Yes, you’ll need the top cover off to confirm.
Hard to tell for sure but it looks like both cams are retarded by one tooth. Cams are in sync with each other as there are 19 teeth between the cam marks which is correct.
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On a side note. The PCV valve is really quite loose, and comes out from the grommet very easily. Is this normal? Could this be a vacuum leak source?
Assuming the crank is lined up then yes, looks spot on.
A loose PCV valve could cause an air leak but I’d expect more of an issue than what you have. They’re never really that tight.
Maybe worth unplugging some stuff (Intake air temp sensor, MAF) to try and induce a fault code and make sure that it “can” output a code. With the amount of tinkering you’ve been doing I’m surprised there are non stored at all.
Have you checked for any oxidization in the coil pots, also don’t take it for granted that the crank sensor is not breaking down and the temp sensor, is the throttle clean and butterfly, have you checked for water /damp under the carpet in the passenger foot well, i to am surprised that no codes are being stored with the fault finding at the minute.
And those cam seals and crank seals need doing asap to.
M-m
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The coil pots are clean, even cleaned them out with contact cleaner. I replaced the cranks sensor too and it made no difference. The throttle body is pretty clean, didn’t want to do too much to it to avoid damaging that special coating it has.
Damp in the carpet is a good point, the roof is a little leaky and due to be replaced next year sometime. I’ve yet to check the ECU for any water damage so it’s worth a look.
Agree about no ECU codes being weird. I’ve done loads of tinkering even prior to this problem, and to not have any engine codes does seem weird. I’ll pull the MAF sensor or something and see if I can get it through a code
Are those oily deposits because of leaking Cam and Crank seals? Still have the front of the engine half dis-assembled, so might as well change them if I’m there. Gonna do the water pump too as the previous owner got the cambelt changed, but they didn’t change the water pump?!
Just remembered the wife’s Panda had a misfire problem and it turned out to be the multi connector from the ecu. There was some corrosion on one of the pins that had tracked back up the wire.
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Another progress report.
I’ve done a Timing Belt service and a few bits that needed doing unrelated to this issue, but might as well while It’s apart.
- New Radiator (It was a crumbling mess)
- New Water pump (Cambelt was changed last year, but they didn’t change the water pump)
- New Cam and Crank Seals (they were seeping slightly)
- Re-Timed it, although it appears it was correct to start with.
It was also a good chance to de-rust and respray some of the various metal bracketry, so the engine bay is looking much nicer now.
However the engine hesitation issue seems to persist. The good news is that the LED Diagnosis kit is now producing error codes, which should be a lead. I’m not sure if they are related to the timing belt work though.
It looks like I’m getting a 10, 11 and a 12? 10 and 12 exist, but there isn’t any 11 code, so probably mis-reading this.
Think I’ve cracked it, was reading long flashes as 10s, but it’s not the case. I believe it’s code 0120 - Throttle Position Sensor. Would make sense as it’s one of the last things I’ve not changed yet that could cause it.
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Possible. I had similar experience on a '99 1.8. Rheostat style TPS I was told, breaks in the track cause the hesitations. I never actually changed it - it had a habit of ‘mending itself’ but it always returned. Worst when hot. I once drove it all the way from Northumberland home to West Herts., about 5 miles from home it refused to go above tickover. I popped the bonnet, waited 15 minutes, and it was fine for the rest of the journey.
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As I wrote earlier in post #5, your car’s symptoms were similar to mine and it was a failing TPS.
Thankfully, it’s only about £25 to replace if you’re OK with an aftermarket part.
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Yeah, fair play it was one of the first things mentioned! If this isn’t it, then I’m going to be pulling my hair out.
Ordered an aftermarket TPS and will fit this week, fingers crossed 
Fortunately the timing belt service wasn’t in vane, the engine does feel a little bit happier now with new seals, radiator, fresh coolant and water pump.
Hopefully I’ll have the car behaving just in time for winter 
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No luck with the new TPS. Order an aftermarket one off MX5parts, fitted it and no change. I did clean up the ground connector that bolts onto the Intake manifold and clean up the contact surfaces to make sure if was getting a good earth.
I’m not really sure what to do next. I might check the ECU in the footwell as I’ve yet to do that, to make sure that everything is as it should and that there is no corrosion on the pins.
So it’s fixed!
I decided to go back to square one when the problem started. This was when I painted the rocker cover and changed the coil pack. The old coilpack was causing it to start on a misfire, so had to be replaced. I sourced a used one in good condition on ebay, which solved the misfire, but then I noticed the low end hesitation a couple weeks later. I’d assumed that the janky old coilpack had just hidden this as it was super jerky at low rpms.
It was pointed out to me that I could essentially put together a coil pack by swapping over the coil ‘cells’. So I took the known good side of the the old coil pack and fitted it to one side of the new one. Obviously one of the sides might have been faulty, but had to try both combinations to prove it.
I also used the jumper cable method of adjusting the base idle speed as it was idling nearer 1000rpm than 850, although I’m not sure if this was the fix. Worth doing for a 2 minute job though.
It’s now absolutely fine, seems to rev really nicely from low rpm and doesn’t hesitate or misfire.
Kind of annoying I put myself through this saga to find the solution and bought loads of sensors unnecessarily, but got there eventually.
Thanks all for your help, I really appreciate the input despite how long this has drawn out
The car still needs a new roof, new exhaust and some welding. So I’m not quite out the woods yet, but another problem solved until the next one pops up.
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Brilliant
My daughters Fiesta had a similar misfire which could be cured with a new coilpack but only temporarily.
It took a new coilpack plus a new lambda sensor to properly cure it.
As you now have both, fingers crossed.