RichOctVrs

I think my disks had some kind of coating on them, they definitely weren't bare metal. A quick tip…you’ll need to remove some brake fluid from the reservoir. A cheap turkey baster does the trick. Oh… and be careful not to over tighten the disk retaining screws and snap off the heads like I did

Another vote for the Pagid parts... in fact I've just fitted front disks & pads from Euro Car Parts (same part numbers I think). Braking is much improved... old disks where badly worn.

Another vote for vwspares Got most of my bits from there (including arb bushes and drop links). Shame they don't do a forum discount :(

If I recall correctly, a faulty coolant temperature sensor can cause some of these issues, particularly the lumpy idle. If you've still got the old black sensor, you might want to change it to the latest (green) one... part No. 059 919 501A.

Give the crankcase/camshaft breather hoses an inspection too. OEM ones seem to be made of paper mache and are prone to splitting. Both the y piece and the one under the inlet manifold where split on mine and made it behave bucking bronco at low/mid revs! It was crap on fuel too... suspect it was over fuelling to compensate for the vacuum leak.

Yep, the piston should push back and make a seal. The checks that I would do are; Push the piston up then seal the vacuum pipe (one on the top of the DV), release the piston and it should stay in place, if not, it’s leaking somewhere. Try blowing into the side port (feeding back to the turbo pipe). If you feel resistance, then the piston is doing its job. If there are any leaks/hissing, you could be loosing boost.

IF you don't need the all singing & dancing VAGCOM, you could always start out with a £20 cable... http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VAGUSB.html and a free copy of VCDS lite. http://www.ross-tech.com/vcds/download/ I paid $99 for the VCDS Lite registration, which unlocks some extra features. So far I've done the selective unlocking, anti-hijack, throttle body adaptation, cleared a few fault codes and taken some logs. Then I got told off by the Mrs for being a 'geek' and was made to go clothes shopping with her as punishment

You could always change the cams, fit bigger injectors, uprated fuel pump find a suitable turbo and add a custom remap. Or you could go the whole hog shoehorn a R32 engine in it. But the amount of time, effort and money require to bring it up to say, that of a stock VRS... you'd probably be better off swapping it outright for a more sporty model.

Jeeesus, that axel stand arrangement looks a bit precarious… you’re a braver man than I Obviously did the trick tho

This video is quite good... Gear linkage adjustment

I replaced mine this weekend with these... ARB bushes and Clamps No creaking so far and the steering seems more precise and confident. I recon it’s the plastic sleeves, which are now in the bin, that cause the squeaking. Offside one disintegrated when I removed the old bush, nearside one needed a bit more persuasion I’ll echo sparky2’s comments about needing to raise the driveshaft for better access. The only problem I had was not being able to use the torque wrench on the ARB clamp bolts due to lack of space.

I suspect that because you've had a go at it, you've invalidated the bodywork warranty. I'd expand the area a bit just till you reach none rusty metal, give it a going over with a wire brush and apply some rust stabiliser/converter asap to stop the rot… Then you could cover this with some Stonechip shield And then finish with top coat, or do stone chip on both sills in stone chip so they match... depends how fussy you are about the finish. I've found a few small spots behind my wheel arch liners and am gonna go at them with KRUST and some Stonechip shield or underbody seal.

Got mine booked in at Rainworth skoda next thursday. They've got some in stock so it should be done while I wait

I’ve been using my Octy at the weekend only for the last couple of months and was worried about the battery going flat due to the alarm/immobiliser drain, so invested in one of these... Solar-Powered 12V 1.5W Battery Trickle Charger Still early days but I’ve had no probs starting her so far.

Rob, completely off topic but... wow, that scenery is fantastic, is it really your place or did you hire a film location V jealous.