my 8v digi woes

Discussion in '8-valve' started by 8vDUB, May 26, 2010.

  1. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    m8, i feel like a proper ****. i been a 'mechanic' for 10 years, but iv never really got involved in diagnostics, i dont have the patiants, hence all my questions. i only admitted it because otherwise id never get to the bottom of it. i thought id get flamed, but instead i got a deadly silence,lol.
    i havnt had the rocker cover off to check the cam cause my rocker gasket isnt looking to good so another new one is needed first.
    hopefully will give abit more.
    yea, timing mark is as if its shaking back and forth so fast its blurry, i wedge the trottle open at 2.25k which would normally go up or down a tad as i advance and retard, depending on how bad out it is. but my wedge is 2.25k at 6* so i know when it comes round.

    seems alot better anyway, the first time since owning the car iv thought maybe i should think about brakes and shocks :)
    BUT!!!, sat in traffic tonight my oil temperature hit 126*, so im getting worried now. what could it be????

    started pinking abit at 112 and water temp started rising abit at 116. sat more around 122 and pinked quite abit.
    and it didnt go down on the short bits where i got to move, even upto about 40.

    im thinking blocked oil cooler, is this likly?

    thanks m8e
     
  2. 50ftdubdemon Forum Member

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    buggar that is hot! is coolant system all working ok (levels, fan coming on)? not much experience with high oil temps tbh.. would be tempted to start with an oil flush/change as you might have fouled the stuff thats in with all the rough runnin

    could also be that your runnin way too lean what with dodgy rocker bung + gasket. once theyre sorted set co's to 3ish... can always go for a run with the allen key for some seat of pants testing once you know your in the ballpark.

    after that.. guessing it isnt pump as its not loosing pressure and blocked cooler wouldnt really tie in with anything else thats happened. maybe whip the cam out check for scoring on the caps(and refit with assembly paste in hope that it beds itself in better)?
     
  3. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    i know, its worrying, cooling system is all fine aswell, could being lean cause oil temps to rise?
    drives ok untill it gets really hot then feels like its struggling abit.
    does it matter what its set at when its in setup mode really, as i can set it to 2% without setup mode.
    cam has always got oil on it, im always changing oil, mobil 10w40 from work is free. last done about 3 weeks ago, was 112 then but wasnt so hot out
     
  4. 50ftdubdemon Forum Member

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    yea lean will cause it to run hot.. running on the rich side will cool things down and cam should like it too! you really dont know where you are at minute tho as dodgy bung will be throwing your readings out. once its sorted set co's to 3 in setup mode, then see how you go :thumbup:
     
  5. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    il get them monday and redo it, need to sort the icv pipes but cant seem to find a permanant solution.
    thanks tho
     
  6. chrismc Forum Junkie

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    With a digifant it is IMPERATIVE there are no air leaks as these will mess up all your base settings. It is a sealed system (including the rocker bung) so even a small leak can make a big difference...

    You need to firstly address the issues of all air leaks and perished hoses before attempting a rough setup.

    Your oil temp does sounds very high. A combination of a lean mixture and incorrect ignition timing would be my guess. Once it gets so hot, the problem gets worse....

    Is your rad fan on constantly? I would expect to see a sky high coolant temp as well if the oil temp is genuine.
     
  7. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    yea, i need to sort the minor leaks i have.
    i set my ignition timing at 6*
    rad fan runs constanly after about `112, when the water temperature rises slightly, between half and 3/4.

    i think the reading is right due to the way the car changes and starts pinking, always seems at the same temp it starts which is 110*
    im not useing the car this weekend so il sort the leaks monday and redo the co

    thanks
     
  8. 50ftdubdemon Forum Member

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    a wander round a decent scrapyard with said pipe should do it. just make sure you dont use anything off any french cars.. will cause your intake system to fill with gooey yellow snot shortly followed by plumes of steam and cursing
     
  9. chrismc Forum Junkie

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    I'd be tempted to make sure the coolant system is in tip top condition too. New stat, coolant and reverse flush the rad...

    That, along with fixing your vac leaks should bring the temps down a bit. No way your rad fan should be running constantly when all is well;)
     
  10. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    stat is new, coolant went in with new engine few months ago, fan only comes on when the oil temperature gets really high. but il flush the whole system through and change the antifreeze again if you think that might help.
    thanks
     
  11. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    ok, i think this is an isolated problom to the oil cooling.
    i just went on a run to get my animals food, strait onto a dual carrigeway, as the water went up it stopped around 1/4 of the way, but oil temp kept riseing, it peaked around 108 on the way there at a steady 60 with no cars in front, but water stayed at 1/4.
    on the way back i stopped at lights, and it was 112, then water went up to half way, fan came on etc. then stayed there whilst i carried on moving, was at 114 when i pulled up on my drive. water was just over half way.

    i saw that toyotec had the same problom with his turbo and relaced with a stronger fan, but would that help if the coolent stays at 1/4 anyway, would obviously help when the fan cuts in by cooling quicker.

    but why would oil temp keep going up when cruiseing at steady 2.5krpm? on an open road, and the wind coming in the sunroof was quite fresh so plenty of cold air on the rad.

    anything i can do if it continues after i sought the minor vac leak?

    im getting abit anxious now.

    thanks guys
     
  12. 50ftdubdemon Forum Member

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    if water temp is sitting at 1/4 something is wrong with cooling system. should be steady rise to 1/2, then rising no higher than 2/3 before fan comes on and takes it back to half.

    would normally suggest stat is sticking.. but if thats new then might be youve got an airlock. this would also fit with the fact that it only gets over 1/4 when oil temps get v high.. as the high oil temps cause the airlock to move. considoring price id suggest fitting another stat as all the high temps might have killed your last one. also flush your sytem with some radflush (or similar) before topping up with fresh coolant.

