HELP!

 

Hi folks I am new here so please excuse any school boy errors... "Saga alert"

 

Last year my cam belt went after only 18,000 miles on a new set up! So £1750 later and the engine was re-built as req'd... Aaghh...

 

The engine had a lumpy tickover so back it went, injector 1 was diagnosed as faulty... I got an Ebay recon one and the garage fitted it... good.

 

Later, still iffy with a sort of "bobbly" tickover and the engine just felt different, back it goes.... Injector 3 diagnosed as iffy, got another similar and the garage fitted it... better.

 

I had a feeling that the car would not tow my van well as I had also noticed a drop in it's low end "grunt"... Just got back from a week's break and the car really struggled up the hills, I had to shift down to third on some whereas the car would breeze up 'em before, maybe down to 4th gear but...

 

One thing I also noticed was that when shifting down a gear the car would vibrate with the raised revs, the dashboard even vibrated in sympathy with this odd sort of drone, bloody awful, this seems to be a very unhappy engine now!

 

So today me and the wife went out for a run (without the caravan) and I gave the car a bit of an Italian Tune Up... Boy does that car shift, it quite surprised me as a sedate driver... it really startled my wife! 

 

So even though the tickover still seems a bit suss to me the car goes like a flaming rocket when "solo", but if you couple the van up to it it is absolutely terrible, certainly not the grunty motor it used to be...

 

So as I said before... HELP!

 

 

i would get the timing checked and were the injectors programed ?

Hi  mate ta for your response, I am going to get back in there to humbly ask the garage to check the timing. 

 

Not sure what you mean by programming the injectors, I know that they wanted to fit them for me re: setting/measuring them correctly.

 

I said I would fit them myself but the manager said he would fit them for me for not a great cost so as to not "eff-up" the warranty on the engine rebuild if you get me drift?

 

Edited 21 May, 20179 yr by jharv

Seems strange, for it to be ok unhitched, but so different with the van. Seems to indicate a low end torque / boost problem. But the turbo probably wasn't touched as a part of the rebuid?

 

As a start get some data logging to monitor boost pressure at low end revs? You can look for a member with VCDS or even torque app and a dongle should allow you to check / log boost pressure at RPM.

I'm leaning towards the timing being out.

 

This can affect the low end grunt and delay the boost somewhat which could explain it.

 

There is some adjustment on the pulley to adjust timing and this should be checked.

Yep i'd say timing is out as well, sounds like it's a bit retarded which is why the is "grunt"

in the lower revs but loads at the mid and top.

Cheers lads, yes indeed as I said before I will "humbly" ask the garage to double check the timing.

 

It's a funny thing that with such an experience one can start to become a bit paranoid about things; you can loose confidence in your car and start to notice things that you never noticed before... saying that I am sure I notice the turbo "wooshing in" far more than I ever heard it before "the troubles", never really noticed it cutting in before. 

Is this just my loss of confidence in my previously trouble free "bullet proof" Octy? Or could this possibly be a tiny clue?    

 

But no, as as as I know the turbo was not touched during the rebuild....

 

Thanks again lads, I will keep you fascinated to tears with the ongoing saga.

 

 

You mentioning the turbo woosh could also be a loose/split boost pipe. Very possible of the engine has been swapped and a pipe not clipped in properly.

Sounds logical Phil, thanks for that advice, note made!

 

John