skomaz

Hi Mike, I 'think' I was able to tell whether the motor was seized by reaching my fingers through the pollen filter opening (beware it has some very sharp edges to it that draw blood easily) and that led to me taking it off. From memory the motor and fan itself were attached to the base mounting plate by a large rubber fitting that had three push fit rubber tabs onto the mounting plate, so I had to use a screwdriver to compress the rubber tabs enough to remove it the motor and fan from the mounting plate and get access to the bearing. It's all eminently doable but did require a bit of scrabbling about to get the motor out and back in, albeit with everything else possible on a work bench.

Yes it is relatively easy. I took out the motor on our Mk2 a number of years ago as it was making a strange noise initially (it had a parking ticket in it that had dropped down inside it) and then stopped completely (the bottom bearing had seized up but a bit of a clean and lubricate sorted it nicely). It can be a bit of a fiddle to undo the wiring connector and squeeze it past other things under the dashboard but it's all very straightforward.

Whoever you spoke to at Listers was talking out of thier arse... IT IS NOT A WET CAM BELT. It is expensive because the timing adjustment is complex and has to be done very precisely due to the fact that the engine has cylinder deactivation and thus requires specialist equipment to do so. Dealers also generally tend to do it over two days due to its complexity, so the labour costs are very high.

I'm pretty certain there are NO wet belt cam belts in any VW Group passenger vehicle EXCEPT the latest Transporter that I believe has one option that uses a Ford wet belt engine...

As noted above you ned to do some more reseach... the EA211 1.5 TSI does NOT have a wet timing belt. And it also has an extended life design that Skode UK have finally caught up with by removing the 5 yearly replacement schedule - bringing the UK into line with the rest of the world.

Mazda's have generally been very well engineered and put together but they have had a few engine issues over the last few years which I think have been resolved now but have hit Thier second hand value a bit. Did you look at the Vitara or were they too small?

Probably increase their value as they become rare and sought after

My Kodiaq only has keyless start but the Swift is full keyless entry and start. Regardless for the sake of what the batteries cost I just leave them in (I buy in bulk the cheapest CR2032s I can on ebay which work fine). If yours has a CR2025 in it the dealers has fitted the wrong type (20mm diameter and 2.5mm thick as opposed to the correct 20mm diameter and 3.2mm thick)

Not sure how you'd identify options on a second hand car...

I've certainly declared my towbar as it was fitted after purchase. It had no effect on the premium but is at least now noted by the insurers

Much of that sounds like dealer bull**** to drum up some work. Discs... Just take it for a run and do a few hard emergency stops from higher speeds when appropriate to clean up the discs. Shocks... Misting is not the same as leaking. Some light misting is normal. Bush... There's no play in it so it should be fine for a good while yet.

So the same sort of incremental advances that ICE have been making...

We were aware of electric vehicles in the late 19 century... But some things we were aware of then have only recently come to market... Motor in wheel for example... Any examples of new EV technology other than ongoing battery improvements?

Variable compression ratio / ultra lean burn / stratified charge / miller cycle / six stroke. All improvements in ICE technology coming to market or being developed that improve efficiency.

On our Mk2 Pre-FL I dropped in some 35w HIDs and they were a massive improvement. Also fine at MOT time too.

Excellent news... Really chuffed you got it sorted!

Have to say... I much prefer that new front end...

My thought was the kill switch could be a two stage one. The first press could default to a 'safe stop' routine and if that didn't work the second would instigate a system shutdown and total stop wherever the vehicle happened to be.

Indeed - surely there should be either a big red 'Emergency Stop' button in / on the car, or a means for the 'control centre' to stop the car in an emergency

I've said for a while I'll never go near one but that just re-enforces that thought.

\The right hand ones are for coins - pound coins fit easily from memory

I thought spark plugs were at 40,000 miles according to Skoda's own regime (granted 4 years but if the cars not doing the mileage they won't deteriorate)? They're about £15 each tops from memory. Ideally you'd need to remove one and check its condition before stumping up for replacement. As for the tyre sealant - bugger that at that price! Anything from £10 - £20 on ebay or similar for OE stuff or less for universal stuff.

Given the first is a 1.0 triple and the other is 30 years old I agree!

Probably the same with his 2.0 injected MX 5... 🤣 A 2 litre should do 0 to 60 in about 6 to 8 seconds depending on model year...

9.7 for the swift and 8.6 for the MX5 actually. Both checked via an accelerometer. But it's not all about 0 to 60 is it... That's just sad willy waving.