repaired head gasket... now something else.

Martron

i inheritied a 1998 punto s 60.

the head gasket went. anyway between one thing or another it was sitting a month beofre i could fix it.

anyway it was a succesful repair. or so i thought.

the car is still holding its coolant and oil. but began to splutter under acceleration if i eased off the accelerator and put my foot down again it would stop.

now i have 2 ideas. with the water and "gunk " sitting in the cylinder for so long when i cleaned it and restarted it could i have sent smoke or what ever to effect the lamda sensor and this is what is causing the spluttering under acceleration.( still in cold start mode due to sensor failure)
OR
there is a piston ring gone. when the car is idling there is no excess emissions but ever so often there is a "pop" . its not at regular intervals either.

the lack of power only happens every so often and only under hard acceleration. so lead me to believe the fault is not constant.
( i could be way off here. but any ideas would be appreciated.)

the car was not cared for previously and i have spent as much money as i probably am going to unless its a diy job. so if it is the piston ring whats the life expectancy of the engine or is there a quick fix.

thank in advance

Martin

DublinDilbert

Sounds like it could be an air/fuel/spark problem if it's spluttering like that.

Need to get the codes scanned and looked at be someone who knows how to diagnose them.

How long ago was the head done? Might be a loose connector. Not sure if the coils give problems on these...

Martron

did the head last week.

i took the plugs out again to check and they were blackened but i thought that was them burning off the rest of the gunk i could not clean out.

i cleaned them and replaced them. double checked the leads and coils. everything is connected. as for a fault with the coils i dont know.

it seems to me that it is an ignition fault alright. but how to tackle it is the problem.

it was suggested to me that the timing could be slightly out. but surely that would effect the car when its running as oppose to just accelerating.

DublinDilbert

It would be worth checking the timing marks/locations, to check it's spot on.

Could be a variety of problems as the job is just done. I would guess it's a sensor (crank/maf) issue, electrical or unmetered air getting in somewhere...

Martron

i have checked the timing marks they are spot on.

where the air intake sits on top of the throttle body there is a crack in the plastic gasket there. but the air box fits over it so i cant imagine that causing too much of a problem.

the plugs have been sooted up and i have cleaned them. but i am wondering would a rich mixture cause this. and if so would it be the lamda doing this. and how could i test for this?

Tea drinker

remember that under accelaration the engine will move and perhaps open a hole in the rubber wider.
Check the contacts on the MAF connection, maybe a little clean if you can get at them.

Martron

i sealed the gasket at the air intake. so thats no longer a problem. but did not solve the spluttering.

i am going to re time it this week to see if thats the issue. But i dont think it is. as it there is no way the timing slipped on it when i was replacing the head.

Nissan doctor

When the head gasket was replaced, was everything re-assembled using a full head set? If you used old gaskets form the inlet manifold etc then you could have a poor seal.

Tea drinker

maybe reset the ecu on it?

Martron

replaced every gasket and seal with a new kit. going to check the timing tomorrow. if its not that i will have to look at something else .

how would resetting the ecu help? it seems to be getting worse every day so what i am thinking it could be that the tensioner was not tight enough and the timing belt may be slipping?

any one any tips on getting the tensioner tight?

DublinDilbert

If you think the tensioner is slipping don't drive it. This is an interference engine?

Sounds more like a faulty coil pack or sensor... But check the running tomorrow and see how you get on.

Martron

its a non interferance engine.

( if it wasnt it would be screwed now:D)

i will check all leads tomorrow.

Martron

re timed it. Looked to be out by 3 teeth of the cam shaft sprocket.

and replaced 4 spark plugs as i broke one and there was a special on the set of plugs.

sealed a cracket rubber gasket that was around the bottom of the air intake.

running perfect now. thanks for the tips.

i still think its mainly because i can get the timing belt tight enough. i honestly dont see how i can get it any tighter.

Plug

Martron wrote: »

i still think its mainly because i can get the timing belt tight enough. i honestly dont see how i can get it any tighter.

ya don't want to over tension the belt either! There should be a little set up window thing on the tensioner to make sure its right.

Nissan doctor

How are you adjusting the tensioner? On the punto they have the retaining nut and then two little holes under which a specific tool slots into to rotate the tensioner against the belt. It can be difficult to tension the belt correctly any other way.

Martron

well i dont have the tool.....

i am litterally just pusing the tensioner as hard as i can.

in the haynes manual it says that its tensioned enough if you can rotate the belt 90 degrees. i can just about do this so i would imagine its tight enough this time.

the right tool would be handy though. its similar to the tool that replaces discs on an angle grinder?

Nissan doctor

Martron wrote: »

well i dont have the tool.....

i am litterally just pusing the tensioner as hard as i can.

in the haynes manual it says that its tensioned enough if you can rotate the belt 90 degrees. i can just about do this so i would imagine its tight enough this time.

the right tool would be handy though. its similar to the tool that replaces discs on an angle grinder?

It similar alright, anything with 2 prongs that fits in the holes would be perfect. Ideally you need a tension gauge but the method of rotating the belt by hand is fine for this engine.

Martron

i might have a look at it again. i might have something that will fit it.

but overall i am not too worried. if it slips again i can fix it. the car ......dare is say it is not worth sending money on. hence the diy job in the first place

Nissan doctor

Martron wrote: »

i might have a look at it again. i might have something that will fit it.

but overall i am not too worried. if it slips again i can fix it. the car ......dare is say it is not worth sending money on. hence the diy job in the first place

They are a great engine for practicing on since you can't cause damage buy getting the timing wrong.:P

Martron

yeah just aswell as i would have been rightly buggered.

grand little car. dont think i would ever buy one though.