Former

So let it lose that every year for a few years then top up. Perhaps it's evaporating because of where you are, the system and seals not being perfect or their wear/tear, age, or even how often you have the cap or other coolant system bits off. 😁 - https://www.kamsauto.com/blog/can-coolant-evaporate-when-it-s-hot-outside And as you like American videos (they can't be wrong, see who they voted as President, twice!). -

You were not wrong to suggest possible head gasket failure with your knowledge, experience and ownership of the model, you were quite right to make the suggestion, well done. Even though it seems unlikely to be otherwise I will say you can't say for sure the gasket is fully healthy but it seems that way now and at least has been confirmed as such within the provisos of the test. I'm usually relucent to suggest HGF because I know what a PITA it is to an ordinary owner (all that hassle for a bit of paper) but then previously I've held back or been too relucent and others have correctly suggested HGF. You done the right thing, better to check than not, and this is easy, hands clean , inexpensive work so worth a go. Praise to you, you've earnt it.

12.4v isn't bad or too low really but it does depend on how and when you took the reading (see below) but as I put fully recharging the battery with a battery charger following the notes I put before is a good idea when you have electrical issues and particularly if you might have alternator / generator battery charging issues. Sounds like you might have a wire/connector, to the alternator, issue perhaps, worth having a good look and check in case, perhaps you'll find some gold coins rubbing against a wire down there. 😆 Best to take a reading of battery voltage as many hours after last use of the car as possible otherwise it can give a higher reading from the alternator charging when the car was being driven. From VW gawd bless 'em themselves - VW Charge level No-load voltage 1.28 g/cm3 100% 12.7 V 1.21 g/cm3 60% 12.3 V 1.18 g/cm3 40% 12.1 V 1.10 g/cm3 0% 11.7 V From my ex-neighbour's (semi-pro) Ring battery charger/tester - 12.7v - 100% 12.5v - 90% 12.4v - 80% 12.3V - 70% 12.2v - 60% 12.1v - 50% 11.9v - 40% 11.8v - 30% 11.6v - 20% 11.3v - 10% HTH.

I can give some info. In September 2021 our local VWŠkoda Dealer quoted my wife £357.65 inc. VAT to replace the front discs and pads. Even though I'm not a mechanic and I don't like VW or my wife's car and very reluctant to work on it but as the Dealership had took advantage of having such a late MoT (my fault) and charged £415.38 to replace the poor quality front dampers (shocks) (with poor quality replaces, but that's another story) I decided to do the work myself. I decide to use Pagid discs and pads which have been good but wearing a bit quicker than I expected but not too bad, IIRC the discs and pads were about £80-90 (I forgot to keep the paperwork) and the job was the easiest brake change I've ever done, not that I've done many, and when later I replaced the rear discs and pads second easiest brake job I've ever done. I put up threads for front and rear with tips, notes, below front then rear.

I think you can say you have done more than enough to confirm that test at that point of time! Bit wasteful over filling the tube-thingy though. 😆 Now you could perhaps try letting the coolant drop in the tank until it seems to have stopped dropping then mark the coolant level at that level and see if it drops further and if so by how much and over how long. A very small coolant leak is hardly noticeable on the tank over a good period of time/use. On the Midget the heater tap (tap not valve as such) leaked a little and I've had thermostat housing / gaskets leak a little, both are on the top face of the cylinder head and you couldn't tell a drop of level in the tank (solid metal tank so no marking and measuring by dipstick method would be a waste of effort for tiny amount lost). Thermostat housing / gasket would seal by using Hylomar Hylotyte Red 100 but tap was internal leak which was very annoying as it was only 10 years old and didn't come apart for repair like previous versions - such is progress.

Check what you can with your scan tool - but do ensure your scan tool has the (correct) program for your model and year of VW and that the program is fully up to date before you use it on the car, check the car and if appropriate scan tool batteries are not in a lower state of charge. Then the basic old fashioned unsexy diagnostics of checking the supplies, live, return, computer, the wires, connectors, fuse(s), etc.. with multimeter, tester load bulb, eyes, ears, touch. Some info to check out below, but first do tests to confirm things, that is doing diagnostics rather than trying to fit a solution to your issue plus always considering there might be more than one issue or more than one cause of issue(s). Good luck. http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/01537 https://forums.ross-tech.com/index.php?threads/37797/ http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/00497

