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MG MGF Technical - Oil temp rising with K&N filter

I own a MGF mpi '98 (bought in Germany) 80.000 km

First I changed the standard filter with a K&N filter I noticed a little increase of the oil temp, but it was a little. (it wasn't a long drive)
a few days later it was at the dealer for the 80K maintenance and he changed the oil with synthetic oil (without asking) after this I noticed a increase of the oil temp. I thought it was the oil, so the dealer changed it correctly with his normal oil. Yesterday I drove my F. and the oil temp is still high, but it's better then before the oil change.

I'm still worried. the oil temp is still to high. (130 degrees with 140 km/h)and it rises with speeding, and also the water temp rises a bit. (170 km/h)

I've read a few threads on the BBS about this problem, but I can't find a solution.

please help, I hope I can keep the kick of driving with this filter.

Allard
Allard de Graaf

Hi Allard,

I don't think you have a problem - the increased oil temperature probably reflects your altered driving style as you are enjoying the merits of fitting a K&N!

And why not?

No problems unless oil temp exceeds 150 celcius (although an oil cooler might be a worth while investment if you wish to keep the car for a long time and you frequently do speeds in excess of 140 km/h).

A speeds of approx. 140 km/h my car's oil temp seems to stay a fraction under 120 celcius on my '96 1.8 MPi (K&N and Trevor Taylor Exhaust) - probably not so different to what you see.

Hope this helps
Rob Bell

thanks Rob,

I hope you're right about it. But I don't think so. The oil temp is 10 degrees higher then yours with the same speed. And i'm not speeding then.

And sometimes I see the watertemp a bit rising. This is why I'm worried.
I'm going to the dealer and they will check the engine with the testbook.

If the mixture (air-fuel) is too poor the engine temp will also rise. Maybe one of the sensor is out of order.

Allard
A. de Graaf

You are right - if the ignition timing is incorrect, then the engine will indeed run hotter - when Dirk had problems with his ICON Superchip, the timing was so far out that the engine managed to melt the exhaust manifold.

Check the simple things first - and I guess this'll include making sure that the cold air ducts supplied with the K&N 57i kit are correctly located both under the car and near the filter.

Look at the condition of the spark plugs - if the engine ignition timings are incorrect, there should be evidence of the plugs overheating (covered in white deposits - perhaps also with premature electrode errosion).

Also, is there any other evidence that the engine is not running as it should? Does it start OK, idle evenly, does it tend to stall when comming to a halt after a long run?

What happens when you replace the original filter? I honestly suspect that if there is a problem here, that it has nothing to do with the K&N.

Might be worth asking your dealership to connect up your car to their diagnostic equipment to see whether they can identify a problem with any of the sensors (although a clean bill of health may not completely exclude a problem).

Let us know how you get on Allard
Rob Bell

Rob,

I've been to the dealer: The conclusion of the testbook (Diagnostic Equipment) was: adjust the stepmotor.

I think that the oil temp is getting better after this adjustment.

The spark plugs are light grey, Is this Ok?

It's now 125 degrees with 140 km/h

thanks,

Allard




A. de Graaf

Is the 'stepmotor' the same thing as a throttle position sensor? (English: potentiometer)

Glad that the oil temperature is settling down to a more reasonable level :o)

Spark plugs should be okay, but if you get a chance, inspect them again in about 2000 km time.
Rob Bell

The Stepper motor located between the inlet manifold and head isn't the throttle postion sensor. German is also potentiometer.
Stepper motor can be easy reset by ignition on and five times key the accelerator.

I think also Allard should not worry about the mentioned oil temperatures at speeds above 140km/h.
Though the temp. reading should be below 140°C (IMO). Then decrease speed.
The engine oil temperature is from my own experiance direct related to ambient temperature and speed.
Increase of 10 degrees ambient temp results also in nearly 10 degrees oil temp increase at the same speed.

K&N decreases the engine temp *proven by experience several of us*

The sort of filled oil is another case.
Please notice the 'right' gauge reading, because it's nearly impossible to split the reading in precise degress between 120° and 150°.
http://www.mgfcar.de/instruments/oil_135_0249.jpg

Hope this makes sense.

Dieter
PS. faulty sensor is possible also.
Dieter Koennecke

I have been experiencing engine problems recently and everyone said first change HT lead, dist cap and rotor arm so did, yet problem did not go away so booked it in to dealer (as soon as car was booked in problem seemed to dissapear) to connect up to computer for a diagnostic check.

The result was nothing wrong except the stepper motor needed adjusting. Maybe a common problem, although I have had K&N or ITG filters for years.


Tom
Tom Randell

Thanks for that clarification Dieter :o)
Rob Bell


Hi Tom,
That the Test-Book run indicated " stepper motor out of phase or bits" is really normal after adding a new better induction kit like K&N and alike. Also after several runs usually the stepper motor finds the new segment where to operate. Many of the fault indications stored after a typical fault like EPAS not working OK etc. will be erased from that memory after 20 engine starts ! So if anyone gets a problem and want it to be investigated - do get to the dealer as soon as possible for a computer check !

Regards , Carl.
Carl

Cheers for that info Carl, if it happens again I will get it to the dealer ASAP or start the car 20 times to remove the fault. Maybe the ecu got confused with old HT leads and once new ones where fitted needed to be reset, so once the car had been used 20 times it had reset it self.

Why don't dealers tell you the computer resets after 20 starts. Any way at least this explains why the car is working okay, if only I new it a week ago I would have saved £££££.

Tom
Tom Randell

Tom,
no sorry the ECU forgets fault codes over 20 engine starts ago, it does not reset the ECU, these codes are only used by the dealer, not by the ECU so starting the car 20 times will not change anything from a drivers point of view.

Will
Will Munns

This thread was discussed between 31/05/2002 and 11/06/2002

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