I've just bought a fairly leggy Fabia Classic estate - absolute poverty spec, but whatever, was cheap.

Anyway, it has a few niggles with two I could do with a bit of advice on.

One, is the temperature gauge is dead - it's a 1.4 TDI, so is this likely to be the same issue as with the 1.9s, as in the sensor on the engine has died?

The second fault is to do with the heater controls - the directional control turns and moves the air around fine bar if you point it at the windscreen no air comes out - likely to be a faulty control panel or worse behind, and if the latter, how much of a ballache is it to get at / change?

Thank you in advance for any advice given and, if you've read this far, happy new year.

If you point the direction at the screen is it blowing out of the footwell vents by chance?

And yes sounds like a temp sensor.

Re: where the air is going, will confirm tomorrow as my insurers weren't open today so I couldn't get cover transferred to this and will have to pick it up in the morning once they open.

But yes, I think it was blowing to there thinking about it - everything else works as it should do direction wise.

Any idea where the gauge temp sender unit is on these?

The cable is out of sync on the back of the dial then. It's quite easy to sort. The dial actually spins the cable around twice to the dials once so it's 360 degrees out, you need to disconnect the cable, turn the dial one full turn either way then reconnect it.

Temp sensor is in the cooling housing on the right hand end of the cylinder head as you look at it, under the tandem fuel pump.

God I remember having to fiddle with that damned flexi-rod between the back of the dash and the actual connector on the venting hidden at the back. WHAT a pain in the backside!

I'll check tomorrow then - only thing I do know is none of the directions on the heater dial pointed air up at the screen - am I being thick in thinking if what you say has happened applies, you'd be getting air on the screen when the dial was pointed at the floor, or does the secondary cable stop that from happening?

No it should be be out of sync on the dial is all.

Ok, will check tomorrow then report back.

If it isn't, then I suspect it will be a dash out job... :'(

The whole dash doesn't need to come out - just the trim under the steering wheel from memory, and the actual dash bit pulled out to access the back. Been a while since I did it but think I disconnected the rod out the back of the dial, turned it until air was blowing out the vent the dial was saying, then reconnected. I remember it being a lot harder than that and I think on the first attempt, after putting it all together again, found it just spinning again. Damn rod had popped out on the other end.... [sigh]

That's good to know - I only went to look at this today as we happened to be passing and didn't expect to buy it, but it's much better than described and I got it for an absolute song.

Would still like to get back into a decent Mk4 Golf TDI estate eventually but this takes the pressure off me to keep looking for the ideal car - maybe it's my age / maybe I've had one day trip out too many to buy something only to find a badly described heap when I've done however many miles it is to get there, but whereas I used to do quite long treks for the right car, I'm really wary now of travelling distance to buy something, especially when you've had to commit to it via eBay etc without having seen it in the flesh?

Put £100 down on something on there just before Xmas having asked the trader selling it about a number of things like the condition of the tyres - was told they were fine.

Got the MOT cert number out of him a day or so before I'm due to collect it and ran it through the VOSA site to get the MOT history to find advisories on the recent one including one for a well worn rear tyre, so pulled out of the sale and they're refusing to refund me my money? :(

I try to be as honest as I can about my cars - would rather sell something for less and a clear conscience than glossing over its faults to someone even if they're in front of the car, never mind if they're handing money over 'blind' - did mention to the git concerned I was 300 miles down the road?

Ho hum...

Never mind, the trader I bought this off was very honest - if anything he was over negative about it right up until he suddenly realised having driven it I was seriously interested in it and had cash on me, lol.

Seems like a really honest car to me, just one that needs a little inexpensive TLC.

If you really struggle I have a helpful PDF I could email you.

If you really struggle I have a helpful PDF I could email you.

Ooh... that would be very helpful given this is my third Fabia.

Ok, well I have the beast and it drives very well.

There's a slight knocking on the nearside front - very shallow, so I expect it has a perished ARB bush.

The fan is as described - up is down and vice versa, might just live with it, all part of the charm as they say.

One thing I didn't notice before is the fan resistor pack has gone, so only speed 4 is working on the interior fan but no biggie.

Also has a minging steering wheel, so either need to change that or get a cover for it, and the offside front tyre is a bit low so will check the spare before replacing that, although I happen to have a nice set of Mk3 Golf GTi rims with good tyres so may fit those, although 'cheap as possible' is the aim with this and I'm wary of adding anything which will start to pull the MPG down.

All in it, it's alright - I had forgotten how low revving the 1.4s sound when on the move compared to the 1.9s.

Not sure if I want to keep it longer term just yet as my heart is set on getting a decent example of a Mk4 Golf TDI really but this will make a great runaround in the meantime and already thought of someone who I think will bite my arm off for it if I did want rid.