beller

Hi there,
Its a standard 89 rst. I'll try'n keep it short....


ok so first thing, in two weeks out of the last 3 it has lost the amount of water between max and min in the expansion tank and have detected a bit of scum under the oil cap when in 3.5 years ive never seen before, but no oil in the expansion tank. The dip stick seems clean and yesterday drained and strined the oil to find nothing unusual. I topped the water back to max 7 days ago and seems to have lost very little upto toady, but still a bit of scum under oil cap
After a journey and the car is cooled a bit there is still good pressure when undoing the expansion tank...if that means anything

things that have happed

unusual thing was the oil light on start up one cold evening was like slow pulsating for about 15 secs then dimmed and went out. During those 15 seconds a few times gave a few more revs but light carried on pulsating.
But really thought it was the cold.

second thing about 2 weeks later, driving home and after about a mile the tappets or something started making quite a loud tapping noise so slowed to a stop and the noise carried on for about 5 seconds about 10 in all.
I gave some small revs but made no difference just made the noise faster. Then after the 5ish seconds the noise stoppedand went back to normal.
I carried on home with no other probs. and hasnt done it since.

So now im hearing water like running through the heater matrix or something from inside the cabin. I checked the expansion tank and is on the full line and am hearing it more when there are more revs. Im also getting hot and cold from the heater

The car is used daily for short 4 mile journeys to and from work
I serviced it about a month ago and am using Comma Syner.G 5/40w fully Synth oil.
The last long journey was about 90 miles of motorway about a month ago

Sorry if written a bit randomly but do you think for sure its the head gasket and or do I have other problems.

Many thanks for reading and any comments

simonmcf

iTrader: (1)

I would say the scum is just a build up of condensation considering the short trips you do daily. I would check your rad and waterpipes possibly a small hole in it. I would not say its head gasket to be honest . Sniff test in any local garage would confirm it though

gingerturbo

iTrader: (2)

Also check the small water return to see if the water pump is working, have you checked the water feed on the turbo as you could be loosing water there, also check the oil cooler on the back of engine

beller

thanks for the replies,
its a bit of a relief not to see "for sure it the head gasket" which I thought I was going to see

Will let you know the outcome of the checks

Thanks again

beller

ok so little update

whilst the car was hot checked all water pipes and seem to be ok inc turbo,
and the oil cooler has no leaks.

The last 2 nights have driven home from work the real long way via ring roads and a bit of motorway and doesn't seem to have lost any water. Still a bit of scum under oil cap though. but tbh doesnt seem to be running very well at all, I mean the boost is a bit spluttery.

Do your cars run better in cold air? I guess they should

Took the crank vent filter off and damn was that clogged up with mayo and the the pipes to and from, so soaked and cleaned filter till water ran clear.

With this mayo in mind would it be a good idea to take the rocker cover off and clean the inside?
I shall be cleaning these little pipes out anyway this weekend so..

well thanks again for reading and any thoughts out there

Fordmad!

The 'mayo' is just condensation as said from short trips!

Clean your breather out aswell.

It won't run as good cold as it will warm, id warm it up and down before/after you drive it especially when its cold!

beller

Ive done the warm up and down thing since I had the car, when I said cold air I was referring to out side cold/freezing air temp, its splutters regardless of hot or cold engine atm.

shall be giving all breather pipes ect a good clean this weekend

Is it possible for some of this mayo to make it into the inlet manifold via the crank filter?
the filter was pretty full of it before I cleaned it

Thanks again

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

I wouldn't worry about the condensation issue (although those breathers and rocker cover do need cleaning from what you say) I'm more concerned about your flickering oil light and tapping, to me this means only one thing, low oil pressure!
Either you were low on oil, your oil pump is on it's way out, your pick up pipe is/was blocked, or your bottom end is worn?! Low pressure from cold is very bad.

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

Having re-read your initial post you say you have Comma oil in, from what I've read that stuff is terrible and can cause low oil pressure, might be worth changing for Silkolene (Fuchs Titan) or Millers, etc. It is only what I have read though.

Fordmad!

As said id change the oil pump and check your pick up pipe as my xr3i pick up pipe was almost completly blocked i was lucky that i checked it

beller

cheers for the replies

I shall change the oil and filter this weekend as well then
tbh I would be using Millers anyway but it was the car parts bloke who recommended Comma and have used it for a couple of years now, but Millers it is

yeah the oil pump not quite as easy as just the oil! but in June im gonna be changing the exhaust manifold gasket which hasn't been changed for along old time and am prepared for the worst ie head coming off because of sheered bolts, I mean these things are rusted quite bad. I was going to do the water pump & belt and clutch so why not the oil pump as well
Im now thinking why I wasnt thinking about doing the oil pump anyway

I guess its the chance I take but its gonna have to wait till then

Just one more thing if I may. Tubular Manifold from AS AutoSpecialsits
http://www.autospecialists.co.uk/RS-...oduct-921.html

was wondering if this is worth buying as a little upgrade on the cast one?

Thanks again

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

No mate, that's just a shiny copy of a standard manifold essentially, nothing to be gained at all!! lol

beller

ah ok then, I was hooked up on the idea of a better exhaust exit because of 2 not running into 3, I guess thats their bs

cheers for that man

AstoN_B

iTrader: (1)

Also worth checking when the plugs, distributor cap and rotor arm were changed. A good setup wouldn't go a miss either, they're complicated systems, but in the grand scheme of things its simple enough cause of its age. you can touch and see things that go wrong.

lockie

i had a s1 yrs ago & heard water running about when stopping & pulling away, turned out the drain holes in the sills were blocked & the inner sill was full of water. lol

if you are not geting high pressures in ur header tank on boost & are not loseing any water then doubt its the headgasket
condensation can cause cap to get creamy

ideally u need to do a sniff test to defo confim headgasket ok & if so:

drain oil & remove sump
inspect strainer to make sure not blocked
change oil pump if u wish & if no crap in strainer
refill with some decent oil

fit a new set of spark plugs etc to see if missfire goes
ide stick a new thermostate in to make sure car is getting up to temp while ur there (or have this checked aswell)

beller

the plugs, cap and rotor arm was also changed on the last service a month ago along with the air filter.

but for sure it does need a good set up
Ive had the car just over 3 years and hasn't had one.
Once the work is completed in June I shall get it set up then, any good places in Bristol?

Thanks

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

Just to point out the stock manifold flows for 350bhp so no real need to change it unless you want massive power or just have lots of spare money to throw away! lol

beller

shall add the sump and oil pick up to the list for June.
The thermostat was changed a couple of years ago due to overheat problem (the fan switch plug failed and overheated on the mot ramp) but shall look at this as well. I have also decided to replace most of the engine hoses most of them look pretty tired.

ok so after 4 or 5 days of driving the longway home and a bit of cleaning up the oil cap has pretty much gone back to normal after a journey, so pretty pleased with that or should I say relieved. Thanks for all the pointers with that one I linked it with the water loss and straight away thought the worst.

but still cant explain the loss of water between max and min those couple of weeks ago and maybe should link it with the water noise through the heater or somewhere which actually I havnt heard for the last few days.

well the money that I would have spent on the new manifold is now a hose set lol

thanks again for great info

botters

iTrader: (2)

your oil grade is a little on the thin side as well, i always used to run my turbo on 15/50 fuchs titan 10/40 in my eyes is the absolute thinnest i would go

AstoN_B

iTrader: (1)

Higher the first number the slower it circulates when cold. That's why a 5w50 is more expensive than a 15w50. It's more expensive to make.

I'm using 5w50 synthetic millers now I'm run in, circulates quick when cold and thick enough to work well at my power level. A 10w50 is cheaper but on a new engine I don't suffer low pressure anywhere.

RSmark84

Just to point out, you cant get the oil pick up pipe new more. You could be lucky to find a NOs one, but i doubt it. I bought a 2nd hand one from Essex, All i did was pour boiling water down it and though the gauze. Clean with WD-40 and sand down where needed. Also you'll want a new gasket for it.

My oil pressure light comes on after 10 mins of idle(not drove it for 4 years) so i've bought a new oil pump and Millers oil.

Just check everything you remove, the pick up pipe gauze will get blocked up and the oil will struggle to flow though it due to the carbon build up.