Afternoon,

 

Picked up a 1.4 TDI Greenline banger with a mere 156k on the clock for £800. This is my first Skoda, but I'm a VAG lifer, so majority of the past 10 years have been spent in either VW's or Audi's.

 

There are definitely a couple of minor issues with it, hence the price and the desire for the previous owner to get rid, however I think the engine and car itself seem pretty solid.

 

Before I get too deeply into that, I'm still strapped with a faulty 2008 VW Jetta 1.9 TDI that's got every chance of becoming scrap metal fairly soon. The Skoda is clearly the base model, but the Jetta isn't and it's got various optional extras.

 

I'm curious whether I could swap any/many of the parts over. Heated Seats and Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror come to mind.

@Skezza The Golf/Jetta 5 is more closely related to the Octavia.

3 minutes ago, Paws4Thot said:

@Skezza The Golf/Jetta 5 is more closely related to the Octavia.

Dang that's a shame. Hopefully there's some stuff I can pinch nonetheless.

 

Once I've sold the Jetta, then the fun begins. I need to install cruise control! I miss it already.

42 minutes ago, Skezza said:

Dang that's a shame. Hopefully there's some stuff I can pinch nonetheless.

 

Once I've sold the Jetta, then the fun begins. I need to install cruise control! I miss it already.

 

You might be able to fit the auto-dimwit rear view mirror if it's self-contained and just needs power, however the heated seats won't fit and neither will anything else. Why aren't you fixing the Golf, the 1.9 TDI is usually very reliable.

2 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

 

You might be able to fit the auto-dimwit rear view mirror if it's self-contained and just needs power, however the heated seats won't fit and neither will anything else. Why aren't you fixing the Golf, the 1.9 TDI is usually very reliable.

I've not ruled out fixing the Jetta and I suppose I'm in no rush to sell it for pennies but the current issue is that I'm struggling to diagnose it cost effectively. I strongly believe it's the crankshaft sensor, but it might be the ECU or the wiring - all of which can contribute to the failure case I'm experiencing. I ordered a replacement ECU off eBay and cloned the EEPROM from my original but unfortunately, that ECU is even more defective with an issue sending the correct power to the glowplugs. I'm waiting on another... I'm getting very mixed feedback from two garages who have taken a look. One said it's a 'general' electrical fault but couldn't be sure it was the crank sensor.

 

Replacing the crank sensor on the BXE engine is not fun either. It's an oil cooler out job, if you're lucky and the bolt holding it comes willingly.... If you're not so lucky, it's a full gearbox out job. That makes the work already fairly uneconomical, on a high mileage 17 year old car. Suppose if it comes willingly, it's a £150 gamble. Might be worth taking... If I can rule out the ECU, then it's either the sensor or the wiring and I could trace the wiring myself, but the other thing this requires is time.... ahh, that old chestnut

 

Nonetheless, I've bought the Fabia now and for the money I spent, it doesn't feel like a bad purchase. I've been looking at them for a while, as a potentially cheaper alternative to the 1.9 TDI and I need an estate. This one is a high miler, but I may go for a slightly nicer one in future if this one performs adequately.

Edited 2 April, 20242 yr by Skezza

2 hours ago, Skezza said:

that ECU is even more defective with an issue sending the correct power to the glowplugs.

The 1.9 Di should fire and run even with bad glowplugs, as long as you'll take a puff of white smoke on start up.

15 minutes ago, Paws4Thot said:

The 1.9 Di should fire and run even with bad glowplugs, as long as you'll take a puff of white smoke on start up.

Sorry... meant I meant injectors. The injectors are powered directly from the ECU.