₦airaland Forum

I don't know what you use your vehicle for and why you want to upgrade but note that even the 2006 model is not a fuel economical car.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562.

Some BMW cooling systems that operates as stock have coolant temperature as high as around 110 degree Celsius. That's higher temperature and pressure.

With poor cooling system maintenance, chances of leak increase.

BMW recommends periodic Preventive maintenance of it's cooling system components.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562.

If proper maintenance of using coolant solution and replacing the coolant and Thermostat periodically cannot be followed, REMOVE THE THERMOSTAT to protect the engine from catastrophic failure as a result of overheat. The effect is that it will take more time to reach operating temperature. The engine can also over cool during highway driving in a cold weather even in Nigeria as the natural air passing through the radiator will be over sufficient for the cooling and there won't be Thermostat to help in flow control.

This does not imply me saying that the use of water in place of coolant is okay.

Note that some vehicles use electronically controlled Thermostat to control flow under varying driving conditions. I advise that you must leave Thermostat in such vehicles and use coolant, though it will still work if you remove them but you will get a fault code.

Get high mileage version of recommended viscosity oil (Mobil sells) or use xW40 grade oil (like Total quartz 9000 5w40 or Mobil 0w40).
First ensure that your engine is not heavily sludged already.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk.
08030420562.

Higher Octane fuel = Higher ethanol content (20 to 40%)
Ethanol = Cleaning and disinfecting agent

Nigeria's petrol = Very poor octane rating.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk.

Tell me if this is how lecturers laugh

obekediamondfuto:
haaaaaa uncle I tot u only lecture MEE 501, are u also our GST 555 lecturer?

diportivo haba na this lecture only teaches Mechanical Engineering

Scan and post fuel trim values to isolate other issues like vacuum leak first.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562.

This is a guide to your car battery state of charge.
Note that this is for a battery without surface charge. It has been left to seat for at least 3 hours.

http://www.caraudioclassifieds.org/forum/tutorials-quick-references/37017-battery-state-charge-chart.html#/topics/37017

Nice write up. Kindly educate me on the phrase "normal use" because I am thinking that there is fraud in the use of that phase by manufacturers.

If every other thing is normally in place and I get a powertrain defect by sustaining the highest speed possible over a prolonged period, can that be considered normal use or not?

Regards.

radautoworks:
That is not a common scenario and again, that statement is not correct. The factory warranty on new vehicles only covers engine and drivetrain and only when not abused and maintenance schedule was adhered to religiously. Miss one and your factory warranty is no good. Everything else is your responsibility. Very few brands come with maintenance schedule so yes, maintenance is a big cost especially when purchasing pre-owned

The TV example is not appropriate because TV's typically have zero maintenance costs. A generator perhaps would be a better comparison.

Again, we are talking about majority of the time. There are always exceptions.

On a brand new vehicle, you would have insurance, oil changes, tires, battery, brakes, tune-up and if you're unlucky ac expenses in those first five years. That's what people don't factor into TCO and when some of these come up, you get the 'I'll let it go back' guy especially when they were already stretched by their monthly payments.

Hyundai has the longest warranty out there. Here is a link for you to see exactly what I'm talking about. I included an excerpt if you don't feel like clicking over. Warranty does not equal maintenance free. I had to explain that to each customer that bought a car back in the day.

https://www.hyundaiofcoolsprings.com/hyundai-warranty.htm

Chat me up. If you wish, I can add you to a whatsapp group in which you will learn about automobiles diagnosis and repair.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562.

Drive around town first until your temperature guage is about half, check the idle speed when transmission is on park. You may have it less than 1000.
The little vibration when AC is ON is normal in some cars if the vibration you said is what I am visualizing but make sure that your engine seats are okay.
Is it an issue that just came up? If not, and you don't have drivability issues, car is fine.

But then:

Attempt to revert your fan connection to factory mode through a competent technician as overheating might resume.

