Another S on the road!
Discussion
After 40 months on SORN, the S3 has passed its MOT! First time! One advisory: 'all tyres slightly perished' which is not surprising since they're 15 years old.
I'd only put it in for test to find out what else was wrong, after standing for so long. Everything was OK, except the emissions were twice the limit (CO about 7%, HC about 2500ppm), but I asked him to run it again so I could get a second printout, and when he did they were down to 2.4%/650ppm. 'That'll do' he said!
Of course, I took it out for a blat round the block with Number One Son, and sure enough, after three miles we were stranded at the roadside with no fuel. No mobile phones either. How embarrassing.
So, to get this far I've:
Replaced rotted servo and m/cyl with Ka parts
Replaced seized rear brake cyls with new, and seized calipers with second-hand (thanks, Richard)
Replaced windscreen (which I had broken) DIY
Rebuilt both door windows and motors (where can I get new Golde cable to do it properly?)
Replaced one wrecked door mirror with second-hand. Neither work, but I don't mind that
Replaced seized boot lock motor after (more embarrassment) having to find the emergency cable with an endoscope.
Replaced dead lambda sensors; chased vacuum leaks all over the engine; learned a huge amount about the operation of the EEC-IV system
Removed and patched rusted fuel tank; rebuilt filler neck, fitted external low-pressure filter
And much, much more besides.
So far I've spent far more on equipment than parts (well, excluding the windscreen). But now I can start: tyres, radiator, heater, doors again, upholstery, paintwork, targa panels. And then, brakes, gearbox. And I need to change the oil: that's been in there for well over three years. And 60mm ground clearance under the front exhaust joint hardly seems sufficient. And the sump is resting on the ARB.
First proper outing will be to Castle Combe for the Classic Day on 25th June. Then, who knows?
Many, many thanks to all on here for helping me to get this far. Most of my problems had already been solved by somebody or other, but special thanks to those who reassured me that my (originally catalysed) engine did indeed have the right ECU (all cat cars seem to have the 88BB-12A650-LB unit)
What a wonderful group of people!
I'd only put it in for test to find out what else was wrong, after standing for so long. Everything was OK, except the emissions were twice the limit (CO about 7%, HC about 2500ppm), but I asked him to run it again so I could get a second printout, and when he did they were down to 2.4%/650ppm. 'That'll do' he said!
Of course, I took it out for a blat round the block with Number One Son, and sure enough, after three miles we were stranded at the roadside with no fuel. No mobile phones either. How embarrassing.
So, to get this far I've:
Replaced rotted servo and m/cyl with Ka parts
Replaced seized rear brake cyls with new, and seized calipers with second-hand (thanks, Richard)
Replaced windscreen (which I had broken) DIY
Rebuilt both door windows and motors (where can I get new Golde cable to do it properly?)
Replaced one wrecked door mirror with second-hand. Neither work, but I don't mind that
Replaced seized boot lock motor after (more embarrassment) having to find the emergency cable with an endoscope.
Replaced dead lambda sensors; chased vacuum leaks all over the engine; learned a huge amount about the operation of the EEC-IV system
Removed and patched rusted fuel tank; rebuilt filler neck, fitted external low-pressure filter
And much, much more besides.
So far I've spent far more on equipment than parts (well, excluding the windscreen). But now I can start: tyres, radiator, heater, doors again, upholstery, paintwork, targa panels. And then, brakes, gearbox. And I need to change the oil: that's been in there for well over three years. And 60mm ground clearance under the front exhaust joint hardly seems sufficient. And the sump is resting on the ARB.
First proper outing will be to Castle Combe for the Classic Day on 25th June. Then, who knows?
Many, many thanks to all on here for helping me to get this far. Most of my problems had already been solved by somebody or other, but special thanks to those who reassured me that my (originally catalysed) engine did indeed have the right ECU (all cat cars seem to have the 88BB-12A650-LB unit)
What a wonderful group of people!
v8s4me said:
What is a "Golde cable"?
See last post here:http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Thanks for the help and encouragement, guys.
Nasty moment this morning on a dry 270deg roundabout, going very slowly, much slower than I'd normally do it in the Skoda. It felt as though it was on ice. Could this be the Jurassic tyres letting go? I hope so: a set of BluResponses next week.
Nasty moment this morning on a dry 270deg roundabout, going very slowly, much slower than I'd normally do it in the Skoda. It felt as though it was on ice. Could this be the Jurassic tyres letting go? I hope so: a set of BluResponses next week.
