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[nixoro]

So far I have done a fair few jobs

- New lead / plugs / Dispack
- New thermostat + Housing / Coolant
- New sump Plug / oil / filter (plugs had Brown tinges to them on the porcelain parts)
- New Vac pipes from the EGR etc
- Cleaned and reseated the EGR valve
- New manifold Gasket + bolts fitted
- Checked the whole breather system and fitted a new throttle body gasket
- Soaked the ICV in carb cleaner

I have a new fuel filter as I think this could be clogged may help.

Tick over is fine start up is shite just like a tractor, pushes out smoke whilst on choke clears after a little while and pulls like anything since all the jobs I have done. Seems as the though fuel might not be getting through properly maybe thinks next job is to get it compression tested as other have mentioned previously.

Thought my trouble was piston slap but there is no heavy knocking.

Could well be the head gasket but I don't have gunk on the oil filler cap or on the dip stick and i don't appear to loosing any coolant.

The smoke on start up is white so could be signs of HG on its way out.

Any Ideas would be much appreciated

[damon80]

New sump Plug / oil / filter (plugs had Brown tinges to them on the porcelain parts)

IIRC, brown tinges / cracks on the porcelain parts of the spark plugs points to the engine running too lean, which would add weight to your suspicions about fuel not getting though properly

[JamesV6CDX]

IS this so.... all my plugs had brown tinges on the porcelean parts - I put it down to oil that may have weeped into plug wells....

[shyboy]

Brown tingeing on the insulation of plugs is common and a sign chiefly of their age. It doesn't necessarily warrant immediate replacement, in my experience. Mixture affects the appearance of the central core inside the plug, 'straw' coloured being good, oily or white meaning poor engine running conditions.
When you say 'pulling', do you mean plenty of power or loss of power?

[Omegatoy]

brown stains on the outside of the plugs means bugger all its caused by electrical discharge called the corona, its perfectly normal on any plug over 3000 miles old so ignore it,
tip of the  plug where it sparks should be a light brown if the plug is firing correctly, lpg cars will be a light grey colour!!
Omegato

[nixoro]

Think the HG maybe gone or on its way.

Early morning + cold starts the car starts like a tractor pushing out plumes of white smoke and shakes.

Thing is once the car has warmed up the smoke calms down, have also noticed a ticking from one of the injectors.

Still have a fuel filter to replace the current one to be fitted.

Out of Ideas and slowly loosing patience tempted to strip now see what monies I can scrape back and move on.

Cheers for all the help so far.

[Grumpy]

Scrapping the car seems a bit over the top to me. Unless you've got
other stuff wrong that you haven't said.

Have read your previous thread and this one. From what I read, you've
replaced loads of stuff and the car runs well, after initial start up, and
pulls like a train.

All you've said you've got wrong is a rattly start from cold and white smoke
until it warms up. You haven't said that you are losing coolant.

You've done a paperclip test and have no faults.

White smoke on a cold start is perfectly normal. You're just evaporating the water
and vapour in your exhaust system.

Rattly start up could just be your hydraulic lifters taking a bit of time to fill with
oil, especially on a cold morning when the oil is cold and thicker. You've probably
used the correct oil, but you don't know what the previous owners used or
how often. The lifters could have all sorts of cr@p coated inside of them.

The car is 10 years old and no doubt has a few miles on it. It just sounds a bit
like me, when I get out of bed in the morning, stiff and crotchety.  

I doubt your head gasket has gone if you're not using coolant, you're not getting
water in the oil, and you're not overheating. Especially as it's pulling like a train
after it's initial early morning attack of the grumps.

Try cleaning up some of your sensor cable connections. After 10 years I would
expect some corrosion that is giving some higher resistance and incorrect readings
to your ECU. Try the ECU engine temp sensor on the back of your head.

Have you fixed the stripped thread on your IACV mount yet? Mine was the same
when I first came to it, due to some ham fisted mechanic used by the previous
owner. I fixed mine by filing a flat on a thin nut, so that it fitted in the narrow
space between the Throttle Body and the IACV mounting face, and replaced the
fixing with a nut and bolt.

To confirm your head gasket is ok, get a compression test done.

Unless you've got other faults, I reckon scrapping it is a bit ott.