Favorit/felcia genral questions. (help me save it)

[Indigomew]

Hi everyone, bit of a stupid question.

i'm trying to get at a drive shaft on the passenger side (uk), but i can't get the hub nut off, i have use degreaser wd 40 and all sorts of other bolt removal products. i have bought a much longer breaker bar and heated it with a blowtorch but nothing has caused it to budge, infact i spin the wheel starts spinning with all the weight i'm putting on the breaker bar before it loosens. do people know if it's a left handed thread bolt and if i have been a fool?

the bolts that hold the wishbone to the hub are pretty much rust, any advice on how to pull those out cleanly without sheiring them? (i have irwin bolt grips) all the shocks have been replaced but they only changed the wishbone bolts on one side.

the other weird thing, im trying to pull brake hose clips off (needed to replace all four brake pipes and all six hoses and now the slave cylinders). it's all going well however the two fittings on the body of the car (that lead to the rear axle) are seized in. if i pull any harder it feels like i will rip a hole in the bottom of the car with the bracket!

the whole car is turning out to be more of a challenge than i thought it would be and i really don't want to scrap it! hopefully i can sort out these things and have it on the road again! i have other little issues but i think i can get my head around those! thanks!

thanks for reading any advice is really appreciated

 

 

 

[RicardoM]

What specific car are you talking about? I see you have a Peugeot 106. Some of your description doesn't match SKODA Favorit or Felicia. Show us a photo.

 

All nuts on Favorit / Felicia get loose counter-clockwise like any other car in the world except UK and its satellites. By the way, why is everything cars related backwards in UK? I don't see any benefit compared to the other 7 billion people does.

 

On the other hand, some front hub nuts are killers to loose. Not on Felicia though.

[uma1998]

I do my hub nuts before i jack it up and have spare ball joint bolts for them snapped ones and if it does snap then wd40 and work it out with a big hammer and if you can't get it..

[uma1998]

As for brake pipes just drop the fuel tank I have done 3 now and that's easier just stick at it as I have a fun that's had every think replaced and air con stuck in it

[RicardoM]

I do my hub nuts before i jack it up and have spare ball joint bolts for them snapped ones and if it does snap then wd40 and work it out with a big hammer and if you can't get it..

There is only one hub nut on each front wheel. Indigomew asked about removing the hub nut, not the wheel bolts. Be careful with those nuts.

Edited 3 October, 2015 by RicardoM

[Indigomew]

I'm talking about a favorit! I use a Peugeot as my driving around car at the moment and I'm trying to get the skoda through its mot. I'm confused by what you mean by dropping the fuel tank? (The favorit and felicia brake pipe layout differ quite allot) I will upload pictures!

And the when loosening the hub nut the wheel spins before it loosens before. This is with the car on the ground!

I will try a few more things but I'm tempted to pay someone to remove them, only issue is I need to get at the drive axle before it's drivable

[RicardoM]

I'm talking about a favorit!

 

....

(The favorit and felicia brake pipe layout differ quite allot)

Isn't you that titled the topic Favorit/felcia genral questions ? The confusion has been started by you. I don't see why you get upset because you were asked to indicate the make & model of the car. We can't guess what car you have with such confusing topic title... The moment you'll be clear, we will be able to give you clear answers too.

 

Tip for loosening the hub nut: use the weight of the car to your advantage.

[Indigomew]

Apolgies I did not mean to sound upset at all. I'm not at all. Just put both down as most things apply to both maybe it should just be favorit. 

 

I will try to apply this advise now. Thanks for the feeback

[Indigomew]

Got it off, used a Secound breaker bar to jam the wheel, it opened and I could get to the driveshaft. All the work went well, filled the transmission with fluid. It has not started in a few months so jumped it and it starts perfectly now! Only issue is there is allot of smoke from the exaust and coming from the o2 sensor strangley. Will look into what that could be however it did not do that before I parked it up. 

Thanks for the help so far

[RicardoM]

Only issue is there is allot of smoke from the exaust and coming from the o2 sensor strangley.

Rust got through?

Oil on exhaust pipe maybe?

 

For other members here is another method to break loose the axle nut.

[Indigomew]

this is the car!  and what i used to get the hub nut off!

