Mk.1 Skoda Octavia VRS Estate (sensible student car)
Discussion
So after I had done 6 years and 70,000 miles (to a grand total of 175,000) in our trusty albeit clonky Peugeot 306 diesel, it was time for a change.
Fun was sought, but on a student budget it wasn't looking great. I've never been a fan of VAG cars to be frank; but when this Octavia came up locally I honestly fell in love. One quick test drive later and it was ours.
(nicked from the advert) Came with PH stickers front and rear (definitely not been ragged then, right guys?). The only modification seems to be the grille surround painted black.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/BhlGdw05.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/zsuXuFbH" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/zsuXuFbH.jpg)
Next to the Peugeot. I would have hunted out a GTI-6 but there just aren't enough good ones about any more. It will be missed.
Anyway, the Octavia has 128,000 on the clock and I'm pretty happy. It's a bit ratty exterior-wise, including peel on the boot spoiler. Interior is great and that mansion of a boot looks like it has never been used (complete with luggage net!).
Mechanically it seems very solid so far, lots of history and the turbo pulls as you would expect and it's tough to be sensible sometimes. Not done a long run yet so the jury is out on MPG
Jobs wise the list is short - one jammed back door (common central locking issue), and one dropped back window (common issue). I managed to get the door card off the deadlocked door with no broken clips, pumped the motor with oil and it's opening once more (we shall see for how long).
The dropped window is ongoing. With the door card off I discovered the end of a screwdriver which was keeping the window up (nice). The regulator clip was in pieces and the winding cable...
Bits in the post.
On the list is also an investigation of the rear shocks as one tyre is wearing on the edge. Maybe a belt change to be safe, although the current one has 30k on it while google suggests the interval is anywhere from 40k-120k
. And some new badges!
I found one of the previous owners on here but if anyone else has owned this car say hello
Fun was sought, but on a student budget it wasn't looking great. I've never been a fan of VAG cars to be frank; but when this Octavia came up locally I honestly fell in love. One quick test drive later and it was ours.
(nicked from the advert) Came with PH stickers front and rear (definitely not been ragged then, right guys?). The only modification seems to be the grille surround painted black.
Next to the Peugeot. I would have hunted out a GTI-6 but there just aren't enough good ones about any more. It will be missed.
Anyway, the Octavia has 128,000 on the clock and I'm pretty happy. It's a bit ratty exterior-wise, including peel on the boot spoiler. Interior is great and that mansion of a boot looks like it has never been used (complete with luggage net!).
Mechanically it seems very solid so far, lots of history and the turbo pulls as you would expect and it's tough to be sensible sometimes. Not done a long run yet so the jury is out on MPG
Jobs wise the list is short - one jammed back door (common central locking issue), and one dropped back window (common issue). I managed to get the door card off the deadlocked door with no broken clips, pumped the motor with oil and it's opening once more (we shall see for how long).
The dropped window is ongoing. With the door card off I discovered the end of a screwdriver which was keeping the window up (nice). The regulator clip was in pieces and the winding cable...
Bits in the post.
On the list is also an investigation of the rear shocks as one tyre is wearing on the edge. Maybe a belt change to be safe, although the current one has 30k on it while google suggests the interval is anywhere from 40k-120k
. And some new badges!I found one of the previous owners on here but if anyone else has owned this car say hello
Good choice, I really like the Mk1, having owned one myself with 37k on the clock back in 2008, in red (hatch).
They respond very well to a remap. On a good run I would get around 35mpg from it. Stereo was rubbish but that is par the course. Interior having cream / white seat centres used to get grubby quite easily but no real major complaints. The rear brakes can get a bit sticky at times.
WRT the timing belt, I'd change it before 40k miles.
Enjoy.
They respond very well to a remap. On a good run I would get around 35mpg from it. Stereo was rubbish but that is par the course. Interior having cream / white seat centres used to get grubby quite easily but no real major complaints. The rear brakes can get a bit sticky at times.
WRT the timing belt, I'd change it before 40k miles.
Enjoy.
TheAngryDog said:
Richard-390a0 said:
Just bought one of these myself, although 201k miles on mine. Don't forget to change the oil pump pick up pipe if it's not already been done.
Ooooh yes. It's a cheap part so silly not to.Not the sort of thing you casually do while changing the oil.
The oil capacity for these engines is not enough so they work the oil hard and if it is not changed often enough it sludges up. This then blocks the pickup and you get the low oil pressure warning.
Joey Deacon said:
It is but you have to drop the sump to change it. Not sure how easy it is on these but on my A4 I had to support the engine and drop the sub frame.
Not the sort of thing you casually do while changing the oil.
