilities ( a rainy driveway isnt a pleasant place to work) to carry out the work in any case. I hate to say it....but i have to admit that i've been beaten 😞 Cheers for all your help guys but the credit card is once again gonna have to take a hiding.

Hi MicMac. The video is great but unfortunately the guy misses out a critical part....removing the bottom bolt that hold the stat onto the engine block. Its a PITA to get to!! He skips this bit and the next clip is the butchered part on the bench. Not sure how you can re-install it if you have to butcher the old part. Anybody any ideas? i've taken the day off work to try and get it sorted and got it in bits....this bit has got me foxed 😞

Hi all. I've now got the parts for the swapout. I've managed to get the throttle body off but to get access to the stat housing i believe you have to remove the lower part of the dipstick tube (it certainly looks like it would help access). Anybody got any tips on how to remove the tube? I've read on one thread that they can break due to them being a bit brittle with all the heat fluctuations they go through. The thread also said 'give it a good yank'....dont want to start yanking anything if its going to leave me with broken bits.

Fantastic...thanks MicMac. Does that mean my Octavia has the same engine as a Fabia😬🤭

Had a look but cant get the right model etc. Any tips for a technophobe on searching as its so annoying when you type in 'Octavia2 TDI thermostat replacement' and it brings back 'Golf alternator swapout'...etc.

Thanks for all your help on this guys. I've now got the part and had a quick look under the bonnet and it looks like all of the turbo pipe has to be removed, is this easy? are there any resources showing how to do this please?

Yep,i think you're right Golf-Fiend. Might just double check/have a nosey around with my snakeOscope thing to make sure....got to earn its keep,has my new toy 😉

I dont think it is MicMac. I think it might be the one with a single outlet/feed. Thanks for finding that though....that one did show up when I did a search.

Thanks for the info Wino. It is indeed a CAYC engine.

I'm not sure which engine I've got Matt,how do I check this? Do I need the housing too?was hoping that just the 'stat could be replaced. On a bit of a shoestring budget what with having to have rear brakes replaced after having taken my car back for a slipping clutch which was under warranty (long story😜)

Hi All. Is there anywhere in the UK that sells such a simple item as a coolant thermostat for my 2012 1.6TDI (1Z5 engined) Octavia2? Only place i can find one is through Autodoc, which incurs postage of the same amount as the item!....or E-Bay, which are still delivered from mainland Europe. I suppose VAG would sell them...but are they going to be the same price as the EU sourced item...or more?

Yeah,I'm a bit annoyed about the seized caliper issue....but having read on the forum that this sometimes happens i thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. I have considered getting the AA to inspect it to provide a report but not sure if they actually drive the car or just inspect the parts while the car's standing. Will look into it. Prefer not to have to pay out any more if I can help it.

I'm thinking its BS too J.R.! He also mentioned while chatting not to take roo much notice of the rev counter as these can have slight inaccuracies in any case....but to listen to the engine. I had to refrain from saying 'I can hear the effin revs pick up in line with the rev needle climb too' I don't do any quick shifts (after all,i didnt buy a 1.6 estate to be doing the city circuit of a weekend🤣) but indo give it a progressive but positive push of the pedal from 1500 revs,no torque limiter should stop you from wanting a bit of power when its needed. Took it out again last night and the slipping is back. The slipping has increased over the last five weeks so another 5 weeks of his 'give it some and see how it goes' advice should finally prove the point.

So the outcome of the test drive is....modern TDI's have torque limiters so this is what is making the revs pick up when the turbo kicks in🤨 We drove up a really steep hill (30%) and tried to accelerate in high gears but couldn't slip the clutch. I asked him why i didnt encounter the slipping until recently and he made a comment about some people wanting to make the most of spending a lot of money🤨🤨 After giving the car a good boot round the city centre (he did, not me) i've found that the clutch isnt slipping!!.....so,i'm at a loss as to why this has happened. Going to take it out shortly in case it was just a case of it being hot and binding better.

Thats a great link Matt. Arms me with plenty of info if the investigation goes any deeper (ie, the installer dosnt co-operate) The only thing im concerned with is if an oil seal has failed and contaminated the friction material, although this only used to happen a lot in the days of bell housing mounted engine/gearbox configurations.....not sure about transverse mounted setups.

Thanks Matt. I've just called him and he has agreed to pop out on a test drive with me.