Simo's Turbo re-build Progress (GMC pics & video - page 18...) - Page 7 - Saxperience

airman87 · 11th April 2010, 17:58

niice motor mate!

Simo^p · 11th April 2010, 22:21

Had a complete mare with both the oil and water banjo bolts... Fitted a new banjo for the water, but had to modify a few things to suit

The oil banjo is back in place but I'm gonna need a new one. This is the only one I didn't manage to find a replacement for in the rebuild, and its now showing its age! More than likely some stupid thread, which is why I couldn't pick one up locally. Google could be my friend

Its all back together now, with the exception of the oil drain. I'll crank the engine tomorrow evening to ensure oil pressure is up, then put the drain on and start the engine up.

A bit gutted I never managed to get it fired up this evening, but had to go out earlier. Good things come to those that wait though. (fingers crossed!!)

wadoryu · 11th April 2010, 22:34

im sure it will rock simo

J222JRA · 11th April 2010, 23:21

Fingers crossed all will be well tomorrow when you start it Simo......hopefully there will be no more set backs....this car must be at FCS

Simo^p · 12th April 2010, 22:38

My arms are cut to pieces from messing around next to the stainless steel exhaust wrap ties

Turbo is all back together. I'm still not convinced its working as it should, but its early days. I left the car to idle for about 20 minutes this evening. This gave time for all of the heat wrap to stop smoking. During this time, the turbo stopped smoking too... but after a gentle acceleration, the oil vapour and slow dripping from beneath returned.

There is no oil apparent in the exhaust, but its definately leaking past the air seal and out of the join at the centre housing. I need to dig out a schematic of a turbo to try and get my head around this!

Gonna seek some more advice before deciding whether to send away for inspection or not.

I'm wondering whether running it under load will sort it out, or just whack through a huge amount of oil and set it on fire

I cant run it under load anyhow... as have no additional injectors in line anymore. Might need to wait for the strip down before knowing what to do... and if that's the case, I can finish the build and package the car off to GMC.

Simo^p · 15th April 2010, 23:58

I was right - the oil inlet banjo was a stupid thread

Everywhere I went had nothing close. Their excuse was 'must be an automotive thread'. No $hit!! lol.

Sorted it out in the end. Mine is a 7/16, or 11mm thread.

I've decided that the oil leakage problem may be linked to a hold-up of oil. I didn't think this after running with the oil line disconnected and still seeing smoke, but this was probably residual oil.

So, in a last effort before removing the sump again and modifying the drain pipe, I am going to fit a pressure restrictor. I've had this unit for a few years now. It will limit the oil pressure to 2bar max (from 4bar std supply). Fingers crossed this trims the oil pressure back enough... but not too much

Gonna be fun & games trying to have a new pipe made to T off the block, to the switch, then through a series of odd joins to go through the restrictor and eventually to the turbo. I wish there was only one thread to pick from

Found a mangled mess of unions behind the manifold, from the old SST days

Will see if I can improve some of this along the way.

paulydixon · 16th April 2010, 00:00

SST, jeez, that's going back

Simo^p · 16th April 2010, 00:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulydixon

SST, jeez, that's going back

Old skool

Think that might be the last part left on the car. Interestingly found two mis-matched unions welded together. The good old days

Liam_ · 16th April 2010, 00:36

Nice to see it making a comeback - keep up the good work!

J222JRA · 16th April 2010, 12:16

Glad to hear that you have decided which ECU to buy now Simo.........whens it all going off to GMC???

James

Simo^p · 18th April 2010, 23:33

A quick update...

The 2bar oil restrictor didn't help with the oil/seal issue. So, to see if the swaiged fittings in the drain line were backing up the oil, I removed the drain and threw a large bore rubber hose in place, just as a temporary trial. The union welded to the sump is still (internally) quite small diameter.

