......and help is needed!

Should mention, my first post (Hello!) as I have only very recently bought a Fabia! I always join the relevant car forum when I buy a new car (or at least try to) and this one came up first / looked the best, so here goes!

Iv'e had a look on the forum and have part answers to my questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.

I bought a 2001 reg Skoda Fabia Estate 1.4 MPI a few weeks ago. Now I did get it at a very good price so I expected some 'issues' and to be fair it's very much as I thought so im pretty happy in that respect, however there are a few items I would like to sort!

Basically the majority of the car seems in fairly decent condition given the millage (130k) but the following are what stands out.....

A noise similar to a wheel bearing noise through the cabin, now im unsure if this is two noises together or just the one but when I start my journey I feel like a vibration through what I pressume is the wheels, it does go and at certain speeds it pretty much goes away but it's not the quietist of runners on certain tarmac. I jacked up the car and tested each wheel and there was near to no play in any of the wheels (and I was trying!) I also checked the exhaust incase it was resonating and apart from a small whole at the end of the tail pipe it seems in decent condition, any ideas?

Now iv'e read somewhere that the engine can smell a tad at times, unsure how true that is? but I get a slight whiff of possibly fuel/oil (i'd probably edge towards the former but unsure) that I can smell ever so slightly in the cabin area (through the fans) but only when I first turn it on for a few seconds and when im stationary in traffic. It is very faint and dissapears when normal driving. I checked all the fuel lines and tank and all seems well, theres no obvious leaks having had a good search around and all the engine seems very dry, also I am getting on average 40mpg which is about right for my driving! I have narrowed it down to the area very close to the injectors/oil cap is which again is very clean and dry but there is that slight smell. First off is this normal? and also is there any known issue with this? I was thinking possibly the throttle "slug" item that could possibly be sludged having had a good read about it on here? (it's on the to do list anyhow!) Iv'e had engines that smell worse (due to a dodgy injector a few years back) and a diesel pump that went haywire but ideally i'd like no smell if possible as i'm a wee bit picky like that!

Slight rattle on the Cam Chain is present, but at 130k i'd expect that! How reliable are these in general?

Other than those items the car is in fairly good nick! The odd sill may need some attention, tyres,brakes,suspension,sparks,filters ect ect all look new and in good condition. I should also mention it's had its headgasket done about 50k ago and its not using any water/oil.

As i say first thing I always do with any new car is give it a good once over ideally for safety more than anything! and whilst im satisfied all seems ok .....my mud soaked clothes would say otherwise.....having been under/over/in the car for 2 days straight ........I would ideally like to sort the above out if possible!

Any known faults, help, advice ect ect would be dandy!

Sorry for the long post, bit of an ethusiast (whatever car that may be) and thankyou in advance!

Are the rear doors watertight?

You don't think the noise could be cheap/worn tyres?

Should also mention I've had it on a diagnostic scanner and no fault codes!

Hello booke! Rear doors are indeed watertight. no water anywhere that i can see, what would this do?

Tyres all seem half decent brands with 6mm+ tread on them!

The rear doors are a very common fault....a bonus that your car is watertight!

I don't have a lot of experience of wheel bearing type hum issues on the Fabia. My Octavia did something similar, but only over 40 mph, and it was sawtooth wear on the rear tyres......a very common issue in the Octavia but not on the Fabia.

I think your cam chain should be replaced every 120,000 miles....so it's due, but I'm sure a 1.4 mpi expert will be along shortly to give you more info on that!

Noise could be a wheel bearing, the Fabia is known to go through front wheel bearings, in the early days I found I could just make out the hum on certain road surfaces, within 1,000 miles it was obvious all the time. Within 10k i'd replaced both. Also have a look at drop links, they knock going over bumpy ground, console bushes tear at top and bottom if they're the old style and ARB bushes wear on the bar, a revised bar has been issued, thermostat/housing is known to break down. All are known issues but inexpensive DIY jobs.

Chain interval is 120k, in reality you change it when you can't stand the noise anymore, parts are £35ish the labour will push the price up quite a bit.

