Felicia 1.3 hesitation & pinking

[Skippymon]

My N reg 1.3 GLXi is hesitating and pinking under load, and generally not performing well at all.

I pulled the distributer cap off and the thing was full of muck and shavings - the contacts are terribly pitted and corroded and the rotor arm all rough. I smoothed it down and cleaned the cap but its still bad to drive.

Question is, is it going to be enough to simply replace the cap or should I replace the rotor arm too? Problem is on this engine the rotor arm is bonded to the distributor shaft so does that mean I should replace the whole distributor? I went to my local breakers and they have a used distrubutor for

[pinkskud]

sounds like it should do the trick, if you went to a garage it would be more like

[richardsfavorit]

The rotor arm shouldn't be bonded to the distributor - it should just pull off. Definitley worth replacing them both - and plugs and leads if you think they are iffy, it makes a heck of difference when the 1.3's are well serviced.

[Phil-E]

I got a brand new full distributor from the skoda garage for about

[TeflonTom]

The rotor arm shouldn't be bonded to the distributor - it should just pull off. Definitley worth replacing them both - and plugs and leads if you think they are iffy, it makes a heck of difference when the 1.3's are well serviced.

:iagree: they normally just push on

[KenONeill]

If the rotor arm's stuck on the centre post, it's FUBAR. It should just pull off, and clearly needs replacing! If your local dealer can match the price Philje quotes, just replace the entire dissie. The worst part of this is getting the worm drive on the new one aligned correctly, but if you don't the engine probably won't start.

If you go this route, mark the HT leads before removing them from the old dissie.

[Skippymon]

Thanks for the replies guys.

My Haynes manual most definitely says that the rotor arm is bonded on on my car and to not force it. Anyway, I've ordered a new cap from ebay and if that doesn't work I'll maybe try a whole new/used dissie depending on price.

Cheers

[KenONeill]

Thanks for the replies guys.

My Haynes manual most definitely says that the rotor arm is bonded on on my car and to not force it. Anyway, I've ordered a new cap from ebay and if that doesn't work I'll maybe try a whole new/used dissie depending on price.

Cheers

Never heard of that before!!! From your description of the rotor arm it's FUBAR, and needs replacing (to prevent arcing down the outside of the arm wasting power that should go into sparking the plugs).

[daz51]

a little hint i was told with pinking and skoda engines is use that shell optimax fuel. it costs about 5 pence more yet does the trick.

[KenONeill]

a little hint i was told with pinking and skoda engines is use that shell optimax fuel. it costs about 5 pence more yet does the trick.

Alternatively, try a couple of degrees less advance. If you really can't live with the loss of top end, then go with the high octane fuel.

[Phil-E]

My felicia also suffers from this problem... the old engine used to be really bad until i changed the dizzy... the new one also does i too.

All i do is take the dizzy cap off, give it a quick clean and re-seat all the spark plug leads and jobs sorted.. until it does it 200+ miles later.... strange...

[Skippymon]

Well, I eventually gave up and called out the breakdown service who prompltly told me everything is working fine and that it was proably both damp and floooded. He got it going again shortly.

You can't adjust the timing on my 136B engine, and the patrol man said Optimax fuel would be a waste of money on this engine. He also confirmed that the rotor arm is bonded on and can only be changed with the distributer. Bloody good show anyway! Took it for a test drive and it no longer pinks or knocks.

[KenONeill]

Well, if you can't adjust the timing directly on that engine, then, unless it has a knock sensor (in which case if you had pinking I'd think it was FUBAR), Optimax (or any other octane booter or octane boosted fuel) is indeed a waste of money.

[richardsfavorit]

My Favorit did this - for the whole 12 years it was in the family, since new. It baffled a few mechanics. My current one said a lot of them do it, and its ok - just the way they are!

[fordfan]

Bonded rotor arm - what a load of rubbish, they just get very tight. The pinking is likely to down to a build up of carbon in the combustion chambers, head off and a decoke job combined with a new cap, rotor arm, leads and plugs it will be fine.

[Skippymon]

Bonded rotor arm - what a load of rubbish,

Well whatever you think I|'m only quoting the Haynes manual, 5B:3, part 32 where it specifically says that on the 1.3 litre modesl the rotor arm is bonded to the distributer shaft.

[KenONeill]

Bonded rotor arm - what a load of rubbish, they just get very tight. The pinking is likely to down to a build up of carbon in the combustion chambers, head off and a decoke job combined with a new cap, rotor arm, leads and plugs it will be fine.

I'm not saying that it has been done, but it's entirely possible if you imagine moulding the rotor arm around a shaft with a ridge or groove around it such that the plastic wraps over or penetrates the ridge or groove.

[richardsfavorit]

I just checked the haynes manual just out of interest - as I have done this job myself on a couple of occasions, and it does say its bonded. Very wierd! :-S I wouldn't worry and just pull it off!! Im sure you can buy new ones in Halfords still, you could a few years ago.

[Tech1e]

If you have got a spare give it some welly.

It may well be bonded but thats not to say it cant be removed. I would have thought it would be most odd to have to replace the dizzy when the rotor arm wears out as its a serviceable item.

[KenONeill]

:iagree: