1 "bank" of cylinders not working! Help Please!

[Mark303]

Hi, I have a 1.9 water cooled engine which has failed MOT due to emissions. I am not a mechanic so I can only relay what the garage has said. They have thrown the towel in after trying to find out why 1 "bank" of cylinders is refusing to fire. They say they have compression,spark and fuel. They have changed distributor cap, rotor,leads, plugs checked tappets and on the advice of a mechanic they specifically bought in to have a look at this problem the ignition module. That didn't work either. I was just wondering if any of you out there have any idea of what it could be. I am going to book it into another garage who I've had past dealings with campers but would be great if i could point them in the right direction.
Thanks Mark.

[itchyfeet]

It's not cylinders 3&4 is it? Left hand side as you look at the engine from the back

Air leak on the vacuum servo assist hose connected that side can cause problems

I'd think it must be running for them to know that side isn't working and for it to run i's think that side must be firing a bit or it wouldn't run at all

very badly adjusted preadjust on the tappets I suppose also a possibility

[Mark303]

I will check which ones are failing, scouring the site before i posted i came across air leak in hoses as a possibility, thanks for the detail itchyfeet i will mention it.

[kevtherev]

It's not cylinders 3&4 is it? Left hand side as you look at the engine from the back

Air leak on the vacuum servo assist hose connected that side can cause problems

Would be my first port of call

Throwing in the towel for a misfire...jeez

[Mark303]

it is cylinders 3+4, with 4 being "the worst" I have given the garage this forums recommendation, and i wait to see if they can sort it. I will let you know how it goes. Seems they struggled to find anywhere to plug a laptop into it!

[itchyfeet]

just incase they don't know what they are looking for it's this....
If it proves to be this I'd hope they are not charging you for the new bits and the labour as there was obviously nothing wrong with the old bits, ask then to put your old stuff back.

[kevtherev]

Thats the proper pipe.. yours might have a braided hose

[Mark303]

This is great! Thanks guys i am off to garage today armed with printed pictures and info! Will let you know how it goes!

[Mark303]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! It worked! Has now passed MOT. I can't thank you enough! Garage extremely grateful as well! Am leaving some parts on, most of them are service parts anyway, ignition module has been swapped back and they are not charging me for any labour that was fruitless. Thanks again guys. If you ever have any plumbing/heating problems, let me know, i'll try and return the favour!

[ghost123uk]

Glad you're ok now

So what was it then ?

[itchyfeet]

Glad you're ok now

So what was it then ?

As a wild stab in the dark id say servo vac pipe leak as discussed above

[Mark303]

Its was the Vac pipe, cost £2.00