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!
 

Side Carpets

I started looking at the fitment of the side carpets. As mentioned, mine seemed a bit different to some of the others I'd seen with mine having vertical piping at the rear meaning my side pieces had to go in after the rear bulkhead carpet.  

I played around with the rear carpet positioning and for best overall fitmant I cut off the upper piping to allow it to tuck right up and under the rear bulkhead lip.  This will be covered by the leather backing so you won't be able to see it anyway.  As mentioned before, the carpet seemed slightly too big so when in place, it held off the rear leather panel and the tunnel cover and you couldn't quite squeeze everything together.

Once the rear carpet was in a good position, I could look at the side carpets and the fibreglass just behind the doors.  I had to keep in mind the finisher that would be used to cover the rear door seal also to try and work out how it was all going to come together.

With the carpets in and out and looking and feeling it was clear that there was too much bulk just behind the passengers shoulder area at the end of the rear leather panel.  I marked out the section of fibreglass using masking tape and a sharpie.  Sections were cut out using a grinder, and the carpet re-tried and the fibreglass trimmed further to suit.  Once done, the edges were filed to allow a smooth transition.

The carpets have been in and out, pushed and pulled but are now looking good where they lay.

Trying carpet fitment to see how it lies

 

Tunnel Vision

After a while of looking, repositioning, pulling, pushing, I wasn't happy with the tunnel carpet piping for where it follows the fibreglass shell.  With the leather placed on the top, the angle of the piping, tunnel and leather didn't quite line up and just wasn't right.  No matter what way you pushed and pulled to try and keep the tunnel carpet correct at the rear and at the correct angle of transmission tunnel I had to do something drastic.

After a bit of persuasion from a friend, I decided to slice a strip out of the tunnel carpet - the join will be under the leather tunnel cover so you won't be able to see it.  

I marked the centre line with chalk then cut the carpet in two - no turning back now!  We then positioned each side of the tunnel carpet until it lined up better with all the angles - the piping ends up up and under the leather cover.  That is the best position for fitment.  Once both sides were done, I then cut through both layers of carpet where they overlapped which meant that the carpet joints butt up to one another.

With the strip removed (Approx 50mm), and the carpet pulled up a bit the piping will not be seen.  I also had to re-cut the gear lever hole due to the split, and also we ended up moving the carpet further back to improve it's apperance so required a bit more trimming.  I will glue in an insert at the gear lever prior to leather panel install to keep it all the same level.  The carpet was glued using EvoStick - that's the tunnel piece in!

Cut line (Centre line) marked ready for cutting

Tunnel Carpet glued in position