Your rocker cover gasket will have failed, if it's not been replaced already £4 and a trip to the dealer will sort it. Check the aux belt, it's £8 and a 10 minute job for a non a/c car.

Thanks Booke appreciated.

Avalon! Could well be the wheel bearings then, much required to gain access to them? more of an engine/exhaust man myself (if that!) than the wheel/brake/suspension......mainly due to having a wonky drive!

Rocker gasket it is then! Is that in relation to the smell?

Aux belt looks in good nick, pretty clean and well fitted, thanks for the advice, appreciated.

I did two wheel bearings by hand before swearing I'd never ever be so stupid again. The last two have been done by a local mechanic, 2.5hrs labour at £20/hr is a small price to pay. A 3rd party bearing is £29 from my local factor at mates rates.

The rocker cover gasket passes oil, the block gets hot and it thins and spreads. Here's a photo of the top before I did my gasket. The first I knew of it was oil round the HG and block, it had obviously been that way for a while but it was a 12 year old car. While you're doing this it could be worth using a engine flush (search for a step by step guide), it's a marmite product, some swear by it, others swear at it.

Also put the car on full lock, turn the engine off and have a look at the console bush, if it looks like below with nice tears top and bottom then budget on replacements.

The 'slug' is above the throttle body, it often gets gunked up due to the oil vapors vented into it via the breather, that said after 12 years and 41k I stripped it and it was pristine.

I did two wheel bearings by hand before swearing I'd never ever be so stupid again. The last two have been done by a local mechanic, 2.5hrs labour at £20/hr is a small price to pay. A 3rd party bearing is £29 from my local factor at mates rates.

The rocker cover gasket passes oil, the block gets hot and it thins and spreads. Here's a photo of the top before I did my gasket. The first I knew of it was oil round the HG and block, it had obviously been that way for a while but it was a 12 year old car. While you're doing this it could be worth using a engine flush (search for a step by step guide), it's a marmite product, some swear by it, others swear at it.

Also put the car on full lock, turn the engine off and have a look at the console bush, if it looks like below with nice tears top and bottom then budget on replacements.

The 'slug' is above the throttle body, it often gets gunked up due to the oil vapors vented into it via the breather, that said after 12 years and 41k I stripped it and it was pristine.

I've been there before, doing a job and being 3 hours in and thinking.......why.....why did I start this!!!

Right, well I checked the head of the engine and it's pretty much prestine/dry, would it still be worth doing the gasket or just waiting and see as there is no sign of an oil leak at all?

The console bush I will check, as by the sounds of it it's pretty easy to get to!

The "slug" is what I want to have a good look at ideally, will do that on the weekend due to daylight.....roll on summer time!!

Will try and keep you updated on the results! All seems to be going ok with it so far considering but will probably take your advice and get it a garage for the wheel bearings rather than end up with half the car on a wonky drive!

If it's dry then leave the rocker cover alone. The console bushes are easy to check just by putting your head under the car and having a look.

If its a wheel bearing it'll normally get louder with time/distance, you could jack the car up and put it on a stand then rotate the wheel/check it for lateral play but within a few hundred miles they become louder/quieter anyway when you're turning left/right and the general noise gets louder.

As to the garage, the vice I broke doing the last one was worth more than the labour would have cost, let alone the time it took. It's one of those jobs I just wouldn't consider doing anymore but it took doing two to teach me that because i'm stubborn.

Edited 19 March, 201313 yr by Avalon

HI There,

I have the same car exactly!

Great little runner, i return about 47mpg on a mix of petrols. Live in cornwall but travel as a photographer and in the last two weeks I did 2200 miles between london and cornwall on work and it never skipped a beat.

Only thing I have found is the same as the above but just keep an eye on your wheel balancing.

I had a wobble through the steering wheel on some mid range tyres and it wasnt that bad but I find that the wheels go out of balance quite easy.

easy to work on though and very simple fix if anything goes wrong.

Great to have some one else in the true daily club!!

Good luck with everything

HI There,

I have the same car exactly!

Great little runner, i return about 47mpg on a mix of petrols. Live in cornwall but travel as a photographer and in the last two weeks I did 2200 miles between london and cornwall on work and it never skipped a beat.

