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Same thing with rotors. The rotors Porsche sells is not the same as 3rd party rotors, despite that they are all produced by Sebro. I have experienced that (on a friends 928) with new rotors that was horribly squeaky and noisy, not like the old they replaced. That noise problem was solved with new rotors from Porsche. Different material or post treatment or something else... |
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Calipers will get shipped tomorrow; Jonny @ BCR has been on the phone today, we've sorted his strange junk/spam mail issue (!), and he's expecting them to arrive Friday for a speedy turnaround. Coming together nicely.... |
Your build is, as they say, epic.
Very nice work, love the attention to details, more so because I could not muster that! |
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Quick midweek update....an evening of finishing a few jobs.
The brake calipers were dispatched up to BCR, so that they can get started on them tomorrow and over the weekend. Primary goal tonight was to finish installing the newly anodised extinguisher nozzle mounts; the easy ones were already done, but the two underside brackets needed the hose trimming to length along with the sleeving, then terminating with the heatshrink.All easy enough, just a contorted working position to get to them! The LH underside, using the lower tubular bumper mounting bolt to mount the bracket... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...B2763F85E2.jpg The RH underside, using one of the heatshield fixings to mount the bracket.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3920F8F7C1.jpg All now done, with hoses all retained along their route. The 4th of the top-side nozzles is also now mounted, fixed to the neck of the oil filler; quite pleased how that's turned out, with a perfect position to smother the injection rail and power steering hose > pump.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...2971A73C69.jpg It's opposite number in the front LH corner... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...2D8D0B67A5.jpg The rear LH corner.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...55E6D40799.jpg And finally the rear RH corner... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...2B6B0208B1.jpg And to put it all in context, a panorama shot where you can just about see each nozzle... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...A42FF612EA.jpg The new set of handbrake shoes arrived today, no reason to spec original Porsche items @£110/set vs £30 for these Pagids! Got some new adjusters while I was at it...only $5 each for genuine items, it'd cost more in degreaser to clean the old ones! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...98FBAA67A9.jpg I also dug out the box with the brake Goodridge hoses I bought over 4yrs ago - good news, I thought I'd bought a set with plated fittings, but upon opening the box, I actually have a set with stainless fittings. Result! Another job I don't need to worry about. Couple of jobs I really need to get done over the weekend:
...Almost the weekend, and really not that many jobs left to do.... |
Post weekend update….
Very productive, got some big-ticket items finished - or as finished as they can be for the time being. Most of Saturday was spent driving around buying the parts for the brake project, plus some more sheet ally in order to have another attempt at making a new fuse/relay board cover for the engine bay. So, after collecting the new discs, pads, accessories from OPC Tonbridge, this is what an empty wallet looks like…. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...BD3E9F057A.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...2806B77449.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6A25F0445D.jpg ….time to get the Gunk Engine Degreaser opened, facemask on, and new wire brush set out, and go-ape. The before picture of the rear axle…. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...37CF1D4CF1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...F24BB66F9C.jpg First job was to dismantle the handbrake assembly, not too tricky, then dunking the springs in to the cleaning solution. New shoes and adjusters…. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6A9CD693A1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...C76FC49E80.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...C20AD2B3AC.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...FB189C5FB6.jpg Not a perfect job with cleaning the rear swing arm, that will wait until the suspension teardown, where everything will get vapour blasted. This was just a case of getting the loose stuff off and getting it “socially clean”. |
All of the brake disc shields came off easily enough. Judging by the state of the fixings for each, I was anticipating a nightmare, but using a graphite based penetrating fluid a few hours beforehand, really made things easier. The rear shields look fine, just a bit grubby with surface corrosion, but the fronts are beyond saving. Glad it was this way around, the rears are over 2x the price of the fronts. The rear shields are going to go for blasting and powdercoating, the fronts will be replaced with another shopping list of parts I need.
Next, time to address the front axle. Far simpler, although its frustrating to be unable to really get the steel uprights totally free of surface rust and flaking paint….have to keep telling myself, it’s a job for another day! Before.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...C72A3CF52F.jpg After.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...FA93B2E28C.jpg All the new discs are now fitted, light coating of optimoly on the hub faces to prevent any rusting, and she’s looking great! Can’t wait to get the “new” calipers back again and installed - that’ll be a very quick job now that everything’s cleaned. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...82B06877E5.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...CE9DEFEF3C.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3525FC9D57.jpg The LH blower hose and piping is now back in place again - I had to remove this in order to route the extinguisher hoses. Extinguisher bottle is fastened back in place in its cradle. Just needs to be hooked-up, electrically and mechanically. |
Great evenings work, tinkering in the workshop doing a job I hadn't really planned on doing...but kind of felt in the mood to do so, so struck while the iron was hot.
The fuse and relay panel cover.... Finally...after attempt #4, I've got something I'm really happy with, that fits perfectly. The first attempt, many pages ago in this thread, was making it out of ally but I tried bending it in the sheet metal bender. What I hadn't really appreciated was that the original plastic cover is radiused in a way that isn't parallel with the bottom of the cover, and there's ever-so-slightly a compound curve to it. Plus, the rigid fold line looked rubbish. Plan #2 was to modify the plastic cover, cutting out the protruding section that once shielded the 4 fuses on the outside of the tray. These interfere with the intake pipe, so have been moved to the inside of the tray (some of the relays are no longer needed, so they freed up some space)....however, the ally infill panel that I planned on bonding to the inside once it was powder-coated, also looked naff. Plan #3 was a flash of inspiration - so I thought - and so I got Googling for local 3D printing companies....perfect part to print, perhaps with a CMM input to create the CAD file. I kept the search regional, hoping that I could perhaps drop-in and explain what I wanted, and leave the part with them. I contacted one company this time last week, and to date, not so much as an acknowledgement. I hate these "Contact Us" hotlinks that generate a web email query, complete black hole when it doesn't go through your email client....grrr. It seems that in the UK, it's still very much a hobbyist part-time business - what I was hoping for was an outfit like the water jet cutting place I used; small family business, big enough to get it done, small enough to be interested. So, Plan #4, buy some thinner gauge sheet metal from Pete/Lewis, so that I could hand-form it and shape to suit. I used the spare length of 3" diameter ally tubing, securely mounted in the vice to act as the former. The radius is tighter at the short end, and about 25mm out of parallel with the base. Surprised how quickly it came together, whilst watching last nights Colts/Pats game on replay ;) Can't believe it looks SO flipping simple in the photos...believe me, it isn't easy getting it to fit in (what is now) a very tight space, lining up with the mounting holes, sitting over the rubber harness grommet and clearing the edge of the engine bay bodywork lip. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...754E7D6411.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...A9061850FF.jpg The return that is on the plastic part proved to be easy to make; I've only rough-cut it out at the tapered end, to allow Pete to weld it without blowing the corner away. That'll get tidied up once welded and radiused. Hopefully I'll get it dropped over tomorrow lunchtime. |
Gorgeous. Your attention to detail is inspiring.
