Now i have had all the probs fixed on the my little Zx (touch wood)i have a few questions even searching and reading a lot of the post on this web site.
1) my Zx TD Aura has a new rad fitted in the last 4 months, the running temp of the engine is about 90 and has never gone above this (even before the new rad was fitted) and the fans have never kicked in, is this normal and should the fans kick in at this temp? (past post say on somtd that they should kick in at 88-92 degress?
2) i bought the rad from unipart and wheni fittded it it all went fine only prob is that unlike my old rad it dosent have the drain tap at the bottom of it !!! so how can i completly drian the coolent system ? ( funny enough i still have the old rad with the tap so id it possiable o fit the tap to the new rad ?
3) oil leak - the oil seems to be coming from behind the flywheel and because of this it spreads the oils all round the passanger side of the engine but mainly at the back and it drips down the back of the engine. it only leaks at a extremly slow rate. would Slick 50 help this matter or should i just leave it alone. ( the oil i use is Castrol GTD for turbo diesels 10w 40w, Cars done 126,000 miles)
4) I have had all the brakes on the car replaced in the last 15 months , Rear brakes and pipes replaced Novenber 2003 and front Pads and discs replaced Jan/Feb 2004. before any brakes was replaced i had a lot of travel on the brake pedal, even after the back brakes were done i still had a lot of travel on the pedal but when the fronts were done ( baring in mind i had a warped disc) the travel in the pedal was gone great iam thinking but present day the travel in the pedal is back. plus in the last year i have had the brakes checked and tighted up cos the hand brake keeps haveing to be altered as she wares out and wont hold. the garage says my brake are fine but it seems like she gos through pads is this normal? would it be a good idea to change her pads and discs for better uprated ones ? (dont mean get bigger brakes but better ones).
Help would be greatly aprishated.
p.s sorry if this is long winded and my bad spelling.
A Few ZX Questions.........
Moderator: RichardW
Your car runs hotter than mine, but 90 degrees should be fine. The only time you should get fans kicking in is when the temp rises above 95 or so when stuck in traffic during summer.
Regarding the lack of a drain plug, you'll now have to drain your coolant by disconnecting the bottom hose. Just as easy, as long as you can get it off!
Oil leak - probably the sump gasket, but it would be worth checking your gearbox oil level to make sure its not leaking from here.
Brake travel - if it's drums on the back it could well be the shoes need adjusting. The auto adjusters can't be relied on - if your handbrake is slack it's almost certainly because the shoes are too far away from the drum.
Sort it and you'll have much better brake feel through the pedal.
Regarding the lack of a drain plug, you'll now have to drain your coolant by disconnecting the bottom hose. Just as easy, as long as you can get it off!
Oil leak - probably the sump gasket, but it would be worth checking your gearbox oil level to make sure its not leaking from here.
Brake travel - if it's drums on the back it could well be the shoes need adjusting. The auto adjusters can't be relied on - if your handbrake is slack it's almost certainly because the shoes are too far away from the drum.
Sort it and you'll have much better brake feel through the pedal.
Yes i noticed the same problem with my car when i first got it, the fan never seemed to kick in, though i think my temp went higher than 95 while testing and still nothing, so took it for its service and there wasnt a problem with the fan at all, but it may be worth getting a new thermostat just incase (i did this first) but made no difference, but its cheaper than a service.
Thanks for yer input guys. i had the Sump gaskett replaced about a year ago( the oil leak was worse then but then the gaskett was done and i am now left with this little leak) i have cleaned and jet washed the engine and the sump is not the prop. thinking about it, if the turbo oil feed pipe was leaking it could spread the oil around but it seems to travel just around the flywheel area of the engine (front and back)and at the back theoil runs down the pipes and gets to travel that way as well.
Re: Brake travel.
It's the rear adjusters being a bit rubbish. Have a look at a post I made in this thread.
http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... IC_ID=9828
It's the rear adjusters being a bit rubbish. Have a look at a post I made in this thread.
http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... IC_ID=9828
RE Brake Travel:
My first ZX, a 1.4 Carb, had crap brakes.
My secound (and current) 1.4i has....interesting brakes.
When I first bought it they were the same push-the-pedal-&-wait-for-something-to-happen that my previous ZX was like. So I upgraded to Vented Volcane Disk's and Calipers. This although improved the braking didn't help the pedal, which has a long travel before it bites. However, if you at walking pace & push the pedal into the 'dead area' you can feel the car brake.
At speed the brakes are excellent the car shed's lots & lots of speed eventually locking both front's. It has gone through at least 3 brake checks at a acceptable level every time. My next plan is to upgrade the master cylinder to the Volcanes, incase its a caliper not getting enough fluid problem, eventually I'll do a rear disk upgrade, although this my make for interesting drving in the wet, as the 1.4 is lighter than a volcane.
My first ZX, a 1.4 Carb, had crap brakes.
My secound (and current) 1.4i has....interesting brakes.
When I first bought it they were the same push-the-pedal-&-wait-for-something-to-happen that my previous ZX was like. So I upgraded to Vented Volcane Disk's and Calipers. This although improved the braking didn't help the pedal, which has a long travel before it bites. However, if you at walking pace & push the pedal into the 'dead area' you can feel the car brake.
At speed the brakes are excellent the car shed's lots & lots of speed eventually locking both front's. It has gone through at least 3 brake checks at a acceptable level every time. My next plan is to upgrade the master cylinder to the Volcanes, incase its a caliper not getting enough fluid problem, eventually I'll do a rear disk upgrade, although this my make for interesting drving in the wet, as the 1.4 is lighter than a volcane.
On New Question Something really simple. I ahve had my car now for just over a year now and have done a couple of oil chhanges due to the fact i drive alot, after i put in new oil (nice and clean) is i go down the road a couple of miles and check the oil it has allready gone black as the ace of spades !! is this normal ? or should get some oil treatment to clean out the c engine and change the oil again?
I assume you have a diesel - in which case the oil always goes black immediately. everything is ok if you are using good quality oil and filters.
In fact the principal difference between diesel lubricating oil and petrol lubricating oil is the quatity of detergent present to keep the black carbon in suspension and this is also why the diesel oil changes are more frequent than petrol.
makes reading the dipstick easier doesn't it!
jeremy
In fact the principal difference between diesel lubricating oil and petrol lubricating oil is the quatity of detergent present to keep the black carbon in suspension and this is also why the diesel oil changes are more frequent than petrol.
makes reading the dipstick easier doesn't it!
jeremy
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Kowalski
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There are two reasons that make your oil go black very quickly. The first is that when you drain the oil, you don't get all of the old oil our, you leave a lot of black oil coating the inside of the engine. The second reason is that a very little bit of black goes a very long way, so the little bit of black in the engine makes all of the oil look very black.
If you compare the used oil which came out with oil that has been in for a couple of days you should be able to tell which is which, because even though the new oil looks black, it will not be as black as the oil that comes out.
When I change my oil, I make sure the engine is hot to begin with and then I leave it to stand until it stops dripping i.e. I give all of the oil a chance to get out of the engine. Even taking this much care, the new oil will be black after 10 miles.
If you compare the used oil which came out with oil that has been in for a couple of days you should be able to tell which is which, because even though the new oil looks black, it will not be as black as the oil that comes out.
When I change my oil, I make sure the engine is hot to begin with and then I leave it to stand until it stops dripping i.e. I give all of the oil a chance to get out of the engine. Even taking this much care, the new oil will be black after 10 miles.
Hi, About the fans. Being a paranoid sort, before a long motorway journey last summer I decided to check the fans before I set off. I ran the car at fast isle for ages and they didn't come on. I shorted the connections to the sensor still nothing. I found that an earth inside the relay box under the bonnet on the n/s had come loose (the earth is attached to the inner wing and can be accessed by lifting the tray holding the relays). If you short you connections and you still don't get the fans on. I would check this earth!