Couldn't sleep so I figure I can at least upload some pics.
This is what it should look like. A nice rubber cover over the spring. Initially I thought someone tried to silicone the bejeezus all over output shaft seal, but it's just melted gooey rubber.
That seems like good news.
Is there a single mass flywheel available? Lightened? I mean, while you're in there.
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :
There are some available but all in the 11 pound range made of aluminum. I decided to stick OEM to save some money but also like the characteristics of the heavier dual mass. Got a LUK flywheel and Sachs clutch on the way, which should land at my doorstep Tuesday. Still need to order new flywheel bolts which I imagine will end up slowing the install process to a halt. Also need to find an inner passenger axle boot, this one has tear and has been leaking.
Waiting on parts so I decided to peel off the vinyl stripes. One side done.
Hahaha a dual mass flywheel in that car. WHY? That's one of the goofiest things I heard of even from FIAT. And they do some goofy E36 M3.
In reply to brad131a4 (Forum Supporter) :
I think most turbo manual cars these days have a dual mass flywheel.
MINIs have a dual mass flywheel.
Well I got impatient and ordered a part that I don't need yet or possibly at all. It's an ebay front mount intercooler kit which appears to be a knockoff version of the Wagner Tuning kit. The Wagner kit is designed for the Euro market and "doesn´t fit plug and play for US-models" so it's kind of a gamble. I've gone through the installation instructions as well as some German tuner installs on Youtube and it appears the main difference is how the lower mounting brackets bolt in place. The euro setup has what looks like a 1" aluminum spacer factory spacer where a small bar bolts in place, while the US version has a couple plastic "energy absorbers" with no bar. It looks to be the same bolt pattern so hopefully I can just make some sort of spacer and possibly trim the crash beam ever so slightly. When it gets here I can find out if I'm and idiot or not, but fingers crossed it does the trick for under $400.
Today my task was to powerwash the transmission while there was still daylight. It was cold but the grossness came off none the less. Yesterday I already popped off the side cover to reseal it, so that area was already cleaned quite a bit. I should have waited until after washing to do that work but oh well.
A little soak with purple power first:
And after a little pressure washing. Don't fret, both axles were inserted while washing on it's side:
Just got word from the ebay seller that the intercooler isn't actually in stock and if I'm willing to wait another 20 days before they ship. After reading through some other reviews for the same kit listed by other sellers, I'm not certain they will actually ship in 20 days if at all. I asked to be refunded, just don't feel like being anxious about it never showing up to deal with Paypal or Ebay refund stuff.
Kind of a bummer because I was excited to tinker with the kit, but also a relief because I can just spend that money towards a tune that will net me more power. I did like the idea of reduced piping and a better throttle response so at some point I may try a proper FMIC kit.
In better news I ordered the Bilstein b14 suspension for a damn good price through Rock Auto. I've spent days on end researching dampers and spring rates that would suit my needs, and the Bilsteins should do the trick. I wanted to find something possibly used but by the time you factor in shipping it doesn't seem worth the couple hundred in "savings" for used up goods. Still need to order a rear sway bar which from what I can find so far is only one option from Suspension Techniques.
The clutch kit and flywheel arrived yesterday. Apparently no clutch alignment tool so I ordered what I think is the correct one from Oreilly. If it's not correct I'll try one of the universal kits the local parts stores carry.
Still waiting for flywheel bolts that I ordered but after reading common practices by others they just reuse the stock ones. Since I've already ordered them, I might as well wait it out.
I'm trying to do one task minimum per day, and the new "flag mirror trim" pieces came in as well. Super easy to swap out so less than 5 minutes of garage work, but something got knocked off my list.
From crusty:
To swank for less than $19:
I really want an Abarth for my next car, but am getting lots of pushback from the boss.
In reply to Aaron_King :
I think my wife gave up years ago on my automotive ADHD.
Took the family to Disney World for a few days and while I was away the rest of my parts arrived.
This weekend the plan is to get the transmission back in and replace the passenger axle boot. I wanted to take it out for a spin before messing with the suspension but we are supposed to get stoopid cold temps, so I may take advantage of the time I'll have available.
Wheel teaser pic because an update without pics is no fun.
How stupid (cold)? We had -25 F last week. And guess who was changing coolant fluids outside?
In reply to Tora :
Well I guess it's all relative. I live in NW Arkansas so my stupid cold will be like -10ish. Really anything close to 0 is stupid cold for me.
I was struggling to find motivation to just do anything but I figured I'd try my favorite way to trick myself into garage work. Clean up my work space and put tools away. That sort of worked.
Got the flywheel and clutch in place.
Then I spent too much time wrasslin' the trans into position. Sorta got it bolted in place but need to go over all the fasteners to snug them up tight. We lucked out with a snow day from work tomorrow, so my goal is tighten bolts and start bleeding the throw out bearing. Would be cool to have it back on it's wheels but since I have Bilsteins to bolt in place while everything is apart that's unlikely. Also need to install the new passenger inner cv boot. Oh and then fill trans fluid.
Just keep telling myself there's no rush.
Trans bolts are all tightened up. The dog bone/torque arm is clanky so gonna need to source a new one.
PCV o-ring has been replaced. Definitely needed to be done. Nice and square edge plus it broke in half trying to pry it out of the groove.
Vacuum pump gasket replaced. Not sure if it was going to leak or not but cheap enough to just do it now and not worry about it later.
Passenger axle boot replaced. One of the spuds slipped out spilling needle bearings all over the place. Took a while to find them all and get it assembled. It's all good now but after messing with it for so long it was a good time to call it a day.
Finally got a chance to tinker on this again. Plan for the evening was to bleed the clutch release bearing with a cheap vacuum bleeder.
Unfortunately I found out the trans needs to come back out......WTF
I have no clue what could have caused this. Installation error? Bleeding error? Already damaged before install? I've sent a message to the vendor but something tells me I'm out the money and time regardless. Considering getting an OEM one this time, but they cost about as much as the whole Sachs clutch kit. So much for a cheap project. I'm gonna go cry now.
Ugh. That sucks.
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
Agreed. Definitely not the evening I planned for but oh well. Getting it back in place the first time sucked but I think I learned a good process when it's time to do it again.
Problem solved!
Pulled the trans and no obvious signs of cracking or leak points but based on the video I knew that the part where the elbow is pinned was pushing fluid out.
So I took a bearing tool cup set with the threaded rod to hold the bearing tight and not allow it to move. This was suggested in another thread I started. It worked perfect to keep the bearing from over-expanding which can damage the seal. I needed to just test that it could hold pressure. I didn't take video but it was gushing right out of that elbow joint. A lot of fluid.
I disconnected it from the line and decided to dissect my old one that this one was supposed to replace. A pair of pliers pulled the metal clip and voila an elbow with an o-ring.
When I started to pull the clip on the new one that was leaking, the elbow was SUPER loose. It wiggles quite a bit which obviously explains the lack of sealing. On a whim I decided to swap elbows and surprisingly enough it's a SNUG fit! So I stole the new o-ring and installed the old elbow into the new bearing.
I quickly set it up with the cups and thread to test it in the car. As soon as I hooked up the bleeder I knew it was fixed. On the previous install the pump wouldn't hold vacuum. I thought maybe I was screwing up the setup or it was just the way the bleeder is on this type of system. With the hodge podge setup it immediately held vacuum and even better pulled bubbles out like a treat. As soon as I tried to press the pedal it was rock solid and held pressure without a single drip. With the threaded rod keeping it from extending it couldn't move so the solid pedal makes sense.
I danced a little jig and started to clean everything up. It's going back in the car tomorrow with this setup. I have no doubt the problem was a poor fitting elbow on the Sachs part. YEEHAW!
Oh and another thing worth mentioning. One benefit of doing things more than once is they tend to go quicker the second time around. It didn't take much time to remove all the bolts and brackets needed. It also didn't take long to get it back out knowing what goes where and how. So hopefully it goes back in smoothly. I want to pull the pressure plate to check the clutch surface for fluid. I don't think any got inside but better to check.
Didn't get a chance to dive into this until today. Had an early out at work, and within an hour the trans was back inside the car and tightened up. Spent a little time bleeding the throw-out bearing and we got good pedal. NO LEAKS!
Decided to call that good for the evening. I'll try to wrap it all up tomorrow and hopefully have it back on it's wheels by Sunday evening.
Dragging my feet on this still. Decided to install the Bilsteins while I have everything apart and waiting on a front brake rotor from Rockauto. They sent me one that was labeled incorrectly and the new one doesn't show up until today. Tonight I'd like to get the front bumper back on and maybe wrap up the suspension.
New KYB strut tops. New MOOG camber bolts. New Bilsteins.
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