Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[CitroJim]

Excellent! I'm off out to do some Activa work as soon as I've had a bit of lunch...

[Zelandeth]

I've learned to treat jobs on the Skoda with a certain degree of trepidation as they've always had a tendency to go somewhat awry, often in really interesting ways. Not quite so much as with the Saab though, on which I've learned by now to always multiply my expected time allocation to anything whatsoever by at least four!

The replacement of the clutch slave cylinder went pretty much without incident, like this...

Fold the rear seats forward and lift the sound damping and rubber mats to one side to reveal the gearbox/clutch inspection panel. I've also removed the plastic cover over the clutch cylinder already in this picture.

As you can see, access isn't a problem.

Pretty sure I've seen smaller starter motors on buses than the one on this thing!

For future reference Jim, that red cap is the gearbox breather/filler. The level is checked by removing that cap and then using the engine oil dipstick (no I'm not kidding!) to check the level. Your finest old school EP80/90 gearbox oil please - *it must be GL4 rated...Not GL5 or GL4/5 compatible* as there are yellow metals in the 'box which GL5 will destroy.

I chose to remove the pushrod at this point to eliminate any chance of it falling out as the cylinder was removed. There's enough clearance to wiggle it out if you lever the clutch release arm forward a bit with any appropriate tool. I used a spanner as it was what I had to hand.

Also while the cylinder is still bolted down, crack the hose union to it off (17mm spanner). Just leave it finger tight then.

Remove the four nuts holding the cylinder in place - note that the two nearest the engine have small washers under them and that the two to the front of the car hold the cover retaining spring clip in place. The cylinder can then be lifted clear and be unscrewed from the hydraulic line.

At this point I got a bit of a surprise - I had totally not expected this to reveal a hole looking straight down into the guts of the differential! Thankfully I had a tube of instant gasket on hand (same way the original was sealed, no gasket evident), so I was able to apply some before putting the new cylinder in place.

The best sequence I've found for this is first to screw the hydraulic line in place hand tight, insert the pushrod into the cylinder, then plonk it in place on the studs. Getting the pushrod in once the cylinder is already bolted down is fantastically fiddly...so doing it this way around is far easier.

Then it's just a matter of bolting everything back in place, bleeding the clutch...

Checking the free play (adjusted by releasing the locknut and screwing in/out the plunger on the end of the pushrod, I forgot to photograph this bit) is next - it's critical that there is a couple of mm free play, or the clutch release bearing (which is made of finest cheesium) will get shredded in short order - I've changed four of them! £5 part...but you need to take the engine out to get to it.

Then stick the little plastic cover back on...

Close up the access panel...Don't catch your fingers in the latches, it hurts...

Stick the back seats up again - slightly fiddly to do at the moment on account of the seat covers being one-piece and it being a split seat.

Top up the brake/clutch fluid with DOT3 (Motorserv still stock it, somewhat to my surprise!), and you're done!

I suspect that it will need adjustment once things have settled in a bit, but the clutch is now working exactly as it should. Nice light, smooth pedal as it should be.

Job done.

[Michel]

Thanks for sharing that Zel! Brilliant pics. That brings back memories of the access panel when I had to change the starter motor on mine. I also changed the single "rectangle" headlights I had for a much cooler set of twin headlights off a scrapper. Super cool.

[Zelandeth]

Twin headlights would be from the Mk I "Super Estelle" top trim level version if I remember right...

Trying to remember how on earth you actually gain access to the headlights in general now, memory is failing me.

[Michel]

It was a blue saloon with alloys and a vinyl roof that I took them out of, so I think you're right. I recall it also had a rev counter! I was jealous of that.

I remember removing the grille to get at the headlights. I don't remember a way to access them from the boot.

