Turbocharger

Looks like a cracking build, and at pace! Any idea what it weighs yet?

I'll see you in a pub somewhere then Si. Otherwise, an skeleton in an ejector seat should be pretty easy to spot

The generic cheap ones on Ebay generally look like this one with a variety of brand names on it. I've got one - fully charged it'll crack a LR wheelnut but otherwise they can need 'help' with a breaker bar first. As an assembly tool and nut runner it's brilliant and I will replace it with the same when it dies.

Thanks Dave - the idea of shifting the box while the t/c's locked isn't appealing - I guess it's time to put that idea to bed. A Compushift box would be lovely but the rest of my truck doesn't justify the ££ spent in just the gearbox! Jase - I'll keep my little gay car for when 40mpg is required...

Damn

Cheers both - my Tdi won't bolt to a Vitara box (and it'd probably blow it apart anyway). Just an idle thought really, I'd quite like it to do more than 22mpg, that's all...

Just reading the diff ratio thread, which turned into a Compushift thread, has raised a question in my brain which is further off-topic and so warrants a new thread. I have a hydraulic / cable controlled 4HP22 gearbox which locks up the torque converter when I reach 35mph (light throttle) or 50mph (heavy throttle) in 4th gear only. I'd like to be able to lock it up in 3rd. I guess there's some clever hydraulics which stop it locking in lower gears or if there's a big speed differential across it (or else there'd be a helluva bang). Does anyone know enough about the innards of these boxes to know if there would be a sensible hydraulic route to locking it up 'manually' on demand, probably by another valve block? Obviously the risk of throwing lumps of gearbox out of the side is then on the driver...

Can anyone explain why a heavier flywheel increases torque? I can see it'd increase the inertia you start the car against when the clutch is slipping but the torque from the engine is still the same.

I'm in Bristol but you're welcome to some space short-term if you need it. Payment in small quantities of beer or pastry products is quite acceptable.

I do now have an offer of a solid cylinder head at a very good price - I won't embarrass the individual but I am very grateful. I've helped and had help on here. My dad works on the theory that a favour should be passed on, rather than returned, so I do my best where I can.

Mmm, shiney! After a kind offer from another forumeer I may have a head-shaped solution on the way. We'll see how the weekend goes; as I said earlier, I'm in no hurry - time rich and money-poor.

Hmm. It seems everyone's been reloading this thread for updates too often and Imagecave has had a head-fit. No matter. Turners have a £150 surcharge on their units and I'm pretty certain mine's not going to be acceptable for reworking, so I'll pick up a Paddock head as I'm passing on the way to the Maker Faire. In the meantime, I'll tidy up the wiring around the engine bay and maybe fit some bulkhead soundproofing.

I've just sent mine off today actually, probably slightly after it expired but, all the time it was valid, I needed it!

[pedant] Any of those with PRND321 written on the gearstick... Without the DMF you might see increased NVH into the cabin but IIRC you're running lumpy tyres so I don't see a big reason to keep it. How are you sure it's knacked?

I can't see a big issue with that structurally, since there's already a hole there for the tyre valve. I presume you'll be drilling at 180degrees to the normal valve for balance? As far as the beadlock tube goes, I can't say.

If you decide on this route and you can beg/borrow/steal a needle gun, you're welcome to half-inch my compressor for a week or so Tony.

I "borrowed" some dye-pen and found that the cracks I could see with my eyes are still there when tested... The consensus is that I need a new head (... on the engine, that is). I'll pressurise the water jacket to see if there's any bubbles but, to be honest, the water stains in #3 bore are enough to tell me that water's been getting in somewhere. The good news is, piston #1 shows some distress marks where the fuel injector has been hosing, but no cracks so that will run again: Where's best to get a new head from? My options look like being: ACR: £410 + VAT Turner: £295 + VAT (or £410 with valves etc) Foundry 4x4: £276 incl VAT (via Ebay) Craddock: £250 + VAT Paddocks: £245 + VAT A "performance" Turner head at £495+VAT is way out of my league. Any other peddlers of quality merchandise that I've forgotten? Dave - I've PM'd you.

I for one would be willing to participate in voluntary clearance of Ringspit, for example. I'd suggest the council could be "assisted" in their duty by volunteers moving scrap vehicles to the layby for onward clearance. In any case, barriers or dragons' teeth will just exclude the legal users and leave the vandals to dump cars etc down there in solitude.

We've been asked to stop using alternating reds at work - it's 999 only I believe, but I'm not going quoting legislation to back myself up. Hobbit - you've forgotten your days of living in dodgy areas if you can't see the need for window mesh...

Yes, I'd noticed the leaking on #2 as well. Presumably that would be fixed with a new gasket though. My current thoughts are: £100 second-hand head could be worse than the one I've got - why was it taken off and reconned/skimmed/cleaned? They generally claim to be 'pressure tested' but where's the comeback if it turns out to be duff? £275 'new' head on Ebay is £20 less than a head from Turners (and £5 less than a Paddock head), which would come with a guarantee. My head might not be a problem, but I'd have to test it to know The cost of testing would eat into the ££ for a new head, which would probably turn out to be necessary anyway. From the bore marks, water has been getting into #3 from somewhere - if it's not the head then it's via the head gasket, and that looks strong on #3 Using the engine as its own test bench, it looks like there's a crack to the water jacket somewhere in the head thus I probably need a new head I'd rather give my ££ to Turner than Paddock but I don't see that I'd get £20 more value (and I'll be passing Paddock in couple of weeks, so I'd save the postage). Some forumeers have had 'performance' heads before and been underwhelmed so I don't think I'll go that route. Is there anyone I've not considered?

Well, I didn't need the dye-pen. The head showed carbon on all the fire rings: and cleaned up well: Number 3 appears 'different' but not steam cleaned like you'd expect with a coolant issue. Anyway, I looked a little closer at #3: Two cracks, one from the heater plug hole and one between the injector hole and the inlet valve. #2 and #4 also show the heater plug crack: It looks like I need a new head, but that's not "economically attractive" at £300 - anyone got any bright ideas?

Don't forget that more lock means more stress on the CV joints - exponentially so. I doubt a couple of degrees will blow your car apart but worth remembering that, on the limit, winding the stops in will move that threshold slightly closer to spannertime.

If you're in Bath you must have discovered Avery, Knight and Bowler by Green Park station by now? They'll sell you just about anything boltlike that you need, just head in and describe what you want to them.

That's the badger, only (expensive and) I'd like to be able to go and buy it so I can use it this coming weekend...

Cheers Jase - can you give me a shout if they do pls? I'm in WSM tomorrow afternoon so I could dive into "that grotty backwater" on my way back...