toby

Hello, Was the alternator, pulled it all to bits, the tensioner is a bit aged but works fine, the bearings are still all together. Pulled the alternator and its the bearings at the back (the bit behind the black plastic), replaced the whole thing. noise gone. I didn't think to try the screwdriver thing - would probably have solved it without pulling the tensioner! Anyway, Thanks for all input, cheers toby

Hello, Cars (1.6 AEH, 2000 plate) started to make a worn out bearing noises that rises rapidly with revs - having problems trying to work out which bit it is. Its not present if the car runs without the aux belt so isolated to something on that system - rather than cambelt. the rapidly rising noises suggests its either the belt tensioner or the alternator, the other two pulleys (AC, PAS) are closer in size to the crank one. that and it doesn't sound like its coming from them. The alternator (70a) turns freely, if i jam the vanes i cannot turn the pulley either way - is this likely the fault or would a 1.6 from 2000 not have a freewheeling type pulley. this seems to suggest it should turn on way? The pulley is of the longer type with the extra 'bit' (non flush as the presenter says). the belt tensioner turns easily enough, certainly plenty of spring left in it. the belt runs happily, no bucking or anything. turning the (manual) AC on doesn't change any of this nor does turning the steering wheel between locks. i can't tell which it would be - does anyone have any suggestions based on the info above? The alternator is a GSF replacement from about 5 years ago. the tensioner is original. The belt is maybe 2 years old, maybe a little newer and looks fine. cheers toby

Hello, The boot of my Octavia leaks but I have no idea from where. water is getting in behind the badges / numberplate and pooling ready for me to open the boot when it all flows out through the boot bump stops at either end or the latch mechanism. there are some suspect marks from the numberplate bulbs but the amount getting in seems a little much to be soley this and when I first bought the thing at least one numberplate light diffuser was missing. photo of area as attachment. after day of rain whether at home or at work there is usually enough water that you can hear it slosh from end to end when cornering. I removed the plastic trim under the badge and the seal seems ok - certainly its no worse having been disturbed, cleaned and replaced. volume of water retained is maybe 500ml - I think it starts escaping / overflowing somewhere else after that - the boot floor is (mostly) dry. any ideas on where this is coming from? there is some moisture in the recesses going up the side of the rear screen but then I'd expect some condensation and stuff up there from the standing water anyway? no obvious signs of torrents coming down from the top of the screen? help as always appreciated, cheers toby oh, no rear wash/wiper (from factory) to be causing the problem either

Skoda wanted just £43.99 a side delivered and the TRW alternative was a bargain at just £41.99 a side. seems a bit steep for half a meter of bent steel and a bit of garden hose but i guess mr skoda has to eat and pay the rent. looking into the DIY alternative instead. Neither skoda nor the local motorfactor could confirm that the lines fit drums, Vag-Cat list the parts (1J0611763 & 1J0611764) with an E suffix for drums with the others K, R and AD as definitely for discs. seems odd that they'd bother making separate - there must be enough pov spec vw, audi and seats running drums still to warrant making a 1 size fits all. perhaps not? anyway, i'll let you know how I get on in DIYville. cheers toby

ah I see, I thought it was a bracket either side of the beam and the flexi was a feed-through. i'll grab some clips too and see get this bit ready in anticipation, thanks for the heads-up cheers toby

looking at it, that whole connection around the rear beam looks like a mess - does the flexi really have two unions, 1 for the hardlines from the master cylinder and 1 for the hardline coming from the wheel cylinder? seems like a nice way to get eyefuls of brake fluid?

heh, seems like normal behaviour then? i'll see what skoda want for a set and put up the current part numbers. No flare kit, not sure i'd trust the my first efforts - would you need a pipe bender to - the pipe looks like it would just kink? is there anyway to prevent a recurrence? I doubt the car will last past another set new new back brakes but just in case, copper grease the union? anyway, looks like a course of action at least and another week on the bus... cheers toby

oh cool for that money they're getting replaced - did they come with the flexi hoses on the end? a bunch of ebay ads show the hardline plus flexi hose but the part doesn't look quite right anyway. did you remove yours properly or just hacksaw it off? cheers, toby

