Engine operating temperature (discussion only)

[infinite_RPM]

The beginning of this year I swapped a qg18 into my Almera..it pinged like crazy until I corrected the timing by 7 degrees..

but anyway I noticed that when the engine is in the process of warming up that the car has way more power like when temp gauge is about at 1 quarter.. my question is if I manage to keep the temperature gauge at one quarter.. is there anything that can go critically wrong?

Also can removing the line that goes from the exhaust to the intake result in more power?

*Yes I know the car is made to run at a certain temperature.
*Yes I know the exhaust feed back line is to warm the intake so as to aid atomisation/fuel economy..

[Rawlcrawl]

I could be corrected...but its like this- normaly the engine is supposed to idle ah little higher at start up.if the temp stays at 1/4..at that rev and temperature damage to your engine over ti.e can be gone.im guessing the thermostat is out..put back in ah new one.the line is the egr..comes like ah mini turbo ....dont take it out...it recirculates exhaust like ah turbo does and gives th engine extra hp.hope that helps

[Joshie23]

I could be corrected...but its like this- normaly the engine is supposed to idle ah little higher at start up.if the temp stays at 1/4..at that rev and temperature damage to your engine over ti.e can be gone.im guessing the thermostat is out..put back in ah new one.the line is the egr..comes like ah mini turbo ....dont take it out...it recirculates exhaust like ah turbo does and gives th engine extra hp.hope that helps

EGR is like a mini turbo?? Bro, engines arent 100 percent efficient, so sometimes the fuel injected into your combustion chamber isnt completely burned. The EGR system basically takes the exhaust gas, which usually still has unburned fuel (in your case, gas), lowers its the temperature by passing it through a cooler (by virtue of the cooling system used to cool your engine..I know this happens with diesel, not sure if it happens for gas) and then recirculates it into your engine to be 'reburned'. This allows for lower combustion chamber temperatures and it reduces pollution by virtually eliminating (as much as possible) NOx fumes being emitted into the atmosphere. I know this wasn't your main question but this has some cool info.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhaust ... irculation

[infinite_RPM]

That's some good info there.. my engine is pinging again have no idea what it is

[wagonrunner]

how did you retard your timing by 7 degrees?

[sMASH]

Do a diagnostics and verify all ur electronics functional and within tolerances.

[Joshie23]

That's some good info there.. my engine is pinging again have no idea what it is

Hopefully your mechanic wasn't mangotreeish like mine when I did my swap chances are, first thing they did was remove the thermostat.
PUT. IT. BACK.
.
.
.
NOW..!!!

Then a complete diagnostic scan is on the cards. Hope you get through..cars + mango tree mechanic = stress to the power of $$ squared.

hopefully you're not the mango tree mechanic

[infinite_RPM]

How would the thermostat cause pinging? My engine is running at normal temps..

[Joshie23]

How would the thermostat cause pinging? My engine is running at normal temps..

I'm guessing you're really the mango tree mechanic oui. Mine was a suggestion that if your thermostat is removed, then it should be replaced. I never alluded that your pinging is as a result of your thermostat being removed, if it is. While we THINK as Trini's that we know a lot, the engineers that spent thousands of hours developing these engines know more. The thermostat gets your engine to operating temperature faster and keeps it there. Without the 'stat, your engine will try to get itself up to operating temperature by dumping more fuel to increase combustion, in an attempt to raise the combustion temperature, but you're pinging which means that you're experiencing the opposite in that instead of overdumping fuel, it's running lean..OR..your timing could be off, even though you adjusted it.

[trini iceman]

The engine runs better below operating temp? What you should be aware of is fuel status (open and closed). Open is cold engine/WOT, the fuel is not being adjusted by the ECM. Closed is warm idle and low speeds, the ECM adjusting fuel. These terms will take us into fuel trim but I'm trying to make this short. What I'm trying to get @ is the engine doesn't have a temperature problem it has a running problem, so trying to keep temp that low is absolutely incorrect approach. Going for a scan by someone who I bet has no idea what to look for is also incorrect. Putting a qg18, removing thermostat and EGR to "get power", is a bad time.

Things to consider:

*It's a foreign used engine, health honestly is unknown.

*You had to adjust timing to get a stock, low powered engine to run right.

*You are on tuner asking questions that should be answered by your mechanic.

[infinite_RPM]

Why y'all keep mentioning the thermostat, I have not done anything to the engine..thermostat is present

And as I mentioned this is just a discussion from an observation that slightly below operating temp the car seems it has more power

In any case pinging is still happening at 1500-2000 rpm possibly at higher eng speed but only audible from 1500-2000 rpm.. is it possible that the engine is not timed properly?

