why will my car only start once in a day

[monti265]

Hi
I have an 84 turbo esprit. It starts fine in the morning wen it hasn't been touched but if i try to start it again it just won't. It is really anoying I have changed the plugs leads distributor cap rotor arm
and coil and does the same thing even if I swap them back over. It starts if I leave it about 8 hours help please what could this be?
thanks

[lotusguy]

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your problems. But some further investigation is in order.

I suspect that your fuel system is the problem. Check the float heights and weights. Spec is 15mm height and 8gr. You may have a bad float which floods the engine making starting difficult. Letting the car sit allows the gas to level off in the float bowls allowing you to start the car. Does your oil have a strong gas smell?

Also, do a compression check. If your pistons are crowning (famous on pre-86 Turbos) the compression may be insufficient unless the engine is cold and everything can contract.

Finally, replace the fuel filter (blockage or partial one may be present), check fuel pump operation and fuel pressure regulator. Make sure all vacuum lines are tight and in good order. Hope this helps. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE

[monti265]

Thanks for that Jim
the oil does smell quite strongly of gas so does that mean the float bowls. Also another thing I noticed was I am able to push the car very easily wen its in gear. This seems odd to me and the spark plug on the no.1 cylinder does not go down as far as the other ones and is slightly off centre wen its in.Is that normal?
Thanks
Matt
84 turbo

[lotusguy]

monti265 said: Thanks for that Jim
the oil does smell quite strongly of gas so does that mean the float bowls. Also another thing I noticed was I am able to push the car very easily wen its in gear. This seems odd to me and the spark plug on the no.1 cylinder does not go down as far as the other ones and is slightly off centre wen its in.Is that normal?
Thanks
Matt
84 turbo

Matt,

You should not be able to easily push the car in gear, I cannot push mine unless all the sparkplugs are out. It sounds as if your pistons may be crowning resulting in a loss of compression/power. You really should perform a compression check on all cylinders and record the number, then add a squirt of oil to the cylinder and do the test again. If it improves, it's a ring/piston crowning issue, if not, it may be time to have the valves ground and timed and replace the head gasket. When was the last time the timing belt was changed? If the valves are out of whack, it could also explain a poor compression check.

As far as the #1 plug, it should be centered like the rest. Pull it and inspect the head. It's possible that a PO stripped it out and used a helicoil insert improperly installed. If so, this too should be corrected. Hope this helps. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE