Hi all was wondering if there was anyone in the South wales area (preferably near Caerphilly) who has the software/cables etc for a diagnostic test and would be willing for me to bring my felicia to them to get it checked out? I've got issues with it stalling and loss of power. Hope I dont sound too cheeky!!

Cheers Dewi

Hi all was wondering if there was anyone in the South wales area (preferably near Caerphilly) who has the software/cables etc for a diagnostic test and would be willing for me to bring my felicia to them to get it checked out? I've got issues with it stalling and loss of power. Hope I dont sound too cheeky!!

Cheers Dewi

did you do maintenance, Stalling and loss of power sound to me like valve clearance and ignition problems or a vacuum leak, things a simple maintenance and inspection will cure in no time

excuse me for being abit of a dumb *** but what do you mean by valve clearances? How would you go about checking this and correcting etc, I am a novice and was just thinking is it something I could attempt in a diy sort of fashion or would it be best to leave to an expert? Are specialist tools required for example? I have just done the head gasket with the help of a mate whos a fitter and enjoyed doing it and I would like to be able to get to grips with a bit of basic mechanics etc myself as my mate isn't always around, so any help would be gratefully appreciated like maybe pics and a description of what to do? Thanks Dewi

Actually I think during the head gasket change my mate might have done something with the valves i'll have to ask him. Although the power problems were there before we attempted the gasket change.

Yes my mate did adjust "tappets" as he was always calling em lol thats what threw me there, so I think they are probably not the cause of the problems unless of course he didn't adjust em properly.

Yes my mate did adjust "tappets" as he was always calling em lol thats what threw me there, so I think they are probably not the cause of the problems unless of course he didn't adjust em properly.

see, that's the thing, skoda "tappets" (sorry is just a diferent name from what whe call it here) are what i call "pleasant loud", if you cannot hear them they're clearances is none or too little, if you can hear them after full warm up loudly, then the clearance is too wide or too much...

if you set them with the rule of nine (#1 fully open, check #8 {1+8=9}) you need to set them to 0.20mm (8 thou) all arround, if you see that the pushrod is not black (aluminium alloy) set that one (intake) to 0.25mm (10 thou), now you also have the option of setting the exhaust valves to 0.25mm (20 thou) as this is withing tolerance for the exhaust, but setting the intake valve too wide, or any to narrow will give you trouble

now im going to asume that you guys did a full maintenance on the car...

if valves (tappets) are ok, ignition timing is ok, and the car has had a full maintenance (filters oil, spark plugs) then the only thing to check(as far as i can figure) is fueling to lean (vacuum leaks, Lamda sensor, etc..)

now mind you i am not a mechanic, just a joe that fiddles arround with mi car

Actually I think during the head gasket change my mate might have done something with the valves i'll have to ask him. Although the power problems were there before we attempted the gasket change.

eh... mind telling me why did you change the head gasket?

i ask because maybe you have a problem with your pistons, maybe they dont seal correctly, also i read that if you always have head gasket problems then is not the head gasked, but a cracked piston...

Cheers Cepheus, Yes the oil and filters, spark plugs etc were changed during the head gasket change. The reason we did the head gasket was both because of the power problems and there was the indicitive plume of white smoke from the exhaust and mayo in the oil, whether there ever was an issue with the gasket i don't know as we didn't do a compression test, (no white smoke now though) however it was a good job we did as when we opened it up there was all congealed and encrusted oil in the rocker top, seems as though it never had an oil change since new!!! aarrgh. So sorted that and thoroughly cleaned rocker top and inside head etc.

In terms of noise it has always sounded like a bag of nails since I bought it and on doing the head and adjusting the tappets it doesn't really seem to sound any different may this could be the timing chain? (does the 1.3 have a chain or belt?) nor has it affected the low level of power the car has.

1 thing we thought odd though on trying to change the valve stem seals, the new seals in the kit did not fit, and on obtaining 3 different sets from auto dealers in the area could not for the life of us get them to fit, so in the end resorted to using the old seals which on the whole seemed in pretty good condition

Cheers Cepheus, Yes the oil and filters, spark plugs etc were changed during the head gasket change. The reason we did the head gasket was both because of the power problems and there was the indicitive plume of white smoke from the exhaust and mayo in the oil, whether there ever was an issue with the gasket i don't know as we didn't do a compression test, (no white smoke now though) however it was a good job we did as when we opened it up there was all congealed and encrusted oil in the rocker top, seems as though it never had an oil change since new!!! aarrgh. So sorted that and thoroughly cleaned rocker top and inside head etc.

