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PollyMobiles Rebuild
- Thread starter pollyp
- Start date
OP
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pollyp
Club Member
Castle Combe trackday October 2011
first session with the harder front springs and hard damper settings the car would power understeer at the corner exit and hard braking was quite hairy where anything beyond medium pressure the abs would pulsate and the rear would skate about badly, especially if i haven't straightened up steering before braking, and don't feel like its braking enough no matter how hard i press, tis really nervous.
now i'm reaching 7k rather than 5k last time, the rad can only support few laps before the temps rises
next i reduced the rear dampers and rear tyre pressure to help stablise the back end, improve it abit.
when braking moderately the pedal would pulsate lightly, feels like warped discs. found spots of hard black deposits on the LH disc prob caused by the ABS.
the LH CV boot also came loose and sprayed grease everywhere. wonder how long the joint'll last
halfway through, the same IC pipe had slipped apart and lost boost:doh:
cousin suggested i unplug the abs to see if it solves the hairy braking. wasn't too sure bout it, what if i lock one wheel and the car spears across?
nope, amazingly it was sooo much better. without premature interruption from the abs, entry braking was hugely more stable and more powerful. i could press the pedal even harder with confidence and feel it slow down even more till my face detaches. it only locks rarely at the end of the braking phase where i simply re-apply.
the light juddering has also gone. the noise when turning right is prob the lack of CV grease
took me m8 around.
could feel the cars slightly heavier but the extra passenger weight made it feel more planted n stabler. temps rising after afew laps even with heater on full and was running low on fuel
sat in my m8s honda civic cr-x and the outlap seems fine, fast n civilised but then next lap he opened the taps V-tec kicked in and ohhearghhhhh what the hell!
my guts been left back at the start finish. i brace my feet to the footwell and when braking I felt like i was gonna smash through the firewall. turning hard round the bends my spline had been ripped out, soo much grip. and where i would just lift off after braking to cruise through the s-bend he would already have floored it and my unprepared gut just sank
twas a scary sweaty palm butt clenching roller coaster ride but enjoyed it. so where can i buy one
fuelled up and took another m8 but on the first lap the pipe pops off again:doh: i'm gonna need to make a one piece metal inlet pipe
reattached pipe n went out before the track closes. abit nippier with no passengers and brakes workin gr8 but then the clutch finally could take it anymore upto 3rd and slipped badly
aw wellhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXU-bLybFSI
afterwards we went over to me cousins house and talked bout the civics. considering the massive amount i've spent in modding a normal small micra not intended for motorsport i could spend half that amount on a civic type r that has the same and more level of upgrades (sport seats, coilover, 180bhp n/a, big front rear brakes) as standard! and is a better starting platform intended for motorsport so doesn't need alota heavy modding. really tempting when i have the income
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OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
was just checkin my laptimes and some interestin results
first session at 14:36 were
1:37 (letting car pass)
1:39 (some traffic)
1:37 (more traffic)
next at 15:02 after reducing rear damper & tyre pressure the improved stability resulted in
1:32 (no traffic but some hairy braking points slowin me down)
1:31 (braking in straight line improved stability n confidence)
turning off ABS at 15:42
1:34 (taking it easy gettin used to no abs)
1:32 (now can brake harder)
finally at 16.05 with me m8 onboard and heater on full giving me 2 more laps before fuel ran low times were
1:32
1:32
1:32
1:32
can't believe how consistant they were
def need a bigger rad
first session at 14:36 were
1:37 (letting car pass)
1:39 (some traffic)
1:37 (more traffic)
next at 15:02 after reducing rear damper & tyre pressure the improved stability resulted in
1:32 (no traffic but some hairy braking points slowin me down)
1:31 (braking in straight line improved stability n confidence)
turning off ABS at 15:42
1:34 (taking it easy gettin used to no abs)
1:32 (now can brake harder)
finally at 16.05 with me m8 onboard and heater on full giving me 2 more laps before fuel ran low times were
1:32
1:32
1:32
1:32
can't believe how consistant they were
def need a bigger rad
baguete
Site Supporter
But then it will be difficult to remove the pipping, right?
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
it'll be coupled at the turbo, IC and MAF so it can be removed but rather have a solid leak free piping
last night was gonna strip down the spare turbo engine down to the bare block to take to cousin on sunday to get it rebored proper for the forged pistons. thought was gonna take few hrs but i just did it in 1hr :grinning:
i bet that time was blind folded too! you gifted man
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
taa will
here's a recent log with the new map
new nuts fitted. thinkin bout it i should've just fitted the nuts that came with the alloys instead:doh: meh
the loaded front left tyre tis abit torn. the uneven shoulder wear signs suggests it needed more camber
took me spare engine block to me cousin. we discussed:
*the block will be bored to the precise spec for the JE pistons,
*the rings weren't even bedded in due to the massive end gaps so they could be re-used,
*block then decked,
*head skimmed flat to remove the pitting,
*crankshaft & fly/clutch assembly all balanced.
the crank balance required a flywheel and PP & bolts. since this paddle clutch barely handles the torque nor track/drag abuse, its wise to upgrade n future proof it considering when i may eventually increase the power towards 200.
matts 200mm helix organic clutch may be up for the task but without taking my current car off road i need a spare fly. prefer a 1-piece fly but i got the 3-piece fly that came with the turbo kit, send that to cousin with the flywheel bolts then order the 200mm disc & PP & PP bolts to be sent straight to me cousin to balance.
so much for saving money when i'm outa a job :/
meantime the near priority is to resolve the cooling issue. soon i'll pop down to cousins to try out some full thickness rads & oil coolers to see if they'll fit
here's a recent log with the new map
new nuts fitted. thinkin bout it i should've just fitted the nuts that came with the alloys instead:doh: meh
the loaded front left tyre tis abit torn. the uneven shoulder wear signs suggests it needed more camber
took me spare engine block to me cousin. we discussed:
*the block will be bored to the precise spec for the JE pistons,
*the rings weren't even bedded in due to the massive end gaps so they could be re-used,
*block then decked,
*head skimmed flat to remove the pitting,
*crankshaft & fly/clutch assembly all balanced.
the crank balance required a flywheel and PP & bolts. since this paddle clutch barely handles the torque nor track/drag abuse, its wise to upgrade n future proof it considering when i may eventually increase the power towards 200.
matts 200mm helix organic clutch may be up for the task but without taking my current car off road i need a spare fly. prefer a 1-piece fly but i got the 3-piece fly that came with the turbo kit, send that to cousin with the flywheel bolts then order the 200mm disc & PP & PP bolts to be sent straight to me cousin to balance.
so much for saving money when i'm outa a job :/
meantime the near priority is to resolve the cooling issue. soon i'll pop down to cousins to try out some full thickness rads & oil coolers to see if they'll fit
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Paul, you should of just got a n15 1.6 flywheel and a stage 3 or 4 GA16 clutch. These are more than capable and alot cheaper. Baguette and myself are the only ones I know running this setup and would have been perfect for your future 200 +
Anyways mate, wish you all the best and glad you got your MOT in the end :grinning:
Anyways mate, wish you all the best and glad you got your MOT in the end :grinning:
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
ah shoulda remembered that.
was meeting me cousin when i brought down me spare block and recommended i may aswell get the crank balanced but needed a fly & clutch quickly cos he's getting it all done this week so only option i knew was matts 200mm clutch and my spare flywheel.
meh its done now
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
making the catch can
fill with steel wool
joinin the brass pipe to the stainless flask would be tricky but figured of using PU sealant
on test fitting, the top pipe fouls the bonnet
rerouted the pipe
was gonna make a bracket for the can but didn't work then figured just use a jubilee clamp riveted to the bulkhead
used stainless scotchpads instead
all fitted
clamp was not fully riveted tight so abit of wool cusions it
find out after few hundred miles if it works
fill with steel wool
joinin the brass pipe to the stainless flask would be tricky but figured of using PU sealant
on test fitting, the top pipe fouls the bonnet
rerouted the pipe
was gonna make a bracket for the can but didn't work then figured just use a jubilee clamp riveted to the bulkhead
used stainless scotchpads instead
all fitted
clamp was not fully riveted tight so abit of wool cusions it
find out after few hundred miles if it works
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OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
Just checked the car over and i think the lsd is shagged.
It has zero preload, turn either wheel and the other wheel spins the opposite way whether in-gear or off-gear.
Even if i put it in gear, push both wheels same direction to try engage the lsd cam n load up the clutch plate and then let one wheel go, it still slips with no resistance.
No wonder it no longer chatters away during turns nor have a sudden on/off engagement mid-corner cos i prob have no lsd.
It doesn't wheelspin much when on full boost on a dry straight. Slight wheelspin when pulling off at low speed full lock and maybe when at full boost after hitting bumps n lost traction but dunno if thats the clutch or lsd.
I dread that when i fit the forged engine i'll also need to send the lsd off to be rebuilt, pref with a 1.5 way cam. Suppose with only half as much clutch plate it'll last half as long and even less when taken on track.
It has zero preload, turn either wheel and the other wheel spins the opposite way whether in-gear or off-gear.
Even if i put it in gear, push both wheels same direction to try engage the lsd cam n load up the clutch plate and then let one wheel go, it still slips with no resistance.
No wonder it no longer chatters away during turns nor have a sudden on/off engagement mid-corner cos i prob have no lsd.
It doesn't wheelspin much when on full boost on a dry straight. Slight wheelspin when pulling off at low speed full lock and maybe when at full boost after hitting bumps n lost traction but dunno if thats the clutch or lsd.
I dread that when i fit the forged engine i'll also need to send the lsd off to be rebuilt, pref with a 1.5 way cam. Suppose with only half as much clutch plate it'll last half as long and even less when taken on track.
OP
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pollyp
Club Member
I'd have to take the box and/or engine out to get the lsd, replace with open diff from spare gearbox temporarily n refill with new oil then do it all again when fitting the lsd. All of which is impractical n costly when i'm using her daily, its cold n dark.
Maybe i should renew the lsd oil n see if that improves it abit
When i take the box out next year i'll open n check the condition of the diff before rebuild.
Maybe i should renew the lsd oil n see if that improves it abit
When i take the box out next year i'll open n check the condition of the diff before rebuild.
OP
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pollyp
Club Member
ah just looked at me records and i've only brought 6ltrs of lsd oil back in april. so 3ltrs when i first ran it and another 3ltrs after few miles of bedding in but reused it when i was replacing the crank seals plus swapping engines over. now that was 15k ago with 3 trackdays and 1 mega holiday trip so no wonder its feeling abit tired.
will renew lsd oil soon
will renew lsd oil soon
OP
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pollyp
Club Member
had a go at repairing the rear demister
carefully laid two strips of ducktape and applied silver paint
peeled it off. thats only half of one strip and really tested my patience in the freezing cold.
...hmm thinking asthetically, maybe i shoulda first painted a layer of black paint (facing outside the glass so it doesn't look obvious) before a layer of conductive paint on the inside?
was looking around for a heating element to retrofit onto the heater matrix. this 2 stage heater measures 50/100ohms, normally for 230v so dunno if it'll work at 12v or if it'll just blow the 15a fuse. maybe i should get a 12v car heater n retrofit that.
carefully laid two strips of ducktape and applied silver paint
peeled it off. thats only half of one strip and really tested my patience in the freezing cold.
...hmm thinking asthetically, maybe i shoulda first painted a layer of black paint (facing outside the glass so it doesn't look obvious) before a layer of conductive paint on the inside?
was looking around for a heating element to retrofit onto the heater matrix. this 2 stage heater measures 50/100ohms, normally for 230v so dunno if it'll work at 12v or if it'll just blow the 15a fuse. maybe i should get a 12v car heater n retrofit that.
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Fixing the demister is a pain... especially in this weather. We left tape on for a few days and went over the breaks a few times to get some good solid layers. Then most of them came off when trying to peel the tape away :suspect:
BTW since you have the heater matrix out, do you think it's a likely cause of boiling coolant steam coming out of the heater vents? Mine might have popped a leak, but I had to give up removing the dashboard after disconnecting everything except the steering wheel and switch stalks (replacing them apparently requires greasing stuff up and some weird Torx bolts I don't have). Absolute nightmare TBH, the ashtray has about 20 screws in it and I still couldn't get access to the heater grr
BTW since you have the heater matrix out, do you think it's a likely cause of boiling coolant steam coming out of the heater vents? Mine might have popped a leak, but I had to give up removing the dashboard after disconnecting everything except the steering wheel and switch stalks (replacing them apparently requires greasing stuff up and some weird Torx bolts I don't have). Absolute nightmare TBH, the ashtray has about 20 screws in it and I still couldn't get access to the heater grr
OP
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pollyp
Club Member
My heaters still in.
If ur heater cores leaking you'd prob notice a pool of coolant on the carpet and a loss of coolant level. I suppose in the freezing cold the 80c coolant leak could steam abit in the cold cabin.
If u hav airbag then you'll need a torx key. The stalks just unscrew off with a philips. You can take the steerin wheel off by loosening the nut near the end(not completely off) then bash the wheel off violently with hands on both sides to shock it off the column spline. Or make a steering puller thing
Or alternatively u can remove the dash with the steering on, just abit of a squeeze though.
Hmm, actually last time it was a pretty warm day, and very thick smelly steam - I could hear the coolant boiling... When I drained the rad, there was only about 1 litre in it. Hopefully the head is ok
That's a good to know about the stalks, maybe I can just remove them and bodge the console out. The design of the pre-facelift models sure seems more accessible than this though!
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
Hmm, actually last time it was a pretty warm day, and very thick smelly steam - I could hear the coolant boiling... When I drained the rad, there was only about 1 litre in it. Hopefully the head is ok
That's a good to know about the stalks, maybe I can just remove them and bodge the console out. The design of the pre-facelift models sure seems more accessible than this though!
do you have aircon btw?
hows the temp gauge?
maybe the hg is leaking slightly, pumping exhaust into the coolant which tends to make a bubbly noise in the heater core shortly after turning the engine off.
if the coolant was boiling and ur gauge was red, the boiled gas would prob just travel up to the rad cap n bubble out of the expansion tank, losing alot of coolant and the gas might also travel up into the cabin fan inlet.
having any air gaps in the coolant system is bad. take the rad cap off with cold engine, brim the rad n purge all air bubbles out then start engine. blip the throttle, bubbles appearing shortly after a blip consistantly would mean a leaking hg.
removing the stalks was how i first took the dash out, till i figured how to remove the steering making it alot easier.
No aircon and temp gauge is usually bang in the middle, except when it maxed out last time. That sounds plausible - and if the coolant was low it'd be more likely to boil right?
Will try to pop out and test the heater core for leaks... then I'll try to purge air and check for bubbles like you say. Thanks for that handy trick! Is it hard to replace the head gasket if that's the culprit?
