Trying to save a Fabia in a 5th world country

On 15/05/2025 at 19:09, OccyVRS said:

Perhaps a silly question, but why not just do the work yourself?

You seem to know enough/be able to find the answers or, at the very least, more able than your local mechanics. I'm not sure where you are, but I can see one or two VW places in Santa Domingo.

+1 on what Alasdair said - one notch or two you'll likely get away with it, but any more and you can have some serious problems.

On a side note, the 1.9 SDI differs from the 1.9 TDI in that it has no turbo. From my understanding, while they are painfully slow, they are generally absolutely bomb proof and very good on fuel.

Buena suerte. ¡Valdrá la pena!

Hello OccyVRS

Honestly, adjusting the timing belt scares me a little, BUT I would definitely do it if I found help and a step-by-step guide to learn it right away.

But here's what happens:

Right now, I'm split between three countries.

I was born in the Dominican Republic, but I lived in Brazil for a few years. But now I have to move to the United States.

So, for the duration of my stay in Brazil, the Skoda was stored, and that's where the problem of the vehicle deteriorating. The wheels got in and ate the wiring and plastics. So, before going to the United States, I moved to the Dominican Republic for a few months to organize some things, including getting the Skoda repaired and keeping it safely stored (it's not worth selling; I prefer to keep it well-stored, this time protected from pests, so that when I come back to the country (I estimate I'll come back once a year to visit), I'll have a vehicle to get around in.

In Brazil, I don't have vehicles. Neither do I in the United States.

In the Dominican Republic, which is my base, I had my house, my tools, and my workspace. But since I'm moving from this country, I'm already renting my house. Therefore, I don't have space to do that type of work, and I have limited tools. Here in this country, everything is extreme. There are no specialized tools. Getting some basic parts is difficult. Everything is improvised and adapted. If you want to do things right, they see you as a perfectionist and treat you as such. And considering that attitude, you can imagine what it's like. Anyway, it's not for nothing that it's the number 1 country for traffic fatalities, partly because of the way they drive and partly because of vehicles failing on the highway.

Currently, I was just in a hurry to get the vehicle out of the shop, to store it, and be able to move to the United States. I could come back in a year with a good amount of money to completely restore the car, with more knowledge, my own tools, and rent a place to work on it without rushing.

That's the current situation.

Now that I'm moving to the United States, since the Skoda isn't sold in the US, I'll pursue the 1.9 engine. The SDi is almost impossible to get, but the TDI does appear. So far, I've had my eye on the 2005 VW Jetta. For my first time in the US, I want something reliable, efficient, and that I'm already familiar with.

I'm used to Subarus, but I want something more efficient, and that's why I want to stick with the 1.9 engine.

So, anyway I shouldn't wait back to DR to learn how to do that work myself because I'm looking for the same engine in the States, and those repairs are quite expensive in there, just because it's diesel.

That's my story.