To buy or not to buy??

Karlos28 · Jun 12, 2019

That lives in the rear wheel arch if I am correct? I can't see any open pipes/hoses, are there dedicated hoses running through the bay to it?

Cheers

Nodge68 · Jun 12, 2019

Karlos28 said:
That lives in the rear wheel arch if I am correct? I can't see any open pipes/hoses, are there dedicated hoses running through the bay to it?

Cheers

It is, but the piping runs up the the inlet manifold, where it's flow is regulated by the purge valve.

Karlos28 · Jun 13, 2019

Nodge68 said:
It is, but the piping runs up the the inlet manifold, where it's flow is regulated by the purge valve.

Yeah, all must be correct there then. Does the purge valve have any sort of vent or anything?

Fuel wise, it's done about 140miles on half a tank so far. Will run it till the light comes on and fill it again for more accuracy.

Karlos28 · Jun 16, 2019

Got one of those Bluetooth OBD2 jobbies plugged in, a small myriad of faults which I'm guessing was the cause of the EML being on. Cleared them and none have come back. Will plug back in after the commute tomorrow and see if any have returned...

rob_bell · Jun 17, 2019

Most of the recorded faults are related to the misfire. The misfire in my experience with these engines is usually a coil pack misbehaving.

In your case, with excess fuel consumption, I am not so sure... Have you checked the spark plugs (look normal, correct gap)? Might be worth just checking that the cam timing is also correct (set crank to its timing mark and check that the cam pulley marks correctly align).

Karlos28 · Jun 17, 2019

Yeah checked the plugs and re gapped them. They looked fine.

As I say those codes appeared as a result of me stalling it... At least I think I stalled it, I guess it could have just cut out as I was manoeuvring...? The faults haven't returned though..

The cam timing isn't a bad shout, the belt looks pretty new but I have no records of it being changed or anything.

Karlos28 · Jun 17, 2019

Well I ran the codes again today and the power train fuel trim, and the crankshaft position sensor are both faulting still.

Looks like I may have a positive find! Will check cam timing as the sensor fault I suppose could be that. No idea what the power train thing is??

Nodge68 · Jun 17, 2019

Karlos28 said:
Looks like I may have a positive find! Will check cam timing as the sensor fault I suppose could be that.

It could be cam timing, as the ECU expect a slight error, but not more than a few degrees out.

Karlos28 said:
No idea what the power train thing is??

Power train simply refers to the engine. Fuel trim is where the ECU is altering the fuel injection value, off of its base setting. This is done as the ECU "learns" the engine. However if you're getting a fuel trim code, then the ECU is at maximum trim and the mixture is still wrong. This can be caused by a leaking injector, too high a fuel pressure, or incorrect cam timing, upsetting the way the engine breathes.

Karlos28 · Jun 17, 2019

Hmmm, vague but definitely indicates I have a problem... A brief list;

Check cam timing,
Maybe run some injector cleaner?
Replace cam sensor
Burn it...

Nodge68 · Jun 17, 2019

Karlos28 said:
Check cam timing,
Maybe run some injector cleaner?
Replace cam sensor
Burn it...

I wouldn't bother with the last 3 on that list.

Karlos28 · Jun 17, 2019

You think cam timing is looking favourite then? Hopefully! It's a nice cheap easy (relatively) fix!

On second thoughts, since I don't know the status of the belt, I guess I may as well change it while I'm there...?

Karlos28 · Jun 18, 2019

Just checked the cam timing. All looks good. Still getting the error codes. Is it time to throw a new sensor at it now?

Alibro · Jun 18, 2019

Karlos28 said:
Just checked the cam timing. All looks good. Still getting the error codes. Is it time to throw a new sensor at it now?

If you have a 1.8 k series it's really common to have the timing half a tooth out. It needs to be spot on.

Alibro · Jun 18, 2019

Alibro said:
If you have a 1.8 k series it's really common to have the timing half a tooth out. It needs to be spot on.

Also did you remove the crankshaft pulley to check the lower timing marks?

Karlos28 · Jun 18, 2019

I didn't take the pulley off but the cams were aligned perfectly and I could see the mark on the crank pulley was at 12oclock, couldn't quite see the marks for the crank. Had better re visit then!

Edit: how can you get it half a tooth out? And if it is half a tooth out, how can you resolve it!?

Nodge68 · Jun 18, 2019

Karlos28 said:
I didn't take the pulley off but the cams were aligned perfectly and I could see the mark on the crank pulley was at 12oclock, couldn't quite see the marks for the crank.

It's best to remove the bottom damper/pulley, so you can check the dots of the timing pulley, line up exactly with the cast on pointer.

Karlos28 said:
Edit: how can you get it half a tooth out? And if it is half a tooth out, how can you resolve it!?

Ali is referring to 1/2 a tooth out on cam pulleys. The equates to one tooth out on the crank pulley. It's very common and easy to get the timing just one tooth out, which gives sluggish performance and bad fuel economy.

Karlos28 · Jun 18, 2019

Ok will check again at some point. However whoever did the belt last two med it to the tdc mark and made their own tippex timing marks, which also all lined up perfectly.

However the economy and performance would be nice. I haven't driven another 1.8 so not sure what a good one drives like!

Alibro · Jun 18, 2019

Karlos28 said:
Ok will check again at some point. However whoever did the belt last two med it to the tdc mark and made their own tippex timing marks, which also all lined up perfectly.

However the economy and performance would be nice. I haven't driven another 1.8 so not sure what a good one drives like!

It should be a fairly nippy car that is very pleasant to drive and not crazy thirsty.
One other thing might be worth checking is that the cam pulleys are fitted correctly. On my car I refitted one wrong and the car wouldn't start but I don't know what would happen if the other one was fitted wrong.
To check you need to remove the bolts that hold the pulleys. Don't worry about loosing timing as the pulleys will stay on without the bolts
The lugs in the centre (currently covered by the bolts) should be in the position to reflect if the pulley is exhaust or inlet.
It's probably not that but ever since it happened to me I've been paranoid about it.

Karlos28 · Jun 18, 2019

Cheers alibro, looks like I'm in for a bit of a strip down then! Was hoping it would be an easy one.

It does feel fairly nippy, more than I expected. And even more so with the intake removed! Wondering about doing something about that, free flowing filter or something? Maybe my filter is just really bad! Doesn't look it though.

rob_bell · Jun 19, 2019

Can you get a picture of the timing marks? It is possible that it is okay - but sometimes a little tricky to tell for sure. Removing the crank pulley and checking the postition of the two dots on the crank align with the casting mark is best, but you should get a good idea using the crank pulley mark and the one on the cam cover.

Mine's a 1.8 - you'd be welcome to compare and contrast if you'd like - but being in the big smoke, it would be a bit of a trek! lol

To buy or not to buy??

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Attachments

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads