Hi there

Thanks for accepting me, changed jobs and lifestyle recently after 30 years of company cars (including 4 Octavias!), picked up a 2010 Fabia Mk2 Elegance CR 1.6TDI 105 with 125k on it. Really like it and happier now I’ve replaced the air, cabin & oil filters (all filthy) plus oil.

My question is this, I’ve not got through a full tank yet but I doubt it’ll get to the approx 600 mile range so anything I should look for? It’s a daily round trip of 30 miles, 60% motorway. Should I replace the fuel filter as the others were so dirty (ironically the car is really clean!), and can a mechanical dunce like me do this? The only thing I can detect is a slightly fluctuating tickover when warm, it moves maybe 200 rpm between 7-900rpm, car seems to run ok to me..
 

Any advice is much appreciated, I’ve got 3 months warranty so it at least has done cover!

Absolutely you should change the fuel filter.

thank you Sepulchrave, looks simple enough, except for the priming/bleeding fuel into the new housing, any advice and what I need to get to undertake please, fuel filter already ordered.

I think it's self priming, after you've done the deed, switch on the ignition for 30 seconds to allow the lift pump to refill the filter housing then try starting it, if no good then rinse and repeat.

May be worth getting it scanned with a VAG compatible OBD2 scanner to have a clean bill of health as a starting point of new ownership given the thorough service. 

Thank you both, it seems-unless I've got it the wrong way round- that my 2010 requires priming, I have a fluid bleeding pipe to fill the filter so hopefully that should help!

Well done, you've made a good start.

 

As well as getting a scan and cleaning off codes I'd look at cleaning the throttle body especially if the air filter was very dirty, sh1te in st1te out, so altho' many diesel owners think they have to wallow in it you can every now and then treat the car to a couple of tankfuls of clean(er) diesel fuel like Shell V-Power and have a silver grey loud behind the car instead of dense black on sudden hard acceleration.

 

15 miles isn't far, even if 60% of it is motorway, for your DPF and battery health if you don't get in some occasional longer runs you eventually see how the last owner got it to that state internally.

 

Of course the engine is not really a top priority on a vehicle new to you, check first brakes, steering, suspension (all three include tyres), lights, visibility and safety electrics.

 

Ignore the video title you'll see from the very start it also has points that apply in your situation.  Good luck.

 

 

 

Thanks for the comments, I also have also run bikes for years and really look after the fuelling, filtration etc and it pays you back. It’s already had a top quality diesel additive and will get some v-power soon but the fuel filter is clearly a priority this weekend, thanks for the video 😊

Oh yes ALWAYS cover the basics and that means at least checking them if not doing them first or very early or you can't easily successfully moved on.  I think much of servicing, maintenance and repairs often just boils down to clean and lubricate, even scan tool clearing of codes is cleaning.  Some rush to the sexy tools and sexy jobs ignoring the basics as being boring without realising the significance, often just male ego.

 

Put a bit of effort in at the start can save a lot of time effort and cost later.  Then keep on top of things but no need to over do it.  Once something is clean keeping it clean is easier as you're not shift so much dirt from one place to another.  Think of engine like big air pumps and as with computers GIGO for diesels SISO.  Once you're got things clean standard diesel should be fine but personally I'd run through a tank of v-power just before and at a service and MoT and and a second tankful (after the first) after the service, so depending on when your Mot and servicing is that could just be two tankfuls a year and no extra work or getting your hands any dirtier.

 

A preventative tip to possibly avoid lots of unnecessary hassle is to make sure your car battery never gets low in state of charge and keep all its and cables/wire connections clean, secure and protected.  If you're not using the car for much a suitable battery charger can save a lot of hassle and prolong the life of the battery and charging system let alone keep the evil VW computer programs at bay.

 

Cleaning as detailed before including with correct level scan tool (code reader only really do that) and/or clearing of error codes might sort your 200rpm or the correct level scan tool help you sort it.  Remember the scan tool point you where to start your diagnosis and that's not always replace the part that gives the error code.

 

Edited 14 March, 20224 yr by nta16
spelling

4 hours ago, nta16 said:

Well done, you've made a good start.

 

As well as getting a scan and cleaning off codes I'd look at cleaning the throttle body

I cleaned the anti shudder valve on mine a while ago, off the top of my head it was around 110k miles. Mine wasn't bad at all aside from the mass of gunk in the first photo.

