Don's Vtec Pup

Started by MiniDave, June 19, 2018, 04:30:52 PM

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MiniDave

No, but I'll tell him!  77.gif
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Bahowe1

Dave,
You guys are amazingly fast!  It's gotten busy for me with a couple international work trips, but I thought I still had time to respond... so much for that! (not that I would have been able to provide you any help)  Well done sir.
I think he'll really like the taller final drive, but he will probably just go that much faster to where he is at the same RPMs.  --Sorta what I do.
So why did the clutch wear like that? 

MiniDave

#52
Doesn't feel fast, we've been at it for two weeks now..... 8.gif

I think it was the original clutch,, so it has 170K on it, not too bad then, right?

We do have one electrical connector we're puzzling over, it's got three connectins and the body is square or rectangular - we haven't found where it goes yet......we have all the connectors accounted for other than this one. Looking at old pics from when it was new, it appears to come out with the main harness and go straight down the back of the engine - to where we haven't quite puzzled out.

It's the one laying on the valve cover in this pic.....
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MPlayle

Could it go down the back to the transmission - speed sensor connection for ECU or speedometer?


MiniDave

Possible, but he already has one connected there......and I think it had more than three wires in it. But it does seem to go to that area.....we thought it might be for the O2 sensor, but that one has 4 wires and again he already has one connected there.

We have yet to find an open, unconnected place to land it.......
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

Well, the other thing is to trace back where that wire goes. 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Into the main harness......I think it's a fuel injection control of some sort, just haven't found it yet.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MiniDave

Today we're determined to make some 4th of July noise ourselves!

Don will be by in a bit and we'll finish buttoning up the Pup and see if it will pop off.

Yesterday we moved 37 cars in 100+ degree heat, doesn't seem like any big deal till you realize I drove over 500 miles yesterday and never left town - each trip is 35 miles one way and I moved 8 cars - do the math. It wasn't too bad till late in the day when I got that one car with no A/C.....surprised me too because it was an '08 Honda Civic, rare to have A/C fail in one of those. Drove two older Mercedes SLK - weird how we get pairs of cars like this.

On to the Pup then......
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MiniDave

We talked it over and decided the extra connector went to the speedo sensor on the transmission......our logic went like this - since he has an aftermarket speedo it doesn't use the ECU connection to feed the speedo info, so Mini Tec made up their own harness for the Autometer speedo and the OEM one simply wasn't used. There is no other 3 prong square connector anywhere on the engine and it fits perfectly.......so that's what we did. We'll know later today.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

Quote from: MiniDave on July 04, 2018, 08:47:56 AM
We talked it over and decided the extra connector went to the speedo sensor on the transmission......our logic went like this - since he has an aftermarket speedo it doesn't use the ECU connection to feed the speedo info, so Mini Tec made up their own harness for the Autometer speedo and the OEM one simply wasn't used. There is no other 3 prong square connector anywhere on the engine and it fits perfectly.......so that's what we did. We'll know later today.

Your reasoning seems solid.  Now go tell the Pickup and see if it agrees. 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Almost there, still have to bleed the brakes and clutch......
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MiniDave

#61


First start!

Still have a fluid leak on the front brakes - not at the new line, although I did have to swap that too as the other one leaked at the subframe fitting - don't know WHAT was up with that but changing the line fixed that leak. Got the clutch bled out no problem, rear brakes bled out no problem. Just got to get this pesky leak in the fronts fixed, it's leaking at the T fitting that goes to the left and right front calipers. Unfortunately it's buried under the intake manifold......gonna be a bitch kitty to get at now....

I'm chuffed that it started on the first turn of the key, clutch works, gears shift smoothly, all the instruments work (except the speedo - he didn't look at it) and there was no noticeable vibration. That's not to say it's cured, but I'm convinced it's going to be leaps and bounds better than it was. Only took 10 years for him to let me fix it for him.....   ::) 77.gif
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

You and brake leaks! 

