Bluefox's 2003 Superb TDI

[Bluefox]

Ok, so here she is just after I picked her up.

53-plate, 2003 Skoda Superb Classic 1.9 TDI 130 in blue pearl. No extras I can see, just the standard stuff like CD player, enough airbags to shake a stick at, climate control, interior LED lighting, and of course, wheel trims. What else?

First mod was to remove the "Superb" badge because it certainly didn't look it.

After this, came the wheel trim incident. Within the first week I'd lost a trim, and as Skoda dealers are few & far between I finally found on in Cannock called Autosales, who will feature a lot in this thread... top marks to Mike in parts.

Anyway, a swift

[Bluefox]

The now infamous tuning box incident then followed:

...which is all detailed here.

Nothing happened for a few months from there, general use really. All except some **** decided to drag his or her key down the nearside front and rear doors:

Nice.

Anyway, next thing I knew was when my front brakes wore down so much they were literally metal on metal. Sweet. So then, a boot full of parts:

... a quick couple of photos (without the

[Bluefox]

Just kidding, it's not that low. Low enough, I hope: I'm catching the sump guard if I hit speed bumps at anything over 20mph. Good job it's plastic, but that might be the next job...

That brings us upto date, only addition is a "Happy Flower" Maxi Cosi Priori XP, which roughly translates as a pink child seat. I'm so street.

[Bluefox]

The current situation is regarding alloys, as my tyres are, er, "on the legal limit".

Original plan was these, refurbed, diamond cut and lacquered:

...but until I can afford coilovers, I've kind of shelved that idea.

A quick chop, and:

...I'm going for 18" A8 replica rims. A stolen pic from elsewhere on this site reveals what a real car (as opposed to a photoshop) looks like with them on:

All that's left to decide is tyre size, and to go for Skoda or Audi stickers on the centre caps... hmm, descisions descisions...

That's all for now!

[Bluefox]

...another change of plan.

The alloy idea quickly got shelved, only good that came of it was the descision to go for coilovers before the alloys.

...soon a reality...?

That way, I can have a play with 16" rims as much as I like... so it could be Merc, could be Audi, could still be TSW Holstens... who knows?

Watch this space. Coilovers following in the next few months...

[Bluefox]

Ok, a swift update.

Was on holiday last week, and as I was driving there I had some work done the week before we went.

Another pile of parts...

...and the required cambelt/water pump/tensioner/coolant change was carried out, along with a brand new set of 4 205/55/16 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's:

Thanks to Nationwide Autocentre and Hi-Q Tyreservices in Stafford for their help and fantastic prices, and again Mike @ Autosales Cannock for the parts and jokes.

Anyway, despite the

[Bluefox]

Nothing else to report, tyres bedded in nicely now and they're a definate improvement, she's completely different to drive now. All that remains how long they last... I've been assured the GS-D3's last much much longer than the GS-D2's, which is good as I've been told I could only expect about 6k on a Mk2 Golf GTI... :shock:

Anyway, hit the big six-oh this week:

It's also nearly MOT time (end of Oct)... so she'll be four! Aww, bless. Four years and 60k...

Anyway, I'm leaving my job at the Stafford store of Halfords, and as everyone there likes a joke they stole my keys this weekend... well, see for yourself.

Thanks folks.

That's it. More photos of the roofbars taking a hammering, this one involving a mate and his sofa...

[Tech1e]

I like the look dropped on the steels

[Bluefox]

I like the look dropped on the steels

Thanks Lummox Hmm. I'd never considered leave it on the steels and decking it... hmm......

[Bluefox]

Right then, updates!

After a busy 12k... things are not so well with the Superb. Still getting me to work every day, always starting, not drinking too much of the (nearly) 120ppl fuel, so nothing major.

To be honest, there's nothing to report in this entry other than we're still around, plodding through the miles... but at least I've got more of a plan now... he says. At least it gives me something to work towards!

I'll also be updating this list as and when I think of more things/more things break/things get fixed.

Service and electronics coming up soon, watch this space...

Maintenance & Problem Fixing

Oil & Filter change

Fixing whatever's caused that bloody engine management light to come on again

Fixing broken o/s/f electric window mechanism

Changing fuel filter

Getting puncture repaired (and getting that god awful OE Bridgestone off)

Rotating tyres (about 15k already)

FIXING THE BLOODY LEAK!!

