Project Car / Motorbike thread. Let's see 'em.

Flow-Rider

Burner
The engine ECU is authorising the AC to be on. I think the clutch would also be on if there was any gas in it (its smart enough to not engage the clutch is the gas pressure is low/zero). And yes, its also telling me the fan is on high. I think the fan being on is a consequence of the AC being told to be on, not just the fan on its own.

You might be onto something with the transmission fluid temp - ill check tomorrow if thats a parameter in the engine ecu list.
Yeah, the ac should never operate due to low gas pressure with the safety switch unless the switch has been bypassed. It's a French car, anything is possible:D, some cars have a function to switch the AC compressor on every time the car goes into reverse to keep the oil circulated. Maybe study the wiring diagram it might give some clues how everything functions.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Yeah, the ac should never operate due to low gas pressure with the safety switch unless the switch has been bypassed. It's a French car, anything is possible:D, some cars have a function to switch the AC compressor on every time the car goes into reverse to keep the oil circulated. Maybe study the wiring diagram it might give some clues how everything functions.
Hardy ha - yes there is a pressure sensor on the high side near the condenser that ensures the ECU knows not the engage the clutch if the gas is low.

Its not wiring, its software... Will spend some quality googling time looking for an ECU file...
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
Hardy ha - yes there is a pressure sensor on the high side near the condenser that ensures the ECU knows not the engage the clutch if the gas is low.

Its not wiring, its software... Will spend some quality googling time looking for an ECU file...
You could always retrofit an old microtec computer and have some fun.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
Went for a drive with mechanic mate to pick up a Cossie head this morning and saw this... Pasted together from a couple of phone pics so a shoddy photoshop job even for me...





There is a Ford V8 Supercar engine in there somewhere.

Cardy it is for sale... No doubt an LS will fit too.

 
Last edited:

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
Cardy, not sure how you will feel about this... A bit happy and a bit sad maybe.

I think it is an E36M3, had all the right panels and bits left from an M3 but who knows I didn't look at the VIN.



With this up front

 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Cardy, not sure how you will feel about this... A bit happy and a bit sad maybe.

I think it is an E36M3, had all the right panels and bits left from an M3 but who knows I didn't look at the VIN.



With this up front

I'm not sure how I feel about that either.

On one hand: LS THE WORLD!

On the other: Why throw away the BMW tech? All I can think is they're being lazy and chasing easy neddies instead of developing the BMW unit. There's no replacement for displacement, or some shit like that.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
I'm not sure how I feel about that either.

On one hand: LS THE WORLD!

On the other: Why throw away the BMW tech? All I can think is they're being lazy and chasing easy neddies instead of developing the BMW unit. There's no replacement for displacement, or some shit like that.
I dare say the BMW powerplant was munted and the LSX is an easy 500bhp. Heavy though with the ci block given it will stay NA. Whores for cores I guess though I cant see why an LSA or force fed LS3 wouldn't be a better choice. I drove a W427 with the LS7 and to be honest as much as people rave about that engine NA the LSA was a much better package and 500kW is merely a breath away. Owner has his own E36 which has a NASCAR Ford driveline, whatever that is, I wasn't able to get close to it.

Quality of his work, if it was his, was pretty damn good. Some bits though were a bit meh. Still better than I can manage...
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Timing belt tensioners - old school manual vs automatic.

Is it just a matter of the manual ones requiring less fuck ups to get tension right or is there really an advantage of modern spring (or hydraulic) tensioners?

Never really thought about it, all my earlier cars had manual ones i happily set by feel. Am buying a timing kit for Mums i30 and can choose. If I recall it’s got a manual tensioner in it now and all the early cars with this engine did but this one was probably built with an automatic one.

Probably overthinking it, but the manual one is a lot cheaper.
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
Timing belt tensioners - old school manual vs automatic.

Is it just a matter of the manual ones requiring less fuck ups to get tension right or is there really an advantage of modern spring (or hydraulic) tensioners?

Never really thought about it, all my earlier cars had manual ones i happily set by feel. Am buying a timing kit for Mums i30 and can choose. If I recall it’s got a manual tensioner in it now and all the early cars with this engine did but this one was probably built with an automatic one.

Probably overthinking it, but the manual one is a lot cheaper.
Auto tensioners are to stop people under or over tightening belts, more trouble in the long run if you ask me. They leak out fluid over the years, usually costly to replace, people try to reset them too fast and it cracks the body of tensioner or they blow a seal. If it's got one factory fitted, just replace it because they get weaker over time.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Auto tensioners are to stop people under or over tightening belts, more trouble in the long run if you ask me. They leak out fluid over the years, usually costly to replace, people try to reset them too fast and it cracks the body of tensioner or they blow a seal. If it's got one factory fitted, just replace it because they get weaker over time.
It’s got a solid manual one in it now, the option is the auto one with the internal spring (not hydraulic but the ones you turn with a hex to line up the pointer). I think it was built with the auto one, but I bought it on its second belt. The mechanic Mum will probably use seems ok if I’m not around to do it.

It doesn’t use plastic rollers and it doesn’t drive the water pump off the timing belt, it’s got good old fashioned keyed pulleys, so am pretty relaxed about this one. It’s a bloody good engine from a servicing standpoint. The whole thing is a solid little thing actually…

The older Renaults I had had a spring on the tensioner that was there to set the tension then you locked it down - an idiot proof manual tensioner which would never come loose which was a neat design.
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
It’s got a solid manual one in it now, the option is the auto one with the internal spring (not hydraulic but the ones you turn with a hex to line up the pointer). I think it was built with the auto one, but I bought it on its second belt. The mechanic Mum will probably use seems ok if I’m not around to do it.

It doesn’t use plastic rollers and it doesn’t drive the water pump off the timing belt, it’s got good old fashioned keyed pulleys, so am pretty relaxed about this one. It’s a bloody good engine from a servicing standpoint. The whole thing is a solid little thing actually…

The older Renaults I had had a spring on the tensioner that was there to set the tension then you locked it down - an idiot proof manual tensioner which would never come loose which was a neat design.
Looks like a copy of an old opal T belt adjuster, I suppose it doesn't really matter, it's not like your Mum is going to drive it like a race car.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Looks like a copy of an old opal T belt adjuster, I suppose it doesn't really matter, it's not like your Mum is going to drive it like a race car.
Nah, it’s a country car too so its engine gets a very easy life - no short cold trips and no long periods of idling. The chassis gets a harder time given they’re a few kms into the bush on dirt roads…

Just my OCD suddenly wanting to know the pros and cons of the two approaches to tensioners ;)
 
Top