Hi all,

I've had my Felicia Pacific for a year now, love it to bits (had three Felicias new in the mid-1990s) but am struggling a bit to keep her how I'd like.

Her bodywork is fine and motor strong but she only fires on one cylinder when starting from warm. From cold is fine and so is fully warmed-up, but if she goes for a few miles and stops you have to wait an hour or two before she goes again. I've been told this might be the VW Polo-derived throttle body, but before splashing out £180+VAT+carriage I'd like to be reassured!

Secondly she’s damp inside – the front and rear windscreens fog up whenever standing and ice up (inside) in cold weather. The passenger footwell carpet gets wet and the passenger seat has got tide marks on it! I’m guessing that one of the drain holes is blocked but cannot see where the problem might be – are there known troublespots?

Finally, do you know of a breaker or supplier in the south-east who might stock a replacement passenger seat for the Pacific and ideally a set of 6- or 7-spoke GLXi alloys?

Many thanks

An engine only firing on one cylinder sounds more like electrics than fuel to me (unless the Pacific actually has an 8 port head and port injection of course).

So:-

1) When were the spark plugs last checked and changed?

2) Are the HT leads in good condition (except cars with coilpacks over plugs, when the question is, are the coilpacks ok)?

Hi Ken, and thank you

Plugs and leads have all been changed. That improved things significantly - she used to stall when coming down to idle and/or bog down when pulling away at junctions. However I'm told by my local garage that this fault is often found in VW Polos with the common throttle body. Just wanted to check before spending what is a fair chunk of hard-earned.

Looks like the wetness indoors is a common problem from windscreen seals going. Perhaps I need to add rear screens to the list of common faults too!

:yes: Hi, you're obviously the guy that emailed me this morning! As I said in my email reply, check the valve clearances first, they tend to close up if not set during servicing leading to starting issues.

Hee hee thanks Dave - that was me!

I'll look into the valve clearances first for sure before chucking that much money over the wall to see if it works!!

So that's the motor done and a radio found... just the windscreen seals, passenger seat and wheels before she'll be minty fresh again!

If that doesn't work, I'd check the temperature sensor's the latest version; web search and limit results to Briskoda.

After that, open the air cleaner and dump some carb cleaner down the throttle body (as per instructions) before buying a new one.

first of all which engine is it?

i have a set of the felicia alloys here which will be available in the very near future

Hi Tom,

It's a 1300 MPI. Forgot to mention we changed the Lamda sensor as well so it's all there. She runs clean as a whistle on the emissions too!

Let me know about those alloys when you're ready!

All the best

first thing i would change is the coolant temp sensor for hot starting problems. also if the valve clearances are too tight it can make it difficult to start when hot..

re; leaks, felicia's always leak, windscreen etc

Thanks for the tip on the coolant temp sensor Tom, I'll check that one as well as the valve clearances.

I'd be slightly dubious if anyone claimed to have changed the HT leads - the 1300 MPi uses an on-plug coilpack and wasted-spark ignition so there aren't any! The Pacific was a fairly short-run limited edition so finding one in a breaker's might take a while. That said, I'm on the lookout for one too as I quite fancy the door cards for mine.

As for passenger side wetness - lift the glovebox out and see if the insulation foam behind it is obviously wet anywhere - that should indicate if it's a windscreen-related leak. If it's not, and the wetness only goes up as far as the bonnet release, then you've got the same issue I have. I'm pretty sure this is from water getting into the wiper panel and running down into the inner wings - I've yet to figure out exactly where and how it gets inside, though. I think sealing the back of the wiper trim where it meets the windscreen seal should help with this. My rear window steams up like mad too - there's no leaks around the window, but I suspect the tailgate seal probably lets as much water in as my door seals. I'd also say the wet seat is down to either a leaky sunroof or a leaky passenger

Thanks for the tip on the leads Robin. I'll check the last bill!

The Pacific trim is fun - my stepdaughter likes it anyway! Hopefully a proper clean-up will get rid of the stains on the seat (or at least make it something I can live with).