Clean K&N

Fixing split O/S CV gaiter

Short Term

Fixing the scratches I've acquired over winter - front bumper/bonnet/doors/boot

Fixing the rust starting to appear on some stonechips (argh!)

Replacing damaged grille & surround

Replacing faded grille & boot badges

Parrot handsfree kit

Hard-wiring phone charger into central armrest

Repairing Origin B2 camera detector's cradle and updating subscription/purchasing new unit

Medium term

Replacement (metal cased) white LED side lamps

White LED numberplate lights

European-style number plates

Uprated headlamp bulbs/Xeons

Recaro group 3 seat for Gabriella (because it's the only Recaro I can afford)

Turbo-back (cat bypass) stainless exhaust system

Long term

Parking sensors

KW Variant 1 coilovers

9x16 Borbet A OR 7x17 OE Solids OR 8x18 Dotz Roadster alloys with corresponding tyres

Non-dating/private numberplate

Looooong term/pencilled in

Stainless steel intercooler/turbo pipework...?

Remap...?

Double-din sat nav head unit...?

Upgraded sub(s) with hidden install...?

Amplified door speakers...?

Respray...?

...er...

...that's it?!

Edited 12 July, 2008 by Bluefox

[Bluefox]

Okay, update time. Spent some money recently and picked up a couple of bargains along the way.

First though, a recap...

As you can see above, I'm updating my "shopping" list with bits & bobs after I've had them done.

This is the problem I had with the window:

...in the sense that, er, the only way I could drop or raise the window was by hand.

A bit of spannering:

...revealed a massive sheet of rivited aluminium which I couldn't remove, despite undoing all those massive nuts and swearing a lot.

It seemed as though I had to take the door lock out to take it off, but I couldn't take the door lock out as it was riveted to the aluminium sheet. No idea :confused:

Shelved that and put it all back together, after checking that the motor functioned correctly:

This pretty much underlined my suspicion that my regulator had gone.

Pants :eek:

[Bluefox]

Next thing, I thought I'd just check over the outside of the car to get a better idea of the damage I was working on. I'd decided that enough was enough and as there were some areas starting to corrode slightly I wanted to make a start sorting them out, before next winter.

A few pics of the various bits of damage:

... swift puncture repair...

...and we were making progress.

As I took that spare off, I wanted to rotate the tyres. So, checked the discs and pads, CV gaiters, so on.... brakes I'm pleased to report about 20k on and still look very new! Delphi Lockheed!

Unfortunately though it revealed some slightly dodgy tyre wear:

Notice the right hand side much more worn than the other? Ooh err. I knew I should have had my four wheel alignment done when I fitted the Eagles :eek:

[Bluefox]

That's kind of where we're up to.

The more astute of you may have noticed that I've greyed a few things out that I haven't mentioned in the last update...

I'm saying nothing till I've got all the bits I want... but for now, I seem to have stumbled across a photo lying on my desktop...

[Robshaw]

Looking good... Please say you managed to get that key mark out??

[mluton]

Nice one mate, looking good

[Bluefox]

Looking good... Please say you managed to get that key mark out??

Thanks

No, it's still there I'm afraid. I polished out the two ends, it was a lot longer than that. What's left though is through the paint :(

[Bluefox]

Nice one mate, looking good

Thank you

[Bluefox]

Car came back today. New fuel filter, no EM light and a working window! Woo!

That's it really. Just four more words to add though:

Yes, that's water.

AAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!

[Bluefox]

It's worse than I thought. The electronics under the carpet were sat in a few mm of water, the underlay is **** wet through and the car stinks now I've disturbed it.

Fortunately, the drains beneath the battery seem to be working okay, a quick drench with a hose proved it - although of course that means it's not a simple case of blocked drains...

My investigation now seems to centre around the pollen filter housing itself.

Anyway - removing the scuttle panel tonight, it seemed not to be fixed with anything except the rubber sealing strip. I've just had my fuel filter done by a dealer, along with a coolant temp sensor... and the above photograph was taken after it had been returned by the same dealer, and sat on my mum's drive for a exceptionally wet weekend...