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"Project Completion Anxiety".....where you keep bloody well finding jobs to go and do, and never do finish it!! :D |
Time for a quick check-in. A few bits to show, but have really been in holding-formation waiting for parts to arrive, or get welded, or coated, or rebuilt.
So, the fuse/relay cover was welded over the weekend by Lewis - another fine job, and after half an hour with a set of files, I got it looking like this, in readiness for powder coating: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...E817E1907C.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...DF7E372A7B.jpg This lunchtime I got a phonecall saying it had now been powder coated and was ready for collection... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...C8A75623AC.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...51C166A312.jpg To me, it still looks ridiculously simple as a part, to warrant the amount of time it took...but there you go. The 2 x rear brake disc shields were also done. The cover has come up very nicely but the shields not quite so well...very pitted on the inner surfaces, in fact there are a couple of places where the material has burst through once they were media blasted. They're good enough, I guess, and the visible side looks far nicer...but at £75+VAT each for new ones, they'll suffice. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...BCC44C3E07.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...84AD694BE2.jpg Next job this evening is to make a spacer to sit behind the fuse/relay cover, spacing it from the captive M6 nut on the chassis. More parts are en-route to me from Tonbridge OPC; front brake shields, the remaining 3 pad wear sensors (the old ones were toast) and new brake hose retaining clips - the little square clips that hold the union between the rigid lines and flexi lines to the chassis and rear trailing arm. The most exciting news is that my calipers are almost finished. I spoke with Jonny again on Monday, they're really pleased with how they've come up after sanding and painting, but are just being extra cautious with shipping them before they're fully hardened...usual thing, the longer they can be left before handling, the better. With some rescheduling at my end, I asked them to hang onto them for the rest of this week, build them up over the weekend or early next week, then get them back to me midweek-ish. New fluid seals are always done, but I also asked him to install new dust seals regardless. A couple of work-in-progress pics that Jonny sent me. I'm chuffed to bits with them, especially the logos which I asked to be the same as the ones previously, i.e., the old script, not the newer flatter logo... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...81ADF2C836.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...37EAB3B7FE.jpg Finally, I decided to top-up my stainless steel fixings collection the other day...nothing interesting there, but it was prompted by trying to source some fasteners to replace the ones I removed from the brake shields. This was a prime example of Porsches ludicrous pricing...an M6x20, shallow caphead, mild steel bolt.... £7.14+VAT each!! I could understand it (just) if they were a medical grade titanium!!! Crazy. Same part from my online fastener supplier? £1.66 for all 6, but in A2 grade stainless. So, with that as the catalyst, I've now decided to replace all the fixings on the brake shields, the inner arches and for the undertrays with SS items (Project Completion Anxiety....). I had a lot of the fixings anyway, but the self tapping screws and DIN spec washers were added to the shopping list, all of which arrived a few days ago. They're good guys actually, used them a lot for this project and the Lotus, so a shout out to Westfield Fasteners for any UK guys that need this kind of thing. |
More progress this evening....
The fuse/relay panel cover is now finished. First job of the night was to make a stand-off for the cover to sit against; if you refer back to the pics of the original plastic cover, there's a moulded recess with the clearance mounting hole. It's this recess that spaces the cover correctly from the bracket which the M6 wing-bolt screws into. So, half an hour on the lathe and this is what I came up with... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0BA20EFF83.jpg This then screws into the chassis, and is now Loctited in there semi-permanently.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...B75CA788D0.jpg Meaning that the original factory wing-bolt can be re-used. One little modification though...that bolt has got "I'm-going-to-drop-down-into-the-engine-bay-irretrievably" written all over it, so I applied a trick used on some of the fixings on the Exige, where a nylon washer with an undersize hole is used to make it a captive bolt onto the cover.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0F6DE03954.jpg And the finished article in place. Almost unnoticeable....as it should be... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...D1E9CD49C0.jpg Next job, start fitting the brake shields. When I got home this evening from work, this weeks order from Tonbridge OPC had arrived, including the 2 new front shields. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...88FCD4DA21.jpg I only got 2 of the 4 fitted, the RH front and rear, the others can wait until tomorrow. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...CD09BBC454.jpg All of the stainless fittings worked a treat. While the wheels were back off, I also swapped all of the inner arch liner fixings over for the stainless fittings. Not much else to report on the car, but did have a very pleasant few cups of coffee with our esteemed forum moderator today in London! Was great to meet up again, chatting car stuff, business stuff, family stuff.....it's been far too long. He'll be back over the Atlantic somewhere as I type this.... |
Spenny, it looks fantastic!
I am really looking fwd to your reports on how this thing behaves once it's all buttoned up. Inspiring. Cheers |
. . . and I am pleased to report the minutes of the second annual meeting of Trans-Atlantic OCD Porsche Owners. . . the meeting was called to order and involved a discussion of the smallest minutiae of engine compartments, fasteners, plumbing, electrical bits, car crashes, alpine skiing, Geography of Britain, driving in France and other topics of high interest in the Anglosphere. . . GREAT to reconvene with the author of this thread over multiple cups of coffee and high-octane Porsche discussion!
Car is looking great. . . just don't park on the street in front of the Walkie-Talkie building! :) |
Haha! Noooo, it won't be going anywhere near central London....unless it's for a very early morning "tunnel run" or some such-like jape ;)
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Well, today was one of those rare days without any distraction (motorsport on tv), where the sun was out and a few early coffees meant I worked pretty-much non stop throughout the day....and very satisfying it was too.
The "to do" list is getting scarily short...I'm going to have to think of some more jobs to do! First job of the day was to finish the 4th corner, LH front, with installing the new brake shield, as well as swapping the inner arch fasteners over to stainless items. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...9E8BC89FA7.jpg Easy. Now the car can be brought down and off of the lift. First shock of the day (well, the only shock today...) was how much lower the car was sitting. A few weeks ago, I suddenly remembered that I had fully tightened the anti-roll bar drop links whilst it was off the ground....of course, you shouldn't do that, so I un-nipped them with a big red note to ensure I re-tightened them once the car was under its own weight. I think there had been an element of artificial lift, so it was nice to see it really hunkered down. Next job, get the car rolled out so I could get some stuff out of the loft - specifically the old engine cover latch (which I need to steal the microswitch from) and the box of wiring, so I can FINALLY finish the extinguisher installation. ...which is a convenient segue onto the next job, to wire the extinguisher bottle > firing switch > control box. I'd been considering where to mount the "big red button" for some weeks, alternating between a hidden placement in the glovebox with the control box, or somewhere on the dash, or on the steering column shroud. In the end, mounting on the dash was discounted - I don't want to drill holes there. If you remember back a year or so (!) I made a bung to plug the hole in the column shroud, where an original dealer fitted immobiliser once sat. With some careful measurement, I decided this would be the perfect spot; discreet enough, but visible "in the event of"..... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...636432D8A1.jpg Next, and final job on this sub-project was to build a very simple loom.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...C3E9384D48.jpg Everything re-installed, the bottle now hooked-up electrically and with the main plumbing line. Glovebox re-installed and firing button plugged in. Time to test it. Thankfully, it all works fine, a big green light with each push of the firing button (with the control box in Test mode, of course) Another very easy job I wanted to do was to fit my new ashtray housing, one with the plastic spring fingers still intact and not all snapped off like my original one. About 1.5mins later, it's screwed into place, with the tray installed. Feels like brand new; nice for it not to fall out at the slightest touch, like the old one did. Passenger seat is also now connected and bolted in place. Only 6 jobs remain...
...three, maybe four of those I can get done tomorrow... |
Ahh well...to have two consecutive ultra-productive days was perhaps too much to expect!
Only had yesterday afternoon working on the car, but somehow just didn't get in the groove, however I did get one of the trickier jobs nailed...at the second time of asking. The engine cover latch, if you remember, needed to be re-built after I discovered that the one I bought from the US - all nice and shiney - had a broken microswitch wire that was impossible to repair. So, time to make one good latch out of 2 not-so-good items. I opened up the "new" item a few weeks ago, to investigate how it was assembled and to take dimensions of the tubes which are used to keep the two halves together. Yesterday, I made both the forming tools and 2 new tubes from aluminium, thinking that this would be a nice, deformable material to use with a pair of forming tools. All great in theory, but in practice, I think they swelled up in the middle when being crimped under the hydraulic press. This meant that both pieces of the latch refused to pivot; completely locked. This is the pair of formers I made on the lathe... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...4BCDAAE0F9.jpg ...which seemed to work well enough in principle. Plan B, after I drilled out the ally items (which were indeed absolutely stuck inside the locking plates and required a parallel punch to remove them), was to remake the tubes from stainless steel. Mild steel would just mean more delay while I got them plated before installing them. After practicing how to hold 4 things at once (!), and making the OD's of the tubes ever-so-slightly smaller this time (so that they weren't an interference fit into the latch frame), it was time to assemble it in the hydraulic press and have another go. All-in-all, a lot better second time, as I could get the tubes central and the crimps even top to bottom... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5B6CF4DAB4.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...781A7009AD.jpg A pair of indentations into each crimp makes it look like the factory unit again, and thankfully I remembered to install the correct switch into the rebuilt latch ;) The only other job I got done yesterday was a finishing job - applying the replica stickers to the slam panel. Not sure if I like them or not, because although the quality of the printing is fine, the substrate is just a thin foil rather than the metal plates of the original stickers. They're also a lot more reflective, rather than the stock items satin finish. Not a big deal to remove them again if I decide there's a better option. Photo later... |
Back on track this evening.
First off, here's some pics of the reproduction engine bay stickers; of course, the valve clearance and firing order plaques aren't original to the 964 generation, I just quite liked them for their geek-ness. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...372B3F2CAD.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8AB7B1692A.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8128BA3630.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...EAE3BB19A0.jpg I have a new replica sticker the same as the original oil level check procedure; but from last nights efforts, the adhesive that Porsche used is a swine to remove!...As said before, undecided at the moment...more important things to focus on. So, first job this evening was to get the centre console assembly screwed down; not a case of just tightening 12 screws, as the extinguisher hose now runs through the frame. After a first attempt, I knew straight away that the routing of the pipework was going to hamper everything going back, and so it proved to be. Time to rip it all out and re-route through the carpeted front section, but above the plastic flanges this time! I also took the opportunity to route it to the LH side of the gear lever (on the "reverse" gate side), as it felt as though it was preventing a nice slick engagement into 5th gear. Using some new fastener screws, it's all now in place, looking pristine like the rest of the cabin. Happy days. Next job, wrestle the intercooler pipework into place and finally fasten down the IC. I wrote before that I'm going to re-make the "cold" pipe out the back of the IC, and after this evening's fun and games, I'll get this done when the car comes back off the road for the suspension teardown. Anyway, for now it's in place and clearing the engine lid nicely. Final job tonight, align the engine lid latch, both the latch itself and the striker pin on the lid. Only jobs left now are to lockdown the fuel pressure regulator, install the gearbox undertray, install the boost gauge and refit the brake calipers...which I'm really hoping will be with me PDQ... |
Braking news....oh ho ho...
Evening folks, time for an overdue update.
Lots of activity, but mostly planning, chasing, planning, cursing... Received the brake calipers back last week, nicely boxed up.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3D4D219EFC.jpg ....lo-and-behold, a nice set of painted calipers.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5D429CCD2B.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...97D0FB4C6B.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3F19BC3E52.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...BD2D6D506D.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...F78483F3C2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...254A9F207C.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...57A0CC02BD.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...BC3B896B8C.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...EA9681B2BA.jpg Think I mentioned it before, but these were a complete refurb, pretty-much regardless of whatever they found, so the fluid seals were replaced, as well as new dust seals (normally they're re-used unless completely shot) Next job, to install them...easy in principle, as I cleaned everything up weeks ago, yes? Almost. I had to leave the original rubber hoses on, as there's fluid in the system, so each corner was clamped in the meantime. New teflon hoses on standby, along with new spring retainer clips....the old rigid lines into the 22yr old original flexi brake lines....they cracked open eventually, but still refused to rotate about the copper pipe, so needed to undo by twisting the whole hose, clamps as well, with brake fluid peeing everywhere....tools, floor, me...all covered. Grrr, hate brake fluid. Lots of washing down with soapy solution to ensure calipers and anything else doesn't get stripped. The original spring locks for the hoses were also stuck fast with 22yrs of grime/wet weather/rust. The plastic protective coil on the original lines was removed, cleaned and installed onto the teflon lines, new clips and new rigid lines up to the calipers. The stainless spring spider wasn't re-plated as I'd hoped, apparently they were in good condition, but my usual attention to detail prevented me fitting them as-is, so time to get a fresh sheet of Scotchbrite Red and get-to-it. I also noticed that the slider plates weren't sitting flat onto the base of the caliper by about 0.5-1.0mm, preventing me getting the brake pads installed....the common "plate-lift" issue that afflicts these calipers. So, removed them, cleaned the underside, removed some corrosion from the corners of the caliper and refitted (unfortunately this has compromised the painted finish but is now Dinitrol protected, and is hidden with the plates installed)...all good again. Lucy spent the morning on Saturday helping me install the right rear caliper, bless her, in her little red overalls (she looks like a junior Red Arrows pilot!)...she now has a good understanding of different types of spanner, sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers and allen keys! I think I owe her some pocket money.... |
For various reasons long-and-boring, the installation of these was due to happen during the week, last week...work commitments in the middle of our final fiscal quarter meant that work had to come first, lots of travelling and therefore re-planning. Oh well.
Finished installing them last night...looking very nice and fresh... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...E4B345E872.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8879F65A3D.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0CE3FA2730.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...05F26FAFD7.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...AF44FC6925.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...CDDD612F8B.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...C270A49854.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1CEF86F6E0.jpg Tonights jobs are to: a) clear up the mess!... b) bleed the system and... c) to adjust the handbrake again; I think it's a little on the light side, so needs a wheel remounting and some testing/tweaking. Have booked next week off from work, in real need to use up vacation time (or lose some of it), but have got plenty of administrative tasks to get done, with Steve now booked to come down here on Wednesday 18th for low speed mapping....which obviously means the first drive out... |
Hi Spencer,
Perfect ! :) |
Hi Pat, thank you my friend!
Mini update - The car can now be driven!....
So....we're down to detail/cosmetic jobs that don't affect how the car drives. Gulp. |
Hi Spencer, :)
You have to be a happy, very satisfied man for you! I hope that you can make us a small nice video! For my part I am still far from it, patience patience... |
Well, a short but worthy update....my pal who owns a garage about a mile down the road is going to be doing the MoT on the car (non UK readers, the MoT is the annual test cars >3yrs old have to go through), and in anticipation of this being a chicken-and-egg scenario, very kindly has held 2 slots open for me; the first is tomorrow morning, the second is for Wednesday.
Now, the reason it's a chicken-and-egg challenge, is that when I first fired up the engine in the car a couple of months ago, I noticed that it didn't return to idle correctly after a quick blip of the throttle. This isn't something that's part of the agenda for engine dyno tasks, more a work item that goes onto the "driveability" list when doing low-speed mapping. For one thing, the dyno adds a load to the engine that isn't there when the car's sitting on idle. Without this being sorted out, however, it shouldn't be driven on the public highway, especially without a proper diagnosis from Steve as to what needs adjusting. Apart from anything else, it wouldn't pass the idle emissions test. The fallback plan was to get Steve down here on Wednesday morning, tweak the map and hopefully rectify it (assuming there's nothing hardware related), then get it to the MoT centre to make it road-legal, then go and do low speed mapping in the afternoon.....but that's a good 1.5hrs out of the day, so an extravagant use of "not inexpensive" mapping time....would be far better to have the whole of Wednesday doing this, plus dialling in the traction control, and playing about with a new feature, a G-sensor which hooks into the ECU and will add another parameter to the TC, that being yaw control. So...after work this evening, with some maps being emailed back and forth, then me on the phone to Steve describing what's happening, editing some settings and trying again, we now have a car that should get through the test fine (or rather, well enough to get us to Wednesdays session), but more importantly, safely for me and the engine. Idle is now super smooth and return to idle is vastly better (but I'm sure Steve will play around with this again). We do need to play about with the 2500-3000 range, there's a fair amount of Lambda trim control going on, and not feeling particularly smooth. Again, not worried, that's the whole point of Wednesdays activities. My mission, long term, is to get Steve out of "luddite mode" :p and using things like TeamViewer....which Craig and I have tested and it works great....On the flip side, I confess to being not-very-good with the MBE Easimap s/w...so infrequently do I use it, that it takes me forever to navigate my way through the various maps and settings! Back tomorrow with another update, and possibly a video of the first drive out. |
So, today was the big day for me and the car. Ollie, my Brother, was up with me at just after 8am helping to shuffle the fleet around (not helped by the battery in the Lotus being flat)....then it was time to get K-FARt rolling under its (her?) own steam....
