ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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Took my Fiat GP in to have it's EGR valve replaced last week. It's been in for a while as for some reason the parts had to come over from Italy as there were none in stock. It was still running poorly after the EGR valve was replaced so the garage elected to replace the flow plugs too, simple enough right? (Though the weather was warm enough not to need them).
Upon removing the glow plugs, the one in cylinder number two seems to have disintegrated. Hopefully it disintegrated when it was removed and not while the engine was running - The car worked fine when it was warm so hopefully this is the case. I'd also have expected to hear a knock if there were debris in the combustion chamber?
They're quoting over £1k to remove the head and retrieve the broken pieces of glow plug, this also includes the original EGR problem too. If this was accident damage then it'd almost be in write off territory as the car must be worth less than £3k now and if the glow plug broke up while the engine was running then it's going to be thousands to effectively re-build the engine 
Wish I'd tried a bit harder to sell the thing a few ago but hindsight is always 20:20 and I'd have ended up with something pretty silly and unreliable anyway 
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Indie price not cheaper? Seems a mission. How many miles you covered dude?
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nathy_87
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Registered: 14th Aug 08
Location: West Mids. Drives: koda Fabia VRS 5J
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How can they quote you when it was possibly their fault to begin with? You take it to a proper Fiat dealer?
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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Didn't someone else on here have a Fiat Punto with similar engine problems?
Probably cheaper to source and fit a whole new engine...no?
[Edited on 11-08-2011 by adiohead]
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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thats the problem with new cars, people can't fix them theirselves and they cost thousands to get fixed, and no more realiable than an old car.
should of bought 1988 fiat uno and this wouldn't of happened, worse case is you need another engine for a few hundred pounds
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Fro
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Registered: 20th Jun 06
Location: Rainham, Essex Drives: A3 2.0TDi Sport
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Deano had engine drama but cant remember what his problems were.
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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best plan is park it near a riot and hope it gets burnt out and you can claim on insurance
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LeeM
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Registered: 26th Sep 05
Location: Liverpool
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id blame them at first, if the engine was running and theres no piston damage then its clearly broken up as theyve taken it out.
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Spare engines cheap Ed?
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Brett
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Dec 02
Location: Manchester
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I know it's been said, but sounds like the garage could be at fault?
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Steve
Premium Member
Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
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you would get at least some very noticable rough running if it dropped in there whilst it was running.
i dropped a small washer down a spark plug hole in my 106 gti, couldnt get it out, ended up just thinking fuck it and started it, knocked and clonked for a while then it ran ok, assumed it just welded itself to the inside of the head or something
was fine ever since aswell
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Brett
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Dec 02
Location: Manchester
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ed
Member
Registered: 10th Sep 03
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I'm not sure? Could be that I'm unlucky and they glow plug had a defect that's caused it to fail in the engine, or the tech broke it when removing it. From what the service guy mentioned it sounds like one of the other ones was damaged too, but the whole lot seems to have come out.
The next step is to visit them tomorrow anyway. If the engine is knackered, then it would be easier to find a replacement, but the car's done 55k FFS.
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Steve
was fine ever since aswell
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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some of my spark plug fell into my corrado engine and it just ate it up, no problems at all 
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LeeM
Member
Registered: 26th Sep 05
Location: Liverpool
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ask who has been doing the work, pray it was an apprentice and you can kick off saying hes done it because hes a noob
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ed
Member
Registered: 10th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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Second hand engine can be had for anywhere between £500 and £1500. At least that option is there.
Will go in tomorrow to discuss what exactly went wrong. I'll even let them use big words as opposed to having them describe the fault to me like I'm a woman.
[Edited on 11-08-2011 by ed]
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Toby
Premium Member
Registered: 29th Nov 05
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way to win with big companies is act like you know what your talking about and scream about it
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mattk
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Registered: 27th Feb 06
Location: St. Helens
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EGR is a vauxhall part and is 50% cheaper from a vauxhall dealer, Im changing mine on saturday
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ed
Member
Registered: 10th Sep 03
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Isn't yours the 1.9? Tried to find info on the 1.3 but could only find 1.9 stuff and the engines are totally different so couldn't even figure out where the damn thing was to attempt to do it myself.
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johnhara1
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Registered: 19th Oct 06
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
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steve
My focus had to have a helicoil on cylinder no.4
1000 miles later it melted that plug. The full end of the plug had disappeared along and the plug was physically melted approx 10mm up the threads.
I just changed the plug and it too "was fine ever since"
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JonnyJ
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Registered: 23rd Sep 05
Location: Scotchland
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Steve
you would get at least some very noticable rough running if it dropped in there whilst it was running.
i dropped a small washer down a spark plug hole in my 106 gti, couldnt get it out, ended up just thinking fuck it and started it, knocked and clonked for a while then it ran ok, assumed it just welded itself to the inside of the head or something
was fine ever since aswell
that is definitely something I would do.
"ah fuck, that can't be good"
*attempt to fix*
*fail*
"fuck it, be reet"
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allza
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Registered: 14th Jun 04
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Never had any glow plugs disintigrate but have a few snap. We usually ring the customer if they are tight and say they could snap before attempting to remove them. They are usally also used for emissions reasons rather than just on start up like they used to be.
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ed
Member
Registered: 10th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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Contaminated fuel?
If the garage tests a fuel sample and finds out it's got water/shit/petrol in it do you think there's any chance of compo? I suppose it's my word against the last place I re-fuelled if they find petrol in it but anything else, that's not right?
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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Last two times I filled it were on the 11th July at an Esso after which it was pretty much empty, then 4th August which was same garage and I think it was showing a bit below quarter a tank.
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