Hi Folks...sorry for the long post but really worried here..please help!:confused:
I really thought after spending £7k on a new engine and installation that I wouldn\'t be back on this section asking for help diagnosing an engine problem but hey...**** happens!
The other day I was checking oil and coolant and when I opened the AST cap out spurted a load of coolant. I nipped up to local auto store and bought some Valvoline AF premix 50/50 as recommended by the dude in there. So topped up the coolant and car seemed fine, ran it the next day for quite a while and no issues at all.
However, last night I took her out for a wash and cos it was only down the road, left the engine running while powerwashing fo about 8mins or so. When I climbed back in Water Temp on PFC showed 124c...****! A drove along the road and temp quickly dropped back down to 80c and stayed there.
Had to use the car for work today and joined the motorway to find 8mile of nose to tail traffic.. 2 mins in the traffic after about 7min total driving and the water temp guage on dash started heading skywards.. PFC only showed 37c though? I panicked but was stuck on outside lane at standstill.
A few mins later and PFC was still showing pretty normal temps, then suddenly shot up to 125c? I started to make my way to hard soulder but after about a min or so trying temps dropped back down to 80c and dash guage showed normal temp...
I was worried but continued to work 30mins and temps all normal. I did notice thought that revs were sitting pretty high..1300rpm dropping then climbing again.
Heading home from work and same happened. Dash guage shot up but PFC indicating normal temps..max 92c. Parked up and let cool. Kept turning on at standstill and dash guage kept showing HOT then switching off to cool...PFC never rose above 92c???
Then when i pulled of dash guage dropped quickly back down to normal and stayed there whole way home.
Any ideas folks..have I fried my engine? Airlock after topping up?
Cheers
the standard gauge isnt anything to go buy bud, there crap.. go by the pfc readings.. sounds a bit like an airlock tho..
124 is damage levels tho, u may be lucky but id be carefull n keep checking the coolent ..
Im praying to the Rotor God to let me off with this one..please?
Would a sniffer device tell me if the engine is a goner?
Airlock mate must be, look over the water system mate. Ive had this many time with my cars (not rotary I must add)!
Im for the air lock, spesh when the temp raised and lowered so quickly.
Man Im drunk LoL:bandit :bandit :bandit
Cheers mate... how do I check for an airlock?
Just checked the coolant level and it seems a bit low, can see it when looking in but its a good 5inches below the cap.
air lock, the hot air pockets sit by the sensors and read higher temps than the water. That doesnt mean it doesnt harm your engine but the water temps arn\'t generally as hot as the readings. Make sure you bleed it properly and try again.
That sounds like semi-good news.
I think I remeber a thread on here about \'burping\' so will do that and fingers crossed!
drain the system and before topping bck up remove the plenum coolent hose and fill until this pipe starts flowing water out, re-connect that pipe and top up.. this should remove any airlocks..
Cheers mate..
Can anyone recommend coolant? Is premix better or just mix 60/40 with distilled water?
Where is the sender for the PFC temp reading?
er.... i dunno?
tucked at the rear of the water fill up point
make sure you get green or blue coolant, dont get the red/pink stuff.
Bleed the system mate and see if any air bubbles surface,
turn car on and leave the coolant top up cap off and also the rad has a screw on it to release air pockets slowly open that and see if it bubbles.
124oC is very high as anything over 120oC is generally considered damage temps but fingers crossed for you, also i wonder if the actual temp sensor is reading wrong or damaged ??
Gurj
Quote from: sweetiewellsmake sure you get green or blue coolant, dont get the red/pink stuff.
I don\'t think this applies any more, as long as the coolant is ethyline glyco based its OK. Pip at WGT rebuilt my engine last year and he filled it up with pink stuff so it must be okay...cos he knows stuff.
yes it does apply, the pink stuff turns acidic after approx 24 months. i think its ok as long as its changed regular.
the temps you were seeing were prob inaccurate due to the air pockets in the system, id drain and re fill and go from there. also there is a drain plug on the center housing under the spark plugs, id check and make sure that there is no leak on this or the one in the rad.
matt
the pink stuff is ok for a bit but if you leave it in there a long time as arrouk has said it turns acidic, and this can affect the seals and cause problems
I stress I don\'t know a thing about FD\'s, but I\'ve been around antifreeze changing a long time.
Firstly Bluecol antifreeze, changed every 3 years at 40% to 60% water, will protect against more or less anything, forever.
Secondly, it does sound like water level is not right. Drain and refill is good advice. With older cars like FB you would refill with the heater controls open, refilling until the coolant is overflowing from radiator into the expansion bottle, then \'squidge\' the main hoses about to make air bubbles come up into the top of the rad. Top up coolant. Run car on road for 5 mins only. Stop and check for more air in rad. - CAREFUL NOW - watch out now for hot coolant under pressure! If OK, run back home. Let it cool then squidge pipes about again. Repeat this pantomime a couple of times and you can be reasonably sure no air is left.
If your Valvoline stuff is good, and it\'s new and clear you could strain it and put it back in with more of the same to top up.
Thirdly - something might be wrong with your cooling fan? Perhaps coolant was originally OK but the fan not cutting in damaged things in car wash?
As at the beginning, this is an oldschool viewpoint intended to help - if the FD doesn\'t have an expansion system like this then ignore that bit.
all seams to be good solid advice david, as mentioned above though make sure you blead the TB coolent pipes also.
matt
Sure sounds like air-lock, i follow the Refill and bleed route, but i think while i was at it i would change the stat, the PFC can be tuned for the fans to come on at a lowet temp! i would also check that the fans do actually work, mine didn\'t! my signal wire from the thermoswitch to the relay had broken down, fan switch mod is a good idea too,
Good luck Bob
Okay, loads of help there, cheers guys.:cheers
I have a custom alloy rad with twin SPL fans and they seem to be working fine. So that shouldnt be a problem.
The Valvoline coolant AF is RED in colour, supposed to last 5years guaranteed. I will change to the blue stuff when draining and refilling just for good measure.
I am hoping as said above, that the air pockets have caused inaccurate temp readings and the engine hasnt been damaged!
Can anyone explain why the PFC and stock guage were so wildly different? Do they have seperate/different sensors or work from the same one?
At work today but dying to get home and get this sorted! Meant to be having a wee race tomorrow with my uncles Noble! (all on private road of course!):driving
Many thanks again guys!
The pfc takes it readings from a diffrent sensor to the stock water gauge. There is one behind the filler neck and the other one is on the rear plate of the engine. Definitly sound like an airlock because you have being getting wild readings on 2 different sensors!