hi there, i've recently bought a 1995 sporting in very good order with just 43k on it.

I did TB, manifold, chip, induction, exhaust and somethings not right. It quickly get's up to 90 degrees and the fan is often on, even on leisurely drives in cold weather. It also seems to be lacking power - I have another sporting which just has chip and induction, and that one is definitely quicker and more free revving.

The new one seems to run ok but just doesn't seem to want to get going, and is always hot. Somethings definitely up and i'm worried it might be something serious.

Has anyone got any ideas? My brother suggested it could be underfuelled, or have a problem with the cooling system, of just be coked up from previous use if it was just a town car….

thanks, Dan

should add that it was running hot before the mods i did...

Basics:
Have you looked at the rad?

(and maybe you could have looked at the temperature issue before the mods...!)

Is it going over 90degC?
Or just sitting at 90 ?

Running at 90 obviously isn't an issue. It is the temperature you want it to be at.

Hiya, thanks for that - fair point about the temp thing but i did the mods immediately but thinking back i did notice the fan coming on early before that. I've hardly used this car yet so only just noticing these things.

It doesn't go over 90, but gets there really quick compared to my other one, and the fan is often on. I'll check the rad and other obvious cooling system bits.

The temp wouldn't bother me too much if it didn't feel weird with power delivery - it sort of feels stifled/choked, hard to explain but just doesn't really want to get going. The other one is definitely more lively but this one should be a fair bit quicker with the 40mm TB and 4-2-1 manifold.

The other one runs cool and is lively, this ones runs hot and feels bogged down….

Some folk have had luck turning the fuel pressure up (assuming SPI).

I think I'd check the timing first, though. Hard to see any real relationship between underfuelling and temperature.

thanks Fingers - i'll ask my old man to have a look at the timing. Any other areas you'd check? it's quite hard to describe how it drives other than it feels "bogged down" - there seems to be a lot of resistance, feels sort of "heavy" if that makes any sense at all?!!

One or more brake binding?

will check that too - but don't think so, worth a look though….

Fingers - you mentioned timing as a possible issue - are these engines not automatically timed by the ECU?

I put the standard chip back in and it seems happier - could it maybe be lacking fuel?

Would you be interested in having a look at it for some beer tokens? I was hoping with the extra mods over my old one that this one would be quite spritely but it doesn't really seem any quicker….which is a shame given £270 for the manifold and nearly the same again to have it fitted! (steep?)

cheers d

Maninacan said:

Fingers - you mentioned timing as a possible issue - are these engines not automatically timed by the ECU?

I put the standard chip back in and it seems happier - could it maybe be lacking fuel?

Would you be interested in having a look at it for some beer tokens? I was hoping with the extra mods over my old one that this one would be quite spritely but it doesn't really seem any quicker….which is a shame given £270 for the manifold and nearly the same again to have it fitted! (steep?)

cheers d

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Always happy to have a peek, but:

the ignition timing is, to all practical intents and purposes, set by the ECU. But the cam timing is set by the belt.

Easy enough to check on the 8v.

You might like to swap out the thermostat. Easy peasy job, and even the "real" ones are not uber expensive.

The other things that sometimes give problems on the Cinqs are MAP sensor and coolant temp sensor.

Somewhere there's a post with the tests for both, but mine is stuck in my Haynes which isn't here at the moment.

hiya - the temperature thing seems to have settled down now. The car ahd been sat in a garage unused for some time so maybe it needed running in again? It never goes over 90 so no real worries there although i'll keep my eye on it of course.

The power thing is my main concern, this could also be related to lack of use, i'll put the McCrich chip in and run it in for a bit, see if it improves. If not i might give you a shout see if you fancy having a look….unless you know of anyone on here more local (i'm in York) who knows there stuff and might be up for it?

thanks again, Dan

Sounds most likely to be the timing, be 100% sure it's right before you go swapping sensors etc. Is it running and idling smoothly or rough? Does it splutter breifly if you rev it out of gear?

Also, does the temperature affect it's speed? Does it run better when it's hot or is there no difference?

hi there - thanks for getting involved! It does judder occasionally on idle. I wouldn't say it idles rough, but it does have the odd judder every few minutes. i've not tried revving it out of gear but will do and report back.

Not really noticed if the temperature thing affects performance - again will take note and report back…..

thanks!

yes, it doesn't idle as smooth as my old one, and if i rev it out of gear it does judder a little bit before settling back to idle….does that sound like a timing thing?

Maninacan said:

yes, it doesn't idle as smooth as my old one, and if i rev it out of gear it does judder a little bit before settling back to idle….does that sound like a timing thing?

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If it changes with temperature it's more likely to be a sensor,I would suspect the timing to be the cause.

As mentioned above it's not too hard to check. Just whip the wheel off and the cambelt covers and have a look. There is a diagram somewhere of the timing marks if you're unsure.

I had a look at the timing but it was a bit hard to spot the marks, even with the Haynes manual at hand!

Maninacan said:

I had a look at the timing but it was a bit hard to spot the marks, even with the Haynes manual at hand!

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fingers99 said:

It's pretty easy as such things go.

The big mistake some folk make (and by far the most common) is not to line up the pip on the crank pulley with the hole in the alternator pulley. This just puts the ignition timing out and stops the car starting.



Pics are for Sei, but the timing marks are the same.

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Pinched that from another thread. I find using the camera on my phone is best for doing the timing mark at the top. Make sure it's lined up with the indentation and not the join between head and cam cover.

thanks for that, i'll have another look and this time take a pic of the top pulley marks after lining up the bottom one and hopefully you'll all be able to tell me yay or nay! thanks again, Dan

is the mark at the top a groove in the edge of the head about an inch below the joint between head and cam cover?

Looking at those pics i reckon my timing is ok but i'll have a closer look and see if it could be set one tooth closer….