Ok so as you all know ive done a fair bit to this car but the only job I have left on the list is the front console bushes as these are the originals and I think 21 years is pretty good going. are there any guides or suggestions and do I need a special tool for removing and refitting the bushes please ???

17 minutes ago, Stewartasb said:

Ok so as you all know ive done a fair bit to this car but the only job I have left on the list is the front console bushes as these are the originals and I think 21 years is pretty good going. are there any guides or suggestions and do I need a special tool for removing and refitting the bushes please ???

 

I used a hacksaw blade to remove the old ones, they come out easily once split, if you use PSB bushes you don't need special tools to fit them.

21 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

 

I used a hacksaw blade to remove the old ones, they come out easily once split, if you use PSB bushes you don't need special tools to fit them.

Is that the powerflex ones ive read about as compared to the cupra ones ???

1 hour ago, Stewartasb said:

Is that the powerflex ones ive read about as compared to the cupra ones ???

 

No, look 'em up on ebay, much cheaper and just as effective.

41 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

No, look 'em up on ebay, much cheaper and just as effective.

Interesting, have you used them a lot / for a long time (to confirm quality and longevity)?

 

I was driving the Fabia yesterday and a knock is annoying me, though it might be a gearbox mount as my wife thought it was passenger side and she's normally good at where the noise is from and what it is if we've had had the same noise before, I don't locate it so well or remember what it sounded like before.

 

 

14 minutes ago, nta16 said:

Interesting, have you used them a lot / for a long time (to confirm quality and longevity)?

 

I was driving the Fabia yesterday and a knock is annoying me, though it might be a gearbox mount as my wife thought it was passenger side and she's normally good at where the noise is from and what it is if we've had had the same noise before, I don't locate it so well or remember what it sounded like before.

 

 

 

I used Cupra bushes on my first Fabia, horrible to fit but good performance.

I used PSB on this Fabia, easy to fit, same performance.

Powerflex are just as good and just as easy to fit but much more expensive.

It's what the Americans call a "no-brainer" for the hard-of-thinking.

found them nice one sep

30 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

It's what the Americans call a "no-brainer" for the hard-of-thinking.

You have slightly diluted the reassurance by including the national thinking, but I fink I no wot yu mean.

 

20 minutes ago, nta16 said:

You have slightly diluted the reassurance by including the national thinking, but I fink I no wot yu mean.

 

 

For many, decision-making is not part of their primary skillset, actually for most it doesn't even make it onto the list, they're too busy experiencing emoshuns and thinking about relayshunships to be rational.

Gawd, you're a smooth talking devil, I've garn all giggly, you already know how emotional and irrational I am, I fear you're trying to take advantage of my innocence.

 

I think I've got Super-Flex on my car, can't remember now, but they're been fine (AFAIK) for 12 years IIRC.  I've had a lot of trouble with ****-poor rubbish rubber car parts over the years and have little faith in too many car manufacturers doing a lot better.

 

 

5 hours ago, Stewartasb said:

as these are the originals and I think 21 years

 

If they are the originals I'm amazed that they would have lasted this long as the original factory ones were rubbish and most were changed years ago.

Edited 3 April, 20224 yr by TMB

I bought an Octavia Mk1 at 3 years old with 188K miles on the clock from a chauffeur friend, another friend from the same group MOT'd it for me, as he was driving it onto the ramp he said that the console bushes were knackered, very common, most are like that and he could tell just from the steering feel.

 

He never failed it on the bushes because mates don't do that sort of thing but I bought a pair to fit.

 

15 years later the car was scrapped at 325K miles with the unused console bushes still in the boot, it never one failed a CT on them and if they were knackered I never knew any different 😆 - it drove very well but I'm sure I would have felt the difference had I changed them.

I'm not sure what the design is like on a mk1 Octy, but I'm pretty sure it's nothing like that on a mk1 Fabia?

 

I think the console bushes on mine are original. There's a constant and consistent noise that comes anytime I go over a bump. Best way I could describe it is the way my wee brother described it... 'sounds like someone playing the bagpipes'. I've lived with it for ages, didn't come up as an advisory during the MOT test either.

Edited 3 April, 20224 yr by AnnoyingPentium

Octy is the same as the Golf Mark 4, so the bushes are radial rather than axial in the lower wishbone.

I stand corrected, I have heard so much talk of console bushes I thought thats what they were.

2 hours ago, TMB said:

 

If they are the originals I'm amazed that they would have lasted this long as the original factory ones were rubbish and most were changed years ago.

Tbf the car did have lowish mileage when  I brought it at 18 years old it had a tad under 60k.

32 minutes ago, Stewartasb said:

Tbf the car did have lowish mileage when  I brought it at 18 years old it had a tad under 60k.

 

It's not mileage that perishes rubber, it's age.

Hence why I think the originals are about due retiring lol 😀

9 hours ago, Stewartasb said:

Is that the powerflex ones ive read about as compared to the cupra ones ???

Problem Solving Bushes, get them as  cheap direct from their website, plus free delivery.

7 hours ago, nta16 said:

Interesting, have you used them a lot / for a long time (to confirm quality and longevity)?

 

I run them on my monte, and have front wishbone bushes for my mk1 that I need to get my finger out and fit. Haven't failed yet on my monte with 20000+ miles of abuse so far.

 

2 hours ago, Stewartasb said:

Tbf the car did have lowish mileage when  I brought it at 18 years old it had a tad under 60k.

Not sure if its just early fabias, but basically theres 2 types of console bushes fitted to em, early ones have rubber on the top and bottom and the updated bushes have the rubber in an "X" pattern. My car had them replaced at some point as they're the X type ones.

Do I need to be replacing the front wishbone bushes as well ???

No.

11 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I think the console bushes on mine are original. There's a constant and consistent noise that comes anytime I go over a bump. Best way I could describe it is the way my wee brother described it... 'sounds like someone playing the bagpipes'. I've lived with it for ages, didn't come up as an advisory during the MOT test either.

 

You mean the errrr eeee errrr every time you go over a speed bump ? Mines been doing that for 30,000 miles plus and three MOTs, it's one of my 'Fabia Mk 1 things not to worry about'

Bear in mind that if the console bushes really have never been changed, you may have 'fun and games' with the front bolts being corroded into the consoles.  Same also applies if they have been done in the past and these bolts re-used, which is a no-no for this very reason.

 

Have you got any pics of the current bushes? Best taken from under the car looking forward at the rear end of them.

 

This is what the OEM replacement (1K0407183A) x-style bush looks like from that angle:

 

The original design (6Q0407183) has just two vertical rubber webs, one above, one below the hex hole, you can just about see in this pic:

 

Edited 4 April, 20224 yr by Pete_Ex-Wino

10 minutes ago, totoro said:

 

You mean the errrr eeee errrr every time you go over a speed bump ? Mines been doing that for 30,000 miles plus and three MOTs, it's one of my 'Fabia Mk 1 things not to worry about'

 

Aye that's the one! It's been doing it since not long after I bought the car last March. I've got a pair of bushes there from PSB but I'm waiting until I can be bothered to fit them or until I can't stick the noise any longer.