Replacing my rear brakes (drums...) as I've been getting problems for the rear NS one. rapid on/off grinding noise followed by general grindy noise when the brakes are release on anything more than very light breaking. the brakes have gotten generally quite bad so I stopped driving it. anyway, finally replacement bits obtained (no thanks to ECP...another dismal experience) so pulled the offending side to pieces, resprung the new shoes with old pushrod but new springs, removed the bolt holding the wheel cylinder in place and went to undo the brake union (with flared spanner)...to be greeting by the sight of the hose trying to turn too. tried some heat (with trepidation) and WD40 but nothing with any effect, tried a few hits with a hammer and then an attempt to break it free with a quick tap on the spanner too. nothing. would now be a good time to just replace the hardline (its the same on the other side, that's being overhauled too) and if so any recommendations on brand or just use OEM? is it mendable or just knackered. it passed a common fitness-to-drive test about 3 weeks ago like this.... the union at the flexi-hose on the beam undoes no problems and the wheel cylinders are being replaced so straight removal and replacement isn't an issue with damaging anything but are there any 'fun' things to look for whilst doing this. I have an eezibleed but does fluid just pour out the moment this is undone or anything like that? a section of rust, the bit near the union seems more like aluminium rust, fine white powdery type corrosion but refused to be photographed. the plastic wrapper just falls off if you look at it long enough, let alone poke it with something...

this is a picture of where the wiper parks at rest. about 3 o'clock looking at it from the front of the car. align with the 3 bolts that hold the motor in place (after cycling the motors power to make sure its returned to park). motor faces outwards (9 o'clock) towards the wing. hope this helps someone.

so i went investigate my slow wipers the other day and after pulling the linkage and finding it was mostly seized i set about unseizing it. after freeing up the bad side (drivers side you say? yes.) i thought id clean up the passenger side one since i was already there. que snapping the threaded bit off the spindle the holds the wiper arm on. much mirth. i've ordered a replacement and a new pollen filter but i stupidly didn't photo how the linkage and the motor are aligned before i seperated them? does anyone have any pictures of the thing sitting in situ of an octavia? or can describe how the motors rest position is aligned to the linkages crank bit? thanks, toby

i get this with the ignition off - no voltage between either pin and the alternator casing but between each other is 4.1v - is this a problem? only checked as i read on a mk4 golf forum this was an issue. the battery hasn't been going flat. yet.

Hi, thanks for the quite response - i'll check the voltages on the multi plug. i get 4.1v between the two pins in the multiplug. guess somethings up - i'll get the gas checked unless a low voltage is indicative of something else. cheers, toby

i've got a fair amount of clicking from the aux belt systems on my 1.6 - my suspect is the air con (sanden) as the engine doesn't seem to rev up when i turned the AC on as it used to. i pulled the belt earlier and the outer pulley spins happily and the plate on the outer face also turns but the two don't turn together regardless of the switch position. the fans all come on when i turn the AC on (its the ghetto manual version) and vag com readonly says there isn't a problem although i don't know which module it would be - it wouldn't talk to HVAC (8) so i tried all the others - nothing amiss. shouldn't the pulley and the outer turning plate lock together if the AC was running? the outer plate feels as if its turning the AC pistons (think turning over a two stroke by hand - that sort of motion). because i'm getting (what feels like) compression might the clutch have failed or is this not how it all works? everything else seemed to turn freely altough i stupidly didn't check the tensioner. the centre nut seems ok.

that makes sense, it came with the dopest sound system ever of a gamma tape deck + 6 cd changer (which didn't fit and held the heated screen button in...) and an 'active arial' which used to fall off the inside of the screen if it got cold. i replaced all this with a shoddy symphony CD player and the seemingly hard to find tat holder that lives under it. i'll remove it i think. not sure its anything other than a fire hazard anyway. thanks, toby