[wagonrunner]

The beginning of this year I swapped a qg18 into my Almera..it pinged like crazy until I corrected the timing by 7 degrees.

how did you retard your timing by 7 degrees?

In any case pinging is still happening at 1500-2000 rpm possibly at higher eng speed but only audible from 1500-2000 rpm.. is it possible that the engine is not timed properly?

is this a fantasy thread?

[infinite_RPM]

The beginning of this year I swapped a qg18 into my Almera..it pinged like crazy until I corrected the timing by 7 degrees.

how did you retard your timing by 7 degrees?

In any case pinging is still happening at 1500-2000 rpm possibly at higher eng speed but only audible from 1500-2000 rpm.. is it possible that the engine is not timed properly?

is this a fantasy thread?

My mechanic adjusted the timing with his scanner

A few parameters can be adjusted like ignition timing and idle rpm etc..

[wagonrunner]

My mechanic adjusted the timing with his scanner

A few parameters can be adjusted like ignition timing and idle rpm etc..

The stock ECU stored those values after ignition was switched off?

[infinite_RPM]

Yes the values were stored

[krack korn]

Op is correct, with a Consult II level tool certain parameters can be adjusted. these will remain in effect until such time as changed, ecu reset or battery disconnected for enough time.

Also for anyone interested, the older Consult I vehicles can be adjusted as well but have to be done at each start, this is aside from chipping the ECU which would be a permanent mod.

If we used to get decent quality gasoline this may not have been an issue. Also with the retarded speed limits the cars are not getting to burn out the carbon as a good run spirited driving will do so hot spots will contribute to pinging, Running a water mist into the intake will help to burn this out as well as some additives etc.

anyway Op your enemy is heat. In our climate the ambient temps and general road conditions are working against us.

Setting up a good CAI and insulating it helps.

Removing the hoses from the throttle that carry coolant helps. That is not for us here.

Insulating fuel lines / injectors / rail helps.

Putting a separate oil cooler for the transmission before it gets to the radiator helps, instead of (all) the heat going into the coolant. This actually is one of the biggest heat removal tools you can use in our climate, in addition it extends the life of your transmission fluid and your transmission, of course if you put the oil cooler infront the radiator and condenser you kinda wasting time, correct placement is crucial for both the wasted heat and for sufficient air flow.

Make sure MAF sensor is clean and the ECT sensor is reading correctly, can use a multi-meter or a scan-tool with live data to verify.

Clean injectors are a good thing, good spray = good burn, power, efficiency. First verify O2 sensor and no vacuum leaks then look at SFT and LFT to know if injectors are working right. You can remove the rail and look at spray as well when cranking, but the O2 sensor and vacuum leaks need to be confirmed still.

Verify operation of your thermostat. make sure its opening at the temp its supposed to and that its fully opening, these things do fail and its good insurance to change at 100K km.

Then verify operation of your cooling system, does the system require water occasionally? Is the cap holding rated pressure. Inspect all hoses particularly where they are joined to metal. do you see rust or white corrosion(aluminum)? If so you need to remove all hoses, clean these metal and paint with any good quality spray paint(engine enamel or appliance epoxy kinda stuff). If the metals are heavily corroded and pitted, replace if you can or repair, soldering, brazing or epoxy steel are good for this. Still paint if replacing, or repairing(paint after repair).

Do you have a good quality anti-corrosive and maybe a water wetter in the system? If starting from scratch use distilled water or rain water or condensate from an ac unit to fill and flush system.

Use a lower temp thermostat, so instead of 88 deg maybe 80 or 82. I use a 62 deg thermostat in my engine and yet in our climate my engine coolant temperature never falls below 80 deg with car warmed up. For persons looking to apply this to other cars remember that some have two thermostats and the coolant system is more complex from a flow standpoint. So don't just jump in and change and do more harm than good, try to make your modifications from an informed standpoint.

I see you mentioned the EGR and there seems to be some confusion. EGR is an emissions tool to reduce NOx emissions, it generally does not operate when pinging tends to occur, which is at small throttle openings and moderate to high load. It doesn't cause pinging, it doesn't reduce performance, it doesn't reduce fuel economy if its working right. There isn't anything useful to burn in the exhaust gas like one poster suggested. It does require some additional maintenance in the engine due to carbon deposits, but this can be done when cleaning throttle body so its not a big deal.

One last thing to maybe check is the exhaust, if the exhaust is restrictive it will contribute to lazyness and pinging, but it is unlikely in your case as you said it runs good cold.

[Ted_v2]

Perfect information oui

[infinite_RPM]

Serviced injectors and changed plugs vehicle runs healthy now.. lots more power.. I didn't think it was the injectors cause my last mechanic said he got the injectors cleaned (it seems as though he didn't) but I went by a new mech and he got them serviced all is fine...