[Mk2] [NA] Starting problems: at wit's end

[poser]

I realise there are tonnes of topics like this; I have searched and read plenty but think my circumstances warrant a new thread.

Until the clocks go forward, it's hard to find much time to tinker with the 2, so the past four/five weekends have gone a little like this:


Changed dizzy cap, rotor arm, air filter. Car ran very nicely for a week.

Then washed it the next weekend, and it was struggling to start. Sometimes it was ok, others not. Sometimes misfiring, sometimes the engine check light would come on.

I dried and WD40'd all the electrical components, including dizzy, dizzy cap, leads and plugs, changed oil filter and oil. Fitted a new rubber seal around the dizzy cap. There are no error codes, but I reset ECU anyway.

Still the problem is there, though when it does start, it's now running very nicely.

Last weekend, changed plugs. Plug one has a lot of oil (recurring) on it, plug three has a bit of ash on it.

Problem now occurs randomly. Tuesday night - started first time and is running well, despite the wet weather. Yesterday - weather is sunny, yet engine check light came on and refused to disappear - still feels like misfiring.


I am now very aware that I'm losing oil from my rocker cover gasket, and I guess that is next on the list. However, I've always had a slight leak there and it never failed to start before.

I'm worried that if I pay for the labour to get that sorted, the car will come back and it will be some stupid problem that is causing the starting. Yes, I realise I should get the gasket done anyway, but money is tight at the moment.

The only other thing i can thing of is that I bought a blueprint rotor arm and dizzy cap rather than OEM; surely this won't have been duff, will it?


Apologies for the essay and thanks for reading. If anyone has any suggestions they would be most welcome. I am like this and have been for weeks:

Cheers,

Steve

[Dale_V]

id go around cleaning all the earths making sure they have a good clan contact...

I would also have a look at the coil back and ignitor, under the fuse box against the firewall... check that the king lead is clean and sits tight in the coil... also examine inside of the coil and make sure the terminals are clean and solid...

then i could unplug the coil and ignitor electrical connections and spray with electrical cleaner...

see what happens!

[fearless]

i know from past experience thats coils can start breaking down when thay get hot and can give the same symptoms as your describing also ht leads aswell , can you borrow one from somebody to try that just an idea
ps i had a vauxhall omega with a bad oil leak got the oil leak fixed and had nothing but problems after really bad running, found out i had bu88ered ht leads and oil was stopping them from arching on engine new leads ran like a dream