Hi all,

I was wandering if anyone can help. Today I received my Felicia Haynes manual and decided to fix the thermo sensor. I bought a new housing from Joirly and found out the old one was broken, and managed to put the new one in. Feeling confident I decided to do the valves as the car rattles a bit when idle, and the manual says it needs to be done very regularly. Anyway noticing that the job was apparently easier than putting the new sensor on I decided to have a go. Got the top off and started from left to right. First one I realised I didn't know what the hell I was doing, so after loosening the nut decided to close the gap and go and pick my girlfriend up. Anyway, I started driving, temp went up to 100 quickly (nice one I thought), then the car stated missing on a busy dual caridgeway. When I put the accelerator down it stated kangaroo hoping. So I pulled up on the side (in the middle of rush hour, with dog in back) and left the felicia with the hazards on. I came back within 1 hour and it went fine, until it stated again right outside the house. What have I done??? Help. I don't understand what I have to do, or what I did.

Sorry for the length of this message.

Hope someone can help

d

Hi all,

I was wandering if anyone can help. Today I received my Felicia Haynes manual and decided to fix the thermo sensor. I bought a new housing from Joirly and found out the old one was broken, and managed to put the new one in. Feeling confident I decided to do the valves as the car rattles a bit when idle, and the manual says it needs to be done very regularly. Anyway noticing that the job was apparently easier than putting the new sensor on I decided to have a go. Got the top off and started from left to right. First one I realised I didn't know what the hell I was doing, so after loosening the nut decided to close the gap and go and pick my girlfriend up. Anyway, I started driving, temp went up to 100 quickly (nice one I thought), then the car stated missing on a busy dual caridgeway. When I put the accelerator down it stated kangaroo hoping. So I pulled up on the side (in the middle of rush hour, with dog in back) and left the felicia with the hazards on. I came back within 1 hour and it went fine, until it stated again right outside the house. What have I done??? Help. I don't understand what I have to do, or what I did.

Sorry for the length of this message.

Hope someone can help

d

hi there -

dont panic! lol- you've over-tightened a valve, just dont run the engine until u get it sorted- heres a really useful guide for setting the tappets-

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/103676-tappets/page__p__1285303__hl__setting+tappets__fromsearch__1#entry1285303

first couple of times is a bit confusing, but you'll soon get the hang of it

cheers

hi there -

dont panic! lol- you've over-tightened a valve, just dont run the engine until u get it sorted- heres a really useful guide for setting the tappets-

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/103676-tappets/page__p__1285303__hl__setting+tappets__fromsearch__1#entry1285303

first couple of times is a bit confusing, but you'll soon get the hang of it

cheers

Thanks, what size feeler gauge should I have

Thanks, what size feeler gauge should I have

.20 exhaust, .25 inlet ...yes...i know....apparently its something to do with the alloy and steel pushrods used.

best of luck setting 'em

.20 exhaust, .25 inlet ...yes...i know....apparently its something to do with the alloy and steel pushrods used.

best of luck setting 'em

exhaust 0.2mm and inlet to 0.25mm that is! - make sure the feeler guages are metric, or convert to imperial

cheers

exhaust 0.2mm and inlet to 0.25mm that is! - make sure the feeler guages are metric, or convert to imperial

cheers

Muchos gracias.

Thanks for you help and quick response.

Will let you know how I get on, once it stops raining that is!!

Where is the rocker gear too move the valves?? Or the crank shaft pulley??

Sorry to be silly

Edited 8 July, 201115 yr by dyljones

The rocker gear is the collection of levers (rockers because they rock back and forward), springs, set screws (the tappet adjusters you've just been talking about) and the like that connect the camshaft to the valves. This is a link to the relevant Wikipedia article. The clearance you're trying to set is under the rocker (in the illustration) and adjusted by the nut and set screw on top of the rocker.

Now, back at your query in #7:-

The crankshaft pulley is bolted to the righthand end of the crankshaft (sometimes called the nose; This position will vary on some vehicles, mostly with driven rear wheels, older Audis and Hondas). To use this to turn the engine over, it's much easier to remove the spark plugs first. If you're going to do that, make sure you number the spark plug leads before disconnecting them.

Alternatively, you can turn the engine by putting it in gear, and pushing the car.

Right then, update.

Managed to do the valve's after jacking the wheel up and pushing it forward, could see the springs move. Used a feeler gauge Went for a test drive all good, then the kangaroo hopping began again after about 5 mins. When i looked at the valves you could still move them pushing your finger. Is it something I have done???

Sorry to be a pain??

Right then, update.

Managed to do the valve's after jacking the wheel up and pushing it forward, could see the springs move. Used a feeler gauge Went for a test drive all good, then the kangaroo hopping began again after about 5 mins. When i looked at the valves you could still move them pushing your finger. Is it something I have done???

