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Spark plug diagnosis

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Ive got a 1995 2.0l 16v raddo with a 9a engine i belive?? Anyway it just doesnt seem to be running right and i have checked all of the obvious things such as igintion... static timing, its got new oil, filter, leads, rotor arm dissy cap etc. It seem to get really hot in traffic the oil temp will be about 112 to 115 and the water temp around 100 untill the fan cuts in. Ive have just checked the plugs and they seem a little white on the tip but the core seems fine and they are evenly matched, my thinking is that the engine is running lean causing the hot running, but his is just a guess, here is a picture of the plug sorry for the quality its off my phone,

 

sparky.jpg

 

can anyone confirm or shed some light on my problem. The car seems very flat to drive aswell, it doesnt burn oil or loose water?????

 

Also does anyone know the torque wrench setting for the plugs?

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think they should be 6ET....

 

 

Nope. BKUR7ET is correct but BCP7ET won't make much difference as it's the correct temperature range.

 

The plug looks slightly lean but not that much.

 

You could have a engine temperature sensor out. Lambda probe working OK? You will need to hook diagnostics up and look to see if there are any faults and also if the probe is working correctly.

 

9A is a bandit of an engine ECU to access but possible. An opto-isolator interface doesn't usually work, it needs to be electrically isolated and the if using VAG-COM it needs to be v409.0 or later.

 

First interrogation baud rate needs to be set to 4,800 otherwise the ECU chokes (stops communicating) necessitating the ignition to turned off & on.

 

Cam belt been changed lately?

 

 

.

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cheers for the help people, i was thinkng a sensor, but it doesnt seem to be related to when the car is warm or cold, which knocks the lambda probe out as it wont be used from cold start? It doesnt start amazingly from cold so i guess it could be the coolant temp sensor The other thing i have noticed is that there is a very small fuel leak from the pump but i doubt its enough to drop fuel pressure, and also the exhaust manifold has a small crack appearing on the top side so im wondering if its cracked beneath which again would cause lambda issues when the sensor comes into play. Im used to the g40 engine which is so much easier to diagnose than this, its really starting to annoy me.

 

The cambelt hasnt been changed in a while by the look of it but i have checked the static timing and its spot on at the pulley and i have marked the flywheel turned the engine over and checked it again there and it was spot on once more. What sensors or room for adjustment is available on these engines? ignition timing seems spot on the pulley mark with a strobe

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room for adjustment

 

None, it's all in the ECU programming.

 

The other thing i have noticed is that there is a very small fuel leak from the pump but i doubt its enough to drop fuel pressure, and also the exhaust manifold has a small crack appearing on the top side so im wondering if its cracked beneath which again would cause lambda issues

 

I think you've answered your Q. Sort these and then tackle if the problem persists.

 

 

.

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i am going to sort those problems but i get the impression that the flat poor running is nothing to do with either of those issues... are the coolant temp sensors prone to failing on the 9a engines?

 

another thing that is anoying me is that fact that i can feel every vibration the engine makes in the cabin, and ive only replaced the shagged old mounts with new oe ones. the thing is the engine does not make any excessive vibrations if you put you hand on the block its just the fact that the natural vibrations it does make get transmitted through the whole shell and again im not sure if its related to the poor running of the engine.

 

the irony is i sold my g40 as i wanted a realiable comfy ride and the raddo is not turning out to be either lol

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