jamaitch

Ill have a check down by the temperature sensor when the bonnet is next up, though from reading through those threads it definitely sounds like a head gasket job I'll try and summarise: Header tank and cap changed Only external sign of leak under offside front jacking point (coming from header tank overflow) Only loses coolant under high load Have seen some black dust in header tank Pressure tested and loses pressure very slowly No exhaust gases in coolant when tested (though I suspect not under high load) The cambelt and water pump were changed about 500 miles before driving to Norway, so its possible the system wasn't bled properly. I've got an estimate from Vastec in Warwick that come to about £600 to change it, has anyone used them before?

Interesting, I always thought air con was pretty much about cooling the car in a similar way to a household fridge using a carnot cycle. Air con works happily above 4degC, fingers crossed it stays that way. James

Thanks for the responses everyone, appologies its been so long we got the car back across continent (with a few stops for coolant along the way) and since then this has been a bit of an ongoing saga, does anyone know if the 1.9 had any issues with cracked heads? I got it pressure tested and exhaust gas checked (loses pressure but no exhaust gases) and the guy in the garage said it was common on A3's and these but I cant find any post on here about it? Thanks again

Thanks rk696, appologies its been so long for a response Ill admit to completely forgetting about this as in its own special way the air con fixed itself a couple of days afterwards, the compressor started working again! Very wierd! (Not that im in need of the air con at the moment given the temperature outside) Thanks

So my climatronic air con isn't working, all the bits are there but the electric feed to be compressor clutch only reads 4.5v, it also reads 4.5v when the air con isn't on and also when the engine is completely off. Has anyone got any ideas about what wrong? Thanks in advance!

I've known for a little while the air con on my octy hasnt been working, I first diagnosed it as the infamous air con clutch being missing, and replaced that for a couple of weeks it all worked well and was nice and cold. Now its gone back to not working, the clutch is still there, but the wires to the compressor reads 4.5v regardless of whether the air con is on or off, it also reads 4.5v when the ignition is off, does anyone have any ideas what might be wrong? I was wondering about a short somewhere? Thanks is advance

Having just driven most of the way across Europe (a twelve hour, 1000 mile non stop epic), the coolant light came on in north Denmark I topped up the tank and then 200 miles later it did the same thing. Closer inspection revealed that coolant was dripping from the chassis near the front drivers side jacking point, anyone got any suggestions about where its coming from? Theres none of the usual head gasket failure signs, 'mayo', smoke, power loss but I'm in Norway at the moment and I've probably got another 5000 miles to do before making it back to the UK so would be quite nice to find the leak. Reading some previous threads it sounds like the chamber could be leaking so im going to put some toilet paper under the chamber and see if theres any there after a few more miles thanks in advance James

Thanks Guys, I've emailed all of them so just waiting on responses now!

Hi, I'm thinking of getting the cambelt changed on my Octy, unfortunatley I didnt get any paperwork to prove when it was last done so I want to be safe rather than sorry, and its job that seems a bit too big for me to attempt by myself! Could anyone recommend a reasonable garage around the east midlands? I'm in Loughborough but dont mind travelling for good service/good price Thanks in advance James

Hello everyone, I've just bought a mk1 Skoda Octavia Estate 2001 with 133k on the clock, isnt she a beauty Just had to replace the rear brake pads and discs, which turned out to be a wee bit knackered (must have missed them when checking the car) slightly worrying given it had an MOT the month before I bought it, now wondering what other surprises are in store!!!!! Home is York, but I'm at university in Loughborough. Ive spent a while looking through the forum looks really active and useful, its already solved a couple of small issues so thanks guys and hopefully i will be able to contribute something! James