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| Engine swap complete on 1994 1.0L - now it won't start!; Just swapped engines and now the car won't start. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 4 2012, 07:58 PM (2,088 Views) | |
| cwatkin | Aug 5 2012, 03:17 PM Post #16 |
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Things are continuing to to go pretty well. I ran the engine some more and completed the cooling system flush. I also ran a small stream of water through the TB to steam clean the valves and remove any carbon I didn't get. I also did a little more MMO through the TB followed by some Berryman B12. I didn't have any Seafoam on hand but figure this is a pretty good way to go. I then changed the oil and am very glad I did. The oil was milky, likely from some of the water I put through the intake getting by the rings, etc. and it was just plain dirty too. I figure all this cleaning with the MMO would put a lot of junk into the oil. Anyway, I have synthetic 5W30 in there right now with a small amount of MMO. I am going to run this for a while and make sure to replace any MMO that burns off with oil and see how it looks over time. There are no check engine lights on so I guess I did an OK job. The engine is idling now. Some smoke is coming out the exhast but I think it is just the MMO residue that might have made it down to the cat, etc. The engine was also handled, tilted, and practically turned upside down a time or two with a nearly full fill of oil. I wonder if some of this got where it shouldn't and is just burning off. The themostat seems to be working just fine but is this something that is good to replace for good measure or not? Is this really a part that fails on these cars? Also, I looked online and there are several different temp ranges. It looks like the OEM spec is 195 F but there are also 160 F and 180 F thermostats. What do I want? If it isn't a part that commonly fails, I might just grab the one from the other engine as a spare. What else should I do to get this little car nice and tuned up? I figure plugs will be replaced just for good measure. The wires seem ok but the cap/rotor are getting changed. Conor |
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| clarkdw | Aug 5 2012, 07:21 PM Post #17 |
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How old are the wires? If you don't know then replace them. They are cheap. PCV valve? It is very cheap and gives many problems if gunked up. Clean the hose related to the PCV valve as well. I wouldn't change the thermostat unless it is running cold or hot. The 195 is the way to go for best mileage. Congrats on getting it running.
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| cwatkin | Aug 5 2012, 07:52 PM Post #18 |
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Thanks. I am pretty pleased to have it running and think it will be a great little car. I did change the PCV valve and clean the hose attached to it. The PCV valve was totally nasty and there was a good bit of gunk in that hose that took a while to get out. I also cleaned out the EGR passages which were not horrible but understand this is very important on these cars. As for the themostat, I plan to just leave it. I figure the coolant system flush is always good to prevent those from sticking. What was the likely cause of the ticking I heard at first? I was guessing dirt was in a lifter and maybe it had drained down from sitting a while. Hopefully the MMO flushed it out and having clean full sythentic oil in the engine will keep this at bay. There have been no more occurances of this so I am hopeful. Thanks, Conor |
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| clarkdw | Aug 5 2012, 08:00 PM Post #19 |
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Lifters fer sure. |
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| cwatkin | Aug 5 2012, 10:55 PM Post #20 |
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Is there any concern due to the lifter noise? As long as it stays away and I keep good oil in it, am I good? It did not make this noise when I first got the car. I figure the engine has been out of the junk car for a while and may have sat at odd angles, had oil out of it, then oil back in it, say at odd angles again. You get the idea. If it hadn't been run for like two weeks and had this experience, is this noise such a bad thing? Anything I should do to take care of the lifters, minus taking the head and then the lifters apart for a good cleaning? If I were to go that far into it, I would rather take the bad engine apart and give it a complete rebuild. Will gunk in the lifters dissolve over time if you use good oil and a solvent such as Sea Foam or MMO? Either way, I plan to add Sea Foam to the oil or run MMO if I get any indications of it again. I will probably do this anyway right before I change the oil next time just to clean out more gunk if it is present. I will also probably run some water through the intake again when I change the oil next to help decarbon things. Glenn also suggested running about 50% E85 fuel from time to time to burn any crap out of the engine so I will likely also try this. I guess the alcohol really burns clean and hot. One of my neighbors told me I was crazy for going to this much trouble. He told me he changes his oil about every 3 years. Anyway, I guess there is a reason I have a vehicle with 300,000 miles that runs like new and he doesn't. Thanks, Conor |
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| Norby | Aug 5 2012, 11:21 PM Post #21 |
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Dang! Don't buy a car from that guy. |
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| cwatkin | Aug 6 2012, 09:17 AM Post #22 |
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Yeah, I guess his truck has an oil leak and he considers it "self changing". I don't like leaking oil for various reasons, especially if you are having to add a quart a week. It is just poisoning the ground and you could end up running low. One way to look at it is that I wouldn't have ended up with my metro had it not been for someone who didn't believe in oil changes! Another question... Sometimes people say an engine is "better" or "tried and true" if it can withstand more abuse such as less frequent oil changes than others. I have also heard others argue that such an engine likely has sloppy tolerances to be able to survive this type of abuse. I have a similar outlook on guns. Many people thing the AK-47 is the best battle rifle ever made as it can be buried in sand for a year and still shoot. I personally don't think it is that accurate and the reasons are you can hear the thing rattle if you shake it. Sure, the M16/AR15/M4 platform may need regular cleaning but it seems like a better rifle to me. Conor |
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| Shinrin | Aug 7 2012, 12:00 AM Post #23 |
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The lifters aren't hard to get out, maybe thirty minutes. Remove the valve cover, the camshaft, and pull out the lifters. |
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| cwatkin | Aug 7 2012, 11:04 AM Post #24 |
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Thanks. I may pull them if I have this problem again. I drove the car about 25 miles yesterday and never had another issue with it. The only time I heard the ticking was on that first startup after setting several weeks. If I keep good oil in the engine and put some MMO or SF in the oil before changing, will anything in the lifters just clean out over time? Thanks, Conor |
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| cwatkin | Aug 13 2012, 04:55 PM Post #25 |
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I wanted to post an update. The thermostat appears to have stuck open today. I considered changing it before but was told not to bother. At least is it easy to access and not buried under the timing belt or water pump. Had it been there, I would have changed it for sure. Anyway, I noticed that the temp was dropping very low on a 55mph road on my way to town today. As soon as I hit town and slowed down, the temp went right back up. I bought a new one and experienced the same exact behavior on the way home so I am pretty sure it is stuck open. Anyway, I plan to put the new one in next. Otherwise the car is running great and getting pretty good mileage. I ran some MMO through the engine and cannot see any appreciable oil usage so this engine seems good. It is plenty strong and does way more than I expected to get out of this little car. Sure, it is just a basic little car but it is kinda fun and I feel like I am driving an oversized go kart. I put some E85 in the tank to help keep everything clean as well as some Gumout additive and MMO. I plan to change the fuel filter soon and have a new one on hand. Thanks, Conor |
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9:36 AM Jul 11