i have just picked ine up and will be fitting it in a minute

Good Good let me know how you get on...

its on and what a bitch to fit !!!!! the bit where the wires go would hardly bloody move but finally got it on in the end

ps mine now rattles alot from somewhere in there so shall investigate tonight

It might be either where you threade the wires, or the engine cover coming off.

i think its where the wires are shall have a look tonight with someone reving the engine

i think its the air box hitting the bar :(

Weird just had a look at mine at it's not touching, it's about 1cm away from the airbox.

mines not grrr

It may be 1 cm off the airbox. But the engine is moving towards the front of the car and backwards very easily, at least the 1.4 does. Ask a friend to pull the hand brake, shift in the 1st gear and try to move the car. The car will not move of course, it will lower the back and lift the nose. Do this with the bonnet open and observe the engine. The 1.4 moves a lot during this procedure. The same when accelerating, so maybe in that case is touching something.

mines actually touching the airbox while the engine is turned off and i can tell that the engie moves (as it should) on the engine mouts as it stops then i put my foot down

The airbox should be attached to the chassis, not the engine. You may be able to loosen its mounting screws and move it slightly, similarly with the brace.

the airbox is attatched to cahassis and the engine so it moves with engine only slightly but still movement

OK yes, Mr Picky - but it should be firmly attached to the chassis with screws or the like, and only attached to the engine with a flexible(ish) pipe. My suggestion still stands - loosen the screws and move it as far over as you can, then tighten the screws again ....

i shall borrow camera and post pics for you to look at and point out the nuts n stuff

Did that Strut Brace ever get fitted successfully?

nope still rattles under reversing :(

The airbox is fixed on the right hand side by the battery by a 10mm bolt.

Its fixed at the rear and the left hand side on rubber push mounts.

If its hitting a small bit of foam under the brace will stop the noise, but id take out the airbox and refit it, you may well find it sits in a different place. Also you can move the mounting points for the rubbers to align the box, just needs a bit of imagination

ah well i undid the bolt but it didnt move far but i was in a rush

Keep at it as I'd like to know what the outcome is. Has the airbox shape or positioning changed recently, that's why you have not got the 10mm gap that is mentioned earlier in this post?

well mine looks exactly like ivans (he did me some better pics) but its just closer to the bar for some reason it might be easier to show everyone but i dont have a camera. as for if the airbox shame has changed or anything mine looks the same as ivans mines a sept 53 car (only picked it up 2 weeks ago tho)

Jeff (Rooboy) has one of the first Fabia vRS's in the country on a 53 plate and it fit's his no problem.

Question - Will having the strut brace fitted get in the way of any jobs that need to be performed during a service? I can't imagine the mechanic being too chuffed if they have to take the strut brace out before they have to do something. Can't think of anything looking under the bonnet, other than the airbox being more tricky to open.

Well if you look at this photo I think it should be ok

well yeah on mine you cant change the filter as the back of the box is under the brace

and it opens from the right like a book