a question for all you techies out there!

[GREEN SCOOBY]

my girlfriends car (bravo 1.4 12v r reg 100,000 miles ) is having some problems at the moment.Can any of you techies help her?

The car does not seem to be running as good as it used to last year.The main problem seems to be a loss of power and the engine sounds tinny when running and also when it idles it has a PUT PUT sound coming from the exhaust, as if the car was missing. We have tried various methods to sort the car out (new spark plugs and leads,fuel injection cleaners and we are trying optimax at the moment to see if that is better)but it still has the same problem.It has been in the garage several times as well but still no luck.I have looked on the forum to see if these are common problems but dont see anything like that in there.

If any one can help or give advice and sugestions it would be much appreciated.If not it looks like a new car for her even though she does not want rid of it as she loves the car very much.


thanks again

Roy

 

[Tom]

The exhaust noise makes me think abit. Have you ever done a compression test on it?

It could be that one of the valves is not seating correctly which would basically give you a 3cyl car. The other option is that the exhaust manifold is cracked but that would not loose quite as much power.

 

[GREEN SCOOBY]

Re: Re: a question for all you techies out there!

thanks for the reply Tom.

we have not had a compression test done ( can any garage do this?)but had heard about sticking valves from some bloke from Fiat.That is why we are using engine cleaner and the optimax on the car at the moment, to help clean the valves etc etc.We are going to use an engine flush on her next service which is due soon as well. Do you think this is a waste of time and the only way to sort it if it is valves is to change the valves and the seats etc etc.I have not tried the manifold either as I thought it was all right as you can not hear gas escaping from it and the mechanics that looked at the car have never mentioned it either. I personally thought it would have more to do with the plugs and leads etc etc but we have changed them and it was no different.I have read recently on your FAQ that the fuel injectors are some times not very good after a lot of miles so maybe it could be this as well.maybe an expensive trip to fiat is order,but hopefully not.

Thanks again Tom and if any more of you out there can please give some advice that would be great.

Roy

 

[Tom]

Re: Re: Re: a question for all you techies out there!

The 1.4 only has 1 injector and it would not cause odd noises.

Go to Hellfords and get yourself a compression tester, about £16-17. Follow the instructions and see what it says. I'd try it with the engine cold and then again with the engine warm. Just don't burn yourself on the plugs.

If its a sticking valve or a burnt valve seat then it IS a head off job. No amount of cleaner will ever fix that. Sorry!

 

[Tom]

Re: Re: Re: Re: a question for all you techies out there!

Just to add to my last post, a compression test is a good test of engine health. If you get all 4 (or 5 if you have an HGT ) readings within a few PSI of eachother then you can be sure any problems are external to the engine.

As engines wear, the valve seat to valve seal can become dodgey, some won't seal when cold, some won't when hot. There are alot of factors. ITs not as bad with alloy heads as they have hardened seats. Old iron engines used to suffer.

There is also a school of thought that says these injector cleaners can cause this sort of failure too. You know the nice pictures on the bottle of the valves before and after? Where do you think all that gunge goes? 99.99% of the time it gets burnt and escapes but it doesn't take much to hold a valve open.