MarkyD

There is no 1.9pd scout only 2.0 140 and they all have dpf. The 1.9 would be the old 105bhp PD 4x4 and did not have dpf. Not many around for sale. I just came back from Kia to have a look at there hybrid petrol/electric niro. Salesman suggested lease for 3 years everything included including maintanance ,tyre , services etc and 28k per year £1000 deposit and monthly £370. When I said concerned about a bill for final condition of car he said bring the car in 3 weeks before end and get it assessed and any dents,scratches,scuffed alloys (pretty much guaranteed driving round here for 3 years) get it done one my insurance?? Doesn't sound right to me! Something like this would probably save me £2000 every year over running my existing Octavia.

I was driving a Mk1 1.8t petrol 4x4 estate. It is currently in the garage as I no longer have time to work on the car myself. In many ways it is about right for what I use it for except now I have significantly upped my mileage as after work and weekends I daily visit and care for my dear old mum who needs hours of physio. I am wondering if a Mk2 diesel would be more suitable but although I now do 450 miles a week generally it is on slow country roads where my average speed is lucky to reach 40mph and there are only a few stretches of a mile or two where I can get the car up to 60mph (tourists and farmers permitting). Journeys are between 23 and 35 miles long. I am in Pembrokeshire. Roads are about 1/3 single track and 1/3 B roads with hills and blind bends and 1/3 busy A roads. Road conditions are poor with lots of standing water and often covered in a film of mud where the farmers pull from the fields. Road surfaces predominantly chippings rolled into tar. Although on the back roads the council are good at keeping the ditches clear several times a year requires major detours due to local flooding and sometimes going through deeper water that I would really like. I many ways the car I have now is about right. Its just about big enough to carry what I want/need. Its small enough for the back roads and the 4x4 is helpful on the slippery surfaces. I would like some more road clearance. However as its getting on and I cant afford to be without a car and only 30mpg so I am looking to get something to replace it. Budget is £10k max. Lease etc are not sensible as it would be impossible to keep the car in good condition. I am considering the 1.9pd 4x4 estate. Well within budget if I can find one. The 2.0 PD scout looks to be out because of likely DPF problems on my journey type. If I could find an affordable CR Scout would I have similar problems with DPF ? Any advice appreciated. Also any other suggestions on sensible vehicle to cover my circumstances. (affordable Hybrid with decent ground clearance etc), vans 4x4s etc also welcome. Thank you Mark

OK panic over I think. Pretty sure I put on s/h calipers and carriers from a TT but did not use new hoses. I got access to internet and found a German parts company selling Brake hose rear left for Golf IV 4motion, Audi A3 TT quattro, Octavia 4x4 and Leon4 OEM ref.1J0611763L. Rear right is 1J0611764L So looks like as the garage ordered parts will fit the TT calipers. Thank you Mark

Several years ago I did this mod. I am away from home with no internet and limited mobile data. I have leaking brake fluid from a corroded brake pipe from the caliper and it is at a garage to replace. I cannot remember if this mod uses replacement carriers only or would I have used different calipers? I do remember buying used Audi TT calipers and carriers but am unable to remember more. The garage have ordered replacement pipes for a standard mk 1 4x4 but I now have a feeling the rear disk mod requires using the whole TT caliper and carrier so will need a TT part. Can someone confirm? Mark

Local roads are chippings roller-ed into tar mostly covered in thick layer of mud being pulled off the fields initially by tractors and potato growing and more recently the area has gone over to poultry farming so now even worse. I cant remember the last time I saw a white line and many times a day 4" of mud covering the surfaces adjacent to gates from fields. When it rains its a slippery slurry then after half a day standing water as drains and gullys get blocked then by night its flooding. I have had Bridgestone A001, Michelin Crossclimate and now Nokian Weatherproof. Crossclimates poor at aquaplaning. Depth of tread noticeably less than others. I like the others for my conditions especially resisting aquaplaning and good water dispersal resisting car pulling towards flooded nearside but also good grip in slippery mud. Bridgestone very noisy and now prefer the Nokian as they are as good but much quieter. M

