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[cynner]

Ahhh the joys of gremlins! Good luck with it... *watching this topic*

[bigBADbenny]

I also posted about the issue on the LV Discussion thread.
It's going to be my ancient clutch for sure, plugs second and maybe a lingering inlet leak third.
However in normal use its fine, so being a tightarse I'll probably do the clutch last

The Lib has just been sensational in transporting myself and equipment safely to country AFL games all over Victoria, in particular Gippsland. It's always a good thing to enjoy the drive home after a long day.

So I bought the car a wee present. Gotta love http://www.jessestreeter.com and Japanpost EMS

[Rich_D]

Shockworks for E30 is happening!
They're setting up a track racer with KW coilovers and will get the base measurements from that configuration.
The prototypes will be tuned on our stock Baur 323i as is their usual approach.
Bruce had the suspension sorted with new front dampers and, whilst it has the stock 4 finger arch gap, it rides like a dream.
So as usual the aim will be to take nothing away from that ride, just improve it.

I might have "fixed" the Pres!
It was cutting out after 20 minutes of driving and would then get more intermittent stalls, or no start till properly cold...
I removed the fuel filter and blew out the crap. No change.
The local garage diagnosed "no spark" = broken, smaller than your hair, wire in the ignition module, hall sensor or optical crank sensor in the dizzy...
Replacement dizzy ordered via http://www.JesseStreeter.com coming via EMS.
In the meantime I got zapped by the leads on the dizzy...
This usually means a cracked lead or dizzy cover. So good to have a replacement on the way.
To be sure, I draped blacks over the bonnet so I could see any arcing in the dark: nope.
Whilst I was poking around I noticed that the coolant temp sensor was all gunked up with dry coolant from a recently blown engine to radiator hose, so I pulled the plug, scraped the contact clean with my key, gave it a lick of spit and reconnected it. Voila! No more stalls... Well fingers crossed pending a test drive.
I'll follow up with emery paper and maybe some dialectic grease to be sure...
Next up is going nuts on the scratched peeling paint with the Festool and plenty of ceramic polish
I might finish up with some Concours ptfe sealant

The Lib is going back to Shockworks for a day so they can test drive it in order to finalise the BP wagon damper code for production. Atm they revalve the sedan shocks in Monbulk, so this last step will have the wagon dampers being done from the manufacturer. International distribution could be on the cards...

Hey mate, long time

How's the shockworks? Know if they are doing anything for the Gen V wagon?

[bigBADbenny]

It wouldn't be too hard. Just time consuming and needing commitment.
Generally the full process is to supply a set of stock struts or coilovers for measurement, wait till they're 3D scanned for dimensions and mounts, then supply a stock or nearly stock car for damper coding, once prototypes are ready.
But the process would be a lot quicker if eg some of the mounts were compatible from Gen4 to Gen5 and the dimensions eg of travel were similar.
And of course if the team has the time available for development.
I believe Owen had to commit to a certain amount of orders to make the project viable, which took around 9 months to complete from scratch iirc.
But if preexisting comments were available maybe halve that.

On the Gen4 they're superb, they do follow even smooth roads on full soft, but when the going gets tough they're incredibly compliant, resistant to bottoming out and increasing confidence and control. Magic.

[Rich_D]

It wouldn't be too hard. Just time consuming and needing commitment.
Generally the full process is to supply a set of stock struts or coilovers for measurement, wait till they're 3D scanned for dimensions and mounts, then supply a stock or nearly stock car for damper coding, once prototypes are ready.
But the process would be a lot quicker if eg some of the mounts were compatible from Gen4 to Gen5 and the dimensions eg of travel were similar.
And of course if the team has the time available for development.
I believe Owen had to commit to a certain amount of orders to make the project viable, which took around 9 months to complete from scratch iirc.
But if preexisting comments were available maybe halve that.

On the Gen4 they're superb, they do follow even smooth roads on full soft, but when the going gets tough they're incredibly compliant, resistant to bottoming out and increasing confidence and control. Magic.

Sadly, nothing for the Gen V

[bigBADbenny]

It could and should happen.

I was lucky to experience the Shockworks effect as passenger in Owens car for a session at the Tampered Winton track day today. The BSPEC libs handling was simply superb in Owens hands, damping was set to slightly above medium, iirc.
They really are race quality dampers that work for the street thanks to the Shockworks suspension philosophy.
Big thanks to Owen for the opportunity and to Wes for the lift there and back: pics sooon!

[bigBADbenny]

Anyone following the LV discussion post may have noticed my progress with sorting out some basic age/wear and tear maintenance issues affecting my lib...
Basically clean LVs were non existent and the situation eventually degraded to misfire cyl3 on over 10psi.

