Broken Down again!

[James_N]

its probably not far off that then but it stalls easily. seems ok when hot as ive just took it out down the road to test. I'll see how it goes over the next few days.

Thanks Dave

[Laird Scooby]

Interesting. Sounds almost as if there's an air leak somewhere or perhaps the mixture was turned down for the MoT and now you have a clean air filter it's running a bit lean.

Despite the holes in the old exhaust, it could well have been blocked causing the mixture to go rich (probably more likely than the air filter) and the mixture was tweaked for the MoT.

With luck it should sort itself out in a few days, you could try disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes or so to reset the Motronics ECU so it re-learns the fuel trims from the start.

[James_N]

Hi Dave,

It seemed OK this morning. Didn't stall and tickover at the traffic lights was around 700 so that seems about right.

Something isn't quite right though. Before all this palava happened, i knew exactly how my car sounded, exactly how it ran, the noises it made etc, as i'm sure a lot of us do, but now its different.

- There is a definite stutter / hesitation sometimes when pulling away in 1st and sometimes 2nd from low revs. Its only a split second stutter, and isn't noticeable if you give it quite a few revs and go, but its there, and it wasn't before. I changed the spark plugs and leads myself, i'm wondering if something isn't quite 100% right there?

I know the car hasn't had a dizzy cap or rotor arm since ive had it (so at least 6 years), maybe thats something i need to get done?

There is a slight grinding coming from the passenger side too now, speed related, so i'm wondering if i need a wheel bearing there.

Seems never ending at the moment but i'm determined to get this car spot on.

I will try the battery disconnecting, maybe that will help too, especially since the car has had a new MAF.

[Laird Scooby]

James - a few points :

1) Before you had the exhaust changed, it was noisy
2) Your car almost certainly made lots of squeaks, rattles and other noises beforehand
3) Changing the exhaust will change the "character" of the engine.

Now the exhaust has been changed it's obviously a lot quieter and you're hearing all the noises your car made beforehand - the dog guard in mine has always had an annoying "squeaky-rattle" which seems to have got a lot worse since i got my exhaust sorted. It hasn't of course, i can just hear it better!

All that said, i'd double check all the HT leads are pushed fully home in their respective holes and on the plugs.
After that i'd be looking at the dizzy cap and rotor arm but before that, what gap did you set the plugs to in the end? Also did you replace the ones where you inadvertently opened them up too much?

A wheel bearing usually gives a whine or a rumble, a worn brake pad or stone caught between the caliper (or pad) and disc will give a grinding noise.
Could be worth having the front wheels off and having a look, see what you can see.

[James_N]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

All that said, i'd double check all the HT leads are pushed fully home in their respective holes and on the plugs.
After that i'd be looking at the dizzy cap and rotor arm but before that, what gap did you set the plugs to in the end? Also did you replace the ones where you inadvertently opened them up too much?

I got my girlfriends dad who is a mechanic to regap them and i fitted them myself, apart from the one closest to the bulkhead which i got the local garage to do as i just couldn't get to it!

I'm going to get my girlfriends dad to give the car a good going over anyway. The pulleys that the belts are on are starting to make a grumble sound too which is just age i guess.

Hopefully it will run ok from now onwards! Its done 187k and i'm determined to get it to 200k!

[Laird Scooby]

If you couldn't get to #4 plug then you'd best get the local garage (or girlfriends dad) to check/change the dizzy cap and rotor arm as they are on the bulkhead end of the cylinder head and access is even more restricted than it is for the last plug.

Belts generally don't grumble, they usually squeal. If there's a grumbling/rumbling sound coming from that area it's likely to be either water pump or alternator, probably bearings in either one of those.
The good news is if it's the alternator bearings, they usually make a bit of noise once they've got some miles on them, unless they're seriously noisy they won't cause too much of a problem. The bad news is if it's your water pump rumbling, you'll need a new water pump.

Before you start throwing money and parts at it, find out what the cause is.

[James_N]

Thanks mate, i'll see if i can get the car given a once over just for peace of mind. Thanks for all your help Dave

[Laird Scooby]

You're welcome James and that sounds like a good idea!

[James_N]

Well the hesitation was due to having two lose spark plugs and leads so thats now been cured, tickover is still a little low and slightly lumpy sometimes but at least full power is restored

Todays new problem is a top rad hose that is shaped more like a flat sausage than a round hose!

Appears to have collapsed in the middle so i'll have to replace that this weekend. Would love some Dot88 silicon ones but they are out of my price range! I do however have a spare top rad hose (i think) which i bought off here as part of a second hand set some time back.

/edit - having a read around it seems this can be caused by a faulty rad cap. do i need to replace this also?

[Laird Scooby]

Two loose plugs would do it!

Sounds very like you need a replacement radiator cap, unusual that they go but they do eventually.

Check your coolant level before and a few days after renewing the cap and keep an eye on that top hose. It's possible it's collapsed internally but if it springs back to its normal shape when you remove the cap then it should be ok.