Little Progress

Went to drive the car a few days ago and after starting it up, it seems to be running on 3 cylinders – it sounds like a cross between a Subaru and a Tractor and is really down on power. Time to check the ignition system then…

Update:

• Swapped the coil pack with my spare which made absolutely no difference.
• Took out all the plugs. It’s running rich, particularly on cylinders 1 and 4, with some oily deposits on the electrodes. Fitted new plugs, but it’s exactly the same as before.
• Disconnected the battery overnight in the vain hope that an ECU reset will help.
• Compression test to see if that will demonstrate any problems.

The compression tester hasn’t turned up so no real progress has been made in tracking down the engine problem cause. I’ve taken off the air intake to make more space for checking things and have started investigating various sensors as a potential cause, but none seem to be the cause of the problem. About the most successful thing I achieved today was painting up the pressure cap from the radiator…