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Indars is right - no grease on bolts. For a long time I didn't bother with this forum as some....insisted, that although VAG are clear about it, he was going to use lube on all his bolts. Important that all threads are clean; with a bit of sand in there it will be tight until the sand become dust. Tighten across wheel as otherwise can be slightly out and tighten up hard only to move into position on the road leaving loose bolts I always check after 100 miles; usually all tight, but only once found one wheel in need of a tweek. Lorry wheels? - I once had one bounce right over me. It was a 30mph road in Warrington early morning; hate to think of the results on a faster road or when the road was busy.

As above, a slow job due to removal of A/C rad, bumper etc but not difficult. Get more room to move about by putting on stands and removing front wheels. Hang A/C rad by string. Best to remove the big panel, but no need to remove headlamps - however - warning - those radiator fins are very sharp and because there is little room it is tempting to get your fingers in there. Don't, it's even harder with fingers covered in elastoplast.

Used it for years. Just sploshed some in now and again. Doesn't make any difference I can tell, but now have 184K and no problems (touches wooden head !). Originally started using it when read report of Mercedes using it in Russia - but this was years ago and rural Russian fuel was very suspect so doubt they would do it now. Tried checking fuel consumption very carefully for a while; came to conclusion that there were more mpg per diesel fill up - but the extra was exactly the same as if the quantity of 2 stroke had been diesel! Clean fuel and air filter much more important. BTW the cage mod did make a noticeable difference to me; it solved a stumbling problem with a cold engine. It will only "work" if there is a problem with the connectors, so no problem= no improvement. Several manufacturers use it in connectors to MAFs and computers, although I think it is more about preventing corrosion.. Again, it can't do any harm.

Steam

Dear contributors, This forum has a well deserved reputation for good manners and helpful posts. Opinions are invited, advice sought and given and experiences exchanged. For example, in this topic alone l note that poster Matty there has the best part of 1200 posts, Teflon Tom near 1400. Good postings, well made through time without insulting anyone. There is a species of forum hopper usually called a troll. Generally this person is pointlessly provoking or just plain rude.It is very easy to be drawn into their loathsome web thinking that their posts are intended to be helpful, whereas, in truth, they just enjoy destruction. Probably best to ignore them.

Golden said, I don't think I've ever seen so many half truths, exaggerations and BS. "Utter BS, a bolt holds two items together by pushing it into its elastic range, not by the coefficient of friction of the thread surfaces. Applying grease to wheel bolts compared with clean dry threads should make negligible difference to the overall torque figure." Really? Then these people - who make the bolts - don't know what they're talking about? http://www.zerofast.com/torque.htm Here's the professional engineer's view stolen from another site (I take it you do have a PhD in engineering ?) Wheel bolts should (generally) be installed dry. The design intent of bolted fasteners is that they should develop clamping force. This means that the bolt is in tension, and the joint is placed in corresponding compression. When you apply torque to a fastener, most of this effort is spent in overcoming the friction beneath the rotating head of the fastener, and the friction in the sliding threads. Only a little effort is actually expended in tensioning the fastener. The relationship between the torque you apply and the tension you achieve is, therefore, strongly influenced by the condition of these sliding surfaces, and by greasing them, you will obtain much more tension in the fastener than was designed for. This extra tension can be enough to strip the threads, to damage the fastener, or to damage the component being secured. If the joint has been well designed, the shank of the fastener will snap first, before thread stripping or component damage, but, not all bolted joints are well designed. This dependence on friction to determine how torque tightening produces fastener tension is why torque tightening is quite a poor method of installing fasteners. Torque tightening is popular because it's quick and easy. Even with the best torque tools and highly trained fitters, the scatter in bolt tension between a population of bolts is quite wide. For more critical fasteners on cars, a torque plus angle specification is usually given which gives much more accurate tensioning, and which usually makes much more efficient use of the fastener material. Incidentally, the joint face between the wheel and hub should also remain dry - this face is, effectively, a clutch face transmitting drive and braking torque between the hub and wheel. This torque should be transmitted by the friction, and not by shearing the bolts. The bottom line is that all safety critical fasteners should be tightened by following the manufacturer's specification, with no ad-hoc modification.

