Project Custard - Gearbox issues

[custardavenger]

Ok a little more time spent cursing and swearing and the manifold is almost there. I started lagging and securing it with locking wire, then one of the guys at work produced some stainless steel tie wraps which were much better. I did try wrapping it wet but then it just started to fall apart. One little piece is wet though so will have to wait for the top coat of paint. Pretty happy with it but not sure whether it will hold to gether as I had to cut holes for the O2 sensors.

[loadswine]

Nice and neat Rob, that should do the trick.  s:) s:)

[spit]

Luverly.

Is there enough of a post on those O2 bungs to get a couple more stainless ties on?

[custardavenger]

Not really. I tried to wrap the cut bit a bit looser than the rest and get ties before and after it (have added the one missing in the pic) I'm hoping that once its had a few top coats of paint that will stop it coming apart. If it does I'll have learnt my lesson and have to do it again in 25mm wrap.

[uktotty]

Looks good Rob, like a little winter jacket for your exhaust

[custardavenger]

Update time again and quite a bit has happened.

I now have an engine. Not what I was hoping for but was a good deal. I have compression tested it and it was OK, I plan to remove the sump and check the rod bearings and also pop the cam cover and make sure everything is good in there too. Then it's a clean up and a prep for going into the car.




As well as that thanks to two very kind people I have some lovely bits from the USA
An AEM water injection kit, Currently working on fitting the nozzel into my intake pipe and trying to work on a location for a tank (running out of space)

and this *Bling*

A charge cooler. God knows how I'm gonna fit it in but I will. It won't be properly fitted until the water injection is up and running but I will fit the header tank and rad first.

So at the moment I'm working on the Exhaust, polish tips and maybe wrap a short section, Machining all the parts needed for the Water tank and the header tank. Sorting out all the electrics, and looking into the engine breather pipework/catch can (thanks to the guys at the Fancy a cuppa meet for showing me their solutions)

Spend for next month will be parts needed to fit the engine (Oil, gaskets etc), an odessy battery so I can get the tray made and some paint.

Will go into more details on all these developements soon.

[loadswine]

Glad to see things coming together Rob. Are you sure you'll need the water injection if you have a charge cooler?

[custardavenger]

Plan is to go with it on the current set up, then add CC. That way if I want to take the next step and go for the bigger Rotrex my cooling should be more than good enough. I've also read lots of other good reasons to add it but will see if they are true when it's  on.

[Christopherathens]

Plan is to go with it on the current set up, then add CC. That way if I want to take the next step and go for the bigger Rotrex my cooling should be more than good enough. I've also read lots of other good reasons to add it but will see if they are true when it's  on.

Added cooling is always a better idea Rob!!I am with you.  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  
 About the chargecooler setup,what do you have in mind?If i can help you with anything let me know!

[custardavenger]

Plan is to go with it on the current set up, then add CC. That way if I want to take the next step and go for the bigger Rotrex my cooling should be more than good enough. I've also read lots of other good reasons to add it but will see if they are true when it's  on.

Added cooling is always a better idea Rob!!I am with you.  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  
 About the chargecooler setup,what do you have in mind?If i can help you with anything let me know!

Cheers for that

Basic system will be bosch pump, metro rad up front and a custom header tank behind the battery with the CC next to the battery. The CC inlets are too big so they will be cut off and a custom pipe welded on to go where needed. I do need to find a way of controlling the air flow out of the CC into the MAF cos it's gonna be a very short pipe. All intake pipework will be 2.5" and be atached to the engine so it should not need expansion joints. Also I'm looking at putting self sealing couplings on the water lines so that the CC can be removed without draining the system. Anyway as I say the I'll fit the rad, pump and tank now, but the CC won't be in till mch later in the year (will need to save for the pipework)

[custardavenger]

Time for a bit of an update.

Engine is ready to go in next time I go down. Had a little trouble to identify all the cut pipes. I've had the RC and sump off and eveything looks good so fingers crossed. On thing I am looking into is getting the service tol to disconnect the fuel rail as this would make putting it in much easier (especially seeing as I now know about removing the loom)

Been fitting the water injector into the intake pip, (Almost done pics soon) Still struggling on where/how to mount the tank and pump. I'm thinking that the best place is behind one corner of the rear bumper but that means I'll have to wait till I can get a tank made. It's either than or I get very lucky looking for a washer tank from another vehicle.
I have ordered a non return valve for the RC breather. I'm going to block the TB breather, Put the valve in the line to the RC and the other RC connection to a catch can.
Also pulled the front end off to look at fitting the Rad and pump. (Hmm bit rusty). I have also started ordering LED lamps to save the usual problems at MOT time.

Still lots to do then and next weekend is going to be a big one. as Once the engine is i'n I'll be removing the brakes and hopefully tacking up the braces.

[Captain Vimes]

Just thought I'd mention that I believe the volume of water in a Charge cooler setup can greatly affect the efficiency of the system - when sorting out your water tank and placement of it I'd keep it in mind that you really want a large volume of water (but don't want weight hanging out the back of the car beyond the axle line..).

There's a link online where a guy tested the effects of different volumes of water in a CC system and found that something like beyond 10 litres added little benefit but  each litre to that point was worth having. I'll hunt around and see if I can find it (obviously engine/turbo/boost e.t.c will affect what you need but I doubt a 1 litre washer bottle will be enough)

[custardavenger]

Cheers for the input on that. The tank I was concidering using a washer bottle for would be for the water injection system. Which would Idealy be a gallon or more. As for the CC tank my plan is to build a new battery tray to take a slightly smaller and slimer battery and also the CC tank. I'm not sure what volume I'll manage to achieve but it will be as large as I can fit in. I have lost some system volume by reducing the pipe size but I'm sure it's not enough to make a detrimental effect. I'll have a search and see if I can find the article you mentioned though as it sounds like interesting reading

[Captain Vimes]

This is the link i was thinking of, it's been a while since I read it and don't think it says exactly what I thought it did, but there's some useful data there so maybe of some use to you.

 m http://www.mez.co.uk/turbo13.html m

[custardavenger]

Oh yeah I've seen that site. Used that for pump comparison. He's really gone deep into charge cooling.

