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Thanks guys for the input... its now becoming clear what the build plan will be...
1) Tensioner & belt (17% pulley swap, current is 15% Alta)
2) Address cooling problems to address excessive CTs
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Establish a baseline of what CTs are on my car (currently only have 1 log which was a "baby it" log so no real CT #'s)
Remove ECU out of fan control circuit & install new fan controller to kick fans on at a TBD temp (most likely 205*f, already have a controller setup for this, just needs to be packaged for the Mini... Was intended for the Ram)
Attempt to improve airflow into the engine compartment (new grill set is on the way & may be here today, upper bumper grill is blocked by design, hoping the new insert flows air)
Wrap fuel rail & insulate any metal fuel lines in proximity to exhaust
Attempt to divert outflow of air off the CAC off the head & intake manifold (this will probably cause headaches come plug swap time, will need to find the right solution)
Exhaust blanket/shield
Examine usage of drawing engine compartment air out from below (need to improve in-flow to the engine compartment as well... which looks to be a pretty tough task)
Investigate expanding the cooling system capacity
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3) Fix all gaskets and o-ring possible w/o engine teardown
4) Re-evaluate plan once #2 & 3 are complete
It appears to me the reason there are so many o-ring & gasket failures on the R53 motor is the excessive heat being generated and not managed. That excessive heat shortens the life of the soft materials (o-rings & gaskets) so it does not surprise me that they leak. Engine temps should not exceed 205~210*f under the worst street conditions with the 195*f stat in there, so that's the CT goal.
When do I get started??? Gotta finish the shed roof first, then clean out the garage into the shed, probably in the 3~4 weeks from now time frame. Once that is done then the door is open to dive into it (trust me, I want to jump into it now but priorities...)
If anyone has read any threads on previous attempts to drop engine compartment temps let me know and I'll go search for it... I assume its all been done before on this car.
that pic makes it looked blocked half way across from PS of grill. If the pieces are removable, could mod them and collect the high pressure air flow at that point to help in cooling the engine compartment.
that pic makes it looked blocked half way across from PS of grill. If the pieces are removable, could mod them and collect the high pressure air flow at that point to help in cooling the engine compartment.
The opening in the lower grill is symmetrical. You can see where the opening starts on the DS if you zoom in. It's the same on the PS, starting approximately where the light shines on the chrome trim on the PS in that photo. In theory you could increase the opening across the entire grill, but you will likely weaken the structural integrity without much gain, as the area behind the blocked portion is blocked as well. The opening lines up with the cooler and radiator behind it.
Just my 2 cents, if you're going to replace the tensioner, and also planning on doing the crank pulley at some point, I'd do them at the same time. I had to put the car into front end service mode to get the tensioner out of the car, but if you have the crank pulley off, it'll slide right out.
My other advice is to find some of the plastic rivet things on amazon. I think I got 50 for $10. that way when you inevitably strip one or all of them trying to remove the fender liner, you can just replace them with new ones.
Ok, swapped out the plastic t-stat housing for an aluminum one, put in a new t-stat with a small bleed hole I drilled. Motor now runs at 190~195, which is acceptable with the 195*f stat thats in there.
One thing remains, after a drive & at idle, temps climb up into the 210ish range consistently. It did this with the old stat (212~214 actually) and continues with this stat. As a test I brought RPMs up some for about 30~45 seconds to see if temps started dropping and they did.
So a question I have is, is this normal for this motor?
Is that a sign of a water pump going bad? (15% pulley)
Next issue... BPV not functioning correctly... zip tied it shut and took it for a spirited drive, saw 14~15 psi of boost at times, then it tossed a code. Researched the code and most users pointed to the BPV not working so the two link. Now after the t-stat swap the max boost I see is 10. So, I need a BPV and will most likely get a DT one unless someone convinces me otherwise. But, now I have an opportunity to play with an additional spring on the control arm. Made up a solid wire loop (I think this stuff is for picture hanging, its pretty stiff and it takes pliers to form it the way I want it) and bought several springs to test with and will be doing this in the next few days. 3/4 springs have a load rating ranging from 2#-4#, have no idea if they are too weak or too strong, will test it out and see how it does.
Along with the BPV spring experiment, next week I will be tossing in the $35 cheapie lower mount with the insert and wrapping the fuel rail... (tape in hand).
Good stuff. For us in the Salt Zone, look at the hard brake lines. I just replaced the left rear hard line - from just past the left front wheel to the caliper. I used copper line, the steel coated ones can't take the salt.
One thing remains, after a drive & at idle, temps climb up into the 210ish range consistently. It did this with the old stat (212~214 actually) and continues with this stat. As a test I brought RPMs up some for about 30~45 seconds to see if temps started dropping and they did.
So a question I have is, is this normal for this motor?
Is that a sign of a water pump going bad? (15% pulley)
Mine does this too if I'm not running the A/C. If the A/C is off the low speed fan doesn't kick on until something like 220°F. If I have the A/C on, it stays at a pretty constant 194 because the low speed fan is on. So I'm pretty sure that it's normal.
Thanks for the confirmation! I think one of the next things to consider is supplemental control over the cooling fan while stationary, thinking a sail switch on a relay to engage the low speed setting on the relay with a timer. I use these on the Ram, one for the stereo and the other is still yet to be used and is a 10 A version... I bet there is a way to program it to not be enabled until after the motor is running for an extended period of time... say 3~5 minutes, then keep the output on for 1 minute to engage the low speed.
The goal there is to keep the motor from heat soaking like it does which should extend the life of all of the o-rings & gaskets that are failing. Seems like its very common for every mini S engine to start bleeding oil from the o-rings & gaskets. The excessive heat on the shut down events will shorten the life of all of those soft parts.
The tuner is going to be me... that would be awesome if that control is there. Do you know if the Bytetronk s/w allows for this change? (they are unresponsive in their thread)
Anxious to see what you will choose instead (and why)
Ultimately I want to make my own box and put a boost controlled exhaust dump on it (one of these https://proflowexhaust.com/products/...=6854808207422) , additionally it needs a port to draw air across the FC core... It also needs to fit an AFE Proguard 7 filter that can be accessed from a cover on the top of the box. Link below to an example, that however is not the PG7 media, would be a custom sized filter.
Oh and to answer the unasked question on the boost controlled exhaust dump mod... I have an electric version on the Ram's air box and open it when I want more flow, what it does when open is drop the low end torque (1000-2000) noticeably and bump up the mid range power noticeably (2000-3000 rpms). I have no idea how this will work on a gasser so the plan is to find out first hand.
an update... crank pulley is on, new timing cover gasket set is on, belt + tensioner for the 17% pulley is installed. motor runs good but not quite what i expected. seems down on power compared to the previous setup. the on board mpg lie-o-meter says i am at 20.* so i think i may have popped off a vacuum line to the manifold again, or now i have a leak. the service engine soon lite came on yeaterday, no codes read with it. grrrr
Double check the vacuum line, if it still feels slow, then maybe consider mapping it?
When I fitted the ATI 2%, I also thought it was slower, but there is a major difference in the way the power is delivered with the ATI (much smoother).
