Gunk in specific place on engine

societys_child

Yes it could cause the juddering, and yes it could be caused by the "gunk"

A jolt of electricity should travel down the high tension spark plug lead and cause a spark in the cylinder.
The gunk can cause a short circuit and sends the electricity to the metal cylinder head, instead of it reaching the spark plug.
When that happens you're only running on 3 cylinders which can cause juddering and lack of power.

When the engine is cool and switched off, cleaning the gunk out with a cloth and WD40 should help.

edit: Wooops, cross posted with jaydee

Chickabiddybex

Update: poked at the gunk and it's actually all pretty much black. Not yellow as I first thought.

Do I need to disconnect the battery before I wipe out the gunk or is it ok to touch that part without?

AdrianC

No problem with the battery.

TBH, letting that "gunk" sit there isn't an issue - it's doing no harm. What you DO need to do is sort the leak out. Not only are you losing coolant, but it's giving you warning that that hose joint's not great. Either the clip's loose, or the hose is knackered. Sort it before it lets go.

Also - the Endura has a lovely reputation for seizing plugs into the head. And that's probably why... Once you've sorted the leak, I think I'd be very tempted to pour a bit of diesel around that plug, leave it for a day or so, then mop it with some kitchen roll and promptly change the plugs, with a smear of copaslip on the thread of each.

WobblyDog

I had the same car, which leaked coolant through the gasket around the thermostat housing. A fairly easy DIY job to fix if you've got suitable tools.

I agree with the previous poster about seized spark plugs on this otherwise durable engine. It's worth making sure they are replaced at the recommended intervals (or maybe a bit more often on this engine). Unfortunately, if they haven't been changed for a while, there's a risk they will snap when you try to remove them, which could be expensive to fix.

Chickabiddybex

AdrianC wrote: »

No problem with the battery.

TBH, letting that "gunk" sit there isn't an issue - it's doing no harm. What you DO need to do is sort the leak out. Not only are you losing coolant, but it's giving you warning that that hose joint's not great. Either the clip's loose, or the hose is knackered. Sort it before it lets go.

Also - the Endura has a lovely reputation for seizing plugs into the head. And that's probably why... Once you've sorted the leak, I think I'd be very tempted to pour a bit of diesel around that plug, leave it for a day or so, then mop it with some kitchen roll and promptly change the plugs, with a smear of copaslip on the thread of each.

Diesel? But it's a petrol! Do I still need to put a Diesel on it? It's gonna be hard to get just a bit if diesel because the petrol station has a minimum spend and I dunno what I'd do with the excess.

Chickabiddybex

WobblyDog wrote: »

I had the same car, which leaked coolant through the gasket around the thermostat housing. A fairly easy DIY job to fix if you've got suitable tools.

How did you fix it?

WobblyDog

I fixed the leaking thermostat gasket on mine (assuming yours has the same problem) by:
- partially draining cooling system from tap at bottom of radiatior
- undoing 2 bolts attaching thermostat housing to engine
- trying to clean up the mating faces a bit with a paint scraper.
- removing old gasket and replacing it with new one bought from Ford dealer (for a few pounds)
- also applying some Hylomar gasket compound (a bodge, but the mating faces were a bit pitted).
- reassembly and refilling cooling system

It went smoothly in my case, but on an old car, there's always the risk of something seizing or breaking when you try to remove it.

philgr

Chickabiddybex wrote: »

Diesel? But it's a petrol! Do I still need to put a Diesel on it? It's gonna be hard to get just a bit if diesel because the petrol station has a minimum spend and I dunno what I'd do with the excess.

Diesel is an oily substance and in that instance they're advising you to pour it around the plug so it can soak into the thread and help oil the thread around the plug to stop it seizing as they've said can happen..

AdrianC

philgr wrote: »

Diesel is an oily substance and in that instance they're advising you to pour it around the plug so it can soak into the thread and help oil the thread around the plug to stop it seizing as they've said can happen..

^ What he said. It's one of the very best penetrating fluids going.

Chickabiddybex

Is there anything else that could do the same job that would be cheaper/easier to get hold of for example... engine oil?