Discussion
I had to take my Alfa to work this morning. I took the Punto out and it would not go in a straight line. The front and was all over the place. Pulling to the right and requiring two thirds of a turn left to go straight for a few seconds.
All the tyres were fine. 32PSI up front and 30PSI in the rears. As I left them. Hmmmmm....
Had the squashed anti-roll bar end come loose? Nope.
For some reason the car was pulling right and needed two thirds of a left turn to go in a straight line. Track control ends? Nope. Steering rack? Nope. The passenger side wheel had more camber than the drivers side.
Problem found...
...the passenger side lower suspension strut bolt has moved a few millimeters.
Just as well I have new (old) ones to replace the already terrible coil overs eh?
Not exactly a glamorous location but ideal to park a car with black leather seats on a sunny day.
All the tyres were fine. 32PSI up front and 30PSI in the rears. As I left them. Hmmmmm....
Had the squashed anti-roll bar end come loose? Nope.
For some reason the car was pulling right and needed two thirds of a left turn to go in a straight line. Track control ends? Nope. Steering rack? Nope. The passenger side wheel had more camber than the drivers side.
Problem found...
...the passenger side lower suspension strut bolt has moved a few millimeters.
Just as well I have new (old) ones to replace the already terrible coil overs eh?
Not exactly a glamorous location but ideal to park a car with black leather seats on a sunny day.
Well that was a fun four and bit hours. I took the suspension off and put the eBay suspension on. The springs are too soft and the car bottomed out. Probably for a 1242 Sporting and the GT lump is too heavy.
I put the coil overs back on and make sure they were 75Nm.
The camber adjustment is the bottom hole of the strut. Okay if you can realign the car every time but a pest if one of the bolts works loose.
I replaced the anti-roll bar end bushes while I was at it. They came off easily due to the hole being drilled out by whoever fitted them. The new ones have been fitted properly so now the car goes straight again but feels tighter as well.
I put the coil overs back on and make sure they were 75Nm.
The camber adjustment is the bottom hole of the strut. Okay if you can realign the car every time but a pest if one of the bolts works loose.
I replaced the anti-roll bar end bushes while I was at it. They came off easily due to the hole being drilled out by whoever fitted them. The new ones have been fitted properly so now the car goes straight again but feels tighter as well.
I think I should rename this thread.
"What went wrong today"
Following the suspension re-rebuild my Punto has developed a really rather annoying knocking sound whenever I hit a bump (that there are a million of on the pothole infested punch line we begrudgingly call roads in this country). I pulled over and had a good look round. Checking the wheel bolts first, shacking, pulling, prodding and probing around until I stood up, clipped the passenger side fog light and...
"Thud"
...the lower mounts are broken and the fog light is bouncing about.
Solved with duct-tape and back on my journey to work.
As soon as I went into town I noticed the oil pressure was below 2.9 for the first time since I have owned the car. I let the engine cool a bit and checked to see the oil wasn't touching the dip stick.
Coaxed the car to the petrol station this morning after work, filled the engine and drove home as spiritedly as usual.
"What went wrong today"
Following the suspension re-rebuild my Punto has developed a really rather annoying knocking sound whenever I hit a bump (that there are a million of on the pothole infested punch line we begrudgingly call roads in this country). I pulled over and had a good look round. Checking the wheel bolts first, shacking, pulling, prodding and probing around until I stood up, clipped the passenger side fog light and...
"Thud"
...the lower mounts are broken and the fog light is bouncing about.
Solved with duct-tape and back on my journey to work.
As soon as I went into town I noticed the oil pressure was below 2.9 for the first time since I have owned the car. I let the engine cool a bit and checked to see the oil wasn't touching the dip stick.
Coaxed the car to the petrol station this morning after work, filled the engine and drove home as spiritedly as usual.
A few developments. The nights are drawing in so I have taken the pillar mounted boost gauge off and consigned it to the eBay skip.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262610610391?ssPageName=...
The blue illumination is brighter than the dash and made going round right hand bends in the dark ridiculous. Also pillar mounted pods are a bit 1998 and not really in my taste.
The Alfa wheels the car came with were sold on eBay to someone from Uruguay even though they were listed as "Collection Only" and I clicked no international bidders.
Gave the chap 48 hours to get in contact before canceling the order and relisting.
Some new arrivals.
The V-band on the flange is roughly 1mm wider than the rings...
...so I was going to have to either grind the flange ring or weld around the ring lip and grind it flat to make it fit.
From the back of the turbo flange face to the alternator heat pipe is 9.5 cm. From the V-band flange face to the end of the ring piece is also 9.5 cm. So as predicted by members of the GT owners club it will not fit without either relocating or removing the exhaust from the alternator and wrapping the down pipe to dissipate the heat away from it. The funnel section of the V-band flange is 4 cm from the face so I could use it with a ninety degree bend that's less than 5 cm from end to bend.
