RattleWagon

I have talked with two garages about these bolts that VAG suggests to replace anytime you even look at them for too long. Their opinion is to replace these bolts maybe every other or every third time. Assuming nothing seems to be wrong with the bolts. "And no problems whatsoever"

MY2015 2.0 TDI CUNA Expansion tank has both stamps, G13 & mit silikat.

A blowjob can fix many things

Juddery from standstill is subjective thing and also depends on how you use the pedals and even how the car has been driven lately. So not easy to say. Perhaps go test drive another octavia with same configuration and see how it feels. There can be good and bad reasons to sell a car, you never know and can not assume anything because someone got rid of it.

It is probably cheaper to borescope than put new belt on. And not necessarily, but probably also more reasonable alternative. Then you know what the damage is and it will be easier to decide what to do. Just throwing on new belt and hoping for best is most likely just waste of money and possibly causing more damage.

I guess it is injectors or glow plugs out and borescope in to find out. Most likely there is some valve or piston damage 😞

Typically clutch pack is changed once in cars life time, should not be a part of maintenance plan lol. TVS tunes are good. Not perfect but it is much more enjoyable to drive with it.

If the problems is jerky action in slow traffic then i dont believe it is worth it. Perhaps it is better than dq200 and withstands slow traffic / clutch slipping better since it is wet. But slow traffic performance is still weakness of both transmissions. I wud imagine that new clutches and a dsg tune is much cheaper alternative with similar results.

Good job and gongrats! I believe that at leats 50 % of Mk3 battery drains issues are related to tailgates 😁

Have you considered a dsg tune? Would be much cheaper upgrade, at least to try out before bigger changes.

Yes, air guide is missing. The missing section consists of few parts. You dont have to replace what you have left.

Mm that seems to be at least a back up file having all existing coding in case you need to recode something or so. Good to have. Long file, I didnt read all in hope to find stored faults. Perhaps they are there. Maybe filter the faults and post them in a message. About the original fault description, radiator fan always on, idk if there is a relay to send power to fan? Stuck relay could cause that. Electric diagrams could tell if there is. Otherwise I wud guess some temperature gauge is giving false reading (too high all the time) and therefore asking for the fan to run. Perhaps a temp sensor at radiator outlet. Probably some diagrams would tell how the fan is controlled. The car dont necessary recognize sensor to be faulty if it gives a reading that is in normal measuring range of the sensor. Edit. With a scan tool and cold car you cud check all temperature sensor readings.

Yes 10 years old shocks have seen enough to perform poorly. They might pass MOT inspection but that does not mean they perform well.

Yes. And manual says 'start of opening approx. 87 C'. Edit: And what I said about the valve controlling the circulation at the pump applies to diesels so sorry for confusing. In your engine the pump integrated thermostat does the same job. Edit2: Yet, you can test if the thermostat is leakin by driving the car to ie. 60-70 C and then try if the hoses to radiator are cold or hot.

I did too but after reading people not doing it I tried myself also and no problems. I guess it adapts to 'new environment' just like it has adapted to the dirty gauze. Edit. Also the official skoda service manual does not suggest adaption even after pump replacement.

If the pump fails so that it does not run, runs poorly or is stuck circulating only the small coolant circulation, then yes temp would go high. But if stuck running on large circulation, then heating up would take longer. Pump does not necessarily leek to have these problems. And a leak does not necessarily mean there is other problems with the pump. Some people replace the oem pump with more traditional pump that always runs on large (full) circulation. And the pump is just one possibility. I dont believe you have any problems, your tests seem normal. If this bothers you, consider masking the grill in winter time to reach operating temp similar to summer time.

If you are sure the car is heating slower and weather is not the cause, most common reason are water pump (the oem pump has kind of clutch/valve integrated into it, that first runs smaller circulation to warm up the engine faster, the system might fail so that it always runs the large circulation, causing slower heating) and radiator thermostat (leaking thermostat lets coolant to flow into radiator before it needs cooling). Thermostat can be diagnosed by driving the car to lets say 70 C and then stopping and trying with hand if the hose around thermostat going into radiator is hot, it should be cold before ~90 C Some times it is dsg cooler thermostat.

Typically there is no need for adaptions or separate priming of the pump. Depending on how the pump is cleaned, control unit wire is often deplugged. Possibly the wire has been left unplugged. Just a wild guess and it is more likely to be something else.

Seems normal

If driver side is right side of the vehicle that description is very often related to heater matrix problems. Often you first lose heat from right side and then all over. However, self fixing points to possible problems with the control flaps. Or then the whatever blockage from the heater matrix is back in the coolant circulation, possibly finding new place to cause issues. Lets hope for the best!

Do you have air flow at all? If you have air flow but only cold, most likely the problem is heater matrix, blocked by corrosion or splitted silica bag in the coolant expansion tank. Or possibly some flap in the venting system is bad and no air is directed to the heater matrix. A scan wud help. How does your coolant look in the expansion bottle. Does your coolant tank have text 'mit silikat'? If no flow, the problem is blower motor.

There is another semi-independent coolant circulation for the charge air cooler and it has its own water pump. The code seems to suggest problems with that pump. It is true that the car wont brake without charge air cooling but it has less air and therefore less power without it. And maybe it is better for the charge air cooler to have coolant circulating rather than standing still and possibly boiling, i dont know if this scenario is possible or just overthinking.

This is great place to start. Think it as any fan/blower that needs replacing. It just happens to be in a car this time. It is simple, you just have to remove few things that are hold on with clips and/or screws to get access, then unplug the cord, replace the blower, plug it back in and put the covering things back on. There might be annoying moments before you see or understand how something clips off/on. Most difficult thing is may be getting the glove box damper piece back on place, depending on how handy fingers you have. But everyone has get it done eventually. If pollen filter has not been replaced lately, might be worth it to do it same time since it is behind the glove box.

The 'opening' in the circuit is probably worn coal brushes in the blower motor. Search youtube for something like 'mk3 blower motor', it is easy replace job. If you want to be sure, take the blower out and check the brushes before buying new one. Google will help, or send pics here.

Such masks are common in nordic countries for winter time. You may consider also or alternatively masking the lower "grill" which is even more open to the engine department. Never caused any problems. In addition, there is possibility that you have some degree thermostat or water pump problem. Basically running all the time on full water circulation (at least partially) when it shud run on the small circulation before the coolant has reached high enough temperature.