jvn

Hi there My windscreen washer motor has suddenly gone silent - all fuses seem present and correct and wipers still work (front and rear). I have ordered a replacement windscreen pump off ebay in readiness for replacing it if needed but does anyone have any ideas whether there is a specific fuse for the wiper motor (it doesn't seem to appear listed in any of the Fabia fusebox diagrams) or whether there is anything else obvious to check before I resort to removing the front bumper to access the pump for a proper look? thanks in advance...

Thanks I will dig out my vcds-lite interface and have a look, not tried that before.. As a matter of interest, what kind of values (high/low or -ve/+ve) would normally correspond to lazy starting? The cambelt was replaced recently and it didn't seem to make much difference to the starting performance either way although I'm assuming that when it was done they would re-set the timing manually rather than rely on the original pulley placement...?

Cheers Alex. Hmmm.. not done a starter motor on the VRs before - anybody got any pointers as to what is involved/how long it takes?

Hi Have a 2004 Fabia VRs tdi which has served me well for 160,000 miles with regular servicing until a recent issue whereby the car now takes 3-5 seconds of cranking to start. It always used to start immediately in under a second. I first noticed hesitation starting about 3 months ago and it has gradually got worse and worse. It had a scheduled major service a month ago at my local (reliable) VW independent specialist which included air/oil/fuel filters and a cambelt change but this didn't make it any better or worse. It has also had a new battery recently which also made no difference. It doesn't seem to be any better or worse when cold, warm or hot, or when it's been stopped for 2 minutes or 2 days. It was the same during a short spell of hot weather back in July. I haven't checked glow plugs but I wouldn't imagine they would play a significant part in hot conditions or when the engine is fully up to temperature? My concern is sooner or later it just won't start at all - other than that it runs fine and doesn't appear to have any other symptoms once started. I have checked the battery bay wiring and visually at least it looks sound. I'm running out of ideas at this stage - next suspect would be starter motor I guess but I don't want to start throwing money at the problem in the hope that something may or may not fix it! One thing I was wondering was whether there is any way to check/measure cranking RPM? I understand that it needs to be >300rpm for the fuel to be supplied and the car to start. If I crank long enough to start (3-5 seconds) then after a couple of seconds the tacho needle activates and reads around 300rpm then starts but it happens so quickly it's hard to know whether this reading is valid or useful. Would welcome any suggestions or advice. It's a great car that has served me well for several years and I'd love to keep it going for a few more.... thanks in advance

Would be very grateful if anyone can shed some light on the following issue: a couple of weeks ago I started getting an intermittent problem, whereby when you turn the ignition on the front wipers come on and won't turn off. They run at normal speed, continous setting. Moving the stalk to intermittent setting has no effect, stalk to ON also has no effect, stalk to FAST runs them at fast. AFter the usual random cobinations of ignition off/on/wipers on/off/windsceen wash on/off they seem to turn off then everything is fine. The other day it happened again and I couldn't get them off at all, until I noticed that turning ON the rear wiper (stick away from you) stopped it - but then my rear wipers were on... Every time I turned the rear wipers OFF (stick toward you) the front wipers came on again continuously. Then after a minute or two of random stick movements it stopped and it hasn't happened again since.... The wheel and column haven't been disturbed, and I haven't noticed any other faults, but the apparent connection with the rear wiper being on/off suggests a column/stalk issue? Just wondering whether anyone else has had this issue and can shed some light on it, before I go pulling things apart... thanks in advance :-)

Bought the sealey tool, all done now, didn't take too long at all apart from one of the front wishbone bolts which really didn't want to come out at all...

yes - I noticed quite a lot of white powerdery type surface corrosion/deposit inside the console bush housing, presumably due to salt ingress? I spent a few minutes with some emery closh removing the worst of it before fitting the new bushes; if I'd been fitting metal-bodied (Cupra style) bushes I would have spent even longer and been more meticulous on this part. Some clear silicon grease here helped a great deal.

you will need some big bar, that's true. Alternatively you could work from a section of pipe stock and just make a lipped end piece (plug) , would work fine since it's in compression all the time when bush is being removed..

Yeah, outer shell is 85mm dia external and 73mm internal, ie wall 6mm, total length is 70mm including the closed base thickness which is 10mm. The clearance hole in the base is 16mm to suit the threaded rod which appears to have a 15/16mm thread with a matching 24mm nut. The smaller (silver) plate for bush removal is 61mm dia with a 1mm high step of 56mm dia (although I doubt this small step is essential). The gold insertion adaptors are as follows: the rear plate is 75mm dia with a small 1mm high step of 61mm dia, this step locates the plate centrally in the rear of the console; the second (front) plate is 73mm dia with a 15mm high step of 50mm dia, this fits inside the opening of the new bush while it is being pressed (pulled) into the console housing. The threaded rod is 170mm total length. I think that's all the info you need, good luck :-)

Yeah I just resorted to buying one this week - the Sealey VSE4781 VAG bush tool(cheapest I could find was around £75 inc delivery from here http://www.pvrdirect.co.uk/productinfo.aspx?catref=VSE4781). It's a good tool since it includes the bits to both remove the old bush and press in the new bush, and it includes a proper thrust bearing for the 24mm nut that does all the work. Instructions are pretty good too and there's a helpful vid on youtube here too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA4z2eZA3yU. (One thing to note that differs from the video is that if you do it in situ (like I did) then you can't offer it up to the console pre-assembled, you have to kind of hold everything in place and then screw the threaded rod into the rear plate, then assemble the rest and finally fit the 24mm nut. This is because there's only about 20mm of space between the rear of the console and the chassis, so the threaded rod has to go in from the other side. It is a bid fiddly with only 2 hands but once it's in place you just wind the nut and it does the job nicely.) The dimensions of it are critical though - esecially the bush removal 'shell' - if it had been a couple of mm larger it simply would not have fit (it was a pretty tight fit against the steering rod gaiter on both sides as it was) and it does already have a couple of critical parts of the shell machined away to clear the console casting on the inboard side. If you're only making the insertion part of the tool then it's not as bulky so exact dimensions not so much of an issue. There is still not much room to play with at the rear of the console housing when fitting the new bush. I'd be happy to measure/take pics of it if that would be helpful. I posted on here last week to see whether anyone had a spare DIY version to sell or rent out but drew a blank, so I ended up buying it instead. I figured that tool plus 2 bushes = approx £100, local garage wanted £150+ to do the job..

I fitted the new 'standard' Seat bushes today - they are much better than the originals as they aren't voided like the old ones and in fact they look a lot more like the Cupra ones except they retain the plastic shell rather than the metal one. Having fitted them, road noise is no worse than before except the continuous clattering has now gone and it all feels a bit firmer. The new bushes do really seem a whole lot better than the old ones. Biggest problem I has wasn't removing or fitting the bushes (with the correct Sealey bush tool) it was removing the front 80mm wishbone bolts - one was fine but the other one seized after about 5 turns... tried soaking the area with WD40 for a couple of hours which didn't help, in fact every time i tried to turn it, it got tighter. I'd almost resigned myself to having to wind it back in and take it to the local garage and pay to have it done (or pay them to snap it and remove/replace the console for me) when I noticed that the mounting hole on the console is a thru-hole not a blind hole, ie the threaded hole goes right through the console. With this in mind I injected copious amounts of WD40 into the rear of the mounting hole, left it for 10 mins then wound the bolt back in - to pick up some WD40 on the thread, then wound it back out. Despite seeming on the verge of shearing off previously, this time it came right out :-) Huge relief. Swapping the bushes themselves only took around 45 mins each side with the Sealey tool. One other thing, I also had a lot of trouble getting the wishbone mated back with the bottom ball joint mounting plate (the one with 3 holes). I just couldn't get the hub to move far enough out to pursuade the thing back in. Eventually I found a combination of full steering lock and jiggling the balljoint mounting plate which allowed the blwdy thing to go back in. For re-fitting the wishbone into the new console bush, many people have had trouble with this bit and resorted to ratchet straps etc. I found that with plenty of lube (I used clear Servisol Silicon Grease as used in electronics) they just slid right in just lovely :-)

I'd also say console bushes - mine started as a squeeky creak in the wet about 3 months ago, along with random clunks and clicks, gradually developed into constant clattering over even small bumps. Silicone spray would cure the squeeking for a few weeks but not the clattering (obviously). As already suggested, both console bushes had deteriorated, replaced them today and also fitted new drop links (they are only £15 a pair) and now it's all quiet and lovely again :-) The bushes cost me around £9 each from the local Seat dealer and I bought the proper Sealey VAG bush removal/fitting tool for just under £80 online. So all in I spent just over £100 and changed the lot and still have the tool. Local garage quoted me around £150 to do both bushes (but not the droplinks).

which, apparently, is also a Lamborghini Gallardo front diff mounting bolt :-) Have bought the Sealey bush tool and new bushes (the new 'unvoided' 1K0407xxx standard Seat ones, since the cupra 6LL407xxx ones are now extortionately priced at almost £20 each, and the new 'standard' ones look almost the same as the cupra ones apart from the nylon housing) so planning to tackle the job in the next day or two...

Thanks for the replies so far. I've read through lots of the various threads on here re removing the console vs doing in situ and my preference is to do in situ assuming I can get the required tool, so original request still stands - does anyone have a tool to sell or rent? Thanks again in advance..

Hi there New to this site but have found a huge amount of useful info on here already in particular regarding replacing the shot console bushes on my 04 plate Fabia VRs which clatters and clunks over the pitiful roads we seem to have been left with since another cold winter... I found and digested the DIY guide on here (http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/92625-fabia-wishbone-bush-replacement-diy-guide/ and other helpful forum threads on here) and feel confident enough to tackle it, but before I start ordering any bits I'd be really grateful for answers to a couple of questions... 1) Does anyone have a DIY bush fitting tool (threaded bar and washers) that they no longer need and would be prepared to sell or lend to me (I'd be happy to pay to borrow one)? 2) I've seen a few parts suppliers on ebay that offer complete front wishbones for very reasonable money (ie http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SKODA-FABIA-99-07-FRONT-2-WISHBONE-ARMS-REAR-2-BUSHES-/390085643563?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5ad2ea8d2b and http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Skoda-Fabia-all-00-09-Front-Bottom-Arms-Wishbones-L-R-/250529538877?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a54b9633d). Does anyone have any experience of these sellers or others selling similar parts? For the sake of £60 odd it appears that I can replace the entire wishbone (and new console bushes) and not have to worry about replacing the front bush or the lower balljoint at the same time (they're included with the new wishbone).. Most people on here seem to just replace the bushes (I know they're only £10-£15 each) so I was just wondering whether there's a good reason to steer clear of these (apparently quite cheap) complete wishbones...? Assuming I can get the tool somehow, it looks like I can do the entire job with new wishbones for under £100, plus some effort of course... Thanks in advance guys for any advice gratefully received :-)