Broken Down again!

[Laird Scooby]

You should be able to use the Volvo bits to do the plugs. Once the plug has been loosened using the bar through the holes in the sides of the box spanner (the long hexagonal thing) you should be able to undo it by hand. When it's fairly loose, use your hand on the plug itself.

You may decide to invest in a spark plug socket for your Halfords set, the hex size on the plugs should be 21mm (a standard spark plug size) and you shouldn't have any trouble finding one to fit your Halfords set.

I did a bit of digging last night and found the NGK BPR6ES plugs come as standard with a 0.9mm gap so this needs closing down to 0.65-0.7mm for your engine. If this wasn't done with the last set then they would have been running with the equivalent of 20-25k miles of "wear" from the start. Bearing in mind they should be changed at 12k miles you can see this situation isn't good!

[James_N]

Basic servicing is something i wanted to learn anyway, so what better time than now! I'm on an ultimatum with the mrs though, get it fixed this weekend myself, or it goes to a garage a few miles up the road for them to have a look at!

I'm trying to avoid garage bills so hopefully replacing the sparks and leads will show some results! Thanks Dave, i have time Saturday afternoon and sunday evening so I'll have a crack at this on Saturday

Worth looking for a Bosch ignition module off a broken car do you think? just to rule that out as well?

[Laird Scooby]

As i said James, the problem is now pretty rare so firstly it makes diagnosis much more tricky and secondly it's probably something less critical than the ignition module.

Your idea of getting a secondhand module is good but when you can get a new WoodAuto/Durite one for about the same money that is guaranteed and arguably cheap enough to wrap in a rag to protect it and stash in one of the under-floor cubby holes in the boot with whatever tools are needed to change it out and some thermal paste/heatsink compound that would be a better way to go i think.

Given what you've told me about the plugs and leads, if you renew the leads and plugs and make sure they are gapped to 0.65-0.7mm should see an improvement in general running/starting if nothing else.
With what you've said about how the fault now presents, firstly i don't think it's the fault you originally had and secondly i think this is a secondary fault that would have come along anyway. It certainly sounds as if the plugs are tired, getting hot and misfiring, mainly because of an extra large gap which will cause the ignition module to shut down due to it not being able to fire the coil.

Normally after about 10-15 minutes it will reset itself but in the meantime you've mainly been trying to start the car up until now. That means withou a spark you're simply injecting petrol that won't be burned off so when the ignition module resets itself, the engine will be flooded.

All this evidence has in fact been there from the start along with the CPS evidence - i think it was coincidental that the PCS chose this moment to expire making you think that was the only fault.

Let's hope this isn't another red herring although as i said at the start, the plugs and leads will give an improvement. It will certainly rule them out as a possible cause!

[James_N]

Lets hope so! I'll have the time to do this Saturday, so i'm hoping!

So far the parts bill isn't too bad, and replacing these things wont do the car any harm so i dont begrudge it! Just sorry to keep this thread going on and on and on

looking forward to having the old girl back on the road!

[James_N]

Just recieved the spark plugs. They are gapped to 0.3 so i have increased this to 0.7 but its bent the end of it slightly but they are all gapped now so i'll install tomorrow and see how it goes!

Ive attached pictures so hopefully it looks ok!

[Laird Scooby]

Put the plugs back how they were, it'll never start like that!!!!!!

That feeler gauge is IMPERIAL and the measurements on it are in INCHES!!!

What you have done is change it from 0.030" (which equates to 0.75mm which is still too large!!!) to 0.070" which is 1.75mm!!!!!

The gap on your plugs should be 0.028" (less than the 0.030" they were gapped to on arrival) which is 0.7mm so they need closing back down to slightly less than they were on arrival.

I've just looked at that Silverline "coin type" feeler gauge on fleabay and can see exactly how the mistake happened. It has Imperial one side and Metric the other - you need the Metric not Imperial/Inches side!

You would have been better getting a set of these :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Metric-13-...QNRQ4nlSDbAXDA

That way you could have found the 0.7mm blade and job done! If you'd been really fussy you could have found the 0.5 and 0.15 blades, put them together and had 0.65mm but 0.7mm would have been acceptable.

The good thing is you posted the pics before you had an FTP* situation!

* FTP - Fail To Proceed - shamelessly stolen acronym from Rolls-Royce whose cars don't break down, they just "Fail To Proceed"

[James_N]

Thanks Scooby! I can only get them down to 1.4mm, cant seem to shift them anymore than that downwards arse lol.

I even watched some youtube vids before doing this too

Think i'm going to have to send them back unless anyone can think of how i can get the gap down again? Ive pushed and put them on the floor pushing on them to try and get the gap down but cant get it down to less than this really

[mocambique-amazone]

james, throw them away PLEASE!!!
Now they are gone for 100%
NEVER punch a spark. You've killed them by pushing them on the floor. If I would be the dealer, I never would accept a return.

The only and best gauge ist this:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Champion-Vint...oAAOSwstJZQPwk

the asking price is stupid, totally stupid

With the parts on top it is really easy to adjust the gap.

NEVER with a hammer or .....

Ahh this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-NEW-CHAM...EAAOSw2GlXDsg6

You have a lot of reserve to learn to work properly on cars. I'm too far away to teach you, sorry.
Maybe I'll find time this weekend to read this thread fully.
Regards, Kay

[James_N]

I'll have to perhaps get some more but my girlfriend's dad is coming down in the morning. If they are no good I'll have to get some more. Bummer. It might have to be a garage job. I'm running out of time now!

[Laird Scooby]

If you can't bend them back to where they should be James then they're dead. You may get them back by brutal means but that will push the metal past its elastic limit which means there will be stress fractures in the earth electrode.

It may not happen straight away but sooner or later one of those earth electrodes will break off. When it does it could jam a piston, damage the piston, get shot out through an exhaust port straight into the turbo resulting in a wrecked turbo or one of umpteen other possibilities, all except one are pretty scary in the wallet area!

The only one that isn't is it breaks off and sits on top of the piston without doing any damage but because there's no earth electrode it will be misfiring like a pig and poisoning your cat.

EuroCarParts are generally open 6/7 days a week and so are Halfrauds, failing either of those i'm sure there's another motor factors open somewhere near you. A set of spark plugs should be easy enough to pick up, stick to NGK or Bosch, whatever you do don't buy Champion - in fact don't even accept them as a free gift!

For the risks involved putting those plugs in, it really isn't worth it. Another set of plugs is a tenner or less, compared to a replacement turbo that's peanuts. I know you're on a budget but sometimes you have to bite the bullet.