Guess the timing for now. You can get suprisingly close to the correct timing by just listening to the engine. As long as it's not pinking, you're safe.
Take her out for a good long run now. I'm talking a few hundred miles as all this starting up and driving 10 yards up the road is doing a re-built engine no good.
You need to get some heat into her and get everything flowing nicely. A lot of wear occurs in a re-built engine, so everything needs to be at their optimum temperature when this wear occurs.
the engine thing ... putting the thread to bed
-
Tahrey1043
- Bling Bling Diamond Member
- Posts: 5184
- Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2003 1:15 am
- Location: Birmingham! Enjoys: The pseudo-G-Smiles provided by a 1.6 Megane Sport valver...
- Contact:
actually looking at it again in better light (sunny today!) i could just make out the rather crap alignment marks i scratched into the dizzy body and the rim of the head before i took it off... got them lined up dead-on now, hopefully that will do it, assuming the cam & crank are in sync?
got a new battery too, the £19.50 +VAT one (that's £22.91 to me), looks exactly like what i've taken out but for being made of black plastic not white, and actually having slightly improved specs (400 cranking amps, not 380 like the last one, etc). Even the handle is the same, i guess a "type 063" is a standard box some chinese factory churns out and other companies put lead 'n' acid into?
anyway up, it works fine......
if anyone else needs to replace theirs, ECP have apparently got "stacks" of them, and it's half the price of halfords!
Gave it one last "run", to test the battery and timing together. sounds pretty good, but that clatter is still there, and a couple odd (belt-sounding) noises happened at random points. The situation is still that it runs nicely from about 1800 upwards to the mid 2000s (not taking it any further than that yet!) but is unhappy much lower than that. Certainly makes scary noises the further you go towards the "10" marking, so i try to keep it well above there, though I know the ECU needs to learn those speeds... at least now it'll be saving everything that happens.
But, now i'm worried about the gearbox, and will have to re-check the it's oil (and the engines), as putting the clutch down silenced one "invisible" noise (yknow, like when the fridge compressor turns off and you realise its been running for hours all of a sudden) and made the motor turn a bit quicker.... releasing it a scrapy, wobbly kind of noise started (very quiet, but discernable), and the revs noticably dropped a couple hundred - and stayed down. Something's rubbing somewhere i think
and good job it hasnt gone anywhere fast since changing the box oil? Hope it's just the oil settling further than i originally realised and needing a top up, NOT some awful clutch problem.
in any case that'll be the last i'll run it, til i can get either a time light (probably borrow one off anyone i can beg at, seeing the prices ... £35-40 is the best i can do anywhere right now, unless i hit ebay i suppose) and/or the necessary paperwork for a 100 mile jaunt*. Plus a bribe for the MOT man to not abuse the engine during emissions testing.
i'll even go get the tyre changed in the astra (no i wont put that 13 inch wheel on it and pretend its a space saver spare, i'll just jack polo up for an afternoon, remove, and take it down in the boot... £15 + about three quid for fitting and balancing, keep the old one to take to the tip some time, sorted)
hmmmmmn
oh and the coolant hose i changed the jubilee clip on is still leaking, i might see if that can of seak 'n' seal in the garage is still ok? as it's only leaking from the end union rather than halfway along, so its just not sealing right is all, no matter how far i push it on or tighten it up.
gahhh
* reminds me i've apparently got an answerphone message (on tape!
) from the insurers.... hopefully NOT saying "you do realise your policy expires tomorrow, right?". I'm thinking i've got until the weekend, but not 100% sure.
got a new battery too, the £19.50 +VAT one (that's £22.91 to me), looks exactly like what i've taken out but for being made of black plastic not white, and actually having slightly improved specs (400 cranking amps, not 380 like the last one, etc). Even the handle is the same, i guess a "type 063" is a standard box some chinese factory churns out and other companies put lead 'n' acid into?
anyway up, it works fine......
if anyone else needs to replace theirs, ECP have apparently got "stacks" of them, and it's half the price of halfords!Gave it one last "run", to test the battery and timing together. sounds pretty good, but that clatter is still there, and a couple odd (belt-sounding) noises happened at random points. The situation is still that it runs nicely from about 1800 upwards to the mid 2000s (not taking it any further than that yet!) but is unhappy much lower than that. Certainly makes scary noises the further you go towards the "10" marking, so i try to keep it well above there, though I know the ECU needs to learn those speeds... at least now it'll be saving everything that happens.
But, now i'm worried about the gearbox, and will have to re-check the it's oil (and the engines), as putting the clutch down silenced one "invisible" noise (yknow, like when the fridge compressor turns off and you realise its been running for hours all of a sudden) and made the motor turn a bit quicker.... releasing it a scrapy, wobbly kind of noise started (very quiet, but discernable), and the revs noticably dropped a couple hundred - and stayed down. Something's rubbing somewhere i think
and good job it hasnt gone anywhere fast since changing the box oil? Hope it's just the oil settling further than i originally realised and needing a top up, NOT some awful clutch problem.in any case that'll be the last i'll run it, til i can get either a time light (probably borrow one off anyone i can beg at, seeing the prices ... £35-40 is the best i can do anywhere right now, unless i hit ebay i suppose) and/or the necessary paperwork for a 100 mile jaunt*. Plus a bribe for the MOT man to not abuse the engine during emissions testing.
i'll even go get the tyre changed in the astra (no i wont put that 13 inch wheel on it and pretend its a space saver spare
, i'll just jack polo up for an afternoon, remove, and take it down in the boot... £15 + about three quid for fitting and balancing, keep the old one to take to the tip some time, sorted)hmmmmmn
oh and the coolant hose i changed the jubilee clip on is still leaking, i might see if that can of seak 'n' seal in the garage is still ok? as it's only leaking from the end union rather than halfway along, so its just not sealing right is all, no matter how far i push it on or tighten it up.
gahhh
* reminds me i've apparently got an answerphone message (on tape!
) from the insurers.... hopefully NOT saying "you do realise your policy expires tomorrow, right?". I'm thinking i've got until the weekend, but not 100% sure.