New owner advice please

[Jay29]

Hi everyone I'm a new fabia VRS diesel owner. It's a 2006 plate with 112k on clock n full service history

I used to have a celica t sport 190, a car I knew inside out but this is my first VAG Car so need advice please

1. Are there any known common fault on these car and the fixes?

2. I have a new bottle of 5w40 shell helix

Ultra fully synthetic engine oil is this suitable for PD engine?

3. What can you tell me about the turbo unit I hear people change them as their unreliable??

4.Is the engine reliabile overall? Is there anything that needs can be done to reinforce it?

5. I heard people do an EGR delete, what purpose does this serve?

Sorry for 101 questions but I am hungry for knowledge lol

Any thoughts thoughts / opinions appreciated,

Cheers

Jay

Edited 27 February, 2014 by Jay29

[sepulchrave]

1. Many, but all the information you need is right here at your fingertips through the search button.

 

2. Probably not, be careful with oil, it must meet the VW specs for a PD.

 

3. Turbo life is a lottery, Garret units are preferred to KKK.

 

4. The engine itself is very solid.

 

5. IMO, an EGR delete serves no purpose and is a mod for moddings sake, others will disagree vehemently.

[rtz62]

Welcome, and hers my six-penneth worth;

Check the service history for when it was last serviced, and if not done recently, book it in for a full service (oil change, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter etc) Should cost circa £135 at a specialist.

Check the service history for when the cambelt was last changed; if you search on here you will find the definitive answer but I believe it should be changed very 40k. If there's no paperwork to support the fact that it's done, I'd consider that it hasn't been, and get it done ASAP. Should cost circa £300 at a specialist.

Regarding the egr valve, you can either clean it, or remove it. She Who Must be Obeyed (SWMBO) is cleaning hers this weekend; when you take it off you may be amazed as to how clogged with oily gunk it is. Very easy to remove and clean.

Hope this helps.

[Jay29]

Cheers guys

Il get straight onto it

The fault with leaking doors who rectifies this? Main dealer??

[Breezy_Pete]

DIY is the way to go for the door leaks, unless you have unwanted wealth. May have been done already with any luck.

Just keep an eye out for water pooling on the horizontal top surface of the door orifice seal, or the door cards being damp, or the carpets or underlay being damp, or excessive condensation.

 

Other 'popular' problems are:

 

The rear bushes for the wishbones, known as 'console bush' which in original form don't last well. Various replacement options exist, the only one to definitely avoid is the original design. If they've never been done, they almost certainly need doing.

 

Screenwash related failures.  The piping system is modular with plug/socket connections at 2 or 3 locations along the car for the rear screen washer.  Unless screenwash concentration is kept up to a decent level, any freezing in the pipes tends to disconnect these.  Some say this is deliberate, to prevent pipe bursting, but I think it's more to do with manufacturing convenience, and sod the end user.  

[joncc]

There are some good guides pinned to the top of the Fabia I section including 'popular' [OK, not actually popular] faults...

 

I have used this as a tick sheet, since it was sadly an accurate and definitive list of things that were or are wrong!

 

(This one: The Extremely Useful Fabia 1 Topic)

Edited 27 February, 2014 by joncc

[LewisVRS]

I brought my fabia with 144,000 on the clock last August and it's now done 158,000. Just a brake light bulb so far

[Jimclark063]

Hello Jay29

Like yourself I am new(ish) to VRS ownership,and my little furby has been great thus far, and I honestly cannot fault it.My big expense is going to be the DMF and all ancillaries related to this.Mine has FSH and has now covered 188k,and still drives straight and true.I have only just become a member,after reading soo many threads,and can honestly say that I have had none of the issues that seem to be common with some.

Maybe I am very lucky and these words may come and bite me Im sure hahaha,however at this moment .........im loving my VRS 

I hope you have the same experience.

[mattbvRS]

The oil you want is Audi/VW Quantum Platinum 5w-40 'PD oil' or any other oil that meets the VW 505.00, 505.01 specifications. It's a simple enough car to service DIY but if your not handy with stuff like that make sure the place you take it uses the correct oil. The wrong oil can cause premature wear of the camshaft and associated components over time.

 

Echo what others have said about the cam belt and water pump, it's important to keep up to date with the change intervals. Worth doing for peace of mind really.

 

There are a few little niggles with things like the rear doors leaking water, boost hoses popping off due to poorly designed couplers and the coolant level sensor giving up the ghost but they are generally reliable cars if looked after. Standard turbos can last anything from 60-120k+ and it really does vary a lot. Clutch/DMF again can vary depending on how it's been driven through it's life, some people get over 100k on the original while others have had to change theirs at 60-70k.

 

The EGR valve/inlet manifold are also prone to clogging up, you can remove and clean these fairly easily and doing something called the 'elephant mod' will help prevent build up of crap in the future. Not sure I'd bother with an EGR delete myself especially if you have the BLT engine code as the anti-shudder valve is part of the unit on the BLT engines.

[Jay29]

Thanks for al the advice guys

 

Timing belt & water pump will be done in the summer

 

I have just serviced the car, Although at idle it feels like its missing a bit perhaps a faulty injector? May try a can of BG44K and a full tank of shell v power diesel lol

 

Im not super fussed about squeezing more power from it im very content with stock power output, However once the oem turbo gives (fingers crossed it won't) then I will consider upping the power via a map

 

I would look at a hybrid turbo, I may stay stock with a hybrid 130 as im not sure if the 150 hybrid will have lag? 

 

 

One more question, I may have a set of wilwood dynalite callipers spare, anyone one know if these will fit the fabia? anyone running wilwood 4 pots?

Edited 2 March, 2014 by Jay29

[AaronMountford1990]

I would stick with V Power nitro fuel, as it will progressively clean out your entire engine bit by bit.

 

Door seals arent too much of a worry..use tiger seal..brilliant stuff..you can use bathroom sealant but hey tiger seal sticks gearboxes together..itl do!

[Jay29]

Cheers bro is there anypic of where they need to b sealed?

Wilwood callipers anyone?

[AaronMountford1990]

there's a few guides on here but it's easy enough to explain, cover the bottom and part of the way up the sides of the ridge, you should see where the Crap seal is, just make sure to do that and it should drain out of the drainage points and not the inside of the seal

[Jay29]

Cheers bud

Don't know if doors have already been sealed but no water is getting in

Il check it out 2mor

[Guest BigJase88]

The oil you want is Audi/VW Quantum Platinum 5w-40 'PD oil' or any other oil that meets the VW 505.00, 505.01 specifications. It's a simple enough car to service DIY but if your not handy with stuff like that make sure the place you take it uses the correct oil. The wrong oil can cause premature wear of the camshaft and associated components over time.

Echo what others have said about the cam belt and water pump, it's important to keep up to date with the change intervals. Worth doing for peace of mind really.

There are a few little niggles with things like the rear doors leaking water, boost hoses popping off due to poorly designed couplers and the coolant level sensor giving up the ghost but they are generally reliable cars if looked after. Standard turbos can last anything from 60-120k+ and it really does vary a lot. Clutch/DMF again can vary depending on how it's been driven through it's life, some people get over 100k on the original while others have had to change theirs at 60-70k.

The EGR valve/inlet manifold are also prone to clogging up, you can remove and clean these fairly easily and doing something called the 'elephant mod' will help prevent build up of crap in the future. Not sure I'd bother with an EGR delete myself especially if you have the BLT engine code as the anti-shudder valve is part of the unit on the BLT engines.

Almost right

505.01 is the minimum spec of oil

505.00 is no good and will harm the camshaft