nta16

Your English is great. I could well be wrong but "mains" I think means main bearings. Trying to hammer home the point again, it is the Total Quartz 15w-50 mineral oil that is disappointing you, the oil as a whole, and no doubt its 15w grade will be contributing but a different and (proper) synthetic 15w oil may give slightly different results. Google tells me there are 400 different types of oranges, they are all oranges but they vary. There is one multigrade of oil that I would try given all you and Thefeliciahacker have put as you both own and run the cars in Greece but there was and is no point me suggesting it until you have tried alternatives to judge against as, like my wife, you are a person that needs "to see it with their own eyes to believe it". Even then it might, as all the others, and like everything about a car, have compromises. There is no need for it but you might be better using different multigrades for summer and winter. When summer and winter starts and finishes weather and temperature wise I would have no idea, it's all mixed up in England now. Perhaps the oil will fair better with the highways and mountain roads test particularly if you can drive in a spirited way on the mountains.

Yeap, Sod's Law usually applies and it's rarely sunny or better still as you pull in to a pub car park. But that happened to me with my 1973 Midget about seven years ago. End of a nice few days runaround of Wales with friends in their Toyota Supra. We were going for a light lunch and then part ways, A bit before we arrive there was a slight misfire so I said to the boss we'd have lunch and worry about it after. Sod's Law it was the rotor arm needed a brush up and I'd decided the dissy didn't need attention at the recent service I'd done. Same cars but in France a number of years earlier and jump leads were out because the ultra reliable Supra (still is at 25+ years old) wouldn't start but who'd believe it was the Midget jump starting the Supra and not the other way round. My mate blamed the Italian battery fitted to the car when he bought it and very begrudgingly had to buy a high priced mediocre battery at the end of that day as we had to get the leads out again at the start of the car display and run. He had to leave the engine running after going round a few times as we sat at a pavement table having lunch and then me and others going round the town, car sat running for a couple of hours in about mid twenty's heat with only the occasional blip of the accelerator, it didn't miss a beat or get warm. If it'd been the Midget I'd have just found a slight slope to park it on and switched it off.

Scan tools can do that sometimes but more often it's a diagnostic tool and needs correct interpretation as with any other form of diagnosis so you are lucky to have a good mechanic. Even then the basics that have always applied need to be covered as they always have. The scanner can often point in the right direction or sometimes tell you nothing or lead a poor mechanic in the wrong direction. Cars are ancient technology with more and more electronics on them to eek out as much as possibly from the same basic systems, and of course adding another layer of complexity and things to go wrong. 😄 Look at your Triumph as having given you 49 years of pleasure from it and perhaps consider passing it on to someone else to get pleasure from it and perhaps ride it. A friend of mine (75) had three bikes including one old and one more modern Triumph (I know nothing of motorbikes) sold all the bikes, and three of his cars, because of health issues. A previous neighbour of mine only got a car, well a small Thames van, when he was 50 before that he had motorbikes then with sidecar when the kids came along, IIRC one of his was a BSA Golden Flash, he thought it was fantastic when I brought him back a postcard with drawing of the bike I saw in a car museum somewhere as he had no photos of it.

There's full and proper servicing of the whole car and there's Dealership engine oil & filter change and "free visual health check", have you got a full past servicing history to see what's been done and when and what might have tardy and/or missed. Usually better to get any tuning done after the car is fully sorted as it is, first make sure the brakes, steering, suspension (all include tyres) are good and any driving or safety electrics. Other way to increase power to weight is to lighten the car - so throw those golf clubs out. 😄 (I imagined you as being younger than 50. 😄) You'll do as you think but you've had a lot of good advice in your threads. Good luck.

See previous posts. Yeap, I get the same search results. - Mann W 712/43 Model type 1.3 Engine code 136 B/M, AMH ccm 1289 kW 50 HP 68 Year of manufacture 10/94 → 08/01 https://catalog.mann-filter.com/EU/eng/vehicle/MANN-FILTER Katalog Europa/Vehicles/CARS %2B TRANSPORTERS/SKODA/Felicia/1.3 136 B~M, AMH (T00000000330313)

Not all but rarer to find honest figures, most run ego gauges to get more work and give the customers what they crave, telling the truth upsets many customers and they go off to those that will tell them what they want to hear. Most only want highest power figures rather than real world usable torque - and anyway less power can be more rewarding but modern cars are so big and heavy and all the electronic assistance make the driver more remote from the drive. But it's horses for courses (or as many horses as you can get). 😊

In that case forget any expensive cosmetics and perhaps mapping for now instead check or carry out a full and proper service of the car and drive it to get used to what you like and don't like about it, I'd give it 6-12 months - plus you might need the money for other stuff on the car. Think about improving parts and components as the existing tire or failure. Not all improvements are improvements and some can make matters worse. We've all been there, eager to go through the catalogue of improvements yo find some , or all, don't satisfy. Unfortunately it's often easier to learn by our own mistakes than by the mistakes others tell us about but those could save us lots of time, trouble and money I went out of the thousands of pounds of improvements and "improvement" many years back. Good luck.

Don't worry - you'll mix up and forget more as you get older, something to look forward to. 😊

Try never to get near this stage as then the battery is far too low and could have caused other issues and warning on your VW start/stop car, not to mention it won't be doing the battery any good - prevention is better than cure. My advise is as much as you can when required fully charge the battery in your circumstances then you will better better and extended life out of your existing battery and its replacement. Good luck.

My wife's 2015 90 hatch factory suspension isn't great and not very long lasting and it very, very rarely gets anything close to spirited driving. Very unpopular view I know but best tuning is driver training, and it's transferable to other cars (and I've had a very little and still am not a good driver), then timely full servicing, maintenance and repairs and good quality appropriate tyres. Cosmetics is just personal taste and fashion (like the oversized wheels and tyres from the factory let alone upsized later) for fashion remember the three spoke alloy wheels. Put on whatever cosmetics please you, probably best if they're legal, and if you later want to sell the car if they'll be appreciated by those you want to sell to, or accept you've had the enjoyment of them and suck up any loss from them (or perhaps you might gain if you chose to suit the sales potential). Just having a fully cleaned and polished car, fully inside and out, usually looks very good and perhaps good contrasting colours (currently fashionable or not). Don't spend all your money and have none left for timely full servicing, maintenance and repairs, German engineering quality ain't what it used be last century, or Mk1 Fabia or Mk2 Fabia from what I've read here. Mostly, enjoy your car the way you want. 👍

You beat me to my edit, see replacement hyperlink in previous post. Yes I saw that, but that doesn't mean it can't be fitted and work well but I don't know I've not checked @Thefeliciahacker gave the number so I assume he has checked and fitted the Manhle OC 986 filter to his car but it is just my assumption and as ALWAYS check and double check any information for yourself particularly if seen on the internet. https://qr.mahle.com/eu/product.xhtml?eid=394043&r=0.14164952527947017 https://catalog.mann-filter.com/EU/eng/catalog/MANN-FILTER Katalog Europa/Oil Filter/W 610~3

Done this for ease of reference. -

No and think yourself lucky in some ways that yours aren't the later VW computer over-complex, intertwined, over-intrusive programs - but you would like the fuel consumption and the 600+ (or is it 900+, I forget) data points from the engine electronics. I see some amazing fuel figures posted for the model and often think I might put in the figures from my wife's car just to bring the average down and show some more modern life real-world consumption figures. Were those 5w and 10w mineral oils though? MAHLE (KNECHT/MAHLE) OC 986 and OC 986 A - Mann equivalent - https://catalog.mann-filter.com/EU/eng/catalog/MANN-FILTER Katalog Europa/Oil Filter/W 610~3

I generally only keep manuals of stuff I or friends and neighbours have so it took me a few minutes to remember where to look on t'net but below is a pdf of the Lidl ULGD 5.0 C1 (IAN 383685_2110 only) charger. IAN 383685_2110.pdf ETA: you have to fool it if the 12v battery is at or below 7.5v but as these things aren't that smart it's easy to do.

The simple maths gives you an idea of time but doesn't allow for the variables so it takes as long as it takes and as gregoir doesn't use his car much he has the time for very long charges, if he wanted to, the car is just sitting there and it's not difficult work. @fabdavravI didn't even blink at the pre-edit as I've had a few 48+ hour recharges of neighbours or friends batteries. 😄

Isn't your engine basically from then or before, what differences, extra or improvements did VW make to the actual engine by the time yours was made, again not testing you just asking. Off on a tangent - you would not like VW's 1.2 TSI engine then as the computers are just about fully in charge and I used to hear all sorts of different noises from the engine bay until I stopped listening. See below for just one example, I am not sure any of the figures given are accurate but I have never checked I just wait for it to pass or just drive off.

@Thefeliciahackerhave you cut open the relevant Mann, Mahle Knecht or Hengst to see what the differences are? ETA: I'm not testing you, just asking. Almost all the videos I've seen for this sort of thing are about filters in the US of A so probably some are sourced from different countries to the ones we might get in Europe, I can remember if they even see those brands but I might be wrong. IIRC some different grands are made on the same machines, hopefully using different specifics but I don't know.

Only posted as one example graph 7 stage from one example of an instruction leaflet - from a Lidl (ULGD 5.0 C1) charger instruction leaflet. -

Or is it more that you don't like the 15w-50 (Total Quartz mineral 15w-50), which is fine it is your car and your choice. That makes sense, 5w-40 (and synthetic(?)) against a thicker 15w-50 (mineral) car running at night too when presumably colder and not in hot city traffic or demanding mountain run.