Pretty sure its never been cleaned before either.

I used pink stuff paste to clean it, worked a treat.

I like to think I felt a difference, lets be honest it was most likely a placebo effect.

No harm in cleaning it out though.

If OP does do this, I can suggest another thing he could do while he has it apart.

That is use a dremel to put a notch onto the piece that feeds egr gasses into the intake stream, he'll have to take it off to get to the ASV anyway. This allows you to mount the metal piece facing up to the intake, letting egr gasses flow straight into the intake manifold as opposed to going away from the intake and then being forced up.

Not explaining it as well as I hoped, but its easy to do and free. Only real gain is that it should keep the intake a little cleaner (supposedly)

 

May as well mention you can buy restrictor plates to put onto the egr pipe that won't cause the car to throw codes. Less egr gasses will help keep the intake cleaner again.  They can be got for a few euro online. 

Thanks both, I’ve got plenty of sound advice to be getting on with!

Well, what a difference, replaced the fuel filter, immediately more crisp and responsive and now 'showing' 52mpg avg on a 50 mile run in comparison with around 41-43 mpg on previous similar runs. I can't see into it but, like the oil and the other 3 filters, it will have been minging! What's up with some folk?  Along with the oil, all the above cost well below £100 over a month and 3 separate purchases, that money will clearly be recouped over the next 3-4 tankfuls-and it runs so much better, quieter and just nicer to drive. If this was a motorcycle yes it could've been double or treble the above but I just can't grasp why these essentials are ignored. Anyway, happy driver for now 🙂

Thanks for reporting back.  You'd probably be surprised how often the very basics are not known, forgotten or ignored by people at all levels of knowledge and experience and trade training and experience often because it's not macho sexy stuff just plain simple clean and lubricate.

 

Keep the old computer GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) in mind and think of it for diesel as SISO, just try to keep it as clean as reasonable.

 

Don't put too much faith in what the VW computer tells you is mpg and keep your car battery from going too low and you'll have more happy driving - enjoy.

 

Thanks nta16, if it was a petrol engine or motorcycle, I'd have completed my initial 'cleaning up' by fitting a new set of spark plugs as I'd expect them to be similarly neglected, would you advise me to change the glow plugs in the same way?

Yes, if it was a petrol and not diesel, I'd change the spark plugs unless there was clear evidence on inspecting the ones fitted that they had been recently changed or in good condition.

 

In case you can't see it my signature includes - Please note I am not a mechanic or expert in anything - which is proven many times each day and every day on here alone.  Unless you get warning lights or a scan tool suggests problems I'd not worry about them.

 

Bear in mind you are only concentrating on the engine which is not really the most important things on a car, priority should be for brakes, steering, suspension (all three include tyres) visibility and safety electric items.  Those are the things I'd suggest checking and servicing, maintenance and repair as required.

 

You could try a couple of tankfuls of "clean" diesel fuel like V-Power now - and one tankful before/during and one tankful after/during future services and MoTs.  Helps the British economy and tax revenue too. 😄

 

Following on from a recent subject, this could include things like if you carry a spare tyre that it is in good condition and correctly inflated (many aren't, discovered too late at the roadside, or Welsh mountain road if you're with a mate with a 15 year old Toyota but to be fair there's so little to do on old Toyotas you forget to check).  If there's the can of gunk you might want to (pressure?) check it (and how far out of date it is).

 

You'll probably find the car runs better with more use and not quite as well with very little and/or spasmodic use.  You could do well but it'll never be as easy and the same as running company cars, don't forget to do your MoTs and "road tax". 😄

 

Edited 7 March, 20224 yr by nta16
spelling

On 28/02/2022 at 18:04, sepulchrave said:

Absolutely you should change the fuel filter.

Good to see that sepulchrave has once again fixed an issue, and in only 7 words.

24 minutes ago, KeithCheetham said:

Good to see that sepulchrave has once again fixed an issue, and in only 7 words.

Yes credit where credit is due another nail head hit.

 

Bit overblown, could have been done in just one or two words but that'd been a bit curt.

 

But you both posted after that point, will you reprimand each other, I'd just let go, Frozen in a nice way. 😄

 

Whoops, sorry it's sepulchrave that's got the sense of humour, ah, well, I'll leave it for him to read, might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. 😁

 

Edited 7 March, 20224 yr by nta16

In my original post I concluded with the below..

