Dudeoli

Haynes said "diagonal pattern". It also said "to the correct torque" but didn't give a figure. I'll look in the service manual

I take it I should tighten them in a fashion like you would head bolts: 7 1 3 5 6 4 2 8 kind of fashion :P

God knows, it wouldn't even go as tight as I could do it with my fingers. People have asked me before if I have spanner hands though... I've done things up by hand before, and others (who are bigger and supposedly stronger than myself) have been unable to undo them by hand In all seriousness though, why is the plug not just flush to the side of the sump? Why a funny angled countersunk hole?!?

Good point! I was actually quite surprised by home much metal came out in the oil. Don't want too much crap getting around the crankshaft. The new sump came with plug already in (as you can see in the picture) at least thread crossing won't happen again tomorrow.

Haynes manual makes it sound relatively easy, I bought some instant gasket, the Haynes says use silicone. This gasket stuff I bought claims to be suitable for oil sumps. I'm worrying because the Haynes has 3 spanners next to it. I have a feeling the hardest part will be getting under the car and reaching everything

I've crossed the threads of the sump (again). It's been retapping once already so I've bought a new sump now. Looking at the new one I think I've found why I've messed it up; Notice the sump plug head isn't parallel to the side of the sump? That's just cheeky! It also doesn't help that the £1 plug is made of a harder material than the £78 sump! My old audi had the plug hole at the front sitting flush to the surface, nice easy access and refit, hence I never had this problem... Is fitting a new sump as easy as it sounds? Any advice? I'm planning to attempt tomorrow, an I really need it working by Monday.

Ouch! I doubt I'll have manifold problems, seeing as its standard (bar coilovers)

I'll admit I haven't looked after it as well as I should, and it's probably not a great excuse; I've had a crazy past few months, long hours, busy weekends. Coolant level dropping to the point of nearly overheating really woke me up. Learning the hard way isn't always best

A guy at work said he uses k seal and never had a problem. K seal sounds like a good idea, I know it's a botch but I'm pretty sure it's heater matrix/pipes nearby that are a real PITA to fix properly

This month has been a bad one so far... financially. But then it's been a while since i've need to spend any cash on the car (except for fuel). Saturday I had some nice new bridgestones put on the front much better than the nearly bald uniroyals one of which was down to canvas on the inside edge . Wednesday I had a new track rod end and tracking done, car now goes in a straight line Today I've been to the stealers and bought a bottle of Quatum, oil filter, and sump plug w/washer (Will do tomorrow or Sunday) ow if only I could fix that damn coolant leak... Radweld? Oh and I'll need another bottle of coolant :/ And hopefully if all goes well on ebay I'll soon be fitting a parrot: http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiPYB2lGxo-3qyU1IoHvBZv7h6EHy-YzunJdPzm9BtoxvX7hCH

I think a lot of air got in the system, because after topping up many times before driving anyway the warning light would come on. Before I left work today though I started it with the expansion cap open, ran it for a little while, shut it off and topped up and all seems to be ok now. I imagine it probably is still slowly leaking somewhere, it's just a case of finding where (very hard with the dark nights).

It looks like it may be heater matrix. I'll have a look when it's running and up to temp to see if I see it seeping out. Also if I leave the heater turned up my windows often mist up, which again, I think could be the heater matrix :/

Only a little, doesn't seem to have cause an issue yet. I think when I can find an fix te leak I shall give it all a flush before I refill it

When I looked last night I couldn't see any coolant coming out, but it does look damp below the two pipes going into the bulkhead. I guess seeing as there was no water going through no water would come out there, just steam. I'll have a look today when it's hot and coolant level settles a bit

Hi-vis vest, I always keep one in the car, better p be seen if you have to stop on the hard shoulder

I should also point out that this morning I accidentally poured fresh oil into the expansion tank (bottles the same colour) but at least no temperature problems today

Well I have to admit, I feel pretty stupid after some recent issues that I've had with the vRS. Like a lot of Fabias, it's losing coolant somewhere so I've topping up with water whenever the dash light starts flashing at me. Recently though I ignored it flashing for a few months with the intention of buying some antifreeze as its probably quite diluted. About a week ago however, the heater stopped working and last night on the motorway the temp went above 90. I decided to stop and let it cool a bit and bought some pre mixed coolant, topped it up, ran the engine for a minute, topped up again etc. now my heater works (one job not to worry about) but I've either got a lot of air in the system or a bad leak as the level drops rather quick and the light comes back on again. I suppose I'd best find the leak and fix it?

Halfords have a book with all the different engines and model years in to work out which you need, although that said they got it wrong for the fabia vrs tdi. No way am I putting in 5W30 which doesn't conform to 505 01.

I was in halfords the other week when a woman walke over to the oils an starte looking in the book to ind which one she should buy. She then pulled out her phone, called her partner (I guess) and asked him "what size engine is my car?" How does anyone not know such information about their own car?

1. Thisday - 04 2. Bubs_vrs - 04 3. vRS19TD - 54 4. Kyle_vrs - 54 5. Kiddy1 - 07 6. DGW - 07 7. DanHam - 55 8. R1CH360 - 05 9. Carefree - 54 10. iiPaul - 54 11. Hutchysrs50 - 54 12. Ricardo_smooth - 04 13. Getulus - 07 14. Narris - 54 15. Muppo2000 - 54 16. Jars - 05 17. Binzie - 54 18. Harry1212 - 53 19. National - 07 (SE) 20. Gobsheene - 04 21. MattH - 07 (SE) 22. Dudeoli - 53

Exactly right! I remember phoning a dealer about parts, til him I have the mk1, and he said they're better than the new ones

I tried lfb a few times, it's alright if you want to brake hard. I recently started rev matching when changing down gears I can't believe Jason's fabia though! I hope the new map is as awesome as it sounds!

ORDERED!

When my aircon plays up on the M5 I have the same problem. It gets too hot to not open the windows because hot air is coming into the cabin (even with the fan switched off) If it's good for fuel economy though I'll get some (they look good too which is a bonus)

Are they a good buy? Obviously they reduce wind noise with windows open, but is there any difference to noise when the windows are closed? Do they have a positive or negative effect on mpg? And should I buy them?