I have an 83 mm restriction in my 1.6l tracker. What size are you running?
About 10cm. Same engine size.
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Hm, a week since last report. Whatās up? Any news on the gasifier? Rebak maybe? How is your new pig? No point hiding you know 
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I see we have a Swede who has learned the art of being tactfully pushy. I love it. TomC
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Hi JO, and others,
Let me start from the end. Pig is a big laugh to all of us, so cute.
I was on a meeting yesterday with a friend l meet a day before, and he looks like he knows his job. He is a precise metal worker. He has offered to make me parts for my rebak with best quality materials. We discused it over a glass of wine late in the night and we found some interasting ideas, all will be reported as soon as paper transforms to metal.
Now, the for the part that more or less ruined my day.
I was seeing poor performance last few days, so l decided it was time to take a look in the filter. It was dirthy, so l cleaned it and the gasifier/cyclone as well westerday, and drove for a test today. No change! So, l swiched to pure petrol but the power was still poor.
The first thing l thod about was intake manifold with the intake air tooning walve in it got plugged with soot to a point it restricted the flow too much. Afterall, l have never cleaned it at all since l woodgased it.
I dissasembled the throtebody and saw a thick sootcake in the manifold.
The first plan was to dissassemble the intake manifold to clean it well, but this prooved impossible becouse 3 screws are only accesible if the engine in dismounted.
I put things back the way they were, started the engine, all went well then the engine stoped in idle. I was seeing a unusual smoke/steam from the valve cover vent hose too (usualy goeing in the intake manifold). It wuldnt start after that. Sparkplugs ok, nice sprk, but no run. Push started it, lots of steam trugh the engine vent. Drove for a few miles, it seemed to run well.
So, l decided to try the boiling water method. Boy, its a rough medicine! The tailpipe smokeing, the engine suffocateing, the steam rushing trugh valve cover vent. Not preety at all. But the performance got better on petrol. Just the engine vent is still spitting out steam and occasional oil.
Now, this concerns me a lot. This steamy pressure relif with loss of power in my oppinion indicates pistons not sealing well. Allso, the point things got worse when l started to sloly pour boiling water in contribute to the theory.
So, if anyone has a idea on te situalion l will we forever gratefull. Its sort of a SOS situationā¦
Glad to hear from you.
Good news on the rebak project - and pig 
About the car problem the first thing that comes to my mind is a clogged crank house ventilation. I dont know about your engine but I know most crankhouses are connected to the valve cover, often via a hose and filter. One of my old Volvos had a clogged filter and kept pushing its oil out everywhere. I ripped the filter out and cleaned all the baked soot and nasties out. Ran like a dream several years after that, without the filter. Might be worth a try.
EDIT: I read your story a couple more times.
You wrote: [quote=āKristijanL, post:747, topic:2677ā]
Just the engine vent is still spitting out steam and occasional oil.
[/quote]
Is that the crankhouse vent? Much flow? Does it miss on a particular cylinder? Any blue exhaust smoke?
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If that is really steam coming out of the valve cover, and not smoke, it would suggest you are getting water into the cylinders or crankcase. this could be from a leaking head gasket or a cracked block. If your engine oil is milky white it tells you there is water in the oil.
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Allso you can weld about 1-1\2" pipe on the valve cover and mount a filter, thats what the circle track guys do too there motors because the extra rpms it need more breathing room.
Did you try to clean the āthick sootcakeā out mechanically ā digging with something. Put a piece of spring wire on a variable speed drill and run the wire down there slowly turning and increase speed. Then try a vacuum cleaner to suck the loosened up soot cake. Iām afraid the hot water might have packed the soot even worse so you have to loosen it. Maybe take the TB off and put a propane torch down the intake to dry and burn or brake up the soot cake.TomC
JO, yes, this is crank ventilation hose. There are two, one goes to the throtle body, the other went to the air suply hose before, it was left dissconnected since the woodgas conversion becouse untill now there was no thing coming in or out of it.
The oil spitting out l understand, l did rev the engine up when water tortureing it. Not the smokeā¦ there is quite a lot of it and smells like exhaust gas. Hate this.
Not much blue smoke back there, it seems normal.
In one occasion this did happen before. I accidently sucked a litle water in the cold engine, and let it flow in the crankcase, the ventilation was steaming for some time but it was pure steam. Changed the oil and it run like a carm since untill now.
Andy. Oil is normal colour. In the occasion described above, water droplets were seen in the oil.
Tom, easyer sayd thain done. The intake banifold is plastic so no burning and shaped like a ball of wors with all the channels inside.
Edit the smoke was there at idle too, not just at reving
what is your cooling system/water level doing ?
You might have a leaking head gasketā¦
Ok. No cream - no water in the oil.
How about a compression test to rule out any leaky valves or piston rings?
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Did that today. Two cyls measured 10bar, two only about 8! I put 10ml of oil in to each cylinder and measured agen. This way you eliminate valve leaking they say. All showed close to 15 bar so this strongly suggests piston rings.
Koen water level stays the same for 3 years now.
Ok what now? I did a research today on the matter and they say clean to clean a engine and piston rings add diesel in the crankcase, on top of the pistons and in the fueltank. All those aditives they say help a lot on the matter are actualy just diesel. Let this in for a day and change oil. Then just drive. Some say they got good resaults and noone actualy sayd he ruined a engine, so l might just try this.
Any thod?
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Iām like a dog with a bone. Canāt let go until someone takes it away. I stick with your statement you had ācaked sootā visible under the TB. You MUST get that out before worrying about piston rings etc. Take a high pressure air hose and blow down the intake. The cake should blow back up in your face.
After cleaning the intake if you still have troubleā on occasions I have had the exhaust or more important the catalytic converter get plugged up.TomC
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K Youāve got that backwards. When you put oil in the cylinders it helps seal the rings, not the valves. so , since your pressures went up when adding the oil it tells you you have valve issues. Could be burned or just sticking open. My guess is youāve made some tar and the valves are sticking in the guides. Solvent in the oil might help. itās worth a try.
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Tom, this cake is wery hard. Had a hard time peeling a chunk off with my nail, l realy dubt the airgun wuld peel them of.
Nevertheless, your thods may be spot on when we talk about lack of power, but here is allso the case of smoke out of the crankvent. And iffy compression.
Andy, l am confused now. Isnt oil supposed to seal the piston in the bore so that air can no longer go down in the crankcase? Thus meking the only possible leakage trugh the valves? Afterall the compression was the same on all 4 cyl after l put oil in.
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Ok, I went back and reread, and you are correct. I guess I was the one who got it backwards. Iām shutting up now.
Kristijan, I was about to agree with Andy but then I read your last statement and I now I agree with you. I get things backwards twice as often you do all together. Iām really sorry about your problems. I hope you solve them soon without them getting too expensive.
Guys, you know l aprecciate any help!
Althugh things dont look nice, l like to think of that Monthy Pithon song, Always look on the bright side of life.
The bright side is after a few miles on petrol the engine seems to run and start better and more powerfull. Allso, l got a feeling today the gas stream from the crank case is reduced every day. Perhaps things are getting better.
But the downside is untill l get this fixed l am stuck with dino. And l found that a nother stage of filtration is needed to eliminate all the soot, then l will be the happiest woodgaser under the sun agen. Some thinking and research on the way.
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Tom, l reread all the suggestings, and saw l missed plugged exhaust or cat! How does one discover such a failiure?
I know bad performance and engine overheating are simptoms but how to know for sure?
Allso, l wanted to say my biggest frustration is not knowing the cause. Was it my fault this happend, the faut of woodgas or a coincidence? This is the worst of allā¦ not knowingā¦
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