OP
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pollyp
Club Member
if there's gas in the system it won't be as efficient so gets hotter than usual under high loads.
i can only think of 2 ways gas can get into the system.
either when there's coolant leaking out of the system, sucking more coolant from the expansion tank through the rad top till it runs dry then begins sucking in air.
or when combustion gas is forced into the system from a blown HG and excess gas exits out the expansion tank
i can only think of 2 ways gas can get into the system.
either when there's coolant leaking out of the system, sucking more coolant from the expansion tank through the rad top till it runs dry then begins sucking in air.
or when combustion gas is forced into the system from a blown HG and excess gas exits out the expansion tank
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
ziptieing a hot pressurised pipe was never gonna work reliably as it softens n stretches
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
tonight i drained the gearbox. lotsa filing bits on the plug again :suspect:
oil was real black brown manky
filled up with 2ltrs of fresh morris oil.
warmed up round town, motorway then drove to the u-turn section in town where the old oil used to occasionally wheelspin from heavy full lock acceleration. this time it pulls round alot better, thought i heard the lsd chatter abit so its cleaning up n gripping again at high load. next few times its working quiet again but still locks n grips vastly better.
at home i jacked each wheel up in neutral but it still spins freely.
so i think the clutches have cleared up n work at high torque load but the plates have prob been worn so slack that its resulted in zero static preload. it'll work for now but when i swap over to the new engine, the lsd plates will prob need thickening up to restore preload or rebuilt with new plates and 1.5way cam, depending on how much Gripper will charge
oil was real black brown manky
filled up with 2ltrs of fresh morris oil.
warmed up round town, motorway then drove to the u-turn section in town where the old oil used to occasionally wheelspin from heavy full lock acceleration. this time it pulls round alot better, thought i heard the lsd chatter abit so its cleaning up n gripping again at high load. next few times its working quiet again but still locks n grips vastly better.
at home i jacked each wheel up in neutral but it still spins freely.
so i think the clutches have cleared up n work at high torque load but the plates have prob been worn so slack that its resulted in zero static preload. it'll work for now but when i swap over to the new engine, the lsd plates will prob need thickening up to restore preload or rebuilt with new plates and 1.5way cam, depending on how much Gripper will charge
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superls
K10 Tuner
had a go at repairing the rear demister
carefully laid two strips of ducktape and applied silver paint
peeled it off. thats only half of one strip and really tested my patience in the freezing cold.
...hmm thinking asthetically, maybe i shoulda first painted a layer of black paint (facing outside the glass so it doesn't look obvious) before a layer of conductive paint on the inside?
was looking around for a heating element to retrofit onto the heater matrix. this 2 stage heater measures 50/100ohms, normally for 230v so dunno if it'll work at 12v or if it'll just blow the 15a fuse. maybe i should get a 12v car heater n retrofit that.
wont do much at all, the 50R bit will only give 2.88 watts of heat.
from ohm's law, I=V/r 12/50 = 0.24A
p=I2xr = 2.88watts
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
got a sheet of copper n drilled a hole to make a wideband heatsink. was gonna bend some fins but would impede the spanner.
got down motorway and eventually it'd still give E8 errors again after high loads. guess the sensor is failing slowly.
got a £7 heater from maplin. was bout as hot as my breath and blows as much as a coughing micefwn
the element was a tiny 1.7ohms
saw a diy guide on hooking a toaster heater to a voltage booster and directly to the 14v supply through a 30a fuse. will look further
got down motorway and eventually it'd still give E8 errors again after high loads. guess the sensor is failing slowly.
got a £7 heater from maplin. was bout as hot as my breath and blows as much as a coughing micefwn
the element was a tiny 1.7ohms
saw a diy guide on hooking a toaster heater to a voltage booster and directly to the 14v supply through a 30a fuse. will look further
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OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
found out that some diesels have cabin preheaters till the coolants upto temp cos diesels take ages to warm up, and that u can get mains powered coolant preheaters for few hundred quid.
sounds nice but far too expensive for such luxury so instead i tried next best thing this morning.
1/2hr before going to work i plug me hair dryer to an extension and left it blowing inside the car, shut door.
after brekky i got in warm cabin, turn off fan so its not blowing cold air into the warm cabin, drove off till the engines upto temp then turn heater on in full heat hey presto
also noticed me wideband doesn't go into E8 error as long as i keep off boost to reduce EGT. tis only after full boost WOT when the sensors cooling down from peak EGT that it occasionally freezes, reads lean n flashes E8.
sounds nice but far too expensive for such luxury so instead i tried next best thing this morning.
