PollyMobiles Rebuild

[pollyp]

3D printed some plastic vice jaws for clamping the AN fittings without scratching em

also printed some plastic adapters for the spanners

exhaust gaskets arrived

to remove the old fitting I carefully grinded through the welds

grinded the sump smooth, noticed that the previous oil leak at the top of fitting could be due to this stress fatigue crack that's developed from a poorly drilled serrated hole

new fitting sits nice against the hole

calibrating the appropriate weld setting. the sump measured 1.5mm thick while this piece was only 1mm.

I wanted to weld the fitting in one continuous pass to reduce gap leaks but would easily blow through without support. so I clamped this piece of copper/alu plate behind to acts as a mould & heatsink and can weld however long I like no problem

the plate simply supports the molten pool preventing gravity from pulling the blob through

trial run continuous weld with copper back plate on the old fitting and it works gr8. I need a better weld lens cos it's so dimmed I can't see where to weld

clamped the new fitting in place

with the copper back plate behind to prevent blow through

tacked

after tacking, used this rod to keep the back plate on and allow unobstructed room for the welder to go all around the fitting in one go

made two weld passes all around. need more practice getting comfy cos trying to move this bulky stiff MIG gun around a fitting without binding/jamming/knocking is hard and the dark tint doesn't help visibility

good penetration. hmm I'm thinking of also welding this inside gap to further seal it for good.

just needs a lick of paint now

 

[pollyp]

forgot to mention bout the copper backplate.
it was from this old copper/alloy PC heatsink

snapped off all the hundreds of fins with pliers

grinded smooth

and cut off the stepped down sides that's not in contact

interesting to see how they managed to press/fuse the copper insert into the alu heatsink

took some effort to peel em apart

 

[Andy_S]

Wow!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pollyp]

so here's the fitting from inside the sump, notice the little gaps for oil to leak into and the fine crack at bottom of photo

I find that my usual pulse / spot welding technique seems to create the best results, good flat penetrating weld, ripple effect and won't blow through. its all nicely sealed up now

grinded all the tiny spatter away

tedious task of wirebrushing as much rust off the surface as I cba

prime

painted and that's the sump done

 

[SuperUno]

I did welding at nightschool, and was taught that getting comfortable when welding is critical to a good weld.

 

[pollyp]

I did welding at nightschool, and was taught that getting comfortable when welding is critical to a good weld.

totally agree. I subscribe to weldingtips&tips on youtube and his main tips were about getting comfy, pre-plan ur movement for each weld, keep a tight arc.

welding around pipe fittings continously is very hard cos whenever I position this MIG gun overhead at some awquid angle, the weight and stiffness of the thick cable tends to snag/pull it down as I try to hold my position, and the slightest snag really puts me off so I'd have to stop. fact that I really can't see where to weld towards so I'm welding blind (cos the helmet over-tints) doesn't help.

few reason why I favour this spot welding method I've always used is cos it controls heat very well for thin stuff and inbetween each spot weld while it cools, the helmet un-tints and I can see the next area to weld.

 

[pollyp]

shiny painted sump in the sun

inside sump left bare cos it's gonna be covered in oil

scraped & degreased the sump gasket surfaces

this tight area between the rear crank seal and bellhousing is always a pita to access

apply bead of sealant all round

new sump fitted

new manifold gasket

fit new turbo

now I have a view of what space I have for the plumbing

painted oil adapters to reduce rusting

another problem
the 1/8 BSPP to AN4 adapter doesn't fit the head Grr guess it's a 1/8 BSPT
so all the adapters I brought have been wrong.

big problem cos the only 1/8 BSPT to AN4 adapter on ebay is from australia and delivery estimated after japday so won't arrive in time and costs £15.
the nearest match in UK is a 1/8 NPT to AN4 but I dunno if NPT will fit the nissan oil port?
another last resort could be to try get a BSPT to AN4 adapter custom machined from that local hydraulics place I've been?

anyway no time to waste so I immediately ordered the NPT to AN4 adapter for wednesday and incase NPT doesn't fit, I've also ordered a BSPT male to NPT female brass adapter.
plus added some AN4 90deg elbows so the oil feed doesn't foul the alternator nearby.

to get an idea of clearances for the new hoses, time to fit the downpipe, boost pipe and wideband in place.
noticed this downpipe flex joint end is getting rusty. the pipe was stainless but the flex is mild steel eh. can't see it lasting long so will have to replace that sometime.

testing how a straight AN10 sump fitting routes and seems there's enough space

the hose would clear the exhaust and wideband but my concern would be the boost pipe that swings up/down as the engine rocks and could touch the hose.
also because the sump walls are slightly tapered, the straight fitting would also be tilting down slightly bout 1-2deg so the draining oil would have to flow up an incline too, not good.

with a 90deg sump elbow, it clears the boost pipe movement, the elbow can better control how the hose curves around, and the hose is positioned closer to the turbo outlet where that boost pipe pivots when it swings around.

printed some solid rear mount stiffener inserts

smoothed

slotted in

 

[pollyp]

redesigned the vice jaws so the fittings point vertically and the flat sides go along the parallel vice jaws. the hex sides of the fittings are positioned within the face of the vice jaws.

the lip at the top keeps this sitting on top of the vice.
drawback is that this top lip is a weak point of the design and it doesn't allow the hose/female nut assembly to screw down fully into the male fitting

so in the next design for an elbow fitting (the new AN4 fitting will also be an elbow) I eliminated the weak lip top. apply a tongue/groove slot to keep the two pieces aligned in the vice.

so with the top of the hex fittings sitting flush with the top of the vice jaw adapter, I can screw the hose/nut assembly all the way down onto the male fitting.

the exposed bottom hole allows the elbow to bend round.

 

[pollyp]

so tday I was about to goto local hydraulics place to machine a custom 1/8bspt to -4AN fitting, but since they don't understand the AN threads (since we british mainly use UNF, BSP, JIC standards here) I googled AN to UNF tables and found the AN4 equivelant is 7/16 UNF.
then I googled 1/8bspt to 7/16 JIC or UNF adapters and there were afew listed around. I guess AN term ain't as commonly used.
then I phoned a local fittings place and they could order one tomorrow for £2

printed the new vice jaws for the straight AN10 fitting

AN10 straight & elbow vice jaws ready

these micra/primera cat gaskets needed cutting narrower, I guess either the exhaust place had used a different flange or these gaskets are wrong hole spacing

the side of the engine has had a heavy oil leak that I can't locate

so removed the cover to investigate if the gaskets leaking

nope the gasket sealant surface was dry and no signs of leaking any oil past

wirebrushed & sanded as much bad paint & dirt off the cover

primed painted. I should've brought some normal red halford paint rather than the shyte hammerite direct-to-metal smooth red cos the stuff is way too watery and takes forever to dry about as fast as thick house paint

removed the side timing cover and again dry sealing surfaces with no leaks

no idea where this oil leak staining is coming from. it's either a constant leak (although there's no oil drips), or it was from when I forgot to tighten the oil cap and sprayed oil everywhere

 

[Huggy444]

I have a leak from exactly the same place!
Looked for ages, can't pinpoint the cause, mildly annoying but not bothered me enough to look properly yet haha

 

[pollyp]

I have a leak from exactly the same place!
Looked for ages, can't pinpoint the cause, mildly annoying but not bothered me enough to look properly yet haha

the wet oil staining appears from the engine cover gasket and it's dry above but hard to tell if it's a constant leak or just previous oil staining covered in thick road dirt. the side of the engine below the HG is just coated in wet oil & lotsa dirt. I'll just have to do my best at resealing it up and see if it gets any wetter.

 

[Huggy444]

Having just had a quick look there appears to be pooling around the cam cover gasket, but that was a new seal with a dab of liquid sealant on the edges etc only a year ago or so

Meh, will sort it when I repaint it I guess!

 

[pollyp]

Having just had a quick look there appears to be pooling around the cam cover gasket, but that was a new seal with a dab of liquid sealant on the edges etc only a year ago or so

Meh, will sort it when I repaint it I guess!

I've always had an issue trying to seal up the engine cover gasket but it just keeps leaking eventually. if not from the bottom flat face of the gasket, perhaps it's from where the gasket inserts into the engine covers groove slot? I always scrape all the old sealant out the grooves and every surface till it's bare clean and apply a generous bead all around.

 

[pollyp]

what if I just tighten the cover bolts finger tight at first so that I leave bout 1mm thick of sealant to cure fully overnight (rather than fully tight and squeezing it all out), and then once the sealants hardened up I fully tighten the bolts to apply sealing pressure?

 

[pollyp]

what if I just tighten the cover bolts finger tight at first so that I leave bout 1mm thick of sealant to cure fully overnight (rather than fully tight and squeezing it all out), and then once the sealants hardened up I fully tighten the bolts to apply sealing pressure?

ah yes I just saw guide how to use RTV and ur suppose to let the fresh bead air cure few mins, then just snug the bolts very lightly, let the thick layer cure to a harder consistancy for few minutes before you then fully tighten. so that's what I've been doing wrong all along.

 

[SuperUno]

Is the leak coming from the crank oil seal?

 

[l_jonez]

+1 on the crank oil seal

 

[pollyp]

Is the leak coming from the crank oil seal?

crank oil seal is fine. not leaking there. front and rear are new.
the wet trail shows abit of hint down the timing cover and then get soaky from the HG area downwards and only down the side of the lower timing chain cover.
doesn't look like a constant significant leak where it would usually drip onto the driveshaft and spatter everywhere or leave a oil patch on the garage, nope that's all dry.
it's more like residue (when I left the oil cap off?)

 

[Matiz]

I've got leak there too, the same subjects as above, but I'll start at this chain cover first.

 

[r-reg-sr]

could just all be down to an exited engine braaaap

 

[pollyp]

I've got leak there too, the same subjects as above, but I'll start at this chain cover first.

aye I'm just gonna try reapply the gasket sealant properly this time and see if it changes.
for the short closed bolt holes, make sure the bolts ain't too long or else it won't fully clamp and seal the gasket, then it leaks badly.

 

[pollyp]

could just all be down to an exited engine braaaap

kasandra gets soo excited by boost that she has a "crisis" and wets herself lol

 

[pollyp]

since using self tapping wood screws to hold the printed catch cans is kinda weak & damages the plastic, I redesigned it with M4 nuts mounted inside for the metric screws to tighten into

now it's much more secure

collected the new 1/8 mspt to 7/16 JIC adapter at hydraulics place and it fits, can now get on with the plumbing

last night I painted the cover with hammerite smooth red metal paint and it was still sticky tacky :/
reading bout it online it takes upto 2weeks to fully harden ffs.
cba to wait, lets laquer it and I know the laquer will cure fast.
Disaster!
just as it happened yrs ago, the acrylic laquer reacts with hammerite and the paint shrivels up like paint stripper

Oh FFS this is the worst paint I've ever used, thrown this stinking £11 spray can in bin.
cannot stress this enough, AVOID hammerite direct-to-rust smooth red spray paint. it's wayy to watery thin especially round edges, takes forever to cure and reacts against other sprays.

so had to waste another few hours wirebrushing the damn mess off

went to get proper acrylic red paint and applies & dries much better

trimmed some paint off the letters

then carefully wirebrushed and sanded the text

laquered. gonna let it fully cure before sealing it onto the engine

injectors swapped

 

[Andy_S]

Should of just had the engine running the heat would of dried it up in no time haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[infinity]

Hammerites just a synthetic alkyd enamel, dries hard but needs a minimum temp to evaporate the solvents, after that curing can take up to a month even more, but its not sticky during that stage. The wrinkling is the solvents from the hammerite evaporating under the hardened layer of acrylic lacquer, causing it to crack and wrinkle. Learn from the mistake and be happy its only something small not an entire quarter panel eh haha.good luck with finishing your rebuild

 

[pollyp]

Should of just had the engine running the heat would of dried it up in no time haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

it would still be tacky while I was installing it and high risk of getting imprint marks so not worth the hassle and time wasted.

 

[pollyp]

Hammerites just a synthetic alkyd enamel, dries hard but needs a minimum temp to evaporate the solvents, after that curing can take up to a month even more, but its not sticky during that stage. The wrinkling is the solvents from the hammerite evaporating under the hardened layer of acrylic lacquer, causing it to crack and wrinkle. Learn from the mistake and be happy its only something small not an entire quarter panel eh haha.good luck with finishing your rebuild

so it alright for garden metal gates but terribly slow & horrid finish for cars.
tis a lesson learnt, stick to bodywork acrylic paint.
it maybe small but the engine cover has alot of tight craters, etc so it's still a pita to wirebrush clean. I'd prob lose the will if it happened during a full chassis respray

 

[Andy_S]

it would still be tacky while I was installing it and high risk of getting imprint marks so not worth the hassle and time wasted.

Oh yeah doh!!! Good point lol

 

[pollyp]

phwoa just look at how gorgeous it is with Nissan Red 526 paint

reapplied new tape to the spark plug tubes to prevent oil leaking

applied sealant along the covers groove and let it air cure fews mins till it forms a dry skin

same with the head

lightly press the rubber gasket in the groove till sealant barely squeezes out

fit onto head and only finger tight the bolts till the sealant only 'just' appears to squeeze (approx 1mm thick). gonna let it fully harden overnight before I hand tighten the engine cover bolts to apply sealaing pressure.

 

[Andy_S]

Little things make a big difference


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pollyp]

Little things make a big difference


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

indeed, every little helps

 

[Huggy444]

Hammerite paint is brilliant, but as you've found it takes ages to cure!

Ive painted wheels with it before, but (as you now know) I left them for two weeks to harden before fitting tyres as I've ruined a paint job before by rushing!

Once dry though I've found it very hard wearing

 

[J.Starr]

Paul, its taken me a few days of morning time ,daytime and night-time reading but I've finally managed to read your entire blog start to finish, watch every video, click every link and ill tell you the truth, i wish id have done it a couple of years sooner even though I've been here for 3-4 years, only knowing of you and seeing you at shows i now feel like i understand why you're such a massive influence in the MSC.
Your years of tinkering, pulling apart, re-building, fabricating, learning, explaining and teaching are amazing.
You're a really good guy, who overthinks a lot, but only thinks about how everyone else is feeling before himself, which makes you an awesome person!
And i can only say I'm jealous of the talent and knowledge you posses!
i hope we can actually have a chat at the next show i see you at!
and PLEASE stop using hammerite red :')
Kasandra is the ultimate micra build!

 

[pollyp]

Paul, its taken me a few days of morning time ,daytime and night-time reading but I've finally managed to read your entire blog start to finish, watch every video, click every link and ill tell you the truth, i wish id have done it a couple of years sooner even though I've been here for 3-4 years, only knowing of you and seeing you at shows i now feel like i understand why you're such a massive influence in the MSC.
Your years of tinkering, pulling apart, re-building, fabricating, learning, explaining and teaching are amazing.
You're a really good guy, who overthinks a lot, but only thinks about how everyone else is feeling before himself, which makes you an awesome person!
And i can only say I'm jealous of the talent and knowledge you posses!
i hope we can actually have a chat at the next show i see you at!
and PLEASE stop using hammerite red :')
Kasandra is the ultimate micra build!

heya J.Starr thanks for the awesome compliment well done for reading all the way through the journey, ur eyes must be straining
I'm thankful of having such a supportive club family here throughout my ups & downs and a place to document, express and share my passion as a micra guy

yea I tend to overthink/overplan everything, tis what my mind does for better or worse and aye I've been too caring bout helping others before helping myself, which had led to recent pain but once again kasandra's always been there for me and doing my own thing has been my saving grace and road to recovery.
slowly getting better as I have fun with kasandra and attend more car shows to meet more gr8 members and recover some lost self esteem / confidence that was shattered, to seek help in overcoming my anxiety and realise the outside world ain't that bad.

you going to japday at castle combe yea? if not we'll def catch up at JAE.

never touching hammerite again me

it's been quite a ride with kasandra

 

[pollyp]

tday the AN4 90deg elbows, 1/8 NPT-AN4 adapter and 1/8 BSPT-NPT adapter arrived

it turns out that once again these two purchases don't work (thank god I found the correct fitting locally or else I'd be in major trouble)
the 1/8 NPT thread pitch is a fraction coarser and the doesn't taper as much as BSPT therefore wouldn't fit in the engine head port.
the BSPT to NPT converter is the wrong way. goes from BSPT female to NPT male whereas I needed the opposite so another waste of money.

Oil Feed Hose
so with all the fittings and hoses lets plan the oil feed route.

1: Straight fitting IN / Straight fitting OUT
using a straight AN fitting at both ends like the original line keeps the hose away from the hot manifold but it rubs against the alternator

2: 90deg IN / 90deg OUT
with 90deg elbows at the head and turbo inlet, the hose would foul with the dipstick

3: Straight fitting IN / 90deg OUT
this keeps the hose low away from the overhead air inlet pipe and dipstick and away from the manifold but it rubs against the alternator

4: 90deg IN / Straight fitting OUT
the 90deg elbow at the head clears the alternator, hose goes over the manifold & dipstick and curves gently into the turbo feed.
this is the ideal route.

Assemble Hose End Fittings
I start by cutting the hose ends with a thin dremel cutting disc

sliding the braided hose into the socket was quite easy, then left a 1mm gap from the very end

the 3D printed vice jaws for the small straight AN4 fitting didn't work, plastic was too soft on the small contact area and the plastic spanner jaws again too soft.
so I resorted to wrapping few layers of mask tape to cusion against the steel spanner and used some bits of sheet steel on the vice to stop the vice teeths digging into the AN fitting

that worked

slotting the other end into the socket

now this 90deg elbow has a larger hex nut surface area so the printed vice jaw worked abit better

complete oil feed line

and fits nicely

 

[pollyp]

Oil Drain Hose
next we look at the oil drain route.

if I used a 90deg bend at the sump fitting, it's a very very short tight bend from the turbo the the sump fitting. I had to bend this thick hose like this with quite abit of force so I imagine the 90deg elbow would be under alot of strain leading to a cracked sump fitting weld

instead I think my best option is to go for a straight fitting at the sump for a gradual low stress bend. there's bout 1-2cm clearance from the compressor boost pipe overhead so shouldn't be an issue with engine movement.

it just about clears the wideband sensor, will have to trim the wideband copper heatsink

Assembling Hose Fitting
I use this vice jaw to hold & mark a square line to cut

cut with dremel

slide hose into socket

back off hose 1mm from the end and smear engine oil inside

apply tap eon hose to monitor it hasn't slipped out

clamp the nipple end and smear engine oil

screw the hose & socket on

I tried using the printed spanner adapters but again it's just too soft

so wrapped in tape to reduce marking

drain hose finished

and fits nicely. it may droop very slightly down 1deg but will be ok

trimmed the wideband copper heatsink to clear the drain hose

and now to prime the whole oil system in sequence as advised by turbo technics.
first I removed the turbo oil feed and refitted the engine head grub screw plug cos I wanna prime the lower & upper oil gallery deck to get oil to the dry cams.

then I connected the oil feed hose to the head and other end to a jug, crank till 300ml trickles out to clear out the oil gallery & oil hose. oil came out the hose at quite a gradual pace.
then connect the feed hose to the turbo, disconnect drain hose from sump and crank again into a jug till upto 300ml drains out. oil came out the drain at a much slower trickle pace.

everything reassembled, topped up oil, changed back to turbo map

and now the moment of truth. primed the fuel, abit sluggish at first to start but it ran fine.
check all plumbing for leaks and ah christ, the oil feed adapter into the turbo that was custom lathed is leaking.
I tightened the adapter abit more, don't wanna strip it especially the turbo core threads...it still leaked getting frustrated kicking myself.

took it out to investigate. maybe the threads wrong and not screwing all the way in cos doesn't seem like the cone seal is touching or have any contact markings. ah fookit I tightened the adapter as much as I dare and it still leaked abit past the thread.

ok last resort I applied some teflon tape, if it ain't sealing by the cone I'll seal it vai the screw threads. and this worked phew

drive few miles to warm up, burn off the leaked oil and recheck for any leaks, all ok.

time to boost. blimey now she's getting full 12psi she really gives a punch in low gears the old WG actuator must've been lazy cos that only gave 9-10psi.
dunno if it's cos I'm been driving NA for few days but she feels abit scary torquier now
she lives again

final checks and prepping tomorrow to verify everythings perfect for track run.

 

[J.Starr]

heya J.Starr thanks for the awesome compliment well done for reading all the way through the journey, ur eyes must be straining
I'm thankful of having such a supportive club family here throughout my ups & downs and a place to document, express and share my passion as a micra guy

yea I tend to overthink/overplan everything, tis what my mind does for better or worse and aye I've been too caring bout helping others before helping myself, which had led to recent pain but once again kasandra's always been there for me and doing my own thing has been my saving grace and road to recovery.
slowly getting better as I have fun with kasandra and attend more car shows to meet more gr8 members and recover some lost self esteem / confidence that was shattered, to seek help in overcoming my anxiety and realise the outside world ain't that bad.

you going to japday at castle combe yea? if not we'll def catch up at JAE.

never touching hammerite again me

it's been quite a ride with kasandra

Its not a problem at all mate,

Well to be fair its taken me around the last 2 weeks to get through it all :') but it was worth it!

Yeah its a great thing, as I've recently discovered the forum is an amazing place, and its nice to not have all the BS that normal social media provides us with!

You're a good guy Paul, and deserve a lot for what you give, and from what I've read its only going to be a blip, and i know you're going to achieve a lot and be happy, i mean with Kasandra how could you not be happy i also got sent this video, and if I'm not mistaken its a Kasandra, even JC approves


Unfortunately i won't make it to Japday, i myself am having my own unfortunate life crisis, had to leave a job, struggling with a few things, people around me causing havoc, so I'm going to have to sit this one out, but my main focus is and always will be the JAE, so we will definitely catch up at JAE

The new turbo looks amazing, and so happy she's living again! Cant wait to get started on my own turbo setup

 

[pollyp]

Its not a problem at all mate,

Well to be fair its taken me around the last 2 weeks to get through it all :') but it was worth it!

Yeah its a great thing, as I've recently discovered the forum is an amazing place, and its nice to not have all the BS that normal social media provides us with!

You're a good guy Paul, and deserve a lot for what you give, and from what I've read its only going to be a blip, and i know you're going to achieve a lot and be happy, i mean with Kasandra how could you not be happy i also got sent this video, and if I'm not mistaken its a Kasandra, even JC approves


Unfortunately i won't make it to Japday, i myself am having my own unfortunate life crisis, had to leave a job, struggling with a few things, people around me causing havoc, so I'm going to have to sit this one out, but my main focus is and always will be the JAE, so we will definitely catch up at JAE

The new turbo looks amazing, and so happy she's living again! Cant wait to get started on my own turbo setup

aye it's a nice quiet stable club here while social media is very fast reacting but quite brief, unorganised and chaotic.

I can only hope this is all a phase that'll pass and I get back on track. kasandra has been like a wife, she's always been there to keep me happy and I tend to her needs while the world around me burns. just wish I have a career & purpose in life to fulfil my dreams. just gotta push anxiety out the door.

I wish you all the best support in recovering from ur own drama. take time to gather urself and keep urself busy & happy with hobbies etc that ur comfy with.
can't wait for JAE, it's always been an amazing highlight & goal each year.

I'm pleased with the new turbo, even if it has afew minor leak issues.

 

[pollyp]

fitted the cameras back in the car and mounted the exhaust cam like this to rec any smoke.

so went for a blast. during long idle it only steams abit when pipes cooled. during acceleration there's a tiny hint of smoke & soot initially, not sure if that'll go away.
0-60 still bout 7.5sec



although the oil feed side is fixed, the oil drain end is leaking. it's hard to access the oil drain fitting so removed the grill for a better look

there's signs of wet oil patch between the adapter & AN fitting, AN fitting & hose socket and maybe the adapter and turbo port

removed the hose and the hose sockets abit loosened

so retightened it

I really tightened the AN fitting to the adapter on the vice to make sure it seals and applied some teflon tape to the adapter to aid sealing

tightened it hard into the turbo, the anodised finish ruined by adjustable spanner but don't care for looks here, it just needs to stop leaking

went for another boost and the teflon tape on both feed & drain adapter into the turbo seemed to have worked the only leaks now are the little leaks strangly from between the red AN hose socket and the blue nut.
it's the best I can do and it's only little leak so meh.

 

[karlj]

Paul, I need your expert advise

My handbrake/fluid warning light is either staying on or flickers whilst driving. It started doing this after I swapped the bulbs and had 4 paving slabs in the back, where do you think I should start looking for issues?

 

[pollyp]

Paul, I need your expert advise

My handbrake/fluid warning light is either staying on or flickers whilst driving. It started doing this after I swapped the bulbs and had 4 paving slabs in the back, where do you think I should start looking for issues?

check brake fluid level.
if levels are low, check all ur pads & shoes are within spec and the drum self adjusters are clean & actually working (pedal should bite immediately and not have a long travel), and there's no brake leaks.
if all ok then top up fluid.

 

[karlj]

Fluid is fine, that was the first thing I checked (several times)

 

[pollyp]

check if the handbrake switch or part of that circuit is shorting on anything.
when u lift handbrake, it closes switch to complete circuit and light up the bulb.

 

[J.Starr]

check brake fluid level.
if levels are low, check all ur pads & shoes are within spec and the drum self adjusters are clean & actually working (pedal should bite immediately and not have a long travel), and there's no brake leaks.
if all ok then top up fluid.

Isn't there a metal strip/connector piece under the handbrake itself but within the surround that makes contact when the handbrake is down? I had this once, Ben Wilde showed me to just bend it and it made connection and it took the light off when driving? Just a thought

 

[pollyp]

Isn't there a metal strip/connector piece under the handbrake itself but within the surround that makes contact when the handbrake is down? I had this once, Ben Wilde showed me to just bend it and it made connection and it took the light off when driving? Just a thought

explained above.

 

[J.Starr]

explained above.

Ahh thats the switch, get it!

 

[pollyp]

Japday 2016
#some videos & pics updated when complete#

Fri 10am I was packing stuff up and was gonna depart bout 1-2pm after checking all my pre-flight tyre & brake depths etc, Abi mentioned her spoiler didn't come with mounting brackets and needed help but very little tools or budget n losing hope.

12.30pm so with no much info bout the spoiler, I packed as much tools as I thought I needed, miss the tyre & brake checks cos I could do it later and set off asap to get to Abi by 6 so I can assess the spoiler and get bits at B&Q before it shuts at 8pm.

6pm I arrived at Abis place. The turbo drain showed signs of slight leak cos alot of road dirt has coated the oily stained drain hose and the engine still consuming the same 1L oil per 260miles.

I measured the spoiler and it just needed a simple U-bend bracket making.
Took Abi & Jonny for a ride to B&Q in kasandra through the country roads and she luved it
At the store I figured that I could simply dremel a square box tube into a U-bracket.

8pm we returned to abi's and Isobel & Luke had arrived. Isobel mentioned her indicators had oddly stopped working, no time to fix that yet. She was really excited about Jonnys very luxurious new civic Type R with electric everything like a kid in candy shop.
Anyway I had to get on with fitting abi's spoiler since daylight and time was running out. Carefully dremelled & shaped the box tube into some brackets that locks the spoiler onto the boot from the side and some bolts at the bottom keeps it located.

10pm Isobel & Luke went to grab some mcdonalds for us while I & Jonny fit the spoiler.

11pm I swap over to my 595RSR tyres before tomorrow.

Saturday 6am after little sleep on couch, we all depart 1hr towards castle combe.

Near the circuit, Abi's convoy briefly merged amongst a line of subarus, evos, skylines, ae86, and other beautys going to another nearby show

7am arrived at japday and parked at the MSC stand to meet up piran, adam, max, lyra, and many more.

