rough idle?

[CMF_justo]

All i've done is had the starter motor reconditioned, replaced the overflow reservoir, and filled up with more coolant.

Now my engine is idling really rough. Any driving under 2k rpm is jerky as hell.

Ideas?

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

YOUR A JINKS.

 

[CMF_sportsclassic]

it could be your air flow meter which is a common problem

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

OR MAYBE THE HEAD GASKETS BLOWEN

 

[CMF_sportsclassic]

hi justo is your oil a milky colour

 

[CMF_justo]

the day I knew would come has come.

Head gasket is gone.

Oil was fine this morning when I checked it. This evening, micra king checked the oil and it was just like a chocolate milkshake.

Will try find a place to tow it to on monday

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

Yes spent some time working on it tonight and its stuffed Im sad to say I changed the oil in it so he could drive it home without killing the engine as it had that much coolant in the sump it was not funny, in fact over 6L of oil/water mix. I have a bad feeling the blocks cracked. In the short time it took me to change the oil the number one cylinder filled up with coolant and the engine would not turn over due to compression lock and when I took the plug out so we could turn the motor over to clear it I was shocked to see how much coolant came out.....and I copped a blast from it even though I was standing almost a meter away anyway whitenight is a really sick car right now and the only boosting its going to be doing for now is the mechanics pay packet.

 

[CMF_fred]

maybe its just the gasket... didn't have an aluminum gasket that had some probs sealing on some other cars?

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

Hoping its just the gasket but with the amount of coolants its leaking im not holding my breath. Still I hope thats all it is for justos sake.

 

[CMF_mipcar]

So sad to see a good car end up that way. Somewhere along the line after Dave sold it that car has had a flogging, don't care what anyone says.
Too many things wrong.

Mychael

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

Maybe, maybe not. After the david traded the car in it sat in the new owners shed and was not used much and you would think such an engine could take been thrashed a bit since its a performace engine. The plugs in one and two pots where almost heat welded in and going by the plugs themselfs its been running real hot on that side of the motor for some time so might have other issues that is causing it. Untill the heads pulled off theres no way of telling if its just the head gasket thats blow or as Im guessing a cracked block. In my mind theres too much coolant getting into the pot in a short time frame to be just a gasket.

 

[CMF_Sean]

Lol a performance engine??!

Its a Micra, hardly performance engine. I agree it would have to have been thrashed. Dave had the block block treated before he built it so I think the owner who bought it off Dave didn't just let it it 'sit' in his garage...

I knew this would happen for that kind of price though, there was no chance that this car was in the same condition as it was when Dave had it.

Sean

 

[CMF_mipcar]

If I recall Justo (sorry mate) also said the clutch has gone. That's a sign of thrashing and/or bad driving.

When Dave first began developing that motor he found out the engine leaned out at high boost. He got straight onto that and rectified it.
If the motor has been running hot for some time it proves (if nothing else) that the owners after Dave and before poor old Justo did nothing about keeping up a level of good tuning and maintenance.

None of this helps Justo and sadly (but hopefully not)they are the precurser of more bad things to come.

Mychael

 

[CMF_justo]

Clutch was going before I got it. I remember posting saying it would slip under hard acceleration. People told me it couldn't be slipping, but it was.

Part of the problem there was that none of us had driven a car with a button clutch like this one had. The on/off nature of it just didn't suit our driving styles. As such it only got worse with me riding the clutch a bit in heavy traffic every day.

But, I can tell you the car was absolutely not abused in such a way as to be the cause of all these problems in the time since Dave traded it in. I'm not saying Dave did a bad job, but I don't think it was all up to the level that people here assume.

Just to give some examples, the starter pinion is clearly not lining up with the ring gear optimally. This should have been done properly by whomever made up the adapter plate in the first place. There's also a bunch of wires which are not attached to anything....who knows what they're supposed to do? The clutch was using a stock pulsar bit in it (sorry don't know the technical term....some sort of pressure plate) that was too weak to apply enough force which amplified the clutch wear (the one I have now has been over-engineered to make sure it doesn't happen again). The reservoir had a massive crack in it which was patched up with araldite. There's **** all over the place being held by cables ties....

