Hi all, I have a few questions re my Fabia...

I'll start with that I have heard that you can adjust the ride height of the shock absorbers, is this true, if so what sort of adjustments can be made, can they be made in situ and what effect does it have on handling and component wear etc?

The rear shock gaiters seem to have become detached, below is a pic. Is there any way to reattach them? Is this an MOT advisory or fail?

Below is a pic of exhaust back box, there is some rust and it has bubbled causing a slight crack. Is this repairable cheaply? Is this an MOT advisory or fail?

In the engine bay I noticed a couple of damp/oily patches in an otherwise dry engine bay. Can you please confirm what is causing the dampness and whether it is normal or likely to require repair?

The leak is shown below between the brake fluid and engine cover, it is the dark circular patch to the right of what looks like a ribbed rubber gaiter.

Here the leak is shown below between the what I think is the ABS unit to the right of the engine cover, it is the dark circular patch to the left of what looks like a ribbed rubber gaiter.

Re the damp oily patches I should add that these never used to be there and there is currently some vibration felt in the vehicle while driving which I suspect is due to failing bushes, could the bushes be causing the vibrations causing temporary fluid leakage or further suspension damage?

Edited 2 July, 201214 yr by SkodaFabiaOwner

My N/S/R had the same detached gaitor - I used superglue to fix it! No idea if it's a failure but I doubt it....

Edited 2 July, 201214 yr by Oli3000

You can't adjust standard shocks, you'd need to have coilovers fitted to adjust height. Both of my shock covers have detached due to the bump stops splitting, but it passed the MOT test OK in April so I don't think it's a failure. Just not ideal, and something I should look into fixing.

Wouldn't worry about the exhaust box, no sign of any gas leakage which would surely show as sootiness around the crack, no?

First damp patch might be power-steering fluid if i'm interpreting your description of where in the pic to look correctly. Check the level in the reservoir via the green cap in front of the windscreen washer filler. Clean/dry damp patch and see if it comes back.