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/55peM9yLXSM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Then off to the other side of town with Ollie following a safe distance. Of course, we went the long way around so I could get the brakes used a few times. So how did it feel? Veeeery strange. Completely alien, in fact. First of all, (and Steve and I were completely expecting this), the transition from idle to pulling away at a junction, is very sharp. The symptom is like a flywheel with no inertia - this isn't the cause at all, but it will often stall when doing parking manoeuvring, for example. Not concerned, as this was last nights hurried and remote solution to try and get emissions and idle set up. The brakes feel great, very progressive with lots of feel. Definitely not like a VAG/BMW type over servo'd feel. The clutch, which I was half expecting to feel ridiculously heavy, doesn't strike me as any less usable than before...albeit that it was a long time ago that I last used it. I wouldn't want to sit in London traffic in a daily commute, but it doesn't have a pre-requisite of needing leg strength of 100m Olympians. It also occurred to me after we returned, that the pedal-hanging issue that I had experienced previously, now appears to have gone. Which is great, as potentially this saves me from having to do the "last resort" solution and strip the pedal box down to fit the latest clutch kinematic plates (as mine is a late model 965, I *should* have these fitted already....) The transmission felt less than stellar...worst part of the run. In fairness, with the short runs to and from Matts garage, the transmission oil temp didnt really get chance to come up to temp completely, so maybe I'm a little premature in my thoughts. But I think first on the list of things to do, is remove that rose-jointed stabiliser bar that I made a while ago, and re-install the newly re-plated OE item. I'm not convinced the replacement shift rod I've now got is quite right; the throw to the top gears (1,3,5) seems to be shorter and less positive than that to 2 & 4, almost like the cross gate is off-centre. Trouble is, the original shift rod was returned as a core item. I'll remove the tunnel cover and have another look, but it did crunch into gear a number of times. Headlights are now adjusted following their rebuild, and so the trim rings can be refitted (although I think I've lost one of the screws....have got one, but not seen the other for months, dammit) A couple of shots that Dad took - the building that Matt has was actually a radar station during WW2, one of the very first in the world; the main part of the building was the control and operations room, the radar itself was outside on a hard-standing area.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../DSCN1737.jpeg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../DSCN1738.jpeg After all that, did the car pass the MoT?.....Nope. A couple of niggly things; a brake bulb was out and the windscreen washer isn't working; Brake bulb has now been replaced and I did test the washers last night, but assumed it was because the fluid lines hadn't been primed that it wasn't squirting. Closer inspection this morning revealed that the washer motor wasn't even operating. The emissions was also a fail. Again, for non UK guys who aren't familiar with the test, there are 2 x points at which it's tested; the natural idle and the Fast Idle between 2,450 and 2,850 rpm The parameters measured are CO, Hydrocarbons @ Fast Idle (HC) and Lambda @ Fast Idle. With my car, the hydrocarbons count was extremely low, about as low as you're going to get at 5ppm versus a max of 200ppm. This is very good news, shows an efficient engine and gives us latitude to try and dial in the CO element. After 2 runs, the CO count halved from 2.233 down to 1.140 due to the cat really heating up (100 cell cat)...however, the max limit is only 0.300, so we're way out. The plan of action is to return on Wednesday and see if we can extend our time using the gas analyser to dial-in the perfect blend of MoT pass and drivability. 95% of the MoT is done now, so that's good, we just need to nail this part without haemorrhaging the whole day. Overall it can't be anything other than a positive day....like the dyno week earlier in the year, there are now so many validated elements to the project not least of which, it made it there and back with no dramas or breakdowns! As Ollie my Dad have reminded me a couple of times today, this isn't a project where everything gets nailed on Day 1 - there are simply too many moving parts and interdependencies. It's very much going to be an iterative approach; a quick tweak here, a subtle adjustment there. |
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Vacation - Daily update #1
Evening gang....I'm now on vacation for the week; needed to use up some holiday entitlement before losing it, and it seemed an opportune time to combine this with Steve's work this Wednesday. Initially I thought I would be doing nothing other than polishing it, as everything will be done....hahaha....not a chance. Just when I think I'm done, I find something else that needs attention! Had a couple of really productive days work since Saturday, I've clearly pleased the resto-Gods, things have gone my way completely. First off, yesterdays schedule was to address the malfunctioning windscreen washers. Decent weather meant the car could be worked on outside, wheel off, tank partially out and a good look/see. Everything buzzed through ok on the DMM, and then worked perfectly when I reconnected and tried it! I'll "take it", but I really dislike things suddenly working for no apparent reason other than perhaps a dodgy connection. Which it rarely is, it's just a great catch-all explanation. Moving on, time to work on the headlight washers....classic case of having not used the car for so many years, I'd forgotten the function of some of the more eclectic switches that Porsche decided to chuck-in-there in the 90's...."ergonom-what?". Some searching on here and Rennlist, where folk are talking about the headlight washer switch being "under the pod"...and sure enough, the 964 has a rocker switch under the gauge pod. (yeah, wait for it...). So, I'm randomly operating this momentary switch...with and without the lights on....with and without the windscreen wipers going...can't hear the relay operating but connecting a spare 12v battery directly the pump soaked me nicely. Hmmmm. I was just about to buy a new relay (not cheap) but decided to go and make a cuppa instead. Went back out the garage, then realised what an utter donkey I'd been; that switch was being talked about on a 928 topic...on the 964 it (of course) adjusts the time on the clock. Directly above it. Ok....so where the hell is the headlight washer (yes, I can hear you all shouting at me, thanks...)....didn't think to look at the stalk...pull back for windscreen, push forward for headlight wash...with headlights ON. I did laugh to myself. Then went to bed. This mornings plan was to address a brake warning light that persistently lights each time the ignition is switched on. Don't know why, but I assumed that it was the handbrake light, inspected the handbrake, and lo-and-behold, I find that my unit has a snapped off sprung connector at the back...the electrical contact that makes and breaks the circuit with the switch unit and lights/extinguishes the warning light. Thankfully a new contact spring can be ordered as a separate part, £8'ish but it does mean that the lever has to be disconnected and the old "stub" removed by drilling out a pair of rivets. A job for later on in the week. But that wasn't what the warning light was for; it was only when I Googled for a PDF of the owners handbook (I don't have a copy, and baulk slightly at paying £150 on eBay for one), that I find out that this particular lamp is for the brake fluid level....EH?!? I only just filled and bled the brakes?! What I then noticed, moulded into the plastic header tank, is the warning to fill up to the desired level only once the reservoir had pressurised (presumably the reservoir used for emergency ABS assistance?). Sure enough, upon checking it was down to the minimum recommended level. A quick top-up and it's another item off the list. Easy. Next up, change (what I refer to as) the stabiliser bar on the transmission; If you remember a few months ago, I made a very nice looking rose-jointed item that bolts to the main housing at one end, and via rubber isolators to the chassis cradle at the other. I only made it in anticipation of the original one not successfully re-plating. Plus I like to mess around on the lathe and "make stuff". Anyway, the OE bar did re-plate perfectly, so I put it back to stock. Next job, while I was under the car, I thought I'd see if I could adjust the alignment of the gearstick, to bring the neutral position aft, and hopefully give a more positive feel to the 1-3-5 engagements. What I'd completely overlooked was that there is an adjustment on the forward shaft that attaches between the underside of the gearstick and the forward crossmember. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...B80F6D7E69.jpg TK Chris had helpfully suggested some months ago, that I replace this with another rose-jointed item from FD Motorsports. I will at some point, just to prevent the plastic inner bush from failing. For the time being, by loosening the locknut and screwing in the joint as far as possible, it has resulted in the lever moving back, and a lot nicer feel to the 1-3-5 shift....albeit only a static test, the proof of the pudding will obviously come on Wednesday. So, I thought that while I'm on a roll, and the transmission tunnel cover is off, I'd have another attempt to fit the brand new gearbox undertray. I must have hoisted the car with the arms of the lift in a *slightly* different position, as this time, I was able to slot it into place, interlock the tangs with the tunnel cover and get it bolted into place. Another job done! And then the job I just noticed that needs urgent attention first thing in the morning....oil....dripping off of one of the wastegate control hoses on the RH side. WHAT?!? I could see it coming from the tinware, and running down the heatproof sleeving. A quick inspection under the hood revealed a nice pool of oil laying on the tinware skirt, however, with the IC in place and the AC hoses there (reminds me, I can get Matt to recharge the AC system on Wednesday...) I can't get to it well enough to see exactly where it's coming from; my initial thought was (naturally) the valve cover. But....I can see evidence of oil spitting on other parts in that area....a drip/run from the valve cover wouldn't do this. Lightbulb moment....the PS pump. Sure enough, a contorted wipe of the finger under the pressure hose, and it's wet. Jeeeesus. Mega flammable. Baffled how this can be leaking, as I specifically remember tightening that banjo bolt to the required torque. Anyway, the plan is to remove the tinware skirt and access everything from under the car, give it all a good clean, inspect, tighten or replace the copper washers and re-test. Am rather glad I caught that before any serious driving...:eek: |
Good evening Spencer!
I have just seen your small video, that it is pleasant to hear it again to hum! :) |
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Vacation - Daily update #2
Sorry, a little late posting this, as I needed to get an early night last night, ready for D-Day today. So, yesterday was another pretty good day with progress. The most urgent issue was of course to identify that oil leak. Thankfully, once I had the tinware removed (a lot easier than reaching in from above, despite needing to removed a few other hoses to allow it to be freed), it was pretty clear to see where the oil was coming from. Not the PS pump at all....which was really good news. Turns out, it was the camshaft oil feed banjo onto the cam carrier housing - which makes sense, as this is a pressure line as well. Actually, more specifically, it was the hex feed restrictor union that interface the banjo to the cam carrier. I confess to being a little surprised by this, as we saw no leaks from here whilst we spent a week on the dyno a few months ago, but there you go, stuff happens. A few minutes spent thoroughly cleaning everything and replacing the plain copper washers with some of the crush-type washers, and it all looks to be ok now. Next job was to swap out some of the ally washers on the crankcase perimeter studs. I never have liked these and the way they distort so much when torqued (John, we were talking about this in London a few weeks ago - turns out they were the pukka Wurth items rather than Victor Reinz). I swapped these out for some steel ones, and re-torqued...another niggly little job off the list. Unfortunately, the day didn't end quite so well....I noticed the other day that some pillock in the cars previous life had fitted a 15" wiper blade on the rear windscreen. Standard fitment is 13"...but when combined with the high level brake light I have, it's a recipe for the blade wedging itself under the brake lamp. Which it did the other day when I tested it (forgetting from 4yrs ago that this was something I needed to address). No harm done - I thought - I'll just replace with a 13" blade. Went to fit it, and the wiper arm snapped clean in half. Dammit!!....Only option is a genuine Porsche part....at £165+VAT. This bloody car…. |
Vacation - Daily update #3
A very busy day yesterday…hence the lack of immediate update. Steve arrived at 7.30 in the morning at my house, so we were able to really get started early, tweaking and honing the various maps before waiting for a socially aceptable time to fire up the car, upload the maps, and then play with idle settings, fast idle (2450-3450rpm) settings, and then taking it for a spin around the block so that Steve could see how it feels “in real life”. Some harshness in the 3k area (see further comment below), and a very fragile pulling away transition from idle map to low speed driving map meant that it was stalling at the slightest provocation, but this is all good stuff to find out early in the day, to address once it’s fully road legal with an MoT certificate. Hopefully. Over to Matt’s for just after midday, and I’m starting to wonder whether we have a repeat of the issue we had on the dyno a few months ago, specifically the Bosch ignition amplifier (3-way unit) that at the time had gone offline, leaving us with only 1 spark on 4-5-6 (ie., it was the top bank of CoP’s that weren’t firing). At the time, we had a second issue and a rapid loss of hours left to do the mapping, so when we discovered the issue, we fixed and just got the hell on with it. We never did understand the “failed” ignition amplifier. So, we were hoping we could use some of Matts Bosch diagnostic tools (he’s a Bosch certified shop…got loads of really nice bluetooth enabled diag kit) to see whether we have a bank of plugs down….he had the kit - a magic wand that you sit on top of the plug lead or CoP and it can detect the pulses….but only on CoP’s that aren’t deep where the high tension part buried in the head. Bugger….got to do it old-skool and pull each CoP to test. We re-ran the MoT emissions test, and after making a very subtle (0.2º) change to the ignition advance sites in 2400-3400 area, it swung the CO reading from >1.140% down to 0.097% (not a typo)….Steve was amazed at how this made such a significant difference, but also equally amazed when I revealed to him how small the integrated exhaust silencer and catalytic converter were, and also that it’s a 100cell cat! I think he was only half a step away from throwing his arms up in bewilderment! (I told him this before we got the emissions pass, haha). With the official paperwork now done, Steve spent another hour or so merging maps, making adjustments, but crucially re-checking the emissions to ensure that whatever he had subsequently done, didn’t a) affect the test and b) make sure it’ll pass again next year. Time for more driving, but by now we’re starting to lose the light, it’s raining, the HVAC isn’t charged with AC gas and it’s misting up inside….and frankly I’m more than a little nervous with the beginning of rush-hour and school traffic (think Kamikaze mums in SUVs, buses, coaches and hundreds of wayward kids walking into the road with no regard for self preservation…) Stalling at junctions is the next issue to address, so we found a very quiet private road, dead straight and flat where we could stop/start/repeat as many times as we liked. It also has speed bumps and table-top ramps to contend with, plus one quite steep incline to simulate a hill-start. More refining and we now have a REALLY nice feel, where the engine catches itself but critically not with a tonne of advance where it shoots off like a mad greyhound. One thing that was revealing for Steve is just how many things you need to juggle with air cooled cars; no consistency at all with temperature control with temps shooting up all over the place….not helped by the discovery that my front oil cooler fan wasn’t coming on in either low or high speed. A quick removal and bridging of 30 & 87 to kick the fan in, and all’s good again, but a test later reveals that it appears the relay (R04) is knackered. Even switching the AC relay (R14) which is identical, doesn’t fix it and test that relay indicates it’s also shot….I find that hard to believe, but will investigate further. When Simon and I were determining the requirements for the ECU wiring loom, he did accommodate a low-side drive output form the ECU to trigger a relay for this oil cooling fan. At the moment, it’s just tied out of the way (albeit enabled in S/W) so I’ll look into running this in parallel with the CCU control of the fan. It should be the case that the ECU will always determine