Water through valver bonnet?

[aubrey]

Hi.
I have just bought jreg. valver, absolutely love it 75% of the time. when its not misfriring.

I have changed the rotor arm, dizzy cap and plugs. when i was changing the plugs i noticed they were submerged in water. thought it was strange but then thought nothing of it. just dried all the water out, took rocker cover off gave it a proper clean down there. It then ran brilliantly, until it rained the other night, soon as the car warmed next day it started to misfire again. did the same again. cleaned all the water out, got it nice and dry, same thing happened again after it rained.

I am guessing it must be rainwater coming through the vent.

I have taken the watercatcher out, there is no drains blocked.

Is this a common fault if so how can i overcome it, can i block up the vent or will the car overheat.
has anyone else had this problem, if so how did you overcome it?

Cheers guys

Aubrey

 

[Dan@SJM]

If youve got a strut brace, put an ally sheet underneath it, but it should have a rain catcher anyway.

 

[BRUN]

the vent sits over the exhaust manifold, not the plugs.......

 

[ajketley]

Have you got a giant hole in your bonnet???

Really though the vent sits over the manifold but the end of the rain catchers at the top by the plugs, I think maybe it could be the rain catcher???

Where all the leads covered in water???

Adam

 

[aubrey]

the water seems to go from the rocker cover, below the plastc thing you clip the leads to and down into the chambers where the plugs are, i'll try and upload a pic from my camera phone.

cheers guys

 

[AmirClio]

mmmm this is strange, even if it was the rain catcher the water wudnt get onto the rocker cover as the vent is directly above the manifold. i havent got a rain catcher on mine at the mo as it fell off and lost it down the a6 somewhere!
what you could do is put a container on ur engine block, shut the bonnet then pour water of the bonnet see where it leaking :S

 

[clio-16-valver]

:S When I got water in my plugs + missfire happened it was because my head gasket was blown! I would get it pressure tested to knock that off the list.

Although if its only happening after rain I could not tell you. Not a common prob afaik.

 

[AmirClio]

:S When I got water in my plugs + missfire happened it was because my head gasket was blown! I would get it pressure tested to knock that off the list.

Although if its only happening after rain I could not tell you. Not a common prob afaik.

if the head gasket had blown wouldnt the car not drive or just be real slow?? be leaking oil/water???
in anycase check the oil filler cap for gunge!

 

[RSTuning]

It depends how bad it is, it is possible for the gasket to go in many places and doesn't mean the leak will between cylinder and water,this would obviously cause s**t running. It may have gone from the water side to where the plugs sit.

Paul

 

[u33db]

Water can blow back over the rocker cover from the raincatcher...you can see it'll flow in that direction if you open the bonnet after washing - water goes directly towards the headlight.

Of course it'll depend how much water is sitting in the raincatcher and how much air travels through the vent to shift it...

In any case, do what danlp6 says tho...its more of a problem on 19 16vs but can happen on clios too and that would get round it. If it was a headgasket i think you'd have noticed other problems before this TBH.

 

[aubrey]

cheers for the tips guys. i will give those a try.
If the head gasket has gone is it a major job to replace?
Could an amateur mechanic like myself tackle it? i did it on my seat ibiza cupra. If not how much wuld it set me back?

Thanks.
Aubrey

 

[ajketley]

about 300 at garage,i think the hardest part is getting to the cambelt cover etc, its a lot easier to lift the engine up or even out to replace the gasket but im sure people on here have little tricks etc.

Adam

 

[Scoop25]

Simple test..taste the water...if it tastes of antifreeze, it's your coolent escaping from somewhere (head gasket, etc), if it's clear and tastes ok, it's rain water.. Don't go drinking the stuff, but it pretty obvious to tell the different between the two.. (medical note, antifreeze kills if you drink it.!)