R_U_AFA

Been at this again today, and I have managed to get some better action on the rears, by doing the following: 1. first was to nip up the dripping union(I had to tighten the hell out of it to get it to stop) But this didn't actually seem to make the issue any better 2. I changed the front pads and discs(I ony had about 3-3.5mm left on the pads and discs were worn below minimum thickness) This just shows how hard the front brakes have been having to work This did help with the rears a little, not a 100% sure why. (Mabey less fluid in system to have to be pushed around?) 3. Started engine Now this might sound stupid to some of you, but up to now all my tests have been with the engine NOT running, and all the vacuum exhausted from the servo. This really helped in fact it made the rears go from an estimated efficency of around 15% to 75-80%, This is quite interesting because I shouldn't need the assistance of the servo to actuate the rears, I don't know what this might signify? (slightly blocked lines to the rears, or mabey a servo fault) Any ideas on this one, and why it should be happening? So now I am at least a little better off, I know the rears are a bit better. I'm going to have another fettle around with with it because I still not fully happy with it as it is, and there still seems to be another issue somewhere. And I haven't actually even done any work on the rear brakes today.

I have been using a pressure bleed kit, but when I wasn't happy with that I did it manually using the 2 man method. But with a pressure bleeder, I believe that air shouldn't be able to be sucked in because the fluid is always under pressure(that is so long as it is attatched to the system) Anyway today I found a slight drip from one of the unions that I had disturbed, so that could have been sucking in a little air. I'm going to have another investigate over the next few days. Seen this trick done before, must admit I had forgotton about it, but again it shouldn't be necessary with a pressure bleeder I have done this and fluid does come out, my only problem is I don't have a refrence as to what shoud be a correct amount. All it confirms to me is that the pipes are not totally blocked. Was just wondering if there was any obvious symptoms that would indicate this, I not sure if this is at fault because if the master cylinder piston seals were faulty wouldn't I have poor braking on the front axle aswell.(I believe the felicia has a diagonally split breaking circuit) But also I heard somewhere that if you trap air in the master cylinder it's hard to get rid of. No, as mentined earlier in this thread there is no way of manually adjusting the shoes. In theory it is done automatically, I suppose the wedge that does the adjustment could have become worn but it looked ok. Just as a test along this line I could place some shims between the shoes and wheel cylinder it see if it locks up the wheels. Also I will point out that the handbrake does lock up the wheels. Anyway I going to have a tinker and see how I progress, it's just that this is starting to annoy me, and it isn't helping with wear on the front brakes either.

Changed the pressure regulator today, and it's made no difference. I am going to try stick a new set of shoes on to just see if that does anything (I've got them laying around any way) But it's as if there is still air, or something compressable in the system, but I have bled the system mutiple times, is it possable to get air trapped and not be able to blead it? On a differant note is there a way to tell if the fluid is getting past the master cylinder pistons?

Do you have a link to a webpage for this? Again the reson for wanting an original is that it will fit and work. New aftermarket parts, break, don't fit, don't seal, and worst of all don't even operate at the correct temperature! I know this first hand as seen as I have 4 useless ones that I have bought in the past sat on on a shelf. It took me this many to realise that it is possable to fit original thermostat to a new thermostat housing.

Yep, thanks, I have used skoda-parts before, but that's not the one I am after, that one is for early model felicias. And skoda-parts don't stock the piece i'm after seperatly.

So like topic title says does any one have an original thermostat for the facelift felicia? 1.3mpi (the one that fails all the time) Mine is starting to get slugish in operation. I don't need the whole plastic body, just need the just the metal cylinder with the plunger (the bit that contains the wax and sits behind the spring) This part: Mabey one that the plastic body has broken on, but this part still works from. Everyone here knows the issues with new ones not operating properly, thats why I am after an original one. I know a lot of people will have thrown theres away, but I am hopeing there might be someone like me out there that keeps there removed parts even when they are broken.

So by making the wheel and it's mounting bracket/bolts removeable, I could just remove them before a MOT and have no issues. I was worried about insurance issues, as mentioned eariler, so i'll have to have I think about that aspect. Forward visiability wouldn't be an issue because the way the bonnet slopes away, it removes the wheel from my eyeline. I don't think you are all realising how much stuff I have in the car, including on an already fitted roofrack(I'll take a picture if I can remember) Thanks for your replies.

