APK and Gaskets

The seven sailed through the APK, more or less at TheFritz.nl. The CO output at fast idle was a little over, so i adjusted the load bin down in the megasquirt. He asked if the noise at the rear was the wheel bearing, but its just the noise the diff makes and he was happy with that. I demonstrated that there was really no play in the wheel, and that it turned freely.

He pointed out that copious oil was dripping out the car, whilst this isn't an APK failure, its bad for the environment and can get me fined. I obviously don't want an oil leak at all, for a whole host of reasons. I explained it was from the rocker cover and i was having lots of problems with it. A few minutes later he emerged behind the counter with a carpet tile and said this will work.

I cut it to shape, and sure enough, it seems to do the trick. I noticed a few spots on the floor still, so i think i still have a leak somewhere, but its nowhere near as bad as it was, and it certainly isn't from the rocker cover or the breather pipe now.

Crossflow Rocker Gaskets

I think I finally found the cause of all the oil leaking everywhere. It seems that its pouring out of the rocker cover flange. I have an alloy one, and its always somewhat awkward to fit it. There is a cork gasket which invariably isnt quite the right shape, when its tightened up, it has a habit of being squeezed out.

To make it easier to fit, I usually use copious amounts of loctite gasket sealer which bonds the cork gasket to the rocker cover, making it easier to assemble. It seems that this is still not good enough, I've always been aware of a small amount of oil on top of the inlet manifold, which I assumed was mainly runoff from when I'd filled it, however on closer inspection there is actually quite a lot of oil running out and down the block.

I've since dispense with the cork gasket all together, and cleaned the alloy back to bare metal. I've applied a fair bit of loctite 5922 flange sealer, hopefully this will be the end of the leakage. On a better note, this seems to be the only leak that I actually have, although its hard to say as it gets everywhere.

Engine

I thought I was all set to start the engine in the Fury, the last time I did anything with the engine, i was unable to get the expected output on the original bike clocks. I put it to the side as actually starting the engine was a long way off.

Since then I've plumbed the engine, and lengthened/shortened the loom to fit the car installation, the prop shafts are connected, the wheels are on, and the controls are connected up. It was time to have a go starting it.

I put the engine fuses in, filled the engine with 3.8l (Total oil capacity according to the service manual) and wired the bike clocks up permanently, it took a while to work out which wire did what for power and earth. It immediately registered a few error codes, i reduced this down to one for the EXUP motor, which i am not using.

I turned the engine over, and the digi dash registered a tach signal, and the injectors were firing, and the fuel pump was running when turning over. The engine had oil pressure, it was time to start the car.

I pushed it outside, filled it with fuel, and went to start it up, for some reason the bike dash was no longer displaying any error codes, and i had no sparks, no fuel pump and no injector firing. I spent the rest of the day trying to find the problem, it seems to be related to the wiring, and the relay box. I think the fault is somewhere between the ECU and the Relay box, related to either the immobilizer, or the relay box itself. I think the ECU is not receiving any indication that it should run.

I also found a minor wiring problem, in that i'd wired up the connection between the ECU and the #1 injector to the ignition live. They both use the same color wire. It does make me worry what other mistakes i've made though. I also noticed that I could hear a relay clicking when i leant on the wiring loom. I expect that this is probably the root cause, and is either a break int he wire, or an intermittent short somewhere.

Little Jobs

Its been a whilst since I posted, lots of non-car related things going have kept me from posting progress. The car is nearing completion now, my current todo list is:

Seven:

• Paint metalwork at front of car
• Fix the oil leaks
• Fit the additional return spring on the throttle
• Check the exhaust fittings for leaks
• Check the state of the exhaust wadding
• Make a new boot
• Make a floor for the boot of the car
• Check if the fuel tank is actually leaking or if its just overspill from where i was careless.
• Set the Timing
• Adjust the tappets
• Remove the foam from the underneath of the bonnet
• Remove the old fuel filler, fill the hole and paint it
• Rewire the tachometer to work with megasquirt
• Paint the aerocatches black

Fury:

• Fit the trim to the windscreen
• Fit the flat shifter kit
• Fit the battery holder
• Make a bracket and fit the speed sensor
• Fit the indicator side repeaters
• Fit and wire in the IR beacon for the data-logger
• Fit the warning LED for the immobilizer
• Sort out the heater ducting
• Adjust the headlamps and fit the cowling
• Connect up the earth for headlamps

MX5:

• Change the oil
• Change the cambelt
• Flush the cooling system