Update. They haven't replaced the valves, they've "ground them"(whatever that means) so no charge there Still don't know if the timing belt is a factor as i haven't been able to get hold of anyone today to ask.
I'm sure there'll be more updates to follow.......With luck, some of them with good news

excellent, grinding the valves and valve seats is a great way to restore performance to an older engine. all the crap that collects around the valves, and the wear to the metal surfaces, means when a valve closes it no longer seals perfectly. grinding will remove all the crap and get a good clean smooth metal surface, meaning the valves seal correctly. you should notice a big difference even if you do it on an engine with 50k.

however it does mean the valves weren't bent, and unless your engine has very very high milage it could not explain the "significantly reduced" compression on 3 cylinders. so i think the timing seems even more likely now.

grinding requires the head to be removed so it means a new timing belt will be used and the timing will be set up correctly, so the car should run much better than it has for a long time when you get it back. and be faster, and use less petrol. i jjust hope this doesnt cost too much. and i'd double check that they're using a brand new timing belt just in case they try to cut corners. actually i'd go and buy yourself a gates timing belt and tell them to fit that, they're the best and they you know its sorted for a long time.

Apparently they got the wrong head gasket so they're picking up a new one today and refitting the head. Perhaps this will cure the problem but i don't know if it will
Also there'll be another new cam belt going on etc (for the second time in 6 months lol).
I'll keep everyone updated as to how this progresses in the hopes of solving someone else's problem.

Still ongoing They've had four sets of head bolts and everyone of them has been the wrong size, they finally get the right ones, put the head back on and then mysteriously manage to physically break the thermostat housing Must have dropped it or something i suppose but i thought they were more robust than that.
So as of today i still don't know if the thing will even start up let alone if it's fixed.
My leg muscles grow much more and i won't need a bloody car lol.:bang:

:bang: complete amateurs!

sounds like they've given this job to the trainee, and sourced parts from china by landmail. you must be a very patient guy. i'd have lost it with them by now, not that it helps, but it does make you feel better.

Not really an update, mainly a whinge lol. They apparently couldn't get a thermostat so i had to get one for them. Ordered yesterday from shop4parts and it was delivered this morning(well packaged, fast delivery, damn those guys are good!)
Rang them this morning and they can't even pick it up today, could i bring it through? I said "If i had a ****ing car i would you bunch of useless ******s!"(patience wearing thin by now).
So basically they're picking it up tomorrow................with luck:bang: :bang:

so you havent gone down there with a butter knife and removed someone's face yet? well maybe you should try it

lmao, No, i must admit i haven't taken that course of action......YET!
Today they fitted the new thermostat and she appears to be firing on all cylinders, which is good news. However, when warm she won't start. Would/could this be down to the Lambda sensor being shagged?

lambda is a likely suspect if the starter motor turns at full speed (as expected) but it wont fire. this is due to underfueling.

HANG ON A MINUTE!

just realised which car we're talking about. you need to tell them to do a fuel pressure leak test. its easy. you attach a fuel pressure gauge to the fuel rail, start the engine to get it hot, turn it off and then see how much fuel pressure you have remaining after a couple of minutes. if the pressure bleeds off too fast, you get "vapor lock" and it wont start when hot. since you've had fuel pressure regulator problems recently you really must do this test. generally this is done if the car will restart ok when hot if done straight away, but wont restart if you leave it for a few mins. if you find pressure loss, its usually due to a faulty pressure regulator leaking pressure back to the fuel tank. it can alse be due to a worn fuel pump leaking pressure back into the tank. the pressure should drop slowly, that is normal, but if it drops more quickly that it should (need a bit of experience to decide that really) then you know you have a problem.

the main clue with warm start problems is whether it restarts straight away and only has probs after a few mins of been left switched off, or if it wont restart even almost immediately after it is switched off.

Thanks Jug, just thought i'd better run it by you first mate.
Hell! This could be the last job! At least i pray it bloody well is lmao.
Crossing fingers.......hell, i'm crossing everything i got.......I want my baby back!
Oh yeah, anyone have a reaonably priced online supplier of Lambda sensors?

i edited my post while you were posting. you may have missed some before you posted.

local motor factors are usually fairly cheap for lambdas, i have usually paid £40-60. which is why i try a scrapyard lambda first just to make sure.

Well they've phoned and said all the jobs they can find to be done have been done. It seems she runs fine now but they still have concerns because the engine management light is still on. Should it be driven with a warning light on or should we hold off for now?
Only asking because we've been without a car now for 2 and a half months and i'm fed of not going any bloody place lol.

driving it is the best thing to do now. you may find the fault clears up after a good bit of use, or you may find the problem gets worse, either way it can only help. not too long ago cars didnt have these lights and you went off how the car ran. engines havent changed that much, if it drives ok then drive it, you wont do any harm. besides with everything that has happened lately its almost certainly just a wiring fault now.

Stark said:

Well they've phoned and said all the jobs they can find to be done have been done. It seems she runs fine now but they still have concerns because the engine management light is still on. Should it be driven with a warning light on or should we hold off for now?
Only asking because we've been without a car now for 2 and a half months and i'm fed of not going any bloody place lol.

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Well thank god for that! I hope the light is nothing to worry about and is something that will sort itself out once the car's driven for a bit. I hope this is the end of your relationship with that particular garage

Helz said:

I hope this is the end of your relationship with that particular garage

Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

To be fair to the garage they're doing it at cost (though i haven't had the bill yet so remains to be seen whether i should be grateful or pissed off lol).
I'm just crossing fingers that we can put this all behind us, this was a very expensive P reg.......Love it to death though

Screw "To be fair"! Just heard the car and it sounds exactly like it did when it went in, 3 cyclinders as soon as you put your foot down, even out of gear!
I'm lost now, i really give up. We've spent a relative fortune on the bugger and it's still not any better. I think we may have to scrap this one and mark it up to bad experience..........though it'll be at least a year before we can afford another. Life sucks!:bang:

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!

i want to cry for you

It seems they've been chopping and changing the injectors. If they've put in mis-matched injectors could it result in the car running on three cylinders as soon as it's under strain?
It's weird, if you ramp the revs up slowly it seems to stay on 4 cylinders

Jesus. I'd be hanging from a tree by now. That's the kind of service you don't want from a garage.

Sounds like the fuel side of things has been investigated fully. Misfiring under load could be air flow meter, overfuelling might be TPS, knackered throttle body, even jammed throttle plate?

I'm no expert and I wouldn't normally put my oar in, but you might think it's worth looking at.

Good luck.