Hi Everyone,

 

Been a long time reader of briskoda and have always managed to diagnose and sort the commom minor issues I've had with my 56 plate fabia vrs mk1 without needing to post.. Thanks a lot to all contributors!

 

Got some serious issues now though that I need to sort or will sadly have to look at selling to someone who can take it on themselves if it's not financially viable for me to get it fixed professionally. I have minimal mechanical skills but a fair bit of  experience dealing with the fabia so im hoping that if I describe my symptoms etc you guys may be able to point me in the right direction.

 

Owned since 30k in 2010, now done 95k. 50/50 heavy urban & spirited motorwayway . Had usual servicing and no other engine related issues apart from the following which have developed gradually over the last 18months/15,000 miles.

During this period it has had considerable servicing and several attempts to diagnose and fix without committing to injector or heavy engine work. This has certainly eased the symptoms and improved performance since it was at its worst last winter and was hopeful I was over the worse.

 

However this weekend, the day after doing 400 miles I experienced a sudden loss of power after feeling/hearing a muted thud, no bang or break from what I could tell. Initially the turbo appeared to have stopped working as I still had basic operation of what now felt like a tractor with a top speed of 60mph and a louder, deeper, raspier exhaust sound. I ran it like this for 10 more minutes until I got it home.

 

Started it up 30 min later,  immediately noticed maybe 10ml of oil on the driveway, mostly drip but also spray, probably ejected when turned over to start. This was coming from the bottom of the sealed tray underneath the engne on the driver's side. It then ran extremely lumpy with power up and down and near stalls and I was also hearing what sounded like small turbines whizzing round.

 

My Dad managed to get it to a garage who recommended exhaust replacement at a cost of £80 but they are currently unaware of the following that I am certain are related to this episode (I will be forwarding this info to them today):

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1. One mechanic diagnosed a possible leak at the join of a smallish pipe connecting to the rear centre left of the engine. if you remove the plastic engine cover you can see fluid around that join.
 

2. unless the fuel tank is at least 3/4 full it will really struggle to turn over after standing still for half a day. It will eventually start after up to 60 secs of turning it over.  Just before it finally starts the oil warning comes on (every time) and usually get dense black smoke from exhaust on first revs and then none once its moving.  The fuller the tank the easier it starts. Also this happens regardless for upto 2 days for most starts regardless of fuel level after a long/fast journey. Noticed much harder to start if been parked on a slope overnight if facing up hill.
 

3. Lots of Dense white smoke continuously comes out of the exhaust if stuck in traffic jam for 20min or more or just standing with engine running.  It will clear after doing  motorway speed for 10 min but not before hitting at least 50mph for a while. This is much worse in summer.
 

4. When sitting still with engine on, the idling is very lumpy and juddery. It gradually gets weaker over a few minutes and will eventually cut out without any revs.  A tiny amount of revs brings it back to a healthy idling state. This is much worse in winter. Engine rocks excessively although bushes have been replaced. On any start I find I have to give excessive revs to ensure a full start without stuttering and cutting out. If it does cut out it will require the 60sec turnover with oil warning routine.
 

5. prior to last winters service engine cut out 3 times in exactly same place whilst travelling at 30mph, Less than a mile/two minutes running time from home.  Service appeared to fix this did occur in coldest weather so could br linked to cold and feels like could occur again this winter.
 

6. Skoda recently sent me a letter saying according to their records cam belt needs changing. I haven't had it done since and have driven approx 60k since skoda replaced it. I will get it replaced now.
 

7. Doesnt like going down into first gear when slowing down to crawl,  have to be overly precise with clutch timing and gearstick technique or it will often crunch going from 2nd to first. This is only gearbox or clutch complaint so don't know if this linked to engine compression or something like that. This is more noticeable coming into urban conditions after doing higher speeds for 30 min. Barely noticeable if  in urban only conditions.
 

8. When accelerating briskly the power produced can often stick at a consistent level even though the accelerator is being increased at the pedal. This stick occurs for a couple of seconds then drops in power before suddenly jumping right back up to where it should be (torque is unbelievable when this happens). Particularly noticeable in 3rd/4th going from 30-50 and also in the higher gears at motorway speeds upto top speed. Only occurs with quick & hard pedal depression when hitting approx 3000-4000 revs.

 

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My main concern is injector replacement. Can one injector be diagnosed or is it a case of replacing all to avoid further damage? What are the options for injector problem and ballpark costs?
 

If anyone has any suggestions or similar experiences with their fabaia mk1 vrs I would be really greatful to hear your thoughts.

 

Many Thanks

 

Mike

Sorry if I'm in the wrong direction here but haven't read it all (it is a big post)

Sounds like a boost pipe has popped off! The bottom of the intercooler one.

Hi FFA,

 

Thanks so much for your input, I will relay the info to the garage to check!

 

I've posted all known symptoms/issues in an attempt to get to the bottom of my probs, as it has been going on a while now and everything I mention can be reliably reproduced in the given scenarios.

 

Really don't want to get rid of this car, love it to bits.. only problem is the mrs has had to start using it regularly for work and I'm coming under  increasing pressure to get it sorted or replace!! :(

 

Will report any findings back to this thread,

 

Cheers

It sounds to me like you actually have a number of problems:

 

Firstly you don't mention anywhere if you've had the fault codes read, that would be my first port of call. Get 'em done and post them here.

 

Secondly it sounds like the ECU has no idea what the coolant temperature is, so I would replace the ECT sensor since they're so cheap.

 

Thirdly, it definitely sounds like there is a boost or exhaust leak which can cause the ECU to go into limp mode.

 

Finally, if there's an injector issue it's probably with the wiring loom since this is quite common and much cheaper and easier to fix than a faulty unit injector.

 

Focus on the leak and the codes first, get those codes and report back to us.

i got 1 injector left forsale cheapest on ebay item

 

number 

 

221588808491

Its the tandem pump, clue is oil dripping and the poor starting if tank low

Clamp off the return line and see if idle improves 

Edited 28 October, 201411 yr by spud31

Thanks again for all suggestions fellas, passing all info on to garage before it goes in tomorrow morning.

 

Going to try get the codes up here by lunch (had to leave it with my folks 300 miles away)

 

Will report back asap!

Hi All,

 

Only fault reading (pending not logged) is P0299

 

This was read with Torque Pro Lite (android) & the ELM57 bluetooth adapter. If the garage reads any other codes tomorrow I will let you know.

 

I will ensure all suggestions are looked at and any that are cheap replacements will be done to eliminate them from the investigation.

 

Many Thanks

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/16683/P0299/000665

 

Code confirms you have a leak.

Edited 29 October, 201411 yr by sepulchrave

Hi All,

 

2 Boost pipes were replaced which has sorted out the main issue of getting back up and running.

 

Feels way better than it did before, power comes in much smoother and the whole front end seems tighter with far less vibration/judder and can really feel the difference at the steering wheel. Defo gained some horses back too

 

I will know over the next week whether I still have starting/idling complications. Idling definately feels stronger than it did but still slightly weaker than I think it should be (its approx 900 revs). Again there is still something a bit lumpy feeling when idling but not as bad as it was - Would cam belt (which is due for change) affect this?

 

Mechanic seemed to think tandem pump was OK and recommended running for a while with above fix before jumping into that one. ECT sensor was replaced as suggested here.

 

Thanks for all your help, will update soon.