sj-bradley

No, this is ... Simon.

0 seats ? Aww - No Test pilots allowed Simon.

Which is unlikely considering the side mirrors "field of view" isn't terrific. I though the centre mirror WAS required. Anyway, a stick on one did my IVA successfully Simon.

I just checked mine after reading this. The zero design is that there is no direct upward pressure on that joint as all the weight is taken by the lower wishbone. The original Sierra macpherson was pushed in from the top. so if the bolt came free, the joint was still pressed together by the weight of the car. The lug is just "belt and braces" safety. On the RH though, the joint is made from beneath so there is pressure pulling the joint apart which is why you should check these. The zero does not have direct weight acting on this joint though so it's neutral compared to the other two methods. Simon.

As above, you would need to check the wiring diagrams for information. I don't run a dizzy setup, so I'm afraid this is left as an exercise for the reader ... Simon.

Oh, you optimist Only snow chains ? Glad you finally sorted the problem. Simon.

I built mine over 3 years ago now and if I recall - around £300. It still needed a little bit of modification to really fit though. Check the kit spares GBS site as they are always changing their prices. Thanks, Simon.

You have to check that there is a signal getting out from the dizzy. If you have a simple multimeter, you can check this although not very well. If it reads either 0 or battery voltage before cranking and then changes to some average value when cranking, you know there is SOME sort of signal getting out. You can check this way all the way to the low tension side of the coil. DON'T try to test this way on the HT side, you will likely blow the meter and / or get a belt from the HT from the leads. If you get something all the way to the coil, then suspect coil onwards. You "can" perform this test 1/2 way through the circuit and if it works, check the last 1/2 or else check the first 1/2 as you'd know in which 1/2 the fault lies. Simon.

Yes, just plan to do one small thing at a time and break it down into smaller chunks. When each one is completed you are one step closer to the end. How do you eat an Elephant ? -> One bite at a time ... Simon.

GBS do a wiring loom that would have most of what you require. If you're prepared to pay for this though. Mind you, building your own from scratch won't save you much money, but may save your hair from premature pulling out ! Simon.

PM sent. Simon.

Illegitimi nil carborundum by any chance ?

Interesting. Thanks for enlightening me. So then it appears that the OP has both an overheating starter combined with the ignition firing too early when hot causing excess pressure before reaching TDC. I don't mind being corrected as this was interesting to find out these details. Simon.

Can I grab the dolly dash with the fuel gauge please? Simon.

The sheer mass of the starter would mean a huge heat capacity so you would need a fair number of these to cool it down whereas a bucket of cold water is cheaper and more effective in this case. Electric motors are designed to run at elevated temperatures. Have you felt the heat pumped out the back of any conventional hoover? Does it run any slower when hot? I still think a simple check to see if the engine is tight when hot with a long wrench turning the engine over would prove useful and takes less than a minute to do. Simon.

Sorry to hear this. You must be gutted. (maccavvy - that's just mean ! ) Simon.

As you have supercharged this, you are physically generating more heat that needs to be dumped somewhere and aluminium has a higher thermal expansion than steel, so the pistons will be slightly larger than normal causing binding problems. An engine should normally be harder to turn when cold and easier when at normal operating temperatures when oil has circulated too. An excessively hot engine will be harder to turn resulting in a sluggish starter motor. It's a simple check with a long torque wrench or breaker bar to see if this is true or not. Simon.

I think you're all looking up the electrics tree and not the mechanical one. If it turns over slowly when hot, then it has to be that the engine is physically harder to turn when hot. I.e. it's binding somewhere. Have you checked oil pressure etc and is it harder to turn by hand when hot? I had a starting problem with fuelling early on which happened when cold and it was the amount of fuel injected when cold that was the problem and was a simple map fix. However, when I had later starting problems, it turned out that the battery was dying and needed replacing. You have however ruled that out with the replacement starter and jump starting with a known good battery. I would really check to see if the engine is harder to turn over when hot. If you have one of those laser thermometers, you could also see if there are any hot spots too. Simon.

You could always build in the old fashioned "starting handle" ... Be the first one ... ! Simon.

Wild guess here. Can you get a torque wrench on the crankshaft nut and set it so it "just clicks" on max compression when cold and then try again when hot and hard to start? You will also get a feel for the cranking resistance that the starter would feel in that way. A crude method, but might show a tight engine when hot. As I mentioned before, electricity in house wiring is rated up to 70 degrees C in normal maximum load ratings so I don't think heat will be affecting the electrics side of things. This you have already confirmed by changing the starter for another one and it does the same. If you have decent heavy duty jump leads, they should be ok to start the car and you have tried a second battery jumping it too. Does the battery in the car feel hot though? if yes, then it's internal resistance is causing current squared heating which will eventually shorten the battery life. Also, if it gets hot, it could be overcharging which will increase its internal resistance too which will affect cranking amps. Simon.

It all depends on what the instrumentation is designed to do. If the gauge, sender and ECU were designed to work together, then one sender would do all the work. If the senders all worked the same way, then you could hang any ECU and gauge on them provided they have high impedance inputs and didn't load down the sender's circuitry. But, in a real world there is no consistency to the sender output so you need to match sender and ecu and another sender with different output to a gauge. Simon.

I wouldn't have thought that heat would make a drastic effect on the electrical properties of the starter. Maybe it is binding because of dissimilar metals expansion rates causing it to bind under heat? Maybe brushes are worn / sticking with heat causing poor connection? When starting, try and noticed what the battery voltage drops down to on cold / hot starts? If it drops less when hot, then suspect higher resistance, but if lower, it may be a stiff motor? Just ideas ... Simon.

Can you not replace the lighting in the speedo or is it a sealed unit? Simon.

Yes, that sounds fine.

It should be ok if it's bolted into a metalwork part on the engine. It's only a no-no if it's in the middle of rubber pipework or if you use too much PTFE tape that insulates the body too. Simon.