smudge1

Thanks for the extra information Xman and RoddersUK . As it happens I didn't get a chance to view as it was sold before I could get there. Lucky escape perhaps 🙂 But as always , learnt a few things from this thread and hopefully it'll benefit others as well . My search continues 🙂

Thanks for your replies guys. Having studied the MOT history a little further I find that this advisory is only on the last MOT of Nov 23 and not on any previous ones . So its had a year and 10K to rust but fingers crossed -surface rust. In answer to your questions :- 1. It is a small dealer but not a main dealer . 2. 2.0 TDI Elegance 83K on the clock 3. " Multilink suspension or torsion beam? " that's a question that I don't have an answer 😞 , but it has an engine number code of CHFC which a EBAY search brings up a picture as attached I assume a " £1000 " repair cost was for the ,more complex Vrs type ? Fully appreciate you cant say too much without seeing it. I just wondered if as I've an inspection scope , if there were any weak spots to look at . Now , it could be I'm over thinking 🙂 it so I just need to get there and make a judgment . Cheers

Hi . I'm just about to look over a Octavia for sale ( I'm upgrading from a MK1 ) which has the advisory of " Rear Sub-frame is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced (6.1.1 (c) (i))" . I wondered if anyone had advice on what to look for or any particular areas to inspect ? Any photos would be appreciated . I'm also assuming that if I get it wrong , it will be an expensive repair . I'm hoping its just surface rust that can be treated with something like ACF-50. Extra info 80K miles and also history of " Offside Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 205/55/16 91V (5.2.3 (e))" Could that also be related to rear tracking ? Many thanks in advance.

I wonder if someone can help. The car has just started to make a very loud noise on startup, which I can only liken to a belt badly slipping. May be the main Aux belt for the air con compressor, alternator etc.? After about 20seconds the noise stops as I guess that the belt has gripped and all is normal. Now at the time of starting, the climate control is in manual mode with a fan speed of 2. But the thing I find odd is if I turn on ECON, AUTO or turn off the fan speed and hence the climate control off the noise comes back immediately. And I thought I was unloading the Aux belt / fans / air con compressor. Has anybody and Idea of what’s going on. I searched the forum but couldn’t see a fault reported like this so apologies if I’ve missed it. Thanks

Hi , I've just got the rear left door open light on the dash after putting the battery back on , after tailgate change. In that change we threaded the original loom down the t gate and reconnected . Everything works OK . Now , previous to this I had the problem of the same door not unlocking and when I started the Tailgate change it was still locked and it was on my next thing to fix list. However and some time during the process , it unlocked itself and now the central locking system for all doors works OK ! EXCEPT this open door warning lamp on the dash and interior lamp is now on . So 1. is it possible that its bad luck and its the door lock mechanism and micro switch ? 2. Does any one know which wires to short as a temp fix because .. 3. Does this warning lamp on the dash = MOT failure ? Thanks in advance

Thanks for the suggestions all. Waiting for the car to come back from the garage as had rearend shunt and ive bought it back as a cat c . so thats will be another topic shortly

Hello . A year ago I bought private sale, a Mk1 which was perfect J , until I tried to start it in the morning from cold. It does start after a good few turns with blue smoke puffing out when it does. Glow plug fault I thought Measured the voltage to each when I turn on the ignition . Result +11V IIRC And noticed the voltage stayed present for the same amount of time the ‘fasten seat belt ‘ warning buzzer sounds for. I then discovered that , from cold , if I switch on and off and on , the ignition 3 times for the duration of the buzzer , the car would more often than not, start up fine. Car went for MOT only and passed no trouble, but garage mentioned I might ( to be confirmed ) have an High Pressure Injector fuel pump problem causing this . So , has anyone had a similar issue or could it be just in need of a set of glow plugs , which I haven’t tried yet as been running like this for a year now . But time to fix it. Many Thanks in Advance

Well , so far I've not swapped any parts out yet but I have found out that turning ignition on and waiting 5 seconds then , off and on again to turn over on the key , And the car fires up pretty well as normal . So Glow plugs to be changed first.

Well, today I went to check the condition of the glow plugs , but didn't remove them as they look brand new . So checked resistance and found all four to be 1 to 1.2 ohms . The applied voltage is 11.9 V on turning the ignition on and drops to 11.82 on average , before all the ding sounds in the in car stop when the voltage then goes to zero. . I took a look at the coolant sensor which seems to be tricky to access to measure the resistance . It could be that coolant sensor telling the ECU the engines already warm ? I see a new fuel filter has been fitted. Its a PD engine which I believe VCDS does not allow any adjustment or access to any settings relating to the base ( fuel injection ? ) pump. So is that a hard waresetting when the cam belt is replaced ? Any other thoughts are welcome and applogies for Hijacking this thread to ' goldenbrown' but I hope this info is usful

Hmmm I read this with interest. I've just bought a TDi private sale as couple of weeks ago, which is always a risk I know , and so far its been its a great buy. However it does have this exact same problem . On starting it does seem to catch on 2 maybe 3 cyclinders before all 4, producing the cloud of smoke out the back. Then , when its warm its 100% . ( I now know the previous owner had covered up this issue by getting it warmed up before I viewed. Should of known ) Oh well ...so I follow this thread with interest. I have a set of glow plugs out of my old Mk1 that blew up, and that started perfectly every time. So when I can , I'll get them fitted and report back. Might be a couple of weeks as old car needs to be towed home from garage. Two qeustions , what do you look for on VCDS ? Is it a software fix ?

Great , thanks for the replies . Here I go

Hello. My Octavia Mk1 has died. Engine failure, head needs to come off , possible piston damage. Big expense and will cost more than the car is worth. I did get to 220K miles which I didn't think was too bad. So , I'm thinking of getting another and would be grateful if anybody could post any links to previous threads or any advice on what I should look for when inspecting one when buying. Thinking ill get one for about 2K. Mine had the power steering rack fail so Ill try and check that as well as the speedo going to zero and staying there. Apart from that it was in the garage for normal wear and tear . Any advice would be appreciated as I think I'd love another. Or should I be looking for the newer model ?

Thanks for the link. I'll give it a try as this common failure has just happened to me .

Big thank you for your replies . Now I've got to have a think about it. I'll admit I'll find it claustrophobic working under the car. And I'm on a soft-ish Tarmac which my axle stands bite into , so I normally place them on a concrete slab to spread the load when working on my breaks etc.. Cheers

Hi Could anybody tell me how difficult a 1999 TDi steering rack is to replace on a flat driveway ? I had a refurb fitted 2 years ago and now its just gone again, spilling all its fluid out of a seal on the RH side . Quoted £198 for the rack 3Hrs labour Plus VAT 398.00 in total . So wondered if its a do-able DIY , sending off the rack for refurb or fitting another refurb etc. I have a competent knowledge of mechanics ( worked on my bikes mostly ) but is this , will this be a step to far / difficult ? Cheers