[Zelandeth]

Vinyl roof denotes it as one of the top of the line models, most likely a 130 of some description - The exact model suffix I'm not certain of as I've little experience with the Mk I cars - and I don't think the twin headlights were ever seen on the Mk II - unless you're meaning the ones which had the additional rectangular driving lights in the middle of the grill of course...in which case your donor vehicle was probably a 130GL - which in addition to the vinyl roof would also have had a different facia with the Rapid style instrument cluster, the seat cloth otherwise only seen in the Rapid, Rapid style steering wheel (which also appeared in some early Favorits), variable speed intermittent wipers, "ergonomic" gear knob, "Skoda 130" badge on the radiator grill, centre console storage tray, a 5-speed box, semi-trailing arm suspension and 4-pot brake calipers, sunroof and a Philips radio/cassette "out of the box." The 130GL was essentially a top-of-the-line Rapid but with a saloon body.

Pretty sure they're meant to unclip somehow, as I don't recall having to remove the grill in the past...Really hope that's not necessary as it will be time to get the drill out as the screw heads have rusted beyond recognition long ago...They don't want to though! Just want to get in there to stick a decent set of lamps in - pretty sure it still has the originals in, and they're about as much use as a pair of candles. Given the distance from the battery and "high quality" switches in this car, it would probably benefit from a relay mod similar to the Mk I Xantia as well...Having said that, the headlights are fed from a relay in the luggage compartment, so it could be worse...no idea how decent or otherwise the cable it's fed from is though!

Some of the alloys used on the Estelle (especially in Mk I form) were lovely looking designs I think, and really did look like they'd come of something of far more exotic origins in many cases! Shame they can't go onto all that many other cars without adaptors though as the hub pattern isn't a massively common one.

[Michel]

It was these lights I put in it..

They replaced, IIRC these ones..

[Zelandeth]

Yep, that's a late Mk I Estelle - some of the early Mk II cars shared the face of the earlier cars, especially on the lower level models I think.

The later rectangular lights were halogen ones and are actually pretty decent with good lamps in and adjusted properly. Not as good as those in the Lada though, which are far better than any headlights in a budget car have any right to be.

[Michel]

The lights in both my Lada 1200s were great, as was the heater.

[CitroJim]

Zel, really enjoyed your how-to on the clutch slave As Mikes says, brilliantly done!

Gosh, I'm looking forward to the Skoda and the new challenges it'll be bringing me

[Zelandeth]

Just had one of those distinct D'oh! moments.

Any chance you could snap a photo of the page of the manual dealing with setting the valve clearances Jim? Want to double-check those as I'm sure one in particular is too wide and making a horrible racket. Mainly just need to check the sequence as the clearances are shown on a label on the air cleaner. Pretty sure the usual "rule of nine" applies here, just want to be sure.

Have what's hopefully the correct thermostat this time on the way, once that's done I'll get it booked in for an MOT. Not going to dig any further at this point as I'm feeling quite rough today and the cold outside is disagreeing with me. If anything's shown up when it goes in for the test they'll be given a simple instruction of "fix anything that's needed or is going to be needed soon."

Most likely issues I reckon are going to be stuff like brake hoses just due to age, potentially the front discs simply because she's done so few miles since the last MOT and being such a light car it's tricky to really scrub the discs up (if I was back at the garage I'd cheat and stick 'em on the lathe to clean up! Good opportunity to clean up and re-grease the wheel bearings while it's off the hub as well) without being a complete hooligan. A set of brake hoses looks to be £70 or so, but I've long learned that brakes aren't worth skimping on. I'm reluctant to actually mess with the calipers themselves as they don't bind and the brakes are actually far, far better than you'd expect for a car of that age and it pulls up perfectly true. Plus I have a poor record where messing with Skoda brakes are concerned...Well, not strictly true...just on one car. Still have nightmares about that Rapid I had...

Really want to get the wire brush out and attack the underside as well - definitely one of those jobs with makes me really wish I had a vehicle roller though...It'd be a dead easy job to clean up and rustproof it if you didn't have to be laying on the ground underneath the car!

...Just don't do what a mate of mine did once and forget to drain the oil first...That made rather a mess.

[Zelandeth]

Well I decided that I wasn't going to be beaten and would actually get something useful done today - so I went and grabbed the Really Big Screwdriver (TM), the ramps and decided to a bit of poking around to hopefully ensure that I won't need to get the welder out before the MOT - or more likely throw money at Two Wrestlers to do it for me like I did last time.

Glad to report that the underside doesn't look to have changed in any material way since the test last year. There are a few patchy areas of rust, but other than the bits that were dealt with last year they all look to be surface only and should be treatable. I was slightly worried when I started peeling the underseal off a bit near the front of one of the sills (nearside I think...) but there wasn't anything horrible hiding under it - just never keyed to the metal when it was originally painted on apparently. There are a few bits which I was suspicious of - but battering them just resulted in a nice sharp "clack" rather than that horrible hollow noise that usually immediately precedes the sickening "crunch" as you make a hole in something. Brush, kurust and paint and they should be fine.

It's just odd to me how there's so much surface rust on some bits of this car, but it's totally absent from other areas.

Anyhow...I didn't find anything nasty in terms of rot, so fingers crossed Mr. MOT Tester won't either!

I *did* however find that someone's apparently replaced the fuel filler hose with a piece of radiator hose at some point...That's a bit naughty! I'll look at getting the correct hose ordered. In all honesty it's been like that since I got the car in 2013, so if it's not disintegrated by now it's probably not going to.

One thing I'd never noticed before is how crazy long the rear suspension springs are, must be a good foot and a half (fitted) - guess that goes a long way to explaining how supple the ride is.

A few photos from today. I always hate taking these as they always make any rust look 50 times worse than it does in person. Wanted to provide them for your reference though Jim.

Note the radiator hose! Astonished I've never spotted that before.

Small patch done on the inner sill here for the last MOT.

Likewise two spots on the outer sill.

I still find getting a car onto the ramps unnerving. Our driveway being smooth like this is far from ideal as they like to move. Both ramps launched themselves into the garage as soon as I started driving off them! The answer of course is to empty enough of the garage that I can use the lip at the door to secure the things...That means sorting out the garage though.

Just for reference really - if my math is right that's something like 400 miles since the test was done last year. That's frankly ridiculous and the car deserves to be out more than that!

Last photo for now is just for interest value for Jim. Here's a general view looking at it from the rear of the car. This is how odd a layout you're letting yourself in for learning your way around! Nice in that you don't need to faff around with ramps or anything to change the oil though, nor do you have to worry about stupid tiny little drain plugs rounding off like on modern cars. The head on the plug is 17mm from memory...

Having a good 10" of ground clearance helps too...

[CitroJim]

Zel, excellent I shall re-read a bit more slowly in a bit but yes, in the morning I'll fire up the scanner PC and get the relevant pages of the BoL up for you...

I'm really enjoying seeing all this and all the pictures I can see I'm going to have a nice bit to keep me occupied and make her a really lovely car to be enjoyed and admired for many years to come - that's my intention...

Likewise, I've been doing lots of the Activa today - she's now done and MoT ready See my blog

[Gibbo2286]

Your 'peeling the underseal back' comment reminded me of a time when I had a local cop bring a Triumph 2.5 Pi to me for a check over before he bought it.
I looked at the underseal on the sills and thought it looked a bit dodgy, peeled it back and disclosed a whole concerto of sheet music stuffed into the rotten holes.......the cop wasn't too pleased, would have liked to have been there when he went back to the seller.

[Zelandeth]

Sounds like you've been making good progress there Jim. No rush on the stuff from the manual, it will keep till after the MOT if necessary...just a quick job that it seems to make sense to get done while I'm thinking about it. I'd like to re-torque the head bolts while I'm in there too.

One other task I attended to today was to stick some fresh grease on the windscreen wiper linkages to stop them juddering - seems to have helped. Definitely needs a new set of wiper blades though!

I've seen that before with newspaper under sealant...We discovered the same in the sills of a Jag XJ6 Sovereign a friend bought a few years back - the floorpans weren't actually attached to the sills at any point along their length. We were slightly alarmed to find this given that half an hour before it had been getting driven in a somewhat spirited manner.