Project Plum - The Plan of Attack

[bcstudent 0]

 

The main problem I had for using just water in the coolant system was obviously it likes to turn to gas above 100... :nuts:

 

true true. :bonk:

Except when it's in a pressurised system, of course. What pressure is the expansion-tank cap set to vent at?

 

[ProdigalSon 1]

I don't wanna go through town, so i'll creep round the ring road in the G60 :clap:

:shock: :pale: :eek: :| :nono:

[boost monkey 0]

ring road I know, or weaving through traffic and streets that I don't! Your call.

 

Emailed you a PDF of my certificate to the mac attack.

[JMC 0]

The main problem I had for using just water in the coolant system was obviously it likes to turn to gas above 100... :nuts:

 

Not when its under pressure in your cooling system. Because its a sealed system, under pressure the water can go much higher (My VR has hit 120deg+ on track with no loss of coolant etc). Think of camping stove gas being a liquid in a gas bottle at room temperature cos its under pressure, normally at room temp its a gas.

 

The pressure is controlled by the temp (fans and radiator keep that down) and if the pressure gets too high (i.e. the temp is uncontrlled - fan failure or blockage) the header tank cap has a valve in that will release excess pressure (you experienced this).

 

I'd whip your thermostat off and put it in a pan of water. It should pop open before the water boils.

 

Whilst its off use a hose to flush all the water system out of every orifice pf the radiator and block.

 

Straight water is fine to use as coolant for short periods. All coolant does is add corrosion resistance and reduces the freezing point of the water. It does raise the SHC of the water a little, but not drastically.

 

Jon, you should have known that one :nono: I seem to recall reading somewhere that the coolant also contain surfactants which help the solution wet out the surfaces of the pipes within the radiator. Unless you get good wetting, you can't get good thermal transfer so while the heat capacity of pure water is great, it's not the best for use in a rad by itself.

[boost monkey 0]

Yeah I did drop the thermodynamics ball on that one! My lecturer will be most displeased :brickwall:

 

ok cool. I don't need the car this week so i'm thinking a coolant system out jobby, or at least the stat and possibly rad too. Maybe the water pump if I think it's suspect. ALternator belt has always been tight so the pump must be spinning. Whether it's actually pumping is something I will have to ask Mr. Impeller :nuts:

[CazzaVR 0]

Hopefully it'll be the stat or pump... if it's not, there's some blockage somewhere... This car's really put you through the mill, Jon! Hope this will be the end of your woes :)

[boost monkey 0]

Yeah me too mate! I'll order a new stat and check out my spare pump to see if it's usable just in case.

 

Drove the G tonight, teh boost is addictive! :nuts:

[mrbeige 0]

Drove the G tonight, teh boost is addictive! :nuts:

Drop one on you valver then! ;)

[Toad 0]

The coolant was circulating, although it might not have been going round as quickly as I would expect, I'm really not sure.

 

The bottom hose just wasn't geting as warm as I thought it should. It got warm, but not anything like the top hose.

 

I'd chuck a new pump on for peace of mind John, they're pretty cheap...

[ProdigalSon 1]

Drove the G tonight, teh boost is addictive! :nuts:

Drop one on you valver then! ;)

8)

[boost monkey 0]

Cheers toad, sounds like a very good idea. I'm just speccing up the rear beam parts list (rebuild before term starts might be pushing it though) so I could add the pump to that order.

 

@Bro, drove well tonight. I could still feel a little hesitancy when I put my foot down at any speed. Whether that's the cable needing adjustment or that the SnS isn't 100% lag free I don't know but it drove quite well. Definitely handles a lot better than mine although the PAS actually working did throw me off a little! Weighted gearchange (or "snick snick" as I like to call it) was very nice, hardly any effort needed to find the next cog. Low down torque made for effortless acceleration too, I barely past 2000rpm tonight and just pulls really nicely. Did a 60-80 in 4th on the way home coming out of the 50mph botley section and it pulled like my 16v albeit with a fair wedge more torque! Nice ride :grin:

[boost monkey 0]

febi water pumps are £20! for some reason I thought they were gonna be like £100. Think i'm getting confused with PAS.

 

(Sidenote: seriously considering a manual rack now. Had enough with all this pipe gubbins, and the guns seem to be able to handle a dead pas rack so a manual rack should be like baloons! :lol:)

[ProdigalSon 1]

I could still feel a little hesitancy when I put my foot down at any speed.

Hesitancy? :confused4: Will have to look into that. Pretty sure it is the cable though, haven't bothered to tighten it so there may be some play from idle... :shrug: Also need to check my vac/boost pipes and remove the temp sensor as that could be leaking... :roll:

[boost monkey 0]

it's probably slack in the cable, i know mine is adjusted so that the slightest pressure on the pedal means the TB is opening. I didn't push the car at all last night so i'm probs just plain wrong!

 

more likely it's working fine, but i'm just used to n/a engines :nuts:

[vwdeviant 0]

Jon, just be sure to get the Water pump with Metal impellors not the plastic ones which can shear.... Can't remember off the top of my head which they are, but I know Murray's in Hatfield sell them (and do mail order and are well priced too). Murray is old-skool parts guy, won't stock cheap shite that breaks unlike some of the "majors" I can mention!

[boost monkey 0]

Cool, cheers Jon. I'll have a look into that.

 

Had a look at the engine yesterday, the oil is a little blacker (probs from higher temps causing carburisation) but still has the right consistency which is good. Car starts up and idles as well as it always used to (with a dodgy ignition switch and no thermotime sensor for the ISV! :nuts: must sort that out) so I'm confident nothing major has happened. If I can literally stretch that far, I will run a compression test by myself.

 

Gonna go and pull the radiator and stat out now, flush out the rad with the garden hose and inspect it plus check the stat with the classic blue peter stove test! :lol:

[Toad 0]

Jon, just be sure to get the Water pump with Metal impellors not the plastic ones which can shear....

 

I'd be a bit careful about that, I've heard stories of cheap metal impellors causing cavitation and snapping, which causes a far beigger problem tan little bits of plastic, and also if the bearing goes, the metal blades can chew into the block.

 

See what price a genuine VAG unit is, and what sort of blades it has.

 

Oh and get some better sized jubilee clips!

[mrbeige 0]

See what price a genuine VAG unit is, and what sort of blades it has.

I'd be thinking genuine too. Plus, you get a part refund when you take the old one back as well :D

[boost monkey 0]

water pumps are exchange items? good to know :salute:

 

well the thermostat opens fine, did the stove test and it was definitely open by 90degrees, stamp says it starts opening at 87. the flange isn't cracked although the o-ring could do with being replaced.

 

whilst the impeller was clear, I sent in my reconnaissance unit aka camera phone :lol: to get pics of the blades.

 

they all look intact (i'll upload when I dig out the cable) but it DOES have a plastic impeller (as the blades are not rusty and the middle spigot of the impellor is - spare pump has a fully rusty impellor...but i don't think i'll use it!)

 

is it safe to run the car from cold with the impellor open like that or is that just #1 bad idea of the day? That would at least tell me if the impellor is impelling :nuts:

[boost monkey 0]

Which pump do I need?

 

037121010C - 118.5 Euros (~£90)

037121010BX - 65.8 Euros (~£50)

 

Will the difference be the impellor? both pumps come with sealing washer but without pulley, stat or "adaptor whatever that is (flange perhaps?)

 

Jon.

[boost monkey 0]

 

 

Pics of the impeller whilst in situ. Looks plastic doesn't it?

 

 

 

Apparatus for thermostat test. Oven thermometer ftw!

 

 

 

Random vacuum pipe. No prizes for which manifold this was touching. Now replaced; hoping that will cure a low rpm hesitation i've been having at cold (mainly pulling away at idle)

 

More pictures as and when.

[Sean_Jaymo 0]

Man you don't have loads of luck with this do you?!

[boost monkey 0]

Not really, but then again it's a Corrado...with 190k on the clock...a slightly iffy engine swap....and it only cost £400.

[Sean_Jaymo 0]

Fair one! I'll let you off! :)

[boost monkey 0]

I am missing my old mk2 at the mo, but don't tell anyone! :ignore: :cuckoo: