One of the taxis I drive is an Octavia I 1.9TDi, which is soon to be replaced with a Superb. Being that this Octy is coming up for grabs I have a vested interest in its welfare One thing that has been noted is that an oily film appears on the windscreen over time when with heater is used.

Upon removing the cover atop the engine I am confronted by the following:

To me there looks like there is something missing - the 'T' at the top centre of the picture with the jubilee clip seems to be open, possibly it should join to the bit to the left on top of the engine that looks like its broken off?

Can anyone enlighten me as to whats mssing (if anything)

Thanks in advance

your cam cover breather hose has gone! looks like it crumbled away and someone just pulled the rest of it off to make it look less tatty.

i changed mine cos it had a big hole in it, but yours is pretty impressive!

Thanks for the quick response!

This Octy does a fair bit of work being a taxi and the company has recently been through a change of ownership. Judging by a couple of other things I have found (nothing major) I think it has been of case of 'We're getting out - not our problem anymore' and the odd corner has been cut.

As its a breather thats missing there's a fair chance that will aid in curing the oily residue. Looks like a trip to the parts department is in order.

Regards

Just got back from the Skoda dealer - It's not just the hose missing - it's minus a 'pressure regulating valve' as well. Along with a 'gasket' it totals £42, and they all seemed bemused as to where these parts have disappeared to!

Regards

at least the EGR would not get bunged up with oily gasses from the breather!

at least the EGR would not get bunged up with oily gasses from the breather!

True, that pleasure belonged to the driver

:eek::eek: what a mess that looks.Hope you sort it ok.

quick clean up and replacement pipework, and then EGR clean can be next on the list of things to do ;-)

Yep, will likely need an intake/port clean and EGR delete if you want to look after it. I think I'm going to get some gaskets (solid, blanking) made up the amount I do. Good motors.

I take it you've not bought it yet ?

Be very wary - if the owners haven't bothered with the parts you already mentioned, then what else have they skimped on ?

And if it is (I think so) a PD engine they might also have bunged in cheaper oil and you'll end up needing a new camshaft

You could be into a veritable can of worms. :thumbdwn:

That looks like a non PD engine i think.

TDI 90 at a guess.

Yep it's a TDI 90. I haven't parted with any cash as yet for this car but do have the opportunity to drive it whenever I go on shift. The car is sound, reliable & runs well.

In some respects I can understand the owner missing this as it was all hidden away from view by the big plastic engine cover - the oily problem only coming to light during a spell of wet, coldish weather that forced the driver to drive with the windows shut and the heater on.

Def not a PD, totally different camcover. It does make me wonder what the pollen/cabin filter is like, as that should stop any oil getting into the heater and up the ducts onto the windscreen....

As for the PD's, I'm of the opinion that it's longlife/missed changes that do more damage that the particular type of oil, presuming that a radically different grade wasn't used.

Greg.

The above valve is nothing to do with EGR, its just a crankcase breather valve. Vents crankcase pressure oil/vapour back into the inlet.

A couple of weeks on now and the oily film still appears when using the heater - albeit less than before.

I'm a little concerned as when I went to get the parts the mechanic said it may be related to the air-con (which we don't use). Could anyone shed any light on this possibility?

A new pollen filter probably wouldn't go amiss as its rather on the black side.

Well, if you never use the air, then the seals might be leaking. If there's a leaky seal in the air handler, that could leak oil from the refrigerant into the ventilation system.

Are the aforementioned seals on the 'handler' easy to find/check or is it a 'pull half the car apart' job?

If you suspect a refrigerant leak, I'd take the car to an aircon specialist, and ask them to do refrigerant mass and then dye leak tests. My main reason for suspecting one is that you say you don't use the air, which is how the seals get dried out and start leaking.