TVR Chimaera 450 2002
Discussion
When I say it is going well, mostly .....
Some of my early runs in the car were in torrential rain, through lots of puddles and standing water with steam flowing out the bonnet vents.
The car never faltered.
I have changed the plugs, leads, Ignition amp, coil, distributor cap and rotor arm.
It has been running better since then.
However, On a mostly dry day run, I went through a puddle that was probably 2" deep. Nothing more than I had already been through.
About 5 minutes after that it started to hesitate / misfire.
It got progressively worse to the point it was getting quite unpleasant to drive.
I pulled over and had a look for anything obvious.
It felt like a complete ignition switch off but only for a fraction of a second.
I carried on and after maybe 10 minutes it started to improve, cleared and has been fine since.
My thinking is that it took that first 5 minutes for water to find its way into somewhere that it shouldn't be before drying out again.
Curious and unsettling.
Some of my early runs in the car were in torrential rain, through lots of puddles and standing water with steam flowing out the bonnet vents.
The car never faltered.
I have changed the plugs, leads, Ignition amp, coil, distributor cap and rotor arm.
It has been running better since then.
However, On a mostly dry day run, I went through a puddle that was probably 2" deep. Nothing more than I had already been through.
About 5 minutes after that it started to hesitate / misfire.
It got progressively worse to the point it was getting quite unpleasant to drive.
I pulled over and had a look for anything obvious.
It felt like a complete ignition switch off but only for a fraction of a second.
I carried on and after maybe 10 minutes it started to improve, cleared and has been fine since.
My thinking is that it took that first 5 minutes for water to find its way into somewhere that it shouldn't be before drying out again.
Curious and unsettling.
Yogioes said:
When I say it is going well, mostly .....
Some of my early runs in the car were in torrential rain, through lots of puddles and standing water with steam flowing out the bonnet vents.
The car never faltered.
I have changed the plugs, leads, Ignition amp, coil, distributor cap and rotor arm.
It has been running better since then.
However, On a mostly dry day run, I went through a puddle that was probably 2" deep. Nothing more than I had already been through.
About 5 minutes after that it started to hesitate / misfire.
It got progressively worse to the point it was getting quite unpleasant to drive.
I pulled over and had a look for anything obvious.
It felt like a complete ignition switch off but only for a fraction of a second.
Possibly got into the distributor? Then as it evaporated your issue went away?
I carried on and after maybe 10 minutes it started to improve, cleared and has been fine since.
My thinking is that it took that first 5 minutes for water to find its way into somewhere that it shouldn't be before drying out again.
Curious and unsettling.
Some of my early runs in the car were in torrential rain, through lots of puddles and standing water with steam flowing out the bonnet vents.
The car never faltered.
I have changed the plugs, leads, Ignition amp, coil, distributor cap and rotor arm.
It has been running better since then.
However, On a mostly dry day run, I went through a puddle that was probably 2" deep. Nothing more than I had already been through.
About 5 minutes after that it started to hesitate / misfire.
It got progressively worse to the point it was getting quite unpleasant to drive.
I pulled over and had a look for anything obvious.
It felt like a complete ignition switch off but only for a fraction of a second.
Possibly got into the distributor? Then as it evaporated your issue went away?
I carried on and after maybe 10 minutes it started to improve, cleared and has been fine since.
My thinking is that it took that first 5 minutes for water to find its way into somewhere that it shouldn't be before drying out again.
Curious and unsettling.
Bought my 450 (1998) in October last year. Had only done 1000 miles in the previous four years.
These cars don't like not being driven. They tend to let you know by throwing up odd faults every now and again. I'd check for anything obvious with the electrical side of the ignition with regard to the 'wet' misfire. Also worth checking the condition of the famous 100 amp fuse. It's strapped to the chassis near the starter motor. It definitely got soaked in that puddle. The 100 amp fuse does lots of weird things when it's breaking down and/or failed. My old 400 was driving along beautifully one day in brilliant sunshine and suddenly nothing. Complete electrical failure. Yep, 100 amp fuse. Worth relocating it somewhere less likely to get abuse.
