Advice on lumpy, erratic 2.0 16v - being a bit crap again..

[Jim 2]

This thread is turning into a mine of information!

 

Thanks David :)

[davidwort 0]

This thread is turning into a mine of information!

 

Thanks David :)

 

any improvement yet???

[Jim 2]

Didn't get to do the work this weekend after Eric's run in with a mob in Coventry as quite obviously he didn't feel like repairing my car after his ordeal! I don't actually have any tools of my own (though was pricing up torque wrenches, etc from Machine Mart earlier) so unless I can get to my dads in the next week or so i'm a bit stuck!

[Jim 2]

Well hoping to do this work this weekend - either over at Eric's or at my old mans house armed with my Passat Haynes manual. The car is just a nightmare to drive at the moment :|

[Jim 2]

Boy.. need this sorting now. Its been raining today (would moist air affect my situation) and cut out about 20 times in traffic :| Was better when warmed up tho...

[rgn 0]

Phil, Any chance of a copy of the scan on how to set the mixture please? Many Thanks

[CazzaVR 0]

Jim, sorted yet?

[Jim 2]

New gaskets improved things - but no. Idle is still all over the shop, occasionally revs sticking open between gears (not sure if thats related or if its just a sticking throttle cable)

 

Guess I just need to get it in for Vince to diagnose. Just wish I had some spare cash as there are loads of jobs I need doing on the car! :|

[Phil K 0]

I still say it's the air flow meter... they really are the mother of all 9A related problems Jim

 

Also, and this is nothing against Vince, when I spoke to him about my air flow meter being set up lean at the top end he said he basicly wouldn't touch the set up on them as they are so easy to kill! However Tim at The Phirm was more than happy to have a play with it and although it's still a bit lean at them top end it's 10 times better than it was before - there is only the lambda to blame for it now...

[Jim 2]

Sorry for sounding dumb.. is that the metering head Phil?

[Phil K 0]

Yeah - sorry fella... also added a bit to the above post /\ ;)

[P2daz 0]

I am watching this thread with great interest,

I have similar problems but not as severe yet, changed the ditributor cap,rotor arm, although when i went to change the plugs found that no socket i had in my kit was long enough :?

 

After mine has warmed up it runs as sweet as a nut, i have a sneaky feeling it will get worse as the mornings get colder though....

 

Good luck in your quest Jim,

[P2daz 0]

I don't beleive it!

 

After posting the above post and reading through the others - i thought i'd nip outside and give my engine the once over..

 

I found a pipe disconnected!

The best way to describe it is about a 20mm diameter pipe coming from the bottom of the airbox into a round device??

 

I have only owned the car for a few weeks and when i come to think of it the trouble started after i had been poking around(checking the air filter) so i have only myself to blame.

 

I wont know until tomorrow morning if that's definately it but it looks promising.

 

I only hope your trouble ends up being as simple Jim.

[Jim 2]

Well to be honest any such problem wouldn't surprise me.

 

Whilst in Germany we began some field repairs to find out why my temperature sensor (to show outside temp on the MFA) wasn't working. It appeared to be plugged in and testing it out on an ameter it appeared to fluctuate readings as you blew warm air onto it. Weird.

 

The penny gradually dropped when someone pointed out that my front driver side fog light wasn't working either - and the connectors for the temp sensor and the fog light are the same. In disbelief we plugged the temp sensor into the right cable and then after poking around found the fog light connector tucked away! Both temperature and the fog light now work!

 

So if little surprises like that are lurking, I guess anything is possible!

[Supercharged 2]

The penny gradually dropped when someone pointed out that my front driver side fog light wasn't working either - and the connectors for the temp sensor and the fog light are the same. In disbelief we plugged the temp sensor into the right cable and then after poking around found the fog light connector tucked away! Both temperature and the fog light now work!

 

LOL - still can't believe that!

[Jim 2]

Well the bad news is its still bad.

 

I'm going to have to go through all of davidwort's advice and just do each bit at a time. I've found that the majority of my driving is done whilst the car is not completely up to temp (ie my drive to work is 8 miles / 30 mins, etc) and most other journeys are similar - I don't often do long drives. But this morning the car got well up to temperature and after a shaky start idling seemed to sort itself out when properly warm.

 

So seems that its only really dodgy whilst cold / warming up.

[Walesy 0]

The 16v engine can be a git to fault find with, hope you manage to get to the bottom of it mate, it must be doing your head in by now!

[Jim 2]

To be fair mate its driving me crazy. I can't complain much really because its been fine since I bought it and it took me the 1,100 mile trip to Germany and back pretty faultlessly now.

 

And to expect a 170,000 mile engine to purr like a kitten would be foolish.

 

But i've got loads of things bugging me with it now. Engine wise I think the alternator is on the way out (squeaky bearings make it sound really rough), the bad idling issue, and since Germany either something in the exhaust or a load of heatshields have all decided to come loose and resonate at various different speeds / revs.

 

I wish I had lots of money kicking around as i'd just wheel it in to Stealth but its just not an option at the minute. Ideally I need a small windfall or something! :|

 

I wanted to buy a Corrado that I could do little jobs, etc on and this seems like a real candidate for that but just having no money sort of puts the kaibosh on it all! :(

[Jim 2]

Given in after a dire drive to Birmingham this morning. Though... it was parked outside last night in the rain.

 

Then after a drive it was parked up in an underground garage all day - and when I drove home this afternoon it was much better. Still occasional idling crapola but much better.

 

Spoken to (and booked the car in) with Vince on Oct. 25th - just hope it gets there before i've taken to the engine with a lump hammer :|

[Lippy 0]

hope you get things sorted Jim

 

what is Stealths labour rate and how much would you expect pay for a KR cam install and general tune and look over? I will be getting mine serviced seperately, but would like to see what Vince has to say about it. Be interested to see how the KR cam will get on aswell. ready for the RR day :D

[Jim 2]

They work out at about fourty five quid an hour i think all in. I dont really mind paying their labour rates to be honest as they regardless of whether they are able to sort or find the problem they are honest about what needs to be done and dont just change things for the sake of it.

 

Afraid i have no idea what the cost would be for a KR came install and tune up but I will try to remeber to ask when I go in to get my car looked at!

[jimmy83 0]

jim, tottally sympathise with you on this one, my 2.0 16v has had a cold misfire since april, myself and vince have tried everything bar taking the head off. Its so frustrating, as the car is fine when warmed up. Strangely, I have a loose heatshield, and squeaky alternator now.....aarrrgghh!

[Jim 2]

lol - seems like its like a 16v'er version of some disease! Currently spreading around Warwickshire! Watch out StuartFZR400 - your car is next!

[davidwort 0]

jim, tottally sympathise with you on this one, my 2.0 16v has had a cold misfire since april, myself and vince have tried everything bar taking the head off. Its so frustrating, as the car is fine when warmed up. Strangely, I have a loose heatshield, and squeaky alternator now.....aarrrgghh!

 

What has been changed, ruled out or checked then? Would be good for the forum to build up a quick reference of symptoms and their causes, along the lines of Haynes but with a lot more detail and examples!

 

 

Customer of my dad's had a car that wouldn't start on Thursday mornings!

By chance they went to look at it at the owners home and noticed a tall radio mast at the house next door, turned out he was a radio enthusiast and the powerful emissions were causing a dodgy hall sender on the distributor to fail to give a signal. The location was the only day of the week the car was parked there, a second home in London, his main residence had no interfering signals to stop the car starting!

[Jim 2]

Well i'll certainly note down any thing i've changed / tested etc. Tempest is suggesting testing a new ISV and the cold start injector - but they cost a bomb so not really an option atm.