sepulchrave

A straight pipe on a petrol is a terrible idea, it'll be deafening and it'll gain absolutely nothing without a remap.

I reckon they're OE, Mahle forged pistons used to be highly regarded. Forged pistons and crank are standard in the VRS, only the Conrods aren't forged, the only reason to replace the rods is if you're going to be raising the rev limit.

Fit it correctly, then it won't get stuck!

Torque is VERY low, just hand tight. No grease needed, rubber is self lubricating.

Get his floor mats!

So take it back and tell the locksmith guy it no workee! I don't understand what you expect us to do?

No, the way the key is made has no bearing on its functionality. The RFID chip is a separate component within the key handle which is read by the car in order to disable the immobilizer. I suspect the problem lies with corrosion of the loop antenna solder joints on the instrument cluster which is why neither key is working properly. These joints need reflowing to fix the problems permanently. Do a search, it's been covered many times before.

Yes.

FYP.

Please note - what you are suffering from is called denial. Your timing has slipped, the chain has skipped on the crank sprocket, you can check this quite easily by following some simple instructions.

There's no reason to suspect that the fault code is a TSi specific problem, any garage can read it and tell you the code, even a cheap reader will allow you to post the code on here where we can quickly point you in the right direction. Meanwhile the days pass as you overthink and catastrophise what is probably a minor fault.

No, it's definitely the timing, hence the sensor code that won't clear.

No, not dirty, it's either the throttle body itself or the pedal sensor, tricky to tell which without further diagnosis. My bet would be the pedal but it may be cheaper and easier to just buy a secondhand throttle body since there are tons available and see if the problem vanishes.

Excuse me for saying this, but I think you're overreacting massively, a CEL simply means a fault code has been stored, it can be as simple as failing battery voltage or a misfire due to a coil pack. I do realise there has been a LOT of catastrophising on here with the twincharger but this is mostly on early engines with crazy oil consumption. You don't have any of those symptoms so there's no reason to assume the worst. The whistling and the dump valve sound could simply be the airbox leaking or an inlet pipe come adrift. You'd be forgiven for thinking that you're driving a grenade with wheels based on some of the dramarama posted on here but it's not true.

The calipers are designed to float on the pins so that they find their own position, the geometry of the brakes are dictated by the fit of the pads in the carrier. Think of the caliper as a clamp only, it isn't experiencing any of the braking force at all. The ARB bushes are possibly worn out, the ARB drop links or the console bushes may have failed, the braking test you've applied is a symptom not the cause.

Yes, a bad battery will do this, how old is the battery?

If the blower motor fuse is blowing then I suspect the cabin filter may be clogged, you should replace it if it's not been changed recently.

Better yet, don't bother changing the fuel filter on petrol cars because it never gets clogged, UK fuel is very clean compared to some countries where the Fabia is sold so unless your engine is suffering with fuel starvation you can safely ignore it and get treatment for your OCD completism.

No idea, just get them remade at a hydraulic hose supplier near you, take the old ones off and get some new ones made to the same pattern.

I've seen this recently with the fault code being AFS inoperative or somesuch guff, it was on a VW, and was caused by a coding error IIRC.

No, it's a common rail silly, fuel pressure is thousands of bar so it's incredibly unsafe.

The catch has probably been snapped, you'll need need to use a zip tie or a small self tapper to hold the plug on firmly.

Battery doesn't really matter on a petrol and auto makes no difference so why spend more than you have to, as long as it physically fits in the box then it'll be just fine.

It's normal for the tensioner to move slightly to take up the slack as the belt beds in. If you removed the injectors from the head then you'll definitely need to reset the lash, although it sounds like you've already done it correctly. MPG could be down to cam timing variation, check the torsion value in VCDS, it needs to be zeroed.

The high pressure fuel system cannot airlock, it's self-bleeding, just crank it until it goes, shouldn't take long.