Running on 3 cylinders since service, possibly linked?

[sooby]

Howdy guys!

We had our BG Legacy non-turbo SOHC wagon serviced + cambelt replaced last month, and ever since it seems to be down on power, like it is running on 3 cylinders. Is there any chance the mechanic messed something up? Reason I say this is: mechanic didn\'t seal a coolant pipe during service and it leaked the day we got car back, so needed to be sent back to do properly (leading me to think perhaps he had an \'off\' day & forgot something else). Also, it seems a hell of a coincidence for whatever has failed to do so EXACTLY during service or immediately before/after.

Symptoms are:

- low on power, almost stalling going up any decent slope in first gear.

- aircon compressor now squeals when engaged, sounds like belt is slipping.

- engine smells hot (altho seems to be decreasing lately and may just have been excess oils spilt during service)

Have also noticed:

-no dropped fluids,

-no smoke or fuel blowing out exhaust,

-no froth or coolant in dipstick oil indicating head-gasket failure,

-engine temperature reads perfect,

-not sure about fuel economy, but may be slightly worse than normal.

Have taken car back to mechanic and he said it is running on 3 cylinders and thinks its electrical related so changed plugs/leads but still no luck, has ordered a new coil which will arrive in a few days.

Is there anything else to check for like the mechanic installed fuel filter incorrectly or something else during a routine service/cambelt replacement to cause this loss of power? As much as all signs point to something electrical, I\'d rather rule out mechanic error before replacing all the electrics at my cost!

Appreciate any help & ideas

[Guest]

Check spark. Easy enough to do just pull a plug and try each lead see what happens.

[Joker]

sounds like unplugged injector/ matches symptoms I had once on my TT

[sooby]

yeah, cheers evowrx. Think the mechanic has done that, then replaced leads and still missing. Altho he didn\'t say which cylinder wasn\'t firing or if it varied.

So no way you\'d get that with fuel filter installed backwards?

joKer - would mechanic have unplugged an injector during routine serivce / changing cambelt?

[Joker]

may have bumped it/not quite plugged in proper etc (they are in general area/near fron of motor sometimes)

like evowrx says pull each cylinder 1st and see if one makes no difference at all

[Steveo]

Timing out by one tooth?

[Rosssub]

 Steveo said:

Timing out by one tooth?

Cam timing on one camgear is out by a tooth or more? Causing the miss on that side and probably more both cylinders not just one. Would a compression test show that?

Edit: Think of a camgear as 360 degress, 1 tooth out means that cam/valve timing on that side is about 10-15 degrees out

[sooby]

cheers fullas, appreciate it

[sooby]

all sorted - turns out the coil was stuffed!

Seemed a hellova coincidence for it to pack it in at EXACT same time as cambelt service, but there ya go. At least its all good now, thanks guys for your ideas!

[Joker]

stink but thanks for the catchup on what the problem was