Thanks for the tip on the glovebox. It's definitely at its wettest down towards the floor but at the same time the windscreen always mists up on the passenger side when it's been running, so presumably something in there's getting damp and warm and then making its presence felt as the rest of the car cools down.

Hope she's not rotting away in there!

I think I do need to check for any bunged-up exit holes as well, though. When I got the car she'd been standing for a while and was a bit mossy!

I think I've found some suitable alloys... ex-Laurin & Kliment '96 BBS ones.

As the old SLXi wheels all seem to have gone to the great car lot in the sky (or are available from Skoda dealers at £120 per rim + VAT + shipping + tyres + fitting) this might just have to do!

Here's a pic of her (very shabby, first photo taken on my new phone!)

Edited 21 January, 201115 yr by Pacific_Blue

crikey^^ that's quite tidy and you call that shabby..

is that L&K in a breakers yard near you?? i'm looking for a leather interior for my pickup

Edited 21 January, 201115 yr by TeflonTom

I meant the pic was shabby - the car's my pride and joy!

Messaged you on interiors, hope it works out.

Ooh, L&K 14", lovely - one of the two wheels I'd consider trading my SLXi alloys for (if you really wanted a set ). FYI the SLXi alloys were also fitted to the 'Magic' special edition that (kind of) superseded it.

I take it you're after the windows as well then Tom? Otherwise I wish this was happening 5 years ago when I lived in Portsmouth and drove through Guildford regularly...

I'm a huge BBS fan so I won't be too disappointed if my Felicia ends up with a set, but these are the ones I'm really after.

Always had the alloys fitted to my original Felicias. I had a 1996 1.3, 1997 diesel and 1998 1.6 GLXi...

I can't quite tell from the angle if these are the same 7-spokes or slightly different: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Skoda-Felicia-breaking-CHEAPEST-PARTS-ebay-/120671883988?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1c189ad2d4 - I've had a couple of bits from this guy and he seems a nice helpful chap.

Hi Robin... yes they're the ones and yes he's a helpful chap - although he's helped someone else to get those alloys!!

I am going to buy the radio and aerial from him however, to replace the aftermarket jobs mine came with.

Of the two styles above I think I prefer the 6-spoke anyway. There must be some knocking about.

Edited 21 January, 201115 yr by Pacific_Blue

My to-do list is now:

1) Cure the warm starting issues (valve clearance check, temp sensor check, last resort throttle body)

2) Cure the tinworm in the left front wing and right rear door aperture

3) Sort the suspension with anti-roll bars and new front shocks

4) Sort the damp with new front and rear windscreen seals

That's before adding some pretty Skoda alloys and making her 100% smart.

Blimey. :'(

Looking at my damp problem, I think the windscreen seals are OK. Pulled the glovebox out and had a good feel of/behind the bulkhead padding and it's as dry as a bone. Also checked the drain holes and they're all clear. Confused.com!

If you've got the same leak as I have, it'll be wettest around the bonnet release lever (or equivalent point on the other side) and out towards the A-pillars, but pretty much dry above that. My suspicion is very much pointing to the wiper trim panel and the various holes beneath it on that one - I'll have the dashboard out again at some point so I'll investigate points of entry then. Another (theoretical) possibility for excessively steamy windscreens would be a blocked drain hole/flap at the bottom of the intake housing under the bonnet vent - certainly a couple of the drains on mine were fairly bunged up with crud, but the A/C housing is completely different so I'm not sure if/how this applies to the standard heater housing.

mine leaks through the little door rubbers where the door wiring looms go through

i have a set of the felicia alloys here which will be available in the very near future

The 5 spoke ones pictured on your pickup at present are Favorit Mk2 (93-95) alloys I have quite a few of them left in the outdoor cupboard at my mum's in Leeds, need to be a good son and get rid of them at some point

I'd like to try my centre caps from them on my Fabia as the centre spigot size is the same I believe, and would be a nice touch of retro.

mine leaks through the little door rubbers where the door wiring looms go through

Through the rubbers or the holes where they go?