Hey guys, got to say I love this site and all others like it where users help one and other save money and time.

I just 'upgraded' car from a 205 diesel to a skoda felicia 1.3GLi and I love the ride of the car but the engine it a bit flat, ie you stick your toe down and it does and then stops and goes again but 'capped' if that makes sense?

I changed the thermostat sensor and that cured it on first start but when I switch the engine off leave it for 10 and get back in it the flat spot is back.

Also I dont know if this is related but when idle and i rev a little and let go again the engine feels as tho it is going to cut out - any ideas :confused: All help greatly appreciated!

PS is a 1.3MPi engine with yellow thermo sensor

Sounds like there maybe a fault with the throttle body, need to get it on diagnostic machine and check it out.

mine has a tendancy to do that until it is upto opperating temp, even after that there is a slight flat spot between 2000 - 2500 rpm until I changed to texaco from morrisons fuel, I has also seen a increase of 4mpg more economy since doing so. May pay to add a injector cleaner through as well, which I have also done in the last month or so. I can not gaurantee success, just tell you of my experience with this issue.

I agree with Lummox about the diagnostics check though, better safe then sorry, at leaset then the problem can be identified better and fixed He is a Master of skoda's and his advice is 100% great, he has helped myself and countless amount of people here

One thing is for sure though, you will miss that 205 Derv, I had the same motor before the 1.3GLi I have now.... I notice that hills are a little more difficult to climb then in the 205 due to the more torque it had then the 1.3GLi. I suffer daily due to Babylon Hill out side of Yeovil Somerset I have to climb on a daily basis. Other then that, the car is much more comfortable on long journeys then the 205. Another down is the fuel costs... I used to get 48mpg from the 205 in the end, and on the same journeys I got 36 -37mpg when I was working at Shell which hurt the pocket a little. But it is a nice enough motor, I can not really grumble it has served me well over the last 3 years.

Which proves they saying, once you go balck (Diesel) you'll never go back

Q

My parents have the same car and they had thier throttle body go, it cost abit to repair unfortunetly. But if it is the problem with yours I would get it checked out and sorted soon, as the result of a fully messed up one is unpleasant: -

Aggressive revving of engine though you are not touching the pedal (A tad ambarrasing)

You'll end up doing an excellent impreesion of Skippy the Bush kangaroo

And a few other issues.

In second thought best get it checked as Lummox suggested, and if you could tell me if yours is indeed poorly, if you could report the case here, It maybe another thing I will need to keep and eye on mine as well

I hope it is not though, as It will be a bummer as you just joinned the skoda ranks as it were. I wish you luck though

Q

thanks for your help guys although kinda wish i didnt know now is wierd quetz i lived in yeovil until 3 weeks ago and i cant believe we both made the same mistake of goin from the lovely engined 205 diesel to the not so great engined skoda! There is a skoda garage in yeovil so will try taking it to there see what they say! Will let you all know :S

thanks for your help guys although kinda wish i didnt know now is wierd quetz i lived in yeovil until 3 weeks ago and i cant believe we both made the same mistake of goin from the lovely engined 205 diesel to the not so great engined skoda! There is a skoda garage in yeovil so will try taking it to there see what they say! Will let you all know :S

Was yours a Red Pug 205 GRD 5door reg F530 OBF?? Coz that will be a freaky thing more so

Also it is not a mistake, the Felicia though has it's down points, is still a much nicer car then the 205, I am sorry I gave the car a bad impression. And my parents paid

terrible new! sent car for diagnostic (cost 37) I need a new timing chain (expected that 1) apparently gear box has gone and is pumping gearbox oil into the dash (thouhgt car smelled bad|!!) and haVE been quoted jusat under a grand :eek: (only paid 450 for it a few days ago!!!) Aparently the diff has gone on it and is pumping oil through the line up into the dash :( anyone know where a cheap gearbox can be purchased? (quoted 800 quid for it from skoda). As for my now beloved pug it was F514 OCF - so now massively dff and it was a red gld.

Any help appreciated! gonna have to buy a haynes liar as a first port of call i rekon

holly monkeys, I will ask my mate if there is anything he can do, and will get back to you ASAP

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To flesh that out a bit, guys at the garage didnt find anything wrong with the engine using the diagnostic although they thought the sluggish performance could be casued by "an exceptionally lose timing chain" and they said that the Differential bearing had collapsed and was building up pressure in the gearbox which was then causing oil to pump up through the speedo cable. He reckoned this was a fairly common fault - anyone else had it? Must be cheaper way of curing it than buying a new gearbox at

and they said that the Differential bearing had collapsed and was building up pressure in the gearbox which was then causing oil to pump up through the speedo cable

Sounds like a load of cods to me. Try un-blocking the gear box breather first, you can do this for free, there are posts in this section relating to it. The oil will continue to drip unless you clean the under dash foam quite thoroughly.

While you are at it try cleaning the throttle body.

Majorwedgy, as you left Yeovil 3 weeks ago, where are you now?? I might be able to get my mate to take a look at it Saturday mourning, if you find that convienient !!

