EA211 timing belt/water pump replacement.

[Crossthreaded]

I think this one might interest you RUM.

As a younger man I earned my living in garage workshops and actually ended up instructing in light vehicle repair and maintenance before going off at a tangent all together at aged 50. I've replaced many timing belts in my time and many of them by the "tippex" method without using the specialist timing tools many manufacturers insist on today. I'm deeply into small Fiats, and later models of these have no timing marks on their pulleys requiring specialist locking tools to be used. Modern synchronous belts - which is what a timing belt is - are precision made components and I would doubt if there is any measurable difference between original equipment and "big name" replacements - Gates, Dayco, Continental, etc - I've experimented on a number of these Fiats, doing the belt change by the "tippex" method but subsequently rechecking with the official locking tools have shown them to line up absolutely perfectly, not even a "smidgeon" out, so I can see no reason why doing belt changes by the "tippex" method on modern cars shouldn't be entirely satisfactory. There is one caveat I'd place on this though, and it needs to be something you are certain about. The pulleys on the engine must be correctly timed on the engine. That is to say, if this is the first belt change then the pulleys will not have been tightened/timed to their shafts, since leaving the factory so will be correct. If this is an engine which has had a belt fitted outwith the factory you need to be certain that whoever did it knew exactly what he/she was doing and that the pulleys are correctly aligned to the shafts. As there are no timing marks on these engines you can't check this without the timing tools. To be fair though, if the engine has been running well with no known issues then it's very likely the shafts will be correctly timed and you can take a chance on it.

Here's the video I've come upon and I'm expecting to get plenty of comment from you all!

Of course the cams may move, as they do in the video, once the old belt is removed so marking everything up is very important, especially transferring the marks from the old belt to the new. I could comment further but I'm going to wait for you guys reaction first.

As RUM has mentioned before, the water pump looks pretty easy to do with just the torque tightening procedure for the belt looking slightly "phaffy" However I think his advice to use a vacuum coolant filler would be very wise.

 

[RUM4MO]

Looks very doable as you said if this is the first time that anything has been taken apart since initial build in the engine plant.

Maybe I'm confused, but I didn't spot the removal of the top cover that exposes the end of the exhaust camshaft that drives the waterpump - as he uses that end to correct the position of the exhaust camshaft when fitting the new belt.
Why did he remove the bolt from above the sump pan level, the one with the 19mm hex head? Is this to insert an engine locking pin at TDC?
I'd have to look into why the small round "plug in" plastic cover was removed, maybe to add indexing tippex marks there as well, but on what and why?

I agree that it does seem a phaffy way to adjust the waterpump belt tension, but it seems to have been designed that way.

Edit:- I'm not in any way trying to knock this video, just to fully understand "what" and "why" that is all.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Looks very doable as you said if this is the first time that anything has been taken apart since initial build in the engine plant.

Maybe I'm confused, but I didn't spot the removal of the top cover that exposes the end of the exhaust camshaft that drives the waterpump - as he uses that end to correct the position of the exhaust camshaft when fitting the new belt.
Why did he remove the bolt from above the sump pan level, the one with the 19mm hex head? Is this to insert an engine locking pin at TDC?
I'd have to look into why the small round "plug in" plastic cover was removed, maybe to add indexing tippex marks there as well, but on what and why?

I agree that it does seem a phaffy way to adjust the waterpump belt tension, but it seems to have been designed that way.

Edit:- I'm not in any way trying to knock this video, just to fully understand "what" and "why" that is all.

Yes, I believe that bolt is where the crankshaft locking bolt goes in and I too find myself wondering why he did this. With the cam "sprockets" and crankshaft "sprocket" all marked with corresponding marks on the block/head and the corresponding marks on the old belt carefully transferred to the new belt I can't really see any reason why he's removed either of the plastic covers on the other end of the head? Unless it's because he was going to do the pump as well so he just took the belt cover off for that reason - still doesn't explain why he took the wee cover (with the "O" ring seal) off the exhaust cam though, does it?

I think I'll be doing a water pump/thermostat assembly sometime this summer as I notice my water temperature is taking roughly twice as long to come up to full temperature than it was maybe a year ago. I believe this is a typical sign that the thermostat that controls water circulation through the head is in the process of failing. I've decided the best course of action is going to be to just do the whole assembly, including the pump, as it's now in it's seventh year of life.

RUM, I seem to remember you talking about vacuum coolant filling tools recently? What vacuum filler/bleeder tool did you buy? I've got a few Neilsen/Bergen branded tools - my Fiat timing sets are that brand - which I've found are very good so I'm leaning towards one of theirs but I'm wondering what you bought and how you got on with doing the job? - Hope you are keeping well?

 

[RUM4MO]

Hi, yes I'm keeping well - got chased out into the garden today by my wife, but such is life when Spring arrives and the weather is dry and sunny!

I bought the Draper kit, probably as I'd not spotted anyone else selling one at that time, which was maybe a couple of years ago. It seemed to work well enough when used on my old Audi S4, that car has an electric coolant pump for only the supercharger heat exchanger circuit and VCDS does not provide the ability to switch it on, so I think that caused a small issue as the pump only runs when the engine runs, but has PWM so really it only runs when demanded, that was annoying, okay I could have found out what voltage max it uses and made up a lead - or as they do in hotter regions, cut one of the leads to the pump and so it runs flat out at all times. Anyway, I'm sure that you can select the electric coolant pump on the EA211 family of engines, so that is better.

I agree that for DIYer work loads, Neilsen/Bergen versions are okay in the right hands.

I suppose, or guess, that, going back to the video, marking the water pump end as well as the cambelt end of the exhaust camshaft would make repositioning the exhaust cambelt easier while moving it from the water pump end, which is the only end that it could be rotated from - rotating the inlet camshaft obviously does not have that option, so maybe even a reinforced fabric/rubber belt strap would work for moving the inlet camshaft if grabbing it by hand didn't.

My good duty this week for my older/local daughter, was to ask her if she had organised an MOT for her May 2019 Leon Cupra - she hadn't as she still thinks that August/September is the MOT month, but that was her old Ibiza! So, I contacted a local to me small garage, Leadburn Garage, and they took it yesterday, advisories for near side rear brake disc pitted or scored, no surprise there, and light misting on the front near side damper, that also seems to be a Leon and maybe others regular "thing" with VW Group, stating for cars still under warranty, no further action required and actually it is beneficial to the damper top seal! No surprise there, maybe a job for the future, I also asked her, but too late "as it is 4 years old and always parked outside, when do you plan to replace the wiper blades?" - so I've sent her a link to somewhere online (ebay) selling Valeo "exact fit" front kit, that might prompt some action.

Edit:- one other thing about cambelt changing and water pump changing - or its belt, I'm sure that I've read somewhere that it is very important to time the water pump when replacing its belt! Now, that sounds a bit crazy as a water pump is just that - unless I'm missing somewhere, I am just throwing that info or misinfo out there to dismiss it while on this subject.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Edit:- one other thing about cambelt changing and water pump changing - or its belt, I'm sure that I've read somewhere that it is very important to time the water pump when replacing its belt! Now, that sounds a bit crazy as a water pump is just that - unless I'm missing somewhere, I am just throwing that info or misinfo out there to dismiss it while on this subject.

The water pump "thing" is beginning to worry me a wee bit - although I've been distracted over the last couple of weeks by her completely wrecking her gearbox (final drive bearings broke up on the motorway!) and the expense of getting a new box fitted when I'm a long way from home and have no local contacts to help me - Anyway, back to the waterpump. Appartently they do fail, just like any other water pump, commonly leaking water from the bearing seal (just like any other water pump) It's not a big problem with them I've been told by several knowledgeable sources - like AVW for instance - but not entirely unknown. There's no recommended time/mileage when they should be done and you just have to keep an eye on coolant level and the back of the block/top of bell housing for any leaks. It seems it's not difficult to see when you have a leak. I think the reason I, for one, worry about this is that we've become so used to automatically renewing a water pump when doing a timing belt because the pump is often part of the cam belt drive train so if it fails it can cause the timing to jump and, potentially, write off the engine. Older type pumps, driven by the aux belt, didn't cause this to happen so we tended to just leave them alone until they either "rattled" or leaked. The EA211 pump is driven separately by it's own belt so maybe should be thought of in the same way as we thought of the "old" pumps and only consider renewing when a problem is detected - shouldn't be a problem for folk like us who are regularly doing checks .

Might be worth mentioning here that, as you will know but others may not, that there are two circulation systems in these engines with two thermostats to control them. The idea is that this lets the head and top of the engine come up to working temp more quickly with the block and it's larger capacity of coolant, taking a bit longer (this lets stuff like the cat etc get up to temp quicker and also gives you useable heat from the cabin heater more quickly) I noticed that lately my temp guage is taking about twice as long as it did a few months ago, to reach normal operating temp and I'm told this is typical of the head circuit thermostat beginning to fail. I think at now 6+ years old, I'm just going to renew the entire assembly, Water pump and twin thermostats as well as a complete change of coolant. I'm very confident I can do the changing of this assembly and have all the tools necessary including a beam type torque wrench which will make tensioning the belt easier than with a click type - which I also have. I'm not so confident about refilling the system though, hence the question about what vacuum filler you bought.

 

[RUM4MO]

That is a bit of bad news about the Ibiza gearbox - though I've always had a gut feeling that now that the engine was reliable and stronger, I just hoped that the gearboxes fitted to it are also up to the job of dealing with an engine that has a fairly flat torque curve, ie an engine that will remain very driveable at lower revs. I know that VW Group were originally clueless about what "weight" of gearbox upper mounting a turbo charged petrol engine needed in Polo/Ibiza/Fabia, but in time fitted the beefier version normally only used with TDI engines! For my wife's 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI 110PS 6MT, things are still okay!

 

[Crossthreaded]

Yes, my confidence in the car is at an all time low just now. I've had more trouble with this one than any other of the VAG models we've had in the family and now, with the gearbox being replaced, it's proving by a long way to be the most expensive to keep running. It needed a Turbo when only some 18 months old (warranty paid for that) and with very few miles on it, due to the wastegate linkage seizing solid and this making it impossible to renew just the linkage. It's also been the most expensive timing belt to replace of any. My boy's Fabia Scout had the 1.6 CR diesel which was also a pretty poor experience but all the older ones we've had have been great. I doubt if I will keep it much longer, maybe another year to get some value from the new 'box?

In fact, down here in rural Devon the Dacia Duster seems very popular and I've been several short journeys in one over the last week or so. I'm very surprised by it and think I'm going to take a closer look at the 1.3 130hp version when I get home. It's a car which sort of "wallows" along very comfortably with it's good ground clearance and high aspect ratio tyres -215/65R16 - eating up all the potholes. Now it's got the bigger more powerful engine it goes well enough too. It would be a helluva change from the Ibiza though, pretty much the exact opposite in terms of agility and handling but I'm old now and would be happy to sacrifice some of the Ibiza's quite sharp crashy ride for a softer more compliant one. Wonder what it's like on a motorway? I'm going to drop by the lads at Rentec: https://www.rentecautocare.co.uk/ when we get back home and have a chat about engines, gearboxes, spares in general etc, then maybe try to take a test drive in one. Probably it'll be a big disappointment, but maybe not?

 

[RUM4MO]

At the end of the day, most or maybe even all of us are not charities willing to keep throwing our money into stuff like cars which are not being built to provide good service.

VW Group, need to wake up I think, while I'm very satisfied with my 2011 Audi S4 - if I was willing to scatter lots of cash and replace it with a nearly new Audi S4 - which now only has a TDI engine, I think that I'd be very disappointed with my purchase.

 

[RUM4MO]

Actually, maybe we shouldn't dwell on possibly not too robust engines and gearboxes, that might lead us in the direction of EVs!

 

[Crossthreaded]

Actually, maybe we shouldn't dwell on possibly not too robust engines and gearboxes, that might lead us in the direction of EVs!

Which, of course, are going to be oh so reliable what with all their control circuits, battery cooling systems, and high voltage control components. The "unreliability" will just shift from mechanical stuff like engines and gearboxes, which many can repair if they have the finances and reasonable ability, to electronics, even more expensive diagnostic gear which many won't be able to justify (and I'm talking workshops here - the wee man in his home lockup won't have a look in) and very few who will be able to properly keep these things running. Probably it'll improve in time, but that's no use to me as I'll be exploring whether the answer to everything really is 42 by then.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Edit:- one other thing about cambelt changing and water pump changing - or its belt, I'm sure that I've read somewhere that it is very important to time the water pump when replacing its belt! Now, that sounds a bit crazy as a water pump is just that - unless I'm missing somewhere, I am just throwing that info or misinfo out there to dismiss it while on this subject.

That's an interesting one RUM. Really can't "see" it though? It's just a centrifugal pump driven by a synchronous toothed belt instead of a more conventional vee - or multivee - aux belt. You wouldn't "time" the water pump on an engine where the pump was part of the timing belt drive train would you? (like the old 1.4 for instance, or one of my wee Fiat F.I.R.E. engines). I've looked at a number of videos on it and couldn't find anyone "timing" it in any way, although I can see how, with it being a toothed belt - so looks like a little "mini" cam belt - people might think it's got to be timed? I have the Haynes manual for this car/engine and don't remember seeing anything to the effect it's got to be timed. A lot of the belt "hides" inside the pump casting and the mesh to the pump pulley is difficult to see, so the thing which would most worry me during fitting is the possibility that the belt's teeth might not be properly meshed with the teeth on the pump's pulley (tooth crest to tooth crest) if you did this by mistake then you'd be able to toque it for tightness but as soon as the engine was started the belt's teeth would soon engage properly with the teeth of the pump pulley leaving you with a very slack belt. I'll be checking on this very carefully shortly after startup if I do mine.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Oh, by the way, very glad to report the Ibiza gearbox has been replaced and all seems well. Got the car back late on Thursday and drove it a fair bit here and there around here. Lunch at Pelicans fish and chips, took sister in law in for her covid jag - new version vaccine - and then both her and my Mrs to Atlantic Village Mall for some retail therapy (not that I found it very therapeutic but I did get a bargain on a new pair of trainers in the Mountain Warehouse outlet shop) Heading home up the M5/M6/A702 tomorrow so hoping the local running around will have loosened the box up a bit before we hit the motorway.

I would like to praise the garage that sorted her out for me, which is Croyde Motors SEAT: https://www.croydemotors.co.uk/ is there a particular thread in the forum where I can post so that everyone has a good chance of seeing it? These are good people who really know what they are doing, frendly too and I was allowed into the workshop to talk to the techie working on my car!

 

[Crossthreaded]

That's an interesting one RUM. Really can't "see" it though? It's just a centrifugal pump driven by a synchronous toothed belt instead of a more conventional vee - or multivee - aux belt. You wouldn't "time" the water pump on an engine where the pump was part of the timing belt drive train would you? (like the old 1.4 for instance, or one of my wee Fiat F.I.R.E. engines). I've looked at a number of videos on it and couldn't find anyone "timing" it in any way, although I can see how, with it being a toothed belt - so looks like a little "mini" cam belt - people might think it's got to be timed? I have the Haynes manual for this car/engine and don't remember seeing anything to the effect it's got to be timed. A lot of the belt "hides" inside the pump casting and the mesh to the pump pulley is difficult to see, so the thing which would most worry me during fitting is the possibility that the belt's teeth might not be properly meshed with the teeth on the pump's pulley (tooth crest to tooth crest) if you did this by mistake then you'd be able to toque it for tightness but as soon as the engine was started the belt's teeth would soon engage properly with the teeth of the pump pulley leaving you with a very slack belt. I'll be checking on this very carefully shortly after startup if I do mine.

Been thinking some more on the possibility of failing to get the mesh of the teeth on the belt and pulley incorrect during fitting. Looking at this I think it may not be physically possible and still get the bolts in if you don't align the teeth correctly. I don't think there's very much movement of the pump body in relation to the holding bolts?

 

[RUM4MO]

Last posting first, yes I'd think that a single rotation of the engine by hand should encourage the belt to walk across to where it wants to be, before rechecking the belt tension again while the top cover is off.

Singing the praises of a SEAT dealership, I'm sure that there is an area for that sort of thing, well there usually does tend to be one on these forums, I'll have a look after posting this reply.

Timing the coolant pump, really that only came from me thinking that I had read something concerning that so unless I can actually find the source of that, I'll be dismissing it - I just felt the need to mention it and hopefully get it dismissed completely.

The reliability of the electronics etc, that will be in the hands of VW Group, others further into this EV business seem to have managed it, if VW Group don't then they deserve to vanish from the motoring scene, having been in the electronics industry all my working life I can that many big problems can appear if proper care is not taken during the design stages, and yes, that would switch off a lot of smaller workshops and DIYers younger than us!

Safe motoring tomorrow, the forecasted rain has not hit us yet, was promised by 12:00 though the temperature has dropped quite a bit!

 

[Crossthreaded]

Safe motoring tomorrow, the forecasted rain has not hit us yet, was promised by 12:00 though the temperature has dropped quite a bit!

Made it home safely. Historically we've found a Sunday is the best day trafficwise and yesterday was no exception. Usual heavy traffic in the midlands but no actual traffic jams. Very heavy rain at times requiring a reduction in speed, Horrified by the idiots going past at 70+ when we couldn't see properly at 50 even with the wipers going flat out! Multiple examples of very poor lane discipline and, twice, people driving in the inside lane on "smart" sections with red cross displayed on the gantry and obviously having no intention of moving to the next lane! Counted 5 stationery on the hard shoulder with one in the inside lane on a "smart" section but with a police/highways car lit up like a Christmas tree "guarding" it.

Took things easy over the north Devon link road, Barnstaple to Tiverton, and for the first 100 miles up the M5 - gentle acceleration and cruised around 60mph - being an early start on a Sunday, traffic was light so I wasn't causing annoyance to others by the "gentle" driving. However when the traffic got much busier further north I gently increased to 70mph and just "went with the flow" reasoning that a coule of hundred miles was probably enough to ease it off a bit. So many road works though that a lot of it was enforced 50mph anyway. All seems well and I'll be doing a visual check for oil leaks etc, probably tomorrow. The nine and a half hour journey has left me, as it does every year, just a little Pugglt so taking it easy today.

One thing to comment on though is that although I like the driving characteristics of the Falken tyres I fitted a while ago - they turn in and grip in the wet noticeably better than the O/E Bridgestones they are rather noisy. both in terms of transmitted noise on poor surfaces and the fact that they "whine" a bit like heavy duty off road tyres when driven on normal roads - heard most at around 40 to 50 mph but rather annoying on the open road. Anyone driven an old series army landrover? Sounds a bit like that. I like these tyres for the driving characteristics but I don't think I'll be repeating with more when these ones get to being worn out.

 

[RUM4MO]

Good to hear that you got back home okay, both personally and mechanically!

I tend to plan to break the journey near the mid point even when only driving down to London, now that we are both retired, first time that we did that and so breaking a 6.5 hour drive in half, the first half coming back up from Canterbury took 8 hours!

