Thank you search button! I've been having troubles with the A14 over the past couple of weeks, I changed the plugs on a 9th of November (night before I had to travel 120km to a rallysprint) The no.1 plug looked terrible, the others seemed to have more normal signs of wear. It was like and oily sooty buildup on it and the plug was also built up like it was rusty? Put some older plugs in as I had nothing else and I knew they were reasonably fine. During the course of the trip the motor behaved like the one mentioned in the first post and whatnot.

just yesterday I pulled the plugs out to have a look and to my suprise no.1 2 and 3 looked like they have been in rusty water for ages and no. 4 was covered in oil and the plug had a gap of about .2 or something shocking!.

I did a compression test and cylenders 1& 4 were reading around 125psi while 2 & 3 were just over say 130 or the next little bar past 125. I also did a carbon clean for a few minutes to try and rid the cylenders of some of that crap aswell as a quick timing check.

Would any of this be the signs of broken oil rings or a broken headgasket? there is an airleak somewhere I must find on it too but I have a feeling it may be the carb or intake causing that one.

No worries, it can be done either way. Buying a compression tester is not expensive, and I think it is a reasonable suggestion -- don't you?

If one has plenty of time, the "try this" method is plenty fine. I've been using that method for my carburetor problem lately. On the other hand if you don't have spare parts it can get expensive buying new cap, rotor, plugs, etc only to find they didn't fix the problem.

For spark plug wires, a visual inspection will often find the problem, and a simple voltmeter will usually find the rest. Look for signs of burning (white or black marks) along every mm of the wire. Also look for a corroded cap terminal or plug wire terminal which indicates a firing problem with that cylinder.

I say try you say test, so did you test or try your dizzy problem dd?

If you dont have tools or access your TRY things before taking it to someone wtht hte necessary tools/means.

I have had a faulty ignition lead in the past from new and thats what made me think of it. The Spark arced when car hit boost, the boot from the ignitor was dodgey and spark was lost there.

as long as their within about 20% of eachother you should be fine. a wet test shouldnt prove anything further.

Sounds like its only running on 3 cylinders. Get it running again and idling. Then remove 1 lead at a time then put it back on. when you reach the one that makes no difference in idle behaviour youve found the cyl with the prob.

Have you tried new plugs? Or even cleaning the old ones? Are all the leads 'clicked' in properly on each end?

Ok, well the compression tester was one of the best tools I've ever bought.

I've only dry tested each cylinder so far, and I tested each cylinder 3 times to make sure I was doing it right.

All cylinders came out at 115psi avg.

Is it worth me wet testing each cylinder now?

hehe, it's all good thanks beattie.

I went and splurged on a compression tester this morning and I'm just about to go out and give it a test to see if it's the top or bottom end. I'll keep you all informed with what I find.

Also, I've noticed when the car is idling I can hear a distinct "fluttering" in the exhaust note. Something that I haven't noticed in the past.

Cheers for the info too Dom, I'll keep it in mind. The car is still running although it is an absolute bastard to start at the moment, but still runs. I'll be doing my absolute best to keep it running for the meet.

Hopefully this test will give me clearer indication on what I'm looking for.

BTW - Thanks Tyrie, I got your msg.

Stay tuned!

I would have said test but he said he didnt have access to a comp tester etc.

The plug sounds like it looks fouled, not really any other way to check for a good spark. Plugs are dirt cheap anyway. Leads? Well if they are new i doubt they are broken, ive fitted 100s of HT lead sets and never incountered a faulty lead from new.

Comp test, do a dry test first. Hold your foot flat to the floor on the acc with all plugs out. test each cylinder. They shouldnt change more then 20%. if they do, you have a problem. Crank the engine for about 5 'whines' each cylinder but keep it the same amount.
Then if you have a cylinder low on comp, squirt a little oil into the plug hole and re-comp test. this seals the rings. so if its still low its a head problem, if it raises its a ring problem.

i know where there is a a14 stoker if ya wont it. stil is the ute still running are you still coming to the run on friday

Thanks for the suggestions guys, much appreciated.

Is the a way to visually inspect the stem seals?

and thanks DD I'll try and find someone with a compression tester to get a definite answer about the rings.

Well, you can *try* various things, or you can *test* them. I would be doing a compression test. If the rings are broken in No. 2, a compression test will tell you -- no guessing.