Sorry to be a pain??

if there was no 'kangaroo hopping' before u set the tappets, chances are u've set them wrong.....might be worthwhile checking them again - make sure u have a nice 'sliding fit' (not too tight, not too loose) between the valve/rocker. - if all seems ok, might be worth checking the connectors to the lambda sensor ( the one sticking out of the exhaust pipe...u can just see it to the back of the engine)- i had some awful misfire issues relating to mine, turned out two wires had perished and snapped before the connector...might be worth checking all the wiring under the bonnet just in case u disturbed anything... - an idea might be to have a good look around YouTube to see if theres a demo on setting tappets on a pushrod engine.

- best of luck

Edited 8 July, 201115 yr by chef1

if there was no 'kangaroo hopping' before u set the tappets, chances are u've set them wrong.....might be worthwhile checking them again - make sure u have a nice 'sliding fit' (not too tight, not too loose) between the valve/rocker. - if all seems ok, might be worth checking the connectors to the lambda sensor ( the one sticking out of the exhaust pipe...u can just see it to the back of the engine)- i had some awful misfire issues relating to mine, turned out two wires had perished and snapped before the connector...might be worth checking all the wiring under the bonnet just in case u disturbed anything... - an idea might be to have a good look around YouTube to see if theres a demo on setting tappets on a pushrod engine.

- best of luck

Tightened them and re-did it. Will take for a test drive in a bit, will let you know. Thanks

UPDATE.

Been for a good hour drive on the M4 Up to Bridgend and back, goes like a dream.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Much obliged.

The system works

It's surprising how much such a little thing can make a big difference.

I did mine regularly as it always seemed to run so smooth after setting the clearances.

I once did them way too loose and the car seemed to run ok but sounded like a tractor!

Glad you got it sorted.

Phil

UPDATE.

Been for a good hour drive on the M4 Up to Bridgend and back, goes like a dream.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Much obliged.

The system works

No problem; always remember that there is no such thing as a stupid question when you're asking once about something you've never been taught.

UPDATE

Hi all,

Driven the car for 85 miles, no problem, then today it happened again. After a 4 mile trip it started Kangaroo hopping again. I left it for 30 mins, started again and all was fine, then after 4 miles (just before I got to the house) there she went again. What am I to do???

Help

UPDATE

Hi all,

Driven the car for 85 miles, no problem, then today it happened again. After a 4 mile trip it started Kangaroo hopping again. I left it for 30 mins, started again and all was fine, then after 4 miles (just before I got to the house) there she went again. What am I to do???

Help

Check that the fuel cap vent is not blocked.

If /when it happens again remove the cap and see if there is a vacuum in tank.

Think your barking up the wrong tree keep messing with the valve clearances.

Will it idle when its in hopping mode?? if it will idle (all be it a bit roughly) then maybe u have a spark plug/lead/coil that is breaking down with the heat (a long drive on the motorway would mean more wind so cooler). Try and pull the leads off one by one to see which plug/lead doesnt make a difference and this spark/lead should be checked or replaced. For the coil you could do a resistance test or just get one out the scrappy for peanuts and try it.

maybe somebody with a bit more knowhow than me can make sense of this, I had similar problems after setting valve clearances following haynes instructions, seemed to clear up after coming across some tips on briskoda and re-doing them. something to do with removing splash plate and not replacing the nut causes valves 1 & 2 to be incorrect possibly?

just a thought.

Thanks for your help.

Just thought. When doing the thermostat, some liquid went into the crankshaft sensor. Would that cause it?? Might see if I can get a sensor from a scrappy and replace the one in there now (which has some liquid still in it and give it a try!!

Ah, if you've got liquid in the crankshaft sensor, then you could get random duff signals as to where the crankshaft is, which will mess up your ignition timing. See here, particularly parts 1 and 4.

UPDATE.

So far so good, cleaned the Crankshaft sensor and put a hair-dryer on it, 90 miles later it seems fine now.

The end of a long saga (hopefully)

Thanks everyone for all your help.

good to hear

If you're getting kangaroo jumping - on the 1.3 SPI, I'd look at the distributor, distributor cap, and rotor arm. Check for play in the rotor arm, it should barely move back and forth. I had one which had broken and moved noticeably, and this caused the Kangaroo jumping for me. I think something can happen with the shaft in the distributor.

If you're getting kangaroo jumping - on the 1.3 SPI, I'd look at the distributor, distributor cap, and rotor arm. Check for play in the rotor arm, it should barely move back and forth. I had one which had broken and moved noticeably, and this caused the Kangaroo jumping for me. I think something can happen with the shaft in the distributor.

Like a camshaft, crankshaft etc, a distributor driveshaft runs in bearings which can wear. In the case of the dissie, this allows the top (cap and rotor arm) end of the shaft to rock sideways, which affects the ignition timing (and not in a good way). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributor refers, with the note that the bearing is singular, and normally found in the thick bit of the housing just above the black bit.