Hi, a couple of comments if I may. You should not lubricate wheel bolts; it allows overtightening, stretching and damage. I'm not sure about the copper v nickel argument. Nickel is very definitely a carcinogen and you should keep it away from skin. All motor oils and greases should be considered as carcinogenic and professionals will be aware. Copper based greases will cause corrosion if used between two different metals; not a problem with active brake parts.

Change the hub. Difference in price is little and you know that the bearing has been pushed in properly. I did my two fronts a couple of months ago. Parts from ebay new. £100 the pair which includes new 32mm nuts. Easy to change - allow 4 hours per side though most people take less. May find ABS sensor has corroded into hub holder so lots of release fluid a day before. Need the splitter tool to release the downleg and new bolts for the lower arm attachment.

Easy job, but a bit slow as you need to unhook fogs etc. Remove front bumper and you'll see how it is screwed together. Haynes has a guide and there are quite a few on-line. You don't need to remove the radiator. Be careful handling any burnt electrical bits as the chemicals created can be very nasty.

Worth just removing the thermostat for a test period; this will show if that is causing the problem. Often the small pin sticks if this is the problem just cut off the pin.

I can recommend Brockley Motors at Pantybuarth. About 3 miles out of Mold. I can send directions etc if you want. I've no connection except very satisfied with their work and generous help over the last decade.

You need to take off the bumper to get at the radiator mountings. Your video shows that it is the whole radiator support unit which is moving, not the radiator itself. The radiator is on rubber bushes, but the apparently lose part is bolted. Appears a horrific job, but isn't too bad.Start with the under-wheel-arch covers.

Yes, mine also rubbed the vacuum hoses. Removed!

Thermostat most likely. Change and flush system; they get clogged/jammed even without the help of radweld.

Pull out the connection to the speaker?

That's a low mileage. Does it match with the known service history? As before, best advice is to listen to another car with same engine.

Could look good, but there is a reason 21st century cars don't have that style - it kills pedestrians. The boring gentle curve is less likely to break bones or damage kidneys. etc. I too like the "leaning forward" front,, toggle switches and Land Rovers with bull bars and tyres on the bonnet .... and so on.. but we have to always consider the 'what if it goes pear shaped?'

What chain; what engine? Best advice is go find another car with same engine and listen to it. Maybe someone here can offer a comparison if you give rough idea of your location and the car. Next advice - don't trust any salesman who says, "that's normal/they all do that/no problem". Best of luck with your purchase; Fabia is a great car.

Both sides?

Could still be a fault with sensor. Before spending £100 on hubs it may be worth borrowing a pair of sensors to check (you can't swop sides as they're different shapes). My OBD reader gets left and right reversed when reporting on sensors.

Looking at the two pictures, it seems that the cables are just connected to the battery with a normal clamp. Can I suggest that a fusible link be fitted?

Pressure in top hose could be a thermostat problem. There is a little pin which allow water through to prevent pressurisation when the stat is closed. This can block. Once the stat opens the pressure in the top hose will drop. Sometimes people cut it off, especially on engines with a vertical thermostat. This problem can also lead to loss of coolant. If you're changing thermostat I'd suggest a good clean of the system as there may be bits left in there from the HG problem.

When my diaphragm died the EM light came on. OOH it has shown oil weeps almost since new and nothing changed.

Clutch has gone - possible centre has become detached.. It's moving at high revs with clutch depressed due to the release bearing causing pressure and drag on the spinning parts. Hopefully cheap(ish) depending on whether any other damage done. Please let us know what you find.

I've just changed mine (04 reg) and they were as tiamaria stated, however, I have seen posts and guides which suggested that earlier models had smaller nuts. Whereabouts in Wales are you? I'm near Mold, so if convenient then you're welcome to borrow mine and new torque wrench rather than buying something you hope never to use again.