@foregonereality I used the old cap and it’s fine. I do know there was a redesigned cap that was a little less tight, but you can always change later on.

Hi all,  I'm now in the process of changing the expansion tank in my  152 Skoda MK3 1.6 TDI to avoid future  silicate problems. I removed the tank this afternoon, with the intention of removing the silicate bag, but its not possible  as it's only visible from the outside, as a pinkish colour on one side, without any access to it from the inside...so a replacement tank is the only option.   As far as  I can make out, the part Nr is SQ0121407, followed by a letter, which can be  "M" or  "A" or "G" or "T". Anyone know what these letters refer to?  Or, if you have successfully changed the tank in your Skoda, and it happened to be a 152 Skoda MK3 1.6 TDI same as mine,  which  part Nr did you use??  Thanks in advance for your help.🙂

On 03/06/2020 at 22:44, foregonereality said:

 

Perfect! Thank you for that. I'll order the tank first thing in the morning. It's down as €27 before VAT so about €34 included. It's a small bit of preventative maintenance that will be a bit of a fun project too at least :).

 

M is the tea bag free revision

A is the original one I had with a fairly solid tank

Other letters are different revisions, with I imagine variations on a theme of tea bag or other silicate.

 

You want an M revision if you want a tank without the bag. That is unless your dealer says the system shows another new revision that does not include the silicate.

12 hours ago, cheezemonkhai said:

 

M is the tea bag free revision

A is the original one I had with a fairly solid tank

Other letters are different revisions, with I imagine variations on a theme of tea bag or other silicate.

 

You want an M revision if you want a tank without the bag. That is unless your dealer says the system shows another new revision that does not include the silicate.

 So  the "A" indicates original "MIT SILICAT" tank, and the "M" is the replacement tank, without the dreaded silicate.. But if it's the "A" tank that arrive's,  ( its happened me before, order something, but it's not exactly what you ordered that arrives , especially for non-genuine parts ) will it be pre -loaded with the silicate? Would  not bother me if it was the "A" that arrived as long as it was empty.......

On 11/02/2020 at 23:01, cheezemonkhai said:

Removed a double walled mit silikat tank (part number ends in a ) and replaced it with a new M which is without along with mixing up fresh g13 to replace the old that was removed.

 

few interesting points...

 

That A suffix tank has a silicate container and a second mesh outside when I cut the old tank open.

 

The outer was intact, but the inner mesh was starting to degrade allowing a few crystals between the meshes, but still trapped safely.

 

The old tank has sensor prongs covered in plastic, the new just metal.

 

The tea bag style bags, it looks to me as if coolant movement could potentially catch the bag on these relatively fine prongs allowing them to damage the bag. Possibly the start of the problem.

 

either way, I think the older tanks are probably a safer design, but not infallible. The newer tea bag tanks seem like a bean counter design that’s backfired.

 

The basic M revision tank and replacing coolant at every water pump change is probably better for cars out of warranty. Changing coolant more frequently, eg every 2-3 years along with brake fluid would probably be good for additional piece of mind.

But even with the second mesh "Barrier" ( "A" type, I presume )  Its not enough to contain the harmful crystals  and prevent them from doing mega damage to the heating matrix + other parts? 

Removed my pack of silica today. Quite straightforward. I used my finger to move it from landscape to portrait, if you see what I mean, then some long thin pliers to very carefully pull it to the opening, then teased it out of the neck. A bit fiddly, but with care it pops out quite easily. Filled up the water with some G13 and hopefully no problems down the line for me.

 

should have taken a photo of the bag, but it was all intact and no sign of leakage.

3 hours ago, Nickj633 said:

Removed my pack of silica today. Quite straightforward. I used my finger to move it from landscape to portrait, if you see what I mean, then some long thin pliers to very carefully pull it to the opening, then teased it out of the neck. A bit fiddly, but with care it pops out quite easily. Filled up the water with some G13 and hopefully no problems down the line for me.

 

should have taken a photo of the bag, but it was all intact and no sign of leakage.

I've done the same today but to avoid the risk of splitting the bag  in situ I removed the expansion tank to do it, even with the tank now upside down it wasn't easy to remove  the bag but all done , took me 20 minutes all together.

