Cr33do and Meek_Racing's track car project

[Cr33do]

Getting closer now

Made a little bracket for the PAS line:

Then put the inlet and plenum on:

I know the fuel rail guard isn't on there but it won't be staying like this for too long. And I cannot find the 2 long bolts to mount it with.

Fixed some other bits and bobs back in. Should be ready to fire up tomorrow evening. Fingers crossed!

 

[JohnnyE]

Good read mate. When do you think will be your first trackday. this year??

 

[Cr33do]

Good read mate. When do you think will be your first trackday. this year??

Cheers. Not 100% sure. Need to get it running first then run the new engine in and then get it mapped. That will probably take 3 weeks(ish). Only then will we look to book a day I suppose. Need to make sure there are no niggles to sort out first etc.

Wouldnt mind Oulton, Donington or Bedford first off. Need to get back in to the swing of it

 

[JohnnyE]

Nice one i need to get an Oulton run in myself this year

 

[Cr33do]

Over 1 week without an update. Things didnt go quite to plan when we tried starting the new engine for the first time last week! Mike and I counted down from 3 then i turned the key and............nothing! Except for a popped fuse - doh!! Full details of problem listed here. Basically, the old starter motor solenoid wasnt working as it should and we had to swap out the starter this morning.

So once the motor was cranking over the engine (without firing - intentially) we checked the oil level and topped it up as the filter and other bits would no have filled up. We then connected the injector leads and it fired up pretty much first time Happy days! It idled at 2k though so we shut it off to check for air leaks. Couldnt spot anything with the pipework so proceeded to take it for a very short run to see what happened. When i put my foot on the brake the revs drop, but i know the servo vacuum pipes off the plenum so thats the reason for that i think. I tootled up the road, round the first roundabout then apply the throttle for the first time and nothing. Ooops - we dont have a working throttle body - despite it humming when turning on the ignition. Multi-plug is definately connected and Fred has since told Mike that if we have an air leak on the inlet it can knock out the throttle body.

Tomorrow i will be double checking the inlet and TB seals etc.

Overall, really chuffed that the car is now 100% back togther and finally running.

Will update when i know more and have fixed the TB issue.

 

[Cr33do]

Still no joy with the throtte

Had the plenum off today and sealed/checked for leaks on the TB, MAP and intake temp sensor. Made sure upper inlet was sitting correctly and sealing on lower inlet and oval breather seal at the back. Carbon canister has been removed but the pipe to the rocker cover breather is blocked with a bolt.

On ignition II the throttle body hums and "twitches" so it is receiving power. I have two warning lights. One is electronic fault I think (scope/graph symbol) and other is orange engine light.

Found this in a previous thread by Matt@TDF

"PPS or TPS fault. On DBW Clios there are two PPS and two TPS sensors, if any of these fail the ECU will go into reduce performance mode and limit throttle body opening to avoid an uncommanded acceleration failure. If another TPS or PPS fails the body will revert to sprung centre/fail safe and you will have no throttle and a static 2700RPM'ish idle/engine speed."

We have no throttle and approx 2.7k idle so presume either TPS and/or PPS issue.

I was quite happy fault finding the starter motor issue but this needs diag software I think to read the error codes. Fred- I need your help!!!

Nick

 

[Cr33do]

Managed to do a bit more towards the throttle issue today. Mike came over to mine and swapped out the throttle body and pedal for known working items but the fault remained - no throttle and 2.7k idle So he reverted back to the original parts.

I came home from work and couldnt resist further investigation. I pulled the engine fuse box apart and started looking for potential reasons why this is failing but couldnt spot anything obvious. As i had found that the relays were quite badly oxidised whilst troubleshooting the starter motor issue i thought i would seperate the white engine/interior loom connector. This appeared to be quite dirty too. Not suprising as the car didnt have a fuse box cover when we bought it (have since sourced one). I put the connector back together and pulled it apart a few time in an attempt to clean it. With the fuse box contents outside the box i reconnected the battery and turned the key to pos II. No EML light now but still an amber engine symbol. Started the engine and it idled at just over 1k Even better the throttle now responds!

