Vr coolant problems

[maff 10]

Well i got my green vr6 back and took it for a good 100 mile run today and ended up with a few problems...

 

First one is the old brittle coolant pipes and after a 100+ mile an hour long run blast i obviously had a coolant leak, and discovered this

 

 

The metal insert that goes into the head which the heater matrix coolant pipe clamps over has rusted through halfway round under the flange section, has anybody had this? my mate says either cut it off or just stick two clamps over the pipe?

 

Also water temp was fluctuating between 88 and 92 degrees which was odd also the oil was sitting at 112 degrees which also seems a bit high to me, speed was around 85mph most of the way. My just sold L reg vr6 oil was 94 degrees in steady driving but my 92 vr seems to run a bit hotter. Would this be to down to the stealth 82.5 rebore generating a bit more heat? or is my oil temp sensor reading a bit high?

 

Also checked the plugs in 1 and 6 cylinders and found them to be spot on with greyish deposits, nice to know!

 

 

Also does anybody know if i have the right header tank on my vr as coolant was pushed out of the side a shown in the picture below today??

 

 

Also finding the engine very torquey low down compared to the last later vr i had, and i don't feel the power come on as strong at 4000 rpm either, just a good linear power delivery, would this all be the overbore creating more oomph lower down the rev range?

Edited February 23, 2014 by maff

[maff 10]

Anybody?

 

Couldn't find any splits in the matrix hose but the clips were pretty loose on the head end so just put it all back together. Bled the system ran up to temp and fans cut in fine. Took the car for a spirited drive and noticed a little bit of coolant had been released from the overflow on the side of the expansion tank? Temps were good on the dash but i did notice that i had no coolant coming out of the return pipe which leads back to the expansion bottle when bleeding the system.

Also top and bottom rads are warm.

[seanl82 23]

Doubt theres much you can do about the rusty pipe other than welding it up tbh. If you use the proper spring clip down quite low it should seal properly though. The expansion tank looks correct, and the overflow problem could be just that it needs bleeding a bit more. Run it up with the cap off, and massage the hoses to release any trapped air. Other than that, the overpressure valve in the cap could have gone (blue ones are the better one, and are replacements for the old black one which is notorious for this problem), or the tank itself is blocked. Those are the cheap and easy fixes anyway. Your temps both water and oil look good to me. The coolant should sit bang on 90 pretty much at all times so that looks good. Oil good without being too hot, so I'd say its all pretty good in that respect.

[maff 10]

Yeah I massaged the top and bottom hoses also the heater matrix hose, strangely the car has always had a coolant smell inside the car but I know the previous owner did the dreaded matrix job, perhaps the pipes are a bit loose?! no leaks inside car though?

Also surprised I didn't get any coolant coming out of the small return pipe which runs back to the top of the expansion tank? I left if off untill the thermostat opened and thought I would see a return, all pipes were warm though?

 

I'll keep an eye on it but also just noticed the rear gearbox mount has also gone which has taken the flexi downpipe with it so now I have a blowing downpipe, great.

 

Where's the best to get a downpipe? I remember getting one years ago, I can't weld the flexi can I?

[maff 10]

Bought a new blue expansion cap today from tps, fingers crossed has cured the coolant leaking from the side of the header tank. Also water temps looked better on the gauge:-)