“The only thing I can detect is a slightly fluctuating tickover when warm, it moves maybe 200 rpm between 7-900rpm, car seems to run ok to me..”
 
Well despite all my cleaning up and current consumption looking to be at least 15% up the above continues, but I’ve now found out how to solve it. This may not come as a surprise to some of you but I’m baffled! I was awaiting my son coming out of a railway station one evening earlier this week and noticed the tickover was rock steady at 750rpm, however when I turned the lights OFF the fluctuating returned! It rises from 750 to around 800 every 5 seconds or so, and repeats exactly this sequence andctime gap until I turn the lights back on and it settles back to a steady 750rpm. Errr, whaddya think? 🙄

My guess would be that it might be related to the area of alternator, battery, computer programs - but I'm sure someone will know better.

 

You had your lights on, side or head, what else electrical?

 

Did you check your battery and alternator when you had the scan done?

 

The idea of a diesel used to be that it could sit chugging along forever but things changed, the load on the alternator might be covering something else, did the scan say if the injectors seemed hunky dory, bear in mind lack of error codes does not mean lack of issues.

 

I wasn't too clear previously (how unusual for me) the cheap error code reader type of scan tools are just that and no more, the better the level of scan tool the more information it can get from what the car can give it so the more potential for diagnosis and highlighting issues that have not triggered error codes.

 

Also if there are error codes just deleting them can sometimes help, remind the computers it was all in the past and to forget about it and get on with now.  Of course if there is a current error the code(s) will just return.

 

Edited 13 March, 20224 yr by nta16

I would recommend a new post with a suitable title if the initial 700 - 900 surge is now 700 - 750. What is needed is feedback from someone with an identical car as the lights could be loading the alternator, giving a damping effect, with the unloaded fluctuation being a natural characteristic of this engine. For any doubts on voltage I would suggest my usual response for unknown data collection of using a bluetooth OBD2 adaptor and the Torque app or similar on a phone or tablet to view voltage reported by the ECU, 

Edited 14 March, 20224 yr by KeithCheetham

Thanks for both replies, I haven’t had it scanned yet and will post separately regarding the tickover but after coming to the car again this morning and finding the battery very low I’m beginning to think that’s where the problems may lie and I’m going to replace that first and see where we are. 

3 hours ago, Bellagio940 said:

Thanks for both replies, I haven’t had it scanned yet and will post separately regarding the tickover but after coming to the car again this morning and finding the battery very low I’m beginning to think that’s where the problems may lie and I’m going to replace that first and see where we are. 

To be honest I didn't notice the change in range of revs.  I get slagged here for repeating it but if the battery charge is too low for the VW over-complicated, over-intrusive, intertwined computer programs even if the car starts and the lights seem bright enough the charge can still be too low for the computers and they will punish you with strange happenings.

 

Up to you if you prefer to change the battery but car batteries are one of the most oversold car parts, often (not always) they just need a proper recharge, that is not a quick high recharge blast or a bit of a run out, but a full recharge with an appropriate charger.

 

BTW, I forgot to put well done on your 15% saving a good time to get it, recharging/changing the battery might give you a tiny bit more.

 

 

Edited 14 March, 20224 yr by nta16
spelling

I have got an identical engine to OP, never noticed any surging as such. 

Lights on and what not you can feel the load on the engine at idle, only slightly. 

Mine idles steady however, the only time it changes from that is when its cold out, moves up to a steady 1000rpm idle.

I have torque so could gleam info off it if its needed.

Thanks all, I’ve bought and fitted a. new Varta battery today, the battery has now gone down three times and as the dealer kingly agreed to help with the cost (and my proper AGM battery charger couldn’t fully restore the original) it’s on a 2a trickle overnight. I’m hopeful this is the beginning of the end, so to speak..😊

4 minutes ago, Bellagio940 said:

2a trickle overnight

Might not have been enough, especially if battery was still on the car, 24-48 hours might have been needed at that rate but as it's a new car to you starting with a clean plate is by far the best.  Hold on to your battery charger though as a battery is only a store and a new battery might be a better store but it can still be emptied.

 

I think you will find an overall improvement with the new battery but if you don't scan with a good level scanner any underlining issues from the previous battery being low might take a little while to fully sort themselves.

 

Let us know how you're going on in a months time if nothing else crops up and you remember.

 

Good luck.