The oil capacity for these engines is not enough so they work the oil hard and if it is not changed often enough it sludges up. This then blocks the pickup and you get the low oil pressure warning.
Piece of piddle an hour work tops (no subframe / engine support to worry about) the worst part is two sump retaining bolts partially hidden by the bell housing so you need a wobble bit to get to them easily.Not the sort of thing you casually do while changing the oil.
The oil capacity for these engines is not enough so they work the oil hard and if it is not changed often enough it sludges up. This then blocks the pickup and you get the low oil pressure warning.
Looks nice that, I do like the MK1 VRS. My Golf is due a service and I am contemplating changing the pickup pipe. Check out BMAC VAGS on YouTube, he has a video of replacing the pipe and it does look pretty straight forward. Mine has a very good service history or regular oil changes, but I still think I will do it for piece of mind.
I've done just over 1,000 miles now so I thought I'd update.
Important bits first: New badges front and rear (used OEM)
(see above for the old one, it had faded to silver)
In the process I discovered the grill surround was wrapped black not painted, so I removed that.
I also threw on some ebay special wheel nut covers:
The dropped window was fixed, and the deadlocked back door was brought back to life although both rear doors are still prone to not working.
I then had the cambelt and waterpump done by a VAG specialist, Jabbasport, who were great and I'd reccomend fully to anyone in the Lincs/Cambs area. New rear discs/pads were put on on, as the current ones, while having plenty of thickness left were badly glazed/rusted and made noises. This made a big improvement.
My great uncle Fred, a former Rolls Royce apprentice and all-round knowledgeable bodger once told me "nothing else matters if you have a good engine". He was pointing at a Merlin on a shelf at the time, but the point stands. The 1.8T, while pulling well, was hesitating at around 2000rpm. After research my first avenue was to clean the throttle body.
It probably hadn't been done before. I cleaned it up, replaced the gasket and went out fully expecting to head down the next avenue. But no, cleaning a hair-thin layer of carbon gave a new life and provided me with a new level of awe for the tolerances of an engine. The hesitation was gone, and the car was also much better at pulling away and reversing (I was stalling a lot, which I thought was just me being used to a diesel).
My next job was to replace the spark plugs as I had no record of the last change. Bearing in mind my last experience of a petrol engine was an 80's Ford, I was intrigued to find the ends of the coil packs were covered in oil.
Curious. A quick check online told me that no, coil packs and modern spark plugs do not swim in oil. you need to change your rocker gasket. So I did that, finding it broken in several places. In the process I found a cracked oil breather hose; this has been bodged with tape as I'm going on holiday tomorrow.
Job list is as follows:
investigate mysterious occasionally working central locking
investigate mysterious squeaking (front left)
investigate mysterious occasional brake judder (abs probably)
Important bits first: New badges front and rear (used OEM)
(see above for the old one, it had faded to silver)
In the process I discovered the grill surround was wrapped black not painted, so I removed that.
I also threw on some ebay special wheel nut covers:
The dropped window was fixed, and the deadlocked back door was brought back to life although both rear doors are still prone to not working.
I then had the cambelt and waterpump done by a VAG specialist, Jabbasport, who were great and I'd reccomend fully to anyone in the Lincs/Cambs area. New rear discs/pads were put on on, as the current ones, while having plenty of thickness left were badly glazed/rusted and made noises. This made a big improvement.
My great uncle Fred, a former Rolls Royce apprentice and all-round knowledgeable bodger once told me "nothing else matters if you have a good engine". He was pointing at a Merlin on a shelf at the time, but the point stands. The 1.8T, while pulling well, was hesitating at around 2000rpm. After research my first avenue was to clean the throttle body.
It probably hadn't been done before. I cleaned it up, replaced the gasket and went out fully expecting to head down the next avenue. But no, cleaning a hair-thin layer of carbon gave a new life and provided me with a new level of awe for the tolerances of an engine. The hesitation was gone, and the car was also much better at pulling away and reversing (I was stalling a lot, which I thought was just me being used to a diesel).
My next job was to replace the spark plugs as I had no record of the last change. Bearing in mind my last experience of a petrol engine was an 80's Ford, I was intrigued to find the ends of the coil packs were covered in oil.
Curious. A quick check online told me that no, coil packs and modern spark plugs do not swim in oil. you need to change your rocker gasket. So I did that, finding it broken in several places. In the process I found a cracked oil breather hose; this has been bodged with tape as I'm going on holiday tomorrow.
Job list is as follows:
investigate mysterious occasionally working central locking
investigate mysterious squeaking (front left)
investigate mysterious occasional brake judder (abs probably)
Another 700 miles down after heading up to the Lakes and back via the Scottish borders.
The trip started well with the central locking finally doing what it has been threatening to do; it locked us out as we were about to leave. To be precise, it was a dodgy connection in the key which had been intermittently playing up.
So, some notes to a friendly locksmith and we were away, with the offending key (the only one we have) now neutered by taking the battery out. I'm not ready to suck up the cost of a new one yet.
Otherwise the car was fab despite the split breather hose.
Hardknott/Wrynose pass:
I'm unconvinced by two things however. One, that the oil pickup is in good condition as the car does sometimes sound a bit clickier than I would like; and two, that the coolant temperature sensor is properly functioning, as, despite the weather we have had and the tough drives it has done the temperature gauge is always glued to 90. Both common issues probably worth investigating.
The trip started well with the central locking finally doing what it has been threatening to do; it locked us out as we were about to leave. To be precise, it was a dodgy connection in the key which had been intermittently playing up.
So, some notes to a friendly locksmith and we were away, with the offending key (the only one we have) now neutered by taking the battery out. I'm not ready to suck up the cost of a new one yet.
Otherwise the car was fab despite the split breather hose.
Hardknott/Wrynose pass:
I'm unconvinced by two things however. One, that the oil pickup is in good condition as the car does sometimes sound a bit clickier than I would like; and two, that the coolant temperature sensor is properly functioning, as, despite the weather we have had and the tough drives it has done the temperature gauge is always glued to 90. Both common issues probably worth investigating.
Regarding the on dash coolant temperature display I have read that this is buffered, and won't reflect the true coolant temperature-this is fed to the ecu by a separate sensor.
Chap on YouTube by the name Thomas exovcds has plenty of helpful vag related videos and I'm certain he's covered the coolant sensor and the oil pickup.
Chap on YouTube by the name Thomas exovcds has plenty of helpful vag related videos and I'm certain he's covered the coolant sensor and the oil pickup.
therusterman said:
Regarding the on dash coolant temperature display I have read that this is buffered, and won't reflect the true coolant temperature-this is fed to the ecu by a separate sensor.
Chap on YouTube by the name Thomas exovcds has plenty of helpful vag related videos and I'm certain he's covered the coolant sensor and the oil pickup.
Thanks, I have also read that. I think I had concluded it was replaced not long ago but I'll check the paperwork. Thanks for the name, it will come in handy!Chap on YouTube by the name Thomas exovcds has plenty of helpful vag related videos and I'm certain he's covered the coolant sensor and the oil pickup.
Nunga said:
I’m inspired; I want one of these now.
I think the engine is a hoot, and the advantage of VW having shoved it into every shape onto four wheels means the internet knows all the breaky bits and how to fix them. Chucked into a practical body it makes a good car. Unfortunately (and sorry if you're a VAG fan) but the general VAG hype means a lot have had questionable things done to them; which is why this appealed as it has been untouched.Speaking of breaky bits, here's one split oil breathing wiggler and a fresh one. I want to shoot whoever came up with those one-use hose clips.
I also lost a tyre to a puncture, luckily it was the worst of the four. It (rear left) had some shoulder wear which I think is a dying spring.
Job list:
investigate mysterious occasional brake judder (abs probably)
rear left shoulder wear (rusty springs?)
investigate coolant temp sensor
investigate oil pickup
amusingduck said:
For some reason, they didn't deem it necessary to fit return springs on the rear handbrake thingy, so you might experience "mooing" occasionally when reversing.
I think there's a a retrofit available from a different VAG model, but I've never been bothered enough to get it fitted.
Yes, I have wondered what that noise meant. I was consigning it to "I'll find out when it breaks" so thanks I think there's a a retrofit available from a different VAG model, but I've never been bothered enough to get it fitted.
The dash temperature gauge does deliberately lie about its reading. If the dash reads the temperature from the sensor as anything vaguely normal (say 80 to 100, but that’s a guess and it might be a bigger range) then the needle reads exactly 90.
Taking live readings from the instrument cluster using VCDS you can see the true reading changing whilst the gauge doesn’t move...
If it’s the same as my old diesel was, it’s 2 separate sensors in one 4 pin part. One feeds the ECU and the other feeds the dash. In my case the ECU had a fault code saying there was an intermittent fault with the sensor, but the dash half was still working perfectly.
Taking live readings from the instrument cluster using VCDS you can see the true reading changing whilst the gauge doesn’t move...
If it’s the same as my old diesel was, it’s 2 separate sensors in one 4 pin part. One feeds the ECU and the other feeds the dash. In my case the ECU had a fault code saying there was an intermittent fault with the sensor, but the dash half was still working perfectly.
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