More things have started happening on Mrs Ap0gee's lovely car (Fabia 1.4 MPI Comfort):

1. At low speeds, there's a thud-thud-thud from the NSR wheel - it might be a flat spot if the previous owner left it with a flat tyre for any length of time, so I'm going to put on the spare and see how that turns out. I'm worried it might be a wheel bearing, but I thought that was more of a whining / scraping sound?

2. NSR again - sometimes when going over a speed bump or coming to an abrupt halt, there's a distinct "clang". Thought it might be the exhaust, but that seems secure so I'm thinking ARB or knackered spring - any ideas?

3. Sometimes (say 1 time in 50), it won't go into 1st gear. It gets halfway into the gate and won't go any further. Returning the stick to neutral, re-applying the clutch, then going again works a treat, and I've recently discovered that keeping pressure applied to the stick while letting the clutch out also makes it go into gear. I'm hoping that one's just a linkage needing adjustment...? Otherwise, could it be something to do with the clutch switch? I removed it (and put it back again!) when replacing the evap temp sensor a little while back...

4. Every now and again, if the lights are on, the dash illumination will switch off for half a second and come back on again. It's not a flicker like with the PAS sensor fault, and it never seems to happens more than once during a journey. It's as if something switching on causes a momentary power drain, although I can't think what (it's not the dimming caused by the power steering pump either).

All suggestions gratefully received!

1, yeah that sounds like a tyre , but i would expect a vibration to be felt through the vehicle at higher speeds , when you've got the car jacked up spin the n/s/r wheel to see if you can see any deformation in the tyre

2, have you fitted a rear ARB ? if not it wont be that , could be a spring moving on the rear axle beam , check that the spring is not broken or the shockers not loose when you've got the n/s/r wheel off

3, when you are trying to get it in 1st gear are you still moving or at a stand still ? 1st gear selection whilst moving will be difficult if not impossible but this is normal , if its difficult to get in gear whilst stationary then there could be a problem with the clutch,master cylinder or slave cylinder , or the synchro on the gear could be worn , the best thing to do if you can live with this problem is , when you get the difficult selection problem dont try and force it in as damage may occur to the gear making it worse , go back to the neutral position , release the clutch , dip the clutch again , wait a couple of seconds then retry the gear , i find this works reasonably well

4, could be a faulty dash light dimmer switch or some other electrical fault which will never be found due to it being so intermittant , best living with that fault i think

OK, sounds like I'll know more about 1 & 2 when I've got it up on the jack (Didn't realise the rear ARB was a retro-fit item only !)

As for 3, it happens when at a standstill, so judging by what you've said it's a clutch / synchro issue. The car's still under dealer warranty, so it may well be worth following it up with them (although the warranty wasn't much cop for the evap temp sensor or coolant temp sensor, hence the "Sod it, I'll do it myself!" posts I put up for them a month or so ago!)

No. 4 could be related to my evap temp sensor repair by the sounds of things - I took out the headlight selector / dash dimmer unit when dismantling the dash; perhaps I need to whip it out again and make sure I connected everything up properly, and/or didn't get any dirt in the connectors...

Thanks, ric04vrs

No. 3 sounds like the gearchange linkage/cables need adjusting. My first Fabia needed this every 25K miles or so. Not a difficult job, but fiddly and best left to the dealer.

No. 3 sounds like the gearchange linkage/cables need adjusting. My first Fabia needed this every 25K miles or so. Not a difficult job, but fiddly and best left to the dealer.

Thanks, Bryan! We'll see if the warranty will cover it (see previous posts), otherwise we'll keep on with our "workaround" until it's next due a service!

i wouldn't of thought the warranty would cover adjustments after the first year , i know the Ford warranty doesn't

i wouldn't of thought the warranty would cover adjustments after the first year , i know the Ford warranty doesn't

No, you're probably right. If it is just the linkages, at least it doesn't sound too expensive from what Bryan's said. I'd have thought if it were something like the master/slave cylinders (which would appear to be covered), then the shifting problems would affect all gears, and not just 1st. We shall see...

Well, the thud-thud-thud thing was a tyre - for some reason the NSR tyre was in much worse nick than the 3 others (still legal, but very ropey!) and had a distinct flat spot. Swapped it for the spare (brand spanker) and the noise has gone.

Checked the spring and shocker while the wheel was off, and both were OK, although the but of rubber up at the top of the shocker that holds the dirt cover thing to the shaft was a bit perished and so the cover thing was a bit wobbly. Don't think that was what causes the clang, though. I had a look at the exhaust and it seems secure, but a bit looser than I thought it would be (if you see what I mean), so it seems prime candidate. It was also pretty rusty, so maybe the clang is the zorsty version of a death-rattle?! Seeing how its time is nigh, I'll see about a replacement and hope that the clanging goes with the old exhaust!

Neither the gear thing nor the dashboard lighting things have happened since I first posted this thread, by the way!

The clanging (No.2) may be something to do with the handbrake. Mine was in recently for a service and they performed an engineering modification to the handbrake where it activates at the rear wheel, and this solved my noise problem.

The clanging (No.2) may be something to do with the handbrake. Mine was in recently for a service and they performed an engineering modification to the handbrake where it activates at the rear wheel, and this solved my noise problem.

:rubchin: Handbrake, eh? I shall have to investigate...

Guess what?! Discovered today after a near miss with a bit of broken tree that the ABS isn't working. There isn't a warning on the dash that anything's wrong. I don't know enough (beyond the absolute basics) about how the system works, so maybe it's something like the sensors being dirty? Presumably something serious like an electronic fault in the system would cause a light on the dash???

Need to check when the warranty expires...

If the car is under warranty then surely the dealer should look into/sort this out under warranty?

If the car is under warranty then surely the dealer should look into/sort this out under warranty?

I'm not sure whether the warranty's already expired, though. I know for sure it runs out soon. Will have a look when I get home, and keep my fingers crossed it's good news.

If it ISN'T, I'm a trifle concerned it's going to be an expensive fix on a part / system that might have been knackered when I bought the car, but was never (until now) in a situation where I found out about the fault...

If it isn't I'd be calling SKUK and pointing out how many times the car has been in, the strong of problems and how the garage failed to pick up on this. Also why a failure in such a safety critical feature failed to bring up a warning light.

Obviously check the ABS fuse first though

Obviously check the ABS fuse first though

Wouldn't that make the light comes on? [dashes out to check]

Wouldn't that make the light comes on? [dashes out to check]

OK, fuses checked, and all OK. Except for the fact there isn't a fuse in location 25, which is where the ABS fuse sits. Not only that, there aren't actually any contacts behind location 25 for the fuse to connect to! I've checked the fuses at the battery, and the same applies - what the heck is going on? I thought all UK Fabias had ABS! Has Mrs Ap0gee ended up with a dodgy import, or did the folks at the factory somehow 'forget' to put it in? I guess I basically need to know what other bits there are that I can look for to see if anything / everything else is missing from the ABS system - any pointers???

[Am now VERY concerned...]

Panic over!!! According to this review, ABS was only fitted as standard across the range from sometime in 2002, so presumably the original buyer either chose not to have it, or it wasn't an option. A bit disappointed it doesn't have it (especially with it being SWMBO's car - Mr Protective and all) but better I found out before going in to have a 'one-way conversation' with the dealer!

I'll shuffle off and stop wasting everyone's time now... :sofahide: