Just thought i would get some peoples opinions.

I have a clubman with an 1098cc motor. Recently my electronic honda civic distributor died (ignition module). So i replaced it with a nissan pulsar D4R85 one on the weekend. Timed is up using doc's specs 30-BTDC at 4000rpm. Took is for a run ran great. Sounded like it was pinging a slightly so i retarted the distributor a little bit. Took it for another run and than all of a sudden the exhaust note changed. It sounds like its running on only 3 cylinders. Its also coughing back through the dellorto.

Things i checked:
- Spark plug lead order 1-3-4-2 CCW direction. (Brand new Bosch leads & GT40R coil)
- Timing was still where i set it.
- Changed plugs still the same.
- There is not water in the oil or vice versa

I did notice that there has been a little bit of oil coming from between the head and block near the engine number.

Your help would be greatly apprecitated.

Cheers,
Isaac

Dude! Some people pay good money for that sound. Throw a spoiler and a bonnet scoop on and youll be pulling the babes

If you you have a chrome garbage bin bang that on you can have the bling with the noise.

did you try setting the timinig back to where it was pinging? sounds like out timinig to me if its blowing back through the carb.

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speed costs....how fast do you want to go...

My mates Astina sounded like a WRX if he pulled one of the ignition leads off!

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yeah jbeenz i did check the timing but i will double check it tonight after work.

Buy a supercheap compression tester and do a quick compression test, if its markedly down in one cylinder then it is a burnt or broken valve, head gasket or something similar.

If it is markedly less in two adjoining cylinders then it is a head gasket or head related.
Not all head gaskets that are blown let oil into the water and visa versa. Some just blow between the cylinders.

It could also be related to timing, points, plugs leads as well though and when things go wrong after something has been changed then simply go back and recheck the obvious.

Yeah it sounds sweet but drives like crap massive power loss

If it happened all of a sudden I'd say it has blown between two cylinders. Most likely 3 & 4. Sounds god awful through dell'orto chokes, is a bit more muffled with an SU. I wouldn't be driving it far like that, I melted my motor trying to drive it in a similar situation.

Yeah luckily i was only a couple of hunderd metres from my house its been parked up since it happened.

Why 3 & 4 Just interested as mine that went last week was between 3 & 4.

Rick

My guess is that you have a hole in the extractors or in the exhast manifold or in the manifold gasket has gone

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If it cant be fixed with a hammer it cant be FIXED!!

Thanks for the opinions all.

Problem found Anto was almost spot on except the head gasket had blown between 1 & 2. Does anyone know of a place in Brisbane to get a VRS Gasket kit? Better if the place is open on Saturdays dam work.


Cheers,
Isaac

My guess is that your wheel nuts aren't tight enough.

Hell, its as valid as all the other suggestions are on this forum

yea my car sounds like a rexie wen its only runing on 3 cyl...did you check the spark plugs/cables?

On a small bore motor the head gasket is most likely to blow between 3 & 4 or 1 & 2 as the gap is smaller, and 3 & 4 is more likely because cylinder 4 runs hottest as its furthest away from the radiator. 1275s have the smallest gap between 2 & 3 so they're more likely to blow there.