Merlin3046

I'm engaged in the same search for air filter box screws for both my Octavia and my son's Fabia 2. The screws in question are known as Hi-Lo thread forming screws, and in the case of the Fabia at least, they're Phillips headed (not Pozi-driv). These threads are generally specified where multiple insertions are required into plastic. The plain shank allows them to be captive in the box lid. They're definitely not freely available from DIY stores. Our dealer has made the same response as that received by TheClient above: happy to sell us a whole new box lid for £(stupid amount). I'll measure one up and see if a specialist plastics fastener supplier can supply any. I'll let you all know how I get on. Clearly stainless would solve the problem in the longer term, and as Phillips drives are not my favourite, I'll see if they come in either Pozi or Torx.

This is a common problem with rear drum-braked Fabias (both Mk 1 and Mk2). It's nothing to do with cables, springs, adjusters, dust or anything like that, it's simply the shoes and the drums binding together under the influence of the lightest of corrosion. At the risk of stating what we all know already, the inside of the drum is a lovely clean polished cast iron surface which is very prone to corrosion. The shoes are lined with a fibre- and metal-impregnated epoxy material, also highly polished, and, importantly, exactly conforming to the inner surface of the drum. When you leave the handbrake on in wet conditions (see weather records, August 2015), these two lovely clean surfaces in intimate contact with one another develop an affinity and stick. If you're lucky, they can be freed by simply ignoring the protests from the clutch and tyres and driving off (or backwards and forwards), dragging the wheel until it bangs free. Occasionally one's nerve gives out before the brakes free. At this point, take the wheel off (chocked and jacked very securely; don't rely on the wheel-changing jack) put two wheel bolts back in partially, insert a long lever between the bolts (I have an inch diameter steel bar c5 feet long) and apply a hefty torque. Have an assistant tap the drum with a steel hammer with some vigour (don't be too shy here, and don't muck about with wood or leather or plastic mallets; you need the sharp shock) and you'll free it up in no time. For particularly stubborn brakes you may need to put three bolts back in and alternate the direction of the torque whilst applying the hammer. I would imagine that different manufacturers' shoes may stick to a greater or lesser degree depending on the compound of the shoe linings, but they wear out so seldom I've never had the opportunity to explore that hypothesis. Have fun. Merlin

I've just undone the lambda sensor in the exhaust manifold after a huge struggle, only to find the reason for the struggle was that I've knackered the thread whilst unscrewing. I have a couple of options: 1) cry. 2) force the new sensor in and hope for the best or 3) seek help from others who might have solved this problem in the past. Is this thread helicoil-able? Am I in for a new exhaust manifold? All suggestions gratefully received. Thanks Merlin

I might be a bit slow here, but in my poverty-spec 1.2 70ps Fabia 2, the front speakers are 13cm and are not great sounding. Do I take it from the above that 17cm fit (with a suitable adaptor) in the front doors? I'm planning a half-way decent pair, expecting a separate cross-over and will get busy with the araldite to hold the tweeters into the A-pillar covers. Thanks Merlin

I have 195/55 x 15s on my 1.2HTP and am considering a change because of a nasty ride and high noise (Kuhmo on the front). Echoing some of the comments above, my old Mk1 Fab had 175/70 x 14s and whilst it's no go-kart in the corners, the refinement was lovely. I recently rented a Polo abroad and it was fitted with 185/60 x 15s. The ride was great (acknowledging the later technical platform of the car) so to me, this seems the favourite route. Need to check the rolling diameters, though, but I suspect they'll be fine.