As said the the seller might not have fitted good quality parts and I would add he might not have fitted the correct parts and/or fitted the parts correctly, or even parts missing or really worn parts not replaced. I don't know the details of the model and my memories of my wife's Favorit (hatchback) back in the day are very sketchy but I can't think ground clearance would ever be an issue, in the UK anyway. I would have thought that the estate version might have uprated springs and dampers perhaps over the hatchback version. My MG Midget was a reasonably low car (not as low as some, I could look down on a Lotus Elise as it passed) but that was claimed to have 5" / 12.7cm ground clearance, though I have no idea where they got that figure from. Found this, I have no idea if it's correct but sounds reasonable - Ground clearance full load: 125 mm / 4.9 in. - https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1989/60140/skoda_favorit_136_l.html#gsc.tab=0 If you look at videos or photos of when the model when they were new I think you will see the ground clearance, in the UK there would be no need for a skid plate unless you were taking the car offroad. A measurement we used to use to check ride height was to measure from the centre of the wheel hub to the underside of the wheel arch and compare with another owner's car of the same model and year, of course both had to be factory standard and all components in reasonably good condition. With yours the very small difference in tyre size can be forgotten as being well within margins of difference. You could put up a thread here asking other owners if they could measure their cars to compare or if you have any data on the car or drawings you could compare. Or you could perhaps put up a side on photo of your car sitting on solid level ground to give some idea of your car's stance and ground clearance. If I can find a photo of my wife's Favorit from back in the day I can let you have a jpg (my wife has kept hundreds of photos but they are all mixed up and in a drawer in the garden shed, they may have faded a bit by now. On a side note, all specifications I have looked at show tyres as 165/70 r13 which sounds correct to me as this was the (wider) low profile tyre size for 145 or 155/80 r13 back in the day. So this size might give you an alternative or wider selection of tyres to chose from. HTH.

Sounds like there might be something (very) wrong with your springs, and perhaps dampers, broken or aged or perhaps wrong size, rating or quality. 100kg isn't heavy for a passenger, well not in the UK and certainly not in the USA and elsewhere. I assume you aren't riding at too higher tyre pressures. Models and sizes do go out of date and unavailable and the replacements aren't always better than the previous model(s). I forgot to put I take little notice of the EU tyre label ratings, I believe they are done by the manufactures and will be set to pass the test point which doesn't necessarily mean they are that good outside that point. When the EU tyre labelling first came in it showed lower figures for the Yokohama a-drive tyres I previously had but became unavailable 13" and higher figures for the tyres I bought to replace them, this was rubbish the a-drives were far superior, best 13" tyres I had had. I didn't realise just how good the a-drive were until all the set of tyres after where none matched them, unfortunately Blockley did have the tyre size available at the time. If I remember correctly(?) I had a set of Eco Contacts 3 and I wasn't over impressed with them but that was on a small lightweight "classic" sportscar, that is not to say they were bad, very comfortable ride IIRC but not very great handling and road holding which is what is wanted with a sportscar but they might suit your needs and may have changed since the model number I had. As a generalisation Kumho seem to be good for lower priced tyre and Nankang with the sport drivers I think, obvious the usual provisos apply.

Yes. In that tube device (no doubt there's a name for it but I don't know or forget) if it's the same size as other available there's 2ml of fluid. - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123735248113

I don't know but if no one else is along then have a look or search on the rest of this forum or have a look at Ross Tech link below, I thought the VCDS system was all fully loaded all singing and dancing already. To me it's a horrid looking computer or car tech nerd retro system, but I've never used one. If you can sell your lead then you could put your money towards a scan tool for more than just VW cars there's loads of choice and loads of info and videos about them on the internet. I would always go for a UK version, paying the extra may get you life updates rather than subscription renewal plus an authorised UK supplier is hopefully less potential of being dodgy. The models change all the time so you need to be careful the model number or name is exactly as any you get info about. Models that are soon to be replaced or have just been replaced can be at good prices or deals to replace stock, but not always. https://store.ross-tech.com/shop/cat/VCDS/ HTH, good luck.

ETA: I posted without seeing your last post. Note - "No C02 detected in the system" is not the same as there isn't any, just as it says not detected or that there are no issues with head, block, engine - but there might not be any issues anyway you are just ding one test at one point in time.

So pre-warm the engine to about halfway between cold and normal and then follow the instructions above. I've put the hyperlink for further info or checking. I've just noticed the American spelling in that as they have been highlighted as misspelt for UK English.

You might not need to depends on the size of the adapter, you have a new plastic tank so more pliable for the rubber adapter, you could also warm the adapter just before fitting to make that more pliable, and yes I do know what it's like farting about outside with cars in cold winter weather. There's usually enough in the kit for three or four uses or you can buy a good size bottle of the fluid for not too much, more than you would ever want to use, just seen and been reminded we used to refer to it as block tester, I have no idea if the "sniff tester" name came later or used elsewhere at the same time or the term was used before block tester. The name or term doesn't matter and as we know things change with time. To often go in a circle and return to how things were before but new to a different generation. The wheel turns you just have to ensure it doesn't run you over. 😆 That's good, that's the false negative, which can also arise if things aren't done correctly, though with this simple test it's difficult to do much wrong. Good luck.

Lots of things can trigger waring lights and error codes for lots of reasons with the engine but given all that tape and that things get better when you pushh the pipe see the link below. You might already know and be practicing the following, when using a scan tool it does need to have a program for your model and year and that program does want to be fully up to date before you use it on the car and you want the car's battery and scan tool battery if appropriate to be at a reasonable level of charge for all the testing period (and beyond for car). As for slip light (?wheel traction?) that could be an entirely separate fault or the VW computer programs getting their panties twisted. http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/16452/P0068/000104 HTH.

