Post
Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:26 pm
Comments on the second engine re-build so far.
I am at 1200km so far, and will do my first oil and filter change this weekend. Car has not used a drop of oil or water and pulls like a train - happy chappy so far.
For CATS:
I decided to test my van to see if it heated up like yours did after your rebuild. The highest I had the coolant up too was 103 Deg C up a long up-hill up the N7 past the weigh-bridge, gunning from 80 - 150 KPH it in 39-40 Deg C heat. According to my MadMan the dash temp gauge stays steady from 78-95 Deg C, there after it increases slowly. At 103 Deg C it was just a smidgen above horizontal. I didn't want to push it further, EGT's maxed out at 660 Deg C at 2900 RPM at 150 Kph.
Car seems to start easier and pull readily as the new rings bed it, and idles smoothly. I had a CEL event yesterday afternoon at home and my heart nearly stopped, but turned out to be a error code 41 - throttle body control valve, it probably needs a bit of adjustment - not a biggie
Retrospect:
Looking back, I recon I did the initial piston damage at about 150km into the first running in process, when I took the car to work the first time. I was just picking up speed on the highway when she lost power and stalled - CEL came on. I coasted to the side of the highway and had a look at the engine bay, couldn't see anything wrong (oil, water leaks, etc) or any funny smells. I cautiously attempted a re-start and she caught first swing - must have been an airlock in the fuel system - or so I thought...
Ever since then I heard a light tapping noise at startup - similar to a noisy lifter on a V6 until the oil pressure builds up. At first it was only at startup and went away, then got progressively worse until it was doing it the whole time while driving, also with occasional bouts of of blue smoke until warmed up. When that happened I decided to pull the engine tear down and see what was wrong - I though small-ends bearing - but the blue smoke was puzzling me. In the end, it turned out to be piston slap due to the over-heat and resultant collapse of the pistons.
Suspected cause:
Steam pocket or airlock/hotspot due to lack of coolant. Possible coolant bleeding issue?
Initial rebuild bleeding of coolant.
Before the first start last year, I slowly filled up the coolant via the radiator cap, and stopping often to 'burp' the system by pumping the upper and lower coolant hoses. Once brimmed I left it to idle the engine warm while checking the coolant level with the cap off. I must have missed something along the way, perhaps in one of the heater matrix, as I did not switch these on.
Second rebuild Bleeding of coolant:
I made sure this time round that I did it correctly, and bought castrol radicool (red/purple in colour) to be mixed 50/50%. When teh engine was out, I also completely flushed the entire heating matrix system of any previous green plexus coolant with a garden hose on low pressure connected to the heater hoses.
In order to do this, I connected the battery to power up the front and rear Climate controls and then turned both heaters on to max to open the valves in order to flush with water. I let it run about 20-25 liters of water though (4 full buckets) until the water ran clear. New OEM 76.5 Deg C thermostat as well. Once engine was in again, I idled the car warm (80 Deg C) on a incline with the cap off topping up as necessary.
So far so good... I will update the thread in a bit with my costs, I just need to find all my slips and do a tally up!
Nicholas Gibson
2005 Gen 3 Pajero 3.2 DiD Auto LWB
Mods:
ARB front bumper, OME, Lynx Bash Plate, Lynx Rock-sliders, Lynx rear steel bumper, Front Runner 40lt Long range tank, Madman EMS2 with EGT, dual battery system, 700FF spots
Corsa 1.4 Club (swambo)
Cape Town
"In my house I'm the boss, my wife is just the decision maker." - Woody Allen
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