paulkennedy

It's not that difficult to change. I bought a complete regulator I had horrible experiences with the repair kits. It's riveted on I couldn't find any of the rivets locally so I used 13mm Tec screws. They are fine a year later and cost pennies.

Was it a genuine CTS? Spurious ones aren't great. I bought "genuine" ones off a well known auction site and they weren't.

I wouldn't recommend you buy a remapped ECU. It's fairly easy to get a standard ECU unlocked. After that it should be remapped on the car on a dyno so the mapper can allow for wear and tear on the engine

You should be looking at Luk or Sachs etc for a clutch kit. Good ones aren't cheap and cheap ones aren't good. Not all mechanics will fit a supplied part because they can't give you the 12 month warranty.

What engine do you have?

The outer CV boot is easy enough to change. I'd avoid the stretchy ones. It's best to take the shaft out and tap the CV joint off. If you get a new joint make sure you got the new clip.

Night breakers at the front better light not really aggressive I have trouble imagining aggressive lights it's like trying to picture a vicious geranium

It's quite easy. You open the drivers door and pull the beading from the fuse box to the roof towards the rear of the car. Then remove the sun visor. There is a panel on the A pillar with easily broken clips that you need to remove and that's about it. Replacement is the reversal of removal to paraphrase a series of car repair manuals

I thought the 1.9 had heating plugs in the coolant my last 1.9 certainty did. I'd check the thermostat too

A breaker doing only MK1 fabias wouldn't have a great quality lifestyle.. Try traynors.co.uk they have a lot of stuff and they deliver. Alternatively you could search Google for a specialist vag breaker also websites like gumtree etc might have something

I can't figure out what the guy is complaining about. As far as I know forums are just as the Romans intended, a gathering of people to exchange ideas. People on forums aren't experts on standby waiting to dispense free advice and step by step instructions. The only advise according to their experience and level of skill and they do it for free. Ask a mechanic a question and you'll either get an answer thats full of incomprehensible jargon or a grunt. They tend not to be overly open on how to or what may be wrong, why should they, its their job. MinkyMike a £60.00 clutch for what? only crap like Transmech clutches are so cheap and they are useless. Fitting a clutch takes time and time is money. My mate in London pays £150.00 an hour for labour in a Ford garage. If you have a 1.4 Fabia get a workshop manual axle stands and a socket set The clutch is perfectly doable on the ground.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2060353.m570.l1313&_nkw=038903315T&_sacat=0

A good spray with wd40 and a scrub with a brass wire brush will clean it up. You'll see easier whats wrong and how to fix it. I spray white grease on mine from time to time, dirt still gets on it but the brass brush cleans it (i got the brush for free the wife bought it to clean shoes but its small and I stole it)

I'd suggest you leave the ECU where it is. When you get a remap done a skilled mapper would do a dyno test before he started remapping to get a baseline reading. This would allow him to customize the map to allow for the current condition of the engine, turbo, injectors etc based on the initial reading. How much is the ECU? It may be coded to the car it came off so unless you get it coded to your car it would be an unattractive paperweight. There are people who remove the immobilizer chip from VAG ECU's making the car potentially easier to steal.

I think it will have a clutch on the alternator. I'd start by checking the voltage with the engine running it should show around 14.4 volts. If thats ok leave the bonnet open, engine off and doors closed and check the voltage after about 10 minutes it should be a little over 12 volts. If the running voltage is lower than 14 volts you might have a problem with the alternator or the alternator clutch. If you have full voltage check the earth straps are clean where they meet the body and engine

Does the alternator have a freewheel clutch? Sounds pretty obvious but is it charging properly. As mentioned a multimeter can tell if its charging.

Here's my 2/- worth. Cheap bulbs are cheap for a reason, buy a brand like Phillips or Osram, in fact fit Osram nightbreakers to your car and keep your current headlight bulbs for emergencies. You can buy a few brake/indicator etc bulbs from a motor factor for very small money (not Halfords). Your car will have standard and mini fuses again you can buy assorted fuses from your local motor factors. There should be a diagram on the fuse cover showing what each fuse is for

You could get VCDS or look for a member here who has VCDS and would help you out. I have DS150 which will do everything VCDS does for about £60

Did you check the track rod ends? I'd also check the shock mount bushes and inspect the springs and bottom ball joints.

Your window regulator panel may be riveted in place rather than bolted. i had to change my front regulator and I didn't have the right size rivets or a big rivet gun to attach them. Adding another €50 on to the price seemed like an unnecessary expense so I went to a hardware shop got some 13mm self drilling tec screws worked great and cost next to nothing.

Furry dice, leopardskin steering wheel cover, Lexus tail lights... Seriously those cars are anaemic and the engines can develop serious problems with valves and the timing chain which if put into a garage are horribly expensive to put right. I doubt there's any point in trying to remap it so really the only mod I could suggest is a K/N air filter but I can't see it making much difference. Regular servicing and no supermarket petrol might prolong it's life but no speed no power no women if you're trying to pull in it either!

Mods as in?

Most locksmiths will cut and code a key for you. They will be significantly cheaper than a main dealer. the key has to be coded to the car. you can buy Chinese keys of unknown quality on ebay for a fiver or so

I removed the air box before removing the battery tray