You might be better asking on the model forum or at the parts department of a Dealership or you could try here if you've not already done so. - https://www.skoda-parts.com/online-store.html

The smallest bit of grit or stone can sound really bad but do no damage, [ETA: many more times than not] you will clearly see on the brake disc if it has been damaged to any great extent if not then forget about it. You done the right thing to get the bit out. I have to do the stop and reversing and add in braking because it didn't work first two attempts to get something off my front disc on a car before (not a VW) no damage at all.

Take the stuff on Wheeler Dealers with a pinch of salt, it got slightly more realistic costings in more recent years but not all of the work done is listed or shown in the program, Mike became the patron of or car club a few years back but he's known the club and promoted it at the NEC shows for more years. I did wonder what restrictions you might have but you can have a look at that list as they are widely available brands and I would guess models, but different markets have different availabilities of models and sizes. Those tyres are for road use, they will of course vary in price and quality but I doubt any will be lower quality as they are for motorsport use. Don't mix up the extreme (and over pampered, monied, politicked) high level motor sports with the low end stuff that many do in the UK winning at best a plastic cup at the end of a season. A decent F1 owner would also be interested in your car.

Thanks for your reply, as you say cars are far too complex and particularly the German marques this century, Heater on then if the coolant temperature is rising more than normal on jimbomcmxc's top-up / refill.

It depends on the size of the rubber adapter how well if fits and seals, if it's not big enough you could wrap it with something like Gorilla/gaffa/duck tape it's just important to get the seal so the fumes go through the hole in the centre and up to the fluid. I've no idea about chemistry but I'd guess the kit wants the fumes.

My choice would easily be the independent manufacturer supplier I mentioned before one chap runs the business and he's a character so doesn't work in the same way as other manufacturers, his tyres are very highly thought of by those that know old cars. UK prices might be a surprise to those not living here, don't worry about the high speed rating he would have introduced that because that was required in that size by customers and he has now run out of the ones he made at lower speed rating, at the same price, and tyres are already at excellent value. These are proper road tyres that can also be used in motorsports, high performance and rugged. The chap runs the company so he can sort things out for individual customers. Blockley Tyres - https://www.blockleytyre.com/product/175-70vr13 Below is the 2024 list for production tyres approved for UK motorsport, I don't know what is available in your country or which sizes are available in each model tyres, don't dismiss a make just because it is not a popular brand or not well known to you. - Motorsport-UK-Yearbook-2024.pdf Good luck.

You might know is there such a thing as T41 (female socket - male driver), I think I might have seen a T47 but not T41 but of course I'm never sure?

Thanks, force of habit, later thoughts. So how does the heater get hot and cold then?

I can return your favour sir. Given Pete put the link - https://www.fepy.com/sata-gl25105-1-2-drive-long-torx-bit-socket-t41 I think there might just have been a typo (that wasn't mine for a change) and the fittings had a female Torx. You might know is there such a thing as T41 (female socket - male driver), I think I might have seen a T47 but not T41 but of course I'm never sure. I've got some E marked Torx sockets I've never used them and am unlikely ever to but they were in the socket and spanner set I got for my 50th. I bought some tools in the late- 70s as bottom-draw items and could only afford a few items at a time, sets were expensive then, included were No. 3 and 4 Philips and Pozi screwdrivers I've only ever used the No3 Pozi out of those. I wish I hadn't have lost or given away some of those tools as getting them replaced for reasonable decent ones now is so difficult or expensive. I went on eBay to see what I could get s/h and some of the ones I have and want are collectors pieces now, with prices to match. My wife bought me some old screwdrivers for a surprise and they were used and abused by being cut and grinded, I gave away the better ones and kept others for opening tins, scraping and so on.

Isn't that what I put - 😆- yes I certainly did mean to put XZN too late to edit previous post(s) (I almost put XYZ this time too). I thought I had a chart of the XZN head dimensions and sizes but it's not there in my current files, diesel and VW two things I try to avoid, I can't imagine them combined! Though you might as well have a diesel with all the noises a petrol VW engine makes. I found the following, I agree with this chap's first sentence but then if it's a VAG spec thing then it will be a secret from their car owners. http://mahonkin.com/~milktree/motorcycle/triple-square/

VW owners in the UK are treated like mushrooms and viewed as the fed. If the Dealerships actual done proper service instead of "service" then surely it'd include removing the top cover and checking the belt would be done particularly now the the UK lot have finally come in line (for their own benefit) with Europe and say belt replace at a much higher time and distance interval but to check the belt each year. 2019 Fabia owners have reported starting issues in cold weather because a relay on the fuseboard can't cope with the cold, . . . and another issue I've now just forget. - got it, throttle body (I think).