[Ilogik]

give me some of your skills, wish I could do this sort of stuff.

[custardavenger]

Been busy busy busy. On the major rush to get back on the road for ding day. Some things from the list will have to wait and my main focus is on engine and bracing. Got lots of stuff part done. I have anon return valve for my breather and will make the catch can tomorrow, I will be changing the valve for the size bigger later on.

Still looking for an easy way to trim the kirks to size. going to try the lathe but don't think it will work.

The stepped pipe adaptors truned up today and they are ok but think I may make some propper ones (perfectionist I know)

Only other job I've finished is the water injection nozzle. I have mounted it in position of the redundant fuel injector.

With injector






Have got lots planned for this weekend.

Engine etc in, Tack up crash bar, Remove calipers, try cleaning the roof etc etc. As well as Russ is getting a service
Also I've got involved in a side project that has made me take Thursday off, but thats something I'l be sharing later.

[custardavenger]

Wow, long weekend. So I got the engine in went fairly well. Started but won't tick over. Checked the map was still correct and it is and I guess I need to to a reset on the PFC but don't think that is the problem. It's probably either :-

Idle air valve - I changed the TB for a big bore and rather than swap my idle air valve and use one from another TB, Need to check    its working properly.

Plugs - Using the same plugs, includidn the one that got oiled so will be purchasing some more.

Coil packs - Have fitted the ones that came with the engine. They were ok when I ran the engine but I can always fit my originals.

Other than that I'm not sure what else it could be. Will be down again weekend after next to try and get that sorted. I just ran out of time to try anything else.

I'll also need to pull the ABS fuse as I have removed the brake calipers to get them powder coated. I'm not too sure what to do with the brakes yet. Rear disks are a little on the rusty side.



Currently brake wise I have Bremtech discs with mintex extreme pads on the front. Mintex have stopped doing the extreme pad so I'm thinking of trying EBC yellow stuff pads all round. Just need to decide on whether to go for the Bremtech rear discs. Or replace the whole lot. I was hoping to get the EBC Ultimax Blackdash discs but they don't do them for the roadster. I don't really like the dimples in the turbo disks but then they are cheap and come coated. I have found a place that will zinc discs but it's all down to what I can get done in time. Need to make the desision but Wednesday.

And lastly a little teaser on my rear beam project.




I have made two. Just need to drill for bumper clips, weld in two uprights to take the number plate and fix on an exhaust bracket. At the moment it weighs slightly more than the stock pre 03 beam but is stiff and is gonna be great for airflow.

So still lots to do. I have a rush to get everything ready for powder coat, Need to get the bumpers sprayed, purchase brake parts and if I have a spare five minutes look into fitting the rest of the water injection.

[Christopherathens]

 s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:    s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:  
Now that is what i call skills!I really envy you Rob for making such progress in such a short time!!

The water injection nozzle looks like it is made by a big aftermarket performance parts company.

About the brakes,i would probably not use the rear discs since they look a bit too much rusted.The rear beam looks great and will surely improve airflow.Thumbs up!!!!

[custardavenger]

Cheers Chris

No I'm definately not using the rear discs again. The desision was whether to buy just the rears or front and rears. Think I'll be going for just the Bremtech rears but will call them today and see how soon they can deliver.

[custardavenger]

Well I've just had a bit more of a play with the car and it's still not running well. Have checked TB and that seams fine. Have put in stock spark plugs as well. It starts fine and will tick over at about 2K but its hunting and will often stall. I will try loading an older map but am having trouble with my LM1. I'm not happy it's callibrating properly. I can't remember what it does when it does calibrate? Does it normally count down like they do when you do a heater calibration?
Also does anyone know how much the PFC uses the stock o2 sensors? I realise alot of oil went down the exhaust and am not sure if that would of damaged one?

[uktotty]

As well as Russ is getting a service
Also I've got involved in a side project that has made me take Thursday off, but thats something I'l be sharing later.

Just to CLARIFY!
Russ's CAR is getting a service  s;) s;)

[loadswine]

Hey Russ, i thought it was you who was getting calibrated, ouch!  s:scared: :scared: s:scared:  
Hope you get this running nicely Rob, it deserves to be an absolute cracker!

[custardavenger]

So after a bit of worry about my job the project continues. I'm still having problems with calibrating the Innovate and that will have to be sorted before I can get the engine running properly.
So while I try and get help on that I am finishing the rear crash bar, fitting the rest of the water injection, getting the bumpers painted and upgrading the brakes

So far I have bought the rear discs and removed the front ones and they will be going for Zinc plating this week. I have the calipers off. I have decided to fully recondition them and get them powder coated so will be stripping them down at work. Blasting them and then they'll go off with a load of other stuff to get powder.

Looks like I will get most of the stuff done I wanted to.

[custardavenger]

Step forward then one back.

Have managed to get my Innovate working again. It was one of the plugs on the wire I made up had failed internally. Now thou I find that the car is running lean. I adjusted the idle fueling to get the engine up to temp but once there it would not hold ratio. and kept working its way lean again. Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time in it today. I want to check sensors and connections and then try again. Can anyone give me an idea of any sensor reading I should expect with a PFC?