Skoda Favorit 1.3 1991

 

Been loosing coolant , strangely somewhat  intermittent in magnitude.  Got worse lately, initially no idea where from. Felt around under water pump, wetness. Mirror and torch showed some leakage from the vent under the pump.  Ah, found guilty party.  Part obsolete from Skoda, so sourced a Quinten Hazell off fleabay. Hopefully NOS before the Clarius takeover. (I gather that following Clarius going Phatang the QR brand is now owned by Tetrosyl -  Bluecol, Carplan, Carlube etc).

 

After a run yesterday, came back after a few hours to find a trail of fluid coming out from underneath beginning under the pump. Of course all appeared dry around the pump. Topped up and drove home. Popped lid and trickle of fluid coming from the pump. Guilty as charged m'lud.

 

Right now all the relevant bolts / nuts are soaking in Laco penetrating fluid. Tomorrow, weather permitting I'll give 'em another soak, get the ol' pig up on ramps, fire her up and see if I can confirm exactly where the leak's coming from.

 

I've got a support bar that sits in the wing gutters with a couple of lifting chains which I bought a few years ago to do the clutch, but I suspect that I'll have to put her on axle stands as well to access the underneath to do the job. In which case I'll chock the underneath as well just in case.

 

The Haynes BOL talks about removing the engine mount and dropping the power unit to enable the pump pulley to clear the bodywork. It doesn't appear possible to raise the engine to gain clearance from what I can see.

 

What I'm asking is for any tips on changing the brute from anyone who has done the job. I'd appreciate any advice and gotchas before I start what looks like quite an awkward job.

Guide

Thanks for that link, Ricardo.

 

Very Interesting.

 

So it seems to be possible to raise the engine enough to get the brute out from above. That might mean that I don't have to remove the engine mounting first?

 

I don't think I'll have to remove the alternator - just slack off the belt tension enough to remove the belt.

 

I'll have to work underneath to get at the hoses - so I'll need to have the car up on axle stands - I suspect that may mean that I'll have to jack up the RH front suspension arm to allow the engine to be raised to clear the mount and give clearance for the pulley??

 

Not really happy releasing the mount at the end of the gearbox as well  - anyone know if the job's possible without doing this?

 

I'll have a scout around underneath to check clearances - exhaust, gearchange etc first.

 

BTW, thanks for all the advice you gave with the head gasket problem I had a while ago. That seems to be running fine, I've posted a very belated update to that post.

 

Ah, just taken a closer look at the gearbox mounting.

 

I don't follow this:

 

"10.Also i recommend you undo the lower engine mount; the one that holds the gearbox and differential to the car underbody near the gear lever linkages. Undo the front bolt not the rear bolt. This will ease lifting the engine upwards."

 

On my favorit the mounting has one bolt at the top through to the sideframe and another north south as it were through the rubber mounting, The bracket fixed to the body appears to be slotted to allow for adjustment. I suspect that post refers to a Felicia in reply to the original post.

 

Trying to get at it from the top seems worth a try, though.

 

 

3 hours ago, Jxx said:

So it seems to be possible to raise the engine enough to get the brute out from above.

I don't know how did you come to this conclusion. It is not doable. The engine gets lowered.

58 minutes ago, Jxx said:

I suspect that post refers to a Felicia in reply to the original post.

Yes, it does. But the differences are minimal. There has to be a gearbox mounting in the middle of the body subframe. Remove the bolt of that mounting so the engine/gearbox can pivot around the mounting at the end of the gearbox near left front wheel.

16 hours ago, RicardoM said:

Yes, it does. But the differences are minimal. There has to be a gearbox mounting in the middle of the body subframe. 

Favorit has slightly different engine mounting. It doesn't have lower gearbox mount, instead there is second engine mount on bottom, near right suspension arm. That's the one that should be removed

Hi, Ricardo.

 

"I don't know how did you come to this conclusion. It is not doable. The engine gets lowered. "

 

The link you posted. The gentleman from Jordan claims to have done it from above, by raising the engine.

 

Now I've never seen under the lid of a Felicia, but I've always assumed that the major difference in structure was that someone was paid good money to take a large file to the edges on the original Italian body design to give it a more "modern" half sucked sweet look. I guessed that the fundamental body structure was similar.

 

There's my expert ignorance speaking.

 

Now it appears that there's a difference in engine mounts - I have only 2 engine mounts and a stabiliser bar on the bottom left of the engine (right hand side of the car) as confirmed by Papez, although it's a steady bar rather that a loadbearing mount. No idea if all Favorits are like this - mine's 1991.

 

Secondly, although the Haynes BOL talks about dropping the engine, It gives a nice piccy at the top of the page clearly showing the engine raised with the pump removed.

 

So I thought I'd give it a go that way.

 

Sticking the brute up on ramps to have a look underneath and remove the side cover for access revealed a split ns CV joint boot, so I thought that was the first emergency. (Car was still usable with the coolant filler cap loose to prevent pressurisation.) Filthy job with CV grease, changed both boots on the shaft at the same time. I think the inner one was original.

 

Back to the plot.

Yesterday. In order if anyone's interested:

 

1.      Put the brute back on ramps, have a good look around for obvious gotchas. Decide to try from above.
2.      Remove gearbox steady bar mount. This did not in fact need to be done. There was plenty of room.
3.      Remove the bolt through the centre of the steady bar doughnut.
4.      Remove the air cleaner assembly for easier access. Release the alternator fixing and remove the fanbelt.
5.      Drain the coolant via the drain bolt and save for reuse. (Mine's only about a month old.)
5.      Loosen the pump fixing nuts and remove the nuts and washers. Remove the nut and washer from the mounting through bolt. Tap out the plug in the wing.
6.      Fit a support bar between the wing gutters and connect the lifting chains to the front engine lifting eye.
7.      Undo the jubilee clips securing both ends of the short hose connecting to the pump. Note the location and orientation for replacement. (A 1/4 inch ratchet and small sockets are almost mandatory here, especially for re tightening.) The hose was original and I decided to replace it.
8.      Remove the bolt securing the steel pipe connecting the bottom hose and pull down, removing the short coupling hose from the pump.
9.      Wind up the chain to take the weight of the engine. Push out the mounting fixing bolt. It came out easily, but the mount had collapsed and the bolt was not correctly lined up with the hole in the wing. It was necessary to push the bolt back into the remains of the mounting, release the load on the lifting support and move the support a couple of inches or so towards the front of the car. Now when I raised the engine it was possible to line up with the hole in the wing and remove the bolt.
10.     It was clear that the water pump could not be removed with the fixing bracket in place.
11.     Safety. Needing to get back under the car,  in case the lifting chain failed, I put a jack and block of wood under the clutch housing.
12.     Using a long socket extender, loosen the 3 bracket fixing bolts. This allows the brackets to move about freely. The fixing holes allow for considerable adjustment. I did not remove the bracket, but had to crawl under a second time to loosen  it some more.
13.     Lift up the engine until the pump can be removed. It took quite a bit of tapping back and forth on the engine mount to free it from the glued on gasket and studs. Yes it can JUST be done, with the mounting bracket still attached to the car.
14.     Carefully clean off, as far as possible, all the old gasket, especially round the studs and below them. WARNING. It looked as if the old one was asbestos. This was the worst bit of the job, leaning over the raised wing with a sharp wood chisel and single sided razor blade. I'd hate to have had to do it from below.
15.     A smear of LSX (plumber's silicone, designed for leak sealing joints on heating systems) on both sides of the gasket, fit gasket to the studs, a smear of anti seize grease on the studs and wiggle everything so that the pump goes back on the studs. I put the new hoselet and new jubilee clip on the pump before I fitted it.
16.     Replace the washers and nuts and tighten. The bottom nut and washer is a bit of a brute, best done from below.
17.     Lower the engine carefully (remove the wood and jack first!)  so that the mount fits into the bracket, fit the large bolt (smear of anti seize compound) through the wing and fit nut and washer and retighten.
18.     Get back under and tighten the 3 mounting bracket screws from below. In my case refit the unnecessarily removed gear change steady rod. Refit the Engine steady bar bolt TIGHT. (I lost mine a few months ago. The engine rock was interesting.
19.     Clean up the end of the steel water pipe and fit it together with a new jubilee clip. Line up both clips and tighten securely. It's easy working from underneath to get the clips a little skew wiff. I did and had leaks. Replace the pipe fixing bolts.
20.     Remove the support bar and chains. Refit the air cleaner and pipes.
21.     Refit the fanbelt and adjust the alternator. Check all electrics are secure.
22.     Refill with your favourite beverage, start and test for leaks. Top up as required.
23.     Refit the bottom side panel. Replace the wing plug.

 

So, it is possible to do the job from above, I've got the dirt under my fingernails to prove it. I took a few photos if anyone's interested.

Interestingly, the engine's been making a horrible rattling noise for a few years now, which I presumed was timing chain. When the leak from the pump started it started to quieten down. I presume the bearing was finally getting some "lubrication". Funnily enough the old pump seems free and no sign of significant play. Nice and quiet now.

 

Thanks, everyone for your input.