Only thing I have found is the same as the above but just keep an eye on your wheel balancing.

I had a wobble through the steering wheel on some mid range tyres and it wasnt that bad but I find that the wheels go out of balance quite easy.

easy to work on though and very simple fix if anything goes wrong.

Great to have some one else in the true daily club!!

Good luck with everything

Thanks for the comment, nice to know there are others out there with the exact same car when/if something goes wrong!

Currently getting around 44mpg last time I checked and considering the road/traffic thats not too bad i'd say, even more economical than my last diesel! (non Skoda).

Massive question this tho......whats the colour of yours?

Will add the wheel balancing to the list of "to be checked" also!

Avalon, thanks once again!

Will keep you all updated on progress (possibly a while!) Cheers

i return about 47mpg

Calculate mpg on brimmed tanks and average it over a few, if you are getting 47mpg I want yours as it's getting diesel mpg for petrol money

Avalon I have been getting my friend to figure it out for me as he is an automotive engineer. slightly higher pressure in the tyres with nitrogen added a couple of mpg to long journeys and i dont have any roof rails or bars and some almost disc wheel hub caps. its slips through the air!

Scope mine is Dark Dark Green, great colour. looks good in the sun, and grey skys and is easy to maintain the paint.

Cheers

Right, quick update time!

Ive managed to do a few things, the most important of which was to try and get rid of that smell coming from the vents, I've had a fine tooth comb look over all the lines and all the engine compartment and its as dry as a bone! I've had the purge solenoid off (I think it was that anyway!) and all looked fine, injectors all fine, air intake and "slug" all clean as! But......... I have noticed something and help would be appreciated!

Basically the throttle and the butterfly flap above it, now am I right in thinking that the butterfly disc should open when the car reaches normal temperature? I took the "slug" off and connecting breather hose and there was the disc above the throttle, it was horizontal ish but at a slight angle. I started the car and reached normal temperature, found the bite point and had a bit of a rev (with the slug off) but nothing happened, is this correct? Now this may well co-inside (or may not!) with the slight smell i'm getting as if the disc isnt letting the air in the smell may well build up and as its coming (or not in this case) from the air inlet am I right in thinking this may trap the throttle smell and send it nicely into my cabin? It is very faint and only at idle so it would make partial sense? Also from some heavy reading on here people say the MPI engine is known to be a bit bumpy on idle which I have noticed, however if I rev my car ever so slightly when the revs come back down they occasionally dip to say 500rpm then just before it stalls it'll kick in and finds the normal idle, not confidence inspiring at times! Any ideas?

Other than that things are pretty much as before, Iv'e still got a to do list but things are slowly getting checked or done!

Cheers guys!

What sort of smell is it exactly? If it's ammonia then replace the cabin filter.

The only flap I'm aware of is the one mentioned by Chris in the second post here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/237818-air-filter-box-mpi/

As for the revs dropping that low have a listen to your power steering pump, it's on the front near side where the fog lights are if you have them. With the engine running can you hear it kicking in/out as if the wheel was being fractionally moved left/right constantly? It's just the fabia has an electro hydraulic system and it's high draw which causes the revs to drop and the lights to flicker/dim (more noticeable in the dark) and the angle sensor is known to become faulty and cause the pump to kick in/out and change the level of assistance given (not funny mid corner or while doing slow maneuvers).

If you have access to a netbook or laptop then a £6 lead and a copy of VCDS lite would be a good investment as it will let you read the fault codes.

Hi Avalon thanks for the reply!

Its like an oily smell, I believe it could well be the Oil cap as the cover isn't that good a seal, the other spare cap is better but does'nt feel that tight enough on!

The flap is just above (but inside) the throttle casing, the gold coloured butterfly flap which has alot of resistance but should apprently open and close as the car warms up (from what iv'e read) but mine doesnt seem to or at least I don't think it does? I thought it was the throttle itself but that would make no sense as it didn't open when I revved it! It's probably something of nothing but did seem a little strange, especially with the revs dipping every now and again.

I couldn't hear the pump making a noise, but I will have a listen the next time I go out. My friend has VAGCOM (I think) as he is a VW nut but can't access it untill next week really!