Awaiting the report on the new gearing once it's road worthy.

BruceK

Congratulations!  Always a great feeling when it starts right up after a rebuild!   
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

Bahowe1

Dave,
What were the wire colors on that connector? 
I made my own harness, so I may or may not be able to help.  I will certainly look tonight though.  If it's anything like mine, the gearbox that was for that original engine had a cable speedometer, so I switched it over to electric VSS. 

Sounds good!!  Two weeks is nothing for all the work you guys did.  I think I had my gearbox open for a month - but I didn't order parts until I had it open and figured out what I needed.  Did you guys replace any synchros or gears while in there? 

MiniDave

I think we have the wiring sorted, the wire colors were yellow, black and white but they are a made up harness, not OEM. We decided it went to the speed sensor on the trans, this one did not use a cable, but a transducer.

We did not replace any gearbox innards, before we took it apart it shifted fine, and all the bearings were smooth so we reused everything - even the bar of soap limited slip thingy.

He ran it thru the gears in the start up video and it shifted easily and cleanly.

Now if I can get the brake lines to stop leaking I'm calling it good!
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MiniDave

Final report - the Pup is finished!

I tried 4 times to make a short brake line to connect between the bulkhead and the T fitting on the subframe and failed miserably - I decided it was the tool rather than the operator, so I rented a flare tool from another parts store - bingo - first time it worked perfectly.

Once we had all the leaks stopped it was just a matter of bleeding the brakes and putting the wheels back on.....the vid is of the first drive today - it ran perfectly.

Verdict? the car is transformed to use Don's words, It's like an actual Civic now, smooth and quiet with no vibrations, buzzes or rattles. He also likes the new final drive ratio tho we may have to go to poly bushes in the engine steadies as he thinks it moves around a little too much. I have a set and he can change them at his leisure at his house as they're easily reachable now.

Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Willie_B


BruceK

Congratulations!   Job well done.   (And I like the surprise appearance of the Midget in the video).
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

#69
He's thrilled, he even took a short run up the highway, speedo is still accurate so apparently he has a GPS type speedo.....significant RPM improvement on the highway  - 55 mph is 2200, 70 is 3200 down from about 4K, 80 is 3600 so it will now be an easy highway car - coupled with the quiet and smooth instead of noisy and buzzy - the only negative is the cramped interior but he seems to fit it fine. With the bonnet off it seems to run quite a bit cooler - don't know if that's because it's getting better airflow or if the new water pump and thermostat are helping. He says the brakes feel a lot better too - we didn't do anything to them save new fluid and a thorough bleed. We'll know more after he puts the hood and grill back on. Considering just how many different things we worked on, clutch, cam belt, cooling system, brakes, transmission I'm pleased that we really had no problems save MiniTecs crappy brake lines, and now I've fixed those too. We also cured all his oil leaks along the way.....it's like a new car - or at least the way he hoped it would be all those years ago when he bought it!  ;D

Overall I'm calling it a success!  77.gif
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Bahowe1

Sounds good Dave. How'd the torque steer turn out with the bar of soap when you nail it?

Bahowe1

I notice you guys also added a little radiator air scoop. What fan is he running?

MiniDave

Virtually no torque steer once I got the alignment set right.....a little in first but not much and none after that.

The little scoop might help get more air into the rad, it has a stock Honda fan behind the radiator. It runs about 190* unless he's sitting at a long light then it goes up to about 210 where the fan kicks on. It also has a small flap on the wheel well side pointing to the rear to help guide the air thru the rad.....
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Jimini II

Nice work, a lot of issues sorted well done.

MiniDave

#74
Thanks, it was a lot of work, but like you said a lot of issues that got sorted once and for all. He's already done 30K in it and I expect he'll do a lot more now that it's so much more pleasant to drive. I just wish I fit in it!  ::) 77.gif

Between this car and his Midget, his '06 JCW sometimes sits for months......
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad