For the love of Tuscan (project build)
Discussion
Battery area and power cables
Some surface corrosion present here...
I will be relocating the entry point for the 12v cables into the passenger footwell so the patch in the middle is for filling in the original entry point with filler/fibreglass
12v cable to starter is also being re-routed behind the dash to tidy-up the engine bay and take it away from heat sources. I was very happy to see this go along with the itch inducing glass wrap...
All power and earth cables removed to make way for new...
Tools and treatment for rusty chassis...
After rust is removed, Kurust is applied...
Silver Hammerite 2 coats
Toplac Atlantic Grey Marine enamel applied which is very good match for factory grey powder coat finish
original 12v cable entry point to passenger footwell filled
Some surface corrosion present here...
I will be relocating the entry point for the 12v cables into the passenger footwell so the patch in the middle is for filling in the original entry point with filler/fibreglass
12v cable to starter is also being re-routed behind the dash to tidy-up the engine bay and take it away from heat sources. I was very happy to see this go along with the itch inducing glass wrap...
All power and earth cables removed to make way for new...
Tools and treatment for rusty chassis...
After rust is removed, Kurust is applied...
Silver Hammerite 2 coats
Toplac Atlantic Grey Marine enamel applied which is very good match for factory grey powder coat finish
original 12v cable entry point to passenger footwell filled
HVAC system stripdown and clean
Removing the heating and cooling matrix
to reveal the mixing plenum and flap motor
Removal of the fan access panel was fun. It was glued in place with 20year old silicone...
Fan removed
And fan connector
Fan details
Works fine but needs a clean and bearings oiled
Cleaned, reassembled and waterproof connector fitted
Re-fitted
Fresh foam gasket tape...
...applied around plenum
and mixing flap
New stainless hinge bolts for Cerakoted panel and flap...
re-fitting plenum panel and flap
AC compressor clutch. When I received the Tuscan I wondered why the ac compressor belt had been removed. Turned out to be because the clutch bearings were knacked and would have been very noisy...
Clutch removed and stripped. This is beyond rescuing. A new one is required but they don't seem to be available separately, only as a complete unit with the compressor...
clutch wheel for the bin...
I managed to find a virtually brand new AC compressor with clutch on eBay alot cheaper than a new one so I will be swapping the clutch over at some point
Removing the heating and cooling matrix
to reveal the mixing plenum and flap motor
Removal of the fan access panel was fun. It was glued in place with 20year old silicone...
Fan removed
And fan connector
Fan details
Works fine but needs a clean and bearings oiled
Cleaned, reassembled and waterproof connector fitted
Re-fitted
Fresh foam gasket tape...
...applied around plenum
and mixing flap
New stainless hinge bolts for Cerakoted panel and flap...
re-fitting plenum panel and flap
AC compressor clutch. When I received the Tuscan I wondered why the ac compressor belt had been removed. Turned out to be because the clutch bearings were knacked and would have been very noisy...
Clutch removed and stripped. This is beyond rescuing. A new one is required but they don't seem to be available separately, only as a complete unit with the compressor...
clutch wheel for the bin...
I managed to find a virtually brand new AC compressor with clutch on eBay alot cheaper than a new one so I will be swapping the clutch over at some point
Lambda wiring mod and re-route
So according to Stunned Monkeys post here, https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... the 3 and 4 wire Lambdas benefit from improved grounding for the Black earth wires from the lambda sensors. My Tuscan is an early 2000 so it has the 3 wire lambdas. Also, as I work through the various items to fix/clean/refurb I'm always thinking about how to make improvements and simplify/tidy-up and I didn't like how the lambda sensor cables ran from the engine loom on top of the engine, piggybacked onto the heater matrix feed pipe around the top of the engine then down past the exhaust headers through a hole into the battery area to the lambdas. I preferred to run them from the lambdas into the battery area and through into the passenger footwell then behind the dash to the ECU harness. So, this is how I did it...
Wiring diagram
MBE ECU harness pinouts
First trace the 4 lambda wires (Earth, Red heater, and yellow odds and white evens) to the ECU main plug, then piggyback from these wires at the harness plug behind the dash to form a new feed to the lambda sensors that can be run behind the dash and through into the battery area...
New connector pin with piggyback cable
New waterproof connectors...
fitted with earth wire tail for connecting to the chassis
Corresponding plugs fitted to the lambda wires
I have left the original lambda cables connected to the engine loom until I'm happy everything is working fine, if it is I with cut them off.
So according to Stunned Monkeys post here, https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... the 3 and 4 wire Lambdas benefit from improved grounding for the Black earth wires from the lambda sensors. My Tuscan is an early 2000 so it has the 3 wire lambdas. Also, as I work through the various items to fix/clean/refurb I'm always thinking about how to make improvements and simplify/tidy-up and I didn't like how the lambda sensor cables ran from the engine loom on top of the engine, piggybacked onto the heater matrix feed pipe around the top of the engine then down past the exhaust headers through a hole into the battery area to the lambdas. I preferred to run them from the lambdas into the battery area and through into the passenger footwell then behind the dash to the ECU harness. So, this is how I did it...
Wiring diagram
MBE ECU harness pinouts
First trace the 4 lambda wires (Earth, Red heater, and yellow odds and white evens) to the ECU main plug, then piggyback from these wires at the harness plug behind the dash to form a new feed to the lambda sensors that can be run behind the dash and through into the battery area...
New connector pin with piggyback cable
New waterproof connectors...
fitted with earth wire tail for connecting to the chassis
Corresponding plugs fitted to the lambda wires
I have left the original lambda cables connected to the engine loom until I'm happy everything is working fine, if it is I with cut them off.
MBE ECU Dallas chip upgrade
Replacing the Dallas chip inside the ECU is considered good practice as over time the chips or internal chip battery can fail meaning that engine data is no longer stored. Chips are pretty cheap and faster ones are available now, it's easy to do so it's a no-brainer...
ECU in drivers footwell behind the fuse box
Long reach 1/4" ratchet is a god send when loosening the 2 bolts on the ECU bracket. The ECU slides out, you don't need to fully remove the bracket.
ECU removed
Connector pins all look rust free and clean
Cover removed
Confirms mine is a standard non S Tuscan
Original Dallas DS1230AB chip, the '200' refers to the access speed in ns, the lower the number the faster the chip. The new chip is 70ns.
New Dallas chip
Pack of 4, just in case...
Easy to install
ECU ready to re-fit
Anyone know what the 2pin plug is for?
This is hopefully the 3 pin ECU diagnostics plug, can anyone confirm?
Replacing the Dallas chip inside the ECU is considered good practice as over time the chips or internal chip battery can fail meaning that engine data is no longer stored. Chips are pretty cheap and faster ones are available now, it's easy to do so it's a no-brainer...
ECU in drivers footwell behind the fuse box
Long reach 1/4" ratchet is a god send when loosening the 2 bolts on the ECU bracket. The ECU slides out, you don't need to fully remove the bracket.
ECU removed
Connector pins all look rust free and clean
Cover removed
Confirms mine is a standard non S Tuscan
Original Dallas DS1230AB chip, the '200' refers to the access speed in ns, the lower the number the faster the chip. The new chip is 70ns.
New Dallas chip
Pack of 4, just in case...
Easy to install
ECU ready to re-fit
Anyone know what the 2pin plug is for?
This is hopefully the 3 pin ECU diagnostics plug, can anyone confirm?
Brakes refresh
The purpose here is to make the brakes serviceable but I will be fully stripping the callipers and putting in new seals and lines etc when I tackle the suspension later in the year.
Front callipers and pads are good just require a light clean and pads wire brushed
Front discs are also perfectly serviceable, rust removed with a wire brush and treated with Kurust
A small lip on the backside of the disc is ground off
Discs then sprayed with high temp satin black and black alloy 3mm spacers fitted to help with bump steer
Rear discs are badly corroded and scored so new ones will be fitted
Rear pads are not worth saving either
Rear callipers just need a clean for now
New standard Ferodo rear pads
old verses new
Discs painted and pads/callipers refitted
The purpose here is to make the brakes serviceable but I will be fully stripping the callipers and putting in new seals and lines etc when I tackle the suspension later in the year.
Front callipers and pads are good just require a light clean and pads wire brushed
Front discs are also perfectly serviceable, rust removed with a wire brush and treated with Kurust
A small lip on the backside of the disc is ground off
Discs then sprayed with high temp satin black and black alloy 3mm spacers fitted to help with bump steer
Rear discs are badly corroded and scored so new ones will be fitted
Rear pads are not worth saving either
Rear callipers just need a clean for now
New standard Ferodo rear pads
old verses new
Discs painted and pads/callipers refitted
Spark plugs and cover
So, to remove the spark plug cover there are 3 cap screws and lots of silicone. Not my idea of easy access for regular maintenance, but I'll come back to this shortly...
Cover removed, leads are in very good condition
Special thin spark plug socket is needed as the plug tubes are tapered and very tight at the bottom.
Plugs removed, all look ok but plugs 1 & 2 have oil gunk above the washer which suggests the valve cover O-rings(?) or gasket must be leaking slightly. I plan on removing the cover and refurbing it when I do the engine clean-up.
Plug No.2 gunk
So, as I said, I don't like how the cover is sealed with silicone making it a pain to remove and refit so I'll be trying this silicone foam strip to see if it provides an adequate heat resistant re-useable seal.
Titanium rainbow cap screws for a bit of under bonnet bling...
Vapour blasted cover ready for paint when I decide what colour it will be
Cap screws fitted
So, to remove the spark plug cover there are 3 cap screws and lots of silicone. Not my idea of easy access for regular maintenance, but I'll come back to this shortly...
Cover removed, leads are in very good condition
Special thin spark plug socket is needed as the plug tubes are tapered and very tight at the bottom.
Plugs removed, all look ok but plugs 1 & 2 have oil gunk above the washer which suggests the valve cover O-rings(?) or gasket must be leaking slightly. I plan on removing the cover and refurbing it when I do the engine clean-up.
Plug No.2 gunk
So, as I said, I don't like how the cover is sealed with silicone making it a pain to remove and refit so I'll be trying this silicone foam strip to see if it provides an adequate heat resistant re-useable seal.
Titanium rainbow cap screws for a bit of under bonnet bling...
Vapour blasted cover ready for paint when I decide what colour it will be
Cap screws fitted
More fantastic progress! 
Those screws go very nicely with the paint colour! Hopefully this will be the year I'll finally get my engine bay tidied up with cam and plug cover mods.
Really interested to see how well the silicone foam strip works.
It would be nice to find a way to avoid using messy sealant on nice new covers.
Those screws go very nicely with the paint colour! Hopefully this will be the year I'll finally get my engine bay tidied up with cam and plug cover mods.
Really interested to see how well the silicone foam strip works.
It would be nice to find a way to avoid using messy sealant on nice new covers. BEARDYB0Y said:
More fantastic progress!
Those screws go very nicely with the paint colour! Hopefully this will be the year I'll finally get my engine bay tidied up with cam and plug cover mods.
Really interested to see how well the silicone foam strip works. It would be nice to find a way to avoid using messy sealant on nice new covers.
Thanks BB, I will keep you updatedThose screws go very nicely with the paint colour! Hopefully this will be the year I'll finally get my engine bay tidied up with cam and plug cover mods.
Really interested to see how well the silicone foam strip works.
It would be nice to find a way to avoid using messy sealant on nice new covers. Gassing Station | Tuscan | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff