R_Blue

What do you think about this project? http://ok2jnj.ok2kld.cz/ok2jnj/cs/2014/12/mikropocitac-ve-favoritu/ It's complete with circuit board blueprints and source files for the controller IC. Ready to be built. Google translate:

Could I kindly ask more detail about those disabling failure modes please? Maybe I can be prepared. "Kettering arc distributor" thanks for the official name.

My car was already modified like this when I bought it. I've learned that, this is a common modification for these cars. Mine had been installed a Renault 12 distributor along with its ignition coil. From what I learned they make it "fit" by machining some parts of the distributor but I don't know how it's exactly done. I've searched advantages or disadvantages of this modification and its very mixed. I've read other users comments about this modification and why they preferred this mod. They say, electronic ignition was a "time bomb". Failure was sudden and would sure leave you on the road. It could go bad from any minute after installation. Even if it was new. Because, original parts were not available any more and aftermarket parts were unreliable. As long as you lubricate properly and keep a sand paper at hand, you would not face an immobilizing failure. I've asked my mechanic about difference of my car's current contact breaker distributor and the original one. He sad this mod was **** AND he had one original distributor in his stash. Asked price was one fifth of a used 1.3 engine. (Just for the distributor alone.) I wonder what do you think about this mod? Fuel economy? Performance? Vacuum advance is not present in this distributor too.

Thanks for the answer. I didn't know about '91 Felicia prototype. I've found pictures of it. Looks like a Citroen BX from front. I think they would couple it with the prototype 1.6 100Hp Škoda engine if they had the funds.

@Papez you are very knowledgeable about cars and their history too. I enjoy reading your posts. It seems, the engineers who built these cars had to overcome a lot more challenges than just the technical issues. Learning these facts, makes you look to your car with more respect. I don't know this was discussed before but I read from multiple sources about a dispute about Favorit sedan prototype that postponed all project. There are pictures of that sedan too. Do you know who wanted a sedan and who hated that idea and why?

I've found the answer in the comments below that video. Google translate: If this information is right; this commenter says, oil cleaning system change was done with the Fabia 1.4 engine. (Final version of our engine) I also know that, user fault might cause larger amounts of unfiltered oil pass. There is a safety valve inside of the oil filter. If you don't change your oil filter regularly, eventually it will clog. When the oil pressure exceeds safety valve pressure level, it opens and lets all unfiltered oil circulate into the engine. These were negative highlights in the video. These are small downsides of the older design. Don't get too attached to these problems. Other than that, lots of praises about build quality. His final word was: The engine is so good that, it's discontinuation is not fair. 👍

I don't know if you are referring to this but maybe it's related. When I got my car, there was always some oil around speedometer cable entry area. When I unplugged it, there wasn't an O-ring around this part. After installing an O-ring, oil spillage around there is completely gone.

I totally agree with you here. Even before the Favorit. Estelle was something to behold. I didn't know how successful the Skoda cars were. This is from wikipedia: "The 1.3 Skoda Estelle was an unlikely hero of the Rallying world in the '70s and '80s. The Škoda Motorsport works team won their class for 17 years running on the RAC Rally, and also claimed class wins on many other world and European championship rallies. Many of the team's drivers were selected from among the company's staff, although foreign professionals did drive for Škoda as well, most notably Norwegian driver John Haugland. " I think the most important part here is, in the past there was more options to choose from. Different brands, different models and more importantly, wider price band. Every brand had its own soul, its own characteristics. Nowadays all cars look the same. Even the cars which had a linage from the past are not loyal to their roots. Look at the current VW polos for example. The are just huge. I felt just the same as you after watching video. Simple, but good quality. Built to withstand to the test of the time.

He starts with the general engine design is ancient. 50s technology. But generally he is praising the build quality. Major drawbacks from what I've understood are: timing chain without tension, oil filter mount design can mix dirty and clean oil. I think he has some negative comment about engine head, here and there. He is comparing the engine with Moskvitch and Zhiguli engines and this engine has better quality. I think somewhere he says, if this was a Moskvitch, cracked parts, slipped bolt threads would have happened when disassembling. He is telling about how the oil pump pressure is regulated. He goes into very detail. So closing words, this "comrade" says: The engine is so good that, it's discontinuation is not fair.

Does this happen only on cold starts or when you start the engine when it's hot too?

I've found this video. It's related to your conversation right now. Skoda engine is on the hook and it's been inspected. Also the mechanic is commenting on differences with same era Russian engines.

Another update: BAD news for me. GOOD news for you. But first, the brake booster parts: part number Description Remark ST Model data individual parts for brake servo 2 114595801 diaphragm 1 A 3 114595162 piston 1 A 5 114595784 compensation washer 1 A 6 114595770 disc 1 A 7 114595671 spring 08.76 - 06.82 1 A (7) 114595672 spring 07.82 - 12.89 1 A 8 114595800 seal 1 A 9 114595761 retaining ring 1 A 10 114595783 spacer 1 A 12 114595222 non-return valve 1 A 18 933201622 seal ring 16X2 1 A 20 114595741 stop buffer 1 A 21 114595785 underlay 08.76 - 12.89 1 A 22 954038107 seal ring G38X50X7 1 A 23 114595221 valve 1 A 24 114595120 dust cap 1 A 25 114595350 gaiter 1 A 26 no longer available 08.76 - 07.83 1 A 26A 114595311 slide rod 08.83 - 12.89 1 A 28 114595900 seal 08.76 - 07.83 1 A 30 114595710 ring 09.83 - 12.89 50MM 1 A Inspecting the old brake booster today, I've discovered this: (Output rod seal. No:8 on the list above) The most important part is the main diaphragm. In my case, main diaphragm might be intact. I don't know. But this seal is ruptured and it will leak air for sure. Searching for the parts, I've discovered that, parts stores are selling this seal for $1.5. It's a set with retaining ring. (Codes: 114595800 and 114595761) They use this same part for Renault 12 and Fiat 131 too. So it's not hard to find. This is one of the cheap fixes that the mechanics could use to charge you $$$ and if you are leaving the old parts with the mechanic. They will repair it with a $1.5 part, and sell it for more $$$. If you have a hissing brake booster, remove the master cylinder, check this part when the engine is running. If this seal is defective. You are lucky. You can replace it in minutes for $1.5. No need to replace the whole brake booster and save lots of $$$.

Thanks!. Good to know. I'm making a list of missing tools that you advised. One by one I'll complete the list. Did you see a another problem than the raised strut?

You are welcome. For unavailable parts, there are usually known substitutes from other cars. Parts sellers know this and keep that parts stocked too. For example rear door rubber for Favorit is unavailable. Common substitute is Lada Samara rear door rubber. It's a only a little shorter but you can always add that small part from your old rubber. Cars are horribly, disgustingly expensive so, many people can't throw their cars away. That makes spare part business lucrative. Forum says I've reached my reaction level for today but I will add them tomorrow. So this is escalated to DIY or DIE for me. Thanks! That was a relief.

The input rod is not forced in any direction now. There is only 1-2mm play from the pedal pin and rod's eye. You think this is correct connection for input rod? It is softer than before. Also how a properly adjusted output rod should feel? Could you describe it somehow?

When I separated the input rod from brake pedal, the rod popped towards me like the full diameter of the pin on the brake pedal. So if had to install that in the same way, I had to press hard on the input rod to be able to get the brake pedal pin inside. This is how it was installed. The brakes were grabbing after that mechanic's work. I didn't know about input rod adjustment back then so I adjusted the output rod. I think I compensated that by adjusting the output rod. Now we did it all ourselves from scratch.

About LPG right? I forgot that. I'm still hunting for a an electrical failure that affects front LPG shut-off valve. Sometimes it won't open. I've found bad connections, corroded stuff etc. but that still happens. I've replaced some of the cables, especially the chassis connections. Still couldn't find the root cause. There is 12V at the input of the valve but randomly it refuses to open. Maybe it's the valve itself. It's ten years old. I wish you were here to test it for me. This is one of the hard to describe situations. The pedal is softer than before. That 5cm movement I mean not before actual grabbing of the brakes but where it gets really hard. When engine is running and the car is rolling on the road, brakes start to act after 1.5-2cm of movement of the brake pedal. The is a little free play like 1-2mm inside of the input rod pin. I can easily make it zero. This will reduce the initial movement further. If your Felicia's brake booster mounting plate is just like this, I'm afraid you have to. The is a separate part installed on the brake booster plate. The groove of that part is not large enough to allow sliding the head of the clutch cable. There is a weird design. That clutch cable groove's single bolt is resting between the plate itself and the firewall! There is a recess on the firewall for the bolt's head. From what I've learned, one must remove the clutch cable cotter pin, brake pedal C clip and separate the input rod from brake pedal. Then, you can loosen the brake booster plate nuts just to give enough clearance to reach that clutch groove bolt. This job requires 2 people. Luckily, your Felly semms to have a different brake booster mounting plate. https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/felicia/fel/2000-101/6/612-612000/

See. I've told you. Made by Hephaestus!

Very impressive. Thanks for the information.