I think i might buy some electrical contact cleaner tomorrow and thoroughly clean all relay and connectors in the fuse box. Then put it all back together, test, and potentially take it for a test drive.

One thing i have noticed, and i think this may have been happening before we replaced the engine. Sometimes the fuel pump doesnt prime and throttle body energise when the key is turned to ignition pos II. Flick the key off then back to pos II again and it then works? Might be unrelated but im sure cleaning all the fuse box connectors cannot hurt.

Nice introduction to the wonderful world of clio electrics

Nick

 

[Cr33do]

Cleaned all the electrical contacts in the engine fuse box today and put it back together - throttle is still working

Wheeled the car out of the garage and gave it a very quick wash; the first one in 10 months! Plenty of dust had formed from its time in the garage. Hoping to start running in the new engine at the weekend so we can get it mapped in the very near future. We might even be able to start thinking about a trackday!

Couldn't resist a couple of photos (light was fading rapidly) to mark the occasion - it's been a very long winter for this car:

 

[JohnnyE]

Looks great mate

 

[marinemackay2003]

looking very nice, good to see that its all working

 

[Cr33do]

Looks great mate

looking very nice, good to see that its all working

Cheers both

 

[firthy182]

Just read this from the start - great read and the car looks amazing!

 

[Meek_racing]

Percy is now back at my place to free up Nicks garage and to let me get on with some other tasks. As you can see, he is in good company with the other clio members of the family

There are tinging noises coming from the engine bay so we fear this could be pinking. We thought this could be the nimbus heat shield but the noise is awlays whilst the engine is under load. I will take it to Freds tomorrow and call the tuners to discuss the best option from now till the car get the final map. Feels so nice to drive him after such a long wait. Due to taking the hubs off and messing about during the engine change, the geometry is slightly out, so this will be the next step and probably corner weighting ready for track use.

 

[x8mrk]

Great build enjoyed reading through it

 

[Tymberland]

I had exactly the same issue with my car and part of the solution was the cleaning of the white block connector in the fuse box!!

Slight change of plan with the Clio. After picking up a couple of sponsors and passing my ARDS test, I am going racing. Will be out at Donington next weekend and providing all is in one piece, will be at Oulton in October for the last race of the season. Tintops here we come.

 

[BIGASH]

I had exactly the same issue with my car and part of the solution was the cleaning of the white block connector in the fuse box!!

Slight change of plan with the Clio. After picking up a couple of sponsors and passing my ARDS test, I am going racing. Will be out at Donington next weekend and providing all is in one piece, will be at Oulton in October for the last race of the season. Tintops here we come.

Great stuff Look forward to meeting you! Are you the chap racing with Stuart?

 

[Tony Hunter]

Another one, great stuff.

 

[Cr33do]

I had exactly the same issue with my car and part of the solution was the cleaning of the white block connector in the fuse box!!

Slight change of plan with the Clio. After picking up a couple of sponsors and passing my ARDS test, I am going racing. Will be out at Donington next weekend and providing all is in one piece, will be at Oulton in October for the last race of the season. Tintops here we come.

Great news!! Hmmm. I might need to see if I can bag a couple of sponsors and get stuck in with some of this racing lark.

I will be up at Donington next Saturday so will see you (BIGASH, Tony, Jay....) and probably a shed load of other CS members. Let's hope this weather keeps up hey!

Quick question regarding CSCC events (first one I have been to). How much is the ticket on the gate and do spectators get to go in the paddock area?

 

[Tony Hunter]

Between £10-15 and yes mate you can go anywhere except the pit lane.

See you there as well.

 

[Cr33do]

Nice one! - cheers Tony.

Good luck all!

 

[2Damnsly Andy]

Just read the whole thread from start to end. Nice build and some very inspiring work going on budget style. I look forward to seeing this somewhere like Donington in the future.

