Hi
I have posted on this issue previously. My better half's f reg 1989 1050 polo l is still giving her serious jip. Cuts out when coming to a halt, rough idling etc etc.
I have had it in to be looked at numerous times and most of the main culprits have been ruled out. The carb has been reconditioned and seems ok. new carb gasket, fuel filter changed, plugs changed, leads checked, idle up, idle down, advanced, retarded.
I am almost at a total loss and have used up too many favours with my local friendly mechanic. I checked the oil cap tonight atfer more complaints and found evidence of mayonaisse. I understand that this can occur, esp when subject to short runs never getting warm properly, and doesn't necessarily mean head gasket problems (no excessive oil or water consumption).
Can anyone offer a solution? The only other option is to flog it and get something japanese.
Please help as we both have nearly three weeks off together this christmas, and I don't want to be under the bonnet (as opposed to the thumb).
Jonathan
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I have had several Polos and Golfs in my time and on almost every occasion it was the carb. Although I dont beleive the pierburg to be a bad carb.
Make sure the crankcase breather isnt blowing oil into the carb and plogging the jets.
Check the cut off solenoid on the carb. (pull of the wire and connect it and you should hear a click with the ignition on.
Check that the auto choke opens within a couple of mins.
Have you had the fuel mixture checked. I have known it to be too rich as oil from the breather clogs the jets, someone adjusts the mixture to compensate. Then when the jets are cleaned the mixture is too rich.
Check the vacuum advance hose is connected to the back of the carb.
Hope this helps.
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My other halfs Polo has suffered from this problem and on the first occasion it was a blocked idle valve. When it returned, then adjusting the mixture (too rich) sorted it. It runs well now - as well as a 1984 1050cc Polo can run anyway.
I have never Redexed ours (carb, plugs and fuel option) but I used to on my Astra and it defintely made it smoother. Maybe this would help?
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Jonathan,
Odds on to a bent euro you have a partially blocked idle jet, or, as Keith says, a carb which has been adjusted with a blocked jet but now requires re-adjustment if the the has been cleared.
Regards, Adam
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I had a similar persistent fault on a 1990 Polo 1.3. In that case it was worse during cool or damp weather. It turned out to be the thermo switch in the air cleaner. This operates a flap in the air intake and is supposed to make sure that warm air from the radiator feeds the carburetor in cold conditions, otherwise carburetor icing is likely to occur, giving stalling and rough running. Conditions do not have to be freezing for this to occur - just cool and damp weather will do.
Polo's of that vintage also had suspect fuel pumps. The engine stalled, only to restart normally a few seconds later. I believe a modified fuel pump was introduced.
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Might be worth contacting German & Swedish to see how much they want for a Weber replacement carb. A twin choke carb for my old Golf 1800 cost £160, took half an hour to fit and transformed the car. For a 1050 Polo the cost could be under £100.
One other possibility is that the rubber fuel pipe between the fuel filter and carburettor is starting to break up internally, causing small bits of rubber to end up blocking the carb jets. I've seen this before on an old Polo. Change the rubber pipe (use proper fuel pipe, not just any random piece of pipe), strip the carb and blow out all the jets with carb cleaner. The single choke Pierburg is a simple device, and anyone should be able to tackle this armed with a Haynes manual and a few screwdrivers. If the carb has been recently rebuilt, you should be able to get away with reusing the old gaskets.
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Also check the inside of the Distributor Cap - sometimes the end oil seal on the camshaft can leak oil into the distributor cap which will not help matters, and whilst you're under the bonnet ( and / or thumb ) check all the electrical connections.
best of luck !
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I've had Jonathan's problem with my Polo, albeit infrequently. It's quite scary when it cuts out on the motorway. Thrashing the bo**ocks off the engine seems to clear it out.
Richard's suggestion of disintegrating fuel pipe down from the filter blocking the jets makes a lot of sense as to why the problem reoccurs.
This is a pig of a problem that seems to afflict a lot of carb Polos/Golfs.
Let us know if you crack it.
Rob
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Been there done it all, T shirt etc ... and problem persisted, even after a new petrol pump. (Missing from the list of possibles posted so far listed is a blocked petrol tank breather pipe allowing a vacuum to build in tank, leading to petrol starvation problems. Quite a common problem if the tank has been changed, cos the early ones dont last long).
But read on.......
Trying one last look in the garage after having been given grief yet again, dropped the lead light, bulb blew and I was left in the dark. What did I find, a viscious blue spark that was tracking down the side of the nose of the ignition coil and then jumping to the sharp top corner of the LT coil connection. Placed a suitable plastic insulation sleeve on the bare tag and problem has never reoccurred in last 18 months, daughter thinks I am a genius.
It was not even related to damp weather. PS I had thrown out the plastic bag long since.
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I've just thought of one more.
The OE HT leads on polos do not require the plugs to have the little screw on tops, someone replaces the leads with cheap aftermarket items that do need this little cap resulting in a really poor connection.
Worth a look?
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