del-gti

Some impressive beading action on here. Here is mine from today: SRP + EGP. Nice combo!

That's the plan. Already ordered them.

From the pic below, can anyone tell me if I have the revised front ARB or the old kind? Trying to find the source of some knocking and thought I'd rule out some of the cheaper options first, droplinks, ARB bushes, track rod ends etc. Cheers Del

+1 Have a long think about whether you should call it a day. I've been in a similar situation recently, though mine is a bit younger at 10 yrs old. Decided to keep it even though it's had (and continues to have) some niggling issues, which I'm slowly sorting out. At the end of the day, you know the history of the car and it'll still be cheaper than a monthly car payment.

Well the vibration has gone! Not entirely sure what was causing it but it's definitely not doing it anymore. Couldn't see anything wrong after taking the wheels off and it was still doing it with them off and after sticking them back on. Only thing I could find was this: Those two hoses in the first pic weren't clipped into their locating guides and the wiring loom I'm pointing at in the second pic wasn't clipped into the bulkhead as it should be. It was trapped between the top intake pipe and the brake fluid reservoir. You can see where the two parts are in the third pic. I know, it sounds crazy but that was all I did and it went away. The only thing I can think is that the loose parts were causing vibrations elsewhere or transmitting the engine vibration and that is what I was feeling through the pedals. Does seem a bit coincidental but who knows. Only thing is, I was so chuffed I'd sorted it, I didn't think to try moving them back to see if the vibration returned. Probably won't be of any use to anyone but thought I'd post up seeing it's sorted. Might just show that it's important to make sure everything is squared-away correctly.

Hope not, but I'll get a look underneath tomorrow. Gonna whip both front wheels off for better look.

Car went in to get both strut top mounts replaced and while it was in had driver's side front spring replaced as it had snapped near the top (source of the rattle which was accompanying the creaking from the top mounts). Anyway, there is now a noticeable vibration through the brake and accelerator pedals, which feels like it's from the engine. It does it at idle and when car is moving and it also changes as the revs change. I've not driven the car much since I got it back but it feels bad enough that I think I'd end up with pins and needles in my foot after any sort of a long journey. Obviously I'm going to take it back to get it checked out (it's going back in for MOT shortly) but just thought I'd ask if anyone had an idea of what it could be? I'm doing an oil change tomorrow so in I'll take a look at it then as it feels like something is touching where it shouldn't and causing the vibration. It's just strange that it started after the work was done. Any thoughts?

Was 24 degrees here today and the car was ice cold inside! Normally I'd be dreading a drive home from work in this weather. Such a good little fix to get the a/c working again. Thanks to all who had some input in this thread, I probably wouldn't have had a go at fixing mine otherwise.

Excellent. Well done getting it sorted. I love it when a plan comes together. I really should do some vcds work to see if the figures are as they should be.

Nicely done. Fingers crossed you get it all sorted.

Good luck, keep us posted as to how you get on.

Well that's mine fixed. Decided to go down the route of the resistor replacement to to see if that solved the problem. So, I bought the resistor from RS Components, (RS Stock number: 188-087, P/N: HS 100 1RJ) and some thermal paste from eBay. Total cost £6.93. Soldered some 14AWG wire on to each terminal of the resistor then added some heat-shrink, butted up to the ends of the resistor in a bid to keep out any water. Then I found a piece of L-shaped aluminium in the scrap bin in work and secured the resistor to it. Now the guides I've seen online are for a mk4 Golf but there isn't as much room under the bonnet of a Fabia, especially with the 1.9 lump so I secured the resistor to the fan holder at the side of the fan, (I only have one fan). It does look a bit pikey but it's secure. Hopefully the fact that it mounted underneath the plate will protect it from the worst of the elements, also the bottom engine cover should keep the water out. I'll keep my eye on it and see how it weathers though. Then I followed this guide to wire the resistor into the existing system: http://website.lineone.net/~alan.james.lorely/fan%20mod/Repair.html The only difference is that I only have one fan, so only one resistor required. Also, of the three wires coming from the fan to the connector plug, one is brown and the other two are red - making it a little more difficult to select the right wire to cut. However, by following that the centre wire of the three is the one cut in the guide and also that on the other side of the plug, the centre wire is thinner than the other one - proving it's the low speed (7.5a vs 15a). The connector, right hand side of this goes to fan: Once it was all connected,I did the fan test again - success! Fan works in both slow and fast speed. Well happy, and a cheap fix too.

If you've got the room, keep it. Could come in handy if you need a tyre at short notice and are short on funds.

Here you go: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4509806 Check out the links from post #3. Now that I've had a chance to have a seat and do some more digging, I'm thinking about doing the resistor mod. Would be much cheaper and I could do most of the prep at work. Yeah spotted the controller, much bigger than I was expecting. I'd only seen a pic of it when I was pricing a replacement, just in case.

Well bit of an update on this - checked the fan today today via the plug and it would seem that the fan or more specifically, the fan resistor is at fault. Checking the low speed setting, there is an audible click (like a relay), when you connect the jumper wire but no fan movement. Fast speed works fine. As you mentioned, this fault is well documented and seems to be very common. A bit more research has uncovered that there is a fix for the defective resistor but think I'd rather just save the hassle and buy a new fan. I'm sure they've been posted before but here are the some pics of today's efforts. The relevant plug: Unplugged: As it hasn't been used in quite a while, I bought a can of a/c purifier from halfords and stuck it in the car today to get rid of any bacteria and dodgy smells from the system. Nice smell, hopefully does the trick.

