Lagondanet
Administrator
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 3109
Location: UK
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 Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:18 pm Post subject: Alvira |
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Following emails from Francis & Sieghard I am happy to inaugurate a technical section to the Forum with Vincent nominated as a technical expert!
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Lagonda lovers,
I have news from Alvira and the overheating problems she had.
As you may all remember in Belgium, Alvira arrived on the back of a lorry due to some overheating issues. I managed to limp around from Genval to Bruges consuming water in great quantities.
That Saturday night, after talking to a few owners and after hearing from the Aston Martin mechanic that followed us, I was a bit optimistic that the problem was confined to the water circulation system.
The prior diagnostic was a much serious engine problem that could have required a change of engine. That was seriously worrying me.
Vincent offered to take a look at the car in order to diagnose the precise source of the overheating. I so decided to let him take Alvira back to his garage to proceed with his inquiries while I dropped Lise and Danika in Brussels for them to catch a flight back to Montreal the next day. I was taken by Zoran to Bern, Switzerland that Sunday night in his Black Lightning (and she ran superbly!!!). I left Alvira in Brussels and Vincent picked her up on the Monday morning.
Vincent did a very thorough systematic chase down of any overheating sources. He first changed all hoses that seeped liquid. He then used a detergent to clean the mud that clogged the radiator.
The cleaning did help the temperature issue but still the car ran a bit hot in traffic conditions. After 15 to 20 minutes the temperature would climb over 100°C.
Vincent then looked at the water pump out and took it apart to make sure that it was functioning properly. Some seals needed to be replaced but mostly the rod that connect the pump to the pulley was worn down a bit. Vincent had noticed that the car ran hot at close to idle speed but not at high speed. Accelerating would bring the water temperature down…
So after fixing the slippage issue on the pulley rod, here are the results of the last road test Vincent did yesterday:
For those who can’t read French, just look at the numbers, Vincent was kind enough to write them in English! (Dutch and German too!!!)
J'ai essayé ta voiture ce matin sur un peu plus de 50 kilomètres. (Ran the car 50 kms)
15 kilomètres d'autoroute à 100/120 km/h départ à froid : on arrive vers 85 ° (15 kms at 100/120 kms /hour, temp 85°)
10 kilomètres de nationale à 70/90 km/h : on arrive à 90 ° (10 kms of small roads, 70/90 kms/hour, temp 90°)
2 kilomètres en ville à faible allure avec beaucoup de trafic : pointe à 93 ° (2 kms at low speed in traffic, Temp 93°)
arrêt de la voiture sur le coté en la laissant tourner au ralenti durant 5 minutes et contrôle sous le capot - tout est normal - : on oscille entre 88° et 91° (idle for 5 minutes, 88° to 91°)
retour en sens inverse avec des valeurs identiques à l'aller voire inférieures.
pointe sur autoroute à 160 km/h ( interdit ! ) : 88° (return to the garage at speeds of 160 kms/hour, temp 88°)
NB : ta voiture va du feu de Dieu ! Elle demande à aller encore plus vite, note que j'ai attendu qu'elle soit chaude pour le faire !
arrivée au garage : 87°
No seepage from anywhere on the engine, no clogs inside the engine, no oil to water mixing and great compression! The issue is now solved and thanks to Vincent and his great knowledge of mechanic this did not need a great amount of parts, just a few hours and a methodic process of chasing down issues on the water circulation system.
Thank you very much Vincent! I think that for you owners in need of help, you can call upon him . He is more than happy to help other Lagonda owners, on top of being a great host!
A very happy,
Francis
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Dear Francis,
thank you - and Vincent - very much for the detailed description. Very comprehensive. In my opinion, we should share such experiences much more within the Lagonda community. It saves a lot of time and money, and in the end I think it helps our cars to keep (or gain) value, and to bring the car away from the image that its technical problems are uncontrollable.
My suggestion is to elect Vincent as our technical "chief" and to organize a technical library under his coordination.
I should have had this knowledge at the beginning of my "Lagonda career": I remember serious overheating and leakage problems when I bought my first Lagonda in 2004 in California. It took me a week of troubles, using 3 different garages, where we tried to "fix" the water pump. In the end I gave up without success and I had to take the car on a flatbed to L.A. for shipping to Europe, still with a defect pump and quietly leaking in standstill, heavily leaking when driven. When arrived in Germany, I bought an original AM spare pump (1500 EUR) and solved the problem. In the end it turned out that the engine had run for a long time before in overheating condition, and later the car suffered from a severe motor damage (heavy blue smoke)...
My experience is that all Lagondas have a tendency to suffer from overheat in the engine compartment. So your contribution is very helpful link for all Lagonda owners.
I am happy to be member in this community!
Sieghard (#13473, silver, Germany)
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Dipl.-Ing. Sieghard Schneider
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Last edited by Lagondanet on Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:39 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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