Yet another XU9/10 engine build

[petert 586]

Another 1500m today. I was meaning keep your current set of ratios and add a 4.43:1 cwp.

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Right. Have to say that as I fully rebuilt my box with new synchro hubs, changing the final drive is the neatest solution. 1500m of climbing. Wow. Tough day but I bet it was fun . I will email you at the weekend about cams 

Andy

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Mi box for sale on bookface. I will go and look at it ASAP. Solid cam spec sorted with Peter so I will need to advertise some stage 2 hydraulic cams that are still in their boxes 

[xy8 4]

1 hour ago, Andy said:

Mi box for sale on bookface. I will go and look at it ASAP. Solid cam spec sorted with Peter so I will need to advertise some stage 2 hydraulic cams that are still in their boxes 

   How much for the cams?

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Not entirely engine stuff, but related. Using an Emerald ecu and throttle bodies on my existing engine  which are wired in to my car . I did that job last summer. Having just finished building a simlilar engine for a friend who also is using Emerald and Jenveys, he then asked if, ‘ whilst I was at it, would I produce a similar installation for his car’ . So, I removed the loom and power supplies form my car and built a replica set which I  am about to install in my car, enabling said friend to have the system I built last summer .

 Photographs attached , entirely for interest . The power supply panel fits on the inner inner wing , ( battery in boot) and supplies not only the ecu and all its associated relays for fan, ecu, coils, Injectors, lamda probe and fuel pump but also supplies the main fuse box under the dash. I have made it so that it is a self contained module that plugs into the ecu loom and also the feed to the main fuse box, the fuel pump, the Rev counter and the lambda  sensor . Likewise the ecu loom is completely self - contained and plugs into the supply panel . I now just need to bolt it into place, turn the key and hope the car runs.

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Wiring now installed and up and running. I have relocated the washer bottle to the bulkhead. Not quite sure about its location there; it may be too warm , despite thermal laggiing on the manifold .

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

It's where Gutmann put it on their conversions. Personally I would put the ecu inside the car though

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

I can see the advantages of the ecu inside the cabin. A much less demanding environment. My mark one version had the ecu mounted on the inner wing panel with no adverse effects but it did get reasonably warm. Where it is now will be cooler , but perhaps less well protected from the weather. Inside the car, the obvious place would be where the o.e one was, but I have an epas ecu sitting there, so stuck on that one. The other option was the glovebox which would have given a direct route out for the loom . Snag there is that the fuse box wiring occupies so much space that it would have been quite difficult to find space for the ecu and it’s loom. In the end, it landed in the bay. It makes the loom very straight forward but does compromise the ecu somewhat. 

Thanks for the info on the washer bottle. If Guttman did it, I feel slightly  better . I suppose that , being full of water, it  has a built in failsafe , bit  like a nuclear reactor .

[jackherer 543]

The 205 engine bay seems to be an unusually harsh environment which has always put me off of fitting an ECU there. I remember fitting Mi16s from BXs years ago that had spent maybe 10-15 years in a BX and still looked new that after 3-4 months in a 205 would be covered in dirt, dust and corrosion.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

There are plenty of places inside to mount an ecu, behind the centre console there is quite a bit of space, or I’ve fitted them on the inner a post on stripped out cars.

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Neat idea Tom about behind the centre console. I wish I had thought of that about 9 months ago. Bit late now. As for the engine bay exposure to the elements. Yes. For some reason, the 205 bay does seem to enable road dirt to condense in it at an alarming rate 

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Whilst waiting for Westwood to make my 85mm liners, I decided to take Peters advice and use an Mi16 box if I could find one. Hey presto Speno had two. One was nice and clean and had been recently rebuilt , the other oily , dirty and probably not touched since the day it was built . Both the same price. I bought the oily one! Anyway, box stripped , housings degreased and off to be aqua blasted . I am not going to post the rebuild simply because Welshpug has already done such an excellent job with his be1 box rebuild . An excellent guide alongside the Haynes manual . Now hope that these ratios will be idealy  suited to a free reving Mi16 engine 

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

More progress on the gearbox. Clean casings. New bearings and seals arrived so some playtime planned for the garage in the next few days . The casings have cleaned up really well. I had planned to etch prime and paint in something like mid or battleship grey , but not quite so sure now. The snag with having beautifully clean engine and gearbox in a 205 is keeping the oxidation at bay . One option is to have a decent oil leak which coats bits  in oil and prevents the corrosion. A plan but not a good one . Thoughts or experiences on this one . Engines and boxes painted by hand in bright colours do not always look quite as good as the artist had originally hoped, in my opinion 

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

I decided on clear lacquer . Box rebuild has begun but now waiting for new 3/4 gear synchroniser hub. Welshpug’s be1 gearbox build thread is very helpful. Note BE3 builders that the 1/2 synchroniser hub  goes on in the opposite direction . I was following the Haynes manual as well as the afore-mentioned build thread, built up the output shaft and then wondered why I could not engage second. To be fair, Mei did say in his description that he thought that the BE3 went on the other way. 

[jackherer 543]

There is a BE3 guide made by one of our members years ago - http://www.eastment.net/be3 gearbox.htm

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Thanks. Just had a look. A very good guide to the strip process.

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Some gearbox parts arrived today. By this I mean 3/4 synchromesh and 5th synchro. Why 5th? I saw it advertised cheaply. 3/4 was in quite a bad  way  and these are still available (235360) although with a newer design hub with fewer splines on which the hub slides. 

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Latest snag are the sun and planet gears in the diff. One of them has damaged teeth, so replacements now required. They are available new as a set ( at a cost ) . I imagine that a second hand set in good condition would be an acceptable compromise 

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

What diff do you run Andy? As if its open, I highly recommend an LSD of some sort, it will transform the car.

[jackherer 543]

As above, not just for the traction benefits either, the standard open diff is the weakest spot in the gearbox and they have a tendency to let go when you put a lot of torque through them.

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Ah. Funnily enough I did start to look at LSD , particularly as a new set of sun and planet gears from Peugeot ( or eBay ) is around £160. A friend has very kindly agreed to send me a used set of gears , but I was looking hard at a Torsen (ATB) on eBay made in Russia . What do you all reccommend? I am not sure I fancy a plate diff for road use, given what I have read about their use, but very open to advice .

 

[jackherer 543]

I've got a Quaife ATB, I've always been very happy with them.

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

Spoox have a Quaife ATB on eBay as an auction. Tempted to play a bidding game to see if I can get a bargain!

[jackherer 543]

A Quaife gets my vote, I'm not sure about spoox..,.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I’d say the Quaife is the right choice for a road car, but having said that I’ve a plate diff in my road 205 Turbo and love it.

 

If you bide your time and keep your eyes open you can pick up a second hand Quaife around the £400 mark. You need to be quick though as they are in hot demand s/h so don’t stick around for long.