discostig Manual mode ________________________ All day, erryday Donating Members 13,798 Member For: 17y 1m 12d Gender: Male Location: Probably above atmospheric pressure Posted 15/03/13 01:11 PM Author Share Posted 15/03/13 01:11 PM OK I mentioned an engine update so here it is in a nutshell!I took her in for new valve springs and in-tank fuel pump at XFT (190,000km and previous dyno run showed up the bad springs and some pinging). I had some second hand Nizpro jobbies that turned out to only be slightly better than stock springs so I said stick in the Crow, they are what I really wanted and the cost is 2/3 labour anyway.Dropped it off and got a call back in a couple of days when they started fitting, Simon on the other end asking me "mate has your car been driving ok?" which immediately had me worried. Turned out I had suffered the fate of a few on here I've been reading about in the last 6 months - timing chain guide is broken off at the top, and I've skipped a tooth. I have no idea how long it was like this. Funny thing was I didn't notice at all, power was still good, car drove fine. A little driveline backlash and clunking on gear changes but it has been there a very long time. I discussed with Simon and went with his suggestion of also replacing the timing chain, the guide, tensioner and the "tone wheel" which I had NFI what he was talking about I asked Shaun to take pics for me as I couldn't be there in person. Hopefully my descriptions are accurate!Naked! A before pic of the old chain:and broken guide top (black plastic is the broken part):I think this is the installation of new springs using compressed air through the spark plug hole to hold valves shut? I'm guessing the little jig they have there and all the bolts are for pushing the springs down to fit them in...but I don't fix engines for a living.Shiny new bits fitted!Cop a load of this. Old fuel pump and filter sock, about 90,000km old.Old parts saved for meHard to see but the inner teeth are actually worn shiny, they start life black.After the new bits were fitted it was down to about 310rwkw, which sounded about 12rwkw less fun than before, so I had Simon retune it, new result is 326.4rwkw - previous health check on this dyno spat out 322rwkw back in July 2012.Peak power is not much changed but you wouldn't expect it to be. There are major differences to the drivability though. Torque is up a slightly noticeable amount on bum dyno, but the car is now changing gears REALLY SMOOTHLY again. It shocked me to feel this change as I was very used to the car being fairly clunky between shifts with light to mid throttle unless I was careful with the pedal.I am not sure why it is so smooth now as he did not mess with the auto at all, the only thing I can think of is that my car had to be returned to stock in order for my XCAL3 to be firmware updated before the SCT software would work. Possibly the auto forgot some bad habits during the wiping and reprogramming? Possibly also being left with battery disconnected overnight did it (not sure if the lads did that or not).Another upside to retune is that I get less black soot from the exhaust - usually after each day I wipe the exhaust tips clean but I have found they are mostly shiny now. I was blowing black smoke on gear changes too before which I need someone to watch and see if it's still there or not now. Could have had off timing for a couple of years if that was what was causing these...fuel economy is noticeably improved too, have gone from about 400km a tank (450 at best) to 500 without trying too hard! Power being smoother and more torque thanks to correct timing would be why I'm sure.Simon did mention the auto was slipping in 3rd on the dyno when he was running it through a simulation of the IM240 emissions test (the car "passed" the test incidentally, LOL, twin cats + good tune FTW). I don't think it likes the transmax Z fluid (or driving 190,000km) but I haven't had the budget to get genuine ZF Lifeguard fluid put back in yet. The timing system was a blowout I could have done without as I was planning on getting this done but will have to put it off.I think engine mounts need doing, there's a bit of flex in the engine when I stall it up, and some shaking at idle that comes and goes. Other than that I'm back in business!Have just bought DBA4000 T3 rotors (and new fluid) but yet to get them put on, car is being scrutineered in a couple of weeks so will have them on before then So there it is, in a nutshell. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Wiggum Moar Powar Babeh Lifetime Members 19,323 Member For: 19y 3m 13d Gender: Male Location: Perth Posted 15/03/13 03:51 PM Share Posted 15/03/13 03:51 PM Another awesome update steveo! Any plans to paint it? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellato Donating Members 2,713 Member For: 14y 2m 17d Posted 15/03/13 10:55 PM Share Posted 15/03/13 10:55 PM Great detail, definitely things I didn't know would make such a difference!How come is this? High kms only or can happen down low? I'm guessing it wouldn't be a cheap job to fix but mostly because of labour not parts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discostig Manual mode ________________________ All day, erryday Donating Members 13,798 Member For: 17y 1m 12d Gender: Male Location: Probably above atmospheric pressure Posted 16/03/13 12:28 AM Author Share Posted 16/03/13 12:28 AM (edited) How can I hide this thread from luke's thread list, hahaha.Yeah the parts go due to age, Simon advised the genuine parts are good for up to 200,000 and are what he uses in his own cars when needed. I recommend everyone check for engine error codes regularly as this should have thrown some. Lesson learnt for me!Lots of labour with engine open jobs yeah. Springs, pump and timing parts plus installation were well over 2 grand. Expensive hobby as I've said before, should have stuck with computers :-)Just remembered they fixed a timing cover oil leak for me too while it was open. I never noticed! Edited 16/03/13 12:42 AM by -SteveR- 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellato Donating Members 2,713 Member For: 14y 2m 17d Posted 16/03/13 02:29 AM Share Posted 16/03/13 02:29 AM Note to self, sell car before 180,000 lol.I suppose while it open might aswell fix what needs to be fixed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discostig Manual mode ________________________ All day, erryday Donating Members 13,798 Member For: 17y 1m 12d Gender: Male Location: Probably above atmospheric pressure Posted 16/03/13 05:22 AM Author Share Posted 16/03/13 05:22 AM Yeah for sure, another couple of teeth and valves meet pistons I think, game over. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discostig Manual mode ________________________ All day, erryday Donating Members 13,798 Member For: 17y 1m 12d Gender: Male Location: Probably above atmospheric pressure Posted 17/03/13 07:42 AM Author Share Posted 17/03/13 07:42 AM Just measured hub to guard again and it is about 225 or 230mm front and rear, lower than expected! I'm quite liking it though, the rears will go a tiny bit higher when I replace the rubber seats though. Not sure if the hats at the front would squish much due to age, no idea what they look like new!Currently wrestling with the idea of driving with the gf in her Yaris to her workplace then taking her car to go to work myself, instead of taking my silver sweetie...I need to chop about half a foot off my legs to feel comfy though :( Will be good for saving on fuel and servicing though... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discostig Manual mode ________________________ All day, erryday Donating Members 13,798 Member For: 17y 1m 12d Gender: Male Location: Probably above atmospheric pressure Posted 23/03/13 04:09 PM Author Share Posted 23/03/13 04:09 PM Awesome update Steve. Any plans to paint the car in the near future?nice write up steve, any plans to paint the car in the near future?Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo.............................are you going to paint that?Another awesome update steveo!Any plans to paint it?OKAY OKAY FARKENWe all know white is the new black so BANG I've painted the car. My opinion on the new look?Sh!thouse.Looked like water until I was on top of it. Full tin sitting on Stoneville Rd FOR FU©K'S SAKE!Goes well with the brake caliper bolt I snapped off today too (see WA maintenance thread for the pic). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellato Donating Members 2,713 Member For: 14y 2m 17d Posted 23/03/13 10:20 PM Share Posted 23/03/13 10:20 PM That sucks! I bet you're cheering you have the mudflaps on looking at that pic of the rear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discostig Manual mode ________________________ All day, erryday Donating Members 13,798 Member For: 17y 1m 12d Gender: Male Location: Probably above atmospheric pressure Posted 24/03/13 02:06 AM Author Share Posted 24/03/13 02:06 AM You know it. Never in my life have I been so happy to be rocking mud guards! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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