Hi all,

 

Had my vRS Estate for a short time & enjoying it so far.

 

I've read through the helpful guide on changing the timing belt & may look to tackle it myself. I know my way around a car, but not had one of these before so just wanted to check to see if there is anything common to look out for whilst doing it & also if there anything that would be better to do whilst it's in bits ?

 

In addition, I have noticed the front suspension is pretty low & soft (old MOT said misting on both shocks) so will change these soon.

So was wondering how these cars take to coilovers ? It would be lower end ones (Raceland or Stance), or would it be better to just stick with OE spec shocks & springs ?

I live up a long bumpy communal drive so leaning towards OE spec, but even though I'm north of 40, still a little petrol head at heart  !!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Change the water pump at the same time, they normally fail mid-way through the interval between belt changes. It so much easier with the belt off already.

 

Also, change the tesioner and pulley at the same time.

 

Bumpy drive + coilovers set low may equal damaged sump - ask me how I know this

better off on standard shocks or upgrading to bilsteins for instance, rather than coilovers given the terrain.also the fact that (especially the cheaper end ones) coilovers for octavias tend to be mis-sold alot ( lots of posts about the back end sitting lower than the front...) due to sellers being of the opinion "its the same as a mk4 golf gti so theyll fit" - they do, but they arent the correct ratings for the weight etc..

Cheers for the replies 👍

 

Looks like I'll be going the Shocks/Springs route then ! 

 

I was planning to get either a Gates or Conti belt kit which includes the water pump.

 

One thing I forgot to mention, had a look under the top engine cover & the rocker cover is covered in oil, not like a leaking covering (if makes sense !) more of a breather misting - any common issues ?

 

Ta again,

 

IIRC there are no locking tools for the crank or cam on the 1.8 20v engine so pay attention when you are installing the new timing belt

Thank you 👍

Only awkward bit is the top engine mount, the engine support part of the mount won't come out, but you can manoeuvre  the new belt carefully past it by taking the bolts out of the mount and raising and lowering the block on jack with the load spread on a piece of timber on the sump. The stuff below should fill in the gaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's great, thank you 👍