Coincidence? :confused:

Edited 12 July, 2008 by Bluefox

[Tom_vRS]

Yeah, probably is a coincidence...

Definitely looks like the pollen filter housing a bit rogered. I'm sure theres a couple of guides kicking around on how to fix this, dumdum is what you need!

[Bluefox]

Yeah, probably is a coincidence...

Definitely looks like the pollen filter housing a bit rogered. I'm sure theres a couple of guides kicking around on how to fix this, dumdum is what you need!

Thanks Tom - certainly took your advice...

[Bluefox]

I may have aged a few years after discovering the above, but I spoke to Tom_VRS and various others (thanks folks, appreciate your help!) and I dragged a solution into the world, kicking & screaming.

Started off with taking the housing out:

...which in all honesty caused the majority of the injuries sustained to my hands during the whole process. I've no pics, that would be for a seperate thread; but let's just say I've more nicks and cuts on my hands than I have fingers.

Once I'd done that, I got to grips with what was probably causing the problem... layer upon layer of ****!

I'd already started cleaning the rubbish out when I realised I hadn't taken any photos, so that's not the full extent. If you're reading this, and you've got a Superb, go out and take the damn thing out - the amount of crap that was in mine will surprise even Rotodiesel.

Not to be deterred I visited a local motor factor, purchased some seam sealer and then threatened the filter housing showing no remorse:

Few minutes and a third of a tin of sealant later, job was done:

I shall report on my fix in due course.

For reference, I put so much seam sealer on the bottom of the pollen filter housing and the surrounding bodywork I only fitted two bolts. There are three but the third took me forty minutes of swearing before I removed it, so I wasn't planning on putting this back.

The torque on the two I fitted, plus the sealant should do the job. I had a job to fit the two, there was that much sealant - er, hence the non-OE look; so when it's dried it should be all good. Anyway, it's all hidden so who cares how it looks?

Additionally, that blue cable in the pics is the 4-gauge power cable for my sub's amplifier and I'm aware that pollen filter needs changing. That's a job for another day

[Bluefox]

Moving on, this arrived in the post on Friday:

Nice!

Credit where credit's due; The Plate Man offer great plates at great prices.

They really are, er, Superb. I've seen plates from Dubmiester and they're not a patch on these. They're made by a genuine German plate manufacturer - in fact one of mine had a German DIN stamp on the rear. Top, top quality.

Obviously for off road or show use only which is of course how I intend to use them.

Next, fitting. I plumped for The Plate Man's number plate surrounds, so the main battle was to fit these to the car.

The plates on my car were original dealer spec, so they've been on for, er, four years...

...needless to say, the screws had rusted and they'd left a huge amount of crap behind when I took them off. Bit of hacksawing saw to that!

Inherited from the mountain bike world, a spray of Muc-Off:

...did the trick.

This stuff rocks - it'll clean everything from your wheels to your plastic engine covers. I'm sure Baker will have something to say but I've found that this surpasses everything else I've tried on the market, including Auto Glym's Clean Wheels which I currently use (I use this instead of Muc-Off as I purchased a gallon of trade concentrate at the last car show I was at).

Anyway, quick polish:

...and all was good. At this point I couldn't fit the rear carriers as I needed 2x M6x10mm bolts, which fit the OE-spec holes and that I didn't have to hand.

Unfortunately as the ham-fisted dealer who supplied the car in the first place decided to ignore these purposely designed fixing points, I now have rust to contend with:

...basically it appears as though they've drilled the boot lid, ignored the OE mounts and put self tappers in. Through this hole water has entered the boot and consequentially rusted the skin.

This will be addressed in a future update.

Anyway, as I couldn't fit (at this stage) the rear plate carrier, I had to switch to the front, which was in an equally sorry state underneath - except they hadn't drilled metal, only the bumper... so, two M6 self tappers later and et voil

[mluton]

Its great following your progress mate, keep up the good work.

[Bluefox]

Okay, so with all that done I decided to fit those things which were hiding in my garage...

17" OE Solid's from eBay

Nothing to report here other than the fact my O/S CV gaiter has decided to split... nothing drastic, doesn't seem to have damaged anything so I'll get that done with the oil change later this week or so.

Damn lowered Superbs, won't go on DIY ramps :(

Pics of wheels, plates, etc: