Discussion
I had the mobile tune-up man round this morning, to give
the (so-far neglected) 2.8i V6 motor a lookover.
Bit of a let-down really, as it was mostly ok.
He was able to bring the emissions well within limits, and timing it up properly, further improved matters.She evidently had been running rich.
I have had a problem with overheating in traffic (who hasn't?
),
and the man said that the system was 'pressurising up', but the rad' was ok.
THAT'S my next task - sort it out.
I've got a new thermostat today, and that will be installed asap - such a simple job. I'll check all waterways are clear. Following that, I'm going to look at alternative fans/improved shrouding.
Did the tune up turn her into a fire-breathing monster ?
Nope, but starts a bit better, and hopefully not guzzling as much of that champagne-priced juice.
Forty quid well spent, without moving her out of the garage.
the (so-far neglected) 2.8i V6 motor a lookover.
Bit of a let-down really, as it was mostly ok.
He was able to bring the emissions well within limits, and timing it up properly, further improved matters.She evidently had been running rich.
I have had a problem with overheating in traffic (who hasn't?
), and the man said that the system was 'pressurising up', but the rad' was ok.
THAT'S my next task - sort it out.
I've got a new thermostat today, and that will be installed asap - such a simple job. I'll check all waterways are clear. Following that, I'm going to look at alternative fans/improved shrouding.
Did the tune up turn her into a fire-breathing monster ?
Nope, but starts a bit better, and hopefully not guzzling as much of that champagne-priced juice.
Forty quid well spent, without moving her out of the garage.
I'm not sure I'd start with the thermostat unless the you're getting no coolant flowing through the engine when warm-hot.
Mostly because the housing is a 3 part affair and takes at least 3 hands to keep all the parts and gaskets and rubber rings - not mention the thermostat itself - aligned while re-bolting. All while under the engine with coolant dripping on you. (Do I sound a little bitter... I managed to break the forward housing which was a replacement made of pot metal only to find the problem was with my temperature sender.)
I would be more thinking the radiator was getting clogged unless you know better. Or the gauge/sender is giving out (at least the sender is on top of the engine and almost as cheap as a thermostat and gaskets).
Mostly because the housing is a 3 part affair and takes at least 3 hands to keep all the parts and gaskets and rubber rings - not mention the thermostat itself - aligned while re-bolting. All while under the engine with coolant dripping on you. (Do I sound a little bitter... I managed to break the forward housing which was a replacement made of pot metal only to find the problem was with my temperature sender.)
I would be more thinking the radiator was getting clogged unless you know better. Or the gauge/sender is giving out (at least the sender is on top of the engine and almost as cheap as a thermostat and gaskets).
Hi grady.
The rad is even-temperatured all over, so I think it's ok.
The cap is blowing off water when the car has been standing running for a while.
Yes, I noticed the thermostat housing was in a rather 'stupid' place, but I'll give a go - carefully
You must have 6th sense because I'd just been reading about 280 6-port heads on a Granada forum, and I seem to remember one of our American friends enquiring about their existence (for turbo installation?), but I couldn't find the thread.
Anyway, apparently the opinion on that forum was that a few were fitted to European MK1 Grannys (not UK), and to the American Mustang and Bronco 2.8s
These were carbed cars of course.
The rad is even-temperatured all over, so I think it's ok.
The cap is blowing off water when the car has been standing running for a while.
Yes, I noticed the thermostat housing was in a rather 'stupid' place, but I'll give a go - carefully
You must have 6th sense because I'd just been reading about 280 6-port heads on a Granada forum, and I seem to remember one of our American friends enquiring about their existence (for turbo installation?), but I couldn't find the thread.
Anyway, apparently the opinion on that forum was that a few were fitted to European MK1 Grannys (not UK), and to the American Mustang and Bronco 2.8s
These were carbed cars of course.
Hi Graham, It's not so much the general location (stupid as you say) or the degree of mechanical difficulty but that it's a sandwich design whereby the bolts go through the front housing, the water pump and then into another detached (rear) part that the small hoses attach to.
So you're juggling 2 gasket, 1 rubber ring, 1 thermostat - which doesn't want to stay in place - while lining up 2 housings and easing 2 different sized bolts into place and threading them in without moving any of the above. IMHO - it's a job better done with car up in the air and not on ramps/stands.
Let me know if you come up with anything on the heads. I spent some time spamming the Mustang community here trying to find out if they really existed without any luck. But the Mustang II of almost any flavor is pretty un-loved here... even the V-8 only put out something like 150-160 HP at that time.
Grady
So you're juggling 2 gasket, 1 rubber ring, 1 thermostat - which doesn't want to stay in place - while lining up 2 housings and easing 2 different sized bolts into place and threading them in without moving any of the above. IMHO - it's a job better done with car up in the air and not on ramps/stands.
Let me know if you come up with anything on the heads. I spent some time spamming the Mustang community here trying to find out if they really existed without any luck. But the Mustang II of almost any flavor is pretty un-loved here... even the V-8 only put out something like 150-160 HP at that time.
Grady
Thanks for the advice
Here's the link to the thread, which you might find interesting.
www.granada-and-scorpio-online.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6325
Here's the link to the thread, which you might find interesting.
www.granada-and-scorpio-online.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6325
grahamw48 said:
I had the mobile tune-up man round this morning, to give
the (so-far neglected) 2.8i V6 motor a lookover.
Bit of a let-down really, as it was mostly ok.
He was able to bring the emissions well within limits, and timing it up properly, further improved matters.She evidently had been running rich.
I have had a problem with overheating in traffic (who hasn't?
and the man said that the system was 'pressurising up', but the rad' was ok.
THAT'S my next task - sort it out.
I've got a new thermostat today, and that will be installed asap - such a simple job. I'll check all waterways are clear. Following that, I'm going to look at alternative fans/improved shrouding.
Did the tune up turn her into a fire-breathing monster ?
Nope, but starts a bit better, and hopefully not guzzling as much of that champagne-priced juice.
Forty quid well spent, without moving her out of the garage.
When he said that the system was pressurising, it should do, or did he mean combustion gasses were getting into the coolant? As a minor point, I remember our 280I did not have an overflow tank for the excess coolant which was pushed out of the header tank when hot. Instead, it was just dumped via a tube somewhere near the anti bar. Installing a catch tank means that it should syphon back when cooling, rather than being wasted.
Static tune-ups do serve a purpose, but without loading the engine, it may not be possible to identify all problems or extract the maximum from the engine. A rolling road is really the only way to do that.
Paul.
The car is an early series 1, so no overflow tank.
I put the problem down to insufficient cooling from the fan, but if I'm to check the thermostat, I may as well replace it.
I'm confident that there is no problem as regards gasses mixing with coolant.
Yes, of course a rolling road session would be ideal.
This was just to make sure timing and mixture weren't ridiculously out, so no danger of melting pistons at high revs,etc.
I was probably hoping that the motor would be pronounced a heap of junk, to spur me on to replacing it with a leaded, and tuneable 2.9
I put the problem down to insufficient cooling from the fan, but if I'm to check the thermostat, I may as well replace it.
I'm confident that there is no problem as regards gasses mixing with coolant.
Yes, of course a rolling road session would be ideal.
This was just to make sure timing and mixture weren't ridiculously out, so no danger of melting pistons at high revs,etc.
I was probably hoping that the motor would be pronounced a heap of junk, to spur me on to replacing it with a leaded, and tuneable 2.9
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