Well in an attempt to cure the papershop syndrome and seeing that the lambda sensor cured TRADESIZE's identical problems, I've now got a lambda sensor.

Question is, can I fit this myself. I expect it'll require a lot of heat to get the old one out - but do you need to do anything else? Any info appreciated

it's dead easy, but like you've already said, when they've been in there a few years they can be a bit reluctant to come out, ideally you need a proper socket (22mm) with the little window in the side for the cable to exit, then you can undo it without rounding the corners off...

assuming it's the right sensor and it's not one of those universal solder-in types, it should just be a plug in and go job

Thanks, I'll probably give it a go next weekend. I've since been told that I may be able to get away with running the car up to temp, letting it cool a bit and undoing it then. Obviously being careful around the hot exhaust!

spanner thats what i used no problems maby im just tight but whats the point of spending 22 pound on a socet that only gets used evry 45000 miles use axl stands when doing this job or ramps never go under without now lol

Should get away with using a open ended spanner providing its a snug fit, and not too slack.

Try spraying some penentrating fluid on it the night before you attempt to remove it...should give it plenty of time to eat into the rust and allow you to ease it off.

Usually the threads tend to come off while your trying to do it without.

i agree with some of the above sentiments, yes you can do up a new sensor with an open ended spanner, but you may struggle to undo the old one without a socket because the spanner will round it off... but it aint a problem if you aren't going to use it again, just cut the cable off then spin it off with some mole-grips..

oh and make sure you dont get any grease or oil/wd40/etc on the new sensor

i agree with some of the above sentiments, yes you can do up a new sensor with an open ended spanner, but you may struggle to undo the old one without a socket because the spanner will round it off... but it aint a problem if you aren't going to use it again, just cut the cable off then spin it off with some mole-grips..

oh and make sure you dont get any grease or oil/wd40/etc on the new sensor

I dont think i'd be that bothered if i did knack it up getting it out, at the end of the day with the right preperation (i.e copious amounts of penentrating fluid/wd40/duck oil) it should come away ok. Then again your replacing with a new sensor, so shouldnt cause a problem unless something else gets wrecked taking it out.

I took the lambda out of a previous car with an open ended spanner fine after being rusted into the downpipe for many moons.

I dont think i'd be that bothered if i did knack it up getting it out, at the end of the day with the right preperation (i.e copious amounts of penentrating fluid/wd40/duck oil) it should come away ok. Then again your replacing with a new sensor, so shouldnt cause a problem unless something else gets wrecked taking it out.

I took the lambda out of a previous car with an open ended spanner fine after being rusted into the downpipe for many moons.

Bit of a bump... but the lambda sensor was replaced and the car STILL has the paper shop syndrome. Almost given up with trying to fix it now, replaced enough sensors!!

Bit of a bump... but the lambda sensor was replaced and the car STILL has the paper shop syndrome. Almost given up with trying to fix it now, replaced enough sensors!!

I concluded that this was something that wasn't going to go away. The electronics seem to have their own agenda and the status quo soon returns after fiddling around or getting something changed. The advice I received from a couple of garages was that it wasn't worth worrying. Something major like changing the ecu could possibly make a difference but considering the large outlays it makes no sense to risk it. Having the throttle body housing cleaned out made the car run better but the problem of stalling when stopping before the car was fully warmed up remained. Sometimes when the weather improved and there was a run of warm dry days I even forgot about "paper shop syndrome." It always returned though. Felicias may be listed under a "Classic cars" section but I could think of a less flattering description for them.

Bit of a bump... but the lambda sensor was replaced and the car STILL has the paper shop syndrome. Almost given up with trying to fix it now, replaced enough sensors!!

Have you made sure the valve clearances aren't too tight? It's the usual cause of this problem on 1.3 Felicias in my experience.

I have to concur with Dave - often things are blamed on electronics on cars when it's a mechanical issue that's causing the problem - electronics can only do so much, and if there's a mechanical issue that it can't compensate for then there will be a problem. There have been a number of people on here who've changed this that and the other and then finally done the valve clearances and other physical service items and the problem has gone....

