G
GTI-R Kid
Guest
Rather than start a whole heap of individual threads, I figured I'd post all our car problems in the one and live in hope that some people can offer advice, opinions and/or suggestions as to things that might remedy problems. Some things I'm not even sure of whether they're normal or something wrong, so I've added them anyway. Hopefully they'll turn out to be nothing too serious, but they are a big concern at the moment.
First up, oil catch can. Having no expierence of one prior to our engine rebuild, I'm unsure how often they are typically emptied, or what the contents are supposed to be like. We've now covered about 10k km in the car, and I've emptied our catch can at least 6 times (it holds about a litre). If I don't empty it soon enough its blowing out the oily mixture through the breather filter and around the area previously filled by the original air box. This frequency seems excessive to me, but since I know no better I'm wondering if its actually normal? How often do people usually empty their catch cans?
On the subject of the catch can, what should normally come out of it? I know this sounds a bit stupid given that its an OIL catch can but I've noticed when emptying it that there's a mix of oil and also a greyish cloudy fluid too. Is this just the moisture that gets blown out of the head mixing with the oil vapour? Or is there something more serious to it? Its not like the white mayonaise that can be found under the oil caps of cars with blown head gaskets, its a strange grey.
And even though I'm emptying the can this regularly, the oil level doesn't seem to be dropping much at all.
Finally on the subject of oil, I've noticed a distinct smell of petrol from the contents when I'm doing an oil change. I've never come across it before on any car when doing an oil change, or on this car prior to the engine rebuild. Now the head is developing a tapping sound which one mechanic has told me is the buckets that follow the cam being "shagged and in need of replacing" to use his words. To be blunt the car sounds like a diesel when its just ticking over, and the tapping doesn't dissappear when the revs increase. Could this have any effect on fuel vapours making their way into the oil, or does it sound like something more serious? I'll be doing a compression test over the coming days, and crossing my fingers that its not fuel leaking past the piston rings, but what else could cause such a distinct stench of petrol from the oil? Oh and up to now we've been using 15W50 fully synthetic oil. Gonna be putting 10W60 in this week - is that ok to use?
Losing water. Have noticed that we're losing water from the cooling system lately. Not a huge amount, maybe half a litre a week, but losing it all the same. I know its not a water leak as all the water hoses were changed when the engine was being re-assembled and its not really losing enough to be a constant leak, but it is another concern. The under-bonnet fire that we suffered melted off the little take off pipe by the radiator cap, so we currently have no water reservoir, and I'm wondering if this could be the source of the loss? Or could it be related to the grey fluid I'm finding in the catch can mentioned above? There's no trace of water under the oil cap, or in the oil when doing a change, so I'm at a loss to explain it. I know we'll have to source a new radiator at some point, but is this water loss something we'll have to live in the interm? As it is the car never gets too hot under regular driving, the Nismo thermostat would appear to be working as the water temp never goes above about 67 degrees on the Defi gauge. And we have the fans working off a manual switch at the moment, turning them on in traffic or at idle when the water temp approaches about 80 degrees.
Annoying noise. On top of the rattle from the head, a new ticking noise has reared its head in the past couple of weeks. It only seems to make its presence felt when the boost is from 0 upwards (can't hear it at all when at negative boost). A friend has a similar noise on his Glanza Turbo that he's traced back to a crack in his manifold, but I would have thought that the standard cast manifold on the GTI-R would have been tougher than that? Could it be a gasket gone, or related to the next problem and possibly be a sign that the turbo has seen better days? Its annoying as hell, and the car sounds like a bag of nails, but its still pulling like a train!
Blue smoke. I know its oil, but there's nothing common or identifiable with this problem. Basically, every so often when the car isn't moving, blue smoke starts coming from the exhaust. Theres no set conditions immediately prior to it happening, and oil pressure & levels appear to be normal. Happened a few times when away in Europe that at the end of a long cruise the car would start to puff out blue smoke when the car came to a halt. Also accompanied the bangs when on the Nurburgring too - looking in the mirror after a good few pops I could see a puff of blue smoke too. Anyone suggest whether this might be engine or turbo related? Is is something simple or are we looking at yet more expense?
Funny starting. I know the timing is out, and plan on sorting this in the next few days, and this could be the simple reason, but thought I'd put it up anyway since I'm listing everything else. When we start the car we have to hold the revs at about 1500 for a few seconds before the engine note smooths out and we can let the car idle. If we don't do this the car usually dies, and the only way to start it then is keep the accelerator firmly on the floor and swing out of the starter until the car splutters into life. Anyone care to suggest whether this problem really is as simple as the timing being way out, or is it something more serious?
Clutch. Would replacing all the hydraulic fluid in the system make for a slightly easier pedal? We've owned the car 5 years (off road for 4) during which time the fluid has never been replaced. I could be wrong, but logic tells me that the fluid is bound to deteriorate like oil & petrol in this time so could do with replacing. Am I right or wrong anyone know?
Over the course of this week, and probably the following 2, I plan on doing an oil change, adjusting the timing, replacing the clutch fluid if its worth while, regrounding the MAF, resetting the TPS if I can, bleeding the brakes if I can, re-adjusting the handbrake, doing a compression test. Currently waiting for the bank balance to recover from the wedding & honeymoon before we can afford to book the car in to a proper mechanic, so I'll be doing as much as I can myself and am open to suggestions as to other areas I could look at in relation to all the problems listed above.
Any help greatly appreciated as my Mrs is rapidly losing faith in the car, and I'm beginning to question whether all the money we've thrown at is has been a waste and we should have just scrapped the shitter and bought an Evo 6 RS or something else instead.
First up, oil catch can. Having no expierence of one prior to our engine rebuild, I'm unsure how often they are typically emptied, or what the contents are supposed to be like. We've now covered about 10k km in the car, and I've emptied our catch can at least 6 times (it holds about a litre). If I don't empty it soon enough its blowing out the oily mixture through the breather filter and around the area previously filled by the original air box. This frequency seems excessive to me, but since I know no better I'm wondering if its actually normal? How often do people usually empty their catch cans?
On the subject of the catch can, what should normally come out of it? I know this sounds a bit stupid given that its an OIL catch can but I've noticed when emptying it that there's a mix of oil and also a greyish cloudy fluid too. Is this just the moisture that gets blown out of the head mixing with the oil vapour? Or is there something more serious to it? Its not like the white mayonaise that can be found under the oil caps of cars with blown head gaskets, its a strange grey.
And even though I'm emptying the can this regularly, the oil level doesn't seem to be dropping much at all.
Finally on the subject of oil, I've noticed a distinct smell of petrol from the contents when I'm doing an oil change. I've never come across it before on any car when doing an oil change, or on this car prior to the engine rebuild. Now the head is developing a tapping sound which one mechanic has told me is the buckets that follow the cam being "shagged and in need of replacing" to use his words. To be blunt the car sounds like a diesel when its just ticking over, and the tapping doesn't dissappear when the revs increase. Could this have any effect on fuel vapours making their way into the oil, or does it sound like something more serious? I'll be doing a compression test over the coming days, and crossing my fingers that its not fuel leaking past the piston rings, but what else could cause such a distinct stench of petrol from the oil? Oh and up to now we've been using 15W50 fully synthetic oil. Gonna be putting 10W60 in this week - is that ok to use?
Losing water. Have noticed that we're losing water from the cooling system lately. Not a huge amount, maybe half a litre a week, but losing it all the same. I know its not a water leak as all the water hoses were changed when the engine was being re-assembled and its not really losing enough to be a constant leak, but it is another concern. The under-bonnet fire that we suffered melted off the little take off pipe by the radiator cap, so we currently have no water reservoir, and I'm wondering if this could be the source of the loss? Or could it be related to the grey fluid I'm finding in the catch can mentioned above? There's no trace of water under the oil cap, or in the oil when doing a change, so I'm at a loss to explain it. I know we'll have to source a new radiator at some point, but is this water loss something we'll have to live in the interm? As it is the car never gets too hot under regular driving, the Nismo thermostat would appear to be working as the water temp never goes above about 67 degrees on the Defi gauge. And we have the fans working off a manual switch at the moment, turning them on in traffic or at idle when the water temp approaches about 80 degrees.
Annoying noise. On top of the rattle from the head, a new ticking noise has reared its head in the past couple of weeks. It only seems to make its presence felt when the boost is from 0 upwards (can't hear it at all when at negative boost). A friend has a similar noise on his Glanza Turbo that he's traced back to a crack in his manifold, but I would have thought that the standard cast manifold on the GTI-R would have been tougher than that? Could it be a gasket gone, or related to the next problem and possibly be a sign that the turbo has seen better days? Its annoying as hell, and the car sounds like a bag of nails, but its still pulling like a train!
Blue smoke. I know its oil, but there's nothing common or identifiable with this problem. Basically, every so often when the car isn't moving, blue smoke starts coming from the exhaust. Theres no set conditions immediately prior to it happening, and oil pressure & levels appear to be normal. Happened a few times when away in Europe that at the end of a long cruise the car would start to puff out blue smoke when the car came to a halt. Also accompanied the bangs when on the Nurburgring too - looking in the mirror after a good few pops I could see a puff of blue smoke too. Anyone suggest whether this might be engine or turbo related? Is is something simple or are we looking at yet more expense?
Funny starting. I know the timing is out, and plan on sorting this in the next few days, and this could be the simple reason, but thought I'd put it up anyway since I'm listing everything else. When we start the car we have to hold the revs at about 1500 for a few seconds before the engine note smooths out and we can let the car idle. If we don't do this the car usually dies, and the only way to start it then is keep the accelerator firmly on the floor and swing out of the starter until the car splutters into life. Anyone care to suggest whether this problem really is as simple as the timing being way out, or is it something more serious?
Clutch. Would replacing all the hydraulic fluid in the system make for a slightly easier pedal? We've owned the car 5 years (off road for 4) during which time the fluid has never been replaced. I could be wrong, but logic tells me that the fluid is bound to deteriorate like oil & petrol in this time so could do with replacing. Am I right or wrong anyone know?
Over the course of this week, and probably the following 2, I plan on doing an oil change, adjusting the timing, replacing the clutch fluid if its worth while, regrounding the MAF, resetting the TPS if I can, bleeding the brakes if I can, re-adjusting the handbrake, doing a compression test. Currently waiting for the bank balance to recover from the wedding & honeymoon before we can afford to book the car in to a proper mechanic, so I'll be doing as much as I can myself and am open to suggestions as to other areas I could look at in relation to all the problems listed above.
Any help greatly appreciated as my Mrs is rapidly losing faith in the car, and I'm beginning to question whether all the money we've thrown at is has been a waste and we should have just scrapped the shitter and bought an Evo 6 RS or something else instead.
