Hi , im pretty new to this site and just thought i would say hello and HELP!!!!!!!! ...... i have just rebuilt the top end of my mk4 xr3i 90 spec and i have fitted a mild fast road piper cam , valve springs , valve stem oil seals and followers ( tappets ) . I then took my car over to get tuned and they corrected the fueling etc. and as i was driving back home i opened her up a little and at 5000 revs it started to struggle then when i pulled up to the junction it died !!!!!!!!! after a bump start i had to keep my foot on the accelerator to keep it going and to me it sounded like my battery was dying but after i left the car for about an hour it started no problem ! any ideas what could be causing this ??? is there anyway a pressure build-up somewhere could cause the engine to struggle to turn over ??? please help i have already spent almost a grand on the engine !!!

 

hi again i started the car today and it ran no problem !!! i then left it ticking over for about 10 mins and when i slowly ran the revs up to 5000 it struggled just as it hit about 5100 rpm then jumped up to 6500 but when revs dropped back down it cut out then after a couple of minutes it started again but it turned over very slowly before it started !!!

 

sounds like they fucked up the fuelling to me mate take it somewhere who know what they are doing!!

 

yeah !! the ba***ds bet they didnt even do it !! im gonna try v sport in boldon get it rolling road set-up !! i just hope thats all it is ! thanks botters

 

 

I have been talking to a mechanic tonight he says until he looks at car he cant be sure but its possibly the timing is not right which i have paid the garage who (obviously didn`t) tune it to do !!

 

just a quick update anyone using a piper mild fast road cam in the 1.6 cvh when bottom pulley is at TDC put top pulley back 1 tooth from TDC approx. 10 degrees still needs a tune tho and it sounds like 1 of the new tappets is sticking !!!! hmmmm could be a problem ! also have just welded new o/s rear arch and inner arch in ! cant wait to get it finished and on the road !! lol

 

if your not confident timing it your self i highly reccomend taking it to a pro, ive never fitted a piper myself but have been a mechanic for last 11 years and know the damage that can be done by incorrect timing its not just valve to piston contact to worry about but the fuelling issues caused by incorrect timing melting pistons or filling the sump with fuel due to it not burning correctly and slipping by the piston rings which would then sieze the crank! these are extreme examples but just show what can happen if left. as for the tappets make sure they actually fitted new ones cus if not it will destroy your cam in no time!!

 

i would like to think im a competent mechanic although i have not been trained as such but i have had to put original tappets in due to the new ones starting to score the new cam !! I am going to get the engine set-up properly hopefully on monday will let you know what the result is and thanks for the words of caution mate i will take them on-board !!

 

if this is the old k jetronic injection i would have a look at the cold/ warm start relay (pink one) very common fault on the old 2.8's as well. they go at 40k intervals. relays used to be about Ł14 each. it will stall when hot but will start on a bump, usually because it cools down enough to start.

 

well im takin me car to pd tuning in boldon tomorrow as i have just sold me mondeo !! what can i say i love me escort ! hopefully they get it set up ok and i will post the bhp after the dyno ..

 

hmmm problems !!! for some reason i have got the car running pretty sweet now BUT its holding back at about 4500-5000 revs any ideas ??? just dont want to take it upto pd tuning until i have got it just about spot on !!

 

well the car is at PD Tuning and it turns out the holding back problem is to do with either the fuel distributor or the warm up regulator at Ł60 quid an hour on the dyno i hope its a simple fix !!!!!!!!!

 

well the car is back and its still the same !! fitted new distributor cap , leads , plugs , rotor arm and its still holding back !!! on the dyno the power was mint the power curve and torqe was spot on up to 4200 then it just suddenly drops off !! max bhp 78.6 ! I went through old forum threads and in 2003 there was the exact same problem im having ! the problem is the cam and followers ! the cam is starting to get damaged and the followers are not oiling up right, i have sent an e-mail to piper askin what the f**ks going on ! im hoping they send me a new cam and solid lifters as thats what 1 of the other forum users did and it was spot on !!!

 

well i got the car to rev right through but i had to use the old followers ( test only ) it appears the new ones aren`t keeping their oil pressure under load !!! I have been on the phone to Piper Cams and they have agreed to send out replacement followers providing I send the faulty ones back ! so once again me car is off the road !!!!!!!!!!

 

hey chaps its been a while but here goes .... all the above problems were caused by insufficient valve spring pressures !!!! ( valve float ) i got it to rev right throughto redline with an extra 0.60inch shim !! also i then found out my oil pressure was down so i have rebuilt the bottom end !! and guess what ! its still got a tap !! changed cylinder head today with standard item hoping it was just a worn head but that hasnt worked and it sounds like the tap is coming from inlet manifold, injectors or warm-up regulator but what could be causing this ??? i just want it ready for begining of summer so i can get to ford shows !!!!!!!!!

 

Goode luck with it mate

 

I had one of these Piper cams in my Cab 3i engine, reved ok and was quite responsive, but it ticked over like dog poo never ever ticked over ok.

my fix was:
To fit s Rs turbo engine from my mate, who had it built by Turbosystems many years ago.
Great fix

I hope you get yours sorted

 

Its been many many years but from memory the k-jetronic pulses the cold start injector when its being used rather than just opening and this can sound like a tapping noise, especially if there is no petrol in the feed pipe or the injector is knackered.

 

well finally sorted the tap dissapeared after about 10 mins driving and all seems well just need it tuning now !!! I have just took the piper cam out of other head and its f**ked to say the least ! I also read somewhere that piper have discontinued there cam range due to low quality followers is this true ??? and would i be able to claim my Ł320 ive pretty much wasted ???

 

With the piper cams you used to have to run the engine at around 4000 rpm for 30 minutes for it to bed and for the oil to fill the followers which should have been left soaking in a bucket of oil for 24 hours.

 

yeah i did all that had followers soaking for about a week and ran the cam in its 2500 rpm for 15 mins and also had to increase valve spring pressure due to valve float but yet the cam and followers still destoyed and ive worked it out the car has done around 100 miles since fitting cam !!!!!!! PIPER YOUR SHIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

unlucky mate sounds like youve had a lot of hassles over something that should have been a fairly straight forward job.get the cvh ripped out and get a turbo or zetec in there

 

I have thought about turboing it but to be honest I want to keep it as standard as possible was gonna go for concourse but dont have time or money now maybe get everything freshened up after the summer !!! fitting new heater matrix at the weekend due to ice cracking the plastic pipes !! and general clean-up try to get the anti-freeze out of the carpet ha ha ha

 

it is possible that re fitting your old followers finishedoff your cam mate as they will have worn along with your original camshaft however i have heard many many horror stories with piper and kent cams the material they make them out of is poor to say the least shame you found out the hard way. i would reccomend newman cams for a replacement as they are made out of chilled iron and are extremely hard wearing and dont require the hardening process of revving for 20 mins like the piper and kents do as they are hard as nails already. also prior to fitting i would get the head checked by a proper head engineer as if one of the cast in cam journals is scored the head will be scrap, also check the oil feeds in the head to make sure they are clear as they clog easily
all the best mate

 

I was considering newman cam but i think im just gonna keep with the standard one for now !! as for the followers i put the 4 inlet ones in but wernt in long enough to cause anything like the damage that has been done i think it was just shit piper followers and on closer inspection the follower journals are scored !! I made sure I checked these prior to original fitting and they were in perfect condition !! so my guess its a mixture of shit cam and followers and possibly slightly low oil pressure but saying that my oil pressure always been ok I changed the bottom end shells just as a precaution and it still had the same problems !!

 

Well latest update !! I phoned Piper Cams today and when I said i`ve only had cam in for around 6 months and done less than 100 miles , he told me "send cam and followers back we have been having some problems with un-satisfactory followers we will send you a new cam and new followers from our new supplier , and dont worry we have done extensive tests you shouldn`t have the same problems and we are sorry for the inconvenience" so i`m well happy was expecting to have to argue with them !!! Well new cam and followers take 2 !! lol

 

Oh yeah I have also measured the cam lobe`s and it turns out there is 0.136" missing off the nose on 6/8 and 0.093 off the other 2 !!!! now that is rediculous for less than 100 miles !!!! the new one can only get better !

 

Has anyone else realised how hard it is to get a good set of front and rear door cards !!!! I have two of everything and they are all just as bad as each other ! the only things that is in mint condition is the dash and the xr3i seats cos I dont have them in using recaro`s !! so if anyone knows how to repair the door cards let me know !! they are sagging where your elbow always ends up ! lol

 

Well after all the shit i`ve had with the head and cam I`ve gone and f**ked the crank and con rods ( crappy alu shells ) took engine out stripped it to get it fixed but gonna cost over 200 quid for crank re-grind and pistons with all shells and gasket set !!!! So been to salvage yard today and after toying with the idea of a zvh conversion I found a cvh block in not too bad a condition ! Going to clean it up tomorrow re grease and refit shells and use all the new bits I got for my original engine ie . water pump , oil pump , belt tensioner etc. still gonna cost about Ł100 but will have car back on the road by the weekend !!!!

 

Probably all the bits of ground up cam floating about in there causing thoses issues buddy. I fitted a Kent cam to my Mk3 years ago with brand new lifters. Plenty of lube, kept revs above 2500 for at least 25 mins and it was dead within a month. Had to drive most of the way from Stevenage to Cleveland on 3 cylinders, it sucked.

 

Your probably right steve it`s just a piss take when ive spent so much on it already and I`ve not been able to give it a good drive out !!!! hopefully this is the turning point and there is no more problems have spent 2 days cleaning refreshing and pinting various bits and pieces so just got to hope it pays off !!!! Next job tho is get the body re-sprayed and if I do decide to keep it hopefully will get to a couple of shows this year

 

Good for you Dave, it's nice to get some little bits done. I think if you sell you will regret it, stick with it mate!

 

Ive got a cvh unused since rebuild. Polished crank, new bearings, new rings etc. The head is separated at the minute and it has a new piper 270 cam kit in it. New followers and everything. Would need checking over as its a year since it was built but should be sound.

PM me if your interested.

 

hey liam thanks for the offer but got a salvage engine and rebuilt it , everything is in and running like a dream once again !! and your right steve I am gonna stick with it , think I was just getting sick of all the little problems which I have finally realized are all part of owning a 20 year old car and I really do love it !!! lol