2003 Vauxhall VX220 2.2

Neil_M

RMS Regular
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4,766
Love the no messing approach!

Hope to make the last day myself :cool:

Also @pablo has the car been mapped for the cams?
 

pablo

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pablo
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66,994
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Glengrimley
The ECU is actually pretty trick. Its the OEM ECU reprogrammed to be fully mappable. I can ask the guy for a new map to take the cams into account OR I can hook up the laptop and run a self learn mode. You drive around for an hour or so at various loads/speeds and it builds a map for you.

Will probably do both as you can store as many maps as you want on the laptop so do no harm and its free to get another map from him
 

pablo

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pablo
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66,994
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Glengrimley
new map loaded on, time for some logging to see how the std injectors are holding up

2019-10-26 10.50.38.jpg


Also got a couple of litres of brake fluid to do a full flush

2019-10-26 10.51.05.jpg
 

Blackie

RMS Regular
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10,471
Location
End of my tether
Drives
BMW 520d SE
so, last trackday of 2019 looming and last chance to get my cams track tested before the big break over winter. Me being me dived right in with only half an idea what I was doing. Last time I done cams I didnt tighten a pulley tight enough and it came off on the RR :weary_face:

Anyway, armed with a rather vague DIY guide I gave it a skim and got stuck in. The hardest part was always going to be getting the chain and pullies to keep their timing. Of course I was too lazy to a) buy the locking tool and b) strip the bottom end to mark the bottom end of the chain.

So, I made a brace to sit across the engine bay opening that I could hook the pullies to and cable tied the chain to the pullies to stop them jumping a tooth. Ended up fiddly enough but afterwards I done a few hand rotations of the engine (using the road wheel and in 5th) and it all seemed fine. If it had have went pear shaped I would have just stripped the covers off and retimed it.

Went out for a "gentle" shakedown to make sure the cams didnt launch themselves out the side of the clam which turned into some redline runs that proved the cams were a good mod. Feels more "go-y" up top and combined with the 2.4 inlet manifold and ecu remap (limiter up to 7k) it really does rev well now.

Bring on the 3rd Nov!


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I love your timing approach there! How is it the saying goes..... “necessity is the mother of invention”?

Great thinking outside the box!
 

brocks

RMS Regular
Messages
1,707
Location
Normally at work......
Drives
BMW X6 M50d
For a geometry set up, Ali Burrows, just outside Dungannon (Moygashel?) is an absolute geo wizard...... Ex Subaru technician and still very active in the Scooby / Rally scene..... he would be able to corner weight too afaik

Just came across this thread and read it start to finish! Kudos for a cool car and some great DIY enthusiast type skills !!!
 

pablo

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pablo
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66,994
Location
Glengrimley
Think I need new injectors. RPM on top, duty cycle below

View attachment 254482

da da - LSJ 410cc injectors (up from 260ish cc std)

2019-10-31 19.43.08.jpg


Old ones out

2019-10-31 20.01.36.jpg


Of course one left the O-ring in the head, much careful not to lose it into the cylinder (cleaned the crap out)

2019-10-31 20.02.33.jpg


And lastly updated the map to take the new injectors into account, as simple as selecting from a dropdown!

Screenshot 2019-10-31 at 19.32.49.png
 

pablo

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pablo
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66,994
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Glengrimley
So last trackskills day of the year. Cams in, injectors in, Harrys Lap Timer setup with video mount, Avon ZZRs fitted as the weather was great. All set.

Disaster of a day.

Nice drive down with @Cooper but he noticed I had a brake/tail light out (same bulb) so hunted for a garage that sold bulbs ang got it replaced. Being legal is nice. To compound the bad start to the day it started raining at Rubane.

We were out in the first session so the track was really wet. It had stopped raining but too cold to dry out the track. Tyres werent worth sh!te and I pulled a nice gentle 180 at the hairpin. My usual excuse for overcooking the hairpin is I pass someone late on the straight and come in with too much speed. Well, did it again. That was ok plodded on for the rest of the session and bar a few unintended sideways moments it was grand.

