vrs180

Kev has said it all really. The manifold is usually drilled and tapped as close to the cylinder head as possible/practical. The only issue is that If the EGT probe were to ever disintegrate then fragments of the probe will almost certainly damage the turbo charger turbine wheel. However all EGT probes are designed to slowly burn away and in theory will stop working long before they degrade to a state were they could potentially disintegrate.

The simplest way to check is with VAG COM. The torsion value should be +/- 3. If you are sure the timing belt has jumped one tooth then get it checked out ASAP, these belts don't jump a tooth without good reason and something very serious must be wrong to have caused it.

Hi Hutchy If you do find the EML light comes on after fitting the new gasket (which it did on the wifes 07 BLT, but not on our sons 06 BLT ???). Then I'd recommend refitting the std gasket and adjusting the EGR valve with VAG COM from a stored value of 32768 (factory std) to 33638. Not only does this cure the BLT stutter (100%) it will also prevent the EGR related EML fault.

Hi Just thought I'd update this thread now I have the results of the rolling road session carried out earlier today. Its all good news. The car went back to the same tuner that remapped it 9 months ago (Big Fish Tuning) post GT1749VB and they were able to overlay the previous power/torque graph with todays results. Without any adjustments to the map the engine torque had increased by 10Nm and power increased by 2bhp. Perhaps more significantly though, was seeing just how much adjusting the injector lash had effected torque rise ie; torque builds much more rapidly than before and starts from lower down in the rev range. My conclusion is: The increases in both peak power and torque are relatively small, but importantly they are increases, and when combined to perhaps the slightly more significant fact that the torque band "width" has increased, I think checking the injector lash adjustment is very much worthwhile (especially considering how easy it is to do and how little time it takes to complete).

We think our car also runs better with the injectors set to 180 degrees, it's much quieter now, revs much more freely and seems to have a bit more go about it from idle speed to 3000rpm. The trip computer indicates the mpg has improved also, but I'm slightly sceptical at the moment and won't be convinced until I can do my own calculation. One other thing I have noticed is the Miltec exhaust tail pipe is not getting quite as black/sooty as it used to, I'm a bit OCD about such things and keep a cloth in the boot to give them a wipe after most journeys (sad I know). The only concern I have is it may now be slightly down on power from 3000rpm upwards but I'm really not sure. It's booked in for a 2hr rolling road session on Friday 1st July and to have the map adjusted as required. The place it's going to is the same place it went to be mapped after I fitted a Garrett GT1749VB in September 2015, so it will be interesting to see what actual effects adjusting the injector lash has had on the engine performance. For info; previously the car recorded 195bhp @ 3733rpm & 410Nm @ 2248rpm.

Kev I think you are right, some sort of injector related work must have been done prior to us buying the car. We bought from a Skoda main dealer, it was less than two years old and had done 12k with one previous owner. The dealer had sold the car from new and done all servicing etc, they told us it had not required any warranty work prior to us buying it. Hutchy It will be interesting to see what yours are set to. I'm not sure in what year the revised injector lash setting was adopted, but if yours is untouched from new it will prob give us a good idea. See you are in the North east, I live in Guisborough, if you need to borrow my DTI gauge you are welcome (I used a DTI because my eyes are not what they used to be, but in all honesty a DTI is not essential).

Hi At the weekend I decided I would remove the cam shaft cover on my wife's 07 (61K) Fabia vRS and check for any signs of wear on the camshaft etc. The great news is it was as good as new, with no sign at all of wear or scoring on the camshaft, rollers etc. But.....while the top was off I checked the injector lash and was suprised to find all the injectors were set at 140 degrees. The Haynes manual says the injector lash should be 225 degrees (ASZ engine code), however all internet searches I've done suggest a new revised (by VAG group) setting of 180 degrees. I adjusted the injectors to 180 degrees and we have run the car for several days since. The car starts and drives fine with no visible smoke, but compared to befor it's quieter running, smoother, pulls much stronger from idle speed to 3000rpm and has a much improved throttle response. For peace of mind the car is booked in for a rolling road session to have the map checked. Anyone got any ideas why our car has seemingly come supplied from new with the wrong injector lash settings ??? Or are all the BLT engine code vehicles set from new with 140 degree injector lash ???

