bloody car!!

[eightvalve]

if rubjonny's treatment doesn't work (or even if it does) check the cable coming from the knock sensor on the front of the block.  If its the original sensor, it might need replaced.  The cable coming from it is a shielded, coax type and if the shielding or insulation is split, it wont be sending the correct signal to the ecu. Mine used to rattle pretty bad and I got a new one from bosch for about £40 which sorted it. Only rattles the odd time now, on hot days at low engine speed on wot.

[cняis]

rubjonny which is the vacuum lead you refer to? I take it its number 14 (not 14a)?

[rubjonny]

1. 14 is the one aye
2. Ah you said left foot, not right   This plus the fact no other water has got in recently does point more to the matrix, if I were you I'd bypass the hoses to the firewall before it blows completly!
The job isn't too hard, but its fiddy.  I've since done another and can say that with the dash out the jobs a doddle, and I'd recommend you remove all the heater houisng nuts on the bulkhead and the one next to the blower unit, and remove the entire airbox unit complete including the blower housing, makes like so much easier than trying to split the box off the blower unit, those clips are a nightmare!

[cняis]

The car is currently in the garage. The leak has been identified as coming from the matrix, not the hoses. its trickling back through the sound deadening and into the footwell.

One question though - is the matrix liable to blow if its temporarily fixed with k-seal/radweld? ive been quoted £120 by the garage to replace it, which i could do without paying!

[Organisys]

That price is reasonable, given the labour involved.

[rubjonny]

rad/weld or whatever isn't going to do the car any favours, steer clear.  If I were you id get them to bybass it with a length of copper pipe, which will take em all of 5 minutes and its not as if you'll need the heaters any time soon

[cняis]

rad/weld or whatever isn't going to do the car any favours, steer clear.  If I were you id get them to bybass it with a length of copper pipe, which will take em all of 5 minutes and its not as if you'll need the heaters any time soon

thing is i think theyve already done it...  as i spoke to them at 11.

oh well, coolant flush and matrix replacement next week then 

[cняis]

Ahhh result! they havent done it yet, so theyre bypassing it to avoid any further issues. 

[cняis]

Right-o well currently the heater is bypassed (its summer soon anyway) and i have tried rubjonny's "poor-mans decoke" of sticking the vacuum pipe into water and running about a pint through it at 2k rpm...

i have just taken it for a blast and it seems to have stopped 99% of the pinking cheers rubjonny. engine temp was up to 98 at one point (and its a cool evening) so should be pretty much sorted... 

[BobbyT]

would this 'de-coke' work on a mk1 k jet??