1l mk2 polo breadvan engine problems

[nfgould]

Hi there,

I recently bought a 1l mk2 polo breadvan, since ive bought it I replaced the squeaky waterpump and replaced the cambelt and alternator belt. As far as I can tell the belts are tensioned correctly, and the mechanic at the garage I replaced them in seemed to think they were tensioned properly too. The squeak is still there however, and very noticeable at low rpms and at low speeds like when in traffic, but entirely disappears when the revs pick up. Has anyone got any ideas about how to sort it? Have I just got a dodgy pump?

It also idles really badly, its very rough and shakes a lot, it doesn't seem to want to die but it sounds awful and i'm sure it cant be good for the engine, is this just adjusted in the carb? anyone have any idea of any basic settings for the carb to get it running right?

thanks in advance for any help

Nathan

[Rich]

You need to do a bit more back to basics here.
First, are you sure the noise isn't the alternator or alternator belt? Run the engine with the alternator belt removed to see if the noise is still there.

Secondly, you want to check the ignition serviceable items (plugs, leads, arm, cap), and then the ignition timing before you even think about touching the carb. Start with ignition system. If you have changed the timing belt that can affect the ignition timing on these as its driven off the cam.

[nfgould]

Hi Rich,

thanks for getting back to me, I ran the engine without the alternator belt on and its definitely coming from the water pump, or at least something near the pump, could it be crank bearings? I would have assumed that would get worse with RPM but at this point I really have no clue.

Ive just now been out and cleaned the contacts in the distributor and it hasn't made a difference, they were pretty good before I started to be honest, I think it was new on before I bought the car.

I hadn't thought about the plugs and leads though, I'll check them in the morning when there's some more light, thanks for the advice!

[usedabused]

If its running rough its probably drawing air through the carb mount,
Or if its the pooberg then that may well have a leaky gasket,

[vulgalour]

I second usedabused on that, those carb mounts are well known fail points but thankfully easy to replace. The squeaking could also be a vacuum pipe, I had a squeaking pipe on mine which turned out to be a badly perished pipe. Replaced it and the squeak was gone, so was the erratic idle.

[Rich]

Sept 25, 2014 19:43:14 GMT usedabused said:

If its running rough its probably drawing air through the carb mount,
Or if its the pooberg then that may well have a leaky gasket,

It's a possibility that the rubber mount is failing. But before faffing with carbs that you don't understand very much it's bet to start simple.

It could be a noisy water pump. Normally an over tension timing belt will howl as the engine is revved up, and not be as noticeable at idle. So I doubt it's that. Seeing as iirc the water pump is the only other thing the timing belt goes on id be inclined to check the condition of the pump again.

[nfgould]

cheers guys, I'll have a look at the gasket and the pump again this weekend and see what they're like, Vulgalour- where would the vacuum pipe be? I'm not sure where to look for it but at 25 years old i'd put a bet on some of the rubber being perished.

[usedabused]

Whilst at idle rest your flat hand on the air filter top in the centre and apply some pressure,try moving your hand from side to side and see if it affects the engine at all.

I made a short term ( which lasted for eight month ) repair on my carb mount by getting under the car reaching up and pasting sikflex around the base with my finger.........

[backtothe80s]

Sept 25, 2014 17:12:27 GMT nfgould said:

Hi there,

I recently bought a 1l mk2 polo breadvan, since ive bought it I replaced the squeaky waterpump and replaced the cambelt and alternator belt. As far as I can tell the belts are tensioned correctly, and the mechanic at the garage I replaced them in seemed to think they were tensioned properly too. The squeak is still there however, and very noticeable at low rpms and at low speeds like when in traffic, but entirely disappears when the revs pick up. Has anyone got any ideas about how to sort it? Have I just got a dodgy pump?

It also idles really badly, its very rough and shakes a lot, it doesn't seem to want to die but it sounds awful and i'm sure it cant be good for the engine, is this just adjusted in the carb? anyone have any idea of any basic settings for the carb to get it running right?

thanks in advance for any help

Nathan

Hi Nathan.. I've experienced both issues over the years with my mk2's.

You can get a new carb mount for less than 20 quid from gsf, and a carb service kit for 40ish quid from webcon. The Pierburgs have a bad name but work well if maintained correctly. It's usually the autochoke, waxstat etc that goes. Is the idle the same when cold/warm or does it differ?

As for the squeaky belt it could be that it's too tight, mine was... BUT as said above it would squeal when revved and not really on idle. Is it a genuine pump? If not get to TPS and buy genuine Worth the extra pennies.

Get a second hand Haynes of ebay and you could also try clubpolo.co.uk / polo3.co.uk for a carb guide.

Hope this helps.. Lex.

[nfgould]

Hi Guys,

Had a look this weekend, the carb rubber mount is fine, looks like it was replaced before I bought the car along with the distributor and radiator, so I don't think that's the problem, I have found a few cracked and perished pipes though so I'm going to try and replace them and see if its an air leak from somewhere else that's causing the rough running.

The rough running does improve as thee engine warms up but it doesn't cure it, it seems very strange, if you pull the choke out and bring the revs up it runs very well, or when driving at normal speeds, but if the revs drop too far it starts to miss and shake very badly, though ive spent time sat in traffic and it never dies, it just sounds and feels terrible!

The belt is tensioned properly as far as I can tell, and I've had 2 mechanics look at it and they say it's fine, I think you guys might be right and its just that the pump is no good, I'll pick up a genuine one and see if it fixes it. I still think its strange that the squeaks disappear with revs though, I don't know if I could possible have damaged something else, maybe the crank main bearings? There doesn't seem to be any oil leak though so I don't think that would be it.

The car has also developed a slightly worrying rattling/grinding noise when it reaches high revs, this happens consistently through all the gears and also, unlike the squeaking/idling happens consistently rather than every now and then stopping for a few minutes. I'm not really sure what this could be, some sort of play in the camshaft maybe?

So, at low revs it squeaks and runs badly, and at high revs it makes a grinding noise, seriously considering swapping it out for another 1l engine given the time and hassle it could take to fix these problems or does anyone know what the swap to a 1.3 entails?

Thanks again for all your help!

Nathan

[steveo3002]

if you swap in another carb 1300 engine it will be very simple - just a straight swap although there might be differance on auto /manual choke etc but all simple stuff