Rob_T

Sounds like the PSB bushes are the way to go. I've seen some generic comparisons but none specific to this car. Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for the quick reply hutchy. Do I take it you fitted standard ones, they failed, and then you installed the PBS ones? How long did the standard ones last? I'm a little anxious about reports of squeaking on poly bushes, I assume you don't have that problem. Do you remember where you got yours from?

Sorry to revive an old thread. To those of you who have tried non-standard bushings, now you've been driving a few months on them, how would you rate them? I'm trying to decide between fitting the PSB poly bushes and the Seat Cupra ones. It sounds like the PSB poly bushes are easier to fit and that's a huge plus for me! Thanks. (Seat cupra bushings thread: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/92625-fabia-wishbone-bush-replacement-diy-guide/)

Nah there was G30(Red) or G48(Blue) , The guy seemed to think they covered everything in existence and had never heard of G12. If nobody's sure then I prolly did the right thing to order the G12++ off of the internet (same price inc delivery so nothing lost). We'll soon see about the MPG but she certainly runs a hell of a lot smoother at 90. Bill, do you just do short journeys ? If not and your car heats up ok when in traffic with no erratic behaviour of the thermometer reading on the dash then I'd think it might be worth testing the thermostat incase its faulty. Haynes has tests for the part though don't have it to hand to tell you what they are I'm afraid. Thanks again everyone for the help :yes: Good job Jorilly came along with an improved part so it doesn't fail again

Might want to check everything is ok in your car before you head to sound proofing. If your wheel bearings are on their way it can make it sound like a noisy car engine (front) or exhaust blowing (rear bearings). I had no play in my rear wheel bearing and could only just hear it by rotating it quickly while jacked up, but at 70 mph it sounded horrendous! I've also heard the chain (in relevant models) can cause a huge noise issue. I've found that using premium petrol in my engine allows me to hit 70 with lower revs (about 100 - 200 less) and every little helps or an alternative to premium is to get normal petrol and put fuel injector cleaner in there. Cheap tyres can also cause road noise I believe. Don't know how much relevancy some of this has to diesels (I know there are equivalents to fuel injector cleaner etc) and I'm sure you've checked it all. Just thought I'd put it out there in case as my 1.3 MPi while it is noisey on the motor way turning the standard radio up a touch more than covers the noise of the engine at 70, its not noisey until about 85 - 90 ;-)

Wish you'd posted that a few hours earlier! That is a very very good idea ! I already emptied and did the job when I read this though! Don't scare me like that :-P All seems well, managed to wee out some coolant, wasn't expecting that much preassure! She now heats up nicely to 90 and I can't see any leaks from the drain plug. Had to order some G12 to top up as nobody around here sells it. Out of interest does anyone know if you can mix G12 with G30 ? (Both red) Thanks again for all the help :-) O just to add when I took the housing off, the metal bit (actual thermostat) inside was loose and not in position so I assume that was the problem (broken clip ?).

:-S Didn't mean to start an argument, Sorry ! Coolant was changed when I replaced my radiator about 18-24 months ago so should still be ok, though thanks for the suggestion. I'll empty my coolant and do it. Thanks for your help everyone :-)

Yeh it heats up when I rev as you would expect however driving with the engine at 70 instead of 90 seems to be a real kick in the teeth for performance and for fuel economy. (spending around 40 for what would normally cost 30-35). Being at the top of the engine was my theory for not emptying the coolant though wasn't sure how much I'd lose thanks for the info Rich, if its going to be 1.5 litres I guess I should empty the coolant first, guess I was just being lazy in trying to get away with not emptying it. Thanks for the advice :-D

Hi GentleGiant, as I say it doesn't go much above 70 degrees during normal driving though I'm pretty sure it should be at 90 degrees. Just wanted to make sure when I change it I don't waste all my coolant. :-)

Hi, I've found my 1.3 MPi Felicia doesn't heat up during normal driving even after an hour its barely above 70 though if I sit and rev it stationary it does go up. Had a read around on here and it seems that means its the thermostat. Going to order a MK 2 version thermostat from jorilly so it doesn't matter if the clips are broken. Though I'm unsure if I actually need to empty the coolant system or not, Haynes says I do, though drain plugs aren't included in the jorily kit which makes me think I don't need to ? any help or advice would be appricated. :-D

It was a while ago I did it now, but if I remember correctly, I put the engine into 5th gear then had a friend step on the brake while it was tightened. If I need to press the foot brake and do something myself I often use a large golf umbrella and fold the seat as far forward as possible. Wedging the umbrella between the pedal and the seat. Heavy objects do just as well I'm sure :-D

Yeh, so it seems certainly learnt a lot about repairing cars in the 10 months I've owned flick . My coolant has got low enough that there was only a drizzle in the bottom, my bottle is not very easy to see through which makes life a little awkward though. Thought if I was getting gunk in the oil cap that would be where the coolant was going ? The creaking noise only occurs when the shock changes in height so thought that would be linked ? Can I spray some silicon grease or something in the cup to see if that solves it or onto the shiny metal of the shock ? The creaking seems to insult the slightly larger person when the car creaks with them in it so figured I'd try and fix it. Cheers for the reply

Wow ! A lot faster than I thought. Thanks for a great guide.

I lose a very small amount of coolant, have to top it up about 200ml every 2 - 3 weeks and have a have a tiny dolop of mayo (about the amount you'd have with your chips but its light brown and thick rather than white and thick) on the oil cap. No oil in the coolant and the dip stick oil looks the right colour. I do drive short journeys a lot in which the poor car only just gets up to temperature which I thought may cause the mayo before I noticed the coolant dropping. What do you guys think ? Head gasket? Also I have a nasty creaky noise if I have any passengers in the back of my car, I get the same noise if I jack the car up/lower the car at the rear can I put oil or lithium grease on the silver shiny part of the strut to stop the noise ? Any help is much appriciated

How long did it take you to change the head gasket roughly ?

Good shout djaychela, just re-checked mine and I now have got play in the bearings albeit very small it makes a noise when I rock the wheel but it doesn't when I'm driving. Do I just take the metal cap & split pin off and tighten the nut to get rid of that play ? Will it matter if I reuse the cap and split pin ? Haynes says not too but I don't have spares...

Thanks so much! Very helpful at a time of need. Cars now silent at 50 -70mph instead of sounding like a world war 2 plane.

hiya, am currently trying to change a rear wheel bearing. I'm a bit stuck on how to arrange the larger ring and bearing and descriptions / pictures greatly appriciated. asap

Well done, great feeling fixing your own car isn't it !!! Kinda glad my 5th gear nut went as otherwise I'd still be paying the stupid

Are you suggesting driving it without the retaining nut properly attached to the 5th gear? If its shattered it won't hold properly...that isn't going to be a good idea. As for a loose shard of metal....if it stays under the oil level you'll be fine....don't like your odds though......I'm off out now...sorry can't be more help

Put a new centre mount on and have put the bar only half through the rear mount and put a bit of rubber so it can't go all the way through the rear mount. The exhaust looks like its in the right place now and doesn't seem to knock, thanks guys. Just as a side, can I use generic halfords "power steering fluid" to top up (I'm not sure what's in there at the moment)? and is it correct that I should only top up to the minimum mark on the dipstick when the engine is cold ?

Thanks for the help guys, Ian thats exactly how I had my mount, if you rock your back box left and right does it hit anything while sitting like that ? Centre section rubber seems a little too strechy so I've got a new one on order and the back box seems slightly twisted and doesn't sit in the centre of the exhaust cut out from the body work. Not sure if the two are related. Only thought of checking the one at the very end silly me ! Also what is the strengthening rib ?

Thanks for the quick reply, nothing sounds odd with cars, mysterious things. How can I tell if its correctly aligned ? Are there markings on the body work ?

Hi guys, just wondered if anyone could describe / post an image of how the rubber exhaust mount fits exactly on the back box. I know it sounds like a silly question but my back box is hitting my spare tyre holder if I push the bar holding the exhaust only half way through the mount then the exhaust doesn't hit the car but I'm a bit worried the exhaust will fall out of of the mount as there is nothing to hold it in. An insight would be greatly appriciated

If you have a vagcom port it should show up a problem with the lambda sensor or leads though it won't tell you which is the problem. Vagcom should be your next port of call in my opinion or you could end up doing lots of unnecessary work. I think you can try running the engine without the lamda sensor plugged in to see if the issue still occurs or if you get new issues etc. Based on the fact that at high speed the problem disappears I'm inclined to keep focus on the lambda until its checked by a vagcom or tested by an oscilloscope at the ECU end of the cable. Other things I could envisage it being is timing slightly out, or a very minor pressure leak somewhere as if you saturate pressure leakage at high speed the car might not noticeably under perform and timing again might not be noticeably out at high speed if its very minor. Another thing to throw out there may be clutch related issues but all of these are a lot less likely than the lambda in my opinion.