big XE PRobs..

[TUBZGSXR]

my xe has been having starting probs , especailly wen ive driven to work in the early morning, an then started it up at like 2 in the afternoon (bin sitting in the carpark all day) wot i mean is it will turn over for alot longer than it should b4 it fires up, an i have to put my foot down on the accelerator whist its strugglin to turn over to actually make it fire up, an wen it does it makes alot of noise, sort of like its blocked up, an it realy smokes out the exhuast in that initial few secs wen it fires up, like its spittin it all out, anyways once its done that it runs fine same as always, but now theres a bigger prob, its realy struggles to start at all an its now ideling very low an it shakes the whole car at idle, an i carnt put my foot down at all (had to crawl home at 30mph 2day :cry: cause if i put my foot down it makes a loud tapping sound in time with the engine as if metal things are slappin together , an it doest pull at all, very slow, its not the lifters as thats happened b4 an doest effect the performance.... any ideas???
oh yea an the oil presure has been readin all over the place recently an now its ful all the time, an its losing alot of oil, have to top it up alot at the mo..... :cry: :cry: :cry:

[Jules]

Sounds like a head gasket and like it's not running on all 4 cylinders, check the oil and water for signs of cross contamination and get a comprssion test done.

[TUBZGSXR]

how would i check?

[epo]

to check the compression u need a special gauge where the water turns colour to tell u if the head gasket has gone its a bit of a specialist tool i think so ull need a garage
or u cud ask ur break down cover to come out and check if u have this and home start

[Ste_Nova]

sounds like ignition module

[burgo]

really ste ?? im with jules get the head gasket checked altho knoin ste we will b proved rong he is the master

[TUBZGSXR]

sounds like ignition module
would that explain the way it runs once it has started though??

[Jules]

The only reason I think it's the head gasket is the way it struggles to start (due to a lack of compression) but once it's going it seems ok (It should keep some compression once running) and the way it's gotten worse over time, and if it's the head gasket then it'll get worse and worse until it doesn't run at all, infact the more you use it the more damage you might do to the cylinder head.
Take the oil cap off and have a look on the underneath of it to see if there's any creamy yellow mess on it - that is a sign of water and oil mixing, also remove the expansion tank cap and see what colour the coolant is, if it's a dark murky brown colour then that could also be a sign of oil and water mixing. For a compression test you need to get it to a garage, they'll remove the spark plugs, plug in the compression gauge and see what the compression is on each cylinder when it's turned over - this is the best bet to tell if it's a head gasket problem or maybe broken piston rings.
If these prove all clear then have a look at the ignition side of things, Ste is right it could be the ignition module as these are a common problem, but rather than buy a new one and replace it get the free checks done first just to eliminate things.

[TUBZGSXR]

ok guys il get it looked at, thanx