the fans operation, as it’s detecting the actual oil temp in the engine gallery, rather than behaving reactively to the temp measured in the oil cooler radiator. Steve spent a while running me through the algorithms for the traction control system, with the speed differential maps across the 4 corners, and then the multiplying factor that is applied to either reign in or soften the control. Then, just when I thought my head was going to melt, we move onto the G-sensor and it’s effect, essentially adding a 3rd dimension to the road speed vs throttle position graph….THEN….a 4th dimension, where the G-sensor also has built into it a yaw sensor, the 4th axis then becomes the rate of rotation in degrees/second. Head boom. So, I’ve got to find a suitable flat space to mount this in the correct orientation. I have to say, this all seems completely irrelevant at the moment, I don’t even have the courage to give it 100% throttle with the lowest boost map (0.7bar) activated! Mind you, that’s mostly to do with the fact that the chassis setup feels about as distant from “good” as you could hope to be if, if you were challenged to set something up badly in order to win a lottery amount of money. It’s comically awful and with 40mph gusting crosswinds on the roads we were driving, I was a nervous wreck each time we got home. Polar opposite to how the Exige feels, if I’m honest. Apart from diving into how to perform data logging in the Easimap software, that was were we left it for the day…no doubt some more tweaking will be needed, as the car is only truly cold once in a day like that. |
Vacation - Daily update #4
Today I’m giving it a rest - I’ve had enough of playing with this car for a few days, it’s been intense to make sure everything was as good as it could’ve been for yesterdays mapping mission. But there were a few niggles that require another list to be made: Oil cooler fan Relay fix - described above Oil cooler fan ECU control - three, or maybe four ways of doing this: First is to route the output from the ECU to the fuse/relay board in the frunk, obtain a relay and the captive female spade receptacles and make it look factory Second would be to install a separate relay by the oil cooler itself, but this would need a +Ve feed from somewhere (probably a spare fuse slot in the fusebox) Third could be to bifurcate the signal wire from the temp sensor on the oil cooler, essentially hijacking the signal to the CCU Fourth could be to tap into the relay coil connection of the stock oil fan relay (R04) and override this with the ECU signal. Clutch pedal Requires the pedal to be virtually pushed through the floor, to ensure a smooth shift. I only remembered yesterday that the workshop manual for the 964 does say that there are 2 dimensions that need checking and adjusting on the clutch pedal assembly; first off, there needs to be a 6mm gap between a screw and a pivot for the boost spring. Secondly, the pedal travel needs to be adjusted to 145mm +/- 10mm. I’m also going to re-bleed the hydraulics, just in case the first part of travel is actually just compressing trapped air…it feels good and not soft/squidgy like brakes do with trapped air, but in fairness I don’t have a huge amount of experience with this clutch system. Oil leak….again The work I did on Tuesday to fix the cam line banjo leak doesn’t look to have worked. Only had time for a quick cursory glance, but I did see a small pool of oil on the tinware skirt when we were doing the emissions check. Time to do it again, but this time I’m going to buy some self-sealing washers, the ones with a rubber gland bonded to the ID of the steel washer. Investigate the dump valve Actually, not the dump valve at all. There’s oil spitting evidence on the cold charge (exit) pipe of the intercooler directly above where the BOV is mounted, hanging upside down. Hmmm…why is there oil being sprayed? It can’t be *that* much oil, as it would’ve been detected in the emissions test, or rather, it wouldn’t have passed by such a strong margin….but there is oil nonetheless and I can’t help feeling it’s my oil tank breather catch-tank. A guess would be that under load, the vacuum in the inlet tract (where the catch-tank vents into) is drawing oil up and into the intake system. Arggghhh!!! This is the real pain in the arse problem to look into, as it’s going to be a significant rework to fix it, unless I say “screw it” and vent the catch-tank to atmosphere. I was going to dismantle the IC and associated pipework at some point, in order to rework the cold pipe and weld it a little more accurately to the IC….but I wasn’t planning on doing it this side of Xmas. Looks like I now need to remove everything, and presume that I’ll see oil in the inlet pipe, in the turbo compressor housing and through the intercooler. FU*K IN HELL. Ignition amplifier As mentioned previously, source another Bosch unit (good idea to treat it like the old DME relay, and keep a spare in the frunk), then swap it with each of the 4 existing units, test drive and see if it makes a difference to the harshness I can feel (through the seat) in the middle rev range. Again, lack of seat time with air cooled engines is my downfall here, but it really doesn't feel smooth at all. Once on boost, it flies, and all the readings that Steve was monitoring on the ECU yesterday show nothing untoward....it just feels....crap...like a washing machine that's out of balance. Is that business as usual? One explanation could be that the geo is so out of shape that we've got some side-to-side toe issue that's manifesting itself as a scrubbing vibration? The geo really does need addressing before I can stretch the legs of the engine (safely) so another job on the "must get done soon" list. So, I’m not even touching it today, I’ve had a gut-ful, frankly (as if that wasn’t obvious). Not an enjoyable experience finding yet more stuff I need to do, and am feeling very broke having spent another £2k in the last day alone….going to go and play with the Lotus instead, see if I can't go and break something expensive on that as well. |
Spencer, I wouldn't use the aluminum/rubber washers on the spray bar banjo fitting. This calls for aluminum crush washers on both sides of the banjo and another between the case and the fitting itself, if I remember correctly. The solution is to check the mating surfaces for any defects, then use new crush washers and torque the whole thing to the proper setting. It's a pretty high torque value so don't be shy about using the big wrench on it. I am afraid that using a rubber/metal composite won't stand up to the torque AND will put bits of shredded rubber into the oil system.
The Bosch ignition amplifiers are pretty stout, you could hit them with a hammer (or like 20V overvoltage) and they still work. So you're using four of the 203 three channel units. Did you use heat conductive paste between the modules and the aluminum mounting plates? |
Ok advice heeded re the washers John, thanks. They were originally installed with the ally crush washers, all torqued appropriately. The mating face on the cam carrier looked fine, no damage with knicks or scores...maybe I'll spin the hex adapter up in the lathe and re-face it with a spring cut, just to give it a clean.
Yeah those amps have never let me down before, and generally I hate fixing something without understanding why it now works, but back on the dyno at 5.30 in the evening, a £6k bill already and a hard stop to get the engine off at 8.30, for once I didn't give a toss, and we just cracked on to build the rest of the maps! Indeed, I'm using 4x 3-channel units, with a pair mounted on one plate, and the other pair on it's own plate....decent thickness material to act as a sink, and indeed, the thermal transfer compound was applied under each one. The other measure we took when building the loom, was to ensure that each amp wasn't firing 2 coils in quick succession, to minimise as much as possible the duty cycle heat of each unit. ...I'm aware that I may be chasing ghosts on this one, and that there are other things that need addressing before a meaningful or correct diagnosis can be made. It could be my very limited experience of running/driving air cooled motors....this may well be just one of those characteristics that they do....give me an M09x or Mezger-based watercooled lump, and I'll tell you if it's running right or not! |
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I was using a setting from Waynes book, which I'm not 100% of in terms of its description...and iirc it was 35Nm? (am not at home at the moment, so the book isn't to hand...I could be misquoting) |
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Good week-end ! |
Hi Pat, really appreciate you asking your guy, thank-you.
My memory was correct, the book does say 35Nm, which is what I would have done it up to earlier in the week, so further work needed to see where exactly this leak is coming from and what I can do to fix it. I also noticed that there's another leak on the 1-2-3 side as well, same place I think, but it's harder to see with the intake pipework there. Something isn't adding up - I had none of these leaks on the dyno when the engine was being fed by the oil system in the dyno cell (rather than the cars oil supply system). The oil pressures seem to be reading ok on the dash gauge though; 4.5bar at 5,000 when warm, drops to between 2-3 when idling. I wonder whether there's something amiss with the plumbing somewhere in the system, maybe creating excessive pressure? |
Hi Spencer,
In fact my mechanic told me to pay attention on the quality of slices aluminum "joins"("closes","contacts"), she(it) differs if they come from Victor heinz or directly from Porsche, those of Porsche are more qualitative, thus we can squeeze(tighten) them with no problem at all to 30 Nm otherwise is better to squeeze(tighten) to 25 Nm. Otherwise, as for the oil leaks, I think that they can come from the junction (crankcase of distribution(casting) / support(medium) ACC). I also arrest(dread) the flights(leaks) in spite of all my efforts, nothing more irritating!!! Good Sunday! ;-) |
Yup, I'm now pretty sure (although now I'm not 100% certain) that the crush washers I used were from the Victor Reinz gasket set I bought when I first stripped the engine. I have an order in-progress with my local OPC at the moment, so I think I'll add these to the shopping list and get genuine parts.
Another lesson learnt with Victor Reinz, perhaps....I should've binned that kit and bought a Wrightwood kit...ho-hum...next time. Another big shout out to Chris @ TurboKraft, a very long email over the weekend with very helpful suggestions regarding oil system breathing. Complete stand-up guy...as we all know already. I'll start to look at the car again during the week |
After a busy week and just wanting to leave the car alone for a while, it's been a productive day back on the project.
First order of the day is to carefully strip the intake system, being cautious not to remove any tell-tale signs of where oil is coming from. Report so far....
Other findings: 1) The oil evidence I can see on the cold exit pipe from the IC is, I'm sure, excessive oil from the air filter when is adjacent to it. I'm not 100% convinced, as the filter is the opposite side of the pipe, but it looks possible that the BOV is blowing surface oil off from the filter, when dumping excess boost. It does feel stickier, much like the retention oil that's used on new foam filters. There's no trace of oil in the pipe that the BOV is mounted to, so it's for sure nothing in the intake air supply. Great news, and I'll try and remove as much oil as I can from the filter now that it's had chance to cover all the foam cells. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ABDB73E4D6.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...981D18949A.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5C401F1E5B.jpg 2) (talk about airing your mistakes in public)....The oil return from the air/oil separator tank is a small -3AN hose, feeding from the tank to a spare union on the crankcase breathers chimney plate. I installed a -3 adapter, which is still nipped-up tight, but the 90º -3AN union was less than finger tight. I remember that I struggled to get this lined up, so perhaps once I did manage to get it on and finger tight, I maybe got distracted and made a cuppa, and never tightened it fully....no signs of my red paint-pen.... Clearly, this is the source of the oil on the shroud...and everywhere else. What a stupid error, and has only been added to (although tiny by comparison to the crankcase breathing) by the oil return from the source separator tank. 3) The pooling of oil on top of the timing chain housing, I'm pretty sure, is where oil has run along the -4AN hose that is used to lubricate the turbo. It snakes slightly downwards from the top right corner, under the intake over to the front left hand corner, over the top of the timing chain casting (and resting upon it), before disappearing down through the tinware to the turbo. (you can just about make out a faint yellow-y path of oil down towards where it's pooled, and wetness under the -4 hose) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...CF8A4E044F.jpg I can see no other possible source for the oil; the line that runs to the cam housing (new) is bone dry, the uppermost nut between the casting and the crankcase is also dry, and there is no other tell-tale wetness in the surrounding area apart from oily residue from where the oil supply line to the turbo rests on the housing. It's basically been used as a conduit. Or the housing casting is porous!? (joking). So in addition to some cleaning up of the oil, that's where I'm up to before breaking for a well-deserved fry-up lunch. And to document this. So, best I disappeared back into the garage and carry on. Will report back later with more findings. |
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