Rebuilt engine issues
05-01-04, 02:04 AM
#1
Rebuilt engine issues
R5 13B
Good news and bad news. The bad news is it won't idle, and the oil in the pan got up to 220F for some reason. It's probably due to the beehive oil cooler, or the lean condition caused by a vacuum leak, or both. It's also very difficult to start.
The good news is that it does run. I think I know where the vacuum leak is coming from (I haven't tried the propane/WD40 trick yet). I also have an air oil cooler to install.
The radiator is a '79-'82 short style with a three row core. A 16" E fan is mounted to it, but there is 2" of overhang top and bottom. It's not a very efficient setup because not all the air is going through the core (I think I could adjust the shroud for better through-flow). I figured it would be ok for temporary use, but I just don't think 220+ oil temp is normal, even for a beehive because I've seen 180-190 before. I'm using a compost thermometer with a long probe that reaches all the way down into the pan from the dipstick hole. The highest the scale reads is 220, and I pegged the needle.
Any thoughts or tips/tricks? Oh, I'm also going to hook up an aftermarket electric water temp guage to see how hot the water gets. That stock C-H guage is real accurate, uh huh.
Good news and bad news. The bad news is it won't idle, and the oil in the pan got up to 220F for some reason. It's probably due to the beehive oil cooler, or the lean condition caused by a vacuum leak, or both. It's also very difficult to start.
The good news is that it does run. I think I know where the vacuum leak is coming from (I haven't tried the propane/WD40 trick yet). I also have an air oil cooler to install.
The radiator is a '79-'82 short style with a three row core. A 16" E fan is mounted to it, but there is 2" of overhang top and bottom. It's not a very efficient setup because not all the air is going through the core (I think I could adjust the shroud for better through-flow). I figured it would be ok for temporary use, but I just don't think 220+ oil temp is normal, even for a beehive because I've seen 180-190 before. I'm using a compost thermometer with a long probe that reaches all the way down into the pan from the dipstick hole. The highest the scale reads is 220, and I pegged the needle.
Any thoughts or tips/tricks? Oh, I'm also going to hook up an aftermarket electric water temp guage to see how hot the water gets. That stock C-H guage is real accurate, uh huh.
05-01-04, 12:00 PM
#3
Heh, similar story here.
I glanced at it this morning in the sunlight and I can't see how a vacuum leak could have been coming from a faulty ACV cover gasket, but I haven't tried the propane/WD40 trick yet either. I am starting to suspect the PCV valve now. I guess I'll just cap it and see if that fixes the problem.
I'm still very worried about the beehive. 220F sounds vastly higher than it ought to be.
I glanced at it this morning in the sunlight and I can't see how a vacuum leak could have been coming from a faulty ACV cover gasket, but I haven't tried the propane/WD40 trick yet either. I am starting to suspect the PCV valve now. I guess I'll just cap it and see if that fixes the problem.
I'm still very worried about the beehive. 220F sounds vastly higher than it ought to be.
05-01-04, 12:37 PM
#4
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My oil temps are 220 AFTER the oil cooler while cruising down the road. Isn't oil supposed to be a bit warmer so water will "boil" off and not contaminate the oil? I'd say 220 in the pan is about right but I'm not an expert.
05-01-04, 01:11 PM
#5
That's encouraging, thankyou. Yeah, RB says the oil entering the engine after the cooler should never be above uh... Oh great, I forgot. Maybe it was 220º?
I'm going to wire up that electric water temp guage and compare readings. I've got a 180º thermostat, so we'll see how much higher than that it will go.
I'm going to wire up that electric water temp guage and compare readings. I've got a 180º thermostat, so we'll see how much higher than that it will go.
05-02-04, 12:38 AM
#7
I capped the PCV valve and decided to determine whether I had a bad ignitor or coil. It was the ignitor so I swapped it out for my one and only spare. Guess what? I thought I was having a brain fart or something because appearantly the spare ignitor was also bad. Say what? What are the odds? It took some trouble shooting, but I eventually figured it out. I pulled one off of a different engine and it worked fine. Good thing I found out now instead of somewhere down the road. 
At least now I have those two dead ignitors I needed, heh. I'm gonna double check that they are actually bad before gutting them to use as electrical contacts from the leading pickup to dual leading ignitors on my MG and REPU.
The electric temp guage never went above 190, and the oil temp never went above 220. It hovered around 210-218, but it also did not run very long at any one time.
There is a reason for why it didn't want to run for very long and was difficult to start. I finally figured it out (I think) after I had drained the water in order to pull the intake manifold to redo all the vacuum caps and ACV plate. It was sort of a last-ditch kind of thing; It was either that or simply remove the engine and swap in my REPU's 13B since it's a known good runner. Heh, I could have gone either way at that point. Anyhow, there was no water in it, but it fired right up within 3-5 seconds of cranking. It's never fired up that quickly before. I won't know for sure if that was the fix until after the manifold nipples etc are recapped, and there's water in it, but here's to hoping.
Guess what it was. (hint: it again has something to do with ignition)
At least now I have those two dead ignitors I needed, heh. I'm gonna double check that they are actually bad before gutting them to use as electrical contacts from the leading pickup to dual leading ignitors on my MG and REPU.
The electric temp guage never went above 190, and the oil temp never went above 220. It hovered around 210-218, but it also did not run very long at any one time.
There is a reason for why it didn't want to run for very long and was difficult to start. I finally figured it out (I think) after I had drained the water in order to pull the intake manifold to redo all the vacuum caps and ACV plate. It was sort of a last-ditch kind of thing; It was either that or simply remove the engine and swap in my REPU's 13B since it's a known good runner. Heh, I could have gone either way at that point. Anyhow, there was no water in it, but it fired right up within 3-5 seconds of cranking. It's never fired up that quickly before. I won't know for sure if that was the fix until after the manifold nipples etc are recapped, and there's water in it, but here's to hoping.
Guess what it was.
(hint: it again has something to do with ignition)
Last edited by Jeff20B; 05-02-04 at 12:40 AM.
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05-02-04, 09:52 PM
#13
Plugs fux0red?
Wires crapped out?
The crappy ignitors?
Coils?
Battery Un-charged?
*thinks*.. hmm. that runs me straight out of ignition components. Perhaps it's an ID-10-T error and the problem lies between the steering wheel and the driver's seat?
Jon
Wires crapped out?
The crappy ignitors?
Coils?
Battery Un-charged?
*thinks*.. hmm. that runs me straight out of ignition components. Perhaps it's an ID-10-T error and the problem lies between the steering wheel and the driver's seat?
Jon
05-03-04, 10:45 AM
#15
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Originally posted by Jeff20B
Nope. I stabbed it in correctly and made sure the static timing was right-on. It is ignition related, but another hint is that it's not the distributor itself. Getting warmer.
Nope. I stabbed it in correctly and made sure the static timing was right-on. It is ignition related, but another hint is that it's not the distributor itself. Getting warmer.
05-03-04, 11:40 AM
#16
LOL vipernicus, you got it. Well, about the bad spark plugs, anyway. I took them out and one had a very small crack in the porcelain. The other had a carbon trail causing the spark to go down and then back up, completely bypassing the gap. I tested them both outside the engine and was able to prove that if these plugs are the slightest bit fouled, they will missfire. They were used BR8EQ-14s.
I threw in two old used BUR7EQs and the engine fired up within a couple seconds of cranking. I already drained the water at that point to pull the manifold, so I couldn't keep it running, but it seemed like my problem was simply faulty leading plugs. I'm sure the trailings are bad too since all four came from the same engine. Well, this engine. They looked quite good, but I guess looks can deceive.
Perhaps that's why the engine wouldn't run on trailing alone either. It would just sort of crank at a higher than normal speed and every other rotor face would fire but it wasn't enough to let go of the key.
I threw in two old used BUR7EQs and the engine fired up within a couple seconds of cranking. I already drained the water at that point to pull the manifold, so I couldn't keep it running, but it seemed like my problem was simply faulty leading plugs. I'm sure the trailings are bad too since all four came from the same engine. Well, this engine. They looked quite good, but I guess looks can deceive.
Perhaps that's why the engine wouldn't run on trailing alone either. It would just sort of crank at a higher than normal speed and every other rotor face would fire but it wasn't enough to let go of the key.
05-04-04, 01:46 PM
#17
I tested the trailing and, yep, they also had the carbon path down the porcelain. I threw in some old used BR8EQ-14 in trailing that tested good. I also cleaned and tested the BUR7EQs and they sparked pretty well too. The engine runs a lot better now and is even trying to idle. It just needs to be broken in and then it should run great. Even the oil temp stays around 215 while moving forward. It still gets up to 220+ when idling (or trying to).
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