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hi everyone

just picked a little 1 litre polo on an H plate the other day to keep as a cheap town car.

but its not running smooth.

its starts on the button no problem, but if go to pull away and drive off as soon as ive started it it kangaroo's and judders really really badly, and is undrivable, it doesnt stall but its jumps about badly.
if i let it warm up properly till the temp needle is in the middle its much much better. but still does it a little bit.
then if i park up for 10 minutes when its been running ok it kangaroos really badly again and i have to give it 5 mins before i dare attempt to drive it anywhere.

once its been running a while its pretty ok, and nice to drive.

ive checked the warm air valve and the pipe, and they are fine, dizzy seems ok but does has some wear, but no moisture or anything, and the battery is pretty new in it.

any ideas?.....pleeeaasseee......

Temp sender could be on the death road - cheap to replace, so you might aswell!

Mine did this when I first got it, used to kangaroo but also stall although doesn't sound as bad as yours....turned out the previous owner didnt drive it much, and after I'd used her daily for a while she got better, and now I drive her way too much she's fine....although yours does sound quite a bit worse! and mine is near enough constantly on the lowest temp...so, infact, its probably completely different....

well, i tried

alexperkins wrote:Temp sender could be on the death road - cheap to replace, so you might aswell!

thanks im gonna look into that tomorrow

Chally_Rai wrote:Mine did this when I first got it, used to kangaroo but also stall although doesn't sound as bad as yours....turned out the previous owner didnt drive it much, and after I'd used her daily for a while she got better, and now I drive her way too much she's fine....although yours does sound quite a bit worse! and mine is near enough constantly on the lowest temp...so, infact, its probably completely different....

well, i tried

it might be a fair point though, the previous owner was an old guy who used it probably once a week for short journeys, if my tinkering doesnt work ill just drive it till it behaves or breaks completely..lol

1st thing i would do is give the car a good service, decoke and get the timing (including the dizzy timing) done, at least that way the engine is at a good starting point. as mentioned sensors can play havoc on old mk3 polos! however i have never known an spi engine to have trouble with the temp senders. the throttle position sensor is one i have had trouble with, when trying to fit a bigger throttle body ( top tip: get hold of a late spec 1.3 throttle body and inlet manifold or a golf 1.4 one as it is very similar! they are near enough a straight swap that can be done in a couple of hours and improve the 1 litres performance and driveability no end. the only thing you will need to adjust is the throttle position sensor. it is hidden in a black box on the side of the throttle body, tis held by 4 torx screws. slack them off and with the engine warm, wiggle the box about on its slots till the idle is around 900 rpm. if you want to take things further a 1.3 head and gt cam can be bolted on too, as the heads are larger in bore and the cam is sportier, with those mods 65 bhp is possible!)

my universal cure:
check the leads

also

1L on an H plate

just for old times sake: the colour, shape and region?