For Sale Its a vegetarian Skoda, honest. NOW FOR SALE

[dome]

In some kind of weird karma type thing the last car I bought(XJ40) was because of falling off a bike and the next one I am able to get because I have a bike...

 

I've just cycled from my work to Haymarket station and am bound for Glasgow Queen street where my two wheeled chariot will carry me to the depth of the southside. Destiny awaits in the form of 320tourings brothers old Octavia. Powered by satans fuel and with more miles on it than my y fronts with a bit of fettling it'll hopefully do me over the winter for commuting/house renovation duties.

 

I shall update the thread in due course. I had planned to cycle all the way there(which would still only be my second longest cycle related shite collection...) but don't have the time till the weekend and I want to get it home and crack on with the work it needs...

[320touring]

It's raining in Glasgow. .

 

Hope the trip goes ok!

[scooters]

Brilliant Brian ..good luck

[dome]

Have arrived at my mates house and been handed the keys. Just got changed, about to brave the M8 back to the land of salt and sauce.

[dome]

Back home safe and having just consumed some pizza feeling a lot better.

 

She was a bit reluctant to start but luckily was on a hill so it jumped-battery must be getting low so will take it off and condition it. Once it had ran for a while it restarted thankfully. It drives fine apart from a dodgy spring which I noticed checking it over and seemed to boost ok when I test drove it and around town, however it feels a bit gutless on the motorway, struggling to get above 80. Will try freeing off the VNT and check all the boost/vacuum pipes.

 

Needs a wiper mechanism, a spring and will need pads/discs at some point-will give it a service and try and get it running right before sticking some veg in it. 
 

Here it is with my other, more expensive means of transport

 

 

And no petrol station shot, here it is outside my mates folks house as i pick up a new top mount and a set of spring compressors. Also went to another mates house to get a piston wind pack tool. Luckily my mates have had plenty of VAG stuff over the years so not much will phase me on this one.

 

 

Brian

 

 

[dollywobbler]

OMG SINGUL WIPAH KONVERSHUN!

[dome]

Because Racecar

[dome]

Well despite starting fine when I went to see it and for my mate while in his custody it's been awkward since-turned over far too many times this morning and flattened the battery. Battery is now on to charge/condition. A quick google reveals temp sender as a possible culprit aswell as usual glow plugs etc-this didn't work propery last night so that is first port of call. New sender fitted, service gubbins ordered from Euro Car Parts and a visit planned to the scrappy for tomorrow.

[Lacquer Peel]

If you need any bits, I am breaking a 1999 Octavia estate.

[Timewaster]

I really rated the Octavia estate I had. 126k miles and drove like new, only needed an alternator in 3 years as a daily driver.

[forddeliveryboy]

Has it started yet? Check the fool supply, the thermovalves on the filter top can let air in.

[dome]

Stuck it all back together last night and it started first time and ran fine.

Went out this morning and it just cranks over but won't fire. I suspect it's electrical as there is no smoke so I'm guessing no fuel getting to the engine. I'm gonna work through a few things to get to the bottom of it. Relays, anti shudder valve. I don't think its immobiliser as the light on the dash doen't flash-as far as I can tell it would start and then cut out if it was the relay. Waiting to get a shot of VAGCOM off my mate too to help diagnose things.

[Noel Tidybeard]

air leak allowing fool to drain back to tank?

[dome]

It's alive! It was the fuel pump relay after all. £3 from the scrappy for two(just to be on the safe side...) and it fired up straight away. Treated it to a wash and a visit to the shiters supermarket of choice

 

 

Then on to the local Chinese Supermarket for 20 litres of veg at £16, chucked that in and topped it up with diesel so we'll see how that runs.

[forddeliveryboy]

Oh, good cheap result. This is why I resent modern diesels - they need a long line of electrical and electronic bits all working and communicating together properly before they work, whereas old ones just need fuel in the lines squashed into the injectors, compression in the cylinders and some way of turning the engine over. Having said that, the older TDis are bloody reliable, tough systems and are very well covered online.

[dome]

This one is high tech for me with electronics controlling the fuel pump!-my w124 300d was more my cup of tea. Still, as you say the knowledge base for these is huge and it makes a nice change to be able to get a hold of bits cheaply and easily. Got a few more jobs to do to it but I'm going to have a lazy afternoon off.

