Whilst working n the car at the weekend I noticed two pipes were split at their ends and were falling off the connectors they were supposed to be on. One of the split pipes comes from a silver metal box attached to the right of the engine, Haynes says it's the brake vacuum pump. The pipe then goes to a valve which has a pipe attached to the middle of it coming from the vacuum box, it is the end which connects to the valve that had split. Then the other side of the valve has another split pipe coming off it and going in to the drivers footwell.

Since the pipes were only split on the ends I just cut an each of the end and secured it back on the valve. What are these pipes and what would happen if they were to fall off or split again?

Thanks in advance.

If they're vacumn lines, you could be presented with a very heavy brake pedal; Murphy says that this will happen when you need a quick stop.

If you've removed the split end and resecured them properly, there's no reason to think there's going to be an issue though.

OTOH they may be part of the engine breather system, which might cause rough running but that's all.

Thanks for the reply, they were very stiff to put back on, seem to be made from hard plastic. I might put a couple of hose clamps on to make sure they don't pop off. Brakes seem fine at the moment so I guess I've maintained the vacuum, I was just worried they might pop off and suddenly I have no brakes.

Thanks for the reply, they were very stiff to put back on, seem to be made from hard plastic. I might put a couple of hose clamps on to make sure they don't pop off. Brakes seem fine at the moment so I guess I've maintained the vacuum, I was just worried they might pop off and suddenly I have no brakes.

if it's a vacuum pipe, what's going to make it 'pop off'?

if it's a vacuum pipe, what's going to make it 'pop off'?

Sorry I didn't mean pop off as in be popped off by air pressure, rather pop off through the vibrations of the engine, maybe work its way loose would have been a better way to put it.

had exactly same problem. perished vaccum feed from tandem diesel/vacuum pump. if you reconnected it properly then no worries. there is one way valve feed for vacuum system which operates throttle, turbo vanes, back exhaust gases feed. I got a new hose from Skoda dealer. It cost about 20£ or so. New silicon hose from a pump to brake assistant.

Hi all,

My wife's fabia estate1.9tdi has a servo/vacuum pump problem (I'm assuming this)

If you are driving and press the brakes firmly the car stops ok, but not as well as you might like, but if you then press the pedal again in quick succession it goes hard, like it's lost it's servo assistance?

I can't see any signs of split pipes or any that have come off?

Any ideas please?

I'm new here and cant find my way around the site that well at the moment, so apologise if this is in the wrong place (Google made me do it !)

I'm not in the financial position to take it to the dealers to get it fixed, so home fix is the preferred method !

Thanks again,

Shaun.

you will get some hardening with repeated pumps to check -pump the brake a few times with the engine off- press the brake pedal and start up you should feel the pedal sink slightly (servo operating) then with foot of the brake switch off then you should get 3or 4 assisted strokes on the pedal before feeling no assistance if it does this you're OK

The splits on the pipe may not be obvious. The splits on my vacuum hose were underneath at each end and repaired temporarily with gaffer tape. However, when I replaced the hose there was another split on the small pipe and the brakes improved further so there must have been another leak from that split,

Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.

I will order a new pipe/one way valve assembly ASAP, is ther any tips on the best way to fit it?

Also is there any way of testing the vacuum pump its self? Pressure tests etc?

Thanks again,

Shaun.

Fitting is very simple, but, depending on the size of your hands, can be painful.

Tools-pliers, possibly a small screwdriver, plasters for knuckles.

Removal- First remove all the pressure in the system by pumping the brake a few times with the engine off. Take the engine cover off. Pull the pipe off the clips at the back carefully, if you are not careful the clips dive down the back of the engine. Lever/pull the rubber grommet on the servo end out of the servo. There is a little pipe coming out of the one way valve, pull that off the one way valve. Next is the rubber pipe connection on the vacuum pump. You will probably have to mangle the clip to get this off, don't know why it's there anyway, you don't get a new one and I can't see how the pipe can come off, it's too tight a fit.

Fitting- the reverse of removal, getting the grommet into the servo can be a pain as space is short. Do not remove the new pipe from the grommet to make it easier, I think the pipe is shrunk on and I think it will be very difficult to get it back on.

Finally apply plasters to bleeding parts.

With regard to testing the pump, I'm sure a pressure test is possible but I suspect that the new pipe will do the trick.

Thanks for the solution !

I have a friend who works in new car sales (Vauxhall yuk) but in the group of franchises there is a Skoda dealer (yeay !) and he can get staff discount there, so when he gets his ass into gear and gets the parts for me I can get to fix the wife's Fabia !

Just need to talk to another friend who works at the Hospital to sort out some plasters !

Thanks again,

Shaun

Hey,I have a skoda Octavia 1.9TDI, the car goes into limp mode sometimes while i drive to work.

Could the vacuum pump be to blame, as i have already checked all pipes ( All fine) and have bought and replaced the N75 valve as well.