Overflows

I installed a hose on the coolant expansion tank to route it to a safe location under the car in case any excess pressure wasa observed.  I fastened the hose to the chassis using P-Clips.

I also installed a hose onto the windscreen washer tank - just for aesthetics so it looks more symmetrical.  It won't see any pressure.

WHilst in the engine bay I fitted stickers to the brake & clutch fluid reservoirs reminding me to use DOT 4 fluid..

And, in the same small bag of stickers there was one for the brake adjuster.  I trimmed that slightly and stuck that on too.

Brake & Clutch Fluid Reservoir Connectors

I have never been too happy with the spade connectors used for the brake and clutch fluid reservoirs - I thought it looked unfinished.  I tried to search for the correct connector for the reservoir online, but could never seem to find one.  I did eventually find one that was nearly correct....

AMP 926470 is physically correct, however this is for 3 connections rather then the 2 that I have - and all other reservoirs I have seen have.  I ordered 4 of these along with the correct terminals which fit in the housing in an attempt to make it work.

I initially tried modifying the new connector to house 2 terminals rather than the 3.  By doing this the terminal lost it's ability to clip in correctly.  This was a no go.

The only other option was to trim down the terminals inside the reservoir connector.  The original connectors are 6.3mm wide, but because I had to trim the connector so a phantom 3rd would fit in the middle, these needed to be trimmed to around 5mm from the inner side only.  Using the Proxxon, I carefully trimmed each terminal until the new AMP connector could fit in.  I repeated this for all 3 switches.

I then crimped the correct terminal onto the wires and fitted them in.  Quite a lot of work just to make the connector look as if it should be there!

Engine Hokey Cokey

You'll remember I had an issue with my clutch slave cylinder leaking here.  I kept an eye on it, and every now and agin there would be a small puddle of clutch fluid on the floor...  I checked the remote bleed hoses and fittings which all appeared ok, and even having a look inside the bellhousing, it didn't look like the repaired housing or fittings were leaking either.

I concluded that it must be the seal on the shaft that was leaking.  That means engine out again!

Since I have done it before, it isn't too much of a big job.  There are a few bolts that are more tricky than others, and the O2 sensor connectors are a little difficult to reach.  At least all the bolts are new and free from rust.

I stripped the cooling system and front chassis cross brace, removed the exhaust manifolds, starter, alternator, fuel connections and unplugged all the wiring.  This means the engine comes out without too much trouble.  With blocks of wood under the gearbox, and the car on axle stands the engine crane makes short work of removing the engine.

I ordered a new clutch slave cylinder through Gardner Douglas - Genuine one which looks a lot stronger than the Tremec one.  I didn't take a photo of the supplied one, but here are two from the internet (The photos don't look like there is much difference, but side by side they were)

Tremec Slave Cylinder

On inspection of the removed slave cylinder, the central section where the seal moved against, appeared corroded. This means that when the seal moved past that piece, fluid leaked out.  Not sure how this came to be, unless the coating was damaged and the brake fluid corroded the aluminium?  Anyway, I was sure this was the problem.

I removed the quick connect fitting from the new unit and replaced it with my fitting including a dowty washer (bonded sealing washer). 

Engine was then put in, put together with a couple of bolts on the bellhousing and the clutch system bled. I didn't want to fully bolt it all back in case I had a different issue....

I realised that with the new slave cylinder installed, I didn't check the clearance between the slave cylinder and clutch tines to check that the clutch would engage / disengage.  To check this, you have to measure the distance between the clutch tines and the bellhousing, and then the bellhousing to the slave cylinder bearing face.  Then you deduct the two to get the clearance.  You know what that means?  Engine out!

Once out (again), I measured the distance from the slave cylinder bearing face to the bellhousing while still in the car.  I then had to remove the bellhousing and fit it to the removed engine so I could measure that part.

The Macleod twin clutch documentation recommends .100" to .250" of clearance.  I ordered a shim kit from Billy's Speed Shop on eBay.  I then installed the correct shim under the slave cylinder and the engine went back in again!  The clutch was then filled with fluid and bled again.

There are a few tutorials online for how to measure the clerance, but I thought this short video from Kame Trick shows what is required.

I will continue to monitor this to ensure there are no more leaks!
 

Clutch Bleeding Disaster!

Now that I had my bleeding kit, I went ahead and bled the brakes.  Using DOT 4 fluid, the front and rear systems were bled without issue.  The reservoirs were left at the "Full" mark.

I moved onto the clutch bleeding where it apperared to bleed ok.  I tried the pedal and it all seemed good.  Again, topped up the resorvoir to the "Full" mark.

A while later, I noticed a small puddle of fluid underneath the gearbox bellhousing.  The clutch reservoir level had dropped. On investigating with a torch, and peeking in through only a few of the small openings, I could see that the fluid supply fitting had a small weep.  If you remember I made a fitting here.

