jsindorf Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I have a 99 v70r with 250k It's been a great car and I want to keep it going. Problem: it has had an intermittent rough running, especially under load. Code is P0303 (misfire code on Cylinder #3). I read many forum posts and I got three main suggestions: new plugs, new coils or deposits in head recommends Seafoam treatment to clean it out. Since I was on the road, trying to get home, I got some Seafoam, sucked it into the vacuum going to the head, let it sit for a half hour, and then ran it like I stole it. It worked - ran like a charm. A week later, I had to pass a truck fairly quickly, so I punched the throttle and shot around the truck safely... then the rough running started again. I got home, replaced the plugs with Bosch Platinums gapped at .038 and new ipd coils for each plug. It didn't help... still ran very rough. I was out of time, and had to leave on another road trip. I dropped the v70r off at a good local european car mechanic. He called and said, "bad rings on #3, need a new engine". Questions: how can he know it is bad rings when he didn't take off the head? Even if there is bad compression (not sure cause I haven't asked and I haven't checked myself yet) couldn't that also mean valves or a head gasket? What further testing should I do before I know if I need to either really overhaul this engine or drop a rebuilt engine in it? If I do need an engine, what engines will fit with no big modifications? Is it all 98-01 engines? Please note: I really like the pep of the R engine, so I'd love to stay with that. Thanks in advance for your help. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotpantslovebug Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Bad rings can be diagnosed with a wet and dry compression test. You can rule out bad valves as well. With 250k you will probably read lower 150-160ish across the board but if number 3 turns up low you should investigate further. I would ask if he did a compression test and specifically what the results were. I believe stock plug gap is .028 not .038. I have never heard anything good about the Bosch Platinums nor Ipd coils unless they fixed their cracking issues. I would investigate more before jumping to "need new engine" if all you have is running rough and misfires. Not hating on your mechanic but its never bad to ask more question, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keaton85 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Get the numbers first! before doing anything, you should have checked compression. As of now, just get the numbers and go from there. I bet it's a burnt valve and not the rings. As for the engine, any 2.3L or 2.4L will work from 99-00, and lots of 01+ models as well. search RN engine swaps. Keep in mind that the R has the same engine as most all the others, it's the turbo, injectors and tuning that make it an "R". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaefer7406 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 If the compression is found to be low, a cylinder leak down test will tell why. Can be used to diagnose valves, rings, etc... I personally am struggling with the idea of low compression, as the Seafoam helped for a time. Seafoam will clear deposits, which would make compression even lower. It also won't fix a burnt above or worn rings, so the problem never would have gone away . I agree with the first reply in that stock gap is .028-.032", .038" is way too much. I also agree about Ipd coils being no better, I'd stick with OEM. Being you have a way to check fault codes, the first thing I'd have done is to swap coils between two cylinders to see if the misfire moves. They are the most common cause of a misfire on '99- cars. As for liking the "pep" of the R engine, the different turbo and ECM software are where the pep comes from. As long as the turbo and injectors are swapped to the new engine, should run just the same. Hope this helps, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsindorf Posted March 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 You guys are right about the gap, my fat fingers messed up the 3 and 2... I'll get a compression tester and have a look at the readings on all cylinders, then I'll be back with more data and more questions. Thanks Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ihatespeedbumps Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 I'm going to guess that the rings are ok and you probably burned a valve, in which case you'd have 0 psi in the cylinder. Get those numbers for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.