In terms of noise it has always sounded like a bag of nails since I bought it and on doing the head and adjusting the tappets it doesn't really seem to sound any different may this could be the timing chain? (does the 1.3 have a chain or belt?) nor has it affected the low level of power the car has.

1 thing we thought odd though on trying to change the valve stem seals, the new seals in the kit did not fit, and on obtaining 3 different sets from auto dealers in the area could not for the life of us get them to fit, so in the end resorted to using the old seals which on the whole seemed in pretty good condition

bag of nail??? yep sounds like the timing chain (yes it does have a timing chain, at least the 1.3 135/136 skoda engine), now that on itself is not a problem, but if the chain is a tooth of yes it would give you loss of power and poor performance, but the only chance of that is if the engine had a overhauling or the valve chain changed wrong by someone.

when you changed the head gasket, did you inspect the pistons and everything else?

when a head gasket is remove here, everything in the headgasket comes off, and gets inspected, and the piston and the cilinder chamber are visualy inspected as well

did you also check the HT leads as Ken O'Neil sujested, i would take thing to the safe side and replace them and also check the ignition timing make sure is correct (to rule out problems in that area)

The cylinders and pistons were fine, they were clean no scores or anything. We did not change the HT leads but it doesn't feel like there is any sort of misfire so im tending to think theres no problem with those. In terms of ignition timing how would i go about checking that?

Gonna have a good clean of the throttle body, check accelerator cable, check and clean the map and crank sensors, and then also try removing the coolant sensor as teflon tom suggests. Are there any other susceptible areas which would benefit from a good cleaning and may indicate my problems.

Is it possible to inspect the timing chain for problems without causing damage and what would i be looking for? Are special tools required to replace the chain as I have said before Im a bit of a rookie! Is it more a specialist job?

The cylinders and pistons were fine, they were clean no scores or anything. We did not change the HT leads but it doesn't feel like there is any sort of misfire so im tending to think theres no problem with those. In terms of ignition timing how would i go about checking that?

Gonna have a good clean of the throttle body, check accelerator cable, check and clean the map and crank sensors, and then also try removing the coolant sensor as teflon tom suggests. Are there any other susceptible areas which would benefit from a good cleaning and may indicate my problems.

Is it possible to inspect the timing chain for problems without causing damage and what would i be looking for? Are special tools required to replace the chain as I have said before Im a bit of a rookie! Is it more a specialist job?

with a strobe gun you can check ignition timing with the engine's belt pulley after you have the timing dead on you can atach the strobe gun to the HT of the pistons in order to check valve timing (at least, is a trick i think might work)

cylinders are 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 firing order is 1 - 3 - 4 - 2 so when piston # 3 is firing (spark) # 1 exaust valve should be open, when piston # 2 is firing # 1 intake valve should be open...

i think that a very crude way of checking but since i'm not a mechanic or a skoda specialist wait for others opinions in this forum to see if that trick works

as far as i know if you have a injector model and the timing and valves (tapets) are ok, you should have power and good FE but i guess it would hurt to do a compresion test and take it to the dyno (i'm taking mine after i fix the carburetor)

Ok I have just found the problem regarding loss of power and low top end speed - I have a naffed accelerator cable!!! The threaded bit by the throttle body has snapped and very loose, the throttle is only opening slightly!! So simple after all. I have just temporarily fixed it by placing a chunky plastic sleeve on it to take the slack and WOW what a difference. Im sure I'll get more than 60 out of her now!!!!

So this just now leaves the stalling problem and low mpg which hopefully will be down to the coolant sensor. I have unplugged it and will change if I find it to be any better and hopefully my felly will be well again!!!

Cheers for all your help guys. Will update when I know anything.

PS, Cepheus thanks for taking the time to explain about the timing but I am soooooooooooooo glad that it wasn't that which was the problem, it looks very complicated for a novice like myself especially as I have no specialist tools!!