Engine out....

[mopho]

So in case you have not heard, my car took a bit of a shit'r the other day. Doug and I were trying to solve my sticking throttle and a slight hesitation. I went for a test drive around the block to see if we solved the problems, as I approached a stoplight, I heard some loud clanking, then some screeching and then the engine stopped running.
I pushed the car off the road fearing the engine seized. Doug showed up and we tried to restart the car. At first it started right up and was fine, but then we gave it some revs and it did the same thing and stopped. Smoke was coming out of the bellhousing.
We towed the car back to Doug's place and took the starter motor and the sump off. We found some aluminum shavings and a chunk of unknown metal at the bottom of the bellhousing. Seems whatever this metal was was grinding up against the flywheel, which appears to be the cause of the alum. shavings.

So it was decided to take the engine out to try and determine where the piece came from, and to be better safe than sorry.

We spent the next couple of evenings removing all the bits from the engine and getting it ready to come out.

Today, Doug, myself and Chris "the best moose somethingerather" pulled the engine out. Strangely, we found nothing to be the source of the metal or anything broken inside. :confused:
I was both relieved that I was not facing a big parts bill and disappointed that we did not find anything and it is a mystery as to how that chunk of metal got in there or if this problem is truly solved.
We decided to replace the clutch with a new spare that Doug had as a precaution and we put it all back together and the engine is now back in.
Still have all the bits to put back on and I will hopefully be back on the road in a couple of days.
I swear I must be cursed or something to have all these problems :rolleyes:

Here is a link to a post Doug made in the other thread with pics of the metal, perhaps a mod can move the post here.

HUGE thanks to Doug as I was an engine out virgin and I would have been screwed if not for his knowledge, help and vast array of tools


Here is some pics:











A few more here

[breezy7]

Did you look at the starter? Is it missing any teeth? Maybe it did not disengage, if it was still connected tt the engine it would burn up pretty quick accounting for the smoke from the bellhousing. Mike

[mopho]

Starter appears to be fine, no teeth missing either

[Doug Liedblad]

I took the starter apart Sunday, nothing obviously broken or missing.

Morgan has a spare that we'll compare it to as well.

[Mondo]

Man, sorry to hear about all the problems you've been having since you got it... at least you got some good people around to give you a hand.

[mopho]

It runs!!! :D Few more minor things to finish up before its back on the road, but ran out of time. Should be done on Monday. Would have had it done today if not for the traffic from the big accident on the 405 that I got caught up in today for over 2 hours.

[moosetestbestanden]

Good on you Morgan. Here's hoping the f***ing Gremlin that's been haunting your 2 fun cars died in the bellhousing, ground up to dust.

The moosetestbestanden story's been told. However, since you're (relatively) new around here, and because you're in the biz....

Many years ago the Sveeedish motor press was testing the shiny new A class Mercedes. They have a standard swerving cone thing as part of their test procedure, aptly named (because of the conditions in which they drive) 'The Moose Test'. Well, when they ran the little Merz thru it the bugger rolled, categorically failing.

Now in Der Vaterland this was A BIG DEAL, particularly in the car mags, because MB cars simply don't do this. During the kerfuffel some wags got the idea of printing one of those Euro Oval stickers, like those seen on so many cars there, w/ a drawing of a moose on it and the phrase 'Moose Test Bestanden'. The word bestanden in this context means 'passed' or 'proofed'.

A car wearing such a sticker did 2 things: it (self) proclaimed that the car had passed the moose test, and it poked fun at MB, they of uber attitude amongst German car manufacturers, or so say my Bayerische friends at BMW anyway.:D

I happened to be traveling in Germany at the time and I found the whole thing very amusing. I also found one of those bumper stickers at an Autobahn gas station; they're just like ours, full of cheesy souvenir schlock stuff. I have an affinity for those types of things (as seen on TV!) if they're funny, and so I promptly slapped it on the back of the E36 M3 that I had picked up via BMW's excellent Euro delivery program. The sticker remains there to this day, somewhat worse for wear but still legible.

Thus, moosetestbestanden, a forum handle appropriate for a Caterham car board, except perhaps for its German-ness I suppose.:D

[mopho]

Ahhh, the moosetestbestanden riddle solved. Still easier to just refer to you as the "moose guy" :p


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Well got the Seven home, but not without some drama before I left: As I was about to take off, it turned out the initial problem of the light throttle hesitation the car was having when I arrived at Dougs place had become worse. After plugging the car into the computer it seemed that perhaps the TPS was bad. Doug did some current testing on Gerts suggestion, and with some more consulting with Magnus, it was discovered that the TPS connector was the culprit. A bit of soldering and I was on my way.
I was a bit nervous to immediately do a 50+ mile drive home in the car after everything we took apart and with just a quick drive around the block as a test, and especially in the dark, but Doug gave me a shove out of the nest like a pappa bird (I am sure he was sick of seeing me), so I took a deep breath and away I went into the darkness.

What an F'n glorious drive home!! :D

And now tucked away back in the garage next to it's older sibling that also likes to break :cool:

[Doug Liedblad]

Morgan still has the sticking throttle issue which was the main reason he came to my house in the first place.

It seems to be the butterfly shafts sticking in the housings.

TWM says send them in and he'll check them out. Not free.

Pay him says I.

Doug

[slomove]

If you google for ......"TWM throttle body" sticking......you find a few message board posts that mention problems to return the butterflies especially when hot. May be related to a weak return spring. Some recipes are silicon lubricant and an additional return spring.

[Doug Liedblad]

One of the things we did was clean them very well and reinstall on the car.

Still sticking, we could duplicate the sticking with the cable disconnected so it 'must' be the linkage or butterflys.

Next we started adding lube to the various moving bits of the throttle bodies. When we lubed the butterfly shafts we saw some improvement. More lube, more improvement but only temporary as they were sticking again by they time he got home. There is a plastic bushing at each end of the shaft. Replacing the top is easy, the bottom not. Let TWM do it.

Alternative is more lube (higher temp?) and / or heavier springs. TWM can supply them.

[GWise]

Doug,

What lube were you using?

I know you disconnected the cable, but could it be the way the linkage is mounted that's causing the stick?

I would suspect that the plastic bushing has worn/creeped. Depending on the shaft material and availability, I'd look at using brass bushings.

[Doug Liedblad]

We tried various lubes, nothing special, some helped for awhile but the sticking returned.

The problem with replacing the bushings is that you have to completely disassemble the linkage, shafts, butterflys etc. Then reassemble, adjust the linkage, be sure the tiny screws holding the butterflys to the shafts are secure so they don't fall out and get sucked into the cylinder.

As TWM offers this as a service I thought it best to let them do it.

Any other linkage that might be causing the sticking is part of the TWM package.

Doug

[GWise]

We tried various lubes, nothing special, some helped for awhile but the sticking returned.

The problem with replacing the bushings is that you have to completely disassemble the linkage, shafts, butterflys etc. Then reassemble, adjust the linkage, be sure the tiny screws holding the butterflys to the shafts are secure so they don't fall out and get sucked into the cylinder.

As TWM offers this as a service I thought it best to let them do it.

Any other linkage that might be causing the sticking is part of the TWM package.

Doug

I see. Good luck morgan! I would ask if they can replace those plastic bushings with something else.

This was the lubricant I was going to suggest:

http://www.amazon.com/Wurth-HHS-2000-Penetrating-Temperature-Lubricant/dp/B0002XRDLE/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1246333875&sr=8-14

Wurth makes awesome stuff. I would argue it's a better option than common lubricants such as Tri-flow, wd40, lithium gease or silicone based lubricants.