Some quality 480 problems...

[Dan the 480 Man]

I'm going to keep this in one post to save time...

I have 2 problems...

1) When decellerating from what ever speed, in any gear, i always get a slight 'judder' from the car at 2k. It's always done it, but it seems a little more violent than it has before, or should i say, it's more noticeable than before. The clutch was replaced the year before i got it-so has only covered about 14k... why would it do this?

2) The linkage problem is clawing it's way back. Basically, the forward gears all work fine. But every now and then (and it's becoming more frequent now), the car will not go into reverse. The lights will go on, the lever will appear to be in the right position, but engage the clutch and you go forward. I've managed to adjust it before, but it was never perfect. Does the linkage wear, is it expensive to replace and is it a tough job?

I'm getting a little concerned about the linkage now. Usually pulling it out of gear and moving the lever around (aggresively) a few times will do the trick, but now it's starting to not work as easily. I actually pulled the top of the gear knob off last night just wiggling!

Anybody any ideas? Sodding typical....so thats the linkage going, clutch judder, alternator and window, all since i've left unemployment Bloody cars...why do i still love them?

Any help appreciated!

:: Edit ::

2 further problems now after use, which makes 4 in total...

3) The car is misfiring-it does it initially as you put your foot down around 900-1200k, then is fine upto 4k, where it feels like it's struggling from around 3800 to 4200 then it flies upto the end end of the range as normal. All the plugs and leads seem fine-i've had them all out in this lovely weather and they appear to be ok. It does this whilst driving and when stationary out of gear too.

4) Whilst the car is doing this, the revs when idle are fucking terrible. They can hit 1200+ and just stay there for ages, then drop when they feel like it. It's a nightmare.

And to top that off, when i got in the car, i actually sat there and watched water dribbling in from the plastic sill trim by the door hinge. Fucking ace! It does it now i'm un-employed....great.

Any ideas people...?

[VanDerGraaf]

Dan, have you tried "borrowing" your dad's cars coil?

[Dan the 480 Man]

Hi Rohan

Been having a snout around the engine bay today, and i thought i'd try changing the leads. So i got some ordered from my Uncle and they arrived, so i stuck them on. Unfortunately, the main lead didn't fit (dizzy cap to coil), but i then found out that the parts place had sent me non-Turbo leads, so this obviously explains that. There is another set on order, but they won't be here until tomorrow. I also changed the plugs too-just so it's new leads/new plugs.

I nicked my Dad's king lead, and ran the car. Perfect. It boosted properly, after a 'thrash' and coming to a halt, the idle settled to 800 as it should. So at the moment, it's ok, but i'm keeping my eye on it as i know these car's seem to have a tendancy to 'settle'.

The set of leads on now, are obviously from a 1.7i-i noticed the leads i took off were 8mm, and the new ones are 7mm. Will this make any difference do you think? If i can get away with it, i'll just swap the king lead over with the new pack, or do you think i should change the whole lot?

With regards to the coil-i've not changed it over, but my Dad has in the past with no noticeable difference-but i'm putting some of my previous problems down to the leads-it may be possible that now i have better leads the coil may show a weakness, rather than wondering if it's one or the other. I was just talking with my Dad, and we were wondering if the coil on there is shit anyway-it's not a Volvo one, it's some blue/yellow thing-looks really horrid! I'd hunt for a new one, or try and get one from somebody's spares car, but i have to be so careful atm being un-employed-the £30 i spent today was discounted, but still stretching the budget a little. I think when things improve i will change the coil if i can find a 2nd hand working one.

It's just unfortunate that most of this car's failings have been down to other's ham-fisted-ness/neglect. I thought the leads on there were ok, but they looked and felt really shite when i took them off-even though they were thicker than the new ones.

Slightly off topic, but i think i've cured my water leaking problem too-but only time will tell!

[Dan the 480 Man]

Well...

By means of an update. I didn't want to post prior to this as i didn't want to jinx it. I gave the car a bit of a clean up. I took the dizzy cap/rotor arm off and cleaned the contacts-they were a little coked up (yes, i'm aware of the incinuation), but not to bad. I replaced the leads which looked ok with the new ones, and i finally got the King lead sorted too. I cleaned round the plug holes-i know this won't make any difference, but it's surprising how much shit builds up round them, and put a new set of plugs in.

3weeks on and the car is running perfectly. The old King lead just fell apart under a little tension, so there was obviously an issue there. The car now pulls smoothly, boosts smoothly, and i've even noticed that since doing this (touchwood), the idle is perfect.

So, there you have it. The problems must have been from the King lead finally giving up the ghost. New plugs and leads def. helped, but a proper fitting lead has almost certainly helped. The next step is to get a good working coil from a spares car or something-because i think mine looks naff really-i want it black like it should be, but also because i don't think it's that great a quality.

So many problems from such a simple thing. It's running (touchwood) so i'm happy