I have to concur with Dave - often things are blamed on electronics on cars when it's a mechanical issue that's causing the problem - electronics can only do so much, and if there's a mechanical issue that it can't compensate for then there will be a problem. There have been a number of people on here who've changed this that and the other and then finally done the valve clearances and other physical service items and the problem has gone....

Well my Felicia was regularly serviced by professional mechanics and there were no mechanical problems uncovered. Nothing on the Forum provided any help though it was great for sorting the "fifth gear whine." Two computer checks for faults showed clean sheets for the ecu and that was at two garages. These cars were not VW's finest hour. I really became fond of mine but the bodywork was not up to VW standards and the car always seemed to default to the same state. I doubt that the earlier Skoda version was much better. A Felicia with a carburettor system would probably be much more manageable than an mpi.

I've come across many times when 'professional' mechanics have either misdiagnosed faults or just simply skipped over them. I've had 3 MPi felicias now (two as rally cars, one as a recce car), and I've never had a problem which wasn't solvable, and mostly in the real world. The recce car has been hammered over 3 years doing Rally GB three times, plus various autotests and relentless thrashing on country lanes, and it's never missed a beat. The only times I've had long faultfinding issues with them has been when -I- have made errors in diagnosis. If an ECU check comes up clean, then it usually means the fault is somewhere in the real world that the ECU isn't capable of monitoring/measuring/correcting, and there are too many garages and mechanics whose faultfinding consists of an ECU check and nothing else - I've had quite a few friends who've had such things (and indeed two at VW garages), when the problem has been fairly straightforward (and about 10% of the cost they were quoted at said garage), plus people who've been told that it's "time for a new ECU", which has done NOTHING. A lot of modern mechanics at franchised dealers actually know very little about cars, they follow the steps that are in the tech info for the car, and that's that. Diagnose/replace/repeat.

Carburettor? are you serious? What's next, trembler coils?

I've come across many times when 'professional' mechanics have either misdiagnosed faults or just simply skipped over them. I've had 3 MPi felicias now (two as rally cars, one as a recce car), and I've never had a problem which wasn't solvable, and mostly in the real world. The recce car has been hammered over 3 years doing Rally GB three times, plus various autotests and relentless thrashing on country lanes, and it's never missed a beat. The only times I've had long faultfinding issues with them has been when -I- have made errors in diagnosis. If an ECU check comes up clean, then it usually means the fault is somewhere in the real world that the ECU isn't capable of monitoring/measuring/correcting, and there are too many garages and mechanics whose faultfinding consists of an ECU check and nothing else - I've had quite a few friends who've had such things (and indeed two at VW garages), when the problem has been fairly straightforward (and about 10% of the cost they were quoted at said garage), plus people who've been told that it's "time for a new ECU", which has done NOTHING. A lot of modern mechanics at franchised dealers actually know very little about cars, they follow the steps that are in the tech info for the car, and that's that. Diagnose/replace/repeat.

Carburettor? are you serious? What's next, trembler coils?

You are hardly the typical Felicia owner djaychela. :yes: A good electronic management system would be the choice of most everytime, but not in the case of the Felicia. Better something you can fiddle around with than an electronic system which sets its own agenda.

Better something you can fiddle around with than an electronic system which sets its own agenda.

are you for real?? clockwork ignitions and carbs?? haha. fuel injection is far more reliable to be honest

I may not be the typical Felicia owner, but I don't see how that makes electronics a bad choice.

I've been messing about with cars since I was 13. And I used to spend a LOT of time messing about with ignition and carb problems. Ignitions became far less of a problem once they were electronic, and injection is a lot less hassle than carbs. OK, when it does go wrong then it's generally more expensive, and the crossover period (when there were electronic management systems which didn't have good (or any!) self-diagnosis) was painful, but now it's reliable and often outlives the mechanical components of the car.

I wasn't aware that Siemens/Bosch had created an AI, however!