 

(I cant use dropbox, do you guys just use the sites image uploader)

 

 

I did the work on it and started the car for the first time in about two months, was clear smoke to start with but the longer it runs the heavier the smoke gets, its got a new exhaust however i don't think its the exhaust. after about half an hour of idling the temp got to about 2/3 up the dial, getting close to red but steadily below. everything seems ok otherwise though, tomorrow i will check the coolant level and if there is anything under the oil cap. It might have a coolant leak somewhere (maybe head gasket i'm not sure).

 

I really appreciate the help from people. I bought this car to learn how to do allot of these things and so far i have got alot done. the rust i keep finding everywhere is a bit of a concern however I want to just continue fixing things as i go. I need to tackle drum brakes next.

[RicardoM]

(I cant use dropbox, do you guys just use the sites image uploader)

Since attached size quota is only 2 MB, we upload the photo(s) on a photo hosting server then insert direct link(s) to them in our replies.

 

The car looks clean on the outside. But rust is the enemy #1. What are your top 5 biggest MOT concerns ?

[Indigomew]

I had it mot'ed afew months ago, had quite a few issues but I'm going through them.

I'm not experienced at all with cars (I do little jobs on my Peugeot such as exaust, service and small things. Might need to do rear shocks on it soon but that looks very easy).

It has uneven front brakeing as a issue so I put new discs and pads on, it has a sticky caliper pin so I cleaned it all up and put a new gator on it. Looks good now!

Brake hoses where bad so where brake pipes so I'm in the process of Chaging all but the ones that lead to the rear axle. Of course the slave brake cylinders where naff so I have the back end up to change those now!

Just changed a cv boot (went well) reverse sensor (also went well). And serviced it (it really needed it).

So I need to do the rear brakes, pipes and hoses. Bleed the whole system and check it works still then my original objectives are done.

However, it needs a new drivers side sill badly and has aa patch on the front sub frame that needs work as well as the drivers side wheel well.

And it's emiting white smoke now!

Things I worry about for the mot though

1.rust

2.emisions (they did not test it last time as it had a huge hole in the exaust)

3.brakes

4 and 5. I'm pretty confident the rest is ok!

Bit of a long post but thanks for taking intrest in my thread!

[RicardoM]

Might need to do rear shocks on it soon but that looks very easy).

Indeed, it is one of the easiest jobs. But first clean the rust and dirt off bolts or nuts and spray them copiously with penetrating oil. The best recipe for penetrating oil is 50% automatic transmission oil and 50% acetone. Much better than WD40.

It has uneven front brakeing as a issue so I put new discs and pads on, it has a sticky caliper pin so I cleaned it all up and put a new gator on it. Looks good now!

Don't forget to replace the entire brake fluid! It makes wonders. Suck then replace almost all fluid from reservoir. Then purge some 250 ml from each wheel. Never let brake fluid reservoir totally empty!

And it's emiting white smoke now!

Are you sure it's not steam or grease / labels found usually on a new exhaust? Any prior overheating events? Any old coolant that turned acid?

Edited 6 October, 2015 by RicardoM

[Indigomew]

i never knew how to make penetrating oil that will be usefull when i make some up, thanks.

 

The skoda has four new shocks already so thats ok its just my other car that needs rear shocks the peugoet by comparsion is pretty much rust and grime free so that will be fine.

 

oh, my brake fluid reservoir is totally empty, why is this a issue? I drained it when i was replacing the front brake pipes. I Drained the brake calipers, and im putting working on the drums now. hope this is not a big issue.

 

Im not sure what the white smoke is about. the car stays cool and idles just fine I left it running for an hour and it did not stop. I started it in the morning for 5 mintues and it seemed ok however you give it afew minties to warm up and it starts again. I dont think the car ever had overheating issues, when i got it i ran it around quite allot and it never had any issues. maybe there is a coolent gasket that is leaking somewhere.

 

The next issue I want to sort out is my drums, I opened them up and there was hell of allot of built up carbon and rust. it will need new springs and pads however the discs look fine for now. The brake pipes had seized into the slave cyliders and one bleed bit had broken inside of one so they needed replacing. I already bought those and will fit them when i have the springs and pads however the bolts that hold them into place are properly siezed and there is not much left, they have a hex key insert however it seems like its inbetween two metric sizes, did they use imperial on these? I will work somthing out but these are a pain.

 

thanks for the responce.

[RicardoM]

oh, my brake fluid reservoir is totally empty, why is this a issue? I drained it when i was replacing the front brake pipes. I Drained the brake calipers, and im putting working on the drums now. hope this is not a big issue.

 

Actually is, because now you must bleed the master cylinder.

 

Im not sure what the white smoke is about. the car stays cool and idles just fine  maybe there is a coolent gasket that is leaking somewhere.

 

The only 'coolant gasket' that leaks somewhere and produces white smoke is the head gasket.

 

The next issue I want to sort out is my drums, I opened them up and there was hell of allot of built up carbon and rust. it will need new springs and pads however the discs look fine for now.

 

Is this looking familiar?

 

 

For drum brakes, we call the pads "shoes".

however the bolts that hold them into place are properly siezed and there is not much left, they have a hex key insert however it seems like its inbetween two metric sizes, did they use imperial on these? I will work somthing out but these are a pain.

 

That would be an M6 Allen key head bolt. If too rusted, a sharp chisel and a hammer should sort them out. You change the brake cylinder anyway.

 

[Indigomew]

I'm going to get a compression tester and Check the head gasket before I contiue most the work! Will update when I do it!

[RicardoM]

That is a wise decision. A head gasket failure could be a major drawback. But you need to know that a cylinder compression test is rather misleading in case of minor leaks. The difference between cylinders could be within specs (3 bar). A much better test is a cylinder leak down test when you bring each piston to TDC on compression stroke and blow 100 psi of compressed air into the combustion chamber through the spark llug hole and look for bubbling in the expansion reservoir. Coolant can sometimes leak in the combustion chamber due to corrosion of the head/block/gasket.
 
This 2-part video is quite informative and accurate in describing various tests.
 
12 Ways of How To Test A Blown Head Gasket Compared- PART1
 
12 Ways of How To Test A Blown Head Gasket Compared- PART2

[Indigomew]

Not so certian of the future of the favorit, head gasket sets it back however the amount of rust is really a issue.

Im tempted to break it and look for a more rust free project. I really did not want this to happen, it has already had allot of welds however it seems all the failing parts are on parts that have already been welded. It's a bit overwhelming all together. Trying to make a disscion on it!

[RicardoM]

You'd better start from scratch with a Felicia hatchback that has good tailgate, windscreen frame, and rear wheel arches. I mean not repaired and full of welds and filler. In general Felicia rusts quicker if it was involved in accidents and original rust protection has been disturbed. Favorit rusts even sitting in a museum.

 

Just curious though what compression values you got.

Edited 9 October, 2015 by RicardoM

[Indigomew]

I never got around to it was just looking at all the holes in the rear wheel arches. If I get a compression tester before it's gone i will put a update up, in the mean time do you know anyone who wants Forman parts? I would be much happier knowing that the parts go to a good home and there are allot of good parts on mine! 

 

Spare tyre has never  seen the light of day, the interior is clean and good, all the lights and like new and Crack free.

 

I am specifically looking for a estate, that's what got me on the favorit Forman. Now I'm Thinking I should save aa good amount of money and find a clean Volvo 240. However the family are looking for a Octavia so I should be back!

Edited 9 October, 2015 by Indigomew

[Indigomew]

car is being scraped thanks for the help!

[RicardoM]

Sorry to hear that. I tried my best. But anyways, in case you don't sign with Volvo team, go for a clean Felicia estate.

[Indigomew]

Sorry to hear that. I tried my best. But anyways, in case you don't sign with Volvo team, go for a clean Felicia estate.

 

i heard the felicia that ran alongside the fabia (1999 onwards) used thinner sheet metal as they had reduce production costs and keep the felicia cheaper than the fabia. As a result it dents and rusts a little easier. You guys know best, is this true?

[favguy]

In general Felicia rusts quicker if it was involved in accidents and original rust protection has been disturbed. Favorit rusts even sitting in a museum.

 

 

I have to take issue with this, maybe Mk1 Favorits, but later Mk2 Favorits actually have less rust prone areas than Felicias. (with the exception of the doors, which are Galvanised on the Felicia) It's just a matter of age and lack of care that kills Favorits, given time, Felicias will suffer at least as badly unless exceptionally well maintained.

 

Now, if you want real rust resistance, get yourself an early Fabia, truly superb body build quality with 100% double sided Galvanised steel throughout

Edited 11 October, 2015 by favguy