The brake booster had started to effect the mix ratio in idle so we had to repair ASAP. On a bargain hunt, we have found a new brake booster as low as $40. Considering the car's downtime cost, renewal seemed a viable solution. In a very narrow time window, we have changed the brake booster. Before the change: I started by removing the battery (-), vacuum hose and removing this cotter pin holding the clutch cable: Then, brake pedal C clip: (Picture is taken after the assembly) (I also removed one of the brake light switch's cable.) After removing C clip, it was very difficult to move the input rod. I had to pry with with a screwdriver. After the release, the input rod jumped out of its position a good 0.5cm. After this, I removed the three nuts holding the plate between brake booster and firewall. This picture shows exactly why the clutch cable needs to be removed. Thanks @RicardoM. Also the middle plate mounting points and brake booster bolts can be seen. Another angle: Nova (new) vs Lisyus (old) brake boosters: Note the notch is missing on the input rod of nova brake booster. I also used input rod bolt and nut from old booster. Because new one had a defect in its threads making it hard to screw in. Lisyus output rod: Nova output rod: New brake booster here doesn't have securing clip on the rubber seal. I transferred old one's to the new one too. I adjusted input rod height exactly as 116mm from flat base surface to the center of the rod's eye. Before transferring it to the middle plate. Before installing the brake booster to the firewall, I measured master cylinder depth from the extruding boss then deducted the boss protrusion. Also before installing the brake booster, output rod must be adjusted for ease of operation. I deducted 0.3mm from the master cylinder depth value and adjusted the output rod with help of a metal sheet. (Sheet thickness deducted) Picture here is taken just before mounting the master cylinder. I took this picture for showing measurement points. Installing pedal linkages is reverse of disassembly. I was afraid it would be hard to insert the input rod to the brake pedal but 116mm is a magic number. I fit just perfect. It fit without need of any force. I installed the C clip and cotter pin of the clutch cable. Connected the brake pedal spring, brake light switch cable, battery (-), vacuum input and the work has been completed. Now once again, I did something but I don't know if it's good or bad. The connection which had been done by the mechanic before was definitely applying static force to the input rod. My connection does not. Which one is correct? How can I check if I adjusted the output rod properly? Brake pedal was feeling like a rubber ball under your foot. Brake effect was immediate like there is only a little soft section before it gets harder. Now it feels like a pillow under your foot. It has a longer soft section where the brakes start to hold and eventually gets harder. When engine is not running, I measured the the distance of soft travel of the pedal and it is 1.5cm. If the engine is running this will raise to 5cm.

Thanks RicardoM. You are like Dominic Toretto of the forum. We have changed the brake booster today. All answers about that are below. We have changed the brake booster today. All answers about that are below. I've adjusted the clutch just like that before! It also helps reacting fast at green lights or hill climbs. No bad habits like that. So there is this forth pedal I see in some classy cars. It is at the far left. Is that a foot rest for women? I've read that people favor Weber over pierburg. Can one install a different carburetor? Maybe with a custom made flange? I know that's a totally different topic but I really got curious. What advantages could be gained installing a weber carburetor on a Favorit? I think it won't work without installing optimized jets for the cars needs. For tuning a different carburetor one must have dyno tester right? The "mechanics" doing things like this to the carburetor are thinking the LPG system only. This is how the LPG enters to the carburetor: (Old picture) (This how LPG shops make the entrance. Easy&lazy. I've made a rubber sock around the hose hole so no dust is bypassing the air filter now. I also repaired the broken mounting points.) This part is called the LPG mixer. This kind of systems are called open loop LPG systems. The LPG evaporator works by the vacuum created in here and nothing else. There are no active control to the LPG evaporator. The jikov carburetor is a clone of Pierburg 2E3. They are very similar. The automatic choke plate is normally gets fully open when the engine is hot. When the engine is cold, the choke plate won't close if driver didn't briefly press the gas pedal before cranking. For cold weather cranking, It's a must. You must press the gas pedal half to let the choke plate fully close. What happens with lpg is the opposite! When you turn the ignition key to ON position, LPG electrics will also turn on. Which in turn, opens the gas tank valve at the back, high pressure valve at the front and LPG evaporator valve. Gasoline line to the carburetor also has a valve and it is always closed unless LPG switch is turned to the Gasoline position. So the carburetor is always completely dry. When you left the car for several hours, left over LPG gasses will be gone to. No fuel for initial crank. To counter that, LPG evaporator has a special start mode. When ignition is turned on, LPG evaporator gives a large amount of gas briefly to ease the initial crank BUT if you pressed the pedal before that and let the choke plate close, it gets harder for the gas to reach the intake manifold. So drivers who don't know how to properly crank the engine in LPG mode, goes to the LPG shop, complaining, wanting a faster crank. LPG shops don't know much like the car's mechanic. When they can't provide a proper solution, they go berserk like this. Open loop LPG system owners should also be very careful about their carburetors if they want a proper operation. They need maintenance more often than default gasoline system. Main reason is that black sludge you see on the carburetor. LPG is not pure and has some lubricating additives also unfiltered molecular sized oil residues. This sludge is washing the carburetor upside down. Clogging jets. Gathering dust on the surfaces. I really want to know what you think about this one? (Made by previous owners mechanic) Lisyus, Nova and Vika brand brake boosters are available for Favorit/Forman. I think Felicia brake boosters are different. I also found a brake booster for Felicia too. The brand for that one is Wisco. Price is €52.2. Strangely, Felicia brake booster availability is lower than Favorit. Whenever you need, feel free to ask me for any part. I can look them up for you. I will gladly help. That's what should be done. I heard some of them are cunning enough to invent short-lived fake solutions too. We you say something happened to your car and you will visit the industrial area for car mechanics, people make comments like someone close to you has died. Really. Now I'm preparing what is done today with pictures. It will be here in the next post.

