Hello all

As you can see from the title, Ive got a Fabia 1.4 MPI. Good little car that I really do enjoy driving. I bought it second hand and have had it just over a year now, and its not long broke the 50k mark. It runs fine, but Ive got a few issues with it that may need fixing...

1) Main one. When I go over small bumps or potholes in the road you can a distinct knocking noise coming from the back of the car. I dont think its the exhaust...took it a mechanic who reckons it could be the shocks....anyone else have any ideas?

2) Coolant leakage. The water tank goes right below the low level every two weeks almost to the point where the warning light comes on. I keep topping it up every so often to keep it healthy, but Ive not managed to find a leak anywhere. Could I be looking in the wrong places?

3) Engine rattle. This did occur when I first had the car, but its got worse over time. Its barely noticable in the car, but when you step outside, it sound quite rough. Left it at idle and checked under the bonnet to see if I could pinpoint the source....seems to be coming from the area round the cam belt. Is there a simple solution to fix this, as it sounds quite bad...

4) Rear washer/wiper. The rear windscreen washer doesnt seem to work at all. Whenever I flick the switch to activate it, you can hear the motor/pump working, but no water is sprayed onto the screen. Also it looks like theres a clip missing from the wiper, that holds the wiper blade onto the wiper arm (if this makes sense???) Ive been told that there may possibly be a leak in the tubing or the jet might be clogged up?

5) Extremely minor, but the noise each indicator makes is different...when i use the left indicator the sound ticks as normal, but when i use the right indicator, the sound ticks twice as fast...is this normal?

6) Again minor, but sometimes when I start the engine, it will start but cut out, unless I rev the engine to about 2000 RPM for a short while. Something I should get checked out, or again just minor?

I appreciate that its difficult to diagnose the problems without seeing the car itself, but any help or advice you could give me would be great so I know exactly whats wrong with the car. I will admit Im not much of a mechanical expert either, so please be gentle!

dont these use cam chains? could that be the rattling? i may be completely wrong though

the indicator ticking fast says theres a bulb gone

1) It might be. The easiest way to find out is to put the car on a weight on wheels lift, and look for clean marks under the exhaust, oil stains on the damper bodies, that sort of thing. Do not let Kwik-Fit do this!

2) Start by looking for rust stains, like someone spilt liquid rust over the side of the engine and let it dry, or white crystaline marks, on the block, radiator, and main water hoses to radiator and heater. If there are some, you're on the path of a leak. If you don't find any, try replacing the pressure cap for the cooling system.

3) Not something I'd care to long-range.

4) Whoever told you that is on the money. Most of the hose breaks give you a wet patch in the tailgate, or LH rear wing, except if the hose comes off the bottle.

5) No; you've got a failed bulb in the RH indicator system.

6) May be related to (3). If the engine starts and will hold an idle, what sort of revs is it holding?

Thanks for the responses guys

1) Think im gonna have to get it checked. Know a few mechanics about so I can get them to check it out.

2) Guess whilst Im there I can get a thorough good look around the engine. Ive not spotted any signs of a leak anywhere along the water hoses and the radiator...never thought about the pressure cap though...worth a check....

3) No worries about that, I know its near enough impossible to diagnose!

4) Ill have a look myself as I just assumed the jet was clogged...preferabbly when its light

5) I got a new bulb for it today and changed it, but when I took the bulb holder out I noticed that one of the metal strips that transfer power to the bulb has snapped. Ill try and get a picture if possible...

6) Will get a figure for you tommorrow...

Again, thanks for the replies

The rattling is more than likely the cam chain tensioner, its quite a common failure on the older ohc mpi engine, there is a modifyed chain and sprocket set available from skoda,

The coolant leak is usually caused by the rad fan switch leaking, check lower passenger side of radiator for pink staining,

Alternatively if your anywhere near pop into www.unit18.co.uk and i ll have a look f.o.c for you

Cheers for that Ally.

(2) was a case of "knowing exactly where to look" then?

I take you'd agree that the update on (5) means a new bulbholder if they can be changed separately, or reflector/cluster if they can't? If it's the side repeater unit, a new one's only about £6 anyway; front and rear are more, but you're more likely to be able to change the bulbholder separately on them.

Bulbholder is available seperately:thumbup:

Its just the bulb holder. Any idea where I can get another one from? Its the drivers side front indicator if that makes any difference. Ive just done a temporary fix for now...slipped a small piece of kitchen foil in to conduct power to the bulb. Its doing the job for now!

The thing about the leak is I dont usually add coolant to the water when I fill the tank, so its hard to spot any stains of any kind. Someone has mentioned that theres a solution you can pour into the system called 'Radweld' from Halfords that can fix leaks in the system. Anyone had any experience of using this? As ive done abit of research on it and found that sometimes it can clog the system up rather then seal it.

Again thanks for your responses

Bulbholder - Skoda dealer.

Not topping up "antifreeze" level is false economy; These solutions (most of them, not just VAG G12(+{+})) contain corrosion inhibiters, and if you'd kept the level of them topped up you might not be asking about coolant leaks.

Radweld is ok for this sort of "find and seal a persistent leak you can't trace" job; better if you can find it is "Barr's Leaks".

Yeah I was asking for trouble in that respect...ill be doing that in future, once this leaks sorted...

I might just leave the Radweld for now...Ive heard a few horror stories about the stuff thatve put me off trying it :thumbdwn:

Regarding number 6, from a cold engine start, it holds nearly 1000 rpm.

I've heard the horror stories too, but I have a mate who fixed a "brick through radiator" with 2 cans of Barr's Leaks, and ran the car hard for another several years afterwards. So I always leave that one to individual judgement. What I will say is that I would not use a leak stop product as a preventative measure; I'd only add it to fix a known leak.

Rear washer not working is likely to be the connector found under the bonnet on the right hand side as you look at the engine, at the back of the engine bay. Have someone operate the switch whilst you look and you should see a stream of fluid coming from the supply pipe. If you see this you just have to look for the connection and plug it back on. You don't always need to glue it together, it seems to stay secured until the system pressurises - i.e frozen pipes and pump operated causes this joint to fail.