seatkid

:16: Wusses...mine sometimes gets stuck in full frontal position :16: but two feet firmly on the floor and good shove frees it If all else fails use a lump hammer.... :o

Open the bonnet, locate the pollen filter (its on the passenger side just under the window deep back in the scuttle tray) In front at the top you will see dangling a small cylindrical can (about the size of fluorescent starter)attached to 2 wires. Thats the thermal switch used to control when the aux heater comes on.(some operate at +5C, some at +10deg C) Pull the plug off and.....no more aux heater. It takes a fair bit longer to heat up without the aux heater if the ambient temp is below freezing and if the ambient is really low (< -5 deg), the engine may not even get to normal temp without the heater. But it wont harm the engine to live without it. Oh.....thats

Check your rear brakes are not binding - a common problem is the handbrake mechanism on the caliper doesn't release fully - often affects o/s rear. Check when you pull up - carefully!! touch the rear discs (watch you don't burn your fingers) - If they are stinking hot, you probably have a problem. Don't expect to get much more than 40 mpg at this time of the year unless you drive on perfectly clear flat roads with CC set at 50mph and no crosswind!

Repost this in the Mk3 section - no-one in this area knows anything about mk3

Doubtful, Mk II are VW design, MkIII is a Ford design.

The one I bought from a dealer (original part) for a Mk1 was rubbish - wont be persuaded to touch the windscreen at the top. One of those new fangled flexi design types(dont have a metal frame) would probably be better.

NAH...I personally wouldn't bother with your mileage / usage. Its not a PD engine...If you're worried about it then do a visual inspection (although I think you need to remove an engine to remove the cam belt cover. I think you'll find its fine (unless you're wife does drag racing). Also cost of replacement is half the value of the car. When I changed mine at ~8 years/75,000 miles the belt/tensioner looked in excellent condition.

Take it back and demand they fix it under warranty.

Probably wont last long - its out of balance thats why it whistles.

In my experience with the 1.9tdi engine the bottom hose rarely gets hot, in fact, at this time of the year (November), the top hose only barely gets hand hot (cold radiator), unless its been working really hard and long. Basically the Tdi's are so efficient, that the cooling provided by the internal heaters (and piping to - remember the long runs under the car to the rear heater) is sufficient.

Yes they do have a servo - but as you point out they use an engine driven vacuum pump instead of the petrol inlet manifold to generate the vacuum (which is also used for the turbo control system and some a/c heater control functions on non-cc models). Although pipes are known to crack/perish and leak, if you can hear the hissing in the car its more likely to be the servo. IF YOU HAVE A MODEL WITH BASIC A/C (I.E. NOT CLIMATE CONTROL) CHECK THE CONTROL PANEL. SOMETIMES A VACUUM PIPE BECOMES DETACHED FROM THE CONTROL AND HISSES. From the number of previous posts on the subject, I fear this is becoming a common fault on older cars.

The fans come on (at half speed) when you switch on a/c or c/c. This happens irregardless of whether or not your a/c compressor is actually working or not. Object is to cool the condensor which is located next to a potentially hot water radiator.

54 seems a bit young for glowplug problems. Dont know if things have changed from a MK1, but a flashing glowplug light is used as a general warning of some problem detected by the ECU - often it is signalling a faulty brake light switch (dual device used for other things as well as brake lights) Are you sure you just dont have a tired battery? On your car I believe you have to remove the rocker cover to access the glow plugs.

1 what type of oil is best for 1.9tdi and how many (lt) dos the engine take. You must use an oil that meets VW spec 505.01 (or expensive longlife 507.00). 505.00 oil is NOT suitable. These are high shear tolerant oils that are designed specially for PD engines. If you use an oil that does not meet one of these specs then you risk damage to the camshaft that drives the PD injectors. Quantum Platinum oil is a reasonably priced (around

The rubber strip that seals against the bonnet just sits on the plastic bulkhead extension tray. You can pull it off, push it on easily if you want, but you need to remove the extension tray to have a chance at getting at the filter. A lot of people have problems sliding the filter/frame past the wiper motor. Use a torch and have a look around the wiper motor - I find the wiper wiring loom can block the path and the central thin plastic brace on the pollen frame can catch on the motor. A little pushing wires out of the way with fingers and a slight bending/persuasion of that frame brace is all thats required to get it past. When putting the frame/filter back, its important to note that there are two lugs on the filter frame upper and lower edges near the right. These slide into channels in the body housing located near the right of housing. Again use a torch to see what I mean.

Most likely sheared bolt on engine roll restrictor. Common fault. Roll restrictor mounted underneath runs back between gearbox and bodywork near the engine bulkhead.

The wipers are controlled by an electronic pcb housed on the wiper motor. It tends to suffer from corrosion due to water ingress and poor conformal coating (lacquer) of the PCB. Several forum members have disassembled the unit and repaired the damage. The cost of a replacement PCB (if they are still available) runs into three or four hundred pounds (I kid you not!)

Just be aware on diesels head gasket failures / cracks in cylinder head can often be traced to the use of tuning boxes and remapped engines. Examine the head carefully, particularly around the exhaust valves for signs of cracking otherwise you may still be chasing cooling problems after the rebuild.

The cruise control is on the indicator stalk - a button on the end and a switch on the stalk itself. On diesels the cruise control is electronic via the ECU. No vacuum or relay involved. CC only works in 3rd gear and above. Common reasons for it not working are a faulty brake switch (this is a dual device so brake lights working doesn't necessarily mean its working fully) or faulty clutch switch - pressing either pedal will disengage the CC automatically. Not all models have a CC light. CC cannot be activated until you are moving above a minimum speed in 3rd gear or above. The brake switch must have been activated (i.e. brakes applied) at least once after the car is started before CC is allowed.

Presumably the car starts OK and the only problem you have is the remote locking doesnt work. Try changing the two batteries in the FOB taking extreme care not to lose the PATS chip (a small rectangular plastic/ferrite block)which often drops out when taking the key apart. Without that you wont be able to start the car! Then try using the remote reprogramming procedure It doesnt always work - often an old key just stops working and cant be revived....

At that age the first thing you should do is service it well, use a good quality synthetic 5-30W PD oil (505.01/507.00) which will give you about 3-4% extra economy over the standard 5/40W oil. Make sure air and fuel filters are clean/changed within last 20,000 miles. Make sure your tyres are pumped up toward the maximum end as stated on the filler flap. That will give you another 2-3%. Then use any of the following to clean your injectors 1. Run on a premium fuel such as BP Ultimate or Shell V-power - it will unfortunately take about 4 tankfuls before the injectors are cleaned up nicely (expensive) 2. Alternatively use something like DIESEL POWER ECOMAX I can testify this really does work - but again it will take at least 4 or 5 tankfuls to see the benefits (you can increase the dosage to speed it up a bit) but its a fair bit cheaper than 1. 3. You can use FORTE or a whole host of other cleaners (REDEX etc) - I don't know how effective these are and personally I would be wary of using these. Injector cleanliness is important for optimum spray pattern and optimum economy/performance. You could remap "for economy" but I personally think its a fallacy that economy can be improved on a PD - the remap would probably just fool you by giving optimistic fuel computer readings that are just false. ALL REMAPS/TUNING BOXES carry a 50/50 chance of medium/long term damage to cylinder head, particularly on a shalaxy where the engine is loaded more than a normal passenger car. Plenty of posts on this forum about unresolvable heating problems (due to micro cracking of the head). Also you NEED TO GET APPROVAL OF YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY for a remap. Fewer and fewer companies will allow modifications. The best you can reasonably expect from your car is mid 40's for motorway (70mph) speeds. The other way to improve economy is to SLOW DOWN.

See if it will start if towed. In that case its a starter motor circuit problem (which could be anything from starter motor itself/wiring to/relay/fuse/switch)

FAQ No.9