I need HELP please (8v Gti)

[speedy gonzales]

Guys I have a problem. 

I have just finished my exams ( ) and decided to work on my car (1987 8valve Gti), but being the peanut that i am i think that i have made the situation worse. 

I was changing the rocker cover gasket and HP leads as well as the spark plugs, oil and fuel filter.  What happened was that once i put everything together the engine was running at a low idle.  So i thought lets turn it up a bit so it runs on 1,000 revs (which is normal i think).  Anyway, on the way to the shops the car automatically (and suddenly) started to drive at 4000 revs and even when I put the engine into neutral it was increasing to 5000 revs so i put it in 5th gear and slowly came to a rest whist turning the ignition off.
I turned the engine off and ever since then I am getting blue smoke from the exhaust and it is back-firing and popping which is not normal as i have a standard exhaust. It is  running rich and this is evident from the carbon deposits on the new spark plugs. 

Also, now the car is not the same performace-wise. it spits and splutters while i am traveling at normal (cruising speed). The symptoms are as if the car is not getting any fuel or that there is a problem with the air intake.  So i changed the fuel filter again and that hasnt helped at all. The car yesterday, while parking, shot its revs up on 2000 revs again and that has got me worried! as the problem is still not fixed. :embarassed:

Now i think that i may have pulled out some kind of breather pipe that is still not back in its original place, and that's whats causing the current problems. I have checked everyhting from the air filter to the engine cover but i can not find any loose cables or pipes.

I really need some help on where i can go from here as the car was purring even before i touched it.  I will list what the changes i made which may help with the answer to this problem.

Many thanks people.

Changed Oil
Changed oil filter
Changed fuel filter (twice)
changed sparks plugs (BOSCH) and leads (SILICONE)
Changed rocker cover gasket (could it be that i did not put the cover back on properly? I have checked the breather grommet which lies next to the place where you put the oil in on the engine cover!)

thanks
Speedy Gonzales

[Agreeable Slick]

Check in the expansion tank, and teh oil filler cap. Tell us what you find. If its white and creamy you need a new head gasket and possibly to get it skimmed.

[Hatchet Harry]

Right.... firstly get a new breather pod rubber so thats sealed up nice, (the breather pod is the black plastic thing on right side of the rocker cover as u look at it)
Then take of the inlet hose from the airflow meter and spray sh!t loads of carb cleaner in there with the butterfly open as well as closed, then take out the idle screw and make sure its clean and spray the hole u took it out off... then put the idle screw back in a few turns and connect all the hoses back up etc then start the car and take off blue temp sender rev car over 3k 3times also disconnect the idle stabilizer just unplug the electrical connection on the back... then adjust ur idle to 1k with all disconnected and then plug both the temp sender and the idle valve back in, rev over 3k 3times again and it should be happy.

[ANDY597]

 I once new a girl (blonde) who filled up her engine with oil right to the brim and killed her car'


Sorry, that doesnt help does it.......

Taxi for me.....

[...joe]

sounds like you've just not set it up well. do what pimp says but thats only if its a digifant. am i right thinking that an '87 could be either k-jet or digi?

[speedy gonzales]

Thanks pimp, ur advice really helped as I think i may have found the problem while i was carrying out your suggestions in fixing the idle problem.  Whilst I had the water temp sensor located in the thermostat disconnected the car runs fine, but when reconnected the idle speed is erratic, and runs as high as 2000 rpm, so im thinking this could be the problem causing overfuelling??

also ive noticed the water temp gauge light in the car flickering, so perhaps further pointing to the water temp sensor being faulty?

Do you think that a new sensor might fix the problem?

Thanks for your advice and feedback.  I am open to any more suggestions.

[...joe]

^^almost definately, the blue temp sender is a funny thing that can lead to all sorts of problems on digi's. i had some odd starting problems that were traced down to the temp sender.

[dan7]

Sounds to me like you've simply put two of the four ht leads on around the wrong way which caused it to run rough. then you compensated that by turning up your mixture which is why you're now running rich. check your ht leads are in the correct firing order. sounds silly but its easily done!!.........