classic

The answer is a cylinder leakage test then. Old school way was to squirt oil down the bores and do a compression check, if it was leaking past the pistons the oil would improve the results over a dry compression check. Next step, cylinder leakage test. If you have access to an air compressor you might be able to rig something up but a proper tester is the correct thing. You can then find if the air leaks out of the inlet, exhaust, cooling system, dipstick tube etc.

I’m only guessing from far away, but, all 4 compressions very low and timing definitely ok, then it has to be something equally affecting every cylinder. You would have to do something badly wrong with cylinders, pistons or rings to get the compression so low. Or the cylinder head would have to be not sealed. You say you didn’t check the piston ring gaps, but did you space the gaps correctly so they aren’t in line (usually 90 degrees apart, depends on number of rings and manufacturer instructions) ? Other than that my money is on the tappets. Possibly they expanded and the valves were not properly closed and possibly cranking the engine may have bent them very slightly. What you need is a cylinder leakage test where high pressure air is pumped in and you can listen for where it escapes. Put some oil down the bores and check the compressions, if they go up it suggests piston/ring/cylinders.

Leave it overnight and try again, I think maybe the hydraulic tappets may have expanded out whilst removed. Very very low compression on all 4, I’ve seen this happen before.

I have the electrical workshop manual which suggests it is possible to only have a rear sensor. This is what it says. Unfortunately I don’t have the Chassis manual. “1.18 Vehicle level sensor -G78- front left or -G76- rear left The vehicle level senders are an integral part of the headlight range. The assembly work is described in the Workshop Manual ⇒ Chassis. Note Depending on model year and country variant, the variant may also only have a vehicle level sender at rear. ♦ Sensor for vehicle level front left -G78- ⇒ Axles, steering; Rep. gr. 43; sensor for vehicle level ♦ Sensor for vehicle level rear left -G76- ⇒ Axles, steering; Rep. gr. 43; sensor for vehicle level “

See the actual workshop manual is my advice 😬. Balance shafts on other engines I have worked on have had timing marks, a special tool or simply been aligned level with each other depending on the manufacturer - in this case it was obvious even one tooth out that they weren’t level (these were big engines though).

I don’t know the answer. I believe there may be special tools required to fit the rear main oil seal and crank position sensor. My only suggestion is to register with Erwin and download the workshop manual. Costs about 7€ to get 1 hour access and you can download as much as you like in that time. https://erwin.skoda-auto.cz/erwin/showLogin.do

Good luck, that is a big job to do. I remember when I was brave enough to do these things !

Bad points : 1. The noise from the front of your car which sounded like the engine destroying itself, was in fact the engine destroying itself. 2. You will have to replace the engine. Good points : 1. You’ve confirmed the oil level and oil pressure warning circuits and lamps are working. 2. You will get a new engine. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Zero….

I hope you get it sorted, there has to be something wrong to knock out flywheels so quickly which is why I suspect the new flywheels or clutches themselves could be bad.

If any of the injectors are leaking or injecting more or less than the others it will cause an imbalance between power strokes of the different cylinders which could cause uneven loads through the flywheel. Really your mechanic needs to go right back to basics checking compressions and the injectors, and probably the engine mountings and crankshaft pulley and if there’s excessive endfloat on the crank. The problem is at such high mileage it will be worn here and there….. Im not sure but I don’t think there is a single mass flywheel conversion for the 2.0 tdi.

I agree with MarkyG82. Possibly a misfire - injector, low compression on 1 or 2 cylinders, excessive crankshaft endfloat or maybe worn engine mounts. I wouldn’t discount the gearbox as you don’t know for sure that the second hand box hasn’t got the same issue as your old one, I’m guessing an input shaft problem. Maybe the replacement flywheels all have the same manufacturing defect if they are all the same make/supplier. Sorry not much help

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It’s part of it built into the cover, in fact if there’s a problem with the breather you have to get the whole cover.

I’ve had a similar issue on a non Skoda and fitted a complete new valve cover. It looked like the cover gasket/rubber seal was leaking but it was actually the cover itself. I believe on the 2.0 tdi engine there is a breather with a rubber diaphragm inside which can split so might be worth changing the whole thing at high mileage. They aren’t cheap though for a piece of plastic.

If They probably use TPS who supply VW group spares to the trade. The higher price would no doubt be to get the parts supplied from a Skoda dealer. You’ve basically found the hole in the dealer service plan that they didn’t want you to find. £32 a month service plan but extras like cam belt, aircon, brake pads etc are going to cost top dollar.

Either way, £1000 is too much.

The dreaded cam belt debate goes in circles unfortunately. At 25 k miles, I don’t think I would be rushing to get it done (see several previous threads to not give you a definitive answer…..). For what it’s worth price wise my local VW specialist charges £529 inc vat for the 1.5 tsi timing belt. https://lvsag.co.uk/services/service-repair/ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4232836423435450&set=pcb.4232844713434621

I recently purchased a 7 year old Octavia from a Skoda dealer. Very nice, one owner, full main dealer history. According to that history it had a pollen filter 15 months ago in which time the car had done 13000 miles. Decided to have a peep at it whilst fitting my dash cam. It looked pretty ancient and was clogged with leaves and debris, it either wasn’t done as per the history or they need changing every year. Got a new one anyway

If it has been repaired at least they used a new bonnet, and painted it like the factory does ! Run the reg number through hpi or car vertical. I just bought an Octavia 3, and looked at about 4 others seriously before choosing the one I got. Found previous cat N report on one and mileage discrepancy on another. You get 2 reports for about £15 https://www.carvertical.com/gb Edit : I used a discount code from a YouTube channel I watch, salvage rebuilds uk code SR10 gets 10% off.

Is it in eco mode ? I have found they are happier in normal or sport and it doesn’t seem to make much difference to mpg.

When I was an apprentice mechanic we were taught to always disconnect earth lead first and reconnect it last. The rationale was that it reduced the risk of shorting out the positive terminal directly to earth through your spanner either accidentally or carelessly. It is possible to weld a spanner to a decent bare metal earth like an engine and then explode the battery.

I justified the new ev based on my 20k plus miles per year so fuel saving was most of the monthly payment. Once the electricity cost (public rapid) was as much as putting petrol into a 45 mpg car then the numbers didn’t add up anymore and the time and inconvenience of rapid chargers started to grate. If you are out and back from a home charger on a reasonable tariff then it is great (although even that is now expensive). I previously had no pcp car payment, I bought 3 year old cars and ran them until 10 years old saving up over the 7 year ownership to buy the next car. The fact I could effectively cash out of the Enyaq finance, and get the money back I had used for my deposit to buy another car outright, was too good an opportunity to pass up. I think if you want an ev and the sums work then go for it. Longer journeys, and I went the length and breadth of the country in mine, are not straightforward though, the infrastructure isn’t great in some areas.

Not sure on the noise thing it sounds normal, they aren’t the quietest engines with the bonnet up. Give it back, you don’t like the noise, it only has one key and they won’t help you. Exercise your right to return it, they’ll start doing something then.

No worries. I read this thread this morning and your contra argument was hitting the nail on the head as to exactly why I’ve gone back, so I had to update on my sale asap ! Luckily I’ve had a good year out of the experience and the money I put into it is back for me to get a vehicle for “cash”. The government is going about a move to EVs in completely the wrong way. Banning new ice cars from 2030 won’t do anything except turn us into a version of Cuba where instead of 1950s and 60s cars there will be 2010 onwards vehicles being repaired and run for decades.