cligster

Hi there.
My first post here and unfortunately its an "I need help"

I have a 95 STI 555 Wagon (import obviously)
Bought it online as a project )been off the road for 9 mths. To cut a long story short after I spent £1k getting it MOT'd and within 20 mins of driving it was chucking water / steam out of the coolant tank. Basically I got stitched up with a head gasket failure.

I removed the lump and stripped it, had heads skimmed, new gaskets, plugs, filter etc.
After rebuilding and putting the lump back in, it started almost straight away, however after about 15 mins when warm, it started to get lumpy on tickover. This gradually got worse to the point where you could barely rev it.
Tried next day when engine cold again and it started and ran fine. Again as soon as it got warm it started jerking / misfiring badly..... Had to rev the knackers off it just to get it to a safe parking place

Could really do with some advice as I dont really fancy paying a scooby mechanic god knows what an hour to tell me what I've done wrong......

Just to clarify, although it was overheating before it wasnt misfiring. In fact unless you were looking at the temp gauge you wouldnt even have realised

Thanks in advance

malcs scooby

iTrader: (5)

could be a coilpack failing mate when warm, ive had this happen to me certainly the cheapest bet,should be some in the for sale section or fle bay

dj219957

have you checked for fault codes?

welsh scoob

iTrader: (4)

i had this issue on my 555 import took it to a tuner in near alveston in bristol they told me that they reset the ecu, and the propblem never came back.

dj219957

from what ive read on here coil pack failure would generally present its self at high rpm under load.

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

not if it has failed full from being disturbed when removed and was close to failure already etc..


firstly are injector plugs and coil pack plugs correct - black plugs to the rear of the engine

if yes.. then with it idling remove an injector plug one at a time until you find the cylinder(s) at fault. Have you removed and examined the plugs? could be simply a fouled plug but my money is on injector or coil pack plugs wrong.. easy to do

Simon

Turbotits

iTrader: (2)

Another thing to check is the cold start sensor> You say it runs fine when cold> It could be that the mixture is not leaning out as the engine temp rises leading to over fueling and fouling of the plugs

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

true.. would have the rad fans running from cold and engine light on if coolant temp sensor wasn't plugged in etc

Simon

Ash burton

Have you checked your header tank isn't leaking on to the connectors for your coils (they sit right underneath) thats what happend to mine (only when it was warm as well). i put a forge stainless one on and problem solved
also wouldnt the crank sensor play up when warm???

cligster

I've had a go at the coil packs and I'm none the wiser
Finally managed to get hold of Dave Ball at tileys and he reckons its timing aswell
Really cant be bothered to take the thing apart again so I'm shipping it off to him tomorrow on a car transporter
Will let you know how it gets on.
Thanks all for your replies

malcs scooby

iTrader: (5)

timing?nah it would run crap from the moment you turn the key not when it gets warm,like i said it sounds like a coil pack going ive had it at my work on another car dose it when warm took it out and found the coilpack casing split,jus saying could be a host of things,but defo wouldnt thought be timing,

tjmatt

iTrader: (1)

It "could" be timing. Our Mi16 with a big cam will not idle nicely when hot because you need a very rich mix in order to get a good burn with large overlap (similar to what might happen as a result of incorrect cam timing). When cold the richer mix allows it to idle reasonably and it gets worse once warm. It is however very unlikely to make it so bad that its undriveable and would normally affect idle and low rpm.

Anyways its all by-the-by, it could be lots of things and I'm sure you'll find out pretty soon.

malcs scooby

iTrader: (5)

trouble is everyones got there own opinuion and everyone says different things just sounds like what i mentioned ,how did you get on anyway bud be nice to see your wagon

cligster

They cant look at it until tuesday, however when he started it yesterday to move it, he called me saying it sounds like the bottom ends on the way out..... Could I have bought a bigger lemon? I dont think so
He's going to whip off the sump and check it before even looking at the misfire. No point in spending time diagnosing if its kaput anyway.
I'll keep you informed. Thanks for the replies again
I'll post some pics soon. Whether the car is on fire at the time will depend on tuesdays outcome
Cheers
Craig

malcs scooby

iTrader: (5)

wow thats a shock hope is all well mate keep us posted

cligster

Got the car back on Wednesday and it was timing. The bottom end is gone however ....
Driving it very carefully at the moment until I can afford to have it done.
Considering putting shells in myself but don't want any more comebacks on this car so will probably let tileys do it. Just waiting for a price at the mo.
On the upside at least my head gaskets repair worked as its not chucking steam out of the bonnet anymore
Hopefully I'll be posting a more positive thread soon

Fuzz

Err you don't want to be driving it if the big ends have gone or you wont have a block or crank to put the new shells in!