Since this is all inside the bellhousing, and also the fitting was made to a short length for neatness, I couldn't tighten the fitting from outside the gearbox housing. (Hindsight would have been a great thing).

I managed to get a spanner fitted inside but couldn't turn it. I then got a 4" adjustable spanner inside and could manage to put a bit of pressure on to the spanner to try and nip up the fitting.  As you can imagine, you can't put very much force on with a 4" adjustable, but I managed to put enough on to break the clutch slave cylinder and release bearing!  Needless to say, the rest of the fluid poured out into the floor.

The only way to fix this was to remove the engine!

I had to undo the front support brace, the cooling water reservoir, exhaust manifolds, starter, undo the fuel hoses and wiring then it just lifted out!  The design of the housing has a thin section as the fitting goes into it.  Possibly been weakened before?  I think this is a Tremec manufactured cylinder, but not 100% sure.

What it should look like

Welded release bearing and new fitting

I managed to weld the piece back on, lengthened the fittings so they could be tightened outside of the bellhousing, and put it all back together again.  Bled the system and all appeared well.....  Watch this space!

Brake & Clutch Bleeding

I bought a Sealey Brake & Clutch bleeding kit (VS 820) which came with a universal adaptor for fitting to multiple reservoir types.  However I needed to make a fitting to be able to connect it properly to each of my reservoirs as the universal adaptor couldn't quite fit correctly.  This will allow me to bleed each system myself and without any spillage (hopefully).

I turned out an adaptor out of some PTFE to allow it to fit under the screwed cap of the reservoir, and also for the Sealey quick connect fitting to be bolted through it.

Brake & Clutch Fluid Reservoirs

I decided to use 3x single reservoirs for the brake & clutch fluid.  I also decided that I wanted to run the flexible brakes hoses inside the bulkhead so that they weren't in the engine bay crossing the steering column.

The supplied brackets for the reservoirs were just plated steel so the first thing to do was create a new 1-piece stainless steel bracket that held all 3 reservoirs.  I measured them and then drew up a plan using Solidworks.  The reservoirs I used have a float with test switch built in, which is an IVA requirement (along with the stickers).  They came with just a hose connection, but since I wanted to use flexible hoses, I removed the connection, drilled and fitted aluminium -AN4 fittings with o rings which could then fit to bulkhead connectors to go to the master cylinders.

Where the front, rear and clutch fittings come up to in the engine bay, I marked where holes should go for 90 degree end flexible hoses.  I could then determine if it was all going to fit.

Once the bracket was made, I assembled the 3 reservoirs along with 90 degree fittings.  This then allowed me to work out where on the bulkhead these could be mounted.  I used masking tape and drew on a grid on the bulkhead and fitted the bracket with double sided tape.  This allowed me to stick the bracket to the bulkhead and close the bonnet.  From the front wheel well, I could look in with a torch and look at the marked grid to see where it could be moved.

Because of the fuel pressure regulator, and bonnet height it doesn't fit perfectly as desired.  I had to offset one of the holes in the bulkhead coming from the high pressure side of the master cylinder.

I then connected up the fluid level switch wires and should now just require the stickers.

Fuel Rail Hose Supports

Since the IVA requires all hoses or wires to have fixings at a minimum of 300mm, I had to create some more mounts for the hydraulic clutch hoses & fuel hoses, especially around the fuel rails.

I fabricated some twisted stainless brackets to fit underneath the transmission tunnel, and some small brackets to fix the fuel hose to the fuel rails.  I drilled and tapped holes for M5 button head set screws and used stainless P-Clips.

I cable tied some of the gearbox wiring to the fuel hose supports since I thought this would be adequate.

I then re-affixed the transmission tunnel cover once this was all done.

Master Cylinder Tubing

Since the pedal box was fitted, I decided to install the 3/16" pipes that go from the master cylinders to the bulkhead connectors.  Stainless flexible hoses then go from the bulkhead connectors on the inner wing to the connector block at the rear of the engine.

I used the same copper-nickel pipe as the brake lines, and used stainless fittings.  The pipes were bent into shape and I just need some clips to hold them in place.

Gearbox Tunnel & Brake Connector

Since I thought that the fuel system was complete, I decided to fit the Gearbox Tunnel Sheet.  This was just set on, and fixed using M6 x 20mm Set Screws.  In previous photos, you may have noticed that I used some black sealer to put a bead down between the sheet and the chassis.  I then put on the self adhesive foam that was provided by GD.

I then mounted the brake pipe / clutch bracket.  I still need to finalise what fittings I am going to use for the clutch bleed.

I have since removed the tunnel sheet again to alter the positioning of the fule supply hose and Y-Piece as per the previous post.