I'm going to give the Octy a service in the next few days as the dash is indicating it needs one. The car is currently set to variable intervals but it's only doing about 10k miles a year so I'm going to service it every 10k. Obviously there's a difference in the type of oil I'm supposed to use if I'm going to run fixed intervals but will this cause the service interval indicator to go loopy? Is it a vag-com job to swap it over to fixed intervals?

I'm also thinking about doing the fuel filter at the same time as the cars done 110k and I don't know what the change interval is for these. Am I likely to notice any difference? Guess it won't do any harm!

I'm also thinking about replacing the springs and there seem to be a few options. On eurocarparts they list Octy vRS springs but they come in normal and heavy duty. Since it's an estate do I need the HD one or are they only if I intend on towing (which I don't).

Edited 6 August, 201015 yr by Schern

You can put longlife servicing oil in a VRS on fixed interval servicing with no ill effects (its actually a higher spec oil), but its more expensive than the stuff for 10k interval servicing. If I remember rightly it has to be 5w30 for longlife but you can put 10w40 in for fixed. I put Castrol Edge in mine which is actually meant for longlife intervals but I change it every 6k.

I think you can change from fixed to variable yourself using the dash controls but to go back from variable to fixed it has to be VAG-Commed or go to a dealer.

I bought a fuel filter the other day as mine hasn't been changed in 130k miles and this raised a few eyebrows at the Skoda dealership. "According to our computer they never have to be changed" :wonder: Well I'm going to change mine anyway!!! :p I think it was only about £11 so if it doesn't make a difference then what the hell.

No idea re. the springs. I know the police Mk1 estates were sometimes fitted with heavy duty rear springs because of the amount of gear they carried in the boot but I never knew these were a OEM Skoda part. If you're not sure then get a part number from a dealer with your registration number and buy those from Eurocarparts

Edited 6 August, 201015 yr by chicken_eyebrow

IIRC it s other way round mate,

Variable service needs VAG COM ro reset and Fixed just needs a few buttons on the dash puching.(do a search mate for how to do it)

to go from Variable to fixed all you need to do is that same procedure.

Damn... that means I'm going to have to VAG-Com mine :(

sorry.

Bit of research shows that if you reset the service interval manually using the trip reset (ignition off, press and hold, ignition on, twist to the right) it changes it to a 10k indicator. It's only if you want to keep it on variable that you need vag-com. Thanks for the rest of the info, the car is currently up in the air with the bumper off (as it's the only way I could get it on the ramps) and I discovered the intercooler was in a right state. Don't know what the prev owner drove it through but it was really gunked up... although it could be leaked oil as I've discovered what's possibly an issue. What do people reckon?

Dirty intercooler

Damage?

Do people reckon a bit of solder will do to plug it up?

Did you try taking the intercooler off and filling it with water to see if that damage is enough to cause a leak? The fin damage isn't a problem but the bottom two pipes look like they might be ruptured

No, haven't filled it with water. Is it ok to do that? How long roughly will it be before I can put it back on the car?

Yes its fine I did it to mine when I cleaned all the oil out of it. There's a guide here:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/115290-cleaning-intercooler-mk1-octavia-vrs/page__p__1474091__hl__cleaning%20intercooler__fromsearch__1entry1474091

You should be ok to just tip all the water out then re-fit it and let it idle for a while, you can dry it with a hair dryer stuck in one of the ports though if you want.

Holy crapola!

Your IC can't be doing much cooling in that state! It should be totally clean and clear, apart from the odd fly. I always make a point of washing mine when I wash the car, by popping out the grille insert.

I've seen that wear issue loads of times before on other forums, but never on here. Sometimes the ducting rubs on the IC, and wears a hole through the soft aluminium, like yours.

Do what chicken said to leak test it. Just let it dry before fitting, as long as there's isn't water still coming out of it I'm sure you'll be fine. Use a hairdryer if you're that impatient. Also trim back the ducting so it stops rubbing through the cooler.

Guess it must be leaking, and letting the breathed oil out through the holes, clogging the IC and allowing dirt to stick to it. You must be loosing a fair bit of power....

This is mine for comparison!

The ducting rubbing makes sense. I've filled it and waters definitely coming out of it. Soldering iron time (just thought... aluminium! Will solder stick?)? Blob of silicon? Would prefer to bodge than replace as I don't have £130ish free for a new one at the mo!

I think I've found the gearbox oil drain point (right on the bottom under the diff, is this the fill point right on the front of the housing behind the radiator?

Edited 6 August, 201015 yr by Schern

Yeah that looks like the fill/inspection plug.

From when I did mine:

Yellow is the drain, red is the filler.

Schern do you have a boost gauge fitted? Any idea what pressure it was making with that damage to the intercooler?

I'm wondering how I could tell if mine was damaged short of taking it off every now and again and having a good look.

Thanks Bodge, I thought they were those but now you've confirmed it. Good job too because I've now got some kind of oil in a tray under the car and it's not out of the sump lol!

I don't I'm afraid chicken_eyebrow, it would have interested me too as I'd imagine you can lose a fair bit of boost through a hole like that. It never felt particularly slow though but I was side by side with a Type S Civic the other day and I couldn't gain anything. Quickest Type S I could see was diesel and it was 8.3s 0-60 so I just put me not pulling away down to a few horses running away as it's got 110k on the clock. Now it looks like it was boost running away not horses!

The ducting rubbing makes sense. I've filled it and waters definitely coming out of it. Soldering iron time (just thought... aluminium! Will solder stick?)? Blob of silicon? Would prefer to bodge than replace as I don't have £130ish free for a new one at the mo!

Wouldn't recommend you try to solder . There are special solders for soldering aluminium but the aluminium needs to be very clean. Wouldn't think you would get the joint clean enough. Silicon or araldite might work if you can get it into the right places. Still needs to be reasonably clean though.

Edited 6 August, 201015 yr by vwcabriolet1971

Bodged for now with solder. Took it for a quick run but haven't checked to see if it's held. Didn't feel massively different TBH. Conveniently though there's a standard SMIC for sale on here so hopefully if all goes to plan it won't need to hold up for long! Plus I've dremelled the leading edge of the ducting away to stop it re-occurring.

Been for a longer run this morning and the bodge seems to be holding. Main differences are throttle response, there seems to be less delay on getting on the throttle, even lightly, compared to before which would make sense as the system should stay pressurised. Top end power seems to hold on longer too which would also make sense. So they would seem to be the sort of thing to feel for if you wonder if you've got a boost leak.

Gearchange is also smoother following the oil change too which is nice. Not the transformation I was hoping for but definitely better! Just need to find the time to do the other service bits now since so long yesterday was taken up with IC cleaning and fixing!

IIRC it s other way round mate,

Variable service needs VAG COM ro reset and Fixed just needs a few buttons on the dash puching.(do a search mate for how to do it)

to go from Variable to fixed all you need to do is that same procedure.

This is correct, but doing this is only half the job. All this does is set the dashpod to indicate fixed servicing but the main ECU will still be set to variable and you can get false service indications triggered as they are out of step with each other.