I pulled off the tmic to install an AVO TB hose and Oetiker stepless screw clamps, as that stock item is always a suspect as regards inlet boost/vac leaks. The stock item was fine, but I replaced it anyway.

I checked the stock inlet, yep it was ripped on the inside edge, not visible with the tmic on.
Once the inlet hose was out I looked inside and it was wet with oily goo. Blow-by for sure... My car uses quite a lot of oil, even for a high k car, always has since buying it at 150k.

The pcv was next to come out, I knew it was operating ok, eg feeling the pulsing vacuum with the palm on oil filler technique, but it was filthy with dried caked oil meaning potenial for sticking, and I swapped it with a clean low k item.

Now I have a choice of an AVO or Perrin silicone inlet to replace the torn stocker, but since I also have a good low k stock item I put that back in for the following reasons:
No retune lined up to accomodate an upgraded inlet.
I dont really want a retune till its all sorted anyway.
I'm intending to do an install diy for the Kap dual chambered AOS, and starting with doing it for a stock inlet is not a bad idea. And so on.

When the time comes, soon I hope, the Perrin will probably be the choice as it replicates the position of the stock breather and vacuum returns, plus having a slightly smaller diameter of the main tube means vacuum before the compressor inlet would be slightly higher than the AVO item.
But this is splitting hairs, the AVO item is great and if my eventual power target was higher, I'd swap to that for sure.

After the work my LV's improved... But the stuttering roughness cyl3 was still there
Taking the path of least financial resistance, I replaced the cyl3 coilpack with one of my spares from a parted wreck.
Its a bit of a fiddly job as the coilpack has to be rotated and moved toward the ceneter of the head to get it between the frame rail and the rocker cover, but 15 minutes later the issue was solved. Heat and age got to the old coilpack, there were no visible indications it was faulty, only the stuttering under boost and roughness in the btSsm logs.

All buttoned up and driven my LV's started to degrade again.
After a few days my btSsm boost gauge read 0.
On checking, the vac reference from the inlet mani to the 3port ebcs had popped off, so those lines were replaced and ziptied.
Whilst I was there checking everything I noticed I'd neglected close the clamp on the BOV return line so that was attended to.

Well since then my LV's are better but A/F learning has a tendency to move around, often out of the recommended +/- 5% range.
Given the age of the car, I suspect my exhaust sensors may need replacing.
So I'm going to set up an exhaust sensor specific set of logging parameters, including custom fields, on the btSsm, so as to better understand whats going on.
The helpful folk over at LGT have explained the process and parameters starting here:
http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.p ... 09p74.html

As regards the replacement sensors, genuine items are megabucks here, even on PartSouq its $450 plus for both with post. So I took the advice posted on LGT and googled the Denso generic replacements for EJ255...
I got: front a/f 234-9120 rear o2: 234-4732
Have a look around, its a massive saving!

Which brings me to the year ahead, and the need to replace my original clutch (!) and do a timing belt service.
In light of my somewhat high oil useage, I'm planning to buy a master gasket set, oem timing belt kit, cast impeller water pump, oil pump, arp studs and install a spare (blown headgasket) ej255 with its heads lightly recoed, along with an excedy HD clutch, also in the stash.
And I can do some overdue upgrades at the same time...
I'll DIY the lot with the assistance of my local garage. Its quite a plan, but I have all the expensive parts already, meaning a budget of less than 2k to complete the work, thats assuming DIY and a few days free hoist time at Little Sam's Garage where I have credit in my account.

I'll keep updating the list as I acquire bits.
Whats the aim?
A responsive daily driver capable of 200wkw on 98 with a heap of headroom for reliabilty...

What I have already:

Exedy HD clutch and lightweight flywheel
ej255 long block (blown hg)
AVO380 lgt and braided oil line
EL SS headers
Perrin inlet (or AVO)
Kobe SFB
PW TMIC
T1 fuel rails
Sard FPR
ID1000

Whats required:

clutch friction disc
machine and balance clutch assy
master gasket set
oem timing belt kit
cast impeller water pump
oil pump (I say 10mm, Owen says 11mm)
arp studs
turbo gaskets
fuel line and fittings
kobe 340 pump and bucket (might be a good idea)

If circumstances change, I'll just do a destroker and a dccd box, or do that next time around...

[gtbsti]

Glad to hear it's all sorted

[bigBADbenny]

You jumped the gun, see above for the edit
There's still the exhaust sensors aspect to get it back to 100%.
Then required maintenance/upgrades options...
As the clutch and rings are worn and the timing belt is due sooner rather than later.

I posted the plan as a way to keep track of the project progress and also to get feedback on the setup.
It's not the only option as I could eg sell some of the upgrades to change the scope and outcome.

