My new racecar project (Icemans old shell)

[Russ Rallye]

I decided to change the crank shaft oil seal for 'piece of mind' while it was in bits, I shouldn't have bothered as its p1ssing out of there now!
Russ

 

[Mini182]

Gutted.

No chance of splitting the gearbox off to change it again before the weekend? I am guessing it's the gearbox end one you changed?

 

[Gray]

I decided to change the crank shaft oil seal for 'piece of mind' while it was in bits, I shouldn't have bothered as its p1ssing out of there now!
Russ

Those crank seals are a PITA!!!

Renault sell a special tool for fitting them, which sets the correct depth / force.

 

[Tony Hunter]

What!!!!!

You really going to make it that easy for me?

 

[Russ Rallye]

What!!!!!

You really going to make it that easy for me?

'Fraid so Tony, call it a friendly re-debut present, I'll be back at cadwell (hopefully!)
Russ

 

[Russ Rallye]

Did someone say Deja vu?
Russ

 

[Russ Rallye]

Nothing to see here.
Russ

 

[neil a]

Not good to hear Russ but looks like you have got the removal down to a fine art .
Have you used the car much since replacing the bearing in the PMS shifter ? Im still not happy with mine but not sure if better to change all the bearings or just the main stick one .

 

[Russ Rallye]

Not good to hear Russ but looks like you have got the removal down to a fine art .
Have you used the car much since replacing the bearing in the PMS shifter ? Im still not happy with mine but not sure if better to change all the bearings or just the main stick one .

Tested at Oulton and then Raced it at Rockingham mate and it was far better than it's ever been, I'd say it's probably on the slack side now but it's a lot more user friendly and far easier to find gears, no missed gears this time!
Russ

 

[Russ Rallye]

Those crank seals are a PITA!!!

Renault sell a special tool for fitting them, which sets the correct depth / force.

Yeah I know that now mate, shame I didn't know before. I've definitely fitted it too deep when looking at my spare engine. I've ordered another (genuine) seal and have pinched the proper tool from my Renault tech friend so take 2 coming this week!
Russ

 

[Russ Rallye]

Ordered some bits from Renault which arrived today.

Crank shaft oil seal, gearbox 5th gear cover and seal. Also pinched the proper Renault tool for doing the crank seal from a renault tech i know while I was there.

Crank seal fitted

You'll see it sits proud of the casting which is the mistake I made last time and tapped it too far in. It's now the same as another engine I have so should be ok.

Got the new 5th gear cover and seal fitted too as it was leaking, old cover was corroded and paint was flaking along with the seal that was a bit slack.

Had a 'helper' tonight, well I think he was supposed to be helping. He's worked out how to open the door on the car so he'll be swapping engines in no time!

Still got to put a new clutch on the flywheel and put the 'box on but need to helicoil one of the near side M8 driveshaft threads on the box as its stripped. Should be back in the car and running by the weekend, plenty of time to sus any issues before cadwell on the 18 July.
Russ

 

[Tony Hunter]

I changed my 5th gear casing seal in situ, what a fkn pain that was.

 

[Russ Rallye]

Arrrggghhhh! Found a crack in the sump now, could explain a few things! New gasket on order and I need to pinch the sump off my spare engine.
Russ

 

[NorthloopCup]

Arrrggghhhh! Found a crack in the sump now, could explain a few things! New gasket on order and I need to pinch the sump off my spare engine.
Russ

Never rains....

 

[Russ Rallye]

Never rains....

Guess every cloud has a silver lining and all that. Hardest thing about oil leaks is finding where they're from half the time so hopefully swapping the sump is the easy bit! It's definitely time to start building a proper motor now though before this one cries enough and my 'spare' motor has no bits left on it! I'll be at cadwell even if I've got to start pinching standard bits off my ph1 or 182!
Russ

 

[sonny172cup]

That sucks mate, my old sump was cracked too, bloody expensive from the dealer, cheaper to buy a broken engine and salvage it from that.

Wheres it cracked?

 

[Rubicon_]

I fitted a new crank seal when mines was out and couldn't figure why it's leaking now as I was adamant I'd put it in perfect.

Definately need to find that tool ensive:

 

[Russ Rallye]

I fitted a new crank seal when mines was out and couldn't figure why it's leaking now as I was adamant I'd put it in perfect.

Definately need to find that tool ensive:

All Renault main dealers 'should' have one, they won't use it very often so slip a techie a tenner and pinch it for a while, sorted!
@sonny172cup cracked diagonally across from the front towards the middle/gearbox end. Only reason I can see it is my sump is painted black and can see the crack in the alloy. I'll get a brand new sump for my new engine build when the time comes but have a used one on my spare engine that'll do fine for now with a new gasket.
Russ

 

[Martin.]

Hopefully an easy fix to your problems that!

 

[Mini182]

Russ if you want another sump I still have 3 scrap bottom ends at my place, you can have a sump off one of them if you like.

 

[Tony Hunter]

That's why I like my sump guard.

Unlucky Russ.

 

[Russ Rallye]

Russ if you want another sump I still have 3 scrap bottom ends at my place, you can have a sump off one of them if you like.

I'll probably take you up on that James just priced a one at Renault to replace my spare! £180ish!
Russ

 

[Mini182]

Wow, that's steep!

You are welcome to one Russ, I will take it off and bring it with me to the next meeting. I am probably not going to be at cadwell, but I will be at silverstone.

Or if you are in a rush for it I can post it out to you?

 

[sonny172cup]

Nice one James, yea they a proper expensive, so always worth keeping hold of.

 

[Russ Rallye]

Yeah if you're not at cadwell I'll see you at silverstone. No rush. Appreciate it.
Russ

 

[Mini182]

Yeah if you're not at cadwell I'll see you at silverstone. No rush. Appreciate it.
Russ

No worries, I will bring it with me to Silverstone.

 

[sonny172cup]

You not doing Cadwell then Russ?

 

[Russ Rallye]

You not doing Cadwell then Russ?

Damn right I'm doing cadwell!
Russ

 

[Russ Rallye]

It's been running and ...............
It's in bits again!

Still have a slight weep from the crank shaft oil seal so the spare engine is going in. Got them both on stands to swap the cams etc over.

I'll be at cadwell if I've got to push the car around!
Russ

 

[sonny172cup]

Good effort Russ, think i would babe thrown the towel on by now

 

[Russ Rallye]

Good effort Russ, think i would babe thrown the towel on by now

It's crossed my mind but I've missed 2 weekends already and cadwell is one of my favourites so I need to be there.
Russ

 

[Mini182]

Have you checked the crank itself to see if there is any damage or scoring or anything?

Seems strange you keep getting a leak.

 

[BIGASH]

Surely it's just leaking from the end cap and it needs resealing? I'm sure you've tried it?

 

[Russ Rallye]

Spare engine is built up and in the car. No leaks found at the minute. Been up to temperature and driven up the road. All good at the moment.

Feeling confident in making cadwell, even uploaded the cadwell file to the dash. Just need to put some fresh fuel in and get it on the ramp for a spanner check one night this week.
Russ

 

[BIGASH]

Good stuff you going to check the fueling and tweek the map or happy with it?

 

[Russ Rallye]

Good stuff :smile: you going to check the fueling and tweek the map or happy with it?

It seems fine James and I don't have time now before cadwell. In theory it should be ok as they're both standard engines with the cams swapped over and timed up the same. Head etc is untouched and all the bolt on bits are the same. Time will tell!
Russ

 

[C l a r k e y]

Well done Russ. Got there in the end.....

 

[sonny172cup]

Good effort Russ

 

[Russ Rallye]

Car is spanner checked and ready to go after being on the ramp tonight. Had a short drive in it aswell and feels exactly like it did before engine wise. All ready for cadwell tomorrow/Saturday.
Russ

 

[Martin.]

That is a very big rad. Good luck at Cadwell