On a positive note. I hesitantly started the car today after we put some Chemi-Weld in it last night. Car started first time and sounded great. No smoke coming out of the exhaust. Took it for a short drive and let it idle in a carpark while I checked a few things. No hesitation at low revs. No gas coming out of the radiator.

Took it to micra kings place and he can confirm that it looks and sounds pretty damn good at the moment.

Oil/filter need replacing. I'm taking it for a little drive tonight to see how the temps go but so far it's looking alright to make it to getting the head gasket done. Don't worry, will be calling places up first chance I get on monday about that.

 

[CMF_fred]

well, that's a relief!

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

Yes I have to agree with justo on the problems and things not done right or finished right on the car. I think it came down to david not having the time to finish things before he traded it in but I dont want to seem like Im knocking his work on the car as its a great bit of work.
And sean any engine thats had the work this ones had on it in my books is a performance engine its not just some stock motor with a blower added onto it. Justo got the car cheap as its that price it was traded for and justo mate payed the trade in price to get it so price has nothing to do with the car. I am not a fan of chemiweld but in this case it has helped...well for now anyway.

 

[CMF_Yom]

Sorry champ, but it sounds more like you cooked the motor.

https://micra.org.uk/cmf/message/30723

Not bleeding the cooling system properly would create large airpockets in the system. Air pockets is where heat would build up in the metal and not be able to escape. If you have a piece of metal which is heated unevenly and to extremes (as what happens in a petrol engine) it will warp. Gasket surfaces will break. Leaks will be created. Spark plugs feeling like they've been welded in probably means it also has a warped head. You might be able to get it shaved, but it won't change the fact that the metal has been superheated, unevenly. There will be microfractures through it and the metal will now also be of slightly different hardness throughout. Basically, the head is stuffed. Its also likely the block is a throwout item as well - the CG13 is of course an alloy block and alloy blocks just cant cope with heat like an iron block can.

Start looking for a new motor. THe only things you're going to be able to use from the existing one are the internals (crank, rods, pistons and cams - Mabye some valves but i don't like your chances).

Simple error to make, but it certainly sounds like there's noone else to blame here.

 

[CMF_justo]

i don't think it could have been from not bleeding the system properly, because when I changed the reservoir and refilled the coolant, i never started the car (the starter was out of the car being fixed)....the coolant just disappeared (into the engine it seems).

There are no bleed nipples anyway so I would have assumed running the car with the radiator cap open would bleed it sufficiently anyway.

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

Truth is no one will really now till the engines pulled out and the problem/s found.

 

[CMF_micrat]

if you need to find a replacement head and/or block I should be able to help you out, i have a couple of spares. (I'm in perth too)

 

[CMF_justo]

cheers mate. Will keep everyone posted how it goes.

 

[CMF_justo]

In an interesting twist I have found out the following today....

- Coolant seems to like going from the radiator to the reservoir now so much so that it is almost overflowing.

- Haven't changed the oil yet, but checked the dipstick and oil cap, there is no more milky oil. It basically looks new.....wtf?

- A chemi-test was done today and showed no sign of a blown head gasket. I am damn sure the radiator was bubbling over from some sort of gas last time we filled it (when we added the chemi weld), and that was just a top up. I thought there'd still be contaminated coolant in there, but apparently not???

- Looks like I will either be getting a mechanic to take care of the removal and re-fitment of the head, then I will take the head to get it checked out elsewhere (southside engine center). Or, possibly I may try remove the head myself, then if it looks to be a real bitch to put back on, I can pay the mech to do the rest.

- Trying to find a replacement gasket that is suitable for White Knight is proving difficult.

 

[CMF_nsm]

hey justo...

just wondering if the thermostat is opening???...if you need a VRS i can help you out....Just look at the Micra Spare Parts thread...

nick

 

[CMF_justo]

What's a VRS?


I've changed the thermostat last week with micra king.

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

Yeah I put a new thermostat in it last week and did the oil and filter tonight. The chemi weld stuff has done what I did not think it could and seems to have stopped the problem for now. The metal head gasket will have to be a custom made job by the shop thats going to do the work as its not somthing you can buy at an auto store for a micra.