Engine that's been sitting

[ORCoaster]

Electronic Gremlins are the worst kind.  Those need two bells hanging to get rid of them. 

[RunninWild]

Yeah I have a feeling I'm going to end up having to replace 90% of my trucks wiring. Not looking forward to it 😢. Its 30 years old though so it's due for an upgrade.

[air-cooled or diesel]

so let me ask 1 basic thing, as you i think say use a gm alt? but for a vw you have exciter wire hooked up and 'idiot light' is on when you switch key on(at first), right, and light now goes out when you start motor, you may have to rev it up some to get light to go out.?.

[RunninWild]

No the light goes out as soon as the engine starts up.

I'm kind of on a new path of thought as I don't think the wiring would just suddenly cause an issue like this when I happened to swap the engine.

I'm currently running a single v belt between my crank, wp and alt. To clear the steering box the alt was relocated to the opposite side of the engine. Because of this the belt has limited contact on the crank.
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/attachments/suzuki-sidekick-escudo-vitara-geo-x/60537d1453419494-diesel-tracker-belt1.jpg this pic isn't my setup, it's actually of a serpentine belt setup but shows the lack of contact on the crank.

Do you think it's possible for the belt to be partially slipping from the load on the alternator but not make any obvious noises?  I think this could explain how it puts out 14.4v disconnected from the battery when it has 0 load, but once it has to try and charge the battery the belt speed slows down causing the output to fail? I'm thinking it's making enough power to turn off the dash light but not enough to get above battery voltage.

Think I'm going to try and over tension the belt and see if it helps. I'm kind of thinking I would get a more obvious sign if the belt was slipping, either noise or some output at higher rpm

[air-cooled or diesel]

if a picture is worth a thousand words your pic's word is slippage, your running at about 1/2 min to 1/3 of what you need to drive that belt, and your alt has more drive needs than that water pump so its the one thats failing. the problem is right there at the crank pulley/ belt drive area.

[RunninWild]

Shouldn't it make noise though? I can physically see the alternator spinnng. I'm thinking it's acting more like a brake and causing the belt to slip on the crank. The belt is tensioned fairly well between the wp and the alt so it would make sense to be slipping on the small surface area of the crank.

Got held up So not at the truck just yet. Probably swing by in the next hour or 2. Really hoping its the cheap/easy fix. Upgrading to a serp setup wasn't my first choice but is Probably my best option if this is what is actually happening.

[RunninWild]

So tightening the belt did nothing.

Now I've got a new issue. When playing with the belt tension and the engine idling I noticed the truck was struggling to idle a bit and It eventually stalled. Start it back up and it dies again after a few seconds and I hear quite a bit of suction coming from the intake to the turbo. Its like it's starving for air or something.

I'm getting steam or oil vapour from the breather tube

So now it starts and dies almost instantly. Giving it throttle let's it go a slight amount longer then cuts out. Fuel lines look fine.

What the hell did I do to this thing now. I seriously am close to giving up on it.

Uploading a video as we speak

[RunninWild]

Omg I'm such an idiot! I ran it out of oil!

The good news is It starts and idles fine, smoke is gone and no more steam from the breather hose. I filled in 2.75 quarts and my dipstick is broken so I think it's reading low in the pan too! I guess the turbo wasn't getting any oil and the blades were spinning freely overboosting and learning out the engine. The bad news is how much damage did i just do to my poor engine and turbo 😢. I really shouldn't have nice things I'm such a tool. Hopefully the engine doesn't crap out in a few weeks now.

So turns out it was just the belt slipping. I had to get it practically as tight as I could make it and now it's putting out 13.8v. Such a dickaround! Just glad it's finally resolved.

Now I just need to deal with that oil leak and it should be good to drive.

Anyone know the part number or what vehicles i should look at to grab a serp pulley for the water pump?

[ORCoaster]

I can only read and think, Dipstick.  Get a new one and stop punishing this engine.  The forum will love ya for it.  Hope this finally works out for good.  How many problems can one vehicle incur? 

[RunninWild]

Haha I got the new dipstick as well as a new oil filter housing gasket. I have an inconsistent leak either in the housing or the oil cooler gasket. Sometimes it's fine other time it pours out. I though I had fixed it with the oil cooler gasket but I guess not. It just have dumped all the oil when I was messing with the alt yesterday. Will fix that tomorrow.

Yes this vehicle has been one headache after another. I hope I've worked through the majority of the problems and I can start putting more effort into tuning it and a lift kit and actually enjoying it!

[mtrans]

how it puts out 14.4v disconnected from the battery when it has 0 load,

I hope that you turn on light,vent etc.
If didn`t you can ruin diode in alt.

[RunninWild]

Just did my first test drive.

What is operating temperature? While driving around it seemed to be hovering around 195-200f. The rad and the lower rad hose were staying cool at this point. I did have some steam coming from the hood though. Dunno if that's just crap burning off. Also curious what temperature I should have my fans turn on and off at? Its rush hour now, once it quiets down a bit I might do a highway run and see how it handles. Turbo lag sucks with the k24 though 😢

[ORCoaster]

Sounds like you have an 87 degree C stat in there.  They are available from 60 to 92 degree range.  So depending on where you are located you throw in a lower temp where it is hot and a higher one in where it is cold.  That way you have heat sooner when you need it and cooling when you need it. 

I run an 82 degree one myself. 

On the fans I have on my Ford I have that relay set for about 170 as it is a 192 degree F stat.  I like the fans to come on sooner than later as they cool the engine some then cycle off for awhile.

Kind of depends on your driving route, traffic and climate.  Sounds like you have city driving to do so I would be cycling fans on early when in traffic,  Why have all that hot under the hood and at your feet?  Once on the highway you are pumping air in there at a much higher rate so the fan may cycle on and off but with a longer interval.

Diesels do seem to like hot better than cold so remember that.  Don't run them to cold. 

[RunninWild]

They way it's setup now the fans come on at 180 so they are on practically the entire time. Once the temp gets up to 190-200f it doesn't really drop below that point despite the rad and lower hose being cool to the touch. I'm assuming this isn't normal behavior?

Right now it's running really good but my egt temps are high when I hammer the throttle so I need to dial back my fuel screw a bit until I can get an intercooler and up my boost. Also need a boost gauge as my maf sensor doesn't seem to be working with my engine management unit. How much boost would be sensible for a k24 without an intercooler?

My oil pressure switch also keeps tripping at idle once the engine is warmed up. If I increase the engine speed even slightly it turns off. Do I just need to up my idle or is this a cause for concern?

I still think I'm having overheating issues on long climbs on the highway. I was just taking a huge hill and my egt temps were through the roof at the coolant temp was getting pretty high when I heard a loud bang! First thought was I blew the engine but then I realized it was just one of my tires that exploded!

Lucky I was going up hill. If I was heading down I probably would have rolled the truck!

[ORCoaster]

Sounds to me you need to drop down to a lower temp thermostat and then drop the fan on temp too.  But first I would be flushing the rad and cooling system.  It may be keeping the whole thing from working correctly. 

I am starting to question the worthiness of this piece on the road.  Maybe it shouldn't be there?