Spim

Ahh, so brute force and ignorance can be my friend. I'll go fetch me hammer

Have done, now. And I'll give the bending of the cage a try as well, thanks for the suggestion.

Need some advice from the masses. I swapped out my standard Symphony stereo the other week, as the FM receiver seemed to be going (reception fading) and I'm sick of using a FM transmitter for my ipod. Picked up a Pioneer from Amazon, nothing special but seemed to do what I wanted. Removal was fine, hooking up the power was fine, but putting the new stereo in wasn't fine. It seems I've been cursed by the gods of manufacturing tolerances, the mounting cage that came with the Pioneer was 1-2mm too wide for the gap. And losing the cage means the new one rattles in the space left. I've been advised that it could be solved by swapping the plastic surround that the original stereo was in, But can this be bought from anywhere? Or should I be looking for a new mounting cage/new stereo and hope that fits?

Need some advice from the masses, hopefully this is in the right place. I swapped out my standard Symphony stereo the other week, as the FM receiver seemed to be going (reception fading) and I'm sick of using a FM transmitter for my ipod. Picked up a Pioneer from Amazon, nothing special but seemed to do what I wanted. Removal was fine, hooking up the power was fine, but putting the new stereo in wasn't fine. It seems I've been cursed by the gods of manufacturing tolerances, the mounting cage that came with the Pioneer was 1-2mm too wide for the gap. And losing the cage means the new one rattles in the space left. I've been advised that it could be solved by swapping the plastic surround that the original stereo was in, But can this be bought from anywhere? Or should I be looking for a new mounting cage/new stereo and hope that fits?

The Skoda Shop sell the mats, for example http://www.theskodashop.co.uk/product/Fabia_%3E07_VRS_Front_Drivers_Side_Carpet_Mat_6Y2864436C74C Might be about the same price as going through a dealer.

I washed my front mats last year, and they came up pretty good. The drying time's a pain, but if you wait for the warmer months, that'll be quicker. The only downside of a washing machine is that the backs can melt or crack if it's too hot, think I loosened some of the edge stiching/piping on mine. But if i don't look for it, not a problem

Tried using my front fogs the other day, and didn't notice any difference. And when I finally stopped the car, found out neither were working when I pulled the switch for them. Usually when a bulb goes, I expect to see a warning light, but not had anything. Are these connected to the same circuit as the rest of the car's dead bulb device? The cynical part of me does wonder if this a by-product of having the steering pump changed, but I can't honestly say it is as I didn't test all the lights right after picking the car up. Could well be bad luck and both bulbs dying at same time, but just wondered if anyone else has had similar troubles?

To reply to my original post (and keep anyone interested informed), it was the power steering pump that went. All fixed now, thankfully. Though the credit card helped take the pain.

Looks like I shall await what the Skoda dealer says the diagnostic calls up (the words "voodoo" and "magicks" spring to mind here for some reason... ), and then maybe talk to a friendly mechanic I know and see what he'll charge to fix it, compared to main dealer. Ta for the offer, Webley, but as it's going in tomorrow morning (surprised I was to get it in for Monday when I went in on Saturday, they must be quiet), I'll let them hunt the problem down and come back to me.

Ta, will do that.

Finally took my car to get the scratches removed from the sides (ta for that, DentMagic Bristol), and when I picked it up Saturday morning, they told me that a warning light had appeared and the steering was heavy. And sure enough, power steering light has come on. And the thing turns like I'm sailing a damn supertanker, need to start turning 10mins before the turn. Now, it's going in for a diagnostic at the Skoda garage Monday morning, for them to tell me what the fault is/might be. Been told it could either be a sensor (£140), pump (£400-500), or steering rack (£800). Though they didn't mention if it was anything to do with low fluid. Though checking the level is a bit hard with the battery in the way (not the greatest of design features, that). Has anyone had any experiences with this or similar? I seriously doubt it's a sensor that's caused the steering to be heavy, but I'm happy to be proved wrong. Car's only done 78k, 04 plate. And was fine on the Friday, just duff on the Saturday.

Dunno if Rob will read this, but I can hope. I'm looking at shipping my Fabia vRS to NZ (should I get a job there in the New Year), and wondered which way's best - put it in a container with all my other belongings, or on a roll on-roll off ship? Also, is it a fairly simple process to get it registered etc over there? I assume they've got some Skoda (or VAG) dealers/indies over there that can work on the car as needs be.

Does anyone know a good detailing company round Bristol way? Having cleaned my car today, decided that I really ought to do something with all the scratches and chips that I kept finding. Though with the amount I found, maybe a respray is on the cards. Too many to deal with by hand and I've tried some T-cut before and that didn't seem to do much good. Suggestions?

Recently noticed what sounds like a knocking noise from the back of the Fabia from inside, and a squeaking noise from outside (sticking the head out the window). It's noticeable at low speeds and/or going over bad roads. Speed humps are great for bringing the best out in it. Never been there before, and I'm wondering if it's one of those "fix now or it'll cost you" type jobs. Having had a look through the forums, noticed people reporting knocking from the front, not really found anything about back end. Any ideas what it might be, and how easy it would be to replace? My "skill level" is low level bodger, but with a mate who loves to tinker (when he's not getting Rover 400s to drop on his thumb). Last thing I want to do is to take it to a garage and say "there's a funny noise at the back..." as I swear that lights up the cash light in their eyes sometimes.