THE FRONT OF THE CAR!!!

I have finally succumbed to common sense.:o



click here to see the process...
http://www.geocities.com/peterwood7311/buggyproject/buggyproject16.html 


[ Edited on 10-4-07 by pete wood ]

They're a bit s l o w down there in Blacktown........'bout time:P

I might be slow, but at least I don't play the banjo with all SIX fingers.

Now I'm off to steal some broken washing machines...which reminds me. Someone graffitied my letter box this morning! And he couldn't spell either. Wrote "TRID". I think he meant "trip". That's how slow they are round here! What is the world coming too?

now youll just have to be carefull that you dont come down too hard on the front in case the radiator hits

nope, the beam will bit the ground before the radiator does.

Yeah, but what about all sand, dirt, rocks and stuff, when the beam digs into the ground.

don't worry, it will be getting a bash plate underneath it to prevent them getting in. Also, I'l be putting some panels on the sides to stop things being flung in behind the radiator by the front wheels.

a number of people on here have radiators in the front of the buggies. more still have radiators UNDER their buses and they have no dramas.

Its really cleaned up the back end...plus a few more kgs in the front which can't be a bad thing. Good move!

That looks much better Pete I bet it even works too!

With the radiator and ducting on the back and the decklid covering it there was 20kg of weight at the furthest rear point of the car. That was without the water, which I estimate at another 5kg or so. That weight is now forward of the front beam by 2 inchs. So yes I'm looking forward to an improvement in handling. Next up the battery will move forward as well. Probably into the passenger side footwell. that should help balance 97kg of driver on the other side of the car. I really need to do some more bike riding and drink less Corona. :o

next question....

How cool is safe?

the new setup works so well that it won't warm up properly. Even today (26deg outside) sitting in traffic, it only got up over 75deg once and when we got going it went back down to 70 and stayed there. On friday, I drove along the M4 for 10 minutes at 90km/h in 3rd gear @ 4000rpm and it struggled to get up to 70degs.

So How can I get it to warm up?

I don't mind it running cool, but I worry about the oil working properly at such a low temp.

Just so you know, the thermostat is rated at 76deg and now has a 8mm hole where the flipper valve was.

Ay ideas? Should I run different oil? Do I need a hotter thermostat? Is 65deg ok for long periods?

[ Edited on 12-4-07 by pete wood ]

Hi Peter

Do you have an oil temp gauge? Cool oil is the motor killer. Maybe you need to go back to a undrilled stock thermostat. I had very small hole in my WBX one to help prevent airlocks, much smaller than 8 mm. So pull thermostat out and put a pop rivet in the hole that you have, then drill the smallest hole that you can manageand try that.

Failing this you could try blanking some off the radiator face off after you have finished making the bash panels etc.

Steve

I don't have an oil temp guage. how small was the hole in your old thermostat?

Brad normally advises a bigger than normal hole to assist with bleeding the air out of the system with the front radiator set-up, 8mm or smaller hole.

Where is the temp sender? Is it the normal EJ unit?

What thermostat does it have? Did you put a cooler thermostat in it when you had the overheating problems?

When you let it sit and idle, does the thermo come on?

If the thermo doesn't come on I will be amazed. Sitting still the thermo should eventually come on. It takes a while for it to come on in my car, but it will always come on.

What temp does the thermo come on?

Is your heater loop open or closed?

Usually things don't work for weird reasons.

76 deg is pretty cool, mine is 82deg (although not a suby). 76 is what it is going to try to keep the water temp at.

I would be suprised if you could overcool a car using the water flowing through an 8mm hole. Was the thermostat gasket still ok, you didn't damage it in the drilling process?

The other option is the gauge or sending is playing up. Terry's car said it was overheating at one stage, but it was just a dodgy gauge / sender. Your guage could have always been reading 10 degrees low (meaning it used to be really hot).

It may be something weird and unexpected. Just yesterday I saw a car that had an alternator that wouldn't work. It turned out the powder coated alternator brackets were preventing the alternator from earthing to the engine block....

[ Edited on 10-4-2007 by Baja Wes ]

I've got a mate who's a fridgy who's got a special laser thingo, I'll borrow that and test it with that, but the pipes don't feel very hot either, so I think the guage is right.

New thermostat time I think.

If you replace the thermostat.....use a GENUINE one and make sure it is installed the right way...the wax goes to the inside closest to the recirculation/bypass line.

ok mate, I think it's installed that way at the mo. can't sure if it's a genuine one though.

if you use an IR gun to measure the temp (or other surface method) just remember the water temp will be hotter than any outer surface temps.

Aluminium conducts quite well so the outside temp will be similar but still slightly colder than the water inside. Rubber hoses will be colder on the outside.

just drive it harder, and rev the ring out of it:P

An 8mm hole in ther thermostat will effectively render it useless, you may as well not have one! Get a stock one back in and let it do it's job of controlling the engine temperature.. If you need better bleeding do it some other way, with extra bleeds or something..
Rich

I could go on and babble useless information,but I wont:alien. Pete,get the 82 degree one as Brad has said.You don't run A/C and excessive loads so the cooler thermostat isn't required. When my Kombi was converted it had been installed with both an outlet temperature sender of the water returning to the radiator and an inlet temperature sender,the water returning to MAINTAIN the engine temperature,from the radiator. The difference between the 2 temperatures,when hot and at operating temperature was about 10 degrees. I also had an 8mm hole in my genuine thermostat and had no dramas. With your setup,now being more efficient than it previously was I would do as has been suggested, a new hotter thermostat. My buggy has an 8mm hole in the thermostat as well...and it heats up fine:P Aren't you glad I didn't babble on...:jesus
ElusiveStranger....the chart doesn't factor in wheel spin...... do you really drive at under 100kmh?????? Strange...:beer



[ Edited on 12-4-07 by MickH ]

the 2002 N/A is an OBD2 so the ECU has muliple settings for the thermo fan. Most OBD1 EJ's like Pete's only have one setting, although some of them have two, usually when you mod the loom you join them togeather so they both turn the fan on although only the lower 85 deg one is really used.

From what I have read / played with they VSS has no input on the OBD1's. The OBD2's are heaps cooler and have a lot more adjustment compaired to the OBD1/

To whom it may concern,

I owe Brad a massive apology. I have inadvertantly made him look like an idiot when he was only trying to help me with his experience and expertize.

I publicly ask brad's forgiveness. I'm very sorry his advice and my comments were taken out of context and that his business has been brought into a bad light because of this. I have had nothing but positive experiences with COR and I rang him for his advice precisely because of this.

To all the guys arguing with him, please stop. He has built lots of EJ powered cars and has hours of experience.

I don't know exactly why my car is not warming up as intended, but whatever the problem is, it's not Brad's fault.

I think the problem has to do with lower temps in Sydney and an extra long heater circuit in my car.

Again, I say, Brad please accept my sincerest apologies.

Pete :blush