 

[MG cup]

Top job. Your car looks smart as in this pic. You have just made me change my mind and one set of my 2118's will be black and one orange.

Is that a polo se310 radiator you have fitted, sorry for being lazy and not looking through your thread to find out.

 

[JohnnyE]

Have you diff fitted if so what type as im getting one but just not sure what type yet??

 

[Cr33do]

Just read the whole thread from start to end. Nice build and some very inspiring work going on budget style. I look forward to seeing this somewhere like Donington in the future.

Thanks The initial budget has long gone since the need for the engine rebuild. Onwards and up though.

 

[Cr33do]

Top job. Your car looks smart as in this pic. You have just made me change my mind and one set of my 2118's will be black and one orange.

Is that a polo se310 radiator you have fitted, sorry for being lazy and not looking through your thread to find out

Cheers. Yep. Se310 rad. Haven't used it on track yet but during last weekend on the road and little bit of traffic it seemed to cope fine.

 

[Cr33do]

Have you diff fitted if so what type as im getting one but just not sure what type yet??

Nope. Standard open diff here. Not sure we will ever fit one as we need to start funding trackdays now rather than upgrading etc. Scary that we still have only got two track days out of this car to date hopefully that number should go up soon

 

[Tymberland]

Great stuff Look forward to meeting you! Are you the chap racing with Stuart?

Hi there. Yes, I am racing with Stuart!

 

[dmallett]

Looks brilliant! Good luck with Donnington,

 

[Tony Hunter]

Nope. Standard open diff here. Not sure we will ever fit one as we need to start funding trackdays now rather than upgrading etc. Scary that we still have only got two track days out of this car to date hopefully that number should go up soon

Thats how ended up with the race car, you've got to get it out there at some time, or you will just keep putting bits on it and go nowhere.

 

[Cr33do]

Yes. I can see how it's easy to transition from track to race car before you know it. After the initial modifications that's all we planned to do with it, then get out and enjoy it as much as possible. Then the engine went which put a spanner in the works

Nearly there now though.

 

[danh90]

Alright nick cars looking good now,, I'm going to be doing oulton on the 31st of next month you and mike should bring the cup down

 

[Meek_racing]

Alright nick cars looking good now,, I'm going to be doing oulton on the 31st of next month you and mike should bring the cup down

Will check the diary for that date We have run the engine in so just finishing off our mini project before it gets mapped. It's a bit behind schedule but will post more info up when It's complete and mapped.

 

[danh90]

Great stuff there's only a few places left and a decent range of cars going should be a good day, I'm going to have a good go at getting some stuff done on the ph1 this weekend,

Need to get on track alot more before the end of the year

 

[Meek_racing]

Spent this morning at work finishing off some test parts for the car. More to be shown next week when we trial fit them onto the car and get the parts fully welded up and powder coated. We were aiming to go to Donny but a few complications meant we were running behind schedule so knocked it on the head. It's Oulton Park in a few weeks so will be there to support the clio racers

A few pics of this mornings work

 

[Cr33do]

Lol. I knew you would be able to resist a few teaser shots

No more until next we

 

[Fred@BTM]

Mike can't read dimensions for s**t, just saying ;-)

 

[BIGASH]

Pictures look very interesting guys Shame didn't see you at Donny yesterday

 

[Cr33do]

More updates to follow in the week - stay posted

Massive congratulations on your race drive. I was disappointed to not make it up there in the end but it couldn't be helped. Sounds like everyone had a great time.

 

[BIGASH]

Certainly will I think I can guess what you are doing but will see if i'm right

Thanks mate appreciate it! Don't worry about it just would of been good to put a face to the name! Was a cracker for everyone I think

 

[Tymberland]

Certainly will I think I can guess what you are doing but will see if i'm right

Thanks mate appreciate it! Don't worry about it just would of been good to put a face to the name! Was a cracker for everyone I think

Aw maan! I was looking forward to seeing my old car! Maybe at the next one?