T1 problems..

[HB]

Hi, I am a proud owner of honda city turbo. ;D

Its got larger exhaust, Air filter from 94 integra and bov.

well, the problem is, its burning a lots of oil, i have to go thru about 4ltr of oil every 3weeks ( 2 weeks if i thrash it ), it overheats sometimes and boils the coolnant in resiover tank, coolnant is leaking somewhere and oil leaks too. i can see trace of oil and coolnant at the place i parked my car.

One of my friend suspects head gasket is blown or turbo is stuffed.

My car is currently running 15psi of boost ( it was running 30 b4 my friend put bov in and fiddled with the vaccum hoses)

Now, i'm open to advices. And i'm quite tight on budget since i sent some money the this car already.  :(

And happy new year evryone   ;D

[si]

Definately sounds like a blown headgasket.. Are you even running an intercooler? 30psi is ALOT of boost for a standard motor.  It's probably a good idea to lower the boost even more so that you dont do anymore damage while its not running right.

[campbell]

Hello HB,

Have we got some more symptoms?  What's lurking under the oil filler cap?  Is it nice dark brown oil, or milky sludge?

When warm, with the radiator cap off, what's happening to the water?  Oily scum and bubbling when you rev the engine, or just overflowing?

With it idling, how's it behave when you pull each plug lead off?  Much change in engine speed, or does just keep on keeping on?

What's coming out of the rocker cover vent?  Is there much smoke in the exhaust?

Does the engine speed pick up readily from idle?

Any noises from the turbo?  Have you stuck a finger into the cold inlet and felt the turbo shaft for free play?

Tells us more and we'll predict the worst.  Or maybe not.

And, geographically, where abouts are you?  Help may be within reasonable reach.

good luck, I think that you may need it in this new year.

regards,
Campbell

[HB]

Hi, im located in dunedin, NZ
I am in korea at the moment for a holiday, will be back to dunedin at end of january.
I will post more symptoms when i get back to dunedin. thanks

[James]

If he has been running 30psi for any length of time he will most probably have a blown head gasket, also quite likely the turbo has damage.

[turbocab]

someone prove me wrong but i thought it wasnt possible to run that kinda boost on a city,unless there is extra fuel being delivered ie bigger injectors or extra ones,and a way around the fuel cut??

[James]

Its possible if you have a way around fuel cut, its just not very nice for the engine, runs extremely lean and hot.

[Glenn_Biscan]

i have run 27psi on a shagged turbo

so 30psi could be possible

it does start to lean out if you get over 22psi even with bigger fuel lines and better pumps and a surge tank

otherwise you will need to have an extra injector ( which i was using )

[elvis]

yeah you should do a compression check, i read in here somewhere that it's supposed to be 130 on each cylinder.

1)
rip off the plugs and plug in the compression test indicator then turn over starter motor.

2)
squirt a tiny bit of oil into the cylinder and repeat.



if you get a different reading after squirting the oil it is
likely the piston rings letting oil past into the combustion chamber.

that wouldn't explain the coolant leak though, unless the gasket on the cap is shagged then i think it would come out of the reserve tank when it gets hot.

best to check the oil cap for that white slime then your heads or the gasket needs attention

[James]

I will place a tentative bet he will have sludge under his oil cap, running that high boost with standard head bolts and gasket is ASKING for a blown gasket, but always good to check your compression anyway.

[HB]

2 more weeks and im back to dunedin, I will try compression test when i get there.

how much does it cost to replace a head gasket? can it be done at home?

[James]

it sure can be done at home, would cost under $100, and take most of your saturday or sunday.

Ask again after youve done your test and we will give you some pointers on how to go about it.

[James]

Hmnn it could be your valve seals and not your rings, the only decent way to tell is the "oil test" which should be done by any decent mechanic if he finds low compression, but your compression sounds pretty good, apart from being a bit varied tho, i would be worried if they wre all 145 and one was 125.

Yeah so pretty much the 3 ways you can burn oil are turbo seals, rings, and valve seals. Because your compression is OK i would possibly guess its your turbo seals, anyone else got an opinion on this?

[James]

turbo seal isn't as easy as you think I belive, I think it requires having the turbo re-balanced and torqued and stuff, a turbo service isn't really a backyard garage jobbie.

Try ringing strong for honda in auckland, they may still have some re-coed T1 turbo's left, I have one of those on my car, with some high flow modifications

[turbocab]

the turbo to manifold gasket is a nice solid metal thing and can be reused no probs.
if you cant find a city turbo turbo there is the option of fitting a holden rodeo turbo,read my post in the infobase for the nitty gritty.