seriesdriver

I thought as you did re tyres but when you look in to it best tyres to the rear is correct. The simplest way to explain it is front wheel under steer controllable easily by most semi competent drivers, the back end breaking away leading to rear wheel over steer not so much.

Tensioners fail as often as belts, as said pds are harder on cam belts apparently. At 8 years you are double the normal time for a change may be pushing it a bit. Can I ask what sort of price bracket the car you may be buying is in ? Is it private or from a dealer if from a dealer could you get a cambelt change thrown in as part of the deal? If you intent to keep the car for any length of time I would certainly be getting it done unless the car didnt owe you very much and it was being run under bangernomics.

I clipped one two weeks ago luckily only doing 45 in a line of traffic when one ran out from the treeline directly in front of me it was moving quickly so I just kissed it with the front divers side only evidence was a few hairs stuck to edge of wing. I believe it would have been fine and had a good war story to tell its mates.

looks like you have covered all your bases hope you get some good news tomorrow.

Have you spoken to skoda uk yourself? I would want to be speaking to them myself and strongly putting my case to them.

I would expect you would notice a car running as if on only 3 cylinders, they do seem to be jumping about in their diagnosis, I would be tempted to follow the above advise and take it for a second look elsewhere

I know you used to get 2 years skoda parts and labour warranty if you let the dealers do them

Hi have two changes on my 10 year old mkii but it is a pd and I believe this system is harder on the belt. After the 1st change i asked to retain the belt and on a cursory inspection it looked fine but when you really looked there was signs of cracks starting on a number of the teeth. I also believe that tensioner failure is the cause of a lot of "cam belt" failure. At the end of the day we all have different tolerance of risk if I still have this car in 5 years time I may well take the risk and not get the belt done as the car will have minimum value anyway.

Price to change is the only important thing when buying/trading in a car, if you want to get out of one car and into another with the minimum effort you are going to have to pay someone a "profit" to do so. Buying and selling privately can be interesting depends how good you are at dealing with people. I would never buy a warrant from a garage they are selling the one that pays them the best commission probably, just get one that suits you online this does mean more effort for buyer but you then save money and get a more appropriate product .

it may be as simple as a stone lodged between the brake disc and the metal dust guard it does make quite a noise until it finally dislodges

Another update just passed mot 109k miles (lock down has kept used low this last few months) only advisory front tyres near legal limit so having rears put to the front and new tyres fitted next week. I see the plate smoke limit is 1.0 but passed on fast pass with 0.77 not too bad as wasnt quite fully warmed up when they did the test and it hasn't had an mway blast for months. Stay save everyone.

We got away with just tightening the nut here is link to product if plate too far gone otherwise its a new compressor job https://x8r.co.uk/air-conditioning-a-c-delphi-compressor-5n0820803-audi-vw-seat-skoda-repair-kit Note this fix is only for delphi compressors if you have different brand fitted (skoda fitted at least two different brands over time) if yours isnt delphi this isnt applicable.

On one of the ac compressors fitted to mark 2 Octavias have a thing where a nut on the shear plate loosens over time and needs gunning back up. It fixed non working ac on our car a few years ago. VW Audi Seat Skoda Air Conditioning Compressor Pump Clutch Hub Plate Disc 5N0820803, 5N0820803A, 5N0820803E, 5K0820803A Repair Fix Kit Instructions Install Guide The Problem It is a common fault on these air conditioning compressors for the bolt on the shear plate to loosen, causing the splines within the shear plate to wear leading to loss of air conditioning. These air conditioning compressor pumps all suffer the same common fault. The bolt which retains the shear plate (attached to the drive pulley) to the pump shaft loosens over time. If spotted early the bolt can be seen unwinding itself, eventually it loosens completely and is lost. The pulley will continue to spin with the engine causing the splines within the shear plate to strip. Once this happens the air conditioning pump will no longer function and produce cold air as the pully can no longer drive the pump. Previously the only solution was to replace the complete compressor at vast expense. We now provide just the shear plate and bolts so you can repair your compressor and restore the A/C at a fraction of the price. Symptoms of the fault Symptoms include; no cold air from the air con system and or excess noise from the air conditioning compressor. When the system all appears OK - topped up, no leaks, all seems OK via VCDS logs it is worthwhile inspecting the bolt on the shear plate as this is likely the fault. You should be able to observe the bolt protruding from the compressor (if not yet lost) and the screw not turning despite the pully turning. This is a clear indication that the bolt and shear plate are damaged. Our kit will remedy this. Vehicles affected and compatibility Our kit will repair these compressors with this fault: 5N0820803, 5N0820803A, 5N0820803E, 5K0820803A. Please check the part number on your compressor before ordering, we cannot confirm with 100% certainty from vehicle make / model. Will fit the Delphi compressor only. Some models affected: Seat: Leon, Altea. Skoda: Octavia, Fabia