Nick Jones

http://sideways-technologies.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic/831-megajolt-megasquirt-maps-attach-them-here/page__st__20 This thread has lost all (ok, nearly all) it's pics and as they were ignition and fueling maps and the whole point of the thread it would be great if they could be reunited...... pretty please Nick

I've done some messing about with this sort of thing. First off the 1300 shouldn't have a heavy breathing problem if it's in reasonable condition - the standard breather is adequate - unlike the 2.5 one (which is the same size as the 1300 but with double the displacement to deal with). The PCV (positive crankcase ventilation system) is intended to keep the inside of the engine slightly below atmospheric pressure to reduce slobbering from gaskets and seals and maybe even reduce internal windage losses a little. To do this the engine has to be basically sealed, so putting a little filter on the old rocker cover vent will not help - needs to be sealed off. My experiences with the fuel pump port suggest that Steve is correct. Even with a big baffled pot ( which is designed to drain back into the crankcase) filled with SS wool I still get lots of oil carry-over into the inlet I still get loads of oil carrying through into the plenum. This collects at the back and then, when going a down a steep hill on the over-run it runs forwards to the throttle area and gets atomised in the airstream and we get SMOKE.... so much SMOKE. Admittedly both engines this has been tried on have had epic blowby issues but even so...... I used an orifice to meter the vacuum as I couldn't find a decent PCV valve. This is a crap system (especially when you've got lots of blowby) as you end up with loads of vacuum in the crankcase at idle and at light throttle, rapidly going positive when you open the throttle. I had to have an additional one-way valve to allow positive pressure to vent. The original Triumph PCV valve is actually quite good (provided the diaphragm is ok) so definitely worth sticking with it. Having said all this, it did reduce my oil consumption a lot (starting point was a helluva lot!) and also reduced leakage. What problem are you trying to solve? The stock system works fine on the 1300? This work by Paul Tegler is well worth reading through if you've not seen it already http://www.teglerizer.com/triumphstuff/emissions/index.htm NIck

Yeah, wandering around town after my last post it struck me that local hot spots might be caused by insufficent flow cause by the crappy pump going too fast to pump water. Not sure it tracks with the car not showing any other sign of overheating though - would have thought the gauge would show at least some rise......? Not sure if it's being revved hard enough to defeat the pump either? Probably best to get someone with a "sniffer" to see if you are getting exhaust gases in the water. Dunno if Dale or Dave has one (might be a bit high-tech for Dave?). Only times I've had this kind of problems myself it's been HG related. Might be worth checking head nut torques first seeing as it only seems to do it when pushed? Nick

Head gasket? Compression leak into water jacket, worse when under duress....... Another possibility is that you are getting localised boiling in the head due to a hot spot and this is causing pressure rise without actually causing a bulk water temperature rise. Harder to prove. Could try a higher pressure cap. Cooling system flush with something aggressive How sure are you that your timing and fuelling are good at full chat? High chamber temps won't help? Cheers Nick

They are painted from the factory - but only a thin, single coat. Nick

I thought the Tri-metal ones had "HD" on them somewhere? Could be wrong about that though. Have some somewhere will look 'em out. Nick

That's probably worth following up on........ Nick

Sounds good so far - with the possible exception of "a small fan on the inlet" - not sure what you mean by that? Do get the crank properly measured and ground if necessary. This is an engine that likes to eat bearings. Balancing is a very good idea if the buget will stand it. Bearings need to be Tri-metal - King/County HD is probably the best you'll find now. Also worth carefully measuring the various clearances in the oil pump (even if new!) and lapping the gears and housing on a sheet of glass to minimise the end float. If re-using a pump, any scores in the end plate can be taken out the same way. Nick

See http://www.caigauge.com/ These guys supply Europa I think http://www.speedograph-richfield.com/html/inst_repairs.html - not sure if they'll do new electronic guts for you existing gauges but there are companies that do (just can't find them right now) Nick

Thanks for the extra info. Acceleration enrichment can be a real pain to get right (not sure either of my cars are really right), especially just off idle - you just have to keep experimenting. Different firmware versions have different strategies available. I've not had great results with any of them. I've done similar with the ignition idle control but couldn't stop it "hunting". Still have extra advance in the top left corner as "ant-stall" - that works well. Cheers Nick

Yes, looks like simple bypass not an option. Colleague has one of these engines in a Focus. It's the Econetic (or some such bollox) but in spite of pitiful performance it fails to beat my geriatric Audi in the mpg stakes even though the Audi weighs 400kg more and will easily leave it for dead..... This must be progress in diesel technology. The audi can also out-smoke it it of course In fact it's strategy for meeting it's "promised" mpg is usually to break down so it has to complete the journey on a low loader burning someone elses' fuel.......! Nick

Well as a diesel frog-mobile owner, that's a given..... . How many times? The one on my A6 is "inactive" (though the ECU doesn't know that) courtesy of a copper "gasket" with no hole in it. This gives less smoke, more mpg and more grunt, but higher oil temperatures when I'm whipping it. It probably also produces more nitrogen oxides than it should...... I decided to a disable it after a look in the inlet manifold revealed that the services of a chimney sweep were needed, though I made do with a long, sharp screwdriver and the long-suffering garage hoover. I was getting lumps like barbeque briquettes out of it. Suspect that the runners in the head and valve backs are still ugly, but the turbo still blows enough air in past to give decent urge. Suspect some of the alleged 140 horses are now awol though. Nick Nick

Been signed up (by senior son) to do a charity ride from Watchet to West Bay. 54 miles with some hills...... Some practice will be needed! Somerset Air Ambulance is the charity so very worthwhile. Trick will be to get fit enough so they are not needed on the ride! Nick

Barking mad But fit as a butchers dog obviously! Nick

Sounds sweet Are you using manifold pressure (MAP) or throttle position (Alpha N) as the load sensing? How hard was it to map the low load areas? Small throttle movement makes a big effect....... What type of idle control are you using (seems to work) Cheers Nick

Lots of things in play - the adjustment is fairly coarse. Different nut (with the castellations in different location compared to the start of the thread), thickness of the washer, start of the thread compared to the split-pin hole position in the stub axle. The only one you can do much about is the nut - try a different one or lap a bit off the one you have. Provided you still have some play in the tighter position I'd probably just take that. I'd say it's normal to need a tool to tighten the last part but not to need much force. Other thing that can confuse things is the felt "seal" as the new ones are too thick and fool you into thinking that you've got it right, then wear/compress giving way too much play just a few miles down the road. Nick

Saloon uses Vitesse/GT6 size bearings I think? Kit listing is different due to different (proper!) grease seal. Nick

Sure - we use a similar arrangement in pumps bearing housings. It's the car set-up that's odd really - pretty lightly loaded by industrial standards most of the time. I like the idea of the spacer tube but probably not really needed. I'm not sure what the tolerances between inner race a stub axle should be. If it's actually worn you will be able to see a lip on the lower surface of the stub axle where the bearing runs as the weight of the car means only the bottom wears significantly - or maybe you can get a bigger feeler gauge in there? Of course, if the stub axle is just a bit undersize because it's a crappy repro part..... you'll not have that help. The lip can occur on the inner or outer bearings but I've found the inners to be more prone. Rule of thumb - if you can set the end float so that you can just feel movement at the wheel rim by only lightly tightening the nut (more than hand-tight but not much) and that movement is the same when rocking at 6/12 and 3/9 then I reckon all is good enough. As mentioned before, when the stub is worn you'll feel more play in the 6/12 position. The felt ring can mess with your head, especially the repro ones which are at least 50% too fat so maybe try without it first? These bearings are actually very reliable when decent quality ones are used and properly set. There are some very poor bearings on the market though - I find my local motor factor ones are better than those from the marque specialists! QH still use Timken. Nick

Steve, The inner races do turn on the stub axle, but, if the end-float is correct, only very slowly as 99+% of the rotation is taking play in the bearing itself, so no harm is done. They have to be a sliding fit in order to set the end-float. They should be a snug sliding fit though. What can (and does) happen if the bearings are set too tight is that they move too fast on the stub axle and wear a lip in the lower surfaces, then get to be a slack fit on the shaft so there's always too much play when you rock the wheel holding it at 12/6 o'clock but no play holding it at 3/9 o'clock. This being the case you'll be able to feel a lip on the downwards facing surface at the edge of where the bearings fit. As a curiosity, the TR boys have a mod which puts a tube, with some shims to set endfloat, between the two inner races and do up the hub nut tight. The main purpose is to reduce the flex in the stub axles (TR6 has same stub axle and bearings as a Herald!) and prevent brake pad knock-back. Nick

I think they were waiting for a biker to be scraped off the road or untangled from the armco....... we saw a few of those! Nick

CT 10 Countries works for me...... and much better value Nick

Most important thing - make sure that the circlips are all fully in their grooves - if one comes out........ BAD things happen! Nick

In my experience a tight axis on a driveshaft UJ is no problem - even an advantage as you know that one won't click! On a propshaft however it is not a good thing and WILL cause vibration. Nick

It's probably a glitch John. Presumably you are using XP? It's pretty stable for a Microsoft OS and survives time and use way better than say 98, 2000 or even Vista but it does still "age" in use as errors accumulate, getting slower and falling prey to oddities as you describe. My IT folks at work suggest that for optimum performance it really needs to be wiped and reloaded every year or so. Mine's been going about 6 years - and it shows! Nick

Whenever I've tried fat ARBs (only on the Herald) it just made it want to go straight on all the time. Didn't try it with the Vitesse as that doesn't need any more incentive to just go straight on! That twin bars suggestion with the movable links sounds very elegant - pics would be good! Cheers Nick