I use Morrisons for diesel, have done since I got the car. This was my average mpg on a recent 40 mile journey. Last tank got me 485 miles and the light wasn't on yet. Only managed to get 38 litres in and that was after venting 3 times. It was a pleasant 22 degrees outside which I know helps to improve mpg, but I'm still happy with that figure even if it is over-reading a bit.

Think I may have a similar issue to you. My fan seems to only kick in at fast speed and as you said, doesn't show any fault codes for this. My a/c would only work after the car had been sitting in the sun for a few hours and even then it wasn't cold. I suspect that pressure in the system increased due to the heat which allowed it to work. The other thing was that when it did work, there was that horrible hissing noise from behind the dash. So I decided that if I could at least get the system correctly regassed, it would give me a baseline to work from, as I know that correct pressure is related to the system actually wanting to work. Well, lo and behold, it works. Ice cold a/c and no more hissing noise from the dash! As I said though, the fan only goes from rest straight to high speed. I'm going to check the fan using the technique mentioned early, so I'll report back when I know more. I priced a replacement fan at about £65.

Well that's a silly comment! If people didn't buy new cars how would second-hand ones become available? Also, the OP bought the car from new! Anyway, back to the original question. I asked myself the same one just a few weeks ago. My 2006 1.9tdi was approaching 108,000 miles and a timing belt change. I was wondering if I should get rid and go for something new or newer. Not sure if you'd call the diesel engine a bit more complex compared to the to the 2.0i petrol but it does have a turbo, dmf, egr valve etc to contend with, so those were the sort of things I was concerned about. Other things I thought about were more general stuff - rotten exhaust, worn shocks, bushes, brakes (handbrake cables in my case), clutch etc and rust, as has recently been mentioned in another post. I ended up getting the timing belt, water pump etc changed (£260 btw, so your quote does seem pricey) and I'm going to keep it. Hopefully for about another two years. I'm just gonna keep on top of the maintenance and try and keep it in tip-top condition. If I was you I'd do the same. Hope that helps.

Good catch. Looks like another job for the summer. The list is growing.

Think that's £25 in Halfords, so looks like a good buy to me. I've used the Demon Shine and Demon Foam before. Both ain't bad.

If it is the dreaded carriers leaking (and it probably is), there are a couple of things you can do to help matters, both before and after you get them sealed up. If you have mats, lift them - that way damp carpets will dry a bit easier. If you have a/c, use it. All the time - a/c will dry out the air and help to keep the windows clear. Select the 'feet' option for which vents the air comes out of. (Obviously once the windows are clear) - again will aid with drying out the carpets. Buy a couple of those dehumidifier tubs and place them in the footwells of the car - poundstretchers, pound shops etc sell them. The next couple of suggestions I find really quite helpful: A couple of minutes before you get where you are going, turn the heating down and open the windows a bit. This will help to let the warm air out of the car. A warm car will 'steam-up' easier as the outside temperature is less than the inside. If the interior is moist, it only adds to it as the car interior becomes humid. If your comfortable doing it, leave one of the back windows open just a crack (I.e. Just enough that you can see daylight through it, but not enough that if it rains, water will pour in). If you leave a car parked in the sun during the winter, as soon as the sun disappears, the windows mist up. The way I see it, the warm humid air doesn't really have anywhere to go (those vents in the boot don't cut it). As the exterior temperature drops, the air in the car is warmer than the exterior, so condensation forms. Leave a window open just slightly and the air can escape and the interior will be closer to the exterior temperature and fogging should be reduced. I've recently re-sealed my doors and I still do almost all of the above everyday. The car is pretty dry now but it definitely helps.

I'd be reluctant to use the cargo points as an alternative to a top tether mount. I know they are for securing down cargo but aren't really designed for use with a top tether car seat, so just don't know how solid they would be in the event of a crash. I had the same dilemma and ended up just going for an isofix seat which had the floor support. The way I see it, if they were suitable for that use, either Skoda or the car seat manufacturer would tell you to use them. At the end of the day it's your child's safety we're talking about. I didn't risk it. This is the new version of what I went for: http://www.maxi-cosi.com/car-seats/2waypearl.aspx

Outer skin on the backbox of my 56-plate is starting to disintegrate and the clamp securing the centre section fell apart last year. But other than the clamp, it's original. Do get a bit of drone in the cabin at low speed so not sure if the exhaust is starting to collapse internally or if it's something else.

Apologies for late update.... got these fitted last week. Initially ran them on the front for a week before switching them to the back. Obviously we haven't had any snow/ice etc but in the extremely wet weather we have had in the last week - initial impressions are good. Handled standing water well, certainly as good the Goodyear Vector4seasons. Will see how they hold up in colder/more severe conditions. Can't decide if there is any difference in road noise, couldn't really tell. Though I might notice a difference now that they are on the rear. Will be interesting to see how they wear - got 21k miles from the Goodyear which I thought was impressive for an all-season. I don't drive hard though as I'm either using it for commuting as part of a carpool or I have my daughter in it. P.s. Word of advice, do a bit of preventive maintenance by making sure you've got some anti-seize compound/copper grease on the hub face etc. My rear wheels were on solid and required the use of a rather large persuader to tease them off. All nicely greased up for the future.

Well these arrived on Monday. Quite quick delivery seeing as I ordered them on Wednesday night and they came from Germany. Can't fault DPD for delivery either. Tyres look really smart, nice tread pattern, quite a big change from the pattern on the Vector 4Seasons. Not fitted as yet, not sure when I will. Still got 3mm left on the fronts so no great rush. Will probably get them on in a few weeks. Just wanted to get them before the price starts to go up.