MikeTheThinker

Thanks for the comments. Where I am at the moment is a 1930s brick 2-storey semi with broadband via Shell Energy (don't know who's service they are reselling) and their wifi box - which looks very much like the EE one we had at home. Home is a single floor 1965 detached bungalow. Both locations suffer from borderline mobile signal so I'm relying increasingly on wifi connection for mobile calls. I'm finding the locations for workable signal to be painfully exacting - within 150mm movement - and also variable depending on the weather, phase of the moon, local tide heights, pollen count etc. etc. Holding a mobile conversation - even via WhatsApp - for more than a couple of minutes is akin to a mountain goat's balancing on a rocky point over a chasm - you daren't move a muscle. Wifi for static computer equipment seems fine. I have always tended to move about or wander around when on the phone so the current restrictions are irksome to me but far worse for either myself or my co-conversationalists when trying to maintain a discussion about just when the damp contractors will have signed off on our house post flood or just what is in scope for the kitchen stripout team who want to start work yesterday. Do I sound frustrated? TFRB! To return to our normal service here I've tried moving the wifi router around within reason - it's currently above head height on a plate rail - but it doesn't seem to make much difference overall. I'm using a 5GHz band and a check on wifi signal strength and other local services doesn't indicate overloading or swamping from other consumers. Connection here is fibre to the green box (DSLAM?) and copper for the last few metres. Download speeds run around 40Mb/s. Oh, and mobile service is via EE.

A long shot this but can you find a part number on the dipstick? If so you should be able to check it's the correct one for your motor.

Here's a view of our 2007 1.9tdi mk2 Octy with the plastic bumper removed. Note the bucket is not an original factory fitment

You could use Allen bolts but the torque needed is going to strain a hex socket head a little. I used normal hexagonal head high tensile bolts, which worked fine. As a hand assembler you don't need the millisecond time gains from having a self-centreing machine driven bolt. Do use a good and unworn socket, though, as you may get slip and smear with a cheap or worn socket on a hex head at high torque values.

I appreciate the gesture but there are others on here who are far better informed than I. My forte is finding information, which I do where I can and time permits. I've had many occasions where this forum and it's members' wisdom have helped me out over my 12+ years of membership, so I give back where I can.

Try a breaker. Unless the front end has been stuffed the bumper bar should be fine. You're looking for 1Z0 807 109 C I believe. Piccy HERE. Note that to remove and replace the M6x20 bumper bar mounting bolts (see HERE) you'll need an XZN or triple square bit which are used a lot on VAG cars. I know the parts cat says they're Allen heads but the ones I've seen or removed have all been XZN. The bolts are high tensile and should be replaced and properly torqued up. NB the parts cat links I've used are no different than the ones MicMac gave you, just a different webhost.

This toob shows you where & how ...

IIRC it's the external temperature sensor and it plugs into the back of the bumper bar. I'll try to remember later to look up a diagram for you.

I would suspect wear somewhere (oil pump?) that is masked by the thicker fresh oil but as the oil ages and thins the problem recurs.

Whilst spending time in my temporary home and also back at my real home the mobile signal coverage is best described as "fickle". My phone is set up for wifi calling but that means I seem to have to find an approximately 150mm zone, stand on one leg and don't dare move by more than a few mm or I lose the call. To put it mildly, it's frustrating. And yes, I have put it rather less than mildly on a number of occasions too! A friend wot reckons he noze fings says a Mesh Wifi would be the dog's danglies here, but whilst I've played with wifi repeaters in the past they didn't give me a uniform signal zone as the phone has to swap wifi signals as you move about the house. Any suggestions of what to do (and not to do) out there, please? I'm on a pension so I'm not looking at the gold-plated end of solutions

I tried to see the wheel size but couldn't work it out from your photo. It looks like a 15 or 16" ...

VW Touran I believe.

May be useful to know that the part numbers for an '07 preFL door (diagram HERE) is the same as that for a FL '08 door (HERE), and I suspect the part numbers are consistent for all the mk2 Octys.

From your description it sounds as though your car is a petrol model. What model and what engine?

May I suggest you treat it as you would treat wheel studs/nuts after refitting; check them after a couple of hundred miles for tightness and - especially in this case where there is only one fastener holding things together, and not four or five - continue to check at appropriate intervals. Regardless of your success in managing to overcome the cross thread do keep in mind that the strength of the connection is now and never can be up to the level of the original undamaged part.

Take a look at this LINK for skoda-parts.com which shows the bolt in question plus a list of all Octavias it fits (and it looks like all mk2s).

According to the parts catalogue for an '07 combi/estate HERE it's M14 x 1.5 x 70, although it doesn't say if the bolt is high tensile or not.

I think you might be looking for a "spoiler, wheel housing liner in plastic", parts diagram HERE.

Are there any other differences in such extended wheel bolts (other than the length, of course)?

This would suggest the cooling system has air in it. The cure for such used to be to bleed the top hose or thermostat whilst ensuring the coolant header bottle is kept topped up, but I've never done such for an Octy. If I get a chance later I'll take a look see at Mr Haynes' bible and update you.

It could be just an airlock. Try feeling the radiator top hose to see if it gets hot and feels like it has water in it. Watch your fingers!

Vevor is based in Shanghai and operates worldwide so you may be able to get a better shipping deal from somewhere other than the UK.

My guess would be for sound damping as the complex fibre surface will dissapate sound better than a hard plastic surface.

Same part number; see parts catalogue pages: 2011 Octy estate, 2013 Octy estate. That said, it's a know weak point on Octy estates so maybe stripping off the internal plastics and tackling the corrosion from both sides? Use plenty of rust killer after you've cleaned down the area, rustproof prime and then fill/paint as @MicMacsuggests. Take extra care around the number plate lights as there are a number of fiddly nooks and crannies.

UK insurers work to about 60% of the value of the vehicle to write it off. I don't know about repair costs where you are but a working estimate where I am (north west England) is around 3-400 per panel to straighten and respray. The insurers will be uncomfortable about repairs to the rear quarter as it's part of the main body shell. I would look closely at the damage to the rear wheel/suspension setup as that affects your safety and not just how the car looks. I don't know about shipping costs (but I can find out of you wish) but I have a rear bumper bar you can have if that's any use. I took it off when I fitted a towbar so it's in good nick - although probably needs a wash by now Alternatively you could take a look around locally for someone who has fitted a towbar as they'll have the same part surplus.