In the bottom RH corner of the fuse box, there are several empty slots where fuses can go. Switched +12V is fed to the fuse socket on one side of where a fuse is inserted, the other side is empty. You can find the 12V by using a meter to detect the 12V when ignition is on and not when it's off. There are 3 or 4 of these, so pick one that will become your fused switched 12V supply. Take one of the aforementioned terminals and crimp it on to a medium-sized wire (2.5mm2 is plenty big enough for most radios). A proper crimp tool will make it easy to do and give you a reliable connection. Most car electrical shops can guide you on this. Now remove the fusebox. You need to get into the footwell, remove the foam sound insulator and undo the screws holding it in. It's a bit of a tight fit to get out, particularly because there's a huge cable harness going into one end. Go steady as you don't want to dislodge any wires. I've probably missed some details here but it's been months since I did this. You should now be able to see the empty hole that will take your terminated wire. It will only go in one way and you'll find the right way by trial and error. Push it in until it clicks into place. Run the new cable up through the guts of the dashboard and bring it out into the space behind the radio. It's a good idea to tie-wrap it to convenient points along the way, and make sure there's generous slack along the way. Re-fit the fusebox. Insert a new fuse appropriate for the radio into where you've just put the new terminal in the fuse box. Check that the free end of the new wire isn't touching anything, turn on the ignition and check you've got 12V at the end of the new wire. Check it goes off when you switch the ignition off. All you need to do now is terminate this new wire appropriately to fit into whatever connector goes into the back of the radio, push the termination into the connector housing and plug that back into the radio and, as the say in France, Fanny's your aunt. Hope this helps. M

Found it. The Golf TDI Club forum has been very helpful in this respect. Have a look at: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=245319. I finished up buying the 3-7212 terminal from www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu. You then need a new fuse and you'll still need to wire in the permanent +12v to the radio to stop it losing its memory every time you switch off (pardon if any of this is obvious). It's nice to see a job well done. Death to the Scotchloks. M

The Fabia 2 doesn't have a switched +12V to the back of the radio, just a permanent +12V and a signal bus from the computer to tell the radio when to switch on and off. This is different from the Mk1 Fabias. I finished up running my own switched +12V line from the back of the fusebox, from one of the spare sockets, to the back of my aftermarket JVC DAB radio. I'll need to do some digging but you can buy the correct termination for this wire from (details missing; I'll let you know) and it pushed in to the back of the fuse box on the bottom RH corner (there are several switched un-used sockets down there; they're easy to find with a voltmeter and patience). You might need to take the fuse box out and have it dangle by the harness to get behind there though. It's a fiddle, but it's good to do it properly. Once I had the connector I did mine in a Saturday morning without breaking a sweat. Good luck. This does mean, however, that you only get radio when the ignition is actually on. It no longer stays on once you've switched the ignition off but left the key in. That level of function is now performed by the digital bus.

The connector at the back of the car ain't a Fakra. The one at the front behind the head unit is. Thanks anyway. M

Hi, all. I'm now on my third Skoda (09 Octavia estate, 05 Fabia (son just taken off to uni) and replacement 58 Fabia). I'm an engineer and generally know what I'm doing around cars, but the latest wiring has me baffled. My new 58 Fabia is being treated to a JVC DAB radio. As recommended, I've bought a DAB/FM combi aerial (also JVC, makes sense to match to head unit, n'est-ce pas?). Problem is in the FM connection from the new aerial (M10 Hirschmann connector) to the in-car existing co-ax cable from the back of the roof to the head unit. I can't figure out what type of connector the car has and so can't find an adapter. Anyone with experience of this? Thanks, Merlin.

Meths removes many things. May be better than acetone (nail varnish remover). Good luck. M

Hi, all. I'm now on my third Skoda (09 Octavia estate, 05 Fabia (son just taken off to uni) and replacement 58 Fabia). I'm an engineer and generally know what I'm doing around cars, but the latest wiring has me baffled. My new 58 Fabia is being treated to a JVC DAB radio. As recommended, I've bought a DAB/FM combi aerial (also JVC, makes sense to match to head unit, n'est-ce pas?). Problem is in the FM connection from the new aerial (M10 Hirschmann connector) to the in-car existing co-ax cable from the back of the roof to the head unit. I can't figure out what type of connector the car has and so can't find an adapter. Anyone with experience of this? Thanks, Merlin.