The test-pipe seemed to reduce the oil burning/leak significantly. The car idled for 20 minutes without any smoke... but then it returned. This showed that the drain probably is too small. On Tuesday I will be fab'ing up a new drain flange, getting some pipe on the lathe and opened out to 16-18mm, then bending/welding, etc. Will try a hard-pipe to get past the exhaust and this cant be too narrow bore! If this doesn't work, its definately turbo re-build time

Gotta drop the sump off again for re-welding too

This evening I've measured up for the induction pipework. Should get this fab'd on Tuesday also. Had to compromise the design a little to fit in with standard bends. This will make it easier & quicker to fab'. Once the pipe's made, I will source a nice filter to bolt on the end

Just spent a couple of hours removing the Dastek, MF2, SigCon and 5th/6th injector wiring from the bay and returning the loom to standard ready to accept the Predator. I've just got a few loose ends to tie up tomorrow evening - it was getting pretty dark

Hopefully the car will run & idle OK. As long as it doesn't see boost, fingers crossed it'll be alright.

Just as I was screwing the ECU plug back together, I dropped the screw! After half an hour of hunting for the stupid thing I eventually found it hiding inside the alternator pulley!!! Lucky / unlucky - depends on your outlook I suppose

I'm planning to get all of the loose ends tied up and get the car shipped to GMC this week! Still need to figure out some reasonably priced transport to get the car there!

Couple of update pics >>>

J222JRA · 18th April 2010, 23:43

Seriously how did you find that screw lol

Simo^p · 18th April 2010, 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by J222JRA

Seriously how did you find that screw lol

Was determined to find it before starting the engine as had visions of it falling behind the cambelt cover and shredding the cambelt. Was close enough - LOL!

Simo^p · 20th April 2010, 00:13

Been a busy evening - have ripped off the oil sump once more so I can have a new oil return pipe fab'd. I've change my design back to some of my earlier thinking. Going to aim for a small vertical drop from the turbo to accelerate the oil drainage, then sweep into the sump on a gradual fall.

Pretty convinced now that the union welded onto the sump has been the main culprit - it reduces to approx 9mm! Oopsie... wish I'd have noticed this earlier

Fingers crossed the new pipe will rock!

One things for sure - made from the grade of pipe Im going to use, its going to weigh more! Will be using a standard nominal bore pipe I 'found' at work, then drilling out and possibly even shaving down the outer on the lathe. A lot of work I guess, but hey-ho

I think it will be wise to move the sump return sideways a little also, as its close to fouling internally with the dip-stick. Dont want and turbulent flow restrictions on my drain! Will be crossing everything that this fixes the issue with the turbo, then its finishing touches time!

Induction pipe bends have been ordered - hopefully they will arrive pronto!

Mathias · 20th April 2010, 00:20

Fair bit of progress since i last looked - looking forward to seeing this at fcs!!

Simo^p · 21st April 2010, 23:38

The new oil drain pipe is almost ready - just needs a small adjustment to correct the return angle tomorrow and its done! Internally it is significantly larger bore than any drain Ive ever used before, so surely this can't be a bottleneck?!

Will get the sump bonded back on tomorrow evening, then give the engine a whirl at the weekend to test the turbo and the ecu re-wiring. Will have my induction pipes finished for tomorrow evening too.

It's finally coming together!

Simo^p · 23rd April 2010, 01:40

Having formed the drain pipe from thick walled steel, bent to shape its bloody strong! I needed to open up the angle a little... after a lot of force, I took it too far

So, after a lot of effort, bent it back, but went too far again. lol. Will settle for it how it is for now, until I prove whether this fixes the turbo smoking problem. Fingers crossed for testing on Saturday!

The sump is bonded ad bolted back on, so just need the sealant to cure now.

I need to come up with some better clips, but this hose is extremely tight fitting on the hose tails anyway, so maybe jubilees will do. Hopefully I wont have to look at them that often

Gonna take a night off from the car on Friday and head to the pub instead. I'm hoping to re-locate the battery, complete the air filter pipework and get everything else boxed off this weekend, ready for transporting.

Predator_R32^p · 23rd April 2010, 01:52

Beautiful craftmanship there

You could of tryed using a plumbers bending spring when your were angling it i suppose but with steel that thick it might not work

Simo^p · 23rd April 2010, 01:55

No way fella... I had this gripped tightly in a vice, with a 18inch extension bar and my mighty weight trying to bend it

... which is why I kept going too far. lol.

This pipe is stronger than any Citroen component on the rest of the car. Haha...

Predator_R32^p · 23rd April 2010, 01:58

Looks more like a drug apparatus