Croc Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Run in time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11Budlite Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Congrats John! I'm sure it's been a challenging project for you but it's been an interesting and educational read for me. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papak Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 I occasionally get asked why it took me over 2 years to put my Birkin together. It is not only the appropriate attention to detail, but a driving curiosity about all of the components and processes involved in such a complex project. I too had similar questions about the discrepancies in torque values, wiring issues and cooling strategy (among many topics), much of which I have sought the help of members of this forum on. Our fellow forum members have been the greatest single asset in the journey. One can't help but acquire a host of new skills in the course of the project, an aspect I was much looking forward to. After having spent the first month of the quarantine resolving an oxygen sensor issue and rebuilding my transmission, I am in the last few days of fabricating an aluminum boot compartment. I'll post some pics of that project in a few days. Glad to hear you're getting back on the road. I should be metaphorically joining you by the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Very well said Papak! Thumbs up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 This thread is a great example of our tribal knowledge. Along the way several people have either provided answers to head scratching questions or valuable input based on first-hand experience. It's certainly made my life a lot easier. Papak, I also fabricated my boot box out of aluminum. It was an interesting challenge that taught me some new skills I've since forgotten, and enabled me to correct limitations of the original design. In hindsight I would have done it a little differently, but that's just an opportunity to attempt v2 in the future. I'm looking foreword to seeing your pictures. I still haven't had a chance to perform the break-in drive, but did find a couple of oil leaks. First is coming from the blue sump plug that provides access to the finger filter ahead of the oil pump. This one is a surprise given its torqued to spec, was fitted with a new washer, and was never a problem in the past. I'll investigate when I do the initial oil change in ~50 miles. If it's not obvious, I'll probably use a little thread sealant. The other leak(s) isn't a surprise. My sump has always been extremely difficult to seal. Taking a closer look this time when it was off revealed a number of tiny pin holes along the mating surface. I suspect that my early sump may not be up to Raceline's later quality standards making this aspect a bigger challenge. After the drive, I'll investigate more thoroughly to determine if it's coming down the threads of a fastener or if it's seeping from the mating surfaces, and go from there. Looking at the leaks did surface an installation goof. I forget to attach the grounding strap to the block. Oops. Easy fix, but might have contributed to the initial rough running. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 John, Congratulations on getting the car running again . If you have pinholes/porosity in the sump casting Loctite 290 and Primer T is your friend! Find your leak, clean it up w/ some brake clean, blast it off w/ air, apply some Primer T, let it flash off, then apply some 290. It works well for sealing casting flaws. Be careful though, a friend of mine managed to virtually glue the engine to the tub of a race car years back. The stuff wicked down the bore of the mounting bosses and bonded quite well to some long studs, not fun when you have to do a pre-race engine swap... Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 Thanks for the tip Andy. I really don't want to remove the sump again if I can avoid it. I've done this job before with the engine in the car, and although doable, it's a royal PITA, particularly with the early sumps. For the later versions, Raceline introduced some design changes that made it far easier to use a prybar to break the seal of an installed sump. On the early ones like mine, there are very few places to get purchase, making it very difficult. Even with the engine on the stand I struggled to break the seal last Fall. With it in the car and only an inch or so forward of the bell housing, the amount of swearing required goes up considerably. Fingers crossed this is a very minor, livable drip. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 John, Who said anything about removing the sump?! I've used this to seal stuff up externally and it works as long as the surfaces are prepped as I stated. It wicks in and then cures very quickly with the Primer. It may do the trick for your issue without the major pain of pulling the sump. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 I wrongly assumed this was a liquid gasket that worked particularly well, not a wicking thread locker. Interesting idea and worth exploring more. Thanks, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papak Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 John, I have been using a grey AC Delco RTV with no issues on surfaces such as the sump. Mine is an early Raceline wet sump and it sealed up perfectly on initial installation. When I rebuilt the T-9, I used Loctite 515. It seals well and allowed me to separate the various sections the numerous times necessary. Once it has set up (it doesn't actually cure according to the literature), it seals very well. It's also a cool purple color. Need forget the artistic component. That's what keeps us going some days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 ....but did find a couple of oil leaks. Normal reversion to type - your Westfield did start life as a crossflow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papak Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 I needed a reasonably secure compartment to store my jack and tools as I consider longer road trips. This is being done in aluminum. I am still waiting for the interior pieces to come back from the sheetmetal shop (needed a shear and and a wider brake). The top covers are .060 6061 sanded down with a 600 grit random orbital. I may have them polished to match the rest of the car, just living with it a bit. They are held down with 2700 series Camlocs. Really nice to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 Looks good Paypak, What are you doing for the floor? More aluminum sheet, or a composite? I finally had time today for the break-in drive. With the grounding strap connected to the block, the engine fired right up and idled smoothly at 2500 rpm. Kent recommends keeping it at or above this mark for the first 20 minutes to ensure the cams have adequate oil supply during this critical period. The first few minutes were spent looking over the car for leaks before heading out for the drive. Engine felt great. Despite a starter map in the ECU and TBs not yet synched, it ran very smoothly and had great throttle response. After breaking the 20 minute mark, I headed home to give the car a second visual examination and sync the TBs before venturing back out to seat the rings. Much to my surprise, the oil leaks I mentioned earlier self healed after that second heat cycle. Both the sump and sump plug were bone dry. However, the mechanical oil pressure take off assembly was leaking quite a bit on either side of the T fitting for the low pressure switch. The assemble consists of an M12 male to 3AN male adapter, then a 3AN female to male T, then the 3AN female end of the line that feeds the oil pressure gauge. This set up is new. Previously there was no T, and since no one made an M12 to 3AN adapter when I built the car, 3 different adapters were cobbled together to handle that transition (old & new are shown below.) That didn't leak, but thread sealant was used on the threads. Although oil pressure seemed fine underway, it was a little low at idle when the oil was hot. Only about 23-25psi. The engine is running a 5-30W dyno break-in oil which might be part of it, but I'm also hoping the leak mentioned above was affecting the reading. We'll see. Ring seating went well. The only odd thing is that the data logs showed I wasn't exceeding 4000 rpm even though I was getting to about 5500 rpm. Something else to investigate. After putting about 30 miles on the engine, the oil and filter were changed and more break-in oil went in. I also disassembled the oil pressure assembly and added thread sealant. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 (edited) The engine has covered 100 miles so far, a number I hope to triple over the next couple of days. Much to my relief -- and surprise -- the oil leaks from the sump and blue sump plug have not returned. However, the one from the oil pressure assembly remained and was (no surprise) unaffected by the addition of thread sealant. As an experiment, I removed the T fitting for the low pressure sender, and attached the 3AN fitting off the line feeding the gauge directly to the M12 to 3AN adapter in the side of the block. I wasn't able to drive it afterward, but did let the engine idle for over 5 minutes and blipped the throttle several times. No drips. Hopefully it stays that way. After the drive to seat the rings, I noticed the revs weren't dropping between shifts as quickly as expected. Closer examination showed the throttle linkage return spring assembly seen in the old photo below, jumped ship. Fortunately the springs on the Jenveys are strong enough to make this just an inconvenience, but Raceline is working to secure replacements. Other than that, things have been thus far been uneventful. The ECU is now operating in closed loop adaptive mode, where it logs fueling changes based on a target AFR table. It was running fine before that was enabled, but even better now. Once I hit 500 miles, I'll do another oil change, switch from the the break in oil to a synthetic, and schedule dyno time. -John Edited July 10, 2020 by JohnCh clarity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panamericano Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Happy days at last! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 Did a 30 mile run over lunch and no leaks, so it looks like the T fitting was the issue. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Excellent, John! Well done, sir! Enjoyed following this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Enjoyed following this thread. Enjoyed, as in past tense? Don't go anywhere yet Shane, it ain't over Provided there are no surprises, I still need to report on perceived power and shape of the torque curve compared to the old engine, then add the dyno results. Logged another 100 miles today so now halfway to the target of 500 miles before getting on the dyno. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Dyno runs are always exciting. Still remember my BMW CSL dyno run where the dry sump pump failed and metal bits were being shaved from camshaft, bearings, etc. The video is exceptional - once of my best. Too many swear words to be allowed on YouTube sadly. That was a $30k and 2 year delay oops. Can we see a live screening of your dyno run? Maybe we could take bets on hp levels or a meltdown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 Vimeo is less stringent than YouTube... I suppose a live pay-per-view screening could help recoup some of my costs. Thanks for the idea! -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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