Having done about 4 hours of revision I decided to treat myself to an afternoon working on the Polo. We had taken it for a run last night and it was running a bit hot, down on power and the exhaust was vibrating against the tunnel where I had raised it a bit too much.
First job.... the petrol smell was back so I took the airbox off to have a look around the carb. Petrol was curse word out of the bloody vapour seperator again, making it run lean explaining the power-loss and heat! So off it comes, and I found some 'plastic cement' stuff that my dad had stashed away (iRocco had suggested this originally but typically I couldn't find it then!), which I layered on. Put it back on again (very fiddly job), and I had missed part of the crack so petrol was still leaking out! Off it came again, and on went more plastic cement, tons of the stuff this time just to make sure. Back on and it appeared to be petrol tight and was idling smoother than its ever done while I've owned it!
I also noticed rather a lot of oil around the alternator, so I mopped it up thinking it had come from the oil filter. No such luck, after another short run it was obvious that oil was leaking from the corner of the head-gasket.... coffee break! The oil level hasn't gone down too much but more than it should have done, and was no mayo in the old oil filter or filler cap or any blue smoke, so I'm guessing it's only gone between the oil-way and the edge, still useable if I don't mind spending a bomb on oil.
GRRR.
I also fiddled with the exhaust a bit (using a large hammer and cable ties....), and now it sits perfectly without making contact with the car!
First job.... the petrol smell was back so I took the airbox off to have a look around the carb. Petrol was curse word out of the bloody vapour seperator again, making it run lean explaining the power-loss and heat! So off it comes, and I found some 'plastic cement' stuff that my dad had stashed away (iRocco had suggested this originally but typically I couldn't find it then!), which I layered on. Put it back on again (very fiddly job), and I had missed part of the crack so petrol was still leaking out! Off it came again, and on went more plastic cement, tons of the stuff this time just to make sure. Back on and it appeared to be petrol tight and was idling smoother than its ever done while I've owned it!
I also noticed rather a lot of oil around the alternator, so I mopped it up thinking it had come from the oil filter. No such luck, after another short run it was obvious that oil was leaking from the corner of the head-gasket.... coffee break! The oil level hasn't gone down too much but more than it should have done, and was no mayo in the old oil filter or filler cap or any blue smoke, so I'm guessing it's only gone between the oil-way and the edge, still useable if I don't mind spending a bomb on oil.
GRRR.
I also fiddled with the exhaust a bit (using a large hammer and cable ties....), and now it sits perfectly without making contact with the car!
Doesn't rattle while it isn't going anywhere anymore, but is worse when its moving.