98 VW Polo problem

Miss-Tralee

Hey all!

I have been having an issue with my car for the last year, I have had temporary relief from it by getting the exhaust changes and the throttle body cleaned and I have also had the radiator fan, thermostat & thermostat cap replaced. The problem started when I had a little tip and had to have new lights fitted on the drivers side.

The problem only happens on very rainy days, the car will go when I start it no problem but when I have to stop it loses power and cuts out or starts spluttering and it is very hard to gain power in it after, I generally have to keep the revs above 10 for it to keep going and even at that it barely goes and takes a while to gain momentum, it actually feels like something is pushing the car back, if that makes sense... And it makes weird noises, lately a clicking sound like something is hanging off and hitting the ground underneath the car...

I have taken the car to 3 mechanics... The first (my dads mechanic) literally lifted the bonnet said he couldn't tell, but it could be the plugs and asked me to come back a few weeks later when he had time. I then asked at Advanced Pitstop, he suggested the Throttle body thing and I did not have the time to leave the car for the evening so I got my uncles mechanic to look at it, he changed the exhaust (a hole formed) and cleaned out the throttle body and it was fine for a little while, maybe a week or 2 (the weather might have been nice then), then he changed some bolt or something (didn't explain much) and it was ok again, then a while later had the fan etc changed, it was ok for a bit, again alright weather, now is acting up nearly every rainy morning going to work, and it did it this evening. I work in Galway City and my 7 minute drive has 3 stops, one for a roundabout, very dangerous...

Has anyone experienced anything like this, I have had her at various mechanics at this stage, explained the problem but none appear to know what to do...

Any thoughts on the matter greatly appreciated, apologies for the length... just wanted to explain everything!!

Thanks,
Claire

Muckie

Hi don't know if this helps, i worked on the sister in laws

97 1lt Polo when she had it and in the cold weather it "acted up".

I found the when i took off the ait filter/housing above the throttle body

and disconnected a half inch pipe(on the left as you look at the engine).

This pipe comes from the bottom of the engine, found that it was clogged

and blocked by white, fatty oil. Took a while cleaning out, using a coat

hanger and lots of cloth. Afterwards the car ran grand. Hope that helps.

Nissan doctor

As above, breather pipes are very prone to clogging up on those especially if its only getting such short drives. If your drive is only 7 mins then the car never gets up to full operating temperature, that isn't good for a car in the long term.

Another possibility, especially since the problem is on damp/wet days, is damp getting into the distributor cap(assuming its a 1.0 or 1.4?) meaning your not getting proper ignition from the cap/plugs.

Miss-Tralee

Thank you very much for the advice, I will give it a go tomorrow morning! If i can figure out all the bits, I'm sure it makes sense when looking under the bonnet! It's only happens in wet weather, that's the only difference, didn't give me an ounce of trouble during the freezing weather last year!

Thanks again!
Claire

Miss-Tralee

Oh, I did not know that about the short journey thing, does it make a difference that I travel long distance most weekends? So its not like she only does a small amount of travelling in the grand scheme of things... And do other driving in the evenings? That is probably a stupid question... Will be moving out the country at the end of the month so will half hour journeys morning and evening so do you think this will make a difference to it? She does snap out of it as the journey goes on when I am going long distance and when I stop after driving long distance she is usually grand no matter the weather.

Yes, she is a 1.0. The caps/plugs thing has been mentioned, and that's what I thought it was at the start but was told otherwise by mechanics... Except the first one but after meeting him the first time and speaking to him on the phone to book it in etc. he just didn't seem to want to do it... Damn it, should have listened!

Are they a big job to replace? Is it expensive?

Thank you very much for your help,
Claire

Muckie

Nissan Doctor beat me to it on the distributor cap, i also changed that on

the sister in laws Polo. Cost €5 from a breakers. Neither jobs are hard to

do or exspensive. Find a friendly mechanic and have a chat. Good luck.

Miss-Tralee

Cool beans! Will probably stick it out til the weekend and take her to my brothers mechanic, he swears by him so fingers crossed! Or does anyone know anyone good in Galway or North Tipperary I could take her too?? Have been told one of the guys I work with is very good with cars so I might have a chat with him to see if he can help... Drying the plugs/caps with a hair-dryer has been suggested by another colleague! I don't trust myself tinkering under the bonnet and its too wet outside for me to bother!! Hahaha!

Thanks again guys, really appreciate it!!!

Claire

Mech1

Coolant temp sensor

I would nearly bet on it.
easy and cheap to replace. Get it checked.

edit: dont even bother getting it checked, just replace it.

Miss-Tralee

I had the thermostat, thermostat cap and radiator fan replaced just over a month ago... Is "Coolant temp sensor" the same as a thermostat??

Thanks,
Claire

Ronnie Beck

Try taking of the distributor cap (black plastic cup that the spark plugs are connected to)on a nice dry day. Its usually held on by two small bolts. Rub some silcone around the rim with a clean cloth and put it back on. This should keep moisture from getting in. worked on my lancer.
I live in galway too was having awful problems with it. Car wouldn`t start on really wet days.
The silicon comes in a spray can. you can get it in any motor factors. its designed for rubber and plastic.
you could also scrape any corrosion off the contacts inside the cap and on the distributor rotor with a knife and then clean out the cap with carb cleaner or zippo lighter fluid and a lint free cloth and a hairdryer to dry it all off. It only takes a tiny amount of moisture to effect the distibutor. Make sure you know where the plug leads go back on if you do this. when it all back on and runnig give the distributor a good spray with the silicone.
Hope this helps!

Miss-Tralee

Ronnie Beck wrote: »

Try taking of the distributor cap (black plastic cup that the spark plugs are connected to)on a nice dry day. Its usually held on by two small bolts. Rub some silcone around the rim with a clean cloth and put it back on. This should keep moisture from getting in. worked on my lancer.
I live in galway too was having awful problems with it. Car wouldn`t start on really wet days.
The silicon comes in a spray can. you can get it in any motor factors. its designed for rubber and plastic.
you could also scrape any corrosion off the contacts inside the cap and on the distributor rotor with a knife and then clean out the cap with carb cleaner or zippo lighter fluid and a lint free cloth and a hairdryer to dry it all off. It only takes a tiny amount of moisture to effect the distibutor. Make sure you know where the plug leads go back on if you do this. when it all back on and runnig give the distributor a good spray with the silicone.
Hope this helps!

Thanks! I don't think I'll be doing anything myself to be honest, would probably kill my car altogether! Just want to know what to tell a mechanic or someone that is good with cars. Galway is a freakin' disaster for for rain so it happens pretty much every day! My car will start but it is when I stop/slow down that is starts acting up. even kicked off a little this morning and it was nice, hope she is not getting worse! Thanks again for the advice!

Tea drinker

friend had problems with the plug leads on one of these.
+1 for cleaning the insde of dizzy cap with a cloth and carb cleaner. Careful not to scrath the casing with a knife or use sandpaper to clean it out as the scrathes in the plastic form an electrical path.
So just cloth or kitchen towel ......

BTW it made my night to help out miss-tralee :-) you never know who you will meet here ;-)

Miss-Tralee

Tea drinker wrote: »

friend had problems with the plug leads on one of these.
+1 for cleaning the insde of dizzy cap with a cloth and carb cleaner. Careful not to scrath the casing with a knife or use sandpaper to clean it out as the scrathes in the plastic form an electrical path.
So just cloth or kitchen towel ......

BTW it made my night to help out miss-tralee :-) you never know who you will meet here ;-)

Thanks for the advice! Will get someone to look at it soon, have a million and one things going on and my poor little Polo is suffering! She managed to hold it together today and it was a disgusting day! With regards to the name, I signed up when I was just after moving to Galway and I "missed" Tralee... I thought it was very clever at the time! Now I find very embarrassing but can't change it!! :mad:

..Brian..

Unlikely to get a reply as last activity was 6 months ago, but did you get this resolved OP?

I'm having the same problem with a 99 VW Polo 999cc 50hp.

Bought it as a cheap run around last week and have had no probs so far. Doing less than 50 miles a week just to work and back.

This morning though had trouble staring, it took about twice as long to turn over and then was very sluggish driving down the road. It cut out on me altogether about 500 meters later. Took a few attempts to get it started again and then limped home, engine very sluggish, power kept dying for a second and kicking back in. Engine was really struggling.

Very heavy rain all night last night so I suspect possibly a similar problem?

Tea drinker

I'd say so Brian, probably one or more plug lead is bad. Why don't you have a look at the plugs in it as a start.... any idea when it was last serviced etc. Put a couple of bob into it now you bought it and you will get the use out of it.

..Brian..

Took off the distributor cap today, the rotor arm is proper fúcked! Replacements are less than €20 so that's a bonus. Rang an auto factors and they said they need to know if it's Bosch or Marelli. The cap is Bosch as it's branded on it but I can't see anything on the rotor arm. I assume it will also be Bosch would this be right?

Tea drinker

..Brian.. wrote: »

Took off the distributor cap today, the rotor arm is proper fúcked! Replacements are less than €20 so that's a bonus. Rang an auto factors and they said they need to know if it's Bosch or Marelli. The cap is Bosch as it's branded on it but I can't see anything on the rotor arm. I assume it will also be Bosch would this be right?

wow, you described it perfectly - it is proper xxxxked
I'd say go for it on the bosch parts.

..Brian..

Thanks man, have them ordered, should have them tomorrow hopefully. The rotor arm is stuck on as well, been reading around and the only option seams to be to crush it very carefully with a vice grips. Hopefully the swap goes smoothly!

..Brian..

Juat got around to replacing the distributor cap and rotor arm, very simple job, only took a few minutes. Started first try and was running perfectly on test spin around the block!