Looking back to the start of the thread (2019 fitted EFB replacement battery) and gregoir's posts I can see and agree that sorting the battery when you're not fully well is even more of a hassle than when fully well. By what is put in the posts it seems like the alternator is doing its job and if the plug-in volts readings are correct or there about and the battery charger readings are correct or there about and having looked at the instruction manual - assuming (not always a good idea) the model is the ZXY - J30, then. @gregoir don't be offended as I'm just checking, could you you have perhaps set the charger to "REPAIR" "Repair Mode (18 hours)" or "CAR/TRUCK" "For big batteries (Fast Charge)" ["max. 8A"] ? At +10c and below temperature it should also be showing "Win. *" in LCD display. - https://nzgrab.com/scan/2513-1.pdf

Could be a lot of things but unlikely to be disconnecting and reconnecting the battery unless the battery wasn't secured properly and/or the battery post clamp(s) aren't tight. I'd guess more likely to be a minor ignition issue or failing part - but could be lots of other things. Your lucky to have a garage that can get you in that quick particularly this time of year. Let us know how things go on.

Fair enough, your colleagues are more likely to have worked in Norfolk than Northamptonshire then (I don't know about Bristol) and perhaps in an area or community more likely to be around classic Skoda as for more years than I can remember I can't remember seeing an Estelle (and almost none Favorits or Felecias) anywhere in the UK other than at the NEC classic car shows that I went to for 20+ years. This year I did se a Favorit Estate parked up fairly locally and a bright green Felicia coming out of a local industrial estate possibly leaving work. I was born in England and have lived here all my life and have driven for work and leisure throughout the county and nationally and internationally to Scotland, Wales and ("the island of") Ireland for over four decades and in the last three or decades having an interest in "classic" cars and being the age I am I do tend to notice "classic" cars actually being driven on roads. But I don't mix with criminals or live on a rough housing estates anymore so perhaps I'm too far out of touch with the subject.

Doesn't the "intelligent" charger switch to maintenance mode after it has finished charging? If you have or can borrow a multimeter to check the battery reading on the actual battery posts the next day after the charging has finished this will check any other digital reading from the plug-in device and give you an idea of how much the battery retains its charge with just the car parked and locked up. I take a battery posts reading from unlocking the car, open the bonnet and leave the car unlocked and bonnet up for about half a hour hoping that's long enough for all the systems to go back to rest and take a reading then, or if you want straight from unlocking the car and opening the bonnet then perhaps allow for up to about or around 0.2v being used by the car. On my wife's Fabia she has no added devices like camera(s) or other plug-ins using the electric on the car. If you don't use the car I'd suggest you take another reading in two or three or more days from the last to see if there is any difference, as long as you are consistent in how you take the readings they should offer reasonable information on the battery and a bit of advanced warning of when you want/need to replace it. Below VW figures for the battery state of charge - 12.7v – 100% 12.5v – 80% 12.3v – 60% 12.1v – 40% 11.9v – 20% 11.7v – 0%

Sounds like your Ctek might be a bit more than my 4-amp "smart" charger and maintainer that took IIRC 14+ hours to get to "FUL" on my the Fabia's 60ah AGM that wasn't that low anyway and the leads and battery didn't seem warm. Of course this was, as in the photo previously posted, car and charger outside on the hard (luck) standing with weather a bit below and above freezing overnight. 😄 I've never owned a Ctek but a mate has had two of them for a few years (but not decade(s) and they don't look as good as (I think) I remember from many years before.

Yes my examples were for general car stealing, classic Skodas are certainly not stolen to be shown off, used for bank robberies, for parts or generally as a whole car. I am not saying anyone should not fit an alarm if they want but I would advise also using a something like a steering wheel lock as a full visual deterrent. I don't know how long ago you were working in Spain with your British colleague and how long before that he was working in Britain and whether he worked in Northamptonshire or Bristol but unless he worked in a Skoda garage or near the importer in the mid-1980s and earlier 1990s (when we owned four new Skodas), he'd hardly see a Skoda as they were a tiny fraction of car sales in the UK. Until VW put the brand in with the VW Dealerships Skoda Dealerships were small back street concerns (and perhaps better for that). Because Skodas were such good value they were the subject of great ridicule in the very powerful press here, in the mid-80s particularly, causing great stigma to the brand it wasn't until this century that I actually knew someone else that had a new Skoda. I have lived in England all my life and for a number of years lived on rough council estates where some of the neighbours would perhaps break into cars or steal them or other things (not as bad as today or organised at all). in the 1990s we have had a 1974 car stolen, we got it back, it ran out of petrol, if they had looked in the boot there was a full gallon can, also had another car broken into and paper tax disc stolen and three weeks later the paper tax disc stolen from an open car (no roof or doors). This thread is proof that in the Bristol area at least thieves will try to steal a classic Skoda, I could be wrong but around Northampton I think it more likely that, like many cars, it would be broken into, often very crudely, to steal any items left in the car. The people doing this often are after stuff to easily sell on to feed their need for drugs so not "professional" car thieves as such. Many "classic" car owners just fit a hidden "kill switch" to stop the whole car being taken, this of course does not a break in and the damage this may cause. Whatever, it's not a nice feeling when someone have violated your property, as above I have personal experience, so I do sympathise.