Marshole's Rado Saga

[marshole82 0]

I'm new here! not to VW though, spent the last 2 years tooling about in a mk4 golf, but that has made way to some old school valver fun!

 

My name's Oli, i live in northampton and have been on e38 with the same user name for a couple of years now, but this is my Hannah :)

 

she was bought on 15" sebrings and now has a twin upturned exhaust. Aside from that and coilies she is standard and i intend to keep her that way really.

 

i'll get a new exhaust as it is waaay too loud for me and tidy the interior up and maybe the paintwork but first on the list is getting her fit again! she's a 1.8 16v but is currently returning a mind-bogglingly low 20mpg, she won't idle when cold, and the engine is filthy!

 

surely this mpg can't be right???

 

so, this weekend i will be replacing some sensors, some flanges, and doing some cleaning. i have fitted my own head unit as we all tend to do and will get some new rubber for her and get her tracking done.

 

what do we all think? isn't she the best color!? maybe i'm bias....

 

oli

[carpy25 0]

if i boot my valver i can get it down to low twentys , average mixed driving its low thirtys long motorway runs high thirtys

 

Rob

[chubbybrown 0]

Lush

[Valerian 0]

If she's not idling smoothley, and she's drinking fuel, it suggests to me that your idle mixture may be too rich.

[Kempy 0]

I have a ecotech valve on one of my rado's and the mfa was giving me 28-35mpg sometimes low 40s. dunno if its correct

[marshole82 0]

yeah i've had to turn the idle up so she doesn;'t cut out on the way to work lol

 

idling at 700 when cold, 1200 when warm!!!! i'll change the coolant sensors and stop the coolant from leaking and see how she runs. the oil is a good colour and isn't leaking anyway, and i don't seem to be losing coolant too much either.

 

i don't even boot her, she stays below 2k most of the time and only hits 3k when i need to pull out and still only 20mpg :(

 

ecotech valve seems to have improved your mpg! or you drive like my mum lol

[larkin 0]

hi man,

 

try taking off your idle stabilising valve and soaking it with carb cleaner for a few hours, after i had my 16v off the road for a few weeks it wouldnt idle cos the isv was sticking.

 

my car is also a bit thirsty, i average 26mpg and it only ever reads up to 30-31 mpg on a very long moterway drive.. think it should be better than this..

 

maybe other 16v drivers can list their average mpg?

[marshole82 0]

from speaking to a few mates in the know i have been told to replace the coolant temp sensors which if faulty could be telling the auto choke to stay on, therefore overfuelling. i have also been advised to take the throttle body off and clean in carb cleaner with a toothbrush! once that is on i will run her up to temperature and adjust the idle spped to the correct 950rpm andf lube the throttle cable and pedal setup. if it's still not right then some research and adjustment of the fuelling will need to happen :(

[vwdeviant 0]

Hi Oli good to see you over here too!

 

Hannah, looks pretty good, DBP is such a nice colour on a Rado (but not as nice as Pearl Ghey! ;) )

 

Sensors and ISV clean should help, but also have a chat with Davewort as he's pretty good when it comes to K-Jet issues...

 

Oh and don't pay too much attention to the MFA reading, they don't always tell the truth! :lol:

 

However try taking her to 3k (till she's warm) rather than 2k and you may find it improves slightly mine seems to get better MPG if I drive it a little harder (but then mine's a 9a)... Remember KR's are a little lacking in Torque at the bottom end...

[marshole82 0]

may give that a go mate. now found that the accelorator cable is sticking causing high idle speeds (2200rpm!) until i blip the throttle. problem being that the exhaust is so loud i look like a chav :(

[Valerian 0]

yeah i've had to turn the idle up so she doesn;'t cut out on the way to work lol

 

idling at 700 when cold, 1200 when warm!!!! i'll change the coolant sensors and stop the coolant from leaking and see how she runs. the oil is a good colour and isn't leaking anyway, and i don't seem to be losing coolant too much either.

 

i don't even boot her, she stays below 2k most of the time and only hits 3k when i need to pull out and still only 20mpg :(

 

ecotech valve seems to have improved your mpg! or you drive like my mum lol

 

But have you adjusted the idle mixture?

You adjust it at the fueling head with a hex key. Turn clockwise to richen...Anti-clockwise to weaken.

You should also check that the ignition timing is correct.

[marshole82 0]

yeah i've had to turn the idle up so she doesn;'t cut out on the way to work lol

 

idling at 700 when cold, 1200 when warm!!!! i'll change the coolant sensors and stop the coolant from leaking and see how she runs. the oil is a good colour and isn't leaking anyway, and i don't seem to be losing coolant too much either.

 

i don't even boot her, she stays below 2k most of the time and only hits 3k when i need to pull out and still only 20mpg :(

 

ecotech valve seems to have improved your mpg! or you drive like my mum lol

 

But have you adjusted the idle mixture?

You adjust it at the fueling head with a hex key. Turn clockwise to richen...Anti-clockwise to weaken.

You should also check that the ignition timing is correct.

 

nope not yet. am gonna get all the other bits sorted and if it still having problems that is my next step! failing that it will go to a garage :(

 

i need to weld a bit of the floor pan up too - anyone know where i can get bits from?

[Steve Storm 0]

Hey Oli, I love the rimms on old Hannah :luvlove: I recognise the wheels at VW Players a few weeks ago. Where you two there? :)

[marshole82 0]

Hey Oli, I love the rimms on old Hannah :luvlove: I recognise the wheels at VW Players a few weeks ago. Where you two there? :)

 

hey buddy,

 

the rims stayed with previous owner so am on sebrings! i only got this last saturday :D

[vwdeviant 0]

i need to weld a bit of the floor pan up too - anyone know where i can get bits from?

 

 

Try Josh (mariojosh) he's breaking a VR and is near St Ablans... He may let you have a bit of floor...

 

If not I can recommend a really good welder near Oxford (did a lot of "Custom" panel work on my old Type-3's to repalce obsolete body work).

[Jay23Sx 0]

I'm due to do all of this on my 1.8 valver over the next few days. It died completely a couple of weeks ago due to a faulty distribution unit. Luckily I got a replacement from Shaun and it was fitted yesterday. The car now runs but it's a bit rough - shame really as it had a faultless idle before hand.

 

As it has been standing for a few weeks I'll do all the ISV checks and I'll also play with the idle as the mechanic had played with all that before diagnoing the problem.

 

Symptoms: Starts up and revs quite high before dropping down fairly low and sounds very grumbly - almost at the point of stalling (but it keeps itself ticking just about). I may even make a recording of it tonight :)

[marshole82 0]

ooh nasty! can't believe it would just die like that! mine ticks over really low and will cut out when cold and dropping from high revs. have messed with the idle control screw so is now letting in too much air.

 

once these sensors are done and it's up to temp i'll play with the fuelling and the idle. keep my fingers crossed too...

 

keep in touch over the weekend with your progress, i'm due to do this on saturday

[colinstubbs 0]

maybe other 16v drivers can list their average mpg?

 

Around 34mpg with a mix of motorway and town. Can get up to 48 mpg but that was motorway with a spacesaver tyre fitted! :lol:

now found that the accelorator cable is sticking causing high idle speeds (2200rpm!) until i blip the throttle. problem being that the exhaust is so loud i look like a chav :(

 

Could just be the spring assembly on the throttle body gunged up, try cleaning it up too.

[marshole82 0]

what a sh8t weekend.

 

set out to: replace 3x temp sensors, water return pipe, a few zip ties with jubilee clips, the coolant and to clean up the throttle body.

 

all going well with the flange and the sensors off of the block, the return hose off, the coolant drained and various jubilee clips fitted.

 

so i go to gsf with my sensors to get replacements. 2 hours there and no-one knows what sensors i should be using, apparently they should all be the same but all of mine were different! so i went to a few "vw specialists" who didn't know either. so as a last resort i visited the dealers. guess what....they didn't know either.

 

sunday i get up and fit the old sensors back in replacing one that showed no reading on the multi-meter with one that i found that did show a reading. start her up and still no change to the idle.

 

i notice a water leak. i tghten some bolts. still leaking. the flange connector to the block decides to shear off in my hand, pissing new coolant everywhere. ace.

 

then i find out that the ISV isn't buzzing when ignition is in position 2. no charge coming through the plug connector. again, ace.

 

so 2 days of work later (i'm not very quick) i have no running car, more broken parts than i started with, and a wiring issue.

 

unhappy ain't the word.

[KipVR 1]

Unfortunate to say the least!

 

Keep at it though, because when you've got it running right, it's worth it.

 

VERY surprised that VW didn't know which temp sensors were suitable for your car, did you give them your chassis number? Try ringing a different dealership.

 

At least you now know why your idle isn't right, that's half the battle over.

[vwdeviant 0]

(12) 357919501A

temperature sender / for coolant temperature gauge

20MM 4 pin black/yellow / 2E

 

(12) 251919501D

temperature sender / for coolant temperature gauge

2 pin green/black 20MM / PG

 

(12) 191919369A

thermal switch / for vehicles with air condit.

119C 20MM 2 pin greywhite / PG,2E, "J..":9A

 

(12) 357919369F

thermal switch / for vehicles with / electric fan / 3 stages

112C 20MM 2 pin black/green / 2E,ADY

13 025906041A

 

32 191919521D

thermal switch / for models with towing facility / and / for models with radiator fan run-on / F >> 50-N-035 000

100C M10X1 1 pin yellow / KR,9A

 

(32) 281919369

thermal switch / for models with towing facility / for models with radiator fan run-on / use if required: / F 50-P-000 001>>

105/100C M10X1 2 pin grey N 013 811 5 / KR,9A

 

(32) 535919521

thermal switch / for models with radiator fan run-on

90C M10X1 1 pin blue / PG,ADY

 

(32) 191919521D

thermal switch / for models with towing facility / for models with radiator fan run-on

100C M10X1 1 pin yellow / 2E

 

 

Hope this helps Chap...

[marshole82 0]

cheers - i'm certain all the sensors now in the block work correctly, just the wiring for the isv that i need to check so centre console out, multi-meter at the ready!!

 

in that diagram above, the bits i took out were the equivalent of number 8. i checked this with 'rubjonny' on e38 and he has agreed! he knows a lot about this sort of stuff so decided to stick with him. besides, since the isv isn't working it explains a lot, so sort that first and go from there.

[marshole82 0]

this is how she is looking on the sebrings, although i have had to raise her a bit because the noise the splitter made when i pulled on to the drive was waking the neighbours' kids up :clap:

 

[colinstubbs 0]

i have had to raise her a bit because the noise the splitter made when i pulled on to the drive was waking the neighbours' kids up :clap:

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: 8)

 

Looking good!

[marshole82 0]

well she's moving again! i was quite happy just to yam the old sensors back in and sort the isv out first, but i managed to get a proper part number for the sensors and got 3 new ones from gsf and whacked them in instead, along with the new flange and seal so no water loss now. that's all i wanted for now.

 

but i had some bloody good news! the temp sensor that i replaced controlling the isv was obv naff because the new one that i put in has made the isv buzz!! hello correct idling speed!!! whoop :norty:

 

here are the new sensors and flange in place:

 

and here is my makeshift battery clamp!!!

 

still only getting 18mpg so will need to adjust the idle speed and the fuelling, and have decided on a new accelerator cable and to clean the throttle body :)

 

thinking of wheels too, won't be until after MOT, so march/april time, but what do people think? i like some wiiiide 16s with a normal tyre on for the handling...not fussed on stretch to be honest - it's a daily hack after all.