Skoda Rally Blog

So, there has been some progress, first of which is that the Ibiza has an MOT!  Yes, all was well, the car is all good, and passed the MOT without any issue.  Which it should do, really, as after all, it’s a competition vehicle, but there’s always an element of doubt, particularly when it’s been such a long time.  Watching the front suspension being tested on the hydraulic sliding setup that the garage now have is quite an experience – one wheel is dragged from side to side to show up any play in the bushes, and the car looks like it’s moonwalking.

Anyway, on the way to and from the MOT, something became apparent that hadn’t shown up before, and that was that the car was getting hot.  It seemed OK when travelling at speed (I was taking it easy), but as soon as I slowed down, it got hot, and I had to be careful with heat management (speed and gears) to keep it at a sane temperature.  Clearly something was wrong, but running the car afterwards and leaving it meant it got to about 90 degrees or so and stayed there, although it didn’t cool down when the old trick of leaving the fan going with the engine stopped for a minute and then running it again was done – this usually works as the fans cool the water down that’s in the radiator and then it’s pumped into the engine and temperature drops a lot.

Clearly something was wrong, and a bit of searching on the ‘net showed that there seem to be a lot of people having problems with thermostats on the ABF engine, so it was time to replace that, and also the water pump as a precaution – I had to order the parts before dismantling so I got a pump anyway, and at £24 for the “high quality” one, it wasn’t such a bind.

What was a bind was the way the pump is attached to the engine.  Actually, that’s not true, it’s just four studs.  But the problem is that you have to remove the alternator, power steering pump and housing, and cambelt cover to get at the pump, so it’s a much bigger job.  The mounting for the power steering pump and alternator is one of those things that you know is a “production bodge” – it’s a big, ugly mis-shapen bracket that looks like it was an afterthought once the engine was pressed into service in a different setup than originally envisaged.

Anyway….once I’d finally got it out, replacing the pump was easy enough – just remove the old one’s bolts, clean up the gasket face and bolt into place.

Pumpin’

The old pump, however, wasn’t in particularly bad shape – which was worrying.  All hope was now pinned on the thermostat, which should open up at 85 degrees to let the radiator cool things off.  I boiled the kettle, and put the water in a pan to keep it boiling and dropped the thermostat in – it should have sprung open.

Nothing!  Good news!  So, the new thermostat was put in, and everything put back together, which took about an hour as there was so much to put back in place!  The system was filled with water and bled as much as possible, and then the car run up to temperature, and the reward was a proper cooling system; so much so that when static the electric fan no longer kicks in, as the radiator cools enough at a standstill to keep the temperature below that point.

That’s the last thing I need to fix before Rallye Sunseeker.  There are a couple of other things to do (including wiring in the heated windscreen), but it’s looking good.  This is doubly good as on Saturday I’m navigating for Ray in his Quattro (I’ll see what I can get recorded for this, as his car is epic), so that’s a day that I won’t have to work on it… but all is looking good at the moment, way better than last year, so hopefully it’ll all hold together!