8 hours ago, daftbugga said:

I've done the same today but to avoid the risk of splitting the bag  in situ I removed the expansion tank to do it, even with the tank now upside down it wasn't easy to remove  the bag but all done , took me 20 minutes all together.

afterwards I had a horrible thought, what if the bag broke as I moved it?.... I was lucky tho. Perhaps with hindsight I should have taken out the coolant, and removed the tank before attempting.. never mind.

Just ordered an M for my vRS now it is out of warranty, so I'll be joining the "no Tea Bag gang" 🙂 😁 

Edited 16 June, 20205 yr by Gti Jazz Blue

18 minutes ago, Gti Jazz Blue said:

Just order an M for my vRS now it is out of warranty, so I'll be joining the "no Tea Bag gang" 🙂 😁 

What did we start with tea bag?

 

Just need the get the mod known as “tea bagging the <car marque>” now 😂.

 

Just remember to keep more of an eye on the coolant once it’s gone.

Just changed it on my 17 plate vRS, old one was a double walled G rev Mit Silikat, coolant was lovely and clean but I topped up with new. I've just run it up to temp and all OK, straight forward to do, even though I don't own a hose clip tool, mole grips for the large pipe and I have a small set of adjustable pipe wrenches that did the return pipe. 

Edited 20 June, 20205 yr by Gti Jazz Blue

Got the "M" designated expansion tank last week from the local VW Dealership, €31.00. I thought that I might have to wait a few days for it to come, but no... he had it stock, as a mater of fact he had 6 in stock...its a fast moving item, so this problem is well known. It is "tea bag" free, slightly different internal design, but  it will do the job fine. Fitted it in a few mins, replaced the coolant and everything is OK.  75'000 Klms now on the clock, will do a change and flush  @ 100'000 Klms. and thereafter every 100'000 Klms. with G13. 

Edited 22 June, 20205 yr by Jim Reire

Thanks for the update Jim. Gave me the confidence to tear into it tonight. I've finally fitted the M tank in my VRS TDI. 

 

The process was easy enough - just needed to borrow a vice grips to be able to open the larger clip. Filled up the new bottle and topped up with G13 neat and ran the engine. All seems good so far. Will know better after I take it for a good spin tomorrow.

 

All in the cost was about €50 including the bottle of G13 and turkey baster. It's worth doing as a preventative measure. The father has already taken the bag out of his Octavia which has the tea bag style silica. It only took him under 20 seconds to fish it out too the lucky bugger! 

 

It's interesting how some dealers are openly admitting that the silica is a problem with the cars whilst others are keeping quiet - my dealer claimed they never heard of it but that said they didn't stop me from going ahead with this change either.

 

Still curious as to why the image of the bottle is filled in as opposed to displaying the 'G13' symbol. Will they be revealing a newer, improved coolant at some stage? Something that might be in the 2019/2020 models?

 

 

1 hour ago, foregonereality said:

Thanks for the update Jim. Gave me the confidence to tear into it tonight. I've finally fitted the M tank in my VRS TDI. 

 

The process was easy enough - just needed to borrow a vice grips to be able to open the larger clip. Filled up the new bottle and topped up with G13 neat and ran the engine. All seems good so far. Will know better after I take it for a good spin tomorrow.

 

All in the cost was about €50 including the bottle of G13 and turkey baster. It's worth doing as a preventative measure. The father has already taken the bag out of his Octavia which has the tea bag style silica. It only took him under 20 seconds to fish it out too the lucky bugger! 

 

It's interesting how some dealers are openly admitting that the silica is a problem with the cars whilst others are keeping quiet - my dealer claimed they never heard of it but that said they didn't stop me from going ahead with this change either.

 

Still curious as to why the image of the bottle is filled in as opposed to displaying the 'G13' symbol. Will they be revealing a newer, improved coolant at some stage? Something that might be in the 2019/2020 models?