Was oil leaking from the hole in the side of the EGR valve ? Once oil appears at the hole in the side of the casing then the EGR is on borrowed time, rubber diaphragms and oil don't generally go well together. No need to buy a vacuum pump, just push the plunger up by hand, place a finger over the vacuum port and release the plunger. If the diaphragm is Ok the plunger will stay in place and not close under spring pressure until your finger is removed from the vacuum port.

Fantastic, your car looks like a proper Tarmac spec wrc. If you can get some photographs in a more picturesque location then surely your car deserves a place in the 2017 briskoda calendar.

It's an away job provided the correct size deep socket is used and flexi drive is used between the socket and extension otherwise the glow plug will snap.

Perhaps a good quality/efficient oil cooler would help prevent piston failure. Not only can effective oil cooling reduce piston crown temperatures (ideally no more than 600 degrees F) but it will also reduce combustion temperature and EGT.

Wow that looks great. Unbelievable what you have achieved, especially considering its winter and you are working outside. PS I also have a tin of Ford Modena Green which I bought to touch up any stone chips on the brake calipers and to my eyes it's a perfect match.

We have owned several Mk1 vrs cars and we have a Fabia SE. The differences between a standard vrs and an SE are as follows. Race blue paint. Colour coded door handles. Leather seats. Cruise control. Six CD changer. Privacy glass. Full size spare alloy wheel.

If you want a Michi catch can I have a black one, with sight tube. I bought it a while back when Lloyd was doing a group buy and never got round to fitting it. Bill.

Hi Mike. I'm a (truck) mechanic and I fitted a brand new GT1749VB (PD160) to my wife's fabia vRS SE (BLT) in Sept 2015. As such I can confirm that a GT1749VB does fit a BLT engine and will bolt straight up to the exhaust down pipe, oil drain and oil feed pipes, heat shields, lower support brkt etc all fit as per the original KKK. One adjustment is required to the compressor housing (some refer to it as clocking), and all you do is slacken off the half dozen 6mm bolts, by approx one turn and rotate the compressor housing a few degrees until the outlet is in the exact same position as the KKK BV30-0016 you will have already removed then tighten the bolts back up. The EGR cooler however will not refit so a blanking plate and gasket is required along with a genuine VAG heater hose (re route) kit , I got mine from Darkside. I got a litre of G13 just in case I lost coolant when swapping the pipes over but in the end none was needed. (Ask your mechanic to take care when fitting the heater hose kit, the new pipes require careful positioning to ensure they don't rub on the Tandem Pump housing). As for gaskets, nuts etc, if you buy a new Garrett all the gaskets, studs and nuts are supplied with it (even comes with oil to prime the bearings with), the only additional gaskets and seals I recommend you get are the inlet manifold gasket, and a turbo outlet pipe seal/ "O" ring. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) renew the engine oil and filter and the air filter. In addition to the above we chose to remove the redundant EGR (just for reliability reasons, they all seem to end up leaking oil eventually), and fitted a Darkside EGR delete (very good quality Kit (in fact it looks too good bolted up to the OEM manifold and anti shudder valve)). No adjustments are required to the actuator stop screw or rod length, only a custom remap required. Hope I've covered everything, if not, please ask. Bill.

michalko82 Everything is the same ie; Oil feed, oil drain, exhaust down pipe, turbo outlet, etc, etc. Its just the EGR flange on the exhaust manifold is at the wrong angle for a BLT engine. You could keep the EGR valve and use a blanking plate if you wish, but if your going to the expense of changing the turbo (1K +), for what extra it costs I would recommend spend a little more and replace the EGR. I cant comment on the quality of other EGR delete kits but the Darkside kit is very good. HTH Bill.

I fitted a Garrett GT1749VB (PD160) to the wife's Fabia SE (BLT) a few months ago, it too was supplied by Darkside. It's pretty much a straight like for like fit except It required clocking (very easy to do) and also the EGR cooler will not fit, so required an EGR delete kit and coolant pipe kit which Darkside also supplied. Custom remapped it's now at 195bhp @ 3700rpm and 410Nm @ 2200rpm, it could have produced more but was held back to protect the otherwise standard drive train. My wife's not into modifying cars, she says its waste of money and cars are only to get from A to B, but after she came back from here first drive out in the car after the remap she was grinding from ear to ear and said she wished we had changed the turbo years ago ! HTH Bill.

