head problems ..finally getting to the problem ?
Turbo Mini Forums

most of you are probably aware now with the running problems ive had with the turbo... and after loads of useful advice and info, not to mention txts and phone calls ..ive worked my way through pretty much all the suggestions ive been given

checked vaccums
checked intake leaks
checked actuator is working properly
fuel pressure is fine
checked the carb and couldnt see any issues.
ive now got the wideband wired in and getting the sensor mounted over the weekend.
icant check if fuel pressure is rising with boost yet due to the following problem

im just getting the strange feeling my problem is head related.. i started noticing white sludge in the rocker cover a while ago but had no smoke when running, no smoke under acceleration and the car never got hot so presumed it was due to the short journeys i did in the car...well after more work on the car over the weekend i decided to open it up abit on the way home from work today..as soon as the revs started picking up and the boost just started to come on it started to smoke white smoke and did its usual stuttering thing at about 3.5k.. now when i replaced the head gasket maybe 2 or 3 mths ago the old one actually looked in perfect order and its done very few miles and bacially no hard driving since... so im thinking maybe my head is warped and needs a skim so is not quite sealing, but only just enough to effect it on boost?
would it be possible that the this slight head leak would cause it to stutter badly on boost or would it generally not have those charateristics?

Big apologies for the huuuge post but wanted to get a clear explanation or what the cars doing..i was holding off getting any headwork done till the car gets stripped down later in the year but will have to bite the bullet if need be.

cheers boys

oh and as im still frantically trying to get the car sorted for the RR day on 10th april (looking unlikely) if it looks like this could be a possible cause /reason and i need the head sorting, then ill consider a decent spec head if anyone is selling one, if i can upgrade for the same money as a refurb then why not

none whatsoever IMO

9.85 @ 145mph
202mph standing mile
speed didn't kill me, but taxation probably will

seconed have you checked your vacume pipes, bleed valve ect to make sure they are not fucked? eg letting pressure out from a small pinch hole or something?

have you got the little hole in the plenum to carb on the gasket? doesnt that affect boost?

Edited by Paul R on 31st Mar, 2010.

Drives
-Ford S-max Mk2 Ecoboost
-Rover 100 VVC #2 - track project

Searching is all you need on TurboMinis

is water dissapearing from the rad or header tank ?

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

yeh ive repalced all the vaccum pipes, had the carb off and checked the gasket was the right one so wasnt blocking the hole..pressured checked the actuator, and ive ran the car both with and without a bleed valve.

rob it does seem to use water, its only ever a tiny bit but seems to be using it none the less.

rich has suggested the white sludge could be caused by my engine not getting upto temp..to be fare even with all of my additional cooling stuff turned off the car still runs extremely cold since adding the addtional rad onto the front, so im thinking its not really needed and might try running it without till the summer, and get an 88'c thermostat as suggested aswell.
rich also suggested the head could possibly be porous and leaking coolant into one of the inlets ?

well.... having digested what you have said ben............... the oil you are running, is it Duckhams by any chance ?

any misfires under boost is caused by.... a lean mixture if the compression is ok and other factors have been checked out like you have stated.

i have yet to come across a porus 5 port head for the A series

whats the spec of your motor etc ......

maybe the loss of water is caused by leakoff from therad cap after you switch the engine off ?

if its only loosing a small! amount of water this would not cause the missfire you mentioned to that degree

my monies on the lean mixture underboost, and the sluging maywell be crap oil as mentioned.

whats the compression of the engine and do you run an intercooler ?

hope this helps

how does it run w/o boost connected? why not try that... could be the answer

Drives
-Ford S-max Mk2 Ecoboost
-Rover 100 VVC #2 - track project

Searching is all you need on TurboMinis

well ive got a full weekend ahead of me so whle checking the fuel pressure is rising with boost ill also check how the car runs with the plenum boost pipe disconnected and see how he runs.
benross the engine is standard aprt from the intercooler and am going to get a compression check done like i should have done ages ago im not using duchams oil but its not really top sprc stuff, think ill change it for a better quality...the one thing i have noticed and that rich also suggested is that my cars not geting upto temperature really..barly reached 60c when driving and even when im sat still for a while it creeps up and only just gets to 80c..so im removing the little front motrobike rad ive fitted as i thin its abit over kill and am going to fit an 88c thermostat.
ill post the result of my tests and hopefully we are starting to get somewhere

Edited by turbominivanman on 2nd Apr, 2010.

Minivanless, but reluctantly happy living with the decision. There'll be another one day.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=minimadmotorman#p/u

ok ill go out and give it a try in a sec... if im honest it isnt particulary thick and has only seemed to have really done it noticeably on a couple of occasions so its possilbe that it was kicking out a load of steam/crap from the oil..il let you know how i get on

right ive just take 'monster' for a spin with the boost pipe disconnected ..obviosuly apart from fuelling way too much and bogging right down it didnt smoke at all and didnt jault badly liek it does on boost...and i revved it round till about 4kish.

ill presume that ive definatley got an underfuelling problem on boost ?

ive got the garage down the road to hoepfully squeeze the car in tomorrow to get the wideband sensor mounted and then can get on and see whats going on.
it could be my Standard BBD needle is badly worn but im thinking wit hthe slightly higher boost and intercooler im goign to want to go for slightly richer needle to start with , any suggestions welcome.
it could well be ill need to change the needle again in the near future if i go for the benross head work, but for now it just needs to cope with the stanard head and about 8psi

Agree, sounds like leaning off under boost. Not a good idea to drive it like that Ben.

The BDD needle is probably not worn but will defo not be up to the job at 8 psi. It's unlikely that you'll get one off the shelf that'll suit the motor straight away. It'll probably need fettling at a session on the Rolling Road TBH.

With your AFR gauge you might be able to do some tuning of the needle yourself. It's a long drawn out process, but very rewarding, if not a bit frustrating - worth reading Turbo Terry's brilliant site for that.

Richard.

Minivanless, but reluctantly happy living with the decision. There'll be another one day.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=minimadmotorman#p/u

ben , a quick and dirty check is ,get it hot and idling ,then turn the mixtute screw in until the engine is as rich as it can take ,itll be stumbling and rough ,then try it , if its better higher up on boost thats your problem .remember to turn it back again ,after .count how many turns you screw it in .

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

ok thanks ill give that a try today and see if it lets the car boost better, i literally drive it round like a granny at the minute and dont go past 3k so im confident im not casuing any damage lower down, i checked the plugs and they all seem nicley coated and not white etc.
im just havign a truam getting the wideband bung wedled on, as i need the car everyday i was trying to find somewhere i could drive in, get it welded on and drive home, but every garage in swindon seems to be owned by complete tossers, bells exhaust wanted £30 , one place wouldnt touch it coz said " oooo im not too sure about doing that kinda stuff, best take it to bells " etc etc ANNOYING

try clarky in hawksworth industrial estate, top fella he maybe able to help

Drives
-Ford S-max Mk2 Ecoboost
-Rover 100 VVC #2 - track project

Searching is all you need on TurboMinis

nice one mate ill try and get down there....my dad works at a stainless steel fabricating company but he'd need the exhaust off and would need it for a couple days as would need to try and squeeze it in his lunch hour..100% needs sorting tho so i can get the AFR readings, so will get to it