Need Some Advice by the Morning!

[rover3l]

I took my Q45a into a shop today for fitting of 4 new 235, 60 Michelin XGT4's. Also asked them to look to see if they could find my mysterious rattle and assess the general drivability.

They fitted the tires and balanced them on a Huntr 9700S. Big improvement. The shop owner sites on the MA board of motor vehicles where they are discussing legislation that if passed would ban the fitment of non-original sized tires. He said in my case I should have stuck with the 215, 65's as the 235, 60's would reducing the braking ability. I am puzzled by this . Based on setting the tires up with the Hunter I had two options minimum vibration set up or minimum pull set up. He also told me not to rotate the tires without refering to the Hunter print out as I could upset the tendency to pull to the left or right

In terms of the rattle they are found some shield near the transmission to be loose. The car is now better in that certain rattles have gone but the main one that I have described is still there. He has a device to locate noises under the car that he will try tomorrow

In terms of drivability he thinks the injectors need cleaning and wanted to know if they were the pintle type. He was going to look this up tomorrow. He is talking about cleaning the plenum via some flushing process

Lastly he noticed one strut is weeping fluid. As this is an active model this is big bucks to repair and I was wondering if a fluid change might help

I am due to take it back tomorrow for further diagnosis

[maxnix]

I guess I am missing what you need advice about.

He is wrong about the different size reducing the braking performance. Tire compound and tread pattern can do so, but the additional load carrying capacity should increase it if anything.

If your VH45DE is pre 1994, then the injectors are the pintle type. The BG system is the only one recognized by this board that actually works in situ on the car. Intake fogging is more of maintenance thing and will not clean baked on gradoo coating the intake manifold.

Speak with Keith, but renewing all accumulators prior to replacing worn out struts is probably the advisable sequence.

[elwesso]

If anything a wider tire like the 235 would decrease stopping distance, because theres more contact area, assuming all things the same (tire composition, ratings, treadware, etc)

Your injectors, as brian said are pintleless... Im not sure what the latter design is termed, maybe someone could enlighten me! But you want a fuel rail flush done, not an intake fogging.. Before you possibly waste your money, neither <!> will really affect your driveability problems... Trust me, been there done that.. Maybe a little, but your problems are elsewhere and probably more expensive .. Think knock sensors, timing and so forth......

One of the cat converter heat shields is probably loose... I had one on my older Q, and I kinda jury rigged it to make it stop by wedging a screw in there so it woudnt be loose.. later, i ended up going off an incline too steep and it ripped it off anyway I dont recall what rattles you have!

I dont tihnk fluid change will help the leaks... Maybe you could find someone with a used one that doesnt leak, to replace yours with... Since I remember keith saying they last pretty much for life as long as they dont leak.....

[Rex]

Rover - since your q is a 94, as Brian said, no pintle (I'm somewhat impressed that this guy even knew there were pintle type injectors and that they may need special attention) injectors for you. BG44K is a good maintenance solution, but it won't "undo" much of what's been done. 1 can of BG in a half tank and a good cleaning (1/2 can spray brake cleaner) should help some, but if the injectors are actually dirty, you may try a real flush, I think there's an enviro-flush offered.

Texasoil (Keith) is your best source for the active info, but you knew that .

[rover3l]

Sorry I wasn't clear with my information or questions.

1. I wanted advice whether the tire comment was a problem. Manix you answered this

2. My Q45a is a 94 model but built in 93. I was really asking if the plenum cleaning approach has the possibility of being effective. I am not sure if he uses BG but I will check. He talked about it being a pressurized approach with flushing back and forth if that means anything to anyone.

The 4 strut accumulators have all been replaced with recharged ones from Keith. The shop owner felt that with a leak in one he could not align the car correctly because the height would be not to spec. However, this strut after leaking badly after the accumulator replacement has slowed to almost nothing. So I am reluctant to replace it especially given the cost. The question is how serious is a very small leak. Note the active fluid level has been constant for 12 months under this condition

[rover3l]

by the way the drivability issue is that the acceleration is flat of the line. He drove it today and felt it needed attention. Before the flush he said that there were other things he would check using his diagnostic equipment.

[elwesso]

Most 94 Qs are built in 93.. My first Q was actually built in later 94 (5/94) but my current Q is 11/93..... Either way theyre the same.....

I agree with your idea about replacement.. Just keep a close eye on teh fluid level... But I think I answerd the thing in your post about the plenum in my post before.....

[Q45tech]

"a wider tire like the 235 would decrease stopping distance, because theres more contact area" WRONG!

A wider tire does not necessarily have more contact area just a wider contact area! When you fit a wider tire the contact patch depth [length] decreases to create an equal AREA.

Seems impossible for members to get the correct mental picture as contact area [a square unit of measurement] is only a function of weight on tire and inflation pressure [or the normal range of inflation 28-51 psi].A tire loaded with 1200 pounds and inflated to 35 psi, will have a contact area of 1200/35=34.285714 square inches whether it is a 255, 245, 235 or a 225 or a 215 in a 15,16,17,18,19, or 20" wheel size. Obviously as you go very much larger the weight on the tire will probably go up because the tires and wheels weigh more so the contact area will increase 1225/35=35 square inches up to 1-2% maybe.

A wider tire has more surface area exposed to cooling air so in braking it's internal temperature won't rise as fast. Thus it maintains peak friction longer in the milliseconds of stopping.

Even tire dealers get confused: Usually when people go wider [think low riders], they decrease the diameter [don't maintain load index either] so the rotation time is faster. The same hot spot from braking comes around faster allowing less time for the tread to cool reducing the tires ability to stop effectively.

The Mass. law is designed to stop people from buying and running overloaded tires.In Europe you must use oem sizes and speed ratings but there are exemptions when it can be proven that the replacement tire is stronger than oem minimums. What the side wall load index does.Notice that a 1521 pound tire gets harder and harder to find as you increase tread width and wheel diameter because there is less air volume to support the weight...........why tires have gone up in inflation from 35psi to 44 psi now 51 psi.

However as we know the Q came with a V rated tire so the H rated would not be acceptable in Europe even though its stronger because the Q is capable of going 150 mph and an H rated is unacceptable beyond 130 mph when brand new, say 100 mph when aged and half worn in Summer heat.

[elwesso]

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[rover3l]

So if I understand Q45 Tech. The Mass guy is correct. He did tell me that you don't see very many trucks in MA with oversized wheels and tires because of the move to introduce this legislation. However, I think we are also saying that in the case of the Michelin 235, 60HX4GT's, I am in good shaped because the load index is higher than the the equivalent 215, 65's.

[Alan]

Empirically I can state that Chevron gas can improve injector performance. Canceled an injector code on our '92, or maybe it was a coincidence. Eventually the injector failed and I did replace it (the 3rd one), but we have had no other injector failures since going exclusively to Chevron (about 6 months).

Just park the Q and use that cool Rover! I'm sure it is touble free ;-)

Alan

[rover3l]

A trouble free Rover with Lucas electrics is an oxymoron.

Here is what I have done1. Cylinder head removed and decoked2. Overhead inlet and side exhaust valve clearances adjusted 3. SU Carb rebuilt4. Distributor rebuilt5. All hoses replaced6. Radiator reconditioned7. All fluids changes8. New shocks9. New rubber bushings10. New brake booster11. New brake pipes12. New disc pads and brake shoes13. New master and clutch cylinder14. New wheel cylinders15. New carpets16. Restained interior wood17. Leather reconnolized18. Full body shell strip and overhaul and two tone high quality respray in original colors19. New radial tires20. Many more small details