Running On 3 Cylinders

[ApLeEuXgeot 0]

Hi I have purchased a 205 gti 1.6 (registered 01/08/1989) and I’m having a

few problems.

 

When I bought the vehicle I was told it needed a new fuel pump. I started

the car first time without changing the fuel pump to find it revving high at 3000
and with a misfire. I changed the plugs, distributor and HT leads and that made
no change.

I then changed what I believe is the throttle sensor and that made a bit of

a difference and brought the idle down to 1500/2000

I have checked for a spark on all four HT leads and that is ok but when I

take the HT lead off the plug nearest to the belt (cylinder 1) there is no difference to the
engine noise or speed which makes me believe it's that cylinder that is the problem.

Am I missing anything or is it a sign that there is a head gasket problem as
I have smoke from the exhaust and after getting it up to temp there is white in
the oil cap.

Please help as I know a little about 205's but I’m a little stuck with what to do
next.

Thanks Alex

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

Pull the spark plug and see if its getting fuel. It should be wet if si

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

Pull the spark plug and see if its getting fuel. It should be wet if so

[ApLeEuXgeot 0]

I've pulled the spark plug and it appeared to be wet. Any other suggestions?

[Tom Fenton 1,525]

A compression test would be my next move to see if the engine is mechanically healthy, especially on the cylinder that isn't playing ball.

[ApLeEuXgeot 0]

I'm picking up a tester tomorrow, so I'll do a compression check and let ya know how that goes.

[glenwah 20]

A leakdown tester/differential cylinder pressure tester would give you a better idea of what's wrong, it pumps air into the cylinder and a pair of gauges show how much is being lost, if the head gasket is gone the header tank will bubble, if rings are gone you will hear air from oil filler, great bit of kit if you can get your hands on one.

[ApLeEuXgeot 0]

Just done a compression check and 1st and 3rd cylinders tested at 11 bar and 4th and 2nd cylinders tested at 12 bar.

So no considerable difference.

Just changed the fuel pump as well because I was told that was the problem to start with. So I changed it for peace of mind and no change. Still running on 3 cylinders!

[welshpug 1,622]

check the injector wiring, quite common for them to be brittle and corroded, and also for the terminals in the plugs to dislocate and not make contact with the terminals of the injector.

[DamirGTI 325]

Said the plug is wet , so injectors should be fine then

 

I'd do block test , or leak down test .. any of the two will precisely pinpoint HG issue or cracked liner , crack in the cylinder head etc.

 

D

Edited March 4, 2013 by DamirGTI

[MikeC 10]

Any Petrol in the oil?

[boldy205 74]

You have checked the dizzy cap for arching/condition?

 

Condition of plug leads?

[Richie-Van-GTi 70 2 Cars]

Are you sure it was petrol on the plug. The fact you have compression, fuel and spark would indicate you should be getting combustion on that chamber. If your sure you have a good spark and decent compression I would check the fueling. Could always remove rail with injectors attached and crank the car make sure they are firing. If they all fire then get 4 small pots crank away and se if they all fire a similar amount. The smoke could be unburnt fuel. It may be a case of a leaky injector flooding pot one.

[ApLeEuXgeot 0]

Hi guys thanks for your help and advise! I hadn't been able to work on the car to much recently, with weather and everything else but I managed to get her running on 4 cylinders yesterday to my surprise!

I changed the fuel pressure regulator and she fired on all four!

Now I still have the same problem of white smoke and I mean a lot of white smoke which makes me believe the head is still gone! It's burning an aweful lot of water. Also it's idling about 2000 and very rich!

Is that just a classic sign of the head gone or could there be more damage to the engine!?

Many thanks Alex

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Is the water bottle pressurizing? leave the cap off and fill it right up to see if its getting pushed out when its running, it will do it from stone cold instantly no need to wait till its warm

[ApLeEuXgeot 0]

The water pushes out when you rev it and it does bubble from cold on tick over but I'm not sure if that's the water just moving round the system

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

does it rise out of the bottle on idle from cold a cold start without revving it up?

[ApLeEuXgeot 0]

No it doesn't rise out when it's cold...

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Could be just the stem seal gone but if its using/loosing water and a lot of it and theres no evidence of any leaks then its probably time to remove the head for investigation

[ApLeEuXgeot 0]

Thanks for the advise but I think it's well truly knackered! I'm going to drop a 1.9 in and salvage what I can from the 1.6

 

Does anyone know of someone selling a decent 1.9 that I can drop in?

 

Thanks Alex