What a difference the tyres have made: quieter ride, lighter steering, appreciable grip. Incidentally, the ones on the car were Front: 205/60 and Rear: 205/65, all replaced with 60's. So the slight nose-down attitude has gone, and presumably the speedo will be more accurate.
I hope the oil gauge isn't accurate: I haven't seen more than 25psi so far. A new sender is on the way, and I'll change to the Valvoline oil at the same time, and see what happens.
Also on the way are Burton Power engine mounts and cups, and a 17mm flexi ratchet spanner. They should help to save the sump (I can just pass a hacksaw blade through the gap to the ARB at the moment), and also help with the ground clearance under the exhaust flanges. But not until after Castle Combe!
I hope the oil gauge isn't accurate: I haven't seen more than 25psi so far. A new sender is on the way, and I'll change to the Valvoline oil at the same time, and see what happens.
Also on the way are Burton Power engine mounts and cups, and a 17mm flexi ratchet spanner. They should help to save the sump (I can just pass a hacksaw blade through the gap to the ARB at the moment), and also help with the ground clearance under the exhaust flanges. But not until after Castle Combe!
Old oil: low, fluctuating readings but never over 25psi.
New oil and filter: fluctuating between 25/45 psi.
New Chinese sender: rock-steady 50 psi at anything over tickover.
Seems too good to be true!
BUT...
There's a problem at over 2500 rpm, or with too much throttle: more than a flat spot, it just dies until you take your foot off. It revs OK when not under load.
The engine-off diagnostics say all OK (code 011). OK except mixture too rich on both banks (042, 092) with engine on: ie no component faults.
A usual explanation for rich mixture seems to be air leaks. So I checked the plenum vacuum: about 11"Hg at idle when it should be 17-21". Couldn't find any leaks, and even when I fitted gaskets (which were missing!) in the plenum/manifold joints there was no improvement. And it's not the throttle plates: even when I stalled the engine by sliding cardboard over the throttle openings, it wouldn't pull more than 11"
SO: is the poor old engine incapable of pulling a decent vacuum?
YES! A compression test last night showed 4.8 to 5.8bar across all 6 cylinders, when the Granada book says it should be 11.5-12.5bar. A spoonful of that VR1 oil in one cylinder gave only a tiny improvement.
But it's not burning oil. So hopefully not bore wear or rings. Maybe head gaskets (both?)?. Maybe burnt valves? I'll take the heads off next weekend (after Castle Combe) and have a look.
Any suggestions gratefully received!
New oil and filter: fluctuating between 25/45 psi.
New Chinese sender: rock-steady 50 psi at anything over tickover.
Seems too good to be true!
BUT...
There's a problem at over 2500 rpm, or with too much throttle: more than a flat spot, it just dies until you take your foot off. It revs OK when not under load.
The engine-off diagnostics say all OK (code 011). OK except mixture too rich on both banks (042, 092) with engine on: ie no component faults.
A usual explanation for rich mixture seems to be air leaks. So I checked the plenum vacuum: about 11"Hg at idle when it should be 17-21". Couldn't find any leaks, and even when I fitted gaskets (which were missing!) in the plenum/manifold joints there was no improvement. And it's not the throttle plates: even when I stalled the engine by sliding cardboard over the throttle openings, it wouldn't pull more than 11"
SO: is the poor old engine incapable of pulling a decent vacuum?
YES! A compression test last night showed 4.8 to 5.8bar across all 6 cylinders, when the Granada book says it should be 11.5-12.5bar. A spoonful of that VR1 oil in one cylinder gave only a tiny improvement.
But it's not burning oil. So hopefully not bore wear or rings. Maybe head gaskets (both?)?. Maybe burnt valves? I'll take the heads off next weekend (after Castle Combe) and have a look.
Any suggestions gratefully received!
FP292 engine mount 52mm thick. £8.72 inc VAT EACH MOUNT.
Engine mount support cup: suits FP292 engine mount. £37.54 inc VAT PER PAIR.
All plus postage.
Can both be found on this page. Or I expect you can order them by phone: 020 8518 9136
I haven't fitted them yet, but others speak highly of them.
Engine mount support cup: suits FP292 engine mount. £37.54 inc VAT PER PAIR.
All plus postage.
Can both be found on this page. Or I expect you can order them by phone: 020 8518 9136
I haven't fitted them yet, but others speak highly of them.
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