The "tyre" noise, I had that with my 2000 VW Passat 4Motion, maybe when it was 9 years old and 75K miles, so I swopped from summer to winter tyres/wheels, the noise remained, I handed it into Sloans VW with a heavy heart thinking the worst situation, ie transmission issues, but with the added comment if it was a front wheel bearing just replace both, it turned out just to be a front wheel bearing so they phoned to say that the mechanic suggested that both sides were replaced - even although I had suggested that when booking it in, anyway that sorted out that noise.
Back in October 2021 at around 35K miles and with its winter wheels/tyres fitted, I noticed my wife's 2015 VW Polo making a whining noise, being in optimistic mode, on certain road surfaces, ie mainly in North Ayrshire roads, I did nothing until I had changed over from winter wheels/tyres to summer wheels/tyres - that noise was still there after some miles into a run and at speeds of maybe 50 or so MPH, I could drive through it okay. So, I thought that it must be a front wheel bearing, so I ordered in 2 FAG wheel bearing assemblies and a cheapish GEN2 kit to replace these bearings myself, to replace the SNR (France) factory fitted hub/bearing assemblies. That was at 39K and at the end of September 2022, and so far no more noises, one bearing assembly had suffered an ingress of moisture or road spray-water, but when it was rotated after its removal, no obvious roughness could be detected, that was the off side, the near side looked okay corrosion wise and again no roughness could be detected when it was rotated after removal.

Any/all VW Group cars from the past 20 or so years can end up with wheel bearing issues in early life, which I don't find acceptable, but it does happen quite a lot!

I hope that I'm wrong wrt your car as you've already had enough failures - I had more than enough with my wife's previous 2002 VW Polo 1.4 16V 75PS, and I blamed that on the fact that these cars are all closely related to the original Skoda Fabia and so many, at least in the area of the drive train/suspension, parts are made in CZ factories - and now with these 1.0TSI and 1.2TSI engines are all built in Skoda engine plants, and the "running gear" is still pure Skoda made.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Well, damn it, here we go again! Been hearing a wee rotational knocking noise for some time now. Took quite a bit of checking to find it. Not obvious with car suspended on stands but then put it up on my ramps and with the drive shafts now in the same position as when running there's obvious play in the O/S drive shaft inner plunge joint. This car has the lower powered (95hp) 3 cylinder engine with the 5 speed box. the inner joints are the old "cup" type tripod plunge joints not the 3 piece bolted joints with balls - like a CV joint - and held together with allen bolts like I had on the old Cordoba diesel. I think the other engine options use the bolted type and I see plenty of adverts for them but have only found adverts for complete shafts for the plunge joint type, which makes it quite a bit more expensive. Now wondering If I should do both shafts while I'm at it as I've got family events to attend down south this autumn (wedding etc) and we'll have a full car for the journey.

Must say I'm getting more disenchanted with this car now. Trouble is I like a small estate and they seem to have fallen out of popularity these days - even Skoda haven't made the new Fabia in estate type. Had a ride in a Renault Captur 1.3 TCE the other day and was really quite impressed with it. Much more comfortable ride than the Ibiza and with enough "Poke" in the engine to satisfy me. Realized I like the 4 cylinder better than the 3 cylinder in the Ibiza too. Pretty much the same mechanicals as the Dacia Duster I had a ride in down in Devon. I've visited Rentec Autocare - looked much the same sort of setup as AVW - and got to speak to one of the technicians who was just between jobs in the reception area. They were very busy so couldn't chat for long but left me with a good impression although parking was chaotic! Lot of research to do if I'm going to get serious about one though and I know the previous, very similar 1.2 TCE seems to have a bit of a problem with timing chains and I also hear cabin electronics ( Infotainment screen etc) can get "tetchy". Also, oh dear, it got an electric hand brake a couple of years ago! So lots to look into. Oh, and it's a mini SUV, not an estate, so sits higher and I'd expect more body roll if pressing on on country roads.

Don't think "Twinkle" - the Ibiza - is a "keeper" though not like the Cordoba which I had for almost 20 years!