Else, scan your vehicle, watch out for misadjusted timing, faulty Throttle position sensor, integrity of AC system, compression loss.

Regards,
EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562

Apart from the battery cable (big cable) connected to your alternator, there is/are other small wire(s) connected to it. Is it 1, 2 or 3 in number?

At idle, test the output voltage of the alternator whether there is no voltage at all or there is low voltage.

If you can provide those two answers, I will know if it is a mechanical or an electrical problem.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562.

Are you having drivability issues with every non stock fuel pump, these are factors that you should look into when buying one.

1. Flow (volume)
2. Pressure
3. Voltage.

Sometimes, defective or weak fuel pumps are passed as okay simply because technician feels that the pressure is okay. As engine load/horse power demand increases, there is need for more volume of fuel. Hence, a pump that appears to have sufficient pressure may not be able to meet up with volume demand.
Ensure that the new pump meets the pressure and volume demand of the car.

Note that some pumps are volume rated at zero line pressure. When fitted into the car,
restrictions will be introduced and volume will drop.
A pump rated at 0.5 gallons per minute might become 0.4 gallons per minute. The best is to check out for pumps that has ratings like 0.5 gallons per minute at 40 psi.

The voltage at which the pressure and volume is rated is also important. Some pumps are rated at 13.5V. At periods that the alternator cannot meet up, the pressure and volume will drop. Therefore, it is better to get a pump whose pressure and volume are rated at 12 volts.

Note that in some systems, manifold vacuum is used to regulate the pressure in order to maintain same effective pressure (at the injectors). In some return less fuel supply systems, pulse width modulated power is supplied to the fuel pump to vary its output (some people get it wrong here by connecting directly to battery voltage to fix fuel pump power supply problem).

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562

ggnggroup:
[b][/b]
help.. my Nissan almera car overheats.. all fans are working and my radiator has been washed with coolant poured in as well but all to no avail as the gauge can go as high as the red part

You did not say whether Thermostat and water pump & impeller have been checked. I suspect coolant flow issue due to reduced impeller operation or bent hose but if also notice performance issues, check for exhaust blockage and monitor transmission temperature.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562

Securely jack up the drive wheels (two front or back, if it is an All wheel drive car, the four wheels) and put car on drive then reverse. Report your findings.

EngRichie
Automobile Help Desk
08030420562.

AutoElectNG:
On point...I got into the business after so-called and well-renowned expert technicians repeatedly failed to connect transmission oil cooler lines and I grenaded three transmissions in tow, so I got into root cause analysis, I went over everything, and I then got my eureka moment

Second reason why I got into this business is I couldn't quite get it why replacing a transmission should mess up with the transmission electronics, so I went into root cause analysis mode and found out negligent repair total disregard and disrespect for electrical wiring harnesses subjecting the same to stresses they were not designed for causing them to fail

Needless to say, I got all the equipment and replaced the transmission at home the next time it failed and there is no going back for me since then

I have done lots of in-depth R&R that are I have decided not to put up here....but I had to narrate this...technicians are not infallible, they make mistakes and the sooner we live with that fact and take that into cognizance in our dealings with them, the better for all concerned.

God alone knows how many have suffered and paid for the mistakes of technicians...now owner is going to pick the tab...that you can point to this as a possible cause-and-effect makes me respect you the more!

Thanks a lot. I eye your valuable contributions also especially technical analysis.
Best wishes.

The Mechanic may have mistakenly drained sufficient transmission oil before realizing but kept it to himself.
Check transmission oil level first.

I hope he remembered to connect the transmission oil cooler lines if he had to remove them and also did not cause sufficient fluid loss at that place.

EngRichie
For: Automobile Help Desk.
08030420562

The claim of better performance is true with some vehicles.

Before I begin, this performance increase is mostly noticeable when the catalytic converter already has some degree of blockage. If you have a high flow catalytic converter that is still very okay, you may not notice any performance increase.

Exhaust pressure creates what is called negative pressure waves that helps in exhaust fumes scavenging (during intake and exhaust valve overlap). This scavenging effect is very beneficial to the engine as the negative pressure created helps to pull the next intake charge (air and fuel mixture) into the combustion chamber. This can be seen as a mild turbo effect. This increases the power output of the engine.

Imagine being close to the back of a speeding car, you will feel like the car is sucking you to itself and the more the speed if the car, the more the effect you will feel. That is how high exhaust gas velocity helps to pull remaining exhaust fumes out of the cylinder

Secondly, the more restrictions that you take off from the exhaust path, the less work the piston would have to do to push exhaust gasses out thereby increasing power and fuel efficiency.

Having a restrictive catalytic converter will reduce the exhaust velocity and reduce performance.

Note that depending on exhaust design , gutting of catalytic converter can have a negative effect on some engines. For example, if you have a small capacity engine (smaller exhaust flow) with a large catalytic converter chamber, you are going to generate a high turbulence chamber that will reduce exhaust velocity thereby reducing its scavenging ability and hence poor performance. If the chamber is big enough compared to the engine size, you may even create an over-scavenging situation that will lead to very poor fuel economy as you will create a big expansion chamber that will increase exhaust flow (volume), thereby sucking out some intake charge meant for the next cycle combustion along with the exhaust fume.

There are lots more to this that I can explain if you ask further questions, for instance, reaching a compromise of exhaust velocity and exhaust flow(volume), intake/exhaust tuning, scavenging in detail and so on....

To properly delete your catalyst converter;
- Install a spacer in the post-Cat oxygen sensor position. This would trick the ECU into thinking that there is a catalytic converter there working efficiently because the sensor would be exposed to less exhaust fumes. This will avoid fuel trim correction too, for models that use post-cat oxygen sensor to adjust fuel trim.

- Install a straight pipe in place of the catalytic converter pot to reduce noise and maintain a good exhaust velocity and exhaust flow.

Note that deleting the catalyst has harmful effects on health and environment because of excessive release of harmful combustion by-product into the atmosphere.

Regards,
EngRichie
For: Automobile Help Desk.

ray48:
Some people claim that they get better performance after removing catalytic converter. Is it true?

There are three major important things when we talk about exhaust performance

- Exhaust gas velocity
- Exhaust flow
- Exhaust temperature

To answer your question, yes but depending on the particular car, because on some cars, you loose power when you do that. In my less busy hour, I will explain how removing CATCON can give you better engine performance.

EngRichie
08030420562
For: Automobile Help Desk.

bravolad:
Car is 2011 Toyota Camry. Thanks @Engrichie & @Trygo.

You are welcomed.

.

bravolad:
This is a brilliant initiative.
However, there's no aircomditioner for this una desk stand. I'm sweating while making this complaint.

My question is this, when I start my car in the morning, cold start & go to the back of the car; I hear some sound in the exhaust which normalises after a few seconds. This has been consistent for a while. No check engine light.

@Bravolad Thanks for your good will.
You have a price for throwing the first question of the thread.

I don't know the kind of car that you drive but here are likely causes:

- Heat shield rattle
- Turbo waste gate rattle (for turbo)
- Exhaust flap rattle (for designs that use a flap to regulate exhaust pressure. It helps build up engine heat at cold start and to regulate exhaust velocity)
- loose bolts at hangers and where pipes are joined
- Missing exhaust gasket
- Broken CATCON
- Broken exhaust resonator or muffler

All these are possibilities but the first four occur more.

Heat expansion helps to eliminate the noise after some warm up due to metals coming in contact as a result of vibration, example exhaust and the heat shield.

Also note that resonance at initial high idle speed can cause vibration of loosed exhaust components that can go away as idle speed come down.

Regards,
EngRichie.
08030420562
For: Automobile help desk

AutoElectNG:
More grease to your elbows

You are welcome!