Kangoo Compact (aka Racevan3)

[Brigsy]

Updates

Got head back from the machine shop, so can start assembly soon.

Amac have fitted the supertech inlet and exhaust valves, cut 3 angled valve seats, lapped valves in. They also installed the cat cams single valve springs, which required a 2.2mm shim making up so the installed spring length was correct. Alastair machined up some bucket style shims that sit on top of the valve stem oil seals as he did not like the usual way of installing what is basically a flat washer under the valve stem oil seals. He said that raising the stem seal 2mm above the guide is a bit too much so wanted it as oem in that respect. Head has also had a little face too, decoke etc.

Cc'd the head to check combustion chamber volume after facing, and had repeat results of 43.6cc. Done the maths for static comp and selected a cometic headgasket to suit, static comp around 8.4:1.

Might get it together next week. Will see.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Mr Underhill]

Amac certainly know their stuff. Looking forward to see how it all goes together Jon.

 

[Brigsy]

Updates

Motivation to go in the garage was very low over xmas so didnt get anything done. Now the new year has ticked over, ive finally got my arse into gear.

Mot runs out in April and i need it up and running soon ish so i can just get it straight out on the road to run the new engine in. Set goals, get s**t done.

Block face a quick wipe over to get the lube off.

Needed a thread chaser to clean the holes out in the block. Typically my set did not have the right size, so went oldskool and ground some grooves into an old head bolt. Works great.

Arp head studs pre clean.

Cleaned, lubed up with arp lube and installed to block as per instructions. Cometic head gasket 1.52mm.

Head face wiped over, fitted and torqued in 3x stages, letting it settle between each one timed by a brew. Final stage 105ft/lb.

If the weather plays ball, ill start stripping the ancillaries off the old engine.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Small job today.

Went in the dead F4r pile in the garage to grab some bolts and a crank pulley. Crank pulley was seized as usual and with it being keyed cant knock it round, and cant get a normal puller on it.

Knocked up a simple puller that bolts to the pulley using some 4mm flat bar, drilled 2 holes for m4 cap head bolts, drilled and tapped a m10 hole in the middle for a bolt to push it off. Spray of plus gas, tightened bolt and it came loose with a crack.

Small wins and saved a little bit of money.

Ive fitted some ancillaries to the block so things are moving.

 

[Brigsy]

I also started the current engine up for the last time before it gets pulled out. No reason to start it but was nice for motivation purposes.

Its not been started since last September and fired first crank.

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Cosworth pistons slappy as f**k from cold. Oil pressure absolutely mega, little bit sad to remove it tbh as even though its poorly and using a fair bit of coolant, it will still bury the speedo easily. I think ill rebuild this in the future, it deserves to go again.

All the turbo noises.

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Was nice to sit in the hot seat again

Current setup.

If i get a decent day and no rain its coming out very soon.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Small update.

In the process of building the new engine up im putting the parts in place to run 197/250 vvt and full sequential injection. To do this, i need a trigger wheel on the inlet cam for cam position, and the 172 inlet cam does not have one.

First port of call was to remove a cam trigger wheel from an old 197 inlet cam. Heated it up, did not really need to heat but it flew off with puller no dramas.

Tried to refit to a spare 172 inlet cam with bit of heat/knock into place. Did not go well as i realised i was never going to get it over a small ridge where the trigger needs to sit that the 197 cam does not have. I damaged the trigger wheel slightly in the process so binned that idea. It could have been welded on but not ideal. Lessons learned on this one!!

Next step was to fit a catcams trigger wheel. I had this in stock but got stuck fitting it, as it would not go over the ridge on the cam as described above and would need to be machined off so it can locate in the correct position (41mm from the end of the cam if anybody needs to know in the future).

Took the cam round to a retired machinist i know who has a lathe in his garage. He had the cam in, clocked and ridge machined off in ten mins, for the price of a drink.

This has allowed the trigger wheel to go fully home in the correct position. Its a nice tight fit, so just needs a small amount of studlock and nip up the grubscrew and its going nowhere. Im.going to set the orientation as close to oem position as poss but as im planning on using a standalone ecu, it wont matter too much can fine tune it via the software.

Should have all the relevant parts to finish off assembly now.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Mr Underhill]

That went completely over my head, but looking good Jon

 

[Brigsy]

Updates.

Hydraulic lifters, rocker arms and cams fitted and liberal amounts of assembly lube applied.

Loctite 518 applied to cam cover.

Fitted and torqued to spec

Satisfying squish of 518.

Cam seals in, using new seal driver kit which made very easy work of fitting them in square to the right location.

New dephaser, exhaust pulley and cambelt fitted. Cams set and locked with relevant oem Renault tooling. Torqued to spec.

