Over-revving and losing power

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Noz123

New Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2008
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Car(s)
VW Polo
My VW Polo has started to lose power, it used to be able to go at high speeds very easily however it's now revving at 3500/min in 5th gear at 65mph. It can still go higher but (I'm guessing because of the high revs) it eats up petrol like nobody's business!

Anyone know what would be causing this or is it just age?

It's become quite noisy and makes a strong ticking over sound when stopped.

Petrol engine (1.6L) - R reg.


### EDIT ###

I should also say that when it's ticking over it's as if it misses a beat sometimes... I've read a few posts and was wondering could it be a broken tappet and if so would this cause the power loss?
 
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Maybe I'm wrong, but if it takes more RPM to run the same speed that it used to, I'll bet the clutch is slipping. It also makes a car feel slower because the energy that was used to move the car is now just heating the clutch and flywheel.
 
I'm with CraigB on this one. The clutch is probably on it's way out.
 
Loss of power, high fuel consumption and ticking when idle could also be a sparkplug or sparkplug cable problem, I think...
 
In first or second gear, drive up to the speed where your engine is just below its powerband, then punch it. Or, rev it up in first gear and drop the clutch for a wheel-spinning start. If it revs higher than you expect without the car moving forward like you expect, your clutch is slipping.
 
epp_b said:
In first or second gear, drive up to the speed where your engine is just below its powerband, then punch it. Or, rev it up in first gear and drop the clutch for a wheel-spinning start. If it revs higher than you expect without the car moving forward like you expect, your clutch is slipping.
Click to expand...

And if it wasn't it will be ;)
 
prizrak said:
And if it wasn't it will be ;)
Click to expand...
Hey, send it out with a bang! :lol: Besides, even once a clutch starts slipping you can generally baby it along for quite some time. Not that its a good idea, unless you want to buy a new flywheel too.

It could be something like a broken tappet(s), or a bearing trying to seize. But it could also be a very simple and cheap issue, like Redliner mentioned, of a bad plug wire or plugs. That would be the first place I'd look.
 
It could be the clutch, but if your engine sounds like it's missing a beat, then it could be misfiring or somthing could be wrong with the timing. You should have this checked out by a garage if it's the case.
 
sounds like two problems, as said clutch is slipping. Check this by coasting in high gear and then at lowish RPMs hammering the throttle, if the clutch is going out the RPMs should jump way beyond what they should be at for the speed, i've had two cars clutches go out so I'm firmiliar with the affair.

2ndly, if its missing and using too-much fuel, as well as sounding more like a Subaru Boxer engine then you might just have a old sparkplug and or wire/distributor.

Can you take a recording of it being revved up? If nothing else the way it sounds will be a give away to if its firing properly (especially easy to tell on 4cyls)
 
No knowledge on the subject at all, but I thought I'd weigh in.

I agree on the clutch, but couldn't the ticking sound be the camshaft(s) being worn out? Or perhaps a valve problem?( no idea really, this is more of a question)
 
The ticking at idle could be that the valve lash needs to be adjusted, or if the car has hydraulic lifters, the lifters could be failing to properly fill with oil, which will also cause a ticking at idle.
For a manual transmission, the clutch slipping is the only way that it's even possible for the RPM to be higher than normal in gear, unless the tachometer is reading wrong. Were it an automatic transmission, essentially the same thing is true, the slushbox would be slipping.
An occasional misfire could be caused by valves that are very badly out of adjustment, but is more likely a problem with the ignition system (distributor/coilpacks/plug wires/ignition timing/spark plugs)
Good luck getting it fixed ;)
 
How many miles does the engine have?
If I were you, I'd look into the head gasket, because it seems to me that your engine is losing compression.
I have a simillar problem with my Polo, but it's not as bad as yours - in order to maintain 60mph my revs are 200-300 higher than what they used to be 2 years ago.
Bear in mind that Polo engines don't have a very long life - if you've done more than 120k miles it might need a rebuild.
 
could a simple hydrolic fluid change be the problem since my clutch is still flush and does not feel like it is going out?
 
Aaaaaand you just answered a 2.5 year old question.
 
damn i didnt even realize i had this question until i saw this thread. poor 3 month old kia soul that i have beat the shit out of.
 
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