8am I drove back out towards the paddock for a sound db check. All the routes were still filling up with cars coming in so there was quite a queue. Spotted jordan & matt on the way.
Drove back to the stand after passing sound check. Was awaiting for matt or max11c to help store my tools n tyres but matt didn't appear in time, so piran offered to store stuff in his car.

9am With time running out, piran moved all my gear into his car while I walked back to the paddock centre for drivers briefing. When we finished at 9.30 I had to run all the way back to the stand to get the car back to the paddock ready for the run, I should've just parked the car at the paddock bay.

9.45am I line up at the pit exit for the 10am slot, still get butterfly n tingles before any run.

10am So I set off on my own with kasandra on a dry sunny warm castle combe track. warm her up, giving more n more boost and keeping an eye on all her gauges and she's fine.
Pushing her more and I was pleased at just how stable & consistant & smooth she is in the corners. Push the brakes hard and she doesn't even lock up, still have loadsa traction left.
I can really feel the LSD locking up as I go WOT through the apex and just pulls her through the fast tight corners with neutral balance. When I approach her limit at fast corners, the slip angle is just soo controllable. she was fun.
Passing quite afew cars but my highlight was when I came behind this yellow 6th gen stripped out racing civic. We were equally fast on the exits and straights but I had better nimble braking but cautious I didn't wanna outbrake into the back of him or overtake through corners so had to just brake early but it was a ruddy good blast sticking behind him lap after lap, I think the crowd liked it

Found some trackside footage at the 1st hairpin of my run



0:26
1:28
2:47
4:03
5:22 caught up with yellow civic
6:09
7:10 nice remark

10.15am Red flag as someone had broke down on the infield grass. I returned back to the stand and bless Isobel she was exstatic lol, lyra & max & everyone so happy for me

10.30am Engine & turbo still fine and no leaks. Swapped back to my road tyres for driving back home at 2pm.

11.30am I investigated into Isobels blown indicator. Replaced the fuses, removed all the bulbs to check the circuits not shorting, then reconnect each bulb and the whole thing was working again. hmm ok working fine so far.

12.00pm Went to spectate with adam, isobel, luke, matt.

12.30pm Walked over to the paddock with adam to wash hands in toilet, I spotted chris & andy just arrived.

1.45pm Recorded ben challengers nice run.



2.00pm Was concerned if chris had made it in time but eventually we saw him out on track and running nicely.



2.30pm I had to leave early to get back home for 8pm. Spotted antony & hayley as they just arrived, wish I could've stayed longer. got back home tired.

I was downloading my onboard footage and to my horror the drivers view camera didn't stop recording before I cut power so the footage of my track run was corrupt!!
all the other cameras saved ok.

garghh stupid cameras the file reads as 0mb but yet the drive property shows it's taken up some space so the data must still be there but just hasn't been finalised.
I have tried almost every recovery software I know and nothing can work with a 0mb file
Was hoping maybe there's a program where I can manually create the end marker since I can estimate the file size from the other camera files but this advanced file recovery is over my head.

Was considering professional recovery but with fees probably over £90 it ain't worth it, I'd rather spend that on another trackday.
I'll still keep trying myself.

 

[frank]

sounds like you had fun paul is that roughly 35:1 petrol/oil consumption then ?

 

[Low Rider]

I'm monitoring my oil consumption at the moment Paul after tweaking the oil feed. I had quite a bit of oil flowing through the CHRA, which was contributing to a fair bit if windage.

I've got to pull the turbo as the oil return gasket is seeping from the CHRA and the link hose isn't flouro lined, which is a no-no. I've got a good 50mls in my drip tray, so that's something I'd like to rectify before I can get a meaningful figure on general consumption but it's nowhere near 1L per 260miles.

 

[pollyp]

sounds like you had fun paul is that roughly 35:1 petrol/oil consumption then ?

aye twas tons of fun when she behaves so smoothly and can keep up with afew beasts
yup she burns 35-45mpg, 1L oil per 300-350m so approx 40:1 fuel/oil in town and 35:1 fuel/oil cruising.