daverapid

:yes: I shall be there in one of my heaps.

I hate to throw away repairable parts but the truth is a new track rod end is inexpensive and more easily found for sale.

In my experience of these cars the fault will most likely be with the hall sensor in the distributor or the ignition coil.

What cured your smoking? Was it piston rings or valve stem seals?

This man will tell you everything you need to know! http://www.briskoda.net/forums/user/32825-hawkeracing/

My Favorit Skoda joke: What's the difference between a hedgehog and a Skoda? The pricks are on the outside of the hedgehog!

I'd be cross too, perhaps cross threaded! :p

If possible bring the car as it is. The problem could be anything, maybe a gearbox or differential fault or maybe just a stripped spline on driveshaft or hub. I have pretty much anything needed. I'll not charge the earth, but if it turns out more expensive than you're prepared to pay I'll happily buy the car for more than scrap value and save the car. :]

I live in South Cambridgeshire. I obviously don't know exactly what's wrong with your car, but I have a fairly large stash of Estelle/Rapid parts and am very enthusiastic about old Skodas. I'm also a qualified mechanic and MOT tester. And insane!

I've got a very busy and stressful few weeks ahead of me. But if you're not in a hurry to get the car on the road and can get the car to me in a few weeks I can fix [and ultimately save] the car. Please don't scrap it.

Oh, get a grip!

Glad you're as unhinged as me!

The Skoda method...that way the clearances are set correctly at the point the relevant cylinder is firing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/skodaownersclub/

I'm not a supplier as such, but I do have a fairly large stash of rear engined Skoda parts, mostly second hand but reusable.

Sounds ridiculous, but washing powder is perfect for cleaning oil out of cooling systems. I've used it plenty of times and it really does work. You don't need a lot, and obviously you need to flush it out with clear water. With about half as much powder as you'd use to do your washing in the cooling system with clean water, run the engine, get the heater hot and the rad hot enough for the fan to run, let the engine cool, drain and flush with clean water before refilling with a proper coolant mix. For goodness sake don't put washing powder in the oil!!

No one mentioned a great big hammer?

I'm an MOT tester, and from what I can see in the photographs I'd be happy to clean up and grease the brake pipes as they don't look excessively pitted or corroded, but I'd be wanting to replace the rear brake hoses because the ferrules are very corroded. As I said, that's from what I see in the photographs, other sections of brake pipes may be more corroded and need replacing.

Those cups are still available from dealers or TPS, last one I bought was about a fiver!

Brilliant work, brilliant car. What did you do to get the brakes good again?

There are many things to check, but I would check the following two things in particular, especially number 1 if your car is fuel injected with an ECU: 1/ With electrical failures and the alternator belt squealing I would make sure the alternator isn't overcharging due to a faulty regulator. If the alternator is overcharging there will be a bigger load on the belt possibly causing it to slip even if adjusted correctly. 2/ Check the fusebox isn't wet/corroded, usually the result of a leaking windscreen. I have a question for you. I see you're from Iceland so maybe your car has a carburettor. Or does it have single or multi point fuel injection. If you're unsure perhaps you could post a photograph of the engine.

I doubt I ever will deal with seeing my little girl in her coffin.

Started my new job in January at a much better garage. My 16 year old daughter Gail died in May.

All sounds good to me