5 years ago I bought a new Primera GT, a travelled 47k miles in 2 years without a problem, it was my pride and joy.......then I got a company car, and took a great loss selling it to my mum....
...the troubles started...
In the last 3 years she has only taken it up to 67k, and together with parking dents and scrapes has now developed another problem.
She used is Friday, no problems. Sunday lunchtime I started it and moved it, making sure I ran it for a while, knowing what these Cat equiped cars can be like to re-start after a 30-60 second run.
Sunday night my mum went to go out and it just wouldn't start, not even trying to fire, just a sound of an engine turning over very fast (Chain cam luckily).
We left it until Monday Morning, again, turning over quickly, it was trying to fire but never made it.
Last night I removed the spark plugs which were covered in petrol, the pistons all seemed to move up and down ok. I checked that all plugs had a spark, although I used No.1 HT lead to test them all, so unsure if the other HT leads are ok.
I then connected jump leads up incase the battery had a dry cell, still no luck. I could also smell petrol, i.e, I assume it's getting through to the cylinder (and the Cat!!!)
One other thing that I looked at was the condition of the bore where the plugs fit, there was a creamy/brown dust/powder in the plug bore of cylinder No.1 (not in the cylinder, but above where the plug screws in).
I've checked fuses, fuel pump priming, and oil (for water contamination), without luck.
Does anyone have any ideas?? I'm wondering about a sticking Valve(s), although this seems unlikely to cause total failure to start considering it was 100% upto that point.
Cheers
Neil T
SEAT Leon TDi 150
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I had a similar experience to this some years ago, although not with a Primera. In my case, the fast spinning of the engine was due to low, or no, compression on several cylinders. If enough liquid petrol enters the cylinders it can wash the oil off the cylinder walls and destroy the sealing effect that is normally present. I ended up with a new engine!
Chris
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Put a rope on it and tug down the road,when it starts,because it will,thrash it to within an inch of its life.Works everytime.Sounds brutal but always works.
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Make sure first that the chain(s) havent broken by removing the distributor cap and watching for rotation as you crank it. Then check for a spark. If OK see Mr Lucas' suggestion above. What has happened is that the valves are being pumped up by the hydraulic tappets. Motor flush and fresh oil + decent fuel and a good run regularly should do it.
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Problem solved, it was what I originally thought.
The brief run it had to move it on the drive caused the sensor to not let it start again. Green Flag came out, and using a heavy duty booster battery got it going with lots of grey (un-burnt fuel) smoke.
All is ok now, although the spark plugs need replacing as they are quite black.
Tow starting was not an option unless I risked a b*****ed Cat.
Cheers all for you help.
Neil T
SEAT Leon TDi 150
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the spark plugs need replacing as they are quite black.
What's wrong with a wire brush?
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>>What's wrong with a wire brush?
Nothing, but a wire brush will only keep spark plugs alive a certain amount of miles. It's been at least 30k miles/3 years since last changed, and look pretty gummed up since it's been doing short journies and not been rev'ed as much.
Neil T
SEAT Leon TDi 150
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Don't worry about the cat,its a Nissan,pretty much indistructible,just get the cat very hot and it will perform ok.
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