[forddeliveryboy]

I've always been sceptical about the new-breed VNTs but the green Octavia has one and it's brilliant, now it's not sticking. The 80 with the same engine but wastegaste turbo has a very narrow torque band by comparison and feels very old-hat, slower than a non-turbo under 1800 and barely quicker above 3000rpm.

 

My approach to the ECU repeatedly placing the car in limp mode was to drive the car as if in Italy for a fortnight - on veg - which all but cured it. Easier than squirting Mr Muscle into it.

[320touring]

It's alive! It was the fuel pump relay after all. £3 from the scrappy for two(just to be on the safe side...) and it fired up straight away. Treated it to a wash and a visit to the shiters supermarket of choice

 

skoda.jpg

 

Then on to the local Chinese Supermarket for 20 litres of veg at £16, chucked that in and topped it up with diesel so we'll see how that runs.

Glad to see you got it sorted! I know my Bro fitted a new fuel filter a couple of months back, and it was not drawing air into the lines.

 

Hope the veg works out!

[Spiny Norman]

Good to hear it was a cheapy fix. I see it's now wearing the correct number of window wipers since the last time I saw it.
 

 

[320touring]

Good to hear it was a cheapy fix. I see it's now wearing the correct number of window wipers since the last time I saw it.

 

 

OLLWIPERZARSHIT!

[dome]

I've always been sceptical about the new-breed VNTs but the green Octavia has one and it's brilliant, now it's not sticking. The 80 with the same engine but wastegaste turbo has a very narrow torque band by comparison and feels very old-hat, slower than a non-turbo under 1800 and barely quicker above 3000rpm.

 

My approach to the ECU repeatedly placing the car in limp mode was to drive the car as if in Italy for a fortnight - on veg - which all but cured it. Easier than squirting Mr Muscle into it.

 

Got an EGR blanking plate coming-£3 off ebay. Will try and free off the VNT when I'm in there as it is sticky. One of the EGR bolts is rounded though so will be interesting.

 

 

Glad to see you got it sorted! I know my Bro fitted a new fuel filter a couple of months back, and it was not drawing air into the lines.

 

Hope the veg works out!

 

Aye the fact that it was intermittent made me think it'd be something electrical-I could see it wasn't drawing fuel through the clear pipe and there was no smoke so that gave me something to work on. 

 

Good to hear it was a cheapy fix. I see it's now wearing the correct number of window wipers since the last time I saw it.

 

 

Yep Skoda is gettting there but it's no Jag

[garethj]

Is it worth blanking off the EGR valve?

 

My 110 Octavia is much better after regular thrashing, I reckon Italian car engines must almost last for ever

[dome]

Seems to be. With an older high mileage engine I reckon its a good call, especially for £3. The inlet manifold is pretty manky too so cleaning that out at the same time should help get it back to how it should be.

[dome]

Drove from Edinburgh to Ayrshire today and got the following results from the trip computer. Not driving like a girl but going at the speed limit where possible.

 

 

I realise this is probably normal for those of you running Satan's fuel but my cars tend to be powered by petrol and have more cylinders so this is a big deal to me. Roughly 30% veg oil to so even better....

[garethj]

The trip computer on mine is hilariously inaccurate. I thought there was something wrong with the car when I bought it; 45mpg!

 

In reality it was doing nearer 60 and it stays around that now

[dome]

I did think it was a bit optimistic, I'll see how it works out when I fill it up again.

[320touring]

Same car m73/m8/back roads to work

 

8 am 33 miles

 

Still a way to go;)

[dome]

Well the results are in from the first fill up-20 litres of veg at £16 filled it up after 247 miles-working out at 56mpg. Not quite the 70 odd the MFA thinks but it'll do me. To celebrate I'm treating it to some new(used) front struts-one spring and both shocks are dodgy.

[forddeliveryboy]

The 110hp engines seem to give better fuel mileage, at least they do for me - I sometimes drive a friend's 110 estate and always get 4 or 5 more on the computer than the 90hp saloon. The gearing's a bit longer and you hardly need to press the pedal to make it go fairly well. I've done 50ish average in the 90, on waste veg. It seems to love (better performance and economy) a greater proportion of petrol than any other engine I've run, perhaps the tiny injector holes.

[dome]

Found some oil in the cupboard today whilst packing so treated it to an oil change-GOOD

 

Tried changing the rear pads-One slider seized completely and sheared off and the calliper carrier bolts are stuck/rounded-BAD