All, What oil do you recommend for the engine and tranny for a 86 TR? Also, how to get to the expansion vavle for the AC unit. I took the fuse box out and I can't get to it....any idea? Thanks, Nick Fort Laurdale
Redline 5W40 for the eng and Redline 75W90NS for the tranny. Dunno about the expansion valve. Someone will be with you soon I suspect.
You must remove the dashboard and A/C evaporator housing to get to the expansion valve, since it is located inside the housing. Typically the screen in front of the expansion valve gets plugged up with debris over the years, sometimes from a receiver-drier that the desicant is leaking out of. You can use an A/C flush kit and compressed air to backflush the valve. Just disconnect the lowside hose (SUC) at the compressor and the hose as the receiver-drier. Flush the expansion valve from the rear of the car, and have a helper catch the fluid/debris at the front. Keep flushing until no more debris comes out. You will have saved yourself about 20 hours of labor. After flushing, replace the receiver-drier with a new one. Good Luck! Brian Brown Patrick Ottis Co.
Excellent advise. Many of us have solved the "clogged expansion valve" issue this way without taking the dash out.
I looked at my expansion vavle today. IT is outside of the AC evaporator box. I can see it from both inside the car (passenger side - cowl) and the trunk (fuse panel removed). From what I can tell, it is not an orifice type expansion vavle but rather one with the spring mechanism inside (it has a temp tube that runs inside the car). Can those vavle be backflushed? According to my workshop manual on a CD, there are 2 different types of expansion valves..... Also, one of my window is slow and the other is broken. Is there a generic motor and regulator parts or should I buy then from Ferrari. Any contact for aftermarket parts other than Ferrari? Last but not least, I replaced the alternator 8 months, 200 miles ago and the light just came on again. Battery is good. Is there a relay to check or what gives? Thanks and happy mortering. Nick
The search button above is your friend. See: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=163100&highlight=tr+expansion+valve http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52375&highlight=tr+expansion+valve http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58351&highlight=tr+expansion+valve http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44288&highlight=tr+window On the alternator, If the light is on, then most likely there is a problem with the alternator or voltage regulator (which is part of the alternator). You can check the power and DF connections at the alternator, if they are ok, then it's time to remove it and have it checked out. Brian B.
Nick, mine is an early 1988TR, so it probably has the same receiver/drier - and honestly, you have absolutely nothing to lose. I bought a quart of the flush stuff at Carquest, about 3 feet of each size of clear plastic tubing to fit over the fittings at the compressor. Take the hoses off the compressor and the receiver/drier, put the hoses over the ends at the compressor and run them each about 12" into a gallon milk jug. Pour as much of the flush fluid into each hose at the receiver/drier and let it sit for a few minutes, then force the flush liquid through with an air compressor with one of the tips you'd use to dust off a countertop. If you can, do it several times, then blow it out really well to get everything out. Reconnect the compressor and install a new receiver/drier. The receiver/drier is available from Ferrari or if you can live with it not having Ferrari stenciled on it, you can get an identical one for a Saab - details here: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58351&highlight=tr+expansion+valve Window-wise, the first thing to do is take the switches out of the center console and give them a healthy bath of contact cleaner. That might take care of the slow one - if not, the next step is to remove the motor and clean the grease from the top which forms a concrete-like compound. The relay setup is normally the final solution, but try the easier ones first. Here is the TR cross reference list: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125008
On the alternator, also have a look at the mechanical/belt system during operation (two different designs were used -- early = V-belt = some troubles, and later = multi-rib belt = better). If that seems reasonable (e.g., the belt is still there and things are turning ), measure the voltage across the battery terminals at say 2000 engine RPM -- if only ~12V, it quasi-confirms that you'll need to go deeper into the alternator electrics (and the warning light illuminating isn't indicating a false problem).
for oil, try something that still has zinc in it. i think i use Motul in mine. and redline 75-90 for gear oil.
Ok, I'll go next: when my trany was repaired, the shop recommended shell spirax gear oil sae 75-90 for the tr. My next oil change will be lubrication engineers 8800 sae 15w40 (loaded with zinc) www.le-inc.com and what they said about the checking out/fixing the alternator inthe archives. Good luck! Jeff Pintler 89 348tb, 86tr
You want more than just Zinc and not just Zinc with some Phosphates thrown in. You need the compound ZDDP. Zinc dialkyl dithio phosphate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZDDP There are a lot of additives out there that are posuers because even though they have zinc and phosphates in them it is NOT ZDDP. http://www.zddplus.com/ REDLINE oil for me!