Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Autowirral Scoops engine change (need help)

The black intake, have you removed it or is it still origonal from the 1800cc donor car ?

Be sure to check for a hissing noise under the coil pack as there is a £3.00 "L-Peice" vaccum hose which is common to split which would cause you problems if its leaking vaccum.

Test the voltage across the battery when the engine is running, it should read 12 - 13 volts when idling and 13 - 14 volts when the rev's are raised to 2000 rpm.
If the voltage are okay then its a wiring problem and not the alternator. Also test the voltage at the blue wire as it should read the same as above.

Its difficult to test a water pump without removing it, was it okay in the donor car ? If it was then its probably okay... The only way to check it is to remove it and visualy inspect it but like i say if it was okay in the other car then its probably okay.

Double check all the coolant hoses are on in the correct places, double check you havnt crossed any over.

If you remove the expansion bottle cap and rev the engine you should see a flow of water from the small hose entering the top of the bottle, if there is no flow then rev the engine a bit.

To bleed the coolant system make sure the interior heaters are on position one and on hot to the screen, run the engine and rev the engine occasionally with the expansion cap off, as soon as the temperature needle gets towards 1/4 then put the expansion bottle cap on or it will overheat. Check for any coolant bleed valves to open but i dont think your car has any ?

Allow the engine to warm up fully and check the radiator fans cut in BEFORE the temp gauge reaches the Red. If they dont then switch the engine off before it gets in the red.

You can only run the engine for 5 - 10 mins before the engine will be damaged, like i said use the temp gauge as a guide, dont allow it to go into the red.

Let me know how you get on mate.

p.s. Good Luck

Right guys,still on my 7 day solid work thing..but ive found ways and means of gettin on the net. Car is here so i CAN work on it while im here.I leave on friday morning back to normal life and i NEED my car to leave with me.Had the battery out last night,fully charged and put it back in today,turn the key and.......click...again. It does naff all.

what do we think is wrong,i checked the fuses on the main power cable from battery to starter and alt,then i undone the alt wires jsut incase it was shorting there (mad idea i had)still no luck tho.

Is it a)****ed battery-it was off charge for 4 hours after bein fully charged so may have died again (it is 10 years old)
b)starter motor (heard it cud be the solinoid doin the clicking,but then again,it has started with jump leads with its clicky nature?)
c)somethin else


As for intake,im running 1.8 black inlet and 1.8 TB-1.6 box on 1.8 MAF housing,wheres this L shaped thing,i can only see the main cam cover to airbox hose

Please reply ASAP

L shaped hose sits betweem the ignition pack and the block, it runs from the front crank breather around the side of the block to the inlet - You'd be able to see exhaust gases escaping when its running if it was that.

If the starter is clicking it could be the battery does not have enough charge OR the start is at fault <-- But if a bodge trick but while cranking it get a mate to hit the starter motor, sometimes the vibration can loosen stuck solinoids, altho Iv never tried this.

Try using another battery and see from there. If you need it running revert back to 1.6 TB and MAF on 1.6 management.

Will investigate ur suggestions tomorrow dazza mate,Problem we have on 1.6 TB is it'd need the inlet too,as the 1.6 TB wont go onto 1.8 inlet due to TPS being on other side and stuff like that,it will run as is,just needs a charge,only thing is,i dont want to run it til it runs right (water problem)(which i think is fine,think it was just lots of air in system as water is deffo gettin thru into the pipes,if the water pump was knacked surely this wudnt happen)

1.How much are new batterys?
2.If a 2 year old battery has been sat connected to my dead car(1.4 green one) for 9 months,wud it be chargable if i was to replace the fluid in it,or is it ****ed for good?

Scoop, it sounds to me that you have left the main engine earth wire off........

Follow the earth wire from the battery and see where it goes. It should connect to either the engine or gearbox.

The battery may be earthing through the accelerator cable

If all that looks fine then try putting jump leads on it and see if there is any difference.

Also you could check the starter wiring. The main (Big) wire that bolts onto the solenoid be a permanant live and the small trigger wire should only be live when the ignition is in the "START" position (Ign Key Fully Turned).

Possibly the immobiliser thingy thats fitted to fords ??

Finally, a fial safe test, gat a wire and bare both end's, get someone to hold one end on the positave battery terminal and hold the other end on the small contact of the starter motor, the engine should turn over. This eliminates ignition wiring problems.

Let me know how you get on mate....

Started it today and got it to the building im living in and working from all week,had to bump (roll) start it as jump (lead) starting failed,just got the click so starter is chuffed i think.

Got it over here which is a 1 mile drive,temp guage rised into the very bottom of normal,stalled twice on dipping clutch but a quick clutch kick got it Bump started on the fly and i made the journey without becoming stranded on a dark road round the airfield

Problems on starting the car
The revs held at 3k for a while,then it idles very lumpy and very nearly stalled loads of times,needed a pop on the throttle to save it,revved well high with a tap of the throttle,(it even drove itself with no input as revs were rising on their own)

Thermostat-Rad hose still feels too soft,too much air in it,i did squeeze the hose with no cap on for about a minute after its run

Battery is fine now

Tomorrow im gonna fit 1.6 fuel rail and TPS,tighten the inlet,and maybe replace the starter with the one from the origional engine,or just **** **** out of the current one.Cheers guys

Sounds like you still have an airleak

would an airleak really fuyck me over this bad??

Yes definetly.
High revs, lumpy Idle and cutting out are sure signs of it mate

ill grolly it down in the morning see if it curez/helps it

Try spraying WD40 around the inlet manifold when its running mate, if you hear a change in the revs then its the WD40 getting in so your leak is in that area.

Shes fixed!!!

Engine runs now and is drivable,took it for a lap before and the power difference is noticable,however,at full throttle its a bit hessitant at some revs,also the alternator light is on when the car is running,and the temp guage rises and falls hugely fast but those are niggles ill fix later,at least i can drive home tomorrow when i get out of here.Cheers for ur help guys,cudnt of done it without u

The starter was bust,so i fitted the old one,including replacing the wiring that came off the starter (the whole face of the starter sheared off)
The air leak was a vacuum hose,how dumb was i to miss that

anyone know how the alternator wires are sposed to go,cos the way they are the light is on
And anyone know why the temp guage goes up,then drops down,then goes up again,could that be air passing over the temp sensor?

All in all,a good day for me.Cheers again dazza and jay

Fit a new thermostat matey, it sounds like the stat is sticking slightly.

which bits the thermostat,ill slave my old one in and see if it helps,alt is not working today,thats for sure.Voltage is not 12v+ when engine is running,anyone know which wires go where on the alternator itself,there are 3 terminals but i only have 2 wires connected

Typically if you follow the top radiator hose from the radiator and it normally goes into an alloy or plastic housing which is held on with a few bolts. You should find the thermostat inside there. All cars are slightly different, could do with pics mate.

Same on the alternator, pics needed. As a rule there should be one large terminal and one large wire, obviously these connect together, and see if you can work out the remaining wires ? Possibly check of the other cars loom and work it from there ??

Hope this helps and if your home i can have a quick peek at it for you