Power Problem '99 Almera

um7y1h83ge06nx

I have a 1999 Almera 1.4 petrol with about 159k miles on the clock and I've been experiencing a weird power problem.

Every so often (maybe once every 4-6 weeks) I will be driving at a steady speed along a road when it feels like the car is being held back and the revs drop a little. The power will gradually decrease over a few seconds and stay that way for about 15-20 seconds when the power comes back and the revs and speed increase to their previous levels.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

The only thing I have checked is the spark plugs and cables and they look fine.

RMDrive

Esmeralda Short Trail wrote: »

I have a 1999 Almera 1.4 petrol with about 159k miles on the clock and I've been experiencing a weird power problem.

Every so often (maybe once every 4-6 weeks) I will be driving at a steady speed along a road when it feels like the car is being held back and the revs drop a little. The power will gradually decrease over a few seconds and stay that way for about 15-20 seconds when the power comes back and the revs and speed increase to their previous levels.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

The only thing I have checked is the spark plugs and cables and they look fine.

I believe that the Almera's have a well documented issue with stretching timing chains and I think the symptoms are similar to what you are describing. If that is the problem, then unfortunately it's quite expensive to fix. Have a google for almera timing chain and you'll find info on it.

Good luck.

Gurgle

RMDrive wrote: »

I believe that the Almera's have a well documented issue with stretching timing chains and I think the symptoms are similar to what you are describing. If that is the problem, then unfortunately it's quite expensive to fix.

Yes, had that with a '00 Almera in '06
€800 to fix at the time

The surprise is that you got to 160k before it happened - or maybe its already on its second chain.

um7y1h83ge06nx

Crap.

It's definitely on it's first chain, my father owned it before me and didn't change the chain and it definitely wouldn't have been changed before that as the mileage was low then.

So how long do you reckon it may last? There's not much point in fixing it if it will cost €800.

Thanks.

Mr Benevolent

Esmeralda Short Trail wrote: »

Crap.

It's definitely on it's first chain, my father owned it before me and didn't change the chain and it definitely wouldn't have been changed before that as the mileage was low then.

So how long do you reckon it may last? There's not much point in fixing it if it will cost €800.

Thanks.

The symptoms will just keep getting more frequent until the chain goes completely out of sync. Drive it into the ground if you don't have the money.

kermitpwee

Esmeralda Short Trail wrote: »

Crap.

It's definitely on it's first chain, my father owned it before me and didn't change the chain and it definitely wouldn't have been changed before that as the mileage was low then.

So how long do you reckon it may last? There's not much point in fixing it if it will cost €800.

Thanks.

The almera that had problems with the chain did not come out till 00. Your car is 99 so thats not the problem imo.

um7y1h83ge06nx

Thanks everyone.

Hopefully, it isn't the timing chain as you said kermitpwee.

If it is, I don't think it's worth fixing, as the car is probably worth less than €800. However, generally it's an extremely reliable car and does the job. I have always decided that I'll just drive it into the ground anyway.

I'll investigate it further and hopefully it'll be a cheap fix.

ianobrien

Isn't the tining chain issue on the early 1.5 Almera (the one that came out in 00) and not the 1.4?

Gurgle

ianobrien wrote: »

Isn't the tining chain issue on the early 1.5 Almera (the one that came out in 00) and not the 1.4?

Oh yeah now I remember, it was a 1.5.