Hey, don't pull that flapping heatshield off just yet.

There is an inexpensive fix for those crappola fixings your car was born with.

So, anyway, my Fabia vRS was in for a service at my friendly neighbourhood Skoda dealership and, amongst the catalogue of things that could do with being seen to, was:

RETAINING CLIPS FOR EXH-SHIELD MISSING.

And if that wasn't bad enough, they wanted £25.75 to put it right.

£5 for parts (two clips were busticated) and half-an-hour's labour! :eek:

'Aye, right' were my first and second thoughts.

My third thought was to get the engineers at Wobblytickle Heavy Industries working on the problem.

And in 30 seconds flat they came up with this:

BEFORE...

... DURING ...

... AND AFTER ...

... AND SOLUTIONS SHOWN IN RELATION TO REST OF VEHICLE (er, the tailpipe is not normally quite so sooty, honest ).

We at Wobblytickle H.I. believe the Heatshield-Fixing-Problems-B-Gone plastic screw caps to be a superior solution the OEM fixings as they will not corrode, snap or work loose and they also protect the vertical screw thingy from corrosion.

All that and they affix in 60 seconds.

And that's for two of them!

Sure beats a 30-minute workout from a Skoda mechanic.

If you have trouble getting genuine Wobblytickle fixings, then B&Q stock items of a suitably similar specification.

They are used to secure Corolux roofing, look like these waterproof caps and you'll get a whole bag of them for just a few Green Queens.

Edited 19 May, 200917 yr by Mr Wobblytickle

Wow thanks Mr Wobblytickle - I spotted that one of these had gone missing on my car just yesterday evening!

That's a nice cheap fix, will try to remember this if and when mine decided they've had enough of me and want to take there chances on there own.

So, is your local Skoda £40ph? cuz that's less than my Indy!

The last Skoda dealer I went to were £80ph and that was over 2 years ago now.

where abouts on the car is this ?.......ill check mine

I think that someone was misquoting the price of these spirol nut things, I bought about 16 from my VW Van Centre when I removed the plastic under shields that get fitted to Polos so that I could get my exhaust flexi repaired about 2 years ago - and I certainly did not cough up £40 - I think that they were about 15 pence each. I cleaned up the "grooved" studs before fitting the new nuts and sprayed both with Waxoil - just in case I feel the need to try to remove them at some point in the future - but its quicker to destroy them as the studs are grooved not threaded - so mayeb corrosion has its uses?!?

where abouts on the car is this ?.......ill check mine

Guide updated.

Wow thanks Mr Wobblytickle - I spotted that one of these had gone missing on my car just yesterday evening!

You're welcome.

And talk about synchronicity!

Thats another bostin fix that is, glad to see WHI Ltd has not been affected by the credit crunch!

That's a nice cheap fix, will try to remember this if and when mine decided they've had enough of me and want to take there chances on there own.

So, is your local Skoda £40ph? cuz that's less than my Indy!

The last Skoda dealer I went to were £80ph and that was over 2 years ago now.

Well, the answer is 'possibly'.

One job is timed at 4.0 hours for which they want £232 before VAT.

So, that's £58ph.

Another job is 0.30 hours for which they want £17.40.

So, that's £34.80ph.

Another job is 2.00 hours for which they want £116.

So, that's £58ph again.

But another job is 1.00 hours for which they want £40.39ph.

And as for all in costs on common jobs, here are two for comparison:

TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT: £384

REPLACE CONSOLE BUSHES: £150

Guide updated.

excellent mate cheers

Well, the answer is 'possibly'.

One job is timed at 4.0 hours for which they want £232 before VAT.

So, that's £58ph.

Another job is 0.30 hours for which they want £17.40.

So, that's £34.80ph.

Another job is 2.00 hours for which they want £116.

So, that's £58ph again.

But another job is 1.00 hours for which they want £40.39ph.

And as for all in costs on common jobs, here are two for comparison:

TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT: £384

REPLACE CONSOLE BUSHES: £150

nice predictable rate they've got there.. obviously must come down to who does it..

Tech

Valet

Work Experiance Kid

or the tea boy

Either way, The top £58ph seems very good for a dealer so big tumbs up for them!

Edited 20 May, 200917 yr by reflex88

I think that someone was misquoting the price of these spirol nut things, I bought about 16 from my VW Van Centre when I removed the plastic under shields that get fitted to Polos so that I could get my exhaust flexi repaired about 2 years ago - and I certainly did not cough up £40 - I think that they were about 15 pence each. I cleaned up the "grooved" studs before fitting the new nuts and sprayed both with Waxoil - just in case I feel the need to try to remove them at some point in the future - but its quicker to destroy them as the studs are grooved not threaded - so mayeb corrosion has its uses?!?

Umm, pass.

As you may have read on here, my dealer's pricing is somewhat random.

Still, whatever the price for parts, at least they don't appear to be charging the Earth for slinging them on.

Great guide and fix. One tiny suggestion, Autosol/cloth/tailpipe/CLEAN

Yeah, one of mine had fallen off, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that mine had been fixed while it was in for a custom exhaust system, they just put a nut and washer on it.

Great guide and fix. One tiny suggestion, Autosol/cloth/tailpipe/CLEAN

Autosol?! :eek:

You savage.

Might as well take a rasp and lemon juice to it.

Only the finest, wax-based Belgom goes on my metally bits.

Great guide and fix. One tiny suggestion, Autosol/cloth/tailpipe/CLEAN

Nah. A sooty tailpipe is something to be proud of.

Nah. A sooty tailpipe is something to be proud of.

Yeah, you're right.

Proof of giving it le beans.

Autosol?! :eek:

You savage.

Might as well take a rasp and lemon juice to it.

Only the finest, wax-based Belgom goes on my metally bits.

Too much finesse mate. Brillo pads are fine

Thanks to a very generous Mr Wobblytickle I managed to fix mine this evening as well:

Before:

After:

Thanks

Nice jubbly!

Shame I didn't spot this post sooner, the original retaining washers recently rusted through on my Furby too and I had it fixed at at my usual independent. Completely crap design - the use of ferrous screws connected to an aluminium heat sink promotes corrosion through an electrochemical circuit. A proper nut or being screwed up from underneath would have been much better solutions. Another complete bodge job thanks to Skoda/VAG - it must have been the same designer who designed the console bushes and ARB collars - he should be shot.

Shame I didn't spot this post sooner, the original retaining washers recently rusted through on my Furby too and I had it fixed at at my usual independent. Completely crap design - the use of ferrous screws connected to an aluminium heat sink promotes corrosion through an electrochemical circuit. A proper nut or being screwed up from underneath would have been much better solutions. Another complete bodge job thanks to Skoda/VAG - it must have been the same designer who designed the console bushes and ARB collars - he should be shot.

Agreed.

What was your independent's solution?

Agreed.

What was your independent's solution?

I think they put new captive washers on and then covered them with a tar like substance - some kind of glue or corrosion inhibitor perhaps? It was one of a number of jobs done at the time but it will still have cost me a bit on the bill so I'm annoyed about that.

That's a nice cheap fix, will try to remember this if and when mine decided they've had enough of me and want to take there chances on there own.

That'd be today then!

God that rattle's annoying!