fr1nklyn

Ok, I did mine today, again thanks for the great explanation in this topic! Few things to share: - I wasn’t able to remove the pump plug even after removing the controller, so I replaced the pump o-rings while it was hanging on its wire. - The pump filter wasn’t that bad, but despite that, I removed and cleaned it with break cleaner. - The housing where the pump sits was horrible! There was so much gunk and deposits inside, even thought the haldex oil was changed by the dealer 10k km ago.. The pump and housing should definitely be cleaned as part of the Haldex service. And IMO it should be done every 35-40k km(20-25k miles). Same for the DSG oil.. - I used Ravenol AWD Haldex oil instead of the oem one, that’s my personal preference. I just don’t believe the oem one is good enough, but again this is my opinion. - Pump’s bolts and o-rings can be reused. Change them every next service. The original ones were on 115k km(70k miles) and were absolutely ok - no leaks.

I've heard from several places that MQB platform vehicles like ours are prone to wheel bearing issues. Mine does the same - droning noise at 50 and 80 mph. The tricky moment seems to be how to determine which one is causing issues. Especially when the wheel bearing is in one of the initial failure stages where the vibration isn't observed.

BTW is there anything else which is good to be changed during the 5-year cambelt and waterpump service? Maybe another well known failing part? Old TDIs had the weak thermostat and sometimes temp sensor. I plan to do such service this summer, so it's good to know what else should I ask for.( I plan to do it in Skoda Dealer because they give me 24 months warranty ).

I am very thankful for this topic! I was worries that the DMF is on it’s way... I knew about the engine noise from the vacuum pump when the car is cold and idle, but recently I’ve started to hear some rattling noise occasionally when running and I was thinking it’s not connected to the vacuum pump, but more likely to engine or gearbox. When it happens that rattling can be heard at low engine speed like 1200-1300 rpm. The cars is on 115k kms and it’s fairly uncommon to be the DMF, but I thought it could be a defective clutch pack.. Anyway, I plan to change my timing belt and water pump this summer as a preventive measure, because of all those defective pumps on E288 engines I’ll write if something changes, but it’s unlikely.

Your suspension codes are: G09 which is general code for front shocks and L30 is for the front suspension range, but nothing is mentioned for the rear. I used the tool provided by @Carlston - http://igorweb.org/equidec.aspx G09 = Front shock absorption L30 = Suspension range 30 installation control only, no requirement forecast

Thank you @Carlston! Appreciate your detailed reply

@wallacebob For the rear ones you may need to crawl under the car.. My 16' Scout has no build code for the rear suspension, but only for the front: G10 = Front shock absorption L31 = Suspension range 31 installation control only, no requirement forecast Other codes aren't related at all. The clearance of mine is reduced as well. I'm following this topic with interest. Also wondering are L35 higher than L31 - are they ordered by height or it's just a code abbreviation?( thanks @Carlston :P )

My Scout has the Aux heater as well. It's pretty good feature for cold winter mornings I think it's a standard feature for most of the diesel MK3s. The outside temp should be below 5 Celsius and the HVAC set to 'HI'( ECON disabled ). Car rises rpms and after 2-3 minutes starts to blow warm air. It's not hot, but good enough

It seems a little chilly around you I guess Webasto consumes 1l/hour which also increases your fuel consumption? :/ This consumption isn’t bad at all for these temperatures, even for a diesel!

I would do donuts in this powder every night

Come on, give us some - we have 1 cm... I barely see it. But we expect some cold mornings in the weekend -10 to -13C, we’ll see.

I think I found a good video showing rear diff oil draining( at 2:45 ). Looks pretty easy actually.. The front one isn't shown/explained very well in this video.

Ahh man, everything is such a mess in the 2.0tdi compared to 1.9tdi. I also have A4 1.9 and I don’t even lift it - oil filter is on top and oil can be sucked with an oil pump. For 2.0 oil filter, you may noticed it already, but you can unclip the plastic cable fixation clamp and move it aside. It’s still a mess, even if you remove the oil filter drain plug and let the remaining oil drip for some time... I do change the engine oil every 7500 miles because my car is in kilometers and that’s like 10000km - just pretty easy to remember. The active regenerations make the oil thinner because of the diesel in it, I know what you’re talking about... Ravenol VMP and Amsoil Euro series are good choices in my opinion and you can drive them 10k miles with no issues. Any 507.00 oil labeled as “Full Synthetic” in a German site will do a a good job - in Germany there is a law saying that you cannot label an oil as “Full Synthetic” if it’s not really a such Then you can buy it for reputable dealer in UK.

Ahh thanks! Sounds like a good way to protect your car from the salt I did waxed mine before winter with Soft99 and it’s pretty good or at least my car isn’t getting as dirty as w/o the wax.

Isn't this causing corrosion to your cars? I know that VAG cars are well protected against it, but still, with salt staying there for so long, isn't it harmful? You said auto painting is part of your job, so your opinion carries weight

Don't they use salt in your area or they use those special chemicals which aren't harmful for the cars and roads? I do wash mine because of the salt and maybe because kids get car's dirt on their jackets( no one enlightened them that they can write on the car when it\s dirty, not yet. That would be another reason as well )

Man, these are summer tires.. Even all-season are compromise which you can take in UK and other countries with mild winter. Winter tires are the recommended option. Good that you learnt your lesson. Sorry if I sound like your old grandma

Expecting snow tomorrow morning.. Waiting for it more than Christmas

Got it - same 75w90 oil in the front and rear. About 2,5 liters total. Will do it in the next haldex and DSG service. This time I’ll only do the Haldex with proper filter cleaning and oil change. Thanks all for the great info!

Understood, won’t touch till the car reaches 100k miles. I will do the Haldex once the o-rings and plugs arrive. AFAIK only the oil was changed so dar. Hopefully the pump it’s not on its way already. There is no front diff/transfer box if the car has auto/DSG transmission, right? That’s only for manual?

@Sec8200 is absolutely right. When I was buying mine, Skoda dealer told me the same - known issue with no recall because it's a cosmetic one and doesn't affect engine behavior. Some say that the noise disappears for a while if you replace the oil pump belt, but eventually appears again after 15-20k...

I guess it's lifetime oil because there is nothing mentioned about it in the Skoda Maintenance Guide?

Hi, I plan to do haldex oil change and filter cleaning after seeing how dirty they become after relatively short amount of time. While in there, maybe it's not bad idea to change the diff oil as well, but I couldn't find any guides how to do it? What oil and amount should be used for the diff and tools, seals for replacement, etc? I'm planning to do it on O3 Scout with 70k miles on the clock.. BTW I do hear slight droning/roaring noise when driving at ~50 and 80 mph, hopefully it's not the diff, but a bearing... Will check that after the winter. Thanks!

Yeap, DSG filter looks more accessible on 1.9. Just note that it's good to clean the filter housing as well, since it's done every 30-40k miles.

Do you know what was changed? AFAIK in most cases only the pump fails due to filter clogging. Also did you notice any difference after the fix?