Both the Bridgestone and Nokians are All season tyres. The rears take significantly longer to wear than the fronts so it will be a few years before front and back are both worn out again enabling me to fit 4 of the same. Somehow I always forget to swap front and back ( all that is possible due to directional tyres) to even out wear. Is there something about all season tyres that mitigate against using different tyres on front as to the back as surely this is fairly usual practice on front wheel drive cars. Although a 4x4 I only have the standard haldex Mk1 controller so rear wheels only come in on front slippage. (Though I do have a brand new Competition Controller to go on if I ever get round to it.) M

Is it sensible to have 2 different makes of all weather tyres on the front and back? I would like to try the Nokian Weatherproof as the fronts are nearly worn down too far but I just put new Bridgestone A001 on the back for MOT as I couldn't get Nokian Weatherproof in time. M M

Thank you Jeeves. I got an email from Gordon with the nearest Nokian Approved Dealer being 1h 40 minutes away so I shall have to do as usual order on line and take them with my spare rims to my local tyre fitter. Ideally I would want all the same make and model of tyre but as I have just got the BridgestoneA001 all weather on the back will put the Nokians on the front unless that is a big no-no? M

Jeeves I see you have mentioned several times about buying the Nokian Weatherproof direct from the UK importers. Is this Nordictyres.com? There doesn't seem to be an online shop though you have mentioned an online pricelist in the past. I had to go back to bridgestone A001 on the rear as I couldn't get the Nokians in time for the MOT but would like to try the Nokian after a trying the MIchelin Crossclimate (which I found OK but they seemed to have less tread depth when new) M

Steering racks are routinely refurbished i.e. rebuilt with new bushes and bearings. Find a company in your country who offer this service. Usually this is an exchange service where they supply a rebuilt rack and after fitting it you send them your faulty rack. If it was an unusual car or there is any doubt to the part number being correct then you could even have your exact same rack sent off for refurbishment but would mean your car was unusable for that period. Perhaps some one here can suggest why the garage says only use a new part (expensive) rather than refurbished. just checked on ebay uk using the part number and there is a new rack in Germany. I will as best I can see what is available here and check the part number. If you need anything sent maybe could also help though postage would be expensive and I assume yours is a left hand drive vehicles you would be better sourcing parts from mainland Europe. Major parts suppliers Mapco and TRW have on line catalogs for steering gear. Also seen WAT and Lizarte associated with racks. Mark

Following from my thread steering rack leaking where a part number changes before and after this number can someone explain how to interpret 1U-W-061000 ? 1U = Platform

I have checked a couple of VIN translators. From other research I know how to interpret my VIN ie which characters represent platform, accuracy check,model year, assembly plant. Not really sure of the meaning of the 12th-17th being "sequence of the vehicle for production as it rolled off the manufacturer's assembly line" What I really want to know is the meaning of 1U-W-061000 Looking at http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5485486-How-to-read-VIN-range-in-ETKA and http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3641945-Reading-VIN-separated-part-numbers-from-ETKA 1U is platform W is model year (from above links VW M=91, N=92, P=93) so am I right in W=99? 061000 Does this relate to the last 6 characters of my VIN? M

So will the chassis number be stamped/ printed anywhere on my car or alternatively is the chassis number contained in the VIN? Tried on line decoder but no useful info.

Yes looks like different length tie rods available if necessary. The input shaft height is slightly different between these 2 rack part numbers also. Weird! Car went rapidly from leak to flooding out.

Thanks Devonutopia I will consider that as an option. BrownBarge. Why do the racks fail? Contacted a supplier and received this back:- I have called TRW this morning and explained the situation and they have told me that there are two racks that correspond to the O.E number 1J242201AJ and they are as follows JRP8164 - 1300mm overall length JRP8165 - 1260mm overall length Now it looks like the O.E number is the same body for both these racks however the overall length is different due to rack ends being of different lengths, so unfortunately we will need the overall length of the rack before I can tell which is the correct rack for your vehicle. On the TWR site JPR8164 to chassis number 1U-W-061000 JPR8165 from chassis number 1U-W-061001 I have the sticker in wheel well with all info including VIN and option codes but not sure how to interpret it. Best option I suppose is get under the car and measure the existing rack. I would prefer to have a new rack sourced to go on before taking the old one off. M

