kirk

It's called Octavia RS in most of Europe, except the UK. At least so in the Nordic countries.

The only hard part of this job was to get the bush clamp close enough so that the bolt threads take. As others have said, a 25mm bolt can be used to get the bush compressed slightly, then undo the 25mm bolt and put in a 18 or 20mm bolt. The 25mm bolt is too long and hits a plate behind. A small G-clamp is also handy.

Thanks for the help. As I said, I already did this job, but since I didn't have any 17mm bushes available, I put new 19mm bushes there. I'll have to redo it once I get my hands on some 17mm ones. Hopefully it will go quicker this time

Hi, I recently changed the ARB bushes on my '04 vRS Octavia. However, I decided to remove the plastic ring on the bar, due to a crack on one side and rust. I know some of you recommend to replace the bar due to rust, but I didn't think it looked so bad. However, since I put new 19mm bushes on, they are too loose for the bar w/o the plastic ring. Does anyone know the part number for VAG original bush that would be 17mm? Or is the only option to go with Polyurethane 17mm bush?

Mine sounds like a diesel nowadays, i.e. after that noise started occuring. I swear, a normal guy on the street would mistake it for one. And my sound also goes away when I rev it.

Your description sounds very much like mine in an earlier post. Could it be this? http://briskoda.net/octavia-i/ticking-noise-engine-bay-vrs/136467/

Yes, it will. Expected to arrive on the scene in May this year.

The original poster is right, though. The Octavia vRS is useless in snow. Up here in Finland we have a lot of snow, and we have a law on mandatory snow tyres. Your traction problem is caused by the 18" tyres you have on; completely useless in slippery conditions. However, that is not the whole truth. Even with my 16" studded winter tyres, the Octavia is not nearly as good as a proper winter car for two reasons. 1) Weight+FWD=Understeer 2) Low ride=Snowplow When we had 30 cm of snow back in December, the car was too low to drive, so I got stuck everywhere. The car was just dragging its bottom in the snow, breaking the plastic undertray of the engine in the process. But when there isn't too much snow on the roads, it's still a fun car to ride in the winter. But I wouldn't mind a RWD or 4WD car.

Actually, I forgot to mention that I only get this sound when the engine is warm, so it would indeed seem like this sound is nothing out of the ordinary. Now that I know a bit more, I will diagnose the issue further. Thanks to everyone for your help so far!

If it is, would that be the charcoal canister that filters the exhaust fumes? And if it is, why has it only recently started doing that noise? I am quite certain that it has not done it prior to the last two weeks. I've had the car since May last year. Could it be the cold weather making the noise louder? Is it fixable, or does it even need fixing?

It's been rather cold the last few weeks up here in Scandinavia, and I've developed a strange ticking noise from my engine bay. I'm wondering what it could be. I've yet to read the fault codes, but I've had no other error ligths than the odd 'low coolant level' on really cold mornings, which stops after one restart. If I gathered correctly, it is quite common that this error light comes on on cold starts (under -5C); apparently a scraping of the sensor should help. Anyway, the noise I have seems to be coming from the front right of the engine bay (it's a left-hand drive '04 Octavia vRS, 35k miles) and I can describe it best as a ticking noise. Frequency is maybe twice a second or so. It sounds a bit like a watch, but more loudly. It doesn't depend on engine revs, and I hear it most clearly on idle (least engine noise, I guess). I can hear it from within the cabin as well. It's a new noise that has occured only the last two weeks. Any guesses on what it could be or how to diagnose? Thanks!

This depends on the year. For me, the rear window does not have to be on.

Ugh, that piece of plastic is making my mind explode. I read this page and Rob's guide before attempting to remove it. I have been trying to remove it for over 2 hours now, with no success. Can someone please enlighten me on how to complete this job? It says this in Rob's guide: "It clips in along its top edge - remove it by lifting the top edge perpendicular to the windscreen." I am not sure i understand exactly what lifting the top edge perpendicular to the windscreen is supposed to mean? The only place I am able to lift is at the bottom edge, which is not clipped. The top edge has an U-slit fitting to the bottom of the windscreen, so I cannot produce any lift on the top edge of the plastic trim. The clips mentioned in the guide go into the rectangular holes in the metal, right? I can fit my hand under the plastic trim enough to feel that the holes are clear of any plastic clips, but I am still unable to budge the trim. What I am trying to do is lift the bottom part of the trim (basically bending the plastic trim) to clear the firewall metal, and then pull the trim towards the engine bay. But it just will not budge! I even tried applying some grease between the rubber and the windscreen, to reduce any friction there. Hints?

We calculate mileage as litres/100 kilometers, but I will try rearrange the numbers for you to understand My best tank-to-tank measurement on a '04 Octy vRS is 7.75 l/100km, which translates to 30.35 mpg. With a tank of 55 litres, it translates to 441 miles for a full tank. My average for the last 7000 km is 417 miles per tankfull.

Hello, I've been reading through a bunch of threads on the forum about changing the brakes on a Mk1 Octy RS (2004), but I still have some questions before I dare attempt a DIY operation. What type of rewind tool is required for the rear brakes? These are the ones I've found in the local car repair warehouses, will any of them do? If not, could anyone post me a picture of the type of tool I require. Do I need to buy new bolts or springs, or whatever other accessories? At the moment I have new Zimmermann brake discs for all four corners and Ferodo DS 2500 pads with wear indicators. If anyone has the part numbers for whatever I need, please post them.

I am also seeing this with a cold motor on a '04 RS. I just bought and it's one of the first features i noticed with it. Otherwise it works just fine. So this is something that is normal then? There is nothing that can be done to it? Is there some other possible culprit than the N249 valve?