Hello all,

 

I'm new to Briskoda but not new to Felicia ownership as I previously had a 97 Felicia 1.3 MPI that always ran without fault.  

 

I recently bought a 98 Facelift Felicia 1.3 MPI (72k miles) which suffered from overheating.

 

The overheating problems and solutions are well known and I don't have too much too add.  However, sharing my experience may be of some use to others.

 

Firstly, the Temp gauge almost reached the red zone when stuck in traffic after buying the car.  Luckily the traffic cleared and the temp went down without apparent damage.  The radiator temperature sensor/switch had indeed failed but, according to the service history, this had been changed with the past 2 years. 

 

After changing the rad switch, I noticed that the car was getting very hot very quickly and the temp gauge shooting up and down.  The top hose to the radiator was staying cold - indicating a failed thermostat.  Oddly, the thermostat and housing has also been replaced within the last couple of years. 

 

Anyway, I replaced the thermostat and the temp sensor in the thermostat housing.  This solved the problem.  The heater works well but the temp stays at a steady 80 deg most of the time.  After a period ticking over, the fan cuts in and everything is fine.

 

Learning points:

 

• Just because parts have recently been changed by someone else doesn't mean they are not knackered! (dunno why though).
• I found a good supplier of parts (www.Skoda-Parts.com).  They often have a choice between OEE quality parts and cheaper Chinese stuff.  I chose the good quality bits.  They are based in the Czech republic, the website has English and the price and delivery were reasonable.  

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

Hi Gary

Welcome to the forum!

I would like to comment on your recent experience. About parts replaced recently that failed: 3rd party suppliers don't excel in fabulous quality and reliable parts. All manufacturers have their own share of "shady" parts because most buyers look first at lowest price. You said you didn't buy the cheapest parts. Correct, but buying the 4th or 5th part from cheapest up means only that the price in question is in fact the cheapest of that one manufacturer. Skoda-Parts is no exception. While a little bit more reliable than Chinese ones, I didn't see them last more than 3 years in moderate daily use.

About the overheating episode: hopefully it will not be the beginning of a head gasket failure.

If felly goes near red for more than 10 minutes goodbye head gasket. 

Yes, I hope the head gasket will be ok.  Of course, I don't know how many times or how badly the car overheated with the previous owner.  For the moment, the coolant is clean and the temp is low, so fingers crossed.  If the gasket has to be done in the future, so be it.

 

Regarding parts quality, I did find it refreshing that a supplier offered a choice of quality (hopefully) and price.  E.g. https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/6u0959481d-thermostat-mpi-skoda-2446.html

 

In the above example there are not 4 or 5 options, but at least you can choose between Czech and Chinese.

1 hour ago, GaryMc said:

Regarding parts quality, I did find it refreshing that a supplier offered a choice of quality (hopefully) and price.  E.g. https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/6u0959481d-thermostat-mpi-skoda-2446.html

If i were you I would NOT buy a specific part but rather go to my local parts dealer and get a thermoswitch at the temp range that I like. 
For me that was 85C and the car will always run much cooler.
The brand that I have on is Vernet which is not bad per say but still it works and I have one spare in the trunk if anything goes out of hand.

That's an excellent idea.  Thank you.

On 31/10/2019 at 19:33, Thefeliciahacker said:

If i were you I would NOT buy a specific part but rather go to my local parts dealer and get a thermoswitch at the temp range that I like. 
 

 

Same here.

Depending on the climate situations the driver should choose the proper thermo-switch because many e-stores give different numbers in Celsius.

Check the catalogue,look the ranges and then decide.

 

I have used Calorstat in the past but now i am wearing Mahle.

Scotland isn't renowned for it's blisteringly hot weather and I suspect that my thermo-switch is not optimal (didn't open at temperatures as low as 85 deg C when tested in hot water in my kitchen).  That said, I have heard the fan clicking on when in town sometimes and the temp gauge stays quite low, so no cause for concern at the moment.  I might get a lower temp switch before any trips to the continent.

Mahle has a complete list

https://catalog.mahle-aftermarket.com/eu/index.xhtml

 

You can find what you want, start from TSW1 and 75 - 70 'C till...

23 hours ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

Mahle

Not bad my Greek friend. 

 

15 hours ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

Not bad my Greek friend. 

 

 

Opa !

I just saw your location Patrida mou. 😍

hii

The water temperature in my vehicle saw 110 degrees with 2 months interval.

this event may have broken the head gasket.

because

my vehicle is difficult to start in the morning.

the engine stops if I do not depress the accelerator pedal.

it's like the engine is holding something.

I understand the ignition is difficult.

steam from the exhaust stops after 15 km

but the heat fixed between 88-92

I hope you understand this problem

 

@mturgut - And your point is? Burning 1 unit of petrol produces 1 unit of water as an essential part of the reaction.

The video is showing a rough idle. That can happen due to several reasons. One of them could be a bad head gasket. That doesn't exclude fuel, spark, or timing issues.

The steam is normal on a cold winter day. The small puddle of water is normal too.

 

3 hours ago, KenONeill said:

@mturgut - And your point is? Burning 1 unit of petrol produces 1 unit of water as an essential part of the reaction.

Could you elaborate on that quantity formula?

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-equation-of-combustion-of-gasoline shows a simplified, but representative equation of burning petrol

 

C8H18 + 12.5 O2 → 8 CO2 + 9 H2O

 

 

If you add up the atomic weight of octane on the left you get (12*8)+(1*18) = 114

If you add up the atomic weights of the 9 created molecules of water on the right you get 9*((1*2)+16) = 162

 

So for every 114 mass units of octane you burn, you get 162 mass units of water.

 

Few people appreciate this.

1 hour ago, Wino said:

So for every 114 mass units of octane you burn, you get 162 mass units of water.

The reason I asked Ken about it was that I doubted the 1:1 ratio between input fuel and exhaust water ATOMIC mass. So far my supposition was right.

4 hours ago, RicardoM said:

I doubted the 1:1 ratio between input fuel and exhaust water ATOMIC mass.

Or you wanted to nit-pick one interpretation. Well, FWIW I approximated volume at constant temperature rather than doing the sums in detail. This is the internet, not physical chemistry class!

5 hours ago, KenONeill said:

Or you wanted to nit-pick one interpretation. Well, FWIW I approximated volume at constant temperature rather than doing the sums in detail. This is the internet, not physical chemistry class!

It is you, not me, who felt the need to jump in with a bit of chemistry disinformation because, what the hell, it's the internet, the disinformation dump of the world. Now you don't have to feel butt hurt if I felt in turn that you have to be corrected for the sake of strictness. By the way, I liked the desperate "approximated volume at constant temperature" explanation part. Long live Wikipedia! the replacement of classes from the elementary school.

7 hours ago, KenONeill said:

I approximated volume at constant temperature

 

Yeah, once you adjust for liquid density differences, it is closer to 1 litre of fuel gives 1 litre of water.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Wino said:

...once you adjust for liquid density differences...

Density is not "volume at constant temperature" although the latter sounds very scientific 😀

I've learned that fuel can produce water vapor

There's something I forgot to mention.

Car has LPG system.

weather 2 degrees.

Is it normal to produce steam after 15 km.

steam disappears more quickly at noon.

 

I want to know your opinion about this situation

 

I changed the head gasket myself by learning from this forum. 👍

 

8 hours ago, RicardoM said:

Density is not "volume at constant temperature" although the latter sounds very scientific 😀

So why not just admit that other people know more chemistry than you?

24 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

So why not just admit that other people know more chemistry than you?

Of course "other people" might know more chemistry than me. Nobody knows everything but It all depends on who exactly you refer to. Do other people know more about car diagnosis and repair than you, Ken... ?

Should I admit I know less chemistry than anyone I know from this forum? Nope. Here is why:

Because it would be a lie.

Because I asked you about details on fuel - water exhaust ratio not because I needed your help to enlighten me, but to give you a chance to correct yourself or bury yourself more.

Because I have a strong knowledge base, including chemistry, from school and high school.

Because I graduated as master of science on two different faculties, both having to do with chemistry in part.

Because I constantly update my knowledge using other sources than Wikipedia.

6 hours ago, mturgut said:

I've learned that fuel can produce water vapor

There's something I forgot to mention.

Car has LPG system.

weather 2 degrees.

Is it normal to produce steam after 15 km.

steam disappears more quickly at noon.

 

I want to know your opinion about this situation

 

I changed the head gasket myself by learning from this forum. 👍

 

 

Are you losing any coolant?