Horseshoe slips in lovely after a few revolutions of the crank.

Cambelt cover on, crank pulley torqued to spec.

 

[Brigsy]

Had some more parts aquablasted as they were looking a bit scruffy.

Before

After

Fitted (temporary as i need the cam cover spacers and nuts off the old engine)

Solid progress for a few hours work. Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Small updates

Modified the 250 breather plate. The hole is very small inside so enlarged that.

I dont run any of the emissions s**t so same as old engine ive removed the stub that goes to the vac pipe, and drilled/tapped it 1/8npt and fitted a grubscrew.

Breather plate fitted. Coilpack studs also fitted to save any future issues.

Started stripping the old engine out and it started pissing down, but apart from driveshafts, engine mounts and exhaust its ready to lift tomorrow if all goes well.

Plastic 2ltr bottle catch tank still delivering the goods!

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Updates

Engine is out and in bits in the garage.

Started transferring some bits to the new engine. Also flushed heater matrix out, the amount of rust and shite that came out of it was insane. Took several forward/backwards flushes to get the water running clear. I assume all the rusty sediment out of the old block had settled in there! Have also flushed rad and same story, and all hoses have been cleaned.

Also noticed that both lower balljoint rubber boots have perished and almost split. They were quality trw balljoints and less than 2 years old/5k miles so pissed off at that. Still mega stiff so will change the boots, as they are press fit and i fear the hole will be too baggy on next balljoint swap!

Also painted the boost hoses up in vht wrinkle black. Heatgunned it dry for max wrinkle then banged them in the oven for an hr at gasmark 1 to bake it on.

House stinks of paint now..mrs is not going apeshit yet so must have got away with it

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Yarp]

Top work!

I love the plastic bottle catch tank. I ran an irn bru bottle for a while on mine with great success.

I also love cooking car parts. I’ll still never forget the look on the wife’s face when she came home to a 5 series headlight in the oven 😂

 

[Brigsy]

Top work!

I love the plastic bottle catch tank. I ran an irn bru bottle for a while on mine with great success.

I also love cooking car parts. I’ll still never forget the look on the wife’s face when she came home to a 5 series headlight in the oven 😂

Cheers mate. Ive ran a plastic bottle for catch tank in every turbo car ive owned. Cheap and does the job 💪

 

[Brigsy]

Small update

Snuck a quick hour in today. Pulled 250 inlet off old engine, and its not a straight fit on the 197 head. Basically, the cam sensor on 250 is in the cam cover, and on 197 its lower down in the head so the inlet fouls it.

Out comes the grinder to add clearance, not ideal but im sure itll be reet, still plenty of webbing above the runner. Tested up fits OK.

Painted up with vht aluminium paint. Considered aquablasting, but be a nightmare to clean the inside and times cracking on, and i want it up and running soon.

Also done alternator bracket.

Finish looks nice and fresh.


Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Updates

Had an hour spare here and there over the last couple of days, so got a bit more done

250 Inlet and fuel rail fitted

Dipstick tube needed a spacer to clear 197 cam sensor

Exhaust manifold and new gasket fitted, and oil feed/return pipes. Cam cover and top mount fitted and torqued.

Throttle body painted and fitted. I considered making a more aesthetically pleasing throttle adaptor but cant hardly see it when fitted, so function over form

If weather plays ball and no little issues arise, this should be in and running this weekend.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[VenomUK]

Awesome stuff @Brigsy

 

[Brigsy]

Quick hour again today

Turbo on, decat on and torqued. Oil feed/return fitted and torqued.

Mocked up boost hose. Doesnt look too bad!

Ill crack on with this and get crank seal in and clutch/dmf once off stand, get box back on and see if i can get it in the hole this weekend.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Yarp]

That looks really well. I don’t know why but the boost pipe over the top of the engine has always really bothered me. The again, they do have an ugly head so at least it hides it.

I know they are shite but that’s one thing I miss about my Vauxhall days. Their engines look cracking in the bay and even with the crossover they still look ok. I can’t find a finished pic of the disastra but this is about as good as I can do

 

[Mr Underhill]

Quick hour again today

Turbo on, decat on and torqued. Oil feed/return fitted and torqued.View attachment 1633033
Mocked up boost hose. Doesnt look too bad!View attachment 1633034View attachment 1633035

Ill crack on with this and get crank seal in and clutch/dmf once off stand, get box back on and see if i can get it in the hole this weekend.

Thanks for reading!!

I wouldn’t want to fit that Jon, rather I’d just stare at it 😂 Lovely work.

 

[Brigsy]

That looks really well. I don’t know why but the boost pipe over the top of the engine has always really bothered me. The again, they do have an ugly head so at least it hides it.