1/2hr before going to work i plug me hair dryer to an extension and left it blowing inside the car, shut door.
after brekky i got in warm cabin, turn off fan so its not blowing cold air into the warm cabin, drove off till the engines upto temp then turn heater on in full heat hey presto
also noticed me wideband doesn't go into E8 error as long as i keep off boost to reduce EGT. tis only after full boost WOT when the sensors cooling down from peak EGT that it occasionally freezes, reads lean n flashes E8.
We have quite a large sized lambda bung with our Innovate LC-1 which is supposed to aid keeping the sensor cool, as shown in the pic below, so only the tip sits in the gas flow.
We do have the wideband mounted way back in the 2" collector, which is probably something like 3ft from the head, plus our EGT's will no doubt be significantly lower than with turbo......
We do have the wideband mounted way back in the 2" collector, which is probably something like 3ft from the head, plus our EGT's will no doubt be significantly lower than with turbo......
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
i noticed i occasionally have to take the dizzy cap off to wirebrush the contact points free from a white oxide buildup. the oxide slightly affects ease of starting and possibly economy. even though i just wirebrushed it clean, i drove down to halfords and back, it reappeared very rapidly. this can't be normal nor good for any ignition?
the cap was new so thought maybe the rotors worn short? so got new one in halfords
but turned out to be exactly the same length DOH:doh:
the exposed rotor is 3.35mm, the rotating diameter of the rotor is 64mm
the gap between the dizzy point is 65mm so there's a 0.5mm gap from rotor to contact points. maybe the oxidation is inherent to a mechanical dizzy?
Anyway, engine news now.
just got a call from cousin that my new forged piston engine is ready:grinning:
engine block is bored & decked to precise specs for the pistons
head skimmed, valves pressure tested
crank, pully, conrods, fly & clutch all fully balanced
all for just £280:grinning:
cousin just fitted the crank & pistons in and loosely fitted the rest for me to pickup n check/rebuild, saying the piston and reused rings (which hardly bedded in) feels vastly tighter within spec (no more free-play with gaps going from 0.7mm to bout 0.01) and rings are very scrapey cos of the honing.
he advised filling it with non-synth 20w50, 500miles of normal urban driving within 3k rpm off boost, change to normal oil and gradually run more revs. i'll feel it getting looser/revvier as the rings bed-in.
gonna pickup after xmas
the cap was new so thought maybe the rotors worn short? so got new one in halfords
but turned out to be exactly the same length DOH:doh:
the exposed rotor is 3.35mm, the rotating diameter of the rotor is 64mm
the gap between the dizzy point is 65mm so there's a 0.5mm gap from rotor to contact points. maybe the oxidation is inherent to a mechanical dizzy?
Anyway, engine news now.
just got a call from cousin that my new forged piston engine is ready:grinning:
engine block is bored & decked to precise specs for the pistons
head skimmed, valves pressure tested
crank, pully, conrods, fly & clutch all fully balanced
all for just £280:grinning:
cousin just fitted the crank & pistons in and loosely fitted the rest for me to pickup n check/rebuild, saying the piston and reused rings (which hardly bedded in) feels vastly tighter within spec (no more free-play with gaps going from 0.7mm to bout 0.01) and rings are very scrapey cos of the honing.
he advised filling it with non-synth 20w50, 500miles of normal urban driving within 3k rpm off boost, change to normal oil and gradually run more revs. i'll feel it getting looser/revvier as the rings bed-in.
gonna pickup after xmas
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I always got rotors and caps from Nissan after having loads of problems with Halfords stuff. The caps were made better and the rotors had what looked like grp insulation plates on either side of the rotor contact, never took dimensions though.....
Those days are however long gone since switching to DIS.
Those days are however long gone since switching to DIS.
