106 Gti track day / sprint car Build progress

[karl_mh]

Gave the servo a good clean and re-installed it this evening

[karl_mh]

Un-earthed my rally car project earlier, once I can get the track day car sorted I'll eventually get started on this - too many projects, not enough time, not enough money, not enough space in the garage and so on The Diablo red thing is just a coincidence, honestly!

[karl_mh]

Went down to the promonade stages at new brighton today. Had a good look at the Saxo kit car, a bit rough around the edges but had all the right bits on it and bloody quick, it finished 16th overall and was the highest placed 1600. Don't see many of them about these days!

[karl_mh]

Had some spare time today to make and connect up the new brake lines plus made a bracket for the brake proportioning valve as previously it was mounted directly to the old hydraulic handbrake, the system had already been primed with fluid prior to me getting my hands on the car but I've discovered what I think is DOT 5 brake fluid as its purple in colour, I'm looking if its at all possible to flush out the DOT 5 then fill the system with Dot 4.

[Alanaponep]

That looks nice and neat and tidy! Not too sure on the purple brake fluid but I'm sure you could flush it through with DOT4 Just make sure all the pots are clear on each calliper as the old stuff can sit in the bottom of the piston and cause issues. Take the calliper off and hold it upside down to drain any fluid current;y in them then flush with the DOT4.

[karl_mh]

Well.....I think the mystery is solved thanks to everyone who suggested the water & brake fluid dilution test (In my DOT 5 brake fluid problem post)

I managed to get a full straw full of the blue brake fluid to dilute with the water,
It looks like I have DOT 4 / 5.1 and not the dreaded silicone based DOT 5, the bottles are not in any order.

Can't figure out if its possible to link my other DOT 5 thread to this one, pic's can be found on the above post.

[karl_mh]

The newly installed brake lines are now filled with fresh DOT 4 brake fluid, the system has now been bled to death and that bloody blue stuff has now gone forever.

Decided to place some bog roll directly under all the fittings on the car just in case we had some brake fluid squirtage overnight, after checking all the fittings this morning everything seems good........still leaving the bog roll in place as a sacrificial offering to the brake fluid gods! hopefully no leaks will appear over the next few days.

The brake lines are now routed to suit the new handbrake and brake proportioning valve.

[karl_mh]

I was at a loose end for an hour earlier so I managed to rivnut the dash to be able to fix the hollowed out glovebox door back in its rightful place (basically just to hide the relocated fuse boxes) with a 5mm Allen key and a spare 20 seconds it can be whipped off for access.

Thought I'd get a quick side shot before it hammered down with rain.

[karl_mh]

Did some faffing about with the car earlier, after countless hours of trying to get the fuel pump to prime when the ECU is plugged in I finally gave up and did something else!!

I added a second carbon blanking panel below the other one and plonked in a couple of toggle switches.

[shannon-ob]

Loving this build mate! Really really clean. Any new updates?

[karl_mh]

Cheers! not much to report this week though, Ive started cleaning the engine block in preparation for some Rustoleum BBQ black high temperature paint. Ive now removed the timing belt, idler and tensioner and just taken delivery of the new Gates timing belt kit that includes water pump.

Talking of water pumps.......had to smash the old one to bits to get it out now I need to clean up all machined surfaces in preparation to fit the new kit. Also just taken delivery of some Wurth super RTV, i'm removing the sump for inspection plus I'll clean up and reseal the cam covers while i'm at it, I will also be installing some new crankshaft and cam shaft oil seals, need to get a thermostat and thermostat gasket also. Hopefully the engine will be ready to install in the next couple of week's

[sri_130]

If the seals are ok, I'd leave them dude.

[karl_mh]

Might just do that for the cam shaft seals as the pulleys have to be removed but I'll be replacing the both crankshaft seals as the front end one seems to be leaking behind the pulley.

[karl_mh]

Back in the garage again after a short break, removed the sump for further inspection and all seems well although I did remove the oil pick up plate and mesh to check for any crap and give it a good clean. Had to use mole grips to pinch the plate back into position.

General condition seems to be good, also cleaned up the crankcase oil seal housings and pressed in the new seals. I just need to clean the old factory sealer from the flywheel end of the block and then fit the seal housings and sump with the Wurth super RTV sealer.

I have a new Gates timing belt kit including water pump on standby ready to install once the dirty end of the engine is boxed up.

[karl_mh]

Managed to get a couple of spare hours in the garage earlier and fitted new camshaft oil seals, water pump, cam belt idler and tensioner.

Had to machine a ABS plastic bush virtually the same dimension as the seals then pushed them in using the cam pulley bolts, also fitted the cam pulley's.

[karl_mh]

Not had a chance to work on the car for the last month due to work commitments but looking to get back in the garage in the next week or so.

[karl_mh]

Right then! I managed to get some time back in the garage last week cleaning up my OEM aluminium cam covers in preparation to bolt back on thus sealing the top end, however, it didn't quite pan out. The cam covers were shot blasted and cleaned ready to refit but during the installation of the baffle plate spacer bolts I had some issues. I screwed in all the spacer bolts in by a thread or two then started tightening them in using a 1/2" ratchet fitted with a reducer allowing me to use a 1/4" drive socket, however, during this process the bolt sheared and I inadvertently clouted myself in the top lip with the ratchet handle

Following that little set back I tried another and sheared that also, after further investigation it appears that the root cause was that the oil had varnished with in the tapped holes making the bolt tighter and tighter as it was being screwed in and eventually the bolts exceeded their tensile strength limit prior to bottoming out

By reusing the OEM covers and sealing them with Wurth Super RTV I thought I would save some money to put towards other bits I still need to get but in the end after some reading on this forum regarding the JP4 plastic covers that have a replaceable rubber seal and making them easily removable if required I have finally gave in and bought what appeared to be the only cam cover assembly including OEM breather system on eBay at the time for £45 (bargain)

The cam cover arrived yesterday so from the info dotted around the forum it appears that no mods are required and they just fit straight on, during the installation I did notice that in one of the aluminium cam covers there is an o-ring type of seal that locates into a hole in the baffle plate and then into the cam ladder allowing the crank case to breathe but during the JP4 cover installation I did notice that there are 4 long slots cut into the plastic baffle plate (1 either end of the cam covers) the only possible issue is that the one of the slots in the JP4 covers doesn't line up the what appears to be the crank case breather hole that would normally have the o-ring seal fitted.

Not sure if anyone that has converted from the aluminium to JP4 cam covers can remember if the slot required modifying allowing the breather hole in the cam ladder to fully line up and allow the crank case to breathe correctly without restriction and potentially causing back pressure in the sump.

The red arrow on the photo shows the crank case breather route and the yellow lines show the misalignment between the crank case breather hole in the ladder and the breather opening in the JP4 cam cover.

Hopefully this makes sense.

[karl_mh]

Another hour in the garage tonight, had to remove the engine from the stand to fit the shot blasted flywheel and torque the bolts, I also managed to fit the timing belt and just tension enough then made a couple of small adjustments to the cam pulleys to ensure the teeth are aligned to the each pulley. A couple of full turns of the engine later and still in one piece.

[karl_mh]

Acquired some Rustoleum high temperature paint a few weeks ago, i gave the block a good seeing to with the wire wheel attachment on the drill then gave it a one coat either side.

[sri_130]

Looks fresh! Is the car left outside?