My 2001 Octavia 1.8t 4x4 estate runs like a dog when cold (and when it's damp) for 20 seconds or so. Also, the engine management light has been on for 5k miles but Skoda can't find any fault. So I need some help ...

1)

I bought some new plugs (not been changed for circa 40k miles) and noticed a split pipe in the engine bay when I took off the engine cover. Can anyone help me work out what replacement part I need from this rather poor description ...

When the plastic engine cover is removed, the pipe is on the right hand side of the top of the engine. It's reasonably large and rubber and is Y shaped; in that a single pipe becomes two smaller pipes. The whole part seems approx 6 inches long and is secured in place with jubilee-style clips.

Any help would be great on the part number and would be good to know what function this pipe provides.

2

Are there any other parts that are relatively easy to fit which may help cure the rough running? Is there a distributor cap and rotor arm (remember that when I changed these on an '88 Golf GTi it made a significant difference).

3

Is changing the plugs easy. Do I just unclip the spark plug wires and pull out the plastic cover on each plug or do they screw off?

Many thanks

i had exactly same problem top oil breather pipe £35 new

First i would replace the y pipe and the one under the inlet manifold which joins onto the y piece,they usually split together, see if that helps.

You say its usually from cold when the prob happens, which could be the secondary air pump so you need to find the secondary air pump and check that the rivets haven't become seperated. The casing will split apart if the rivets are bust so you would need to drill them out and bolt them.

The pump is located near the aux drive belt and has two plastic hoses coming out of it, check rivets all round the pump which means jacking the car up.

Edited 12 October, 200817 yr by martziniuk

http://briskoda.net/octavia-i/breather-pipe-octavia-mk1-vrs/123236/

Quality. Thanks for the help, i'll fit a new pipe tomorrow and check the other one you mentioned.

did both the pipes mentioned on my 51plate 4x4 hatch as well as the thinner one that goes to the underside of the inlet manifold. be careful when you do lower pipes not to break the dipstick tube as well..everything gets brittle and full of crap - also worth checking the inline valve closes properly(just a quick clean required)

Had another look under the bonnet today following your advice and noticed another pipe in poor condition (looks like it's cracked and the previous owner repaired it with tape). Again, a poor description so if you could help with the part number and tell me what function it performs that would be great.

With the plastic engine cover off, in front and level with the top of the engine there's a long square rail, approx 1.5cm in diameter. The broken pipe goes from the left hand side of this square tube and is approx 18" long and connects to a small black plastic box (towards back top left of engine bay), 2 other pipes also connect to this box which look okay.

Again, could this pipe be a contributor to the rough running and engine warning light being on?

Thanks again for any help.

Give us a clue

High light where the pipe starts and finishes

Hi fatty,

Thanks for the image. Not sure how to highlight it but I can now describe it better.

If you look at the oil filler cap and then look below it you can see a round metal tube, circa 3/4 cm in diameter. Immediately below this is a long square metal pipe. At the left hand edge, and coming out of this square pipe is a rubber pipe (this pipe goes off the top left of your image). This pipe is cracked half way along and has been repaired with tape.

I spoke with Skoda earlier who (over the phone) guessed it was a fuel breather pipe as the other end of this pipe goes in to a black plastic box containing a charcoal filter. As there seems to be several different pipe lengths and sizes pending chassis no etc I'm going to take it in tomorrow or Thur to get the right part.

Still not sure it'll fix the rough running but this seems a logical place to start as I'm keen to fix it before the cold weather kicks in.

Thanks for your help.

It could be 1J0 133 699 A or the same with C on the end

labeled as fuel pipe and water hose, although if this is right you should be leaking some fluid I rckon.

I ain't brilliant at looking at these things so may have completly a$$ backwards.

Sorry I can't be more definate and i'll try and get you a picture which will help you better when I get home.

To get at the spark plugs follow the guide below:

http://briskoda.net/technical-guides/pictorial-guide-changing-coil-pack-1-8t-engine/76367/

Thanks Dennis

Is it this pipe

Yeah that looks like it (part 9) - quality find Fatty. Though this seems to be 1 part on the diagram (unless both pipes are the same part number).

Dennis - thanks for the link to the photos. Do the coil packs unscrew or do you just pull them out once the leads are disconnected?

Yeah that looks like it (part 9) - quality find Fatty. Though this seems to be 1 part on the diagram (unless both pipes are the same part number).

The number I gave you is for that part, it may be revised but if you quote that number their computer should give the updated number.

HTH

Dennis - thanks for the link to the photos. Do the coil packs unscrew or do you just pull them out once the leads are disconnected?

most coil packs just pull out. only the end one is a bit more involved as you need to remove the vac reservoir first (three 5mm allen bolts IIRC)

If your rough running just after starting could be classed as 'difficult to start from cold', then the (mis)guided checklist runs something like this:

HTH