Stodgy on the motorway - Glutton
I was giving my Mk 2 1.6 Golf a bit of a run yesterday. It was running too rich (the waxstat is getting worse, but I should be sorting that out soon) and after about 20 mins on the motorway, it was starting to get very hesitant. There was a drop in power and I had to floor it to get stop it dropping in speed. I was wondering, could this be linked to the fact that the waxstat was making it run too rich? Or are there any other things that I should be looking at? Tis annoying as its just been in for a full service and I was hoping all would be well.

As always, thanks in advance for any help

Stodgy on the motorway - Ross D
Does the car have a carbuerettor? If so maybe the carb is icing up? Others on the forum will be able to explain this better than me.

Although I believe it has something to do with the warm air hose.... Technical aren't I!

Ross
Stodgy on the motorway - cos
The poor running could be down to rich mixture(check your plugs) or could be ignition timing or could be a sticking choke valve. Other possibility could be poor compression.It will not be the waxstat because that simply makes the throttle position higher at idle when the coolant is cold(the waxstat is at the front of the carburetter). When the waxstat goes the idle will sit at about 2000 rpm when the engine has warmed up.
Stodgy on the motorway - Richard Hall
Sounds like carb icing - especially if it has just been serviced. There should be a flexible large bore tube between air filter housing and exhaust manifold. These tend to fall apart when disturbed, and not all garages appreciate their significance. Or else they might have removed the tube for easier access and forgotten to refit it.

I agree that the waxstat isn't to blame here.

Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
Stodgy on the motorway - Glutton
Hmmm... so it would be explained by that completely rotten hose that comes out of the left of the air box as you face the car...

I did some poking around just now and found the hose you were talking about and it has rotted off - is it okay to tape up for a short term repair?(using Duck Tape).

You would have thought that the garage would have picked that up, surely?
Stodgy on the motorway - Richard Hall
Duck tape would be fine at the air filter end, but I wouldn't use it within six inches of the exhaust manifold. You can buy replacement hose in most car accessory shops - it's usually made of aluminium foil and a bit fragile compared to the original, but it will do the job. You just need to know the inside diameter of the old hose. The new stuff comes highly compressed, and can be expanded to several times its original length.

Why did the garage miss it? As I said, not all mechanics appreciate the significance of this hose. I didn't, until I left it off after changing the air filter element on a Fiat Uno many years ago, and the car lost power and ground to a halt ten miles into a long journey.....

Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
Stodgy on the motorway - cos
The hose is there for a reason, but i have never seen any problems except in severe weather conditions.
Stodgy on the motorway - Blue {P}
OMG My old Fiesta came without the hose, we noticed but never got around to fixing it!

Wonder what effect that must have had on my car, never mind, it's someone else's problem now...
Stodgy on the motorway - cos
It can affect the car when warming up, but would be surprised if it caused any major problems when the engine is hot. It may do in extreme winter tempatures.
Stodgy on the motorway - Blue {P}
Oh well, I have to be honest, the car never missed a beat in the time that I had it. Apart from one flat battery (my fault I knew the battery was going but never got round to changing it) the car never let me down, not bad for an 80,000 miles 1.3 HCS engine. :)

Oh no, I think I've developed that rosy glasses fondness for it now that it's gone. :) I hope the new owner changed the oil, it needed it, it was about 500 miles overdue (only had a 6,000 mile service interval) :)
Stodgy on the motorway - cos
Yes that would be what i expected. I doubt the chaps problem at the top of the thread is down to the hose between the exhaust manifold and airbox.