Newbie Gremlins

[V8Dom]

UltimaCH said:

Ask our friends up north ;-)

i am up north haha

AB or SS are in the mids so who else am i missing?

[Storer]

Hi Dom

This is the bit of kit. I suspect you could get it cheaper than Summit. I can't remember where I got mine from but I am sure I purchased in the US.

http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/vta-50507-vu...

Works well even though the knob is a bit naff (must get round to finding a better knob!).

Paul

[Justaredbadge]

Vintage air do a similar product.

[Storer]

That is the Vintage Air valve.


Paul

[UltimaCH]

Ask our friends AB ;-)

Edited by UltimaCH on Sunday 20th April 23:48

[Nabbott]

Fettling not driving appears to be where I am (and where I'm due to be for a little while).

So thus far I've replaced the battery & starter motor. I've ordered a new air filter filter assembly (to remove the hideous ITG custom set up installed on the car), MAP plumbing for the throttle bodies (the map sensor for the ECU wasn't connected to ANYTHING), a new alternator and bracket. $1,200 and counting plus £450 for a new battery and starter.....

Charging circuit - the alternator was the wrong size - 50 amps! American speed et al all spec 80-120 amp alternators and there's NO way that a larger alternator would have fitted in it's current bracket - which means the car has NEVER been right - the net drain on the battery would render the car immobile after 15 miles.

Fuel injection - the manifolds are sealing with silicon sealant which is leaking into the throttle bodies, so this will have to be removed and cleaned up - it has to come off for the drilling and taping of the vacuum pipes for the MAP sensor anyway..... but no MAP sensor is yet another indication that no one has been through the car properly to fix a string of minor issues.

HT Leads - does anyone stock a 'standard' set for a SBC engine here in the UK with 90 degree fittings? Am waiting on a quote from Magnecor the only other option appears to be more US e-commerce transactions.

So whilst the injection system will be on the bench I'm sending the exhaust away for coating - then I can reassemble the whole sheebang..... that only leaves a slightly leaky gearbox (dripping from the front of the bell housing so suspect the main oil seal) so could be driving the car by July!

The lesson here? Buy a car with too few miles and expect a string of problems!

[Steve_D]

Nabbott said:

....HT Leads - does anyone stock a 'standard' set for a SBC engine here in the UK with 90 degree fittings? Am waiting on a quote from Magnecor the only other option appears to be more US e-commerce transactions......

Real Steel (and probably others) offer part finished HT lead kits. The plug end is fitted and the wire is over length. Crimps are supplied in the kit for the other end. You can then route the leads where you want them which in the case of an SBC in an Ultima is under the manifold then up around the end of the engine. Because of this routing standard leads would probably not work.

Steve

[Nabbott]

Thanks Steve - i'd not found them before and they're relatively close for me as well - BONUS!

[Nabbott]

So new alternator is now relocated and installed. The Kinsler Fuel injection throttle bodies sit on the bench awaiting the arrival of the MAP vacuum fittings and I've generally tidied up the car a bit, replaced the dizzy cap, rotor and leads, repainted the silencers and wrapped the exhausts until I get a stainless system made - which is a winter job......

Which brings me onto another job i was HOPING could have waited 'till winter - the Gearbox leak

Ignore the ring around the puddle on the floor (I'd left my old alternator belt on the floor)- but with the car jacked up over night this is how much oil I lost JUST overnight:

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r627/nigeljabb...

It's running down the front of the clutch actuator fork (difficult to see in this photo):

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r627/nigeljabb...

So having never had one of these gearboxes out/to pieces my questions are 1) what is the main suspect - the main shaft oil seal 2) if so how difficult is it to replace? 3) or is there something else that is known to make the transaxle leak like a sieve?

i have no idea how much oil is in the gearbox (but it's doing a bl**dy good job of draining itself onto my floor), so will measure the output - but even if it was massively overfilled i'd still appear to have a leaky oil seal somewhere in that gearbox

[Racing Roj]

Just a thought our friends AB do an awesome stainless steel exhaust.

[Racing Roj]

Just a thought our friends AB do an awesome stainless steel exhaust.

[Nabbott]

Thanks - and I'm sure that they do.... at a 'COST'. I've found a guy 'up north' who'll make me an entire 304 polished system (that will pass noise scrutiny) for about 1,500.

Doesn't fix my g/box leak though

[Racing Roj]

Do you have his details?

[macgtech]

Nabbott said:

Thanks - and I'm sure that they do.... at a 'COST'. I've found a guy 'up north' who'll make me an entire 304 polished system (that will pass noise scrutiny) for about 1,500.

Doesn't fix my g/box leak though

From memory we used 6 litres when we ran the G96-50 with a small cooler.

[Nabbott]

Nabbott said:

Thanks - and I'm sure that they do.... at a 'COST'. I've found a guy 'up north' who'll make me an entire 304 polished system (that will pass noise scrutiny) for about 1,500.

Doesn't fix my g/box leak though

[e-mail] - nottingham area. so looking back through my email it was 1,400 plus the dreaded VAT with perhaps another 150 to make it noise compliant....

[Storer]

Nabbott said:

So new alternator is now relocated and installed. The Kinsler Fuel injection throttle bodies sit on the bench awaiting the arrival of the MAP vacuum fittings and I've generally tidied up the car a bit, replaced the dizzy cap, rotor and leads, repainted the silencers and wrapped the exhausts until I get a stainless system made - which is a winter job......

Which brings me onto another job i was HOPING could have waited 'till winter - the Gearbox leak

Ignore the ring around the puddle on the floor (I'd left my old alternator belt on the floor)- but with the car jacked up over night this is how much oil I lost JUST overnight:

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r627/nigeljabb...

It's running down the front of the clutch actuator fork (difficult to see in this photo):

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r627/nigeljabb...

So having never had one of these gearboxes out/to pieces my questions are 1) what is the main suspect - the main shaft oil seal 2) if so how difficult is it to replace? 3) or is there something else that is known to make the transaxle leak like a sieve?

i have no idea how much oil is in the gearbox (but it's doing a bl**dy good job of draining itself onto my floor), so will measure the output - but even if it was massively overfilled i'd still appear to have a leaky oil seal somewhere in that gearbox

Does your gearbox have a breather?

If not you may find that the foaming of the oil is pressurising the box forcing oil past the seal when you park up.

If not then no idea, as I have never had this problem.


Good luck

Paul

[Nabbott]

Yes it does..... Having discussed this with a mate we recon the front seal on the main shaft has gone hard through lack of use (625 miles in 10 yrs). I've just bought some additive from the US (ATP 205 reseal) that is polymer based and is supposed to restore an oil seals flexibility. It can't hurt to try it before commiting to strip the box out!

[ROWDYRENAULT]

With your issues involving bat , alt and starter never a bad idea to have a good hard look at your grounds. Both the one in front over the rack and an engine to frame ground in the rear. Many years with toys and a few chases that would have been corrected with 5 minutes of effort ensuring the ground was adequate. Car looks great have faith your going after it the right way. Lee

[Nabbott]

Good solid advice Lee - thanks - and yes it was one of the first things I did!

[Nabbott]

So I can see the end is in sight

I need to fully drain the coolant and replace it. Has anyone used one of those vacuum purge/refill kits as I'd be interested to hear how well they work?