He will tell you if it can be dealt with, without costing you an arm and a leg. Tell me if that is conveinient and I will call him to see if it is OK to bring you along He is out at wincanton.... so you know how far to travel

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Wow thanks for your replies guys, have got a haynes liar on its way so when that comes through will try cleaning the throttle body and the breather. I live in Taunton now and my parents still live in yeovil. I REALLY appreciate the offer and what I will say is that I will try the two above suggestions before I waste your mates time but failing that IF he could Would be happy to I would be happy buy him a nice big pack of his FAVE brew.

Cheers guys, am looking forward to developing some experience on the felicia and eventually being able to contribute as well as receiving info!

thats ok mate , just remember this, the Felicia is a nice little motor, it is a shame you have had this to start off your time as a skoda driver. But you will find the car a great little thing.... once all is well

Q

PS Give me a shout if you want my mates help

Ford Fan you god damn Legend (I HOPE!) The breather was stiff as you like i had to get a pair of pliers and a good dash of WD to get the damn thing to move! Fingers crossed it will fix the problem! Am going to take out the foam tomorrow and maybe the dash front to clean them both and see what happens!

As for the engine I tried cleaning the throttle body using some of WYNNS carb/injection cleaning spray and the symptoms have changed for the worse (Although I think it may fix it) in that the engine revs very high idling now after spraying the stuff directly into the throttle body. Any ideas how I correct this or have I knackered the entire ssytem now? Many MANY thanks to you all am so happy (I Hope!)

As for the engine I tried cleaning the throttle body using some of WYNNS carb/injection cleaning spray and the symptoms have changed for the worse (Although I think it may fix it) in that the engine revs very high idling now after spraying the stuff directly into the throttle body. Any ideas how I correct this or have I knackered the entire ssytem now? Many MANY thanks to you all am so happy (I Hope!)

Does the idle speed sort itself out when the engine is warmed up?

If so, it's possible that you've cleaned all the muck from around the butterfly valve edge and it's now letting more air past when the valve is nearly closed.

If that's the case you need the "basic settings" done by a Skoda dealer, so that the ECU drives the valve to the right place for starting.

Unless anyone else knows better or different.

No it doesnt sort itself out and engine appears to overheat now as well, only drove it once, although it does slow down when revved and allowed to go to idle again.

Is really strange to be honest it doesnt seem consistent am sure is something to do with airflow, is there anychance that this cleaner could have collected somewhere in the throttle body and is changing the volume and thus the amount of air needed? Cheers mate

Make sure that there is a bit of slack in the throttle cable at the throttle body end.

You could try leaving the ignition on (engine not running) for 30 seconds or so, the throtle body may then initialise its self.

Carefully check the inlet manifold gaskets, spray the carb cleaner on them and listen for an engine note change, it is not unknown for these to develop leaks.

Don't forget to check your gearbox oil level, the Haynes book of myths and legends should detail the procedure, basically you use the speedo drive as a dipstick and top it up through the speedo drive aperture, replacing the speedo drive 'O' ring may also help.

No it doesnt sort itself out and engine appears to overheat now as well' date=' only drove it once, although it does slow down when revved and allowed to go to idle again. It wasn't the cable, or the valve sticking.

Is really strange to be honest it doesnt seem consistent am sure is something to do with airflow, is there anychance that this cleaner could have collected somewhere in the throttle body and is changing the volume and thus the amount of air needed? Cheers mate[/quote']

We had a problem with revs holding - you could drive at 30 without pressing the throttle - and if you got it to slow down by braking the revs would settle "about right" for tick-over, after cleaning the throttle body.

The original fault was the coolant temperature sensor causing difficulty starting, and random revving during the warm up, which I mistook for for gummed up throttle body problems.

We ended up putting an exchange throttle body on which eventually sorted it out. It still needs the "basic settings" doing - it revs a bit high for the first second or two on a cold start - but it'll have to wait until I get the time and money again.

A guaranteed exchange Pierburg unit for a 1.3MPI from BBA-reman comes in at 225UKP by the time the VAT and carriage is included.

It's a lot of money, but less than Skoda, or JHMButtco want for a new one.

that does sound like the throttle body has gone tits up.... the systoms are exactly like my parents had.... where you cleaned, it it now show it true ugly face. Once again Lummox is correct.

Probally cost

or get a warrenty direct policy for

Oh dear, that sounds almost as bad as the gearbox being gone! tell you what I lvoe the handling etc of the car but I cant honestly say from experience its a great car - seems to have too many known faults!

Out of interest is there no way I can strip the body down and fix the problem? What is that goes on them?As for the settings IF i could fix it would your mate be able to calibrate it? (assuming thats what needs doing?) Cheers guys, rekon gonna sign up to that thing you pay for on here jus so the site keeps going, its amazing!

Just a thought for anyone else finding this thread:

I had similar problems with my Felicia, dodgy idle (would nearly stall, then pick up to fast tickover, then normal. Rinse and repeat) and big coughs when driving (like bonk head on windscreen type big). I've just changed the fuel filter and put some Bosch Super 4 spark plugs in and it appears to be a lot better now, although I'm not saying fixed until its been a bit longer.

Also, to change the fuel filter, a set of angled pliers will be very useful for removing the spring clips.

sounds interesting may try it, have already changed spark plugs and did SWEET FA! Also throttle body i received was a dud and am being sent a secon one from them (fingers crossed!) At least it came with a 30day warranty! Damn these dodgy skodas!

Oh forgot to mention I think I MAY Still be leaking gearbox oil into cabin :(