I know they are shite but that’s one thing I miss about my Vauxhall days. Their engines look cracking in the bay and even with the crossover they still look ok. I can’t find a finished pic of the disastra but this is about as good as I can do
View attachment 1633040

Cheers mate! the f4r is an ugly engine agreed. The older vaux lumps always looked sweet, nice rocker cover design. Renault always looked crap in comparison, engine cover is best thing for f4r usually!

I wouldn’t want to fit that Jon, rather I’d just stare at it 😂 Lovely work.

Cheers mate. I know once its fitted its all downhill from here too cant stop the corrosion with the salty air from the sea. Ill have to be on it and do regular top ups with acf50 to keep it right. No garage for this one sadly!

 

[Brigsy]

Sunday update

Engine not in sadly as spent all day yesterday fixing the daily so not as much progress made as planned. Had a couple of hours spare this afternoon, so got a bit more done.

The alternator and ac pump were looking well weathered and would have let the side down, so masked them up and painted with vht aluminium paint.

Also removed modine from old engine, and flushed it/cleaned it up and also lightly painted with vht. Turbo heatshield received the same treatment. New aux belt/tensioner fitted, all bits torqued to spec.

Ive removed the rts twin friction clutch and dmf from the old engine to inspect, and luckily there is minimal wear to it so its simply reset the self adjusting pressure plate and refit.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Spare hour today.

Reset self adjusting mech on the clutch. Ive done this in my press before, but as the trophy is in the way and couldnt be arsed moving it, done it with a puller instead. The self adjusting mech had barely moved but didnt want to risk any issues.

Simply compress the pressure plate, push small springs round until fully compressed, hold whilst undoing the puller and it locks in place. The proper tool to do it is fairly expensive even for a chinese knock off so this works great for a one off.

Pressure plate springs on full adjustment for reference in this pic.

Clutch still lools good.

Next job was to get the engine off the stand so could fit the crank seal. Dug out Mot. 991 for the job.

Lubed up and sent home to the correct depth.

Dmf fitted, used another renault flywheel locking tool i had lying about, worked spot on.

Dmf fitted and torqued. Pressure plate drawn on square so mechanism stays set (note springs fully compressed), bolts torqued.

Engine mount and bolts given a bit of a tart up as were looking rough.

Gearbox and other associated bits back on tomorrow. See how weather plays as its supposed to turn bad.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[stealthstylz]

Didn't realise it was a stubby one. They look like with good front brakes and sticky tyres they'd do a endo under hard braking.

 

[Brigsy]

Didn't realise it was a stubby one. They look like with good front brakes and sticky tyres they'd do a endo under hard braking.

Its same length as clio2 its mad. I took that massive 50kg ballast weight off the rear and it can pogo a bit in reverse

 

[Brigsy]

Small update

Box back on, starter etc all bolts torqued. Filled with running in mineral oil and took plugs out/put turbo oil feed into a bottle and span engine over on starter to prime oil system. Oil came out of the feed after a few seconds so thats good, its ready to start.

Plugs gapped to 0.6mm, fitted and torqued. Coilpacks and wiring on.

I noticed a crack in the decat bracket when fitting starter, its an easy fix/easier to get it whilst engine is out as ballache to fit in situ. Typically my local exhaust place was shut/fabricators were shut. Only other place i know can do it but not until monday so ive left it with them.

No engine fitting this weekend sadly!!

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Krarl]

You're the definition of "do it nice or do it twice" Jon

Can't wait to see this thing properly rip!

 

[Brigsy]

You're the definition of "do it nice or do it twice" Jon

Can't wait to see this thing properly rip!

Cheers mate. Should look so much better this time hopefully !

Fingers crossed performance is as good as the last engine.

 

[Brigsy]

Small update.

Decat repaired and wrapped with DEI titanium wrap.

Looking highly unlikely that ill get engine in this weekend sadly. Need this sleet/snow to go!

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Yarp]

That’s nice, it looks miles less spiky than the nasty s**t I get from euro car parts

 

[Brigsy]

Updates

Weather did not turn out too bad, cold but dry so went for it.

All went in very easily. Engine is complete and ready to fire, coolant bled etc. I was going to fire it up but ran out of light/needs a can of fuel as its absolutely on its arse.

Not much left to do, refit driveshafts, fill gearbox oil etc.

Fingers crossed weather holds again tomorrow, will see a start if its ok.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Sunday update

Boxed off the last bits early am as weather was mild and dry. Replaced rubber dust covers on balljoints - pains me as they are 6000 miles/18 month old quality trw replacements that i fitted, rubber boot had totally split on drivers side and passengers cracked. Refitted driveshafts and filled with gearbox oil.

All done by 11am - went and got 20ltrs of momentum from Tesco as it barely had any fuel in. Filled it up, and hit the switch and it started as normal. No missing or nothing it was quite uneventful, as some first starts can be a carry on, however id done all the pre flight checks so was confident it would go first crank. This is why it was essential to prime oil system before attempting start up, as even though it was well lubed up with assembly lube, not taking any chances of a dry start.

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Let it idle briefly just to run round and check for any leaks which was none. Hydraulic lifters sounded noisy for a minute or so then top end quietened down to normal.

Oil pressure is spot on, seen 75-80psi cold, ran it on fast idle around 2k until up to temp and coolant thermostat had opened, 25 psi on idle/75psi 4k rpm @80deg oil temps so id say thats pretty decent for f4r.

Shut it down and dropped oil out for fresh and changed filter. Ran out of time as had to do some running about this afternoon, but only needs wheels swapping over, coolant topping up now stat has opened, and good to drive.

If weather continues to be good, ill be driving it next weekend to break the engine in.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Brigsy]

Saturday update

Had a couple of small jobs to do. Started off by making a small cowling to go around rad, to keep the s**t out of the engine bay and to try and force air through the rad. Not the prettiest, but hidden from view when grill is on anyway.

Refitted grill, bumper and arch liners properly. Give engine bay a little wipe over.

Fitted the freshly refurbed compomotive mo6 and new centre caps.

Took it out for a drive to bed the rings in, done my usual north yorkshire route of hills which gives a good amount of load/vac pulls on overrun.

Overall very uneventful, engine is super quiet and seems to be running very well, no leaks, no smoke, Oil pressure is spot on.

Done around 40 miles in total, had the rstuner hooked up for datalogging purposes and nothing to note. Current map is very good and the engine spec has not wildly changed apart from a decrease in C/R so it felt absolutely normal to drive.

Ill change oil and filter for fresh in the morning and get out in it again to get more miles on it. Get 500 or so boxed off and straight in to Efi for a map tweak if all goes well.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Rob]

It looks frikken awesome on the wheels. Like a hot wheels car!

I must say, in your last few posts you almost sound disappointed that there’s not some teething problems to fix 😂

 

[Brigsy]

It looks frikken awesome on the wheels. Like a hot wheels car!

I must say, in your last few posts you almost sound disappointed that there’s not some teething problems to fix 😂

Cheers mate. I love the look on the compomotives.

I always expect some teething issues but last few projects dont seem to have had any. Touch wood

 

[Brigsy]

Updates from the weekend

Changed oil for 3rd lot of fresh millers cro mineral with new filter. Filtered drained oil and nothing to be concerned about.

More running in miles done, around 150 done in total. Brimmed tank and took it for a blast up to Whitby and surrounding areas, all b road/hilly and perfect for running in a new engine.

Dieting currently so getting very active and me and the mrs done a lap of whitby including abbey steps probably 10'000 ish steps

Views

Lurking in the background on full zoom from the abbey off the s22 ultra. Modern smart phone camera zoom is insane, imagine trying this a few years ago!!

Was nice to drive something petrol turbo instead of dirty diesel, weather was great too just nice to get out and about instead of up to my eyes in s**t in the garage.

Have not cleaned it for weeks as couldnt really be arsed with crap weather. Fallout on the paint was horrendous and them black marks off the trims that happen on white paint, also rust all over the wheels after initial driving/disc cleaning up when brakes used.

Weather was good yesterday and got back from site early so give it some love. BH Korrosol all over and left to dwell, rinsed, BH autofoam, gtechniq gwash, and dried off using gtecnhiq c2v3 as a drying aid. 45 mins, done.

Still cleans up reaI good, will keep on top of it now its roadworthy again. Inside still looking OK so didnt bother with that.

Will smash off a load more running in miles this weekend. Mapping in a few weeks see how it all fairs.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[JamesBryan]

Have you got a date for mapping?

 

[Brigsy]

Have you got a date for mapping?

Awaiting reply but should be in approx 5 weeks will keep you updated mate

 

[Brigsy]

Weekend update

Weather pretty dogshit today but done more running in miles.

First stop local Kwik Fit as o/s rear wheel was slowly losing air, the valve that was fitted when wheels were refurbed was leaking so easy fix.

Absolute comedy putting it on the scissor lift almost too short

With that sorted give it a good run out.

Middlesborough, Darlington, back roads past Croft Circuit, Northallerton, Thirsk, Helmsley tt, Malton, Scarborough, Whitby and back home. Around 150 miles approx 300 done in total. No issues, Few more miles and were good to drop in some synthetic oil and on the dyno for mapping.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Martin_172]

Comedy how short it is on that scissor lift, Is that a Twingo 133 I spot?!

 

[Brigsy]

Comedy how short it is on that scissor lift, Is that a Twingo 133 I spot?!

It is indeed a 133 in the background