[fiestarry]

Hi Aayush,
On the subject of brake rotor discs, how did you decide on the size of the replacement part?
From what I see online, rotors for Fabia 5J are available in at least four diff diameters and thicknesses.
Also, the brake pads sizes are in in a huge variety depending upon rotor size as well as calipers size and type. My car is the 5J with BNM 1.4 TDI engine. It has the same FS III calipers as your car.
How do I specify the right size to Shetty Motors ?
Or am I being too careful ?

[oldshivabull]

Originally Posted by aayushnair

Hi there,
Sorry about the starting trouble with your car.
I think the previous suggestion was a good one. You must check the fuel filter / get it changed. It's not a very expensive unit, costs about 1k and maybe that will resolve it. The reason why this was suggested was probably because the car starts after the ignition is on for sometime and during this time the engine gets the fuel it needs to start. Usually the pump would do the job when cranking it at the first go, but maybe cuz of a clogged filter its taking time.
Now the second thought in my head was the battery, but since you didn't need a push and car cranks after a while that can be ruled out. So my guess too would be the fuel filter or lines.
It's not very difficult to change the filter yourself, there are many videos on you tube you can check to get some sort of visual on how to do it. If you're not good with it you can always get it done at the local garage or Skoda. Don't think they charge too much to change it, but they may have a different diagnosis of the problem if your car isn't inside the warranty period!
Anyway, the window switches are most probably the culprit in the second problem. My passenger side window too plays up on and off. Haven't got the part, but I've seen a few OEM quality ones on aliexpress. Wasn't able to source them from the Skoda parts dealer at opera house.

Do let us know how things worked out after changing the filter. Remember that once a new filter is in there, it takes more than normal time initially to start the car (same reason as why its probably not working now) new filters take just a little time to get adjusted. So don't panic. Let it run, go for a shirt drive, switch off the car and check for another start after some more time.

Go bless, and don't worry!

Cheers,
Aayush

Thank you very much for taking the trouble to go through the report and give sound advice.

I got the fuel filter cleaned up two days, and haven't had a problem since. But the car vibrates a bit while starting--cabin shake for a few seconds. Any ideas?

For the windows and the odd problem of the horn failing to sound at times, the mechanic wants to look at the wiring. So I am going to give the car to the garage again for a quick look.

Also, looking for a good interior and external cleaning agent? Which brand do you use?

Thanks and cheers,
Jitendra

[aayushnair]

Originally Posted by oldshivabull

Thank you very much for taking the trouble to go through the report and give sound advice.

I got the fuel filter cleaned up two days, and haven't had a problem since. But the car vibrates a bit while starting--cabin shake for a few seconds. Any ideas?

For the windows and the odd problem of the horn failing to sound at times, the mechanic wants to look at the wiring. So I am going to give the car to the garage again for a quick look.

Also, looking for a good interior and external cleaning agent? Which brand do you use?

Thanks and cheers,
Jitendra

Sorted. For the cabin shake, observe for a few days on cold starts, it could still just be the need of a new filter. Otherwise sounds good. The wiring or some loose connections is probably the culprit there too ( for the horn etc).
I use a combination of products to clean my car.
For the exteriors I use eagle one wax / formula 1 / armor all for washing too.
I use armor all interior protectant for interiros and leather protectant for the seats ( I've got leather seats). To clean the interiors I use a genteel solution, this is for the doors and dash.

It's a lot work doing to all this tho, best of luck for your car!

God bless,
Aayush

[oldshivabull]

Not sorted--sigh. New fuel filter put in, but same starting problem as before. Mechanic wants to take it to Skoda in Gurgaon, and get on-board diagnostics (OBD) done. I hate Skoda service, but no other option. Wonder if there is a DIY OBD. I have seen an app, but and but.

Thank you for your wishes

[aayushnair]

Originally Posted by fiestarry

Hi Aayush,
On the subject of brake rotor discs, how did you decide on the size of the replacement part?
From what I see online, rotors for Fabia 5J are available in at least four diff diameters and thicknesses.
Also, the brake pads sizes are in in a huge variety depending upon rotor size as well as calipers size and type. My car is the 5J with BNM 1.4 TDI engine. It has the same FS III calipers as your car.
How do I specify the right size to Shetty Motors ?
Or am I being too careful ?

I too got a little confused with that one, but when I went to the shop is asked if I wanted a local part or imported. The unit was from Germany ( febi-bilstein) so that made my decision easier. When I later checked online, they were standard spec as that of the OEM. If I remember correctly 256mm.
The brake pads definitely vary in size, I ordered a new set some time back from amazon only to find that they were too small. They were a pair of bosch OEM pads for fabia. Now the difference was that these were for the previous gen fabia and the problem was that it also used fs3 calipers.
I know this is not very helpful, but my best guess is that you need to ask for the previous gen fabia brake pads and take it from there.
The ones made by Bosch are for your car in my opinion. I use Pagid brake pads which are OEM spec for fabia 5j mk2. 2011 onwards.

Cheers,
Aayush

[fiestarry]

@Aayush,
Do you still have your Fabia and how is she going ?
Do post the progress; you must have crossed 120k km by now which calls for a major service. Skoda A$$ would have been rubbing their hands in glee.

[allien936]

Good job on your DIY Ayush. Even i own a November 2008 Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI. And as all the other BHPians, even i like to get my hands dirty. As for the disc size, 22.5mm is the thickness and 256mm is the diameter. I got them replaced some time back.
Seems like you have invested a lot on most of the required instruments for your car. Apart from the tripods and hydraulic jack, i have got almost similar set of instruments. Its difficult to do a major DIY in mumbai, unless you have your own covered parking space

Keep Revvin

[neutralgrey]

Hi, I have a noob question. How safe are the tightened bolts? Don't the bolts need to be tightened to a specific torque value (not sure of the right terminology), which can only be achieved using a pneumatic wrench or any such power tool?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by neutralgrey

Hi, I have a noob question. How safe are the tightened bolts? Don't the bolts need to be tightened to a specific torque value (not sure of the right terminology), which can only be achieved using a pneumatic wrench or any such power tool?

Yes, they should really and your need a torque wrench for that. No pneumatic or power tool required, just an accurate torque wrench.

Jeroen