 

 

 I'm not sure what Skoda engineers are planning for the future with the coolant  problem,,,,,Its obvious that they are aware of the problem, because they have already replaced the single tank ( the one where your Father was able to fish out the sachet ) to the double wall type, that is in mine. I thought that I would be able to drill into the  "box" that contained the sachet, and remove it but no go ( if you wanted to re-use the  original tank that is, but I may just open it up now anyway...nothing to lose ) 

I doubt that they will be changing the coolant, G13 seems to be doing its job fine, just it will need to changed on a regular basis, and will  become part of the "normal" servicing. Nothing new in main dealers denying any fault in the brand they are selling....I remember having problems with the chrome moulding on the tops of the doors ( both sides ) they were coming off at the edge's...when you opened the front doors, they would catch on the moulding on the rear door, and prise it off.  I checked it out on Vehicle Recall's  ( its  a monitoring site for vehicle recalls, and they issue a monthly report  Google it, if you want to know more) and sure enough, the chrome moulding showed as a recall. But when I took it back to the dealership, they were doing  a lot of humming and hawing ( while not really acknowledging  that it was a problem.  IE :- "We have not had any cars showing up with this problem ) until I gave them the recall detail's... then the attitude changed, a few phone calls were made, and low and behold...they ordered two new moulding's and fitted them a week or so later. So unless you can really press your case with the Dealerships,  they can be a bit uneconomic with information about faults that  have developed in the brand they are selling.

Glad to hear that it went off without a hitch for you.....next job to look forward ( ???) to will be a change and flush,,,,,,,I'm at 75'000 KLms now, will do the change at 100'000 Klms,

Here’s a thought. With the drive towards electric, don’t be surprised if most manufacturers adopt a ‘that’ll do’ attitude towards issues that are solely related to internal combustion engines. 
I can imagine the bosses at Skoda refusing to change or rectify known issues with things like the cooling system, and many other components, as in 5 or so years the majority of their production will likely be electric....

Removed my bag today, it was straight forward, used a pencil and my fingers to get it out. The bag is much tougher than I thought it would be, I can't see how it would split but better out than in.

 

I've kept the bag for some unknown reason, am I the only one?!

Ok after a good read of this thread and seeming as my 17 plate 2.0L Diesel SEL Octavia has now come out of warranty I've decided to go " teabagless ". My original expansion bottle has the part no. 5Q0121407G and is the version that has an inner and outer chamber with the " teabag " situated in the outer chamber and therefore no way of removing it. Interestingly, my mate's 16 plate 1.6L Diesel Estate has the single chamber expansion bottle which he fished the " teabag " out, yet it had the exact same part no. So the same part no. covers single and double chamber expansion bottles. For peace of mind I've now fitted the 5Q0121407M single chamber bottle as referenced in this thread at a cost of approx. £29 sourced from my local VW dealer. I couldn't be bothered to wait 2 days for TPS to order one in for me. It was roughly a ten minute job to do and I even managed to keep the fluid from flowing out of the old expansion bottle and then transfer it to the new one saving me the need of topping it up. I've cut out a section of my old two chamber bottle and posted a picture of it for those who are curious to see what it looks like. I'm a bit unsure though whether the teabag was behind or in front of the two plastic ridges. Also, but not really sure, it looks as if the corner of my " teabag " might be starting to become loose so thankfully I might have done this mod just in time.

 

Edited 30 June, 20205 yr by bigade1

I've now changed mine to revision M. After I had the heater matrix issue last year and all relevant parts replaced, the car went back in for remedial works last month as the heater wasn't correct again (hopefully the last time). The garage had used the latest revised part they were aware of, however on removal, it was a part T - also with the bag in the inner chamber. I've now got the M installed and the heater still working. Hopefully this is the end of the issues!

Thank you for the updates! 

 

I'm puzzled with how the 'G' part number had both the single and double chamber versions! I was expecting the double walled model to be a little more advanced than what it turns out to be in those photos..!

 

I still have my old tank. I'd say it's probably only good for dumping as I don't want to burden anyone else with the same problem in the future. What a waste of good materials on poorly designed parts..

Edited 10 July, 20205 yr by foregonereality

Hi all,

We've been doing the oil replacement with my father on his Octy 3 1.8 TSI engine (MY2018). Everything went fine until I noticed a very dirty coolant tank 😨:

 

 

The coolant looks strongly contaminated:

 

 

Unfortunately, the warranty has ended up during the lockdown in may.

 

I've read the 8 pages of this thread. The P/N of the tank is 5Q0 121 407G. I haven't plunged my finger in the tank to check if there's any residue of the silikat bag. After a quick glance, there don't seem to be any bag at all. The tank seem to be like this:

 

 

But the level sensor has plastic covered electrodes. 