This is exactly what I have right now. About "workmanship".... well I don't know how to describe it properly. You get used to this kind of workmanship in everything. It's very common. You feel yourself trapped between ignorant, unqualified and malicious. You choose one and accept to face consequences of each end. OR you do it yourself if you can. It's VERY hard to find the right people to do the job. Since January I feel like running a car service and the only customer is me. We did tons of work on the car to keep it running in hard times. It's a rewarding job though. When you do it properly, the gains are huge. Both financial and performance wise. I'll never forget the first drive after overhauling the carburetor. (I mean this carburetor: ) (It was worse inside: Broken air jet, intentionally bent choke plate, almost completely loose main body screws, no seal around idle cut-off valve, idle cut-off valve pin removed [wtf!?], enrichment valve holes completely sealed [wtf v2.0], all of this was sitting on a heavily deteriorated rubber flange) Let aside a Skoda Favorit, we never owned a car before. The most hardest part is not the work itself but the inability to compare the results or not being able to determine what is normal. This particular garage we are talking about right know is one of the most knowledgeable one. Some time ago we went there again for front wheel bearing replacement. I completely renewed everything connected to beam axle at the back but for front wheels, I lack the tools. After the work is done, we did a test drive with the head mechanic there. While driving the car I asked twice if anything else was wrong. He insisted everything was OK. That was only days before I did the head gasket replacement job. There was a compression leak between 2nd and 3rd cylinder. That was causing more than normal vibrations with some other problems. After the repair the engine is now running silky smooth. Even with this tiny experience I can tell now if the engine has more vibrations than it should normally have. With their experience level I'm sure they could tell it even only by touching the car. The problem is, they knew it but didn't tell me. I think they wanted it to become worse for a more expensive repair. This week, I was having a hard time with the LPG system then suddenly this brake booster issue have arisen. I hope I can find the source of the leak.

Sorry but I'm here again with another problem. First "BIG" problem with the car after we bought it was brake booster failure. When driving, suddenly we started to hear, bus air brake like noises coming when using the brake accompanied with irregular braking. It was like the brake pedal was loose and brakes weren't apply properly. But if you press the pedal further, sudden and sharp braking happened. It was scary in the middle of the traffic so we went right away to the mechanic for the first time. When I told them the problem, they told me it was the brake booster. They told me they would change the part but could not give a guarantee because parts were not original and same problem could happen again. We went to the nearest parts shop and found an aftermarket brake booster there. There was only this part available. The brand is Lisyus. After that, the mechanic disassembled the clutch pedal, clutch cable, brake pedal, lastly the brake booster. They told me clutch cable was worn and stiff too so the clutch cable was also changed. I saw them taking measurements on the push rod before installing the brake booster. They handed over the car to me after the work had finished. The first thing happened halfway was, I could no more change the gear to from 2nd to 1st. Clutch cable was not properly adjusted. I had to do it on the road. The next morning was more delightful. The car had some kind of power loss. Felt struggling at acceleration from full stop. We quickly discovered that, brakes were rubbing. So I had to readjust the brake booster push rod too. All of the above happened at January this year. What happens now, I started to hear a faint hissing noise coming from front when I press the brake pedal. You can hear it only when the vehicle is stationary and idling with the windows closed. Brake performance seems not affected much but the pedal is slightly softer then usual. Is this the telltale sound of a failing brake booster? Again? in just 7 months of use? Are these parts really so bad or is this normal life expectancy? (Lisyus brand) Do you really have to remove clutch pedal, clutch cable and brake pedal in order to change the brake booster? Can the brake booster be fixed if there is a leak somewhere and how one can find the source of a brake booster air leak?

Wow! I didn't know AC and and power steering co-existed in 1.3 engines. I understand it better now. Thanks. You are lucky. I consider myself lucky too. Because I learned a lot from all of you. Thanks a million. I've found a 82-92 thermal switch on discount. It's Vernet and $5. I'm testing it now and I will write later about it. I can't edit my own posts. So here it is:

Now you have a picture of bubbles on the surface. If that texture changes overtime, that means the parts inside are overheating. A very nice project for Felicia owners around the world. It will sure add to the value of the car too.