Mk1 Skoda Fabia VRS, a rare car indeed!

[swampy442]

I’ve hankered after a VRS for a while, so started putting some serious effort in over the last few weeks.
And it took weeks before this little gem poked its head out of the sea of straight piped, remapped and popcorn limiters that is the VRS market.
So I dispatched myself, my brother and the 850 T5R to deepest Surrey to collect with much haste, and trepidation as it seemed too good to be true

And what did I find, a genuine, decent mileage, 2 owner, bone stock even down to the stereo, unmolested (other than the painted wheels), full history car. And check that interior out. It was exactly as described so my fears were u founded, the chap was a delight to deal with and we both enjoyed a hassle free sale.
I did really want a blue SE but they’re hard to find now for anything approaching decent money.

Plans? None really, probably slow time overhaul the undercarriage, machine polish it and enjoy its gutsy performance

[swampy442]

I can confirm it did not.

[swampy442]

Thanks for all the kind comments/cliches Having driven it round some local back roads it does indeed pull like a train...

[swampy442]

Top tip - If you have a Fabia/Octavia maybe even a Golf, always clean the ‘crap hole’ out, stopping your front wings from rusting from the inside out . That way you will spend less time in the body shop getting new wings or rust repairs carried out, and more time pulling like a train.
The dustpan contains the dirt from only 1 side!

Edited by swampy442 on Saturday 14th May 17:04

[swampy442]

Had a bit of a hiccup yesterday, sudden loss of power steering. Well intermittently working.
Did the old Google mechanic thing, position sensor, common fault but no lights on the dash. Hmmm
But it felt like low fluid, but to check the level you have to strip out the battery and air box as the motor and res (electric system) are in front of the front wheel. So before I go buying parts, do the basics, turns it it was just low fluid, phew!

[swampy442]

It’s a VW engine, there’s oil leaks everywhere 🤣 I haven’t looked to be honest, but I will down the line

[swampy442]

I’ve no desire currently for brake upgrades, the brakes are fine for what I use it for, going to work and back, and the odd back road thrash. Not planning a Blyton Park session any time soon lol

[swampy442]

All is not well in VRS world I appear to have a steering rack leak.
So looks like it’s derailed my train pulling antics for a while.
Hope I can get a seal kit for it rather than replacing the rack

[swampy442]

Turns out it can’t be repaired, well not from the end anyway, why do people design things so they can’t be easily serviced? Could have changed an oil seal in an hour.
Oh well, new rack it is then

Also whilst messing about topping the steering oil up today I noticed this - That’s the brake servo vacuum hose

[swampy442]

I had an Ibiza PD track car a few years back fettled by Darkside developments, next part of 300hp and twice as much torque, that was fun

[swampy442]

Court_S said:

swampy442 said:

Turns out it can’t be repaired, well not from the end anyway, why do people design things so they can’t be easily serviced? Could have changed an oil seal in an hour.
Oh well, new rack it is then

Also whilst messing about topping the steering oil up today I noticed this - That’s the brake servo vacuum hose

That's just daft. The cynic in me thinks that its a good way to keep repair bills healthy / easy (ie complete parts rather than just the failed bit).

A friend of mine has an F21 120d and apparently they dint have a fill / drain plug on the diff!

That’s a common thing, sealed for life gearboxes and that, like the Audi S8 I had, they all failed around 70k because surprise surprise, you need to change the oil!

[swampy442]

Looks like it’s internal, strange one. It’s a bit leaky. Funny thing is it only takes less than half a litre to fill the reservoir, that looks like a lot more than 400ml!



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|https://thumbsnap.com/AxPf5jwU[/url]

[swampy442]

Nice little run out to the beach yesterday, and to collect my new rack, 200 mile round trip to Bridlington, chips and a near 58mpg average. Great engines these PDs

[swampy442]

Onto the rack change, depending on experience I’d put it a good old Haynes 3 spanner job. You have to drop the front subframe to get it out but it’s straight forward enough.
I went for a used rack largely because the lead time of getting a new one. If this one goes south I know I can do the job in a day, no biggie. And it was only 40 quid.
There’s a couple of different part numbers for these racks, this one came from a Mk2 Fabia which is good to know.
Onto the pics

Old. It was totally shot, pissing out of both ends. It’s not a common failure because there’s hardly any info online about them.



New



So much oil under the car, as far back as the exhaust



Filled, functioned, leak checked and good to go. It’s electro hydraulic so the pump doesn’t load up until the car is on the ground. So far so good



Hopefully today I’ll do a leak check then be pulling like a train again by lunch.
But first off I need to clean this undertray without causing an ecological disaster….

[swampy442]

I’ve never been before, luckily I went on the only day in the heatwave when it rained It was nice.

It’s a surprisingly quick car, you can get to 3 figures with easy and it doesn’t stop pulling. Tempted to get a remap

[swampy442]

Tommie38 said:

Popcorn limiter and straight pipe?

Maybe. As in absolutely not!

[swampy442]

nismo48 said:

Its worth doing every so often for sure

[swampy442]

I’d call that a success, time to do more pulling like a train

[swampy442]

Celebratory wash and polish, then back into daily duties

[swampy442]

And a little finishing touch