Club 80-90 Forums

HI guys, I've finally got my rebuilt 1.9dg engine in my van and today was the day to fire it up.
It started well first time, however I seem to be only firing on 3 cylinders the engine sounds ok but if I remove ignition lead to cylinder #2 it makes no difference.
All ignition system is new.

But my main concern is I have white smoke coming out of the exhaust and quite a bit of water spitting out. Is this normal for a new rebuild?
Or am I looking at such horror as the cylinder aren't sealed in the water jacket?

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated, I haven't managed to run the engine in yet due to carb problems and it's only firing on 3 cylinders for some reason.

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Smokey for a bit is normal in my experience.
every engine spits water until hot, you probably just never noticed it.
How long have you run it for so far?

Is the water clear?
Does the "smoke" climb onto the sky or dissipate quickly?

When I last changed the head seals only it smoked for a couple of hours, I really thought it must be fubarded but it wasn't, just the oil I put in the bores I think.

Thanks for your replies, I've literally only run it in for about 10-20 mins. I will give it another go tomorrow and see if it burns off.
The smoke doesn't climb it's only visable around the tail pipe.

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kezza87 wrote:Thanks for your replies, I've literally only run it in for about 10-20 mins. I will give it another go tomorrow and see if it burns off.
The smoke doesn't climb it's only visable around the tail pipe.

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Don't worry about smoke until its run for a few hours, I'd say the cylinder not firing is more a concern. Did you reset the hydraulic tappets?

Do a compression test if not firing on all four tomorrow

Ok I will leave the smoke for now and hope it's nothing to worry about. Ill do a compression test tomorrow.
I haven't touched the lifters at all, I planned to set the gaps once I had run it in but had no idea about resetting them.
How do I reset them?

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There are no gaps.
Hydraulic lifters require preload.
Google Ratwell hydraulic lifters for a comprehensive adjustment guide.
But generally they self adjust.
Just thrash it for 20 mins it'll quiet down

And as both Itchy and Kev would say (but haven't yet ) = first things first. Have you checked for a healthy spark on the non firing cylinder's plug yet? Just because all the ignition system is new, it doesn't follow that it is all working. New parts can be faulty (esp JK ones ). If you have and it's good, then, as said, do a compression test on all 4 and compare the results. I personally wouldn't drive it until you know what is going on, because if an exhaust (or even inlet) valve is being held open, it could cause damage. Oh, another thought, it's not uncommon on reassembling the head(s) to not seat the push-rods correctly in the followers (ask me how I know ) and that could cause a major lack of compression (and is easy to remedy).

Remember, if that cylinder has a spark and has compression, it's got to fire.

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Hi guys, Just a quick update.

Thanks for your reply ghost, you were right it was the push rods not seated correctly on cylinder 3 so there was no compression, I haven't set the tappets at all yet but I've now done compression tests and im getting about 120psi in all 4 cylinders.

also the white smoke issue seems to have gone but unfortunately I still cant get it ticking over due to the white plastic choke link in the 2e3 carb has snapped meaning it just revs really high. anyone know where I can get a replacement white plastic thing?

yep, look at thishttps://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=147770 thread and speak to the main man .....

Its suppoed to rev high initially press throttle to relese the fast idle, or use your finger on the carb mechanism to release it ( where shown)
That choke link is only helping when cold.
After fast idle comes off stick a brick on the throttle to keep revs up for a few mins until it ticks over then go give it a drive

Thanks Mocki, CJH is sending me out a replacement part today

itchyfeet - revs only seem to settle when I push the choke flap closed, it was working initially but then I did as you describe as it was sticking a bit and that's when the plastic bit snapped clean in half. so it doesn't matter if the flap is open all the time?

im going to get a rebuild kit for the carb and give it a good clean anyway.

The flap is controlled by the bimetal spring in the housing.
This is the choke.
The fast idle is also controlled by the bi metal spring.
The spring tension can be adjusted to let the engine idle when warmed up
The mechanism will not allow the engine to idle slowly if it is not warmed up.( 6-8 mins for the flap to open fully from fully closed)
If the flap is always open it suggests there is an issue.
The flap should close when the engine is cool and leave a 3mm gap.
Ambient temperatures will determine the flap position until the engine warms up.