I have no idea what to make of this gorgeous car I purchased cheaply. It could be a labour of love, or flogging a dead animal. First thing on starting the engine, it has a little trouble starting first time unless I press the throttle. On idle it hunts, almost cutting out most of the time, and sometimes doing just that. Otherwise on idle, it takes an age to reach the middle temperature, however....... Once I have set off and driven for a while, the temperature gauge drops right back down to zero and stays there. The car juddered and misfires intermittently at both low and high speeds, however at high speeds, one can feel the car "edging" up through the revs. It's not smooth, and there is definetly a real noticeable "I'm not going any faster, and you can't make me" after 100 (SWIM said). I believe the exhaust is too loud, it's not throaty or a roar, more of a constant deep moan. It has one of those aftermarket cone shaped air filters. What I do know about the car, is that it wasn't used from October last year and was left standing. The bodywork is pretty good, as is the interior. I bought is as a stop gap, until the insurance company sorts my other car out. however I do want this to be a good drive, and not being a mechanic but willing to save money where I can, want to know what I can do to make this into a decent car??? Failing that, is it on its last legs, and should I just sell the old parts and scrap the rest (which is a last resort). I am based on the Wirral if there is local free help available (as in I don't have a lot of cash, but can provide beer and food!!!) Thanks
If it's solid and presentable, it's well worth saving. Probably worth a bit more than you paid for it, if you bought it cheaply. Is it running on all cylinders - checking for a spark on each plug would be a good first step. Did you pull the plugs to check condition? Any signs of mayo on the dipstick or under the oil filler cap? Does the idle problem get better or worse as it warms up? Common problems which could be looked at, as well as normal service items like plug leads / plugs / dizzy cap / rotor arm / etc - Split rubber bung in the top of the rocker cover - duff temperature sender - faulty knock sensor - Dead lift pump - is the fuel pump very noisy? Have a look in the engines FAQs for Rubjonny's digifant FAQ. Old fuel won't help, but won't be the whole story.
sounds like you have a load of leaky breather hoses cuasing an air leak and hence the bad idle sounds like it was a new stat too i cant see the parts costing more than 100 fully rebuilding the suspension will be in the region of 500 my mk3 ran to 237k
If it's in good condition, it's worth saving. As far as the engine's concerned, it could be made to run as "sweet as nut", for literally peanuts. But that does mean some one has to do the work.... Sort all the vac leaks out (as said), gap the plugs a bit short, sort the electrics out, clean the throttle body, temp sensor, thermostat, etc, etc
Thanks...I'll try a full service on it first and clean the parts as per the faqs on here as they seem to be pretty descriptive...then go from there. Today was odd, is it seems to be ok while cold, but after I've driven for a while its when it becomes erratic. Temperature always goes down to zero when driving, and up in idle. I'll do the necessary checks and post back. Thanks....