These cars don't like not being driven. They tend to let you know by throwing up odd faults every now and again. I'd check for anything obvious with the electrical side of the ignition with regard to the 'wet' misfire. Also worth checking the condition of the famous 100 amp fuse. It's strapped to the chassis near the starter motor. It definitely got soaked in that puddle. The 100 amp fuse does lots of weird things when it's breaking down and/or failed. My old 400 was driving along beautifully one day in brilliant sunshine and suddenly nothing. Complete electrical failure. Yep, 100 amp fuse. Worth relocating it somewhere less likely to get abuse.
This is the 100 Amp fuse on my car. I dabbed some ACF50 on it and nipped up the bolts.
I will reflect on other possible changes .....
So, was my sump change successful in stopping the oil leaks ................
That will be a no then.
Not sure where it is coming from. Could still be the sump, could be the rear crank seal or .... ?
I will have a look and keep an eye on the oil level. If it is a minor drip then I will leave it for now as i want to get some use out of that fresh oil.
One thing seems odd. The oil that was dripping out previously was cleaner.
This appears quite black considering that the oil is fresh and that the sump was cleaned out.
I am not happy with the fit of the brace support bar that I added when refitting the sump.
It is hard to tell when the sump is fitted but I don't think it sits flat on the part of the pan that is pressed againt the gasket. Instead, I think it might be sitting on the downturned flanges which I don't think will help.
Bit annoyed that I didn't think to look more closely at it before fitting.
I have removed the bar for now and if I remove the sump again I will check how it fits and modify it if necessary.
Another potential issue is the wiring plug on the AFM.
It appears to be pressed against the bonnet.
Looking at pictures of other cars, they have a rubber cover over the top of the plug.
I can't see any issues with the location of all the parts and there is no movement to allow it to be moved lower.
Had a first run out with the new tyres.
Too early and wet to review actual driving but the steering wheel feels much better. Tyres have removed some of the harshness.
I had also added another 5mm lift on the coil overs.
I will have a go at a garage diy alignment in the first instance to ensure it's not too far off.
After I have settled on a ride height that I like I plan to find somewhere to set the corner weights and do a proper alignment.
Before that, I may need to look at the rear wishbone adjusters as they look pretty corroded.
I will reflect on other possible changes .....
So, was my sump change successful in stopping the oil leaks ................
That will be a no then.
Not sure where it is coming from. Could still be the sump, could be the rear crank seal or .... ?
I will have a look and keep an eye on the oil level. If it is a minor drip then I will leave it for now as i want to get some use out of that fresh oil.
One thing seems odd. The oil that was dripping out previously was cleaner.
This appears quite black considering that the oil is fresh and that the sump was cleaned out.
I am not happy with the fit of the brace support bar that I added when refitting the sump.
It is hard to tell when the sump is fitted but I don't think it sits flat on the part of the pan that is pressed againt the gasket. Instead, I think it might be sitting on the downturned flanges which I don't think will help.
Bit annoyed that I didn't think to look more closely at it before fitting.
I have removed the bar for now and if I remove the sump again I will check how it fits and modify it if necessary.
Another potential issue is the wiring plug on the AFM.
It appears to be pressed against the bonnet.
Looking at pictures of other cars, they have a rubber cover over the top of the plug.
I can't see any issues with the location of all the parts and there is no movement to allow it to be moved lower.
Had a first run out with the new tyres.
Too early and wet to review actual driving but the steering wheel feels much better. Tyres have removed some of the harshness.
I had also added another 5mm lift on the coil overs.
I will have a go at a garage diy alignment in the first instance to ensure it's not too far off.
After I have settled on a ride height that I like I plan to find somewhere to set the corner weights and do a proper alignment.
Before that, I may need to look at the rear wishbone adjusters as they look pretty corroded.
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