Some nice numbers!

Really  pleased with those - bearing mind the original readings.

 

Only fly in the ointment is a coolant leak which may be from the the thermostat housing - I'd forgotten that when I took it off, one of the bolts snapped and I spent yesterday and this morning trying to remove it, to no avail. So I made do with the remaining three - which may be the cause of the leak, but its not 100 sure. Shame

That's better!

 

Shame about the coolant leak. Maybe a bit of suitable sealant to help out the o-ring. Which position is the stuck bolt?

Yes, much better!

 

Its the bottom left one as you look from the passenger side. Just had it running and it doesnt seem to be leaking from there, but there seems to be a horizontal trickle running between the block and the bellhousing.

I wonder if that's possibly the o-ring seal between the plastic pipe that comes from the water pump, and the back of the thermostat housing flange thingy. That's quite awkward to refit if I remember rightly.

I've checked that, in fact it seems to have disappeared. I had it idling for some time in order to check for leaks and make sure the heater worked and all was fine. I think there must be an air lock though as when it was driven a very short distance the water temp light started flashing even though the gauge was indicating normal. 

Just realised its probably just the level thats a bit low - i lost a bit of coolant trying to bleed the heater

Yep that was it!

 

We now have one happy owner. Apparently it goes like a bomb now, so I'm looking forward to a test drive.

Great work fella.

I had a funny feeling it might go quite a lot better after this work!

is this something worth looking at getting done to my 1.2 6v? now i know it will never have the poke of a bigger engine, but id like to get the most out of it! anything else you would suggest?

Compression test it.

Ours had a very bad misfire that was most apparent at idle. That and the low or non existent compressions indicated that the repair was needed.

 

As Wino says you need to do a compression test.

 

Results should be between 150 and 225 psi when the engine is new and lower limit is 105 psi, with no more than 45 psi difference across all cylinders (was just looking at the manual earlier!)

i think its probably a bit beyond my capabilities.. ive worked plenty on motorbike engines but never a car.. its a 2004 done just over 100k miles