This won't give me the flexibility of a V-band set up but it will be a damn sight better than the down pipe that's on there at the moment. That's so crap I'm not even sure I should use it as a template.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262610610391?ssPageName=...
The blue illumination is brighter than the dash and made going round right hand bends in the dark ridiculous. Also pillar mounted pods are a bit 1998 and not really in my taste.
The Alfa wheels the car came with were sold on eBay to someone from Uruguay even though they were listed as "Collection Only" and I clicked no international bidders.
Gave the chap 48 hours to get in contact before canceling the order and relisting.
Some new arrivals.
The V-band on the flange is roughly 1mm wider than the rings...
...so I was going to have to either grind the flange ring or weld around the ring lip and grind it flat to make it fit.
From the back of the turbo flange face to the alternator heat pipe is 9.5 cm. From the V-band flange face to the end of the ring piece is also 9.5 cm. So as predicted by members of the GT owners club it will not fit without either relocating or removing the exhaust from the alternator and wrapping the down pipe to dissipate the heat away from it. The funnel section of the V-band flange is 4 cm from the face so I could use it with a ninety degree bend that's less than 5 cm from end to bend.
This won't give me the flexibility of a V-band set up but it will be a damn sight better than the down pipe that's on there at the moment. That's so crap I'm not even sure I should use it as a template.
So the 205-40-16 road legal track tyres are crap in the wet and as I'm working in Thetford this weekend and the A134 is a tram line I need some sensible-ish rubber.
So I was looking for 15's with a meaningful side wall and possible for the first time in my life "Winter" tyres.
Hmmmmm... buy tyres or use the ones in my shed that are the least knackered?
Easy choice. I've never been a fan of these Coupe square wheels. They're a faff to balance, porous after a while and heavy so the steal power from the road and you need to think about braking sooner. Looks aside the 205-55-15's have enough of a side wall for the car to be exactly the same height from the floor as before. So I will only scrape the exhaust as much as usual.
So I was looking for 15's with a meaningful side wall and possible for the first time in my life "Winter" tyres.
Hmmmmm... buy tyres or use the ones in my shed that are the least knackered?
Easy choice. I've never been a fan of these Coupe square wheels. They're a faff to balance, porous after a while and heavy so the steal power from the road and you need to think about braking sooner. Looks aside the 205-55-15's have enough of a side wall for the car to be exactly the same height from the floor as before. So I will only scrape the exhaust as much as usual.
More new arrivals this week.
As the V-band won't fit I'll have to chop the outlet part and weld a bend to it...
...a bit like this but within the 90mm gap from the turbo to the back of the alternator.
I do like a nice compact set up like the Mini ERA, Metro, Uno and Punto turbo but sometimes I would give a kidney for the space to work you get from a crossover had set up.
As the V-band won't fit I'll have to chop the outlet part and weld a bend to it...
...a bit like this but within the 90mm gap from the turbo to the back of the alternator.
I do like a nice compact set up like the Mini ERA, Metro, Uno and Punto turbo but sometimes I would give a kidney for the space to work you get from a crossover had set up.
Before and after down pipe. The Chinese parts didn't fit so I had to cut the original flange and weld to the new down pipe. Not my best work but a damn sight better than before.
Wrapped to protect the alternator and bulk head items.
My shed has a new trophy hanging from the ceiling.
A days work and it looks like I have done nothing; but the engine is now even better than before. Smooth, no flat spot between 1,200 and 2,000 rpm and I can now drive at 30mph in fifth without spluttering.
Still not sold so doing little jobs.
The intercooler pipe is a bit of a mystery. Why have a turbo with a 50mm outlet and a front mounted intercooler with a 50mm inlet and standard pipe with funnels going in and out of it?
It's like trying to blow up a balloon through a drinking straw.
So I have mocked up a 50mm pipe and will replace the duct-tape with weld tomorrow.
The intercooler pipe is a bit of a mystery. Why have a turbo with a 50mm outlet and a front mounted intercooler with a 50mm inlet and standard pipe with funnels going in and out of it?
It's like trying to blow up a balloon through a drinking straw.
So I have mocked up a 50mm pipe and will replace the duct-tape with weld tomorrow.
I guess one of my neighbors doesn't like me leaving for work at half five in the morning.
Air rifle pellet through my tail light.
An inch to the left and it would have been a new screen.
Lucky I keep spares handy eh?
Welded up the 50mm intercooler feed pipe...
...and found some wire re-enforced 50mm hose at work...
...in theory this won't expand, contract and pop off like the conventional silicone stuff.
We'll see if it works.
Air rifle pellet through my tail light.
An inch to the left and it would have been a new screen.
Lucky I keep spares handy eh?
Welded up the 50mm intercooler feed pipe...
...and found some wire re-enforced 50mm hose at work...
...in theory this won't expand, contract and pop off like the conventional silicone stuff.
We'll see if it works.
I was a little concerned about the new pipe. It's 50mm and Stainless Steel reinforced but it's a high pressure water hose rated at 110'C. Can it handle the cold side of the turbo?
Had a quick Google and found the outlet temperature from the turbo should be around 140'F
140'F is 60'C so it should be okay. I'll see if I can get some 50mm Silicone pipe just in case. Glad I wrapped the downpipe.
Maybe the flat spot was caused by minor boost leakage from somewhere.
So all fitted and I can't say if having 50mm from the turbo to the intercooler has made a noticeable difference but I have also fitted some BSA light weight wheels and they certainly have. Steering is lighter, acceleration improved (even though the wheels want to spin on boost) and braking is something you do instead of think about a few minutes before hand. 195-45-15's instead of 205-55-15's have thrown the speedometer out again. 30 is now 33, 40 is 45 and so on. Even though the car is only 10mm lower she feels less like a Land Rover than before. Almost like a car.
On the sale front. I have someone coming to see my GT Sunday and if that's a sale I have another Punto in mind.
Had a quick Google and found the outlet temperature from the turbo should be around 140'F
140'F is 60'C so it should be okay. I'll see if I can get some 50mm Silicone pipe just in case. Glad I wrapped the downpipe.
Maybe the flat spot was caused by minor boost leakage from somewhere.
So all fitted and I can't say if having 50mm from the turbo to the intercooler has made a noticeable difference but I have also fitted some BSA light weight wheels and they certainly have. Steering is lighter, acceleration improved (even though the wheels want to spin on boost) and braking is something you do instead of think about a few minutes before hand. 195-45-15's instead of 205-55-15's have thrown the speedometer out again. 30 is now 33, 40 is 45 and so on. Even though the car is only 10mm lower she feels less like a Land Rover than before. Almost like a car.
On the sale front. I have someone coming to see my GT Sunday and if that's a sale I have another Punto in mind.
Edited by Liquid Knight on Saturday 1st October 13:10
I arrived at work without issue but was greeted by the smell of burning plastic.
Then I remembered I work in Wisbech so that's completely normal.
Sadly the car has a major problem. I love the idea of it looking like a shed with a bit of lump under the bonnet. We all like a bit of stealth right? The suspension is terrible but the car handles really well. The engine has gone from a cement mixer though a loudhailer that I was embarrassed to drive to one of the best Punto GT/Uno Turbo engines I have ever known. No, the problem is; none of it wasn't my idea, my build or my vision. Even though I own and have done a load of work on the Punto it has never really felt like my car.
That's the thing about "unfinished projects". Do you strip them apart and start again or finish them off? I should have ripped the Punto apart and started again from scratch but because I have been using it as a daily driver this wasn't an option. All I have done is repaired problems and made a few improvements.
Time to move on.
Then I remembered I work in Wisbech so that's completely normal.
Sadly the car has a major problem. I love the idea of it looking like a shed with a bit of lump under the bonnet. We all like a bit of stealth right? The suspension is terrible but the car handles really well. The engine has gone from a cement mixer though a loudhailer that I was embarrassed to drive to one of the best Punto GT/Uno Turbo engines I have ever known. No, the problem is; none of it wasn't my idea, my build or my vision. Even though I own and have done a load of work on the Punto it has never really felt like my car.
That's the thing about "unfinished projects". Do you strip them apart and start again or finish them off? I should have ripped the Punto apart and started again from scratch but because I have been using it as a daily driver this wasn't an option. All I have done is repaired problems and made a few improvements.
Time to move on.
So I sold my GT and bought this...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112150259017?_trksid=p2060353.m2748.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
...for a £184.99
I haven't heard from the seller yet but I hope to collect the car Friday, tart it up with GT bits from my shed and turn it around in time for someone to use a Winter runner or Christmas present.
My thoughts are the Mk2 HGT had a JTD option and as this is basically a 1.7 version of the 1.4 GT 128 Gen II lump it could be as much fun with a little tuning and attention.
I've trawled the thread looking for tuning options for the 1.7TD but they are limited. Even the pre-JTD 1.9 used the same turbo as the 1.7 so no boost cranking or bigger injectors from there.
My basic aim is for GT style with TD economy. I won't be doing anything too exteme...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAVBoYX5S0
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112150259017?_trksid=p2060353.m2748.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
...for a £184.99
I haven't heard from the seller yet but I hope to collect the car Friday, tart it up with GT bits from my shed and turn it around in time for someone to use a Winter runner or Christmas present.
My thoughts are the Mk2 HGT had a JTD option and as this is basically a 1.7 version of the 1.4 GT 128 Gen II lump it could be as much fun with a little tuning and attention.
I've trawled the thread looking for tuning options for the 1.7TD but they are limited. Even the pre-JTD 1.9 used the same turbo as the 1.7 so no boost cranking or bigger injectors from there.
My basic aim is for GT style with TD economy. I won't be doing anything too exteme...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAVBoYX5S0
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