    if youve got access to compressed air at work you could also put 20psi in system whilst engine/coolant is cold as this will make any small leaks show up really well (small leaks tend to evaporate otherwise so v difficult to trace). best place to tap into system is using the braided line that runs from header to rad. blank the rad outlet with short run of hose with a bolt in end and couple of tiewraps. then use braided hose to put 20psi staight into header :thumbup:

    another thing.. if your coolant gauge isnt reading a steady 1/2 then your ecu wont be fueling the car correctly, as it takes readings at same point in system as the gauge sensor. so needs sorting not only to get oil temps down but also to allow you to set fuelling
     
  13. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    ok, normally my gauge does go to around half, buty because i didnt stop on the way there it never had a chance, was only a couple of miles.
    have never had the coolant level drop atall since i sorted the leak i did have, head side flange.

    idleing on setup mode water temp rises, pipe goes from cold to hot as it should, fan cuts in at half way and keeps it there.
    my gauge has never stayed steady, with this engine or the last, 3 stats, 2 water pumps, a box full of senders, and it still the same, stays around a quarter, never less, then in traffic, hot weather will go up to half and stay there till i get going, then will drop back to a quarter.

    i cant really replace everything again just to have it the same. last time i did, pump, stat, ecu sensor, gauge sensor, new g12 antifreeze, new rad cap, blue,
    what else can i change exept the rad, which is obviously not blocked or id have overheating coolant alot quicker than i am.
    iv got a cooling system pressure tester at work, il plug it on, and only 18psi is recommended ;)
    have you ever had a 13mm bolt hit you in the stomach, see it happen to somone who didnt clamp the hose, left a nice bruise,lol

    iv got the other 2 stats at work thats i bought to sought this problom before, which they never, so as it acted normal when stationary i presumed its ok. if it was the stat the water temp would go down to almost nothing wouldnt it?, did on my mk4 when the stat stuck open.

    i need to do something though, this isnt very good when im stuck on a dual carrigeway in traffic, nowhere to pull over either.

    thanks for the advice
     
  14. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    oh and the water temp has never been above between 1/2 and 3/4, even with 126* oil temp
     
  15. chrismc Forum Junkie

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    Vacuum leaks=lean running=hotter oil temp. Because the cooler is oil to water, little heat transfer takes place and the coolant cannot contain the oil temps. It's a viscious circle.

    The fact water temp is staying relatively normal shows the cooling system is trying it's best.

    It needs fuelling and ignition setting up properly, with no vac leaks before you can start making rash judgements about the cooling system..[><]

    With a proper setup in place, I'd point the finger at the oil cooler given similar symptoms...
     
  16. 50ftdubdemon Forum Member

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    if its sitting at 1/4 and never rising over 1/2, sounds like the clocks might be problem rather than cooling system ie they are reading 1/4 low. could point to a voltage problem.. seem to remember seeing a post on here diagnosing voltage regulator(?) on back of clocks. rubjohny posted a diagram showing what to look for might be worth doing a search.

    did you get round to changing alternator?
     
  17. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    ok, i just went and looked over my cooling system again, bridged the gauge sender, that went up to the very top, so gauge and wireing seems ok.
    and as it was almost cold, i took the water cap of and run it up to check for air locks,
    left it running, felt the pipes, top hose got hot almost strait away and bottom hose got hot as it got to 1/4 on the gauge, with the cap off!
    i left it running to get the fan to cut in, was sqeezeing all the pipes i could and the fluid level kept jumping with sqeezing. as it got hotter it chucked out all the antifreeze, so theres my airlock, kept switching off and topping up but fan didnt cut in, didnt get to half way, so i put the cap on till the fan cut in and out then switched it off, removed the water cap and let all the air out, took the cap off, topped it up, started the engine and sqeezed the pipes agian, no rise in fluid level, so no air inside, right? fluid didnt boil over either.
    so iv left the cap off till i next drive to let any other air out as it cools down.

    so il see how that goes. only thing i can think was when i changed the sender last i never bled it out.

    oh yea, fan cut in at just under half aswell this time. and i also noticed i got a 2 speed fan, but i only ever hear it run at a single speed, how would i tell if both speeds are working?

    thanks again guys

    and on the last engine even with the rocker bung hanging the oil or water never got that hot.

    car drives ok, really well infact when cold.

    chris, im guessing that untill its been to a garage like alpinweiss i wont get the proper advice that he gets from everyone.
    im trying to do it myself, id rather not pay someone to do what im capable of doing myself. as vince told me a rr session will just get the most out of it but it should run ok with a normal setup.

    also would you pay more to set up an engine than the engine cost you?

    not being funny but certain people just want to shun me off to a rolling road, when thats clearly not always the best route to go.

    thanks to those that help.

    neil
     
  18. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    yea 50ft, i never needed to change the alternator, turned out the battery in my multimeter was weak, new battery gave good reading.

    bridgeing the switch took it all the way up, would it do that if there was a voltage problom?
     
  19. 8vDUB Forum Member

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    also turns out that my rad fan is bust, it only works on the outside terminal, which im guessing is for the fast running fan which is for when it gets overly hott.

    wheres the best place for a replacemant??
     
  20. 50ftdubdemon Forum Member

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    dont know fella.. but i wouldnt assume cos it hits top with 0 resistance that its giving correct values for sensor resistances. sounds like youve done all you can with cooling system so if its still showing low id suspect clocks are to blame. link to post with similar prob.

    pain in the arrse taking them out to check but if the clocks are working and you do still have a coolant issue (however unlikely given work youve done), then any attempt to set co's will be pointless as ecu will be seeing same temp as you are on clocks ie running on cold start map
     

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