Polo slow to accelerate

[industryspark]

Hi guys, hopefully someone can offer some help or hint where to look for the following problem i have.

The car in question is a Polo 1999 1 litre, 64,000 on the clock.

I first noticed last week when driving it that it became very sluggish to accelerate at one point,by which i mean it didnt take off, it kind of bogged down. It soon rectified itself though yet its happened a couple of times this week but only for a few 'pumps' on the pedal. Anyways yesterday it happened again and has now become perminent. It especially noticeable when going uphill.

I changed the HT leads, plugs,d-cap and rotor arm only 500 miles ago so am ruling them out for now.

Carberetta problem? fuel filter blockage?

Any ideas as to what it could be? Going to open it up for a look but couldnt face the snow outside today

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

What about changing the air-filter - if you have not done so yet? The fuel-filteris more tricky to do as you have to depressurise the fuel system beforehand.

Good luck.

 

[industryspark]

Yeah i did think about that, not changed it no. The car was serviced in September before i owned it-im presuming they should have changed the air filter but i can imagine they dont always. I did take it out when i put the new plugs in and it dint look too bad (i am an untrained eye though!).

U think the air filter is a possible cause then? The fact that the car had the problem intermittently for a short space of time before full time i think is a potential clue but to what im not sure.

thanks

 

[industryspark]

its been pointed out to me that it could be the clutch. would the sympton i have coincide with this?

If so can anyone give me a rough idea of what a clutch replacement would cost, for the part and the labour?

 

[Belle427]

it doesnt sound like your clutch slipping but more of a fuelling problem to me,does the car do this when its cold or warmed up?

 

[industryspark]

Hi, thanks for the interest.

Ive tried to establish that myself by taking it for a couple of runs today. All i can comment is that it seemed to be ok (or at least not as noticeable) for the first few minutes of running and then a constant problem after that.

I would say that its more of a problem when the cars warmed up yes.

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

If you have not changed the air-filter previously then it is probably time that you did and then see what happens. My family had a ’93 Polo 1.0lt for a few years – great little motor. Having noticed a deterioration in the fuel economy (normally good), replacing the a-f always seemed to rectify the problem. This seemed necessary every couple of years and was not due to excessive mileage but perhaps more due to being in London (dirtier air etc). One thing, though, the existing a-f may not look noticeably dirty but change it anyway. About £7 or £8 from Hellfrauds.

As for the clutch try checking it out on a longish stretch of uphill road. Boot the accelerator and listen to engine. If revs increase and there is no discernible increase in speed of vehicle then suspect the clutch.

Good luck.

 

[^neo^]

fuel and air filter are both worth changing for the price of them.
The other thing to do if it does it more after the engine has warmed a little is the coolant temp sender which controls the fuelling.
All 3 are easy diy jobs

 

[industryspark]

Again, thanks for the suggestions guys

Changed the air filter today which has made no difference so thats been ruled out. Guess the fuel filter may be the next thing to try.

Someone has suggested using some Redex to maybe try and clean the injectors, good idea or not?

Personally im leaning towards the clutch now, booted it up a hill today and it just didnt want to pull up the hill, rev's and engine noise seemed to rise as would expect but the car didnt move forward as i would expect. Any other way of testing the clutch to further diagnose it. I wouldnt say it was racing in terms of revs however.

Had a look at some of the air/vacuum pipes today also but non seemed particularly perished or cracked.

 

[Stivino]

Apply handbrake frimly, start engine, put car in 4th gear, increase revs and let clutch out. If engine stalls clutch is ok, if it slips it's goosed.

 

[industryspark]

Hi guys, i would appreciatte any more comments after an update........

Had the car plugged into a diagnostic today. Came up with 3 error codes

0533 idle air control
0525 oxygen sensor
00525 knock sensor

The guy says he believes the lambda is intermittently faulty (intermittent signal)but the emissions were ok when he ran it. He thinks it may be a red herring so didnt want to outrightly recommend a new one. He also says the engine doesnt sound like its running right, commenting specifically on the hydraulic tappets- he said the first 2 error codes could be a result of the problem with the engine not running correctly.

so, does the symptoms ive been describing be caused by a faulty lambda?, ive noticed that the car seems to run ok for the first 2 minutes of use and then the problem comes on.

or could a more serious engine problem be causing the loss of power, i.e tappets. im hoping i can pin this down as the car is in good nick(apart from this problem) and i dont want to have to scrap it or get rid. But likewise i cant afford to keep throwing money at the car.

regards.

 

[^neo^]

the way to check the knock sensor is to tap it with a hammer handle with the engine running and see if it makes any difference to the running. It should advance / ****** the timing slightly.

Hydraulic tappets could be linked to the idle control valve, if the oil hasn't been changed in a while or the wrong grade, then the breather may be blocked making the icv play up.

Lambda probe could be causing all the problems though, check the wiring to it and get the mechanic to clear the fault codes. Take it for a half hour drive, then back to the mechanic to see if any of the codes have come back. Usually the lambda probe will only affect things once the engine is warm, so your 2 minutes of running ok could be linked.

If funds allow, try and go for a genuine sensor rather than a pattern one.

 

[libby lou lou]

Changed the lambda on our polo because of faults slmlLar to yours, plus non startlng sometlmes.

 

[industryspark]

thanks for the further comments Neo and Libby Lou Lou.

Libby, im interested in what you have to say so a few questions if you may.......

1, you say similar problems, did the car feel like it was running on 3 cylinders and lacking power....especially going up hills?

2, Im thinking the lambda sensor may be the problem, did a new one solve your problems? and specifically did the problem seem to occur after a few minutes of running?

If anyone can comment on why the car would appear to run ok for the first 2 minutes of running i would appreciatte it, im thinking this must be a decent clue and point to something.......possibly a typical lambda sensor fault?

regards.

 

[^neo^]

Could also be the good old coolant temp sender, which is probably the cheapest thing to change (under 20 notes from the dealer, 5 minute job to fit)