The Black Rat

[greenMachine]

That is a bummer!

A sleeve, never heard of that? Sleeve the crank, or the seal itself? You are not pressurising the crankcase are you, IIRC there have been cases on MTnet of turbos pumping oil out of crank seals?

[The American]

Yes, they call it a Speedy Sleeve. It fits over the crankshaft end where the seal runs and provides a new hardened surface for the seal to run on.

My cam cover has been opened up internally (“tiny hole mod” is now two 10mm passages) and has two 10an ports welded on to new holes. It’s breathes very easily. The only additional thing I could do is vent the sump - but I don’t think it’s crank case pressure to blame as it is only that one seal and it’s doing it without putting the engine under load/boost.

Fingers crossed!

[rascal]

Do you have any pics of the cam cover setup? Did you put any mesh inside the cover or just enlarged the holes?

I have done a single tiny hole mod out to 10mm and factory exit tube to catch can and blocked PCv side, but I think I need to do more. Thinking of two an10s .

[The American]

Do you have any pics of the cam cover setup? Did you put any mesh inside the cover or just enlarged the holes?

I have done a single tiny hole mod out to 10mm and factory exit tube to catch can and blocked PCv side, but I think I need to do more. Thinking of two an10s .

I don’t have any photos of the inside. There are some of the outside in an album on Facebook. If you follow the link in my sig to Facebook, and look for the album “The Black Rat” there are some shots of the location of the AN fittings there. I didn’t use the factory vent locations. I used two AN weld on fittings on the top of the hotside of the cam cover.

[rascal]

Perfect. Thanks

[The American]

Bolted the passenger seat in, fitted the driver’s side harness except for the crotch strap (need two backing plates), and booked it in for an alignment.

Left to do:
Swap in the assembled diff and housing.
Fit crotch straps
Purchase and fit an extinguisher.
Fit steering wheel boss, quick release and wheel.
Nut and bolt check.

[The American]

First drive
I had an opportunity for a short drive this afternoon. Last time I drove it, other than on and off a trailer, it was freshly tuned but still on stock suspension and ten year old tires.

This time, it is on sem-slicks, fresh wheel alignment and set up coilovers: Oh my.

First impression is the straight cut gearset is very loud. It sounds like a proper race car inside.

The second most apparent thing is the transition from grip to wheel spin in every gear I pressed the throttle in. Oh my. It’s definitely the fastest wheel-driven vehicle I’ve ever been in or dríven and is going to take some practice.

[greenMachine]

That sounds like progress!

Lack of traction may be due, in part, to cold tyres? A couple of warm-up laps may make a big difference, I presume not an option this time?

[The American]

That sounds like progress!

Lack of traction may be due, in part, to cold tyres? A couple of warm-up laps may make a big difference, I presume not an option this time?

I dare say, warm tyres would help. It’s still got the open diff in it, which is not helping the tyres. The diff is next, and I hope to have it installed this weekend.

I’m used to traction coming back as the car accelerates, rather than falling off as RPM rises.

[ManiacLachy]

Exciting! Hopefully not long now, and just as we're coming into Turbo Weather!

[The American]

Anyway, so the last drive gave me a motivation hit which was enough to get the LSD diff swapped in, the 6pt harness fitted, extinguisher mounted, bar work padding cut and secured, and steering wheel and quick release fitted.

But… it is still leaking from the bellhousing. I’m pretty sure it’s not (and was never) the rear main, and is likely the half moon seals. It’s been 6 months waiting for a slot at the workshop to look at it again, but it is finally going under the knife again next week.

Wish me leak free boost…!

[greenMachine]

Good luck with that, it is frustrating having a problem hanging around. Will the engine have to come out to get at that seal? I know you can do a lot at the front to fix leaks without removing the engine, I'm not so familiar with the rear.

I'll cross my fingers for you!

[The American]

Plan at this point is to drop the subframe, rather than engine out, but we will see.

[ManiacLachy]

Here's hoping that seals it up properly and you get it back out there. Looking forward to hearing your Hill Climb stories again.

[The American]

Gearbox out, and it’s definitely the rear main seal. Given that it’s already had four, I’m at a loss.

Next step may be a tear down and a measure to see if there is something wrong with the crank. Basically kicking off a fresh a bottom end rebuild…

Will talk to the engine builder to see if they have any ideas.