MrVnz' Corsa

[williamt73]

Non smooth idle can be many things.
This engine has many vacuum pipes. A split in any of them will let unwanted air into the system and upset the fuel air mixture. However, from your description I would possibly suggest the Idle air control valve. It may just need to be cleaned out along with the throttle body, but without knowing the car I can't say for sure.

Bubbling liquid noises are not good. They mean you have air in your cooling system. You posted earlier showing your coolant expansion tank was empty. First question to ask is why? Have you got a leak? I presume you filled up the cooling system. It may now just have some air trapped in it if it was filled too fast. Let us hope that is all it is. These systems are self bleeding, so you should run the car at a fast idle, firstly with the cap off the expansion tank, then as it warms up close the expansion tank cap and keep running until the thermostat opens. Allow the car to cool. Coolant from the expansion tank should be drawn back into the system. When cool, top up the expansion tank. If bleeding the system gets rid of the bubbling noises for a while, but after some time they return then you are getting air into the system from somewhere.

The more worrying reason could be that you have a blown head gasket. Does your cooling system become over pressurised?

[MrVinz]

I don't see anything on the floor so no leaks I think. I did fill it up but the car stood still for 4 days and I haven't run the engine with the cap off. I'm actually bringing my car to a garage tomorrow. I'm experiencing drops in power due to a badly running engine when it's cold. It's not just running oddly when idling but also when driving. When the engine is warmed up I experience hardly any problems though. That makes me think it can't be toooooo serious... I have the feeling it's not running on all fours sometimes. Scary, lets hope for the best eh.

Oh, forgot to say that no warning lights are coming on and the temp gauge just touches 90C...

[MrVinz]

Took it to the garage.

Me: "It bubbles, doesn't run smooth and loses power at times".

Garage owner: "You need a new head gasket".

Me: "Sh*t".

So he's first going to check compression tomorrow and then we'll see. New gasket will cost me more than I actually paid for the car. Oh the joy...

[MrVinz]

Oh, the mechanic said he also needs to put in a new belt because the old one (few years old) is stretched and the engine doesnt have a tensioner. Is this correct?

[johnny]

There is a tensioner but there's not much movement in it, your better changing the cam belt if it's stretched anyway, my car broke the belt not long ago and it bent 14 valves so 30 euro belt versus 200 euro rebuild is a no brainer

[MrVinz]

Clear. Thanks!

[williamt73]

Johnny is right. Most of the cost in "doing" the head is in man time. The cost of the parts is small in comparison, so it makes sense to change the timing belt and any others while the bloke is in there & got it all apart. It would also make sense to clean out the throttle body and Idle air control valve, EGR valve and anything else at the same time as these will need to come off the car as the head is removed. The biggest chore with cleaning these out is actually getting them off the car. They are all hidden round the back of the engine underneath your coolant expansion bottle.