Hi All,

 

My 2001 reg Mk 1 Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI has developed this issue where by it shakes violently when first pulling away from stand still (boy does it shake!!). The problem is far worse if pulling away up a hill. The issue has taken some months to develop and is slowly getting progressively worse. What I know so far:

 

• The vibration can be felt all over the car, steering wheel, dash, glovebox. everything shakes
• No vibration can be felt especially through the pedals (they feel normal)
• No vibration can be felt especially though the gear-stick (it feels normal)
• This is only felt when pulling away in first, it's much worse up hill. Once the car starts rolling, driving is normal. No knocks when changing gear and clutching up / down
• The engine itself appears fine, idles like normal, no excessive shaking. Pulls smoothly once driving. 
• If I give the engine some revs and pull away at say 1800rpm instead of the usual lower rpm, the shaking is much less
• If I clutch up faster to pull away quicker, the shaking is very violent, but passes quickly.
• It's an SDI with a solid flywheel, so the engine is naturally quite thumpy, it's almost as if somehow that's being transferred to the body of the car.

 

I have two identical 1.9 SDI Mk 1 Skoda Fabias which allows me to compare them. The other Fabia is smooth as butter when pulling away. I had my mechanic take a look at them both and compare. He said that it's not "clutch judder" & engine mounts "looked alright" but didn't really say much more... I've tried rocking the engine with my hand, there is "some" play and I can see the upper engine mount on the left hand side move, but it's movement is no more than my other Fabia which doesn't have this issue.

 

The car is 18 years old and has mainly been used for city driving which I know the SDI's don't really like. It's got 45,000 on the clock. The clutch is original and has loads of bite left. I'm leaning towards engine or gearbox mounts. Does that sound plausible? How many mounts does the engine / gearbox have? If I choose to replace them are third party mounts ok or should I avoid? 

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

 

Max.

 

 

 

3 mounts, see here:

https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/fabia/fab/2001-225/1/199-199020/

The item 22 one, AKA dogbone mount might be the easiest to change and possibly most relevant.

Thanks Wino, that website is amazing for diagrams!

 

Should I specifically avoid a third party mount? is this the correct one? it's listed as a rear engine mount: https://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Skoda_Fabia_1.9_2001/p/car-parts/suspension/suspension-and-steering/engine-mount/?338440965&1&b54c0a6966df38d466b1b0032d49d5a9956cb4a0&000461

 

Any notable difference between the ECP one that's £107.99 and one like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FEBI-BILSTEIN-REAR-ENGINE-MOUNT-MOUNTING-31112-P-NEW-OE-REPLACEMENT/153621614179?fits=Car+Make%3ASkoda|Cars+Type%3A1.9+SDi&epid=248677326&hash=item23c48fce63:g:oakAAOSwQ8xdZwQ0

 

 

Max.

Christ! Last time I bought a genuine one from a dealer it was under £40 if I remember rightly.

Seems more like £70 + VAT for the genuine one to suit you 6Q0199851AS, according to this site: https://www.allcarpartsfast.co.uk/vw-audi-seat-skoda/vw-audi-seat-skoda-6q0199851as-support/

But yeah, non-genuine will probably be fine, so take a punt on a £40 ebay one.

But as with anything, don't spend money before examining the component in question. Get under the car and see how easy it is to rock the bottom of the engine front to back, if it's very easy, and makes clunking noises at the dogbone bushes, probably worth trying a new one.

Read the ECU for any fault codes, the engine is bogging down under load which gets much worse when you increase the load.

2 hours ago, Mrrnoname said:

 

• The vibration can be felt all over the car, steering wheel, dash, glovebox. everything shakes
• No vibration can be felt especially through the pedals (they feel normal)
• No vibration can be felt especially though the gear-stick (it feels normal)

 

 

 

 Steering wheel, glovebox, dash etc fixed to car and engine/transmission, while pedals cable and wire connection to engine, and gear-stick cable so these are theoretically isolated from engine.

An update - I changed the dogbone mount the other day which made no difference. I am now starting to think that I might have an engine problem as some other symptoms have developed (a juddery knock when driving and change in engine tone). ☹️

Whereabouts are you?

Will gladly do you a VCDS scan if you're near (as sep wisely suggested).