PeteG

Ta Chris for the advice - luckily I'm not going in blindfolded, I've got one ex-police car on the drive already. Admittedly currently in pieces and needing work, as you say it does soak up the saving. The main thing is I like to have a car that isn't pristine (and one with a bit of history), so I'm not worried about it getting dinger when I park it up... and I don't feel too bad when I start drilling holes for handsfree kits and the like.

Ey up chaps and chapettes. Long time member, but I've been without a Skoda for about four years now. For the sake of cheapness, in the future I might fancy one of Cleveland Police's old unmarked Skodas - I know the newer black one, FTP, sold on Ebay about a month ago. I'm wondering if any of the others live on with Briskodians?

I'm pondering getting another Mk1 vRS, having sold mine a couple of years ago. Only difference is, Woman will be hoping to drive it this time round - last time she tried in mine she couldn't get on with the (admittedly tricky) clutch. Chiefly the 2mm between it being released and fully engaged. Is it something that can be adjusted to be more... relaxed? I haven't got one kicking about to have a nosy at...

Aye, clutch pedal had broken the welds, as is seemingly common - got the new pedal and couple of clips, but for reasons I shan't discuss on a public forum, I also now need a new master cylinder - is £42 still the rough going rate from TPS?

I like this talk of cheap fixes - I'll get the car recovered home today and have a nosey. Ta muchly everyone!

So. Driving to work this morning, about 600yds from the gate I'm slowing to turn left. Went to push the clutch down, and it just went "BANG" down - and stayed down there. Limped it to work, stuck in 3rd, and abandoned it in the yard. I've been out all day, and not had chance to look at it - any ideas what it might be? There was a small piece of plastic laid on the floor mat, about 1/2" by 1/2" square. Bloody thing.

Would have been ideal as well - ta anyway mate! Wouldn't fancy picking it up in this weather...

TPS, £190 + the dreaded, which is silly money - but given the weather, I don't fancy trying to get anywhere for a custom box (at the same price anyway) - and Ebay is a bit of a faff, and the shifts I'm on, I can't hang around bidding. So, that's wheel bearings x2, back brakes, back springs, exhaust, then I need to see if this fixes the emissions or not - it wasn't far off being right. If it's still too high, its VAGCOM time. Cheers all!

D'oh, CTS, of course. Should be OK - I got a new one six months back, since it was easier than changing the thermostat... which I then ended up changing anyway. Temp gauge on the dash is reading normal, if that points to the CTS being OK? Cheers mate.

Do you know, I had a look in the TPS catalogue, none listed, didn't think to ring and see if they could get hold of one... I'll give them a bell in the morning. Any ideas on price?

I need a new backbox on my 2001 vRS 1.8T - does anywhere do them off the shelf, or am I looking at £200 for a custom-made one? I want it as close to standard as possible mind...

vRS not listed sadly - had a good look through the book. CTS? Is there a way to diagnose further with VAGCOM or similar, rather than replacing parts willy nilly? I'll be looking at getting a back box first, then retrying the emissions test.

Right. After a couple of wheel bearings, and some brakes, and some springs, my Octavia is almost ready for MoT. Only thing is, it's failing now on emissions. The EML is on, with the code for the SAI solenoid - firstly, is this going to be affecting emissions for the MoT test, and secondly is it easy (and expensive) to fix or replace? There's also a leak around the backbox that isn't helping matters... where's the best place to get one? Even if I have to cut the existing one-piece pipe to fit the new back box, that's not a problem.

Is the bearing assembly the same as the Mk4 Golf?

Handily, my neighbour (of many years experience playing with cars) was about - he reckons also wheel bearing. Be getting it sorted tomorrow. Cheers chaps

Right. Over the last few days I've been commuting further in my 51-plate vRS 1.8T, five speed box, remapped but otherwise standard engine. It started out as a small vibration sound, and has been getting ever-so-slightly worse every day. It increases with road speed, not engine revs - and dipping the clutch has no effect on it. My first stage is to be checking the gearbox oil level - the car's done a lot of miles and there's evidence of a small leak, but nothing major. How exactly do I check it? If that isn't an issue, I'm going to get the wheel balancing checked, in case a weight has popped off recently. Is there anything else I should be looking at? I'm at work 8-5 most of the week, only tomorrow am I going to get chance to get it to a garage - and I desperately need it to be working for the morning. >crosses fingers< While I'm under it, I'll check daft things like the exhaust mounts etc- but it definitely seem drivetrain-related...

Right. Having fitted new alt, battery, tensioner, etc - checked the fuse box atop the battery, and surprise surprise, the cable has melted. I've ordered a new alt-fusebox wire, but I need a new fuse as well - is it 110A? It's too damaged to read...

This car is trying to bankrupt me... it's a 2001 1.8T vRS. Had the RAC out to jumpstart me the other day after my dash lights started appearing - pulled in, knocked it off, wouldn't fire, diagnosed flat battery. Fair play thinks I, it's done 175k and even if it's the second battery its still not bad. Obviously wasn't charging, so fitted new alt and new battery together. Took it for a test, was fine but charging light flickered at idle. On closer inspection, as soon as I was firing up the engine the belt was slipping 1/8th of an inch to the drivers side. Looked at the tensioner, clearly worn to an angle - ordered a new tensioner from Jorily (Ta muchly, if you're reading) - and fitted a new belt as well. All back together, belt still slips by that fraction - the bottom pulley (crankshaft) looks like it's pushed itself out by enough to be pulling the belt to the side. Anyone experienced this before? Does the crank pulley have a rubber damper on it that may have come adrift? Apart from this, the car idles and revs perfectly, no mechanical sounds to make me think anything's wrong in the crankshaft area... going to investigate it tomorrow, just wondered if anyone's seen it before.

Checked the fuses, nothing wrong there. Fitted a new battery (after 175,000 miles, gotta be worth doing anyway...), car started, no problem. Only thing is, the auxiliary belt tensioner is past its best - and allowing the belt to slip sideways off it. Is the wheel available separately to the rest of the tensioner? Is an uprated, non-nylon one available?

Right. Driving yesterday, warning lights started coming on, lost power, pulled up in a safe place and turned it off - tried to turn back on again (applying Windows logic ) and wouldn't fire. Called the RAC, diagnosed alt not charging, dead battery. Plugged my battery into his van for a half hour, to give it enough juice to get home. Got a new alternator, swapped it over, fired it up - alt light took a few moments to go out, then went out - car idled happily for a couple of minutes, revved OK, all fine. Intending to take it for a long run to get the battery fully charged, packed my tools into the boot, and the car started to struggle. Tried blipping the throttle, no response. So - does it need a bit of a charge off another battery or car (like the RAC man did) to get it going, then I can take it for a longer run to charge it fully - or is there something more sinister? Haven't got a voltmeter, but the RAC man's showed 12.5v rather than the 13.8ish it should have had when it was running - leading to the alt diagnosis. Is it worth giving the battery terminals a wirebrush and a clean, perhaps to help?

I'd start by taking mats and parcel shelf out, maybe dry them with a hairdryer just to make sure. Then give all the interior glass a good clean and dry - the cleaner the inside windows are, the less they'll mist up Then, as suggested, put some packs of silica gel around the interior.

Right. Got myself a new thermostat from Jorily, waiting to be fitted when I'm next off work. Going to do an oil and filter change, and then flush and replace the coolant. TPS the best place to go for these? Then it's time for the brakes - looking at these http://www.jorily.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=131_5_38&products_id=1026 from Jorily, look to be made by Febi-Bilstein, which should mean they're decent - unless there's a recommendation elsewhere for better/ cheaper/ both? It's a 51 plate 1.8T vRS, for reference.

Ey up Thermostat needs changing, while I'm fiddling my intention is to flush and change the coolant, and fit a new dipstick tube. So, what's the rough prices of - G12 coolant (and how much do I need for the whole system?) Thermostat and O-ring Dipstick tube Also, out of interest for the future - how much for a brake pedal switch? And the engine top cover?

Remove the two bolts holding the carbon canister (black box next to the washer res)... 10mm. Keep them safe. You can then manoeuvre the canister around as needed to get access. There's two black plastic "bolts" hold the washer bottle in, one at the top, one at the bottom. Remove these, then pop the pump out the bottom (push fit), then remove reservoir. 15 minutes if you take your time.

That's the plan, when I've got some more time off work