Skoda Fabia 1.4 mpi - Dirt Box
Discussion
I don't know why it has taken me so long, but I passed my test at the tender age of 36 in January! I know this is hardly ground breaking news, my excuses are that I have lived in city centres, and at times not had the cash or desire to drive, but I set myself the task in October 2015. I used a local independent instructor; to start with, it felt like I was back at school, but he soon warmed and we got on with the process as adults. I set myself a tight challenge, I wanted to pass before Christmas, but a change with our local test centre put that to rest, so I had to wait until the centres opened in January.
My delightful instructor gave me lots of confidence... he told me how he and his instructor friends would have an open book as to how long they could go into the year before they had a fail - he told me he was $%^&%^ed with me. I'm not sure it was a reverse psychology experiment, because of course I ended up passing with only 4 faults (I got away with murder though, on a road I thought was national, because of road conditions I drove at about 45 - it wasn't a national... it was a 30)
Anyway - I have found myself adopting an X-reg Fabia 1.4 MPI. It's been in the family for 10 years, has been looked after by a local mechanic - it's got 100k on the clock and drives like a former soviet block coal shed. It stinks of oil and petrol, drinks fuel... has warning lights all over the dash, but I want to try to keep it for at least another 6 months.
Here's the beast showing off in all it's glory, parked perfectly - demonstrating my excellent reversing skills. Now I guess, here we would usually talk about what to do with the car, I'm thinking about what to do rather than scrap it - should I dismantle and sell parts?
Oh, and does anyone know anything about all the engine management lights, and thermometer light that keep flashing up... I can find no real discernible problems... except the plastic engine cover is broken and the oil cap has therefore never sealed, so I botched an oil cap with plastic and zip ties...
There we go! One shed!
My delightful instructor gave me lots of confidence... he told me how he and his instructor friends would have an open book as to how long they could go into the year before they had a fail - he told me he was $%^&%^ed with me. I'm not sure it was a reverse psychology experiment, because of course I ended up passing with only 4 faults (I got away with murder though, on a road I thought was national, because of road conditions I drove at about 45 - it wasn't a national... it was a 30)
Anyway - I have found myself adopting an X-reg Fabia 1.4 MPI. It's been in the family for 10 years, has been looked after by a local mechanic - it's got 100k on the clock and drives like a former soviet block coal shed. It stinks of oil and petrol, drinks fuel... has warning lights all over the dash, but I want to try to keep it for at least another 6 months.
Here's the beast showing off in all it's glory, parked perfectly - demonstrating my excellent reversing skills. Now I guess, here we would usually talk about what to do with the car, I'm thinking about what to do rather than scrap it - should I dismantle and sell parts?
Oh, and does anyone know anything about all the engine management lights, and thermometer light that keep flashing up... I can find no real discernible problems... except the plastic engine cover is broken and the oil cap has therefore never sealed, so I botched an oil cap with plastic and zip ties...
There we go! One shed!
court said:
My mind is a little fuzzy.. was the MPI based on the Favorit/Felicia engine? That thing is bomb proof, perfect winter hack motoring. The 3-cyl and the 16v engines I'd steer clear of.
Yep, based on that old 1.3 Czech engine. Like you say, bomb proof and chain driven. It'll go on forever.samj2014 said:
I had one of these for my first car, couldn't complain.
The fault you're talking about could be the temp sensor and/or the thermostat and housing. I replaced them all on mine (dead cheap, dead easy), stopped the not warming up problem, and cured the light on the dash.
My son has one with the same engine- "cheap" insurance as hes 18, only cost him £2K fully comp!!!!!!!!!.The fault you're talking about could be the temp sensor and/or the thermostat and housing. I replaced them all on mine (dead cheap, dead easy), stopped the not warming up problem, and cured the light on the dash.
Had the same fault last week as you- engine light/temp light. Changed the temp sender unit which sits on top of the engine on the R/h side under the plastic cover, cost less than a tenner on ebay and took 5 mins to fix. Resolved the issue.
kingkongsfinger said:
samj2014 said:
I had one of these for my first car, couldn't complain.
The fault you're talking about could be the temp sensor and/or the thermostat and housing. I replaced them all on mine (dead cheap, dead easy), stopped the not warming up problem, and cured the light on the dash.
My son has one with the same engine- "cheap" insurance as hes 18, only cost him £2K fully comp!!!!!!!!!.The fault you're talking about could be the temp sensor and/or the thermostat and housing. I replaced them all on mine (dead cheap, dead easy), stopped the not warming up problem, and cured the light on the dash.
Had the same fault last week as you- engine light/temp light. Changed the temp sender unit which sits on top of the engine on the R/h side under the plastic cover, cost less than a tenner on ebay and took 5 mins to fix. Resolved the issue.
Inside the car smells of both petrol and oil - you know, normal shed smells, does this coolant sensor control engine management?
On the dash - the temp guage light has been lit up forever - and the car beeps at you on start up - but the light that looks like an engine is a new light.
Will swapping this out make a difference? Will it need a reset? Can I do this without a computer?
ihadlegs said:
kingkongsfinger said:
samj2014 said:
I had one of these for my first car, couldn't complain.
The fault you're talking about could be the temp sensor and/or the thermostat and housing. I replaced them all on mine (dead cheap, dead easy), stopped the not warming up problem, and cured the light on the dash.
My son has one with the same engine- "cheap" insurance as hes 18, only cost him £2K fully comp!!!!!!!!!.The fault you're talking about could be the temp sensor and/or the thermostat and housing. I replaced them all on mine (dead cheap, dead easy), stopped the not warming up problem, and cured the light on the dash.
Had the same fault last week as you- engine light/temp light. Changed the temp sender unit which sits on top of the engine on the R/h side under the plastic cover, cost less than a tenner on ebay and took 5 mins to fix. Resolved the issue.
Inside the car smells of both petrol and oil - you know, normal shed smells, does this coolant sensor control engine management?
On the dash - the temp guage light has been lit up forever - and the car beeps at you on start up - but the light that looks like an engine is a new light.
Will swapping this out make a difference? Will it need a reset? Can I do this without a computer?
I fitted a top thermo sensor just before it went to the garage to get plugged into the computer. This didn't stop the thermometer warning light or the engine warning light - so off to the garage.
The report was not good - blown head gasket amongst other problems... was told to drive it until it blew up, for obvious reasons it's beyond being fettled with. Not entirely the news I wanted to hear but was expected - the family member has a long history of off-handing cars hours before they are about to blow... I have driven about cautiously and not daring to go too far, but then 2 people told me to try steal seal stuff - I've used radiator weld chemicals before and they work to a point, but a head gasket? Well - £35 quid gamble and it has worked!
Warning lights have gone, all the dash says now in the LCD panel is INSP service! It drives differently and doesnt stink of petrol. So hopefully have bought myself another 1000 miles I'd guess. I'm surprised the garage we go to didn't recommend it, as they are genuinely chaps we go to the pub with and consider friends, rather than friendly... watch this space.
I've heard of it blocking up the radiator and the heating thingy, and it has stopped the hot air blower blowing hot as it did before, but without sounding like an advert I would recommend it for cars that you want to gamble with!
The report was not good - blown head gasket amongst other problems... was told to drive it until it blew up, for obvious reasons it's beyond being fettled with. Not entirely the news I wanted to hear but was expected - the family member has a long history of off-handing cars hours before they are about to blow... I have driven about cautiously and not daring to go too far, but then 2 people told me to try steal seal stuff - I've used radiator weld chemicals before and they work to a point, but a head gasket? Well - £35 quid gamble and it has worked!
Warning lights have gone, all the dash says now in the LCD panel is INSP service! It drives differently and doesnt stink of petrol. So hopefully have bought myself another 1000 miles I'd guess. I'm surprised the garage we go to didn't recommend it, as they are genuinely chaps we go to the pub with and consider friends, rather than friendly... watch this space.
I've heard of it blocking up the radiator and the heating thingy, and it has stopped the hot air blower blowing hot as it did before, but without sounding like an advert I would recommend it for cars that you want to gamble with!
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