I must say this is an awsome forum you guys have here. It seems to be a "good tone" here, and a lot of nice helpful people. Since my skills as a mechanic is rather limited, my contribution wont be much to talk of, but I love the fact that I can learn from others. You already helped me sort out a starting problem i had recently. The coil was bad.

My car is a Skoda Felicia Glx 1.6 MPi estate -97. It has had 227000 kilometers of running on the icy/bumpy roads of Northern-Norway, and I hope to squeeze some more out of it. The workshops here charge about 600 Nkr (60$) ++ per hour, so I've decided to do repairs myself from now on. In my opinion they do a crappy job at it, so why not give it a go? The Skoda seems pretty easy to work on, but I know I'll have to feed from all the wisdom on this forum.

welcome to briskoda

Velkommen, sier søte bror

227,000 kilometers - there should be a bit left, then. The 1.6 engine is sturdy and reliable. If you live by the coast corrosion could be a problem, but otherwise I guess that Norway is like Sweden - cars running up north last longer.

cars running up north last longer.

Until now there has never been a tradition to salt the roads here , but lately the have started doing that and noone really understands why. Who wants the salty slush it makes - not me! I believe the none salted roads to be part of the explanation why cars tend to last longer up north.

Hiya.

I'd agree that salty roads are a possible issue, but I thought part of the reason Scandanavia mostly didn't salt the roads was that it gets so cold the salt water freezes, and is then more slippery than compressed snow or snow plus plain grit?

Hello

Hiya.

I'd agree that salty roads are a possible issue, but I thought part of the reason Scandanavia mostly didn't salt the roads was that it gets so cold the salt water freezes, and is then more slippery than compressed snow or snow plus plain grit?

Yes, if road temperature is lower than 12 C below freezing point salt does no good at all (and snow/ice that have already melted will freeze again). But in southern Scandinavia and along the Norwegian coast it's rare to have temperatures that low.

What's not uncommon in my parts is that we have rain or sleet in the evening and then a drop in temperature overnight giving us a glazed road surface when taking off for work in the morning. Or the other way around: a cold period (and cold roads) and then suddenly rain that freezes when it hits the ground. On such occasions one is thankful for salt (and studded tyres).

Salt sea air also add to corrosion - not so much nowadays with galvanised bodyworks. But cars back in the 60's rarely lasted more than 10 years.

Oh yet a Norwegian. Welcome. (Beeing a danish based Norwegian myself)