Fluid pours out one of the gaiters so presuming the rack is goosed. Can you say why this should happen? Is it just general wear? Spoke to a garage today and they suggested there must be a reason and suggested pump fault resulting in overpressure and suggested I replace the pump at the same time. Does this sound likely? Checked Partsbase.org as I haven't got Etka up and running and the part number for Steering gear r.h.d. 4x4 PR-1N1 (which mine is) is 1J2422061AJ. TWR on line parts catalogue gives JRP8165 as their replacement. Trouble is I can only find one supplier with one in stock and they are Scotland so slight delay getting shipped. Any suggestions or other decent makes? I would prefer not to have to send my one away to a company for reconditioning due to time having the vehicle out of use as its my only vehicle. Any advice appreciated. In many ways the vehicle is ideal so looking round for a good well sorted one preferably stage 1 or 2 as a second car while I get mine sorted. Would also consider VRS but really would like in estate version. M

Generally happy with the Bridgestone A001 ( see previous posts) especially standing water but could be bettered regarding noisy and the car feels like it is moving/wobbling on the sidewall and treads. When weather got very hot the tyres felt 'greasy'. I have this damage to front tyre which is on about 5000 miles which is about 30% wear so was going to relace the two front ones with new A001's except now would like to try the Michelin Crossclimate (see A Game Changer) as they look better regarding summer braking, in the rain and noise levels. Would it be OK to run two different makes of all season tyre front and back? Car is Mk1 4x4 Octavia. As I understand it the haldex system is reasonably forgiving regarding tyre size so as the rears are same age as fronts and less wear should be OK. The chunk out the side wall was caused by rocks sticking out of Pembrokeshire hedge and was from pulling over v. low speed to let oncoming car through. No sign of any bulging or cord or metal so pretty impressed with the thickness of the wall at this place but reluctant to use at speed for safety reasons. M

Installed carriers from an audi TT Quattro. The pagid brake pads kit come with anti rattle shims. These shims do not fit. Pretty sure looking at Pagid parts catalogue and partsbase.org that the shim part number I have is 1J0615231. Looking on TT forum there is several threads where the conclusion that the TT quattro with the vented rear 256 disks do not have anti rattle shims installed. http://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=838649&start=15 http://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=680513 Can anyone with this upgrade on a Octavia 4x4 confirm they are absent? Thanks mark

Have been running front pressure 30 and rear 32 with just me and light load. If anything maybe a bit low. Petrol cap recommends 32 front 33 rear with 3 passengers. Have to get the rear bushes installed and go get it sorted. Just been looking through threads here and on TT forum. Avia at Bridgend gets recommendations. Not too far 77 miles away. Thanks everyone.

I had these on all year as were the previous set. Very good in the wet/flooded and mud covered back roads. Only a few times this year did they feel like the roads were too hot for them. I may go round a roundabout maybe 2 times a week but lots of 90 degree plus direction changes on very winding roads. In fact come to think of it very little straight/ sweeping bends on the roads at all. Direction change every 100 yards. Previous normal tyres were Toyo Proxes on the Tdi and as I remember they felt a soft compound and wore quickly in similar fashion. as I have a spare set of alloys I may try a dedicated winter tyre probably the Nokian WR D3 although generally milder here than most parts of the country and swap over to Summer etc next year. Seems the norm here whatever season is mostly wet so that is the bias of tyre looking for. M Not overly confident the garages put much effort into making sure this is right. Good guys but just the sorts of places used to fixing broken parts rather than improving handling etc. If I go to the effort of seeking decent alignment further afield I need to know what to ask for. I will check some past threads I remember being on here. M

Every year I get excessive wear on the front outer shoulder of the front tyres noticeably more so on the passenger (nearside) tyre. Rear tyres are wearing to a lesser extent as expected and much more evenly but also more on the passenger side by a couple mm. Nearside (passenger) front Nearside (passenger front) Offside (drivers ) side. The fronts are similar to what I had last year after 12000 miles on this 4x4 estate and also previous 110Tdi estate the previous year to that. When new tyres are put on I have got either one of 2 local garages to do a standard wheel alignment as nothing better is available locally. Driving is 95% on poor single track roads which are granite chippings pressed into molten tar ( as are most of the A roads also round here). Shocks seem in good condition on this car (standard with 90k miles) but the previous Tdi was a bit worn out. I replaced every bush and balljoints, droplinks etc on the front of this car last year prior to new tyres and wheel alignment. I am about to change either to a new complete set of my usual All Season Bridgestone Weather Control A001 or change to Winter WR D3 for a change (to see if there is an improvement in excessive tyre wall movement of the Bridgestone and also their noise). I would like to get on top of this so I have questions. Is the camber, surface and 'twistynes' of these roads likely to put excessive wear on the outer front edge and is this going to be more on the passenger side tyre? If I travelled to get a proper 4 wheel alignment what are the advantages on this car as I understand there is no rear adjustment other than perhaps moving the whole offset of the rear? If this is beneficial can you recommend anywhere in Wales or nearest thereafter? I have all the uprated bushes for the rear of the car an suppose it makes sense to do these first before 4 wheel alignment. Thanks M

Just getting some Audi TT carriers ready for upgrading my rear brakes to 256 vented. The carriers are s/h bought as a pair from ebay. The guide pins that came with them installed are the same length, diameter and design (3 flats machined on the pin) On each carrier one of the pins has more side to side movement (when inserted in the carrier) than the other as if the carrier has one slightly larger diameter hole. I have seen that other designs of guide pins have a stepped down diameter that gives this same feeling and as it is designed in then has some purpose. It seems to me sensible to think that the pin with more movement should be either top or bottom when installed on both sides. however on the s/h set I have on one side it is top and the other bottom. Also on the TRW new or recon BDA526 and BDA 525 carriers (bought for another purpose) which does have the stepped down design pin these also do not mirror each other ie slider rattles in the top of one and bottom of another. Maybe they were wrongly assembled at the factory. Can someone shed any light? Mark

Wonder why Skoda went for the twin cat design on this car? Only thing I can think is to keep ground clearance under the car. I did mention I liked the extra ground clearance on the car. Cat size chosen as to be pointless going bigger with 2 1/2 back. Maybe I should have mentioned going straight to stage 2 in next month or so. I would like to have kept the twin cat but fair bit more fabrication for the down pipe etc. Ideally would haveliked stainless copy of existing twin cat with bigger downpipe and twin sports cats. karlbar2k am I right in thinking you would be OK without a cat (or hollowed out) as your car would pass MOT on LPG and visual check ? Mark

Spoke with Prospeed today. Simplest solution is 3" downpipe , single 200cell sports cat (I think 5" was mentioned) into 2 1/2 back. Going to keep it quiet with hidden twin exit pipes. Booked in for next week. M

Getting turbo back custom ss exhaust fitted as stock one is on last legs. Nearest custom exhaust place are a bit confused without inspecting first what downpipe and as they cannot get anywhere near the price ebay Toyosport ones here they suggested I bring one in and they will do the rear pipework/ backbox etc. STAINLESS STEEL T-304 EXHAUST DE-CAT DOWNPIPE DESIGNED TO FIT AUDI A3 180HP AND AUDI TT MK1 180HP TURBO QUATTRO Features: Our products are 100 % Brand New and Boxed. Mandrel Bent T-304 Stainless Steel. CNC machined 3/8" steel flanges Included 2.15" adapter allows fitment of any cat-back This exhaust downpipe's mirror polished, 3" all the way. Straight-through design enabled to improve horsepower and overall performance Improve throttle response & Horsepower by 7-15 BHP, Dependant upon engine mods Allowing more airflow through the pipe Bolt-on design, easy installation Very Light weight You will get exactly which the above pictures shown. Professional fitting recommended. All Gaskets are included The smaller part is I think the adapter they mentioned in the blurb above. I am getting 2 1/2 cat back , will this part allow fitting to the 2 1/2" without restriction? Looks like it steps down a couple of times. Also regarding putting back the original cat for MOT time is it easy to get everything lined up to fit again? Also should I go to the trouble of having fitted new turbo studs to facilitate changing over? Considering getting a 200 cell sports cat installed and be done with it but not sure how awkward getting one fitted to the Toyo downpipe is. My new insurance quote allows up to 250bhp so will probably press ahead and keep the car for a few more years. Having written this will have probably convinced myself to travel the extra miles and go see Prospeed Cardiff and get the whole lot fabricated even if cost in time and money is more.