Hi all

Had the Octy roughly 15 months now and i'm generally happy with it.

Tis a 1.6 classic, paid 3K with 30K on the clock, full Skoda service history, cambelt & waterpump changed @ 24K, generally great example.

Had the following problems since:

Engine temp sensor warning. this eventually turned out to be caused by a broken piece of plastic inside the thermostat housing, that held the thermostat in place.

Stripped thread on sump. during a service, the garage removed the sump plug which stripped the thread from the sump! replaced with oversized sump plug.

Clutch failed. clutch replaced @ 40K

Just had worn brake pad warning light appear (seperate post)

No AM recption on aftermarket HU. had great reception on same HU when used in previous cars (Mondeo, Focus), and if i remember correctly, the original skoda HU couldn't get AM too!

problem not fixed!

Rear windscreen wiper doesn't emit washer fluid!

problem not fixed

I'll search the forum regarding the last 2 problems and hopefully get them fixed without involving expensive trips to garage!

It's also due a service and i'm worried there might be a problem again with the sump plug (the garage i took it to last time said the bolt stripping its thread is just one of those things and so i was liable for repair costs!)

I can also only afford a basic service (oil & filter) so can anyone reccomend a good/reliable garage in or around Oldham/Manchester?

Thanks all

Errrr bad news I'm afraid! That bit of plastic blocking your thermostat was probably a chunk of the water pump! You'll need to get the water pump changed asap, and may aswell do the cambelt at the same time. Unless it's a bit of the old pump that was changed at 24k.... There's no way of telling though really, unless you ask the person that changed it originally.

Radio and rear washer are common problems that you will find solutions for after a search.

Clutch seems to have gone a bit early. Must have been ridden alot in a past life.

The proper fix for the sump is to buy a new sump pan, and find a garage that doesn't overtighten the plug! I'm sure a new sump pan can't be too pricey.

Errrr bad news I'm afraid! That bit of plastic blocking your thermostat was probably a chunk of the water pump! You'll need to get the water pump changed asap, and may aswell do the cambelt at the same time. Unless it's a bit of the old pump that was changed at 24k.... There's no way of telling though really, unless you ask the person that changed it originally.

Hi Bodge

I was told by the mechanic that a small piece of the plastic thermostat housing had broken off so the thermostat wasn't seated correctly.

This explained why i'd been having problems with the temp sensor. i.e. warning light, coolant not getting upto correct temp, but these problems were intermittent. sometimes it was fine others not so!

The mechanic didn't find the missing bit of plastic when he stripped it down and replaced and said it could still be somewhere in the system!

Now i'm thinking since these problems were around since i bought the car, maybe this bit of plastic broke off and damaged the water pump (hence it being replaced at 24K) but the broken housing wasn't spotted!

Well, thats what i'm hoping!

Anyway, this was replaced 6 months and roughly 8K miles ago and its been fine ever since (touch wood)!

Ahhar, sorry I misunderstood you! So a bit of plastic had broken off the plastic thermostat cover, and jammed the stat. Not heard of that one before!

Not much you can do if the mechanic failed to catch the bit of plastic, and it's slipped back down into the coolant tract. If you ever get overheating issues then you know exactly what it is anyway!

I'm struggling to visualise how a bit of the stat cover could have broken off, but anyway.....

I found a whole scalpel blade in the thermostat housing of my old car! Some spaz obviously dropped it in when scraping off the old gasket. Cheers spaztard!

If it's not overheating, or running cold, then don't worry.

The aerial can probably be sorted with one of those booster cables from Halfrauds. I was advised to get one when I swapped my Symphony H/U for an aftermarket H/U but couldn't be bothered as I never listen to the radio.

The washer jet problem happens when the nozzle gets blocked with crap then the backpressure causes the hose to blow off of the back of the motor housing. Don't keep trying to use the wash/wipe as it will flood the boot :yes: You just need to remove the plastic trim cover from the inside of the boot lid and re-attach the little hoze, and give the nozzle a good clean out.

I'm struggling to visualise how a bit of the stat cover could have broken off, but anyway.....

yeah, bad design maybe? i didn't give the old housing too much attention, just relieved ithe fault was diagnosed correctly at last and fixed!

there was no bit of plastic blocking the stat, it was just missing!

Like i mentioned, hopefully this is what originally knackered the waterpump before i bought the car, and the offending item is no longer in the cooling system!!

fingers remaining crossed!!

my mechanic drains the oil though the dipstick...

No AM recption on aftermarket HU. had great reception on same HU when used in previous cars (Mondeo, Focus), and if i remember correctly, the original skoda HU couldn't get AM too!

problem not fixed!

Rear windscreen wiper doesn't emit washer fluid!

problem not fixed

You need a power injector to supply power the amp at the base of the aerial sort out the radio reception.

Rear wiper - I expect the pipe has burst as a junction point. Either in the tailgate, or under the cd changer , where it is wrapped into the loom cabling.