Runs, backfires, limps home, now doesn't start :-(

Great news, glad that fixed it for you.

I had the same thing recently with my cap and rotor. It seems to be a common problem with moisture in there.

[quote="Teglen"]Hats off to you Jon, I'll buy you a beer or two next meet... took dizzy off (why is everything so bloody difficult to reach on the GTA?)... moisture all over the inside and the contacts were a bit corroded This was a new dizzy in January, so I'm surprised... although the seal design doesn't seem to be that great.
quote]

Is it an Italian Bremi brand cap that had been fitted? If so, save having any more dramas and replace it with a Bosch cap. The Bremi cap will get that siliconny ooze again and again and cause problems on boost. I know of 5 of these caps that have gone this way. The cap is the same as an '80s BMW 635 and other BMs of that era.

Alan, Bosch cap also gives problems in our lovely damp country. Nearly seems like you change the cap as often as oil and filter now days!

I got hold of a Halfords one for convienience as I understand they are all as bad as each other.

Also without the black cover on it is less of a job to take it off for regular checking.

Teglen, whereabouts are you in Wiltshire?
Perhaps we (you, Cedric, myself and others in the South) could have a meet up in the New Year . Certainly be interesting as we all seem to share the same Stratos Blue paint jobs !!

I'm just outside Salisbury. Is noone from south/south-west going to the Brand Hatch day?

I'm just outside Salisbury. Is noone from south/south-west going to the Brand Hatch day?

glad to hear youbgot the car sorted

....I had the same thing recently with my cap and rotor. It seems to be a common problem with moisture in there.

The quote above seems to be a regular feature for these turbos, and there have been other threads refering to the same problem. In my humble opinion, to me, it is not a fault of the cap or rotor. Various makes of caps have been used, and still the problem reoccures.
My money is on the seal behind the rotor. If you think about it, the lip seal is made of a flexable neopreen type material which could have been in position for some 20 odd years in one of hottest areas on the engine (with heat rising) so over time I suspect it has lost its flexability. Further more, when an engine is started from cold, condensation forms within the engine, (crank case and all) and with the possibility of worn rings from high milage, crank pressure can be high. Put all that together and I would put money on that as being where the condensation is getting into the cap, being forced through the seal by the crank case pressure. There was also a pic recently of oil deposites in the cap which clearly came from a worn seal.... I noted that the owner was going to change the seal because of the oil. But I still feel that condensation, being less viscose, could well pass by the seal, especially when the engine is cold, without there being any trace of oil.
If it were me, considering the above, I would be looking to replace the seal at my earliesr convenience...... they cant be too expensive, and if it cures the "condensation in the cap" problem, I would be a happy bunny.
Clearly I have not got a Turbo to play with, so I don`t know how easy or difficult it is to replace the seal, but looking at the exploded parts diagram, it should not be too bad. Perhaps someone (Clee ?) who has changed one could advise.
I have always believed that "Prevention is better than Cure".
I hope you find my thoughts interesting.

John

John, it was my cap and rotor I posted up recently, so I think that is what you are referring to.

I will be changing the seal but it is not that high on my priority list given my amount of free time and mileage that I do.

I think you are absolutely right on pretty much everything by the way. My car has done 70k miles so not that high, but the crankcase comment is probably true.

I was chatting to Mr Sage at the NEC and he was telling me that it is common for the caps to "Sweat". Given some of the other comments it seems that may be the case (there were comments about residues on the inside of the "Bremi" caps).

I have re-configured my exhaust so hopefully it wont be submitted to so much heat from that, I guess the water pipes are very close though. My plan is to check it regularly and with no black cover on the cap this will be easier to do. I just need to do some miles really (and change the seal).

I think it is something worth looking into because it is a bit of a ticking time bomb as a couple of us have now found out. My car was running very well and then when the conditions are just right you are going nowhere.

I'm just outside Salisbury. Is noone from south/south-west going to the Brand Hatch day?

rupert is

I was chatting to Mr Sage at the NEC and he was telling me that it is common for the caps to "Sweat". Given some of the other comments it seems that may be the case (there were comments about residues on the inside of the "Bremi" caps).

I'm going to tempt fate and say that I have yet to experience this with my Turbo but it was something that I used to get with my old Fuego years ago. It used to regularly get condensation under the cap along the lines of what Mr Sage describes.

The answer I found was (like another of my posts) Holts Damp Start. Fitted a new cap, and then sprayed this all over the lead connections and where it fitted the distributor. It dries to make a silicone seal and worked a treat to stop the "sweating" or condensation.
I spotted plenty of cans of Damp Start in Halfords just the other day. Simple and cheap - but make sure to give it a few minutes to dry before you fire up the engine!

Is the GTA, BMW, halfords cap etc, the same for the A610?
Mine is starting to show the same symptoms.

Sounds like we could do with a group / club purchase of the seal !
I presume its a 77 00 267 475 or a 77 00 260 074 ??

....I presume its a 77 00 267 475 or a 77 00 260 074 ??

Hi Paul,
Just checked with my friendly Renault sales guy, Pt No. is 77 00 260 074, available from France (10 days or so) Price £14.10 ex VAT.... so a bit more over there in the UK. The first Number you quoted is discontinued.

Condensation inside my distributor cap was stopping the car from starting today, after not been used for about 6 weeks. New Bosch cap and arm fitted. Only found this out after checking and cleaning all the earths first.