Thank you guys Interesting that the cruise control could be used to switch maps, I never new that, thanks. I think we will run the car for the next few months with the cruise control turned off and see if everything stays the same as it is now and perhaps confirm nothing is wrong with the car, then talk to the guy who mapped it. Bill.

Hi guys. In early Sept 2015 I fitted a brand new Garrett GT1749VB (PD160) turbocharger to my wife's Fabia vRS SE after the thrust bearings failed within the Std KKK BV39 turbo. The car was (conservatively) custom mapped to 195bhp @ 3700rpm & 410Nm @ 2200rpm, which is more than enough for our needs and totally transformed our enjoyment of the car. With the new turbo fitted the engine ran much smoother, had better throttle response and a new found eagerness to pull hard from any rev's with only a very small press on the throttle pedal, in fact you found yourself having to lift off the throttle quite a lot of the time. However a few weeks later the engine ran less smooth and the improved throttle response was gone.....sure it would still go well (very well in fact) but it felt like you were having to work harder at the throttle to get the same performance out of the engine. I checked for faults with VAG COM on several occasions and found nothing and also got the car up on ramps and couldn't find anything amiss, which is pretty much what I expected (I'm a very experienced mechanic (all be it on trucks) and a perfectionist at every thing I do to the extent I even made guides on my lathe to ensure the new turbo aligned perfectly with the cylinder head exhaust ports). My wife thought it was just us who had perhaps got used to the way it drives, but just before the Christmas break I decided to turn the cruise control to the "off" position while we were out driving in the car, and immediately the previously lost smoothness, improved throttle response and increased pulling power returned, and has remained to date. I have left the cruise control in the "off" position, were it will remain until I get a better understanding as to what is happening. So, has anyone come across this before or any thoughts on why this is happening ???? Thanks, Bill.

Correct Wino, G13 being Glycerin based is a product of Bio fuel production and has reduced CO2 emissions during production as opposed to Glycol based products which are related to mineral oil production. My understanding is Glycerin and Glycol based products should not be mixed.

I thought G13 antifreeze/corrosion inhibitor was Glycerin based and not suitable to mix other Glycol based products ????

I think its worth bearing in mind when selecting an upgraded turbo the other additional costs that will be incurred to cope with extra power and torque, which can soon start to add up to perhaps to more than the car is worth. We recently replaced the std KKK BV39 turbo on the wife's mint low mileage SE and fitted a Garrett GT1749VB (PD160) which required the map to be held back to 194bhp @ 3700rpm and 410Nm torque @ 2200rpm to protect the std clutch. On the road the car can be a delight to drive but with no LSD and an otherwise relatively std car it can also be a bit of a handful even at these low (ish) power outputs. The car has already got Eibach springs and a Miltec exhaust but for us to go to the next step and release the cars full potential we would probably need uprated clutch, fly wheel, LSD, FMIC, suspension, anti roll bars and better brakes, all of which add up to quite a lot and in our case would not be worth it. Please don't think I'm trying to put you off, just trying to show the true cost of a turbo upgrade. HTH

Hi Just got back from Big Fish Tuning and the car drives absolutely fantastic, Jon at Big Fish has deliberately held back on the torque to presserve the std clutch. Peak figures are 193.3bhp @3733rpm & 409Nm @ 2248rpm. Happy days. Bill. PS; a very big thank you to Scott at Darkside developments for sorting out the hardware and Jon at Big Fish tuning for sorting out the software.

Hi. Thanks to all who took the time to reply, I just thought I'd finish this thread by updating you on the outcome. We explored many avenues to try and find a replacement turbo but in the end (and largely due to time constraints) there was only really two choices, fit a new KKK BV39 and hope we had better luck second time around or fit a new Garrett GT17 (PD160). As we don't seem to have much luck, I will be fitting a Garrett in the morning and have the car booked in on Friday to get the map checked/adjusted to suit. Bill.

Thanks sepulchrave, I've just sent xman750 an E mail. Would a new small hybrid be a better choice than a new Garrett GT1749VB ? Our car is standard other than a remap and Miltec cat back exhaust (engine wise), and ideally would like to avoid having to replace the SMIC and fit an uprated clutch etc. The wife and I are both in our 50's and drive the car very gently 99% of the time (trying to better each others mpg figures) and rarely use the extra power. Bill.