[GONEWALKABOUT]

love the TLC you give your car Benny! A question though, if you are only going for 200atw, why bother with ID1000s, aftermarket fuel rails and is the KOBE a fuel pump? (if so 265LPH would be enough)

Head studs would also be debatable because of the cost, but seems to be justifiable with these blocks!

Just curious as i would think you could save a bit on your budget!

[bigBADbenny]

I absolutely agree, and I may do some aspects of the build at a later date.
Indeed AVO say the 380 is practically a stock replacement turbo, but only in some of their documentation
The sensible descriptions state feeling fueling mods required.

So I could run it in under 200 on 98, then consider e.g. E85 which would get me into bigger injector territory.
Its a possiblity to upgrade the rear housing if I decide more top end is the aim.
I've also been researching twinscroll vee band housings, but possibly the exhaust wheel is a bit too small...

Having witnessed Owens car on the track has somewhat convinced me that 200+wkw is a bunch of fun, if properly tuned and supported.
So I'm aiming for a mini-me version of that setup. TMIC vs FMIC, IWG vs EWG, single scroll vs 1.5 scroll etc.
My setup should have similar response but way top end less power.

[bigBADbenny]

Ahhh the joys of gremlins! Good luck with it... *watching this topic*

You said it!
So I'm a bit overdue for an oil change, no drama since I use the bigger RX8 MY09-10 filters and Penrite which is added to on a monthly basis
At the rate I'm consuming it, Syn5 is a little pricey so I'm going back to HPR10.

I watch my logs like a hawk so I know the LHS OCV is starting to lag. Again.

So I took time out to swap the OCV's side to side, just to see if its OCV or side related e.g. is it to do with differences in oil pressure between heads, or another factor, e.g. heat, or do the OVC's themselves just age?
Or is the banjo filter that may be hiding behind the LHS cam gear going to be the culprit, assuming there is one.
Id say mine are at 50k. All good just lag evident in logs e.g. at low rpm with some throttle...

Anyway thats a cinch after e.g. the 6th time, but theres the latest gremlin: a cracked head breather tube, at the base in behind where it can't be seen.
Easy fix: just cut off the cracked bit, face it with some sandpaper, cut the tube in the middle and add a gates nylon pipe joiner to extend the lost portion.
Boil water, heat hose ends and push them over the pipes or joiners. That goes for working on cars in general IMHO, idle till its warmed up as its so much easier to remove, bend and install warm pipes etc.
I'll redo the join and ends with a couple layers of HD shrink tube, next time I'm in the area, assuming I can't find the OE part somewhere for a good price.

Lets see what the logs say, if I'm looking gremlin-free it may be time to request a retune from GOD, sorry, Matt, as I'm sure the car must have been tuned with issues at some stage, probably from the beginning, one way or another.

Whilst I had the battery out to swap the OCV's, I took the time to clean up the battery terminals and remove my PROVA steering wheel for cleaning.
Regular maintenance, very possible to do it in the car, but I'd left it a while and it was quite shiny in the obvious areas.
I have a stock size wheel in there: temporarily, thats for certain! It feels huge basically, nothing wrong with that, you'd get used to it quickly but given the choice, I think I like the smaller wheels.

I also removed the alternator charge diode, its kinda redundant with a healthy battery and alternator

So next update will discuss how the logs n LV's look now, how the Alcantara refurb went and some other extremely tasty interior mods I'm playing with

[norbs]

Love reading your posts Benny.

What TMIC do you have currently?? If you haven't upgraded yet, may I suggest the Process West as it is order-able with two configuration of silicone hose on the turbo outlet giving you more choices turbo wise.

Regarding the AVO inlet, best around and not too complicated to install if you know how

I've been using these Constant Torque clamps from spareco

http://www.spareco.com.au/CLAMPS/AUTOMO ... MPS/pl.php

Never ever come undone. Running 23PSI. I use 4, turbo outlet, intercooler in and out and throttle body. I was told to use these from AMS in the States who use it on their GTRs

Hmm, Alcantara, sounds nice.

[bigBADbenny]

Nice one, the Oetiker clamps are a mini-me version of those but no compression spring required.
They're probably thinner width-wise, so that really pinches the silicone tube.
Yep I have Gra's gtb's old tmic, an as new PW tmic in silver. It's in the stache waiting to go on once the car is fully sorted.

Still getting a wee bit of misfire Cyl3... so I'd better get the new plugs in.
If it's still there after that, I'd bank on my engine being a bit more rooted than I'd imagined.
What the hell its still a fun ride, lets persist

[bigBADbenny]

Here's HAMMERDOWN's lhs banjo bolt shave and remove DIY:
http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1326330&postcount=158

Just a reminder to myself to try this on my spare engine, if it works I'll have at the engine in the car