I am ony in the thought process at the moment, it would be just about having an eaiser to access spare than the one under the the boot floor, which takes 15-20mins to get to because of having to remove all the c**p I have loaded in the car. I know a can of tyre sealer takes up less room but after having muitiple punctures, two of witch were massive gashes where sealer wouldn't of worked, I would prefer a full size spare. I Allready have a roof rack that gets fully loaded, inside of the car gets fully loaded, only room left was bonnet. Yes there is no styling here it's all about function, just thought this would be the section where there was somebody with the knowledge on modifications and the law. Only issue is I would be left with a mounting bracked on the bonnet, unless this was also removable. I was thinking that, but I presumed that that was because those spare wheels are fitted as a factory option. I remembered seeing that rapid on tv years ago, and did consider taking some inspiration from it, and thought of putting a spare that could be fitted across the tailgate window, but that would need a lot of fabrication of a framework, and it would impede rear vision, bonnet mounting just seemed an eaiser option. I did realise that there would be insurance implications, but in theory just adding a sticker of a spare wheel would need an insurer to be notified. To sum it up, it seems that the situation is: Everyone would turn a blind eye, but I might get that one person that wants to make a fuss about it. (A bit like the mascots on old rolls royce's), but it wouldn't be safe for pedestrions.

I'm guessing there are regulations in the UK to stop this modification from being made(or is there)? Any advice on wither it is or isn't allowed (particually regarding and any regulations relating to a MOT)? Obviously a proper mounting plate would be welded/bolted to bonnet to hold wheel in place

So long as the input shaft isn't spun whilst the inner cv's are removed you'll probably be ok. I've just bought a 2nd hand gearbox and forgot to check this exact issue, anyway when collecting it i looked in through the driveshaft apatures and the gears were still in place, and lord knows how long this gearbox has been sat around for, and getting knocked about.

Checked the brake pedel linkages today, and no free play there Yes sorry I ment to put shoes not drums Pretty sure mine are originals from factory, again I haven't phisically measured them, but there are no wear ridges on the insides, and if the drums were worn I would expect to see some as seen as the shoes don't act across the full with of the drum I replaced the wheel cylinders 5-6 years back, 100% correct parts, even after that the rears were never the strongest but there were a lot better thn they are now. Doesn't apply to my model type Almost certain that this is the original one from factory so probabley the correct one. But I have tested with it at both ends of its travel with no difference in results which there should be, that does lead me to belive that this is the part as fault, for example it is stuck internally permantly limiting the pressure to the rears or has somehow got cloged with dirt. In fact I believe so much that this has failed I have already orderd a new one, this part failing would also explain why both rear brakes are weak to the same degree. There is also one other thing I have noticed when operating the shoes, and that is that the trailing piston and shoe tends to move before the leading one, but shoudn't they move together at the same time? And just one last thing, the shoe return and retaining springs, I would say are original, so around 20 years old, now I know that over time they would tend to weaken, but is it possable for them to go the other way and get stronger, meaning more fluid pressure is needed to overcome there resisting force.

Yes, I agree Didn't think about this, will be the next thing I check. Also the acting point between the master cylinder and brake servo could wear i guess. I bet this doesn't get lubricated at the factory. That is exactly the same as mine, the handbrake test was to show just how little the rear brakes are being applied with the footbrake Yes, only as mentioned earler in this thread felicia drums can't be adjusted. Also I have operated the rears with the drums removed and there is no movement in the shoes untill the foot brake gets to around 45mm of travel. Must admit I have not checked the drums for too much wear, but presumed they were within wear limits because of the good operation of the handbrake.

Really this should be started in a new thread But It's not particularly the pedel "feel" that I have an issue with, it's the amount of pedal travel before the rears are applied, although pedal travel would have an effect on the "feel". But I believe there does seem to be an underlying issue with the braking system somewhere, particularly with the rears (as my following results seem to show) So today I jacked up the car put it on axel stands and made an attempt to measure the brake force at diffrent stages of the foot pedel's travel Below is the force(in Nm) needed to turn the wheels at diffrent stages of pedel travel(in mm) So total pedel travel from top ot bottom = 60mm Amount of force needed to turn wheel Front Rear(without load) Rear(with load) Amount of pedel travel 10 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 30 5 0 0 40 25 0 0 50 50 1 1 60 95 10 10 The same test using the handbrake 1 click = 70Nm 2 clicks= 80Nm 3 clicks= 85Nm In my opinion there seems to be something wrong with the rear hydralic circuits, because of the fact that the hand brake seems to be working ok My initial thought would be air or a blockage or incorrectly adjusted rear shoes as mentioned earlier. But I have checked that the self adjusting wedge is free and working, and because both rears seem to be effected equally, and with there being no change with or without a payload, that is what leads me to think that the pressure regulator is at fault. Also the rubber brake hoses don't bulge under pressure either. I think I may have answered my own questions here but any other thoughts are welcome before I start replacing parts

I still have the original master cylinder, it's not been changed Can you remember what % of pedel travel you had before the rears started to grip before, and then now I do seem to remember reading a a past thread, where someone said that they had around 50% pedal travel before the rear shoes even started to move, never mind starting to bind.

So my felicia does not have ABS (I don't think many did have it fitted or not in the UK anyway) But I may have found a issue with my pressure regulator, because before I started to replace the wheel cylinders I decided to see how much braking I had on the rears And it wasn't good. So with both sides of the rear on stands. I found that the foot brake had to be depressed around 7/8 of it's travel before only a light drag can be felt; and even with the pedel fully depressed the wheels can still be just about turned by hand. At first I thought that this was being caused by the fact that with the car jacked up the pressure regulator thinks there was no load on the rear axel So then I jacked up the rear beam axel to simulate a full load, but still no change in the amount of braking effort being applied to the rear wheels Just to give a comparison 1 click on the handbrake gives a light drag, 2 clicks gives a lot of drag, and 3 clicks I am unable to turn the wheels by hand. And it is the same across the rear axel on both rear brakes. I am only measuring the brake effect by hand, no techinical equiptment here. I have re-bled the brake system aswell, so no air in there. Also I will just say that my front pads seem to have take a bit of punishment because they are down to around 3-4mm now, and back when I changed tyres i am sure they had around 6mm(although having one of my fronts sieze on one morning can't have helped this) So just a Couple of questions: 1. Has anyone had to replace the pressure regulator before? (load sensitive type) 2. What amount of pedel travel do you have before the rears start to engage/drag? (with or load or without)

I am going to be changing the water pump gasket soon, and in my opinion there should be no sealant used on the gasket or mating faces. But on numerious television programs I have seen, (wheeler dealers to name one) the mechanics insist on using sealer between the gaskets and mating surfaces Just wanting your opinions on the subject and in particular to 1.3 felicia applications. e.g. sump, timing chest, ect, ect.

Thanks, I always wondered what the difference was between A2 and A4 A4 is readably avaliable and realtively cheap, so I'll go with that (I didn't fancy paying £15.60 for 1 titainium bolt)

Normal zinc plated bolts have bacically no corrosion resistance, so when replacing bolts before to stop corrosion and ultimately seizing, I have used A2 grade stainless steel, but I have been told A2 isn't strong enough for critical suspension components that use 8.8 steel bolts. So can anyone suggest a material that is strong enough, whilst having enough corrosion resistance to stop seizure? Or am I going to have to use the old favourite of slathering 8.8's with lots of copper grease. I did find the website raceboltuk.com which sells stainless, and titainium bolts, but nowhere does it actually say what applications it's bolts can be used for(although the name racebolt suggests that they should be strong enough) I just wanted your opinions.

The brakes are serviced at thes same time as I switch from summer to winter tyres + fluid every 2 years, and the fronts are as strong as ever have been (to the point of locking the wheels if slamed on) thats what lead me to the rears. I did consider more grippy friction material shoes, but don't these eat through the drums at a much quicker rate, resulting in a big bill down the line. It was just the fact that the van, pick-up, and kombi have bigger wheel cylinders from factory, that led me to start this thread. I will probably just get a set of the 22mm cylindres anyway, they are only £10 each for some quality ones.

I never have less than 125kg but generally it's more like 200-250kg then add my weight, so sometimes it can be a struggle to stop in time if someone slams all on in front of you. I haven't driven the car unladen for about 4 years. Being a late facelift hatchback it does have a presssure regulator, but it's the load sensitive type connected to the rear beam axle, could I fit the type sugested above and keep the one already fitted, or could this cause a dangerous situation if the car was ever driven unloaded, with no pressure being delivered to the rears?

It just because I use the hatch like a van, and it's alwas fully loadedPlus later in the year I am planing to tow a trailer, so was just wanting that bit extra braking just in case.

Would changing the standerd hatchback 19.5mm wheel cylinders for 22mm ones off the van models increase rear braking efficency?

Just given up and ordered new shocks with bush fitted. Closest I could get was to buy a blank piece of rubber or polyurathane and machine the bush myself, but materials were going to cost around half the price of new shocks, then factor in my time and it was easier this way.

So have you found any benefits from fitting the 1.6 clutch kit on the standerd 1.3 felicia?

So I can not find anywhere that has the rear shock absorber bottom bush; part 6U0511277 or at least for a reasonable price. Mine are cracked and perished, but the shocks are in reasonable condition. I have tryed all the usual places, Skoda UK, TPS, Skoda-parts, even google doesn't return any useful results. Just wondering if there is another part that will fit from another skoda model, or diffrent manuafature, because I would have thought that the appature, and bolt size at the base of the shock absorber would be similer on other vehicles. Has anyone any ideas or fitted a replacement part? By the way I know that a new shock with the bush already installed is around £30, so wouldn't be wanting to spend more than £6-£7 on a bush