The Rebirth of Smokey Eddy - The 1.9 Saga

[MJF]

Yep, 1,6 vacuumpump will not work in 1,9 block.

[Luckypabst]

Libby - I did the same but had a brain fart, didn't check my tap drill chart and drilled mine for 1/4 NPT - in that case, the hole size is large enough to catch and destroy the pump vanes. Needless to say, my power brakes work every now and then these days...
I'm curious to see how yours works out because it's what I'll be doing next time I bust a nipple, but I bet the 1/8 NPT hole is small enough to not affect things.

Chris

[Smokey Eddy]

Is the valve absolutely nessisary? I mean obviously otherwise it wouldn't be there but would it work at all without one?
My understanding is that no valve would mean the lines wouldn't hold any vacuum at all once that pump stops turning so you wouldn't get that 1 or 2 uses out of the pedal before it stiffens up without the car running.

[Smokey Eddy]

This is a continuation of my build progress, please still reply to the vacuum pump question.

After driving around the block twice with the correct vac pump spinning the oil pump this time got lots of oil pressure but the oil temp is about 40 degrees F cooler than it was before. I'm not entirely sure but i think the thermostat in the sandwich plate may be acting up OR is way colder than it should be. my electronic gauge which i don't trust all that well said about 145F after driving for less than 10 minutes. I have an 87C t-stat in the coolant because i plan on driving it up some mountains in August granted its done giving me heck by then. I have a 90C (or a 93C) for the winter.

I topped up the oil as it must have filled the cooler by this point (it was only just touching the dip stick!!!) and drove to my apartment. All went well and the next day i went to pick up my friend to go for a hike with my 2 other buddies. but on our way to location #3 it started to sound really really messed up when ever i gave it fuel...
like an exteremely loud tapping sound and it got progressively worse as i approached my parents house (where the garage & tools are).
I think the turbo has become out of balance. Does this sound right? when i down shift and it revs up there is no noise but when ever i give it fuel it sounds just awful...

I dont think it is advanced timing because i can't hear anything on idle and because this change happened while driving.

Should I go get my turbine balanced or do you, to collective mind that is this forum, reckon it's already hooped if it was doing that...
i haven't 100% confirmed its coming from the turbo but its all I can think of.

[Rabbit on Roids]

the oil really never gets that hot in these engines..

[Smokey Eddy]

is 140F hot?
Im pretty sure that gauge is wrong but on hard pulls with the 1.6 it would read as high as 185 on the gauge.
So regardless of whether or not the gauge is right or wrong its a 40F decrease. And i know that oil doesn't really work properly until it's reached a certain temperature.
The main purpose of the cooler is to prolong the life of any turbo i put on there because I know i'll be pushing it and prevent cooking of the oil while it's in the turbo.

[Rabbit on Roids]

140* or so is all i really ever see.. unless i hold it wide going up a long hill..

[Smokey Eddy]

Interesting. So my cooler is working perfectly then? I wish i had a mechanical gauge to be sure...
140F is 60C.

that is interesting though considering it would regularily read 180 before...

[Luckypabst]

If you ran it for a few minutes with no oil then there's a good chance that tapping noise is your rod bearings.

Chris

[Vincent Waldon]

If you ran it for a few minutes with no oil then there's a good chance that tapping noise is your rod bearings.

Chris

Yeah... I've been meaning to clarify that as well...in the end Eddy did you decide it actually ran without oil pressure for a while... and if so, how long?

[Smokey Eddy]

Yes it definately ran with no oil pressure what so ever . The surfaces either had bearing grease on them or motor oil to begin with though, but i know that doesn't mean much. It ran for more like 90 seconds MAX and then stuttered to a stop indicating some seizing . My only surprise is that once it cooled and was primed properly everything spun just fine indepandantly from each other (meaning i took the belt off and spun everything by hand)

I have since then primed it properly and drove it a few kms (>10km) before it started to make any sound at all. I don't fully understand how rod or main bearings could make a tapping sound though? they are circular... and would i not hear it on idle if it were?

after i primed it up really good everything was easy to turn, no scary sounds no hard spots, TONS of compression. starts right up no stuttering on the starter despite it's horrible condition (rusty connection on the solenoid)

Pretty high chance i ruined everything though isn't it ... =*(

[Smokey Eddy]

Perhaps I should get back in touch with theman53 and see if i can get some rod & main bolts from him that won't yield when torqued and take all the caps off and inspect the bearings for excessive wear/spinning?

Do you think it is imperative that I do this?

[Vincent Waldon]

It ran for more like 90 seconds MAX and then stuttered to a stop indicating some seizing

It stopped and then was difficult to turn over manually, if I read your thread correctly?  If it had ran for a couple of minutes with no oil but stopped and started normally I'd say you escaped injury, but to stop abruptly and now have some tapping noises suggests something's amiss.

The "tapping" sound comes from a moving component... rod, crank, piston... "slapping" against a bearing surface with too much clearance.  Main bearings generally have a deep clunk, if they make any noise at all, since there's not much flex in a crank... as Chris points out "tapping" is almost always rod bearings in this case.. and if your hearing's good/you have a stethoscope you might even be able to narrow it down to a cylinder or two.

Assuming you intend this engine to be with you for a while.... for the cost of some more stretch-to-yield hardware you can consider pulling the oil pan and then inspecting and Plastigaging the rod bearings.  If you find something you can then replace the rod bearings... if not, you could move on to check the mains. In fact, if the rod bearings took a hit you might want to check the mains anyways, just to be sure.  Couple hours extra work... perhaps years of peace-of-mind?  ;-)

[Rabbit on Roids]

i would pull the caps off everything. it was starved for oil. or do you wanna find out that your rod bearings were bad like the last engine?

[745 turbogreasel]

This is a continuation of my build progress, please still reply to the vacuum pump question.

It seems to me you could use an inline check valve from another car, and just leave the dead one in place?