I've only very recently become aware of the Skoda Scala which looks much more up my street. In SE or maybe SE-L trim it looks good, with a manual hand brake and big, 195 section, space saver spare. I think it looks like you could get a full size wheel and tyre in though just as I did with the Ibiza. The mid spec engine is still the 3 cylinder but with 115Hp and a six speed box and, I think, bolted type inner drive shaft joints? I'm wary of the 1.5 ACT, which is the top spec engine, because of all the stuff about cold running problems people report. It's slightly bigger than my Ibiza ST - by about 10 cm in length and slightly wider, based, as it is, on their new small car chassis - so not the same underpinnings as my Ibiza - but I don't think I'd really notice the difference. Reviews report the ride is quite soft so it may be a bit more "slushy" to drive compared to the Ibiza but at my age I could take a little more comfort and dispense with some of the sharpness in response. Early days yet, and it is another VAG product - different gearbox to the present 5 speed in the Ibiza though - or is it part of the same gearbox family? Anyone know? Of course it means I would be able to use my VCDS too - don't think Renault is so well catered for on the Home Diagnostics front?

Anyway, early days. I've spent so much on the Ibiza now I'm going to run it for a while yet, but I'm getting "itchy" and don't have confidence in it any more. I gave West End Skoda a ring last week to check out the hand brake/spare wheel stuff and was very impressed with the knowledge of the showroom person who was not at all pushy and very knowledgeable. Might just stick my head in their door and have a look at and sit in one.

 

[RUM4MO]

Sorry to hear this latest issue, maybe the start of the damage was when the gearbox was replaced, but no way of doing much about that now.

Scala was what my London based daughter and her husband had in mind originally, but they ended up getting an Arona, due, I think, to the driving position was better in that for her long legged husband - it is a 115PS car with 6MT. Its handbrake feels terrible, there was an update carried out on delivered cars, but that action was performed twice on that Arona while under warranty, before they bought it. I think that you will find all these later/bigger versions of these VW Group cars will all suffer from a "horrible" handbrake action, and I'm guessing that it is due to the handbrake handle being moved across the car away from the centre line of the car, so the cheaply made linkage is letting the driver know that it has been designed to accommodate "more important" things like cup holders etc! The feel is very agricultural in my mind, though the cheaply made handbrake cables in my wife's August 2015 VW Polo, does not feel quite as "smooth" as the one on her previous car a 2002 VW Polo.

Edit:- I've got tearing/cracking rear bump stops to deal with on my wife's VW Polo, the parts and all necessary bolts cost just over £80 at West End Skoda - they are easier to reach than any VW dealership!

 

[Crossthreaded]

Sorry to hear this latest issue, maybe the start of the damage was when the gearbox was replaced, but no way of doing much about that now.

Scala was what my London based daughter and her husband had in mind originally, but they ended up getting an Arona, due, I think, to the driving position was better in that for her long legged husband - it is a 115PS car with 6MT. Its handbrake feels terrible, there was an update carried out on delivered cars, but that action was performed twice on that Arona while under warranty, before they bought it. I think that you will find all these later/bigger versions of these VW Group cars will all suffer from a "horrible" handbrake action, and I'm guessing that it is due to the handbrake handle being moved across the car away from the centre line of the car, so the cheaply made linkage is letting the driver know that it has been designed to accommodate "more important" things like cup holders etc! The feel is very agricultural in my mind, though the cheaply made handbrake cables in my wife's August 2015 VW Polo, does not feel quite as "smooth" as the one on her previous car a 2002 VW Polo.

Edit:- I've got tearing/cracking rear bump stops to deal with on my wife's VW Polo, the parts and all necessary bolts cost just over £80 at West End Skoda - they are easier to reach than any VW dealership!

Thanks RUM. It's early days at this time so plenty of time to try it out and think about things. By the way, cup holders? what are they all about? you shouldn't be drinking cups of coffee, or anything else, while driving surely?

Edit. As regards damage to the plunge joint when the shaft was refitted to the new gearbox? Yes, I suppose that might be possible if they used the shaft as a "hammer" to get the circlip to engage? - as I have to admit I've done many times in the past (but not to this particular vehicle). To be fair they did mention that they thought there was very slight wear in one of the inner shaft joints when they handed the car back to me but said that, in their opinion, it was so slight as to not warrant changing at that time, she's done a bit over 1500 miles since then.

 

[RUM4MO]

No one is expected to drive cars these days without a drink to hand - or so it seems - a handy place to dump other things in though!

What was the nature of the gearbox failure you had, and how dramatic did it get, and did you get any warning?