What have you done to your car today?

[iaind]

It's been about 10-12c here for ages!

Really regretting not chucking my F1 Assymetric 2's for some Winter tyres. Not

Cars are starting to ice up outside at the moment, it's freezing out! 10ish during the day, still too warm for air con

 

[scratch]

Well it rained last night so I didn't bother cleaning the car after all today. I did fit the chrome indicator bulbs though which has made the light clusters look so much better.

Also had to remove the new ballasts I fitted yesterday as they were causing the HID bulbs to flicker. Complained to the company I bought them from and they've given me a full refund and allowed me to keep both sets of ballasts I've refitted the original ballasts, which only play up now and then (and only require an off-on of the ignition to get them going again) which I can deal with.

 

[Matt82]

it was 10 or 11 C whenever i went out side today

 

[Matt82]

minimum over night tonight is 9C according to the BBC, in fact i might go out for a drive now

 

[iaind]

5 degrees here ATM with lows of 3 overnight

 

[Brookert]

i know this feeling, in the end my leak was a small hose from the intercooler to the inlet manifold that had been catching the fan.

It's infuriating. I can hear it, like a very quiet hiss, and it must be something coming off the manifold.

Just use water in a spray bottle instead, the engine will bog down instead of revving higher.

My problem is, my idle is so lumpy, I can't tell when it has changed anyway, the leak seems to be inconsistent. Vag com is telling me it is in additive trim at idle, so something isn't right.

 

[[TW]Fox]

5 degrees here ATM with lows of 3 overnight

Lows of 9 here and I am barely 40 miles from you...

 

[Hades]

I cleared out the garage and wheeled in my new Halfords Industrial tool chests.

 

[Matt82]

It's infuriating. I can hear it, like a very quiet hiss, and it must be something coming off the manifold.



My problem is, my idle is so lumpy, I can't tell when it has changed anyway, the leak seems to be inconsistent. Vag com is telling me it is in additive trim at idle, so something isn't right.

what car/engine is it? there cant be that much vacuum system on it surely?

 

[Brookert]

Its an Audi tt. My two thoughts and either air leaks at idle, or something to do with the pcv system, maybe the valve is blocked or broken or something

 

[Matt82]

excellent, what are the symptoms?

poor idle, lumpy, easy to stall, hesitations when going on throttle are signs of unmetered air getting in, ie leak after maf but before throttle

best place to look is the pcv valve, fastest way to check is disconnect pcv from turbo intake pipe, clamp the pcv hose that connects to the inlet manifold, wipe pcv clean and then blow into it. it should be air tight

the pcv hose on the intake manifold is mega common to be burst.

as for the vacuum system, it is very easy to simplify. you have two vac nipples and you want them to run the dv, fuel pressure reg and n112 valve. you need new silicon vac hose and a t peice and youll never have to worry about the vac system again

 

[Brookert]

Well the idle isn't reaching the target of 800, always just below it, and it fluctuates by 20-50 rpm around 720ish. You can feel a miss sometimes at idle. Vacuum (according to vag com) is fluctuating a lot. The only thing against a vac leak is the fuel trim at idle, which was a negative number, around -1.5%

Pcv might not be right as the gaskets are looking a bit weepy on top. There's enough pressure at idle to push oil out onto the exhaust manifold and smoke a little. doesn't happen when your driving though.

You can tell something isn't right at idle. Throttle body is constantly changing at idle, and I've cleaned it so you can eat your dinner off it! The only other factor might be the injector seals, as number 2 injector looks like its leaking a tad, although not enough to cause a rpm change with some carb cleaner spray.

 

[Howard]

End result. I am cleaner than my car.

Does that not happen often then?

Cars are starting to ice up outside at the moment, it's freezing out! 10ish during the day, still too warm for air con

It's lovely (well, "lovely") and mild here. No where near freezing and I hope it stays that way.




My Conti SC5s have bedded in nicely, and I have my car booked in for a 4 wheel Hunter laser alignment this coming Saturday.

 

[MatteH Oxford]

If the pcv valve is referring to some sort of crankcase pressure valve, if it's broken then you will get either suction or air blowing out of the oil filler cap with the engine running and the cap removed (rather harshly, a little bit is normal).

Well the idle isn't reaching the target of 800, always just below it

You have checked the more obvious like the brake booster pipe and engine breathers?. If you can't find it by using the water method (you must have a pretty big leak for the idle to be that rough!) you'll have to strip the hose & pipe bits down, then examine them all one by one unfortunately

 

[shauncr91]

Previous owner changed all the speakers for uprated Alpine ones but did an appalling job on the installation so they rattled when turned up loud. Spent 2 hrs this morning tearing the interior apart to get at them and re-seated them all, no more buzzing

 

[Geeman1979]

Topped the car up with oil this morning. Was lower than I expected.

 

[GTAMADDOG]

Weekly tyre check. One was 3PSI below what it should be, but I know it has got a slow leak so all is normal.. apart from the fact that the tyre shouldn't leak

Hoovered and washed the car. Topped up the windscreen wash. Put the car back in the garage.

No doubt the car will be dirty again after two miles tomorrow morning, but it's always nice to open the garage on a depressing Monday morning and see the car sat there all shiny.

 

[Brookert]

If the pcv valve is referring to some sort of crankcase pressure valve, if it's broken then you will get either suction or air blowing out of the oil filler cap with the engine running and the cap removed (rather harshly, a little bit is normal).



You have checked the more obvious like the brake booster pipe and engine breathers?. If you can't find it by using the water method (you must have a pretty big leak for the idle to be that rough!) you'll have to strip the hose & pipe bits down, then examine them all one by one unfortunately

It seems like air is entering from the tip into the valve cover, when I pinch the breather tube then let go, the engine will nearly stall, so air must be moving roughly in the right direction. Theres no suction on the cap, but there's enough force to blow it off if its loose, but I assume this is because its easier for the air to leave through the oil filler cap than through the pcv valve. with the cap off

The only other thing I've noticed is it gets worse with temperature. Disconnecting the maf does nothing, so I can't be unmetered air. This is one of those annoying problems that I will probably never get to the bottom of!

 

[Matt82]

servo vacuum is unlikely, ime they last well

to simplify it, disconnect the pcv from the tip and blank the hole in the tip.... in fact, there is no point, just to what i said up there, blow in there and youll hear if there is a leak

 

[Brookert]

servo vacuum is unlikely, ime they last well

to simplify it, disconnect the pcv from the tip and blank the hole in the tip.... in fact, there is no point, just to what i said up there, blow in there and youll hear if there is a leak

Will do. I'm servicing the car tomorrow, so I'll have it up on ramps with the undertray off. Replacing the front discs tomorrow aswell, as the moron of a previous owner put new pads on them, after an mot which advised the discs were scored!

New pads on old scored nearly at wear limit disc = genius