 

I've checked on ifinterface.com (online ETKA), the coolant tank P/N has been replaced by 5T0 121 407T

 

I've several questions:

1) We intend to completely flush the coolant system to get rid of the contaminants and to clean it proprely, before replacing the coolant fluid. Does this make sense to you guys?

2) What would be the gain, to change the coolant tank by a newer version, since there's no bag anymore on this G version?

 

Please advise. Thanks.

 

 

Question 1) makes complete sense! 

 

Question 2) the image you've supplied, the silicate and silicate container arrows will be the location of the silicate bag. My header tank was like this, I've replaced with the M version now and hacked apart the old container and it was a bag wedged in that position. 

On 30/06/2020 at 17:17, bigade1 said:

Ok after a good read of this thread and seeming as my 17 plate 2.0L Diesel SEL Octavia has now come out of warranty I've decided to go " teabagless ". My original expansion bottle has the part no. 5Q0121407G and is the version that has an inner and outer chamber with the " teabag " situated in the outer chamber and therefore no way of removing it. Interestingly, my mate's 16 plate 1.6L Diesel Estate has the single chamber expansion bottle which he fished the " teabag " out, yet it had the exact same part no. So the same part no. covers single and double chamber expansion bottles. For peace of mind I've now fitted the 5Q0121407M single chamber bottle as referenced in this thread at a cost of approx. £29 sourced from my local VW dealer. I couldn't be bothered to wait 2 days for TPS to order one in for me. It was roughly a ten minute job to do and I even managed to keep the fluid from flowing out of the old expansion bottle and then transfer it to the new one saving me the need of topping it up. I've cut out a section of my old two chamber bottle and posted a picture of it for those who are curious to see what it looks like. I'm a bit unsure though whether the teabag was behind or in front of the two plastic ridges. Also, but not really sure, it looks as if the corner of my " teabag " might be starting to become loose so thankfully I might have done this mod just in time.

 

I’m no expert but that bag looks ok to me. Either way I think the double walled design appears from pictures on here to have had fewer issues.

 

19 hours ago, Bap33 said:

Hi all,

We've been doing the oil replacement with my father on his Octy 3 1.8 TSI engine (MY2018). Everything went fine until I noticed a very dirty coolant tank 😨:

 

 

The coolant looks strongly contaminated:

 

 

Unfortunately, the warranty has ended up during the lockdown in may.

 

I've read the 8 pages of this thread. The P/N of the tank is 5Q0 121 407G. I haven't plunged my finger in the tank to check if there's any residue of the silikat bag. After a quick glance, there don't seem to be any bag at all. The tank seem to be like this:

 

 

But the level sensor has plastic covered electrodes. 

 

I've checked on ifinterface.com (online ETKA), the coolant tank P/N has been replaced by 5T0 121 407T

 

I've several questions:

1) We intend to completely flush the coolant system to get rid of the contaminants and to clean it proprely, before replacing the coolant fluid. Does this make sense to you guys?

2) What would be the gain, to change the coolant tank by a newer version, since there's no bag anymore on this G version?

 

Please advise. Thanks.

 

 

 

That looks black which suggests oil.

I would definitely be approaching the dealer and asking for a consideration due to Covid lockdown.

As far as I can tell, the issue of whether you have a Silica bag in your header expansion tank seems to be completely random.  My 2019 Octavia Scout (single walled tank) - now removed (phew).

Our recently purchased MY18 67 plate VRS - has a double walled tank with the bag in it (replacement tank on order from Horton's Skoda), so canny take that one out.  My husband's SE 1.0 Octavia, no bag; my mother-in-law's Fabia, no bag.

 

R A N D O M

 

 

I think, but no idea, it’s related to the load/stress on the coolant, but that’s just a guess.

16 hours ago, varaderoguy said:

As far as I can tell, the issue of whether you have a Silica bag in your header expansion tank seems to be completely random.  My 2019 Octavia Scout (single walled tank) - now removed (phew).

Our recently purchased MY18 67 plate VRS - has a double walled tank with the bag in it (replacement tank on order from Horton's Skoda), so canny take that one out.  My husband's SE 1.0 Octavia, no bag; my mother-in-law's Fabia, no bag.

 

R A N D O M

 

 

Maybe diesel only cars ?

 

I am begining to wonder if there is a problem with sand left in the castings ?