Best time 1:24 which wasnt bad given how gingerly I had to take the corners.

2019-11-04 07.47.06.png


Session 2 saw it dry up a bit so started upping the ante a little. Car was doing ok (fastest 1:22) but still wet enough to make corners a chore. Then a few laps in I came through the hairpin, throttle to the floor and.........bang. Massive loss of power, off a pot and sounding like sh!te. Pulled over into the pit lane and hobbled back to take a look. Nothing obvious but clearly the engine was f**ked. I dont have recovery so started thinking how to get the plastic fantastic home.

2019-11-04 07.47.29.jpg


Ended up a very nice chap in the paddock said he would drop it home for me on his trailer. So that worked out fantastically. Around 8pm it was back in the garage and me being me set to work

2019-11-03 19.56.14.jpg



I was fairly sure it was something to do with the cam install. I wasnt particularly happy about the refitting of the chain tensioner so first port of call was to whip the rocker cover off. My primary aim here wasnt so much to "fix" it, but to see what damage was done and if it was repairable.

Not often you get a smoking gun but.....found these lying in randon places.

2019-11-03 20.38.22.jpg


Missing rockers (2 lobes on left):

2019-11-03 20.38.30.jpg


Cam off to refit the rockers (they just set on):

2019-11-03 21.00.44.jpg


Timing chain also felt fairly slack so I whipped the tensioner out and set about putting the followers back where they should be and then refitting the tensioner making sure it was fitted properly. Its a bit of a wierd one where you have to "activate" it then fit it, then "de-activate" it to put the tension on the guide. I have a feeling it didnt properly de-activate the first time so the advice was to fit it already activated which is harder, but less risky.

So got all that done, buttoned it back up and fired it up with the coilpack unplugged to see how it turned over and to get oil to the right places (tensioner etc). It had been running long enough with that timing so any damage would have been already done.

Seemed ok so then came the moment of truth: Fired up and idled perfectly. Wee rev and it revved as it should. Got cocky and took it down the street and back and all felt good.

So looks like I got lucky (not £25 M3 lucky but not far off). Ill take it out a gentle run tonight so see how it goes and if all good Ill get a new set of chains and tensioner etc and get it all fitted. I dont think the current chains etc (with 94k) liked revving to 7k with hi lift cams and something got a little out of whack allowing the cam to be somewhere it shouldnt have been and throw the rockers out.

Will update later. I can cancel my man maths now of a K20 swap as realistically it was never happening.
 

pablo

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pablo
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66,994
Location
Glengrimley
Wee vid of the spinny lap. Ignore the terrible video it was an iphone X and the optical stabilisation it has is woeful. I added a magnet to lock it but its still crap. Will invest in a gopro I think for 2020.

 

Neil_M

RMS Regular
Messages
4,766
Glad to hear all seems to be sorted man. Sorry to hear about the issues all the same! That would be a nightmare for me.
 

FM155

RMS Regular
Messages
8,653
Drives
Alfa 155
Saw a picture of it sitting outside the gates at kirky which is the usual collection point for dead track cars and wondered how bad it was. Brilliant that it's still alive and kicking, love your positive attitude to it all. I've seen many cars that have had similar problems just sit in the corner for years before getting scrapped or sold for feck all.
 

pablo

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pablo
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66,994
Location
Glengrimley
Saw a picture of it sitting outside the gates at kirky which is the usual collection point for dead track cars and wondered how bad it was. Brilliant that it's still alive and kicking, love your positive attitude to it all. I've seen many cars that have had similar problems just sit in the corner for years before getting scrapped or sold for feck all.

Where did you see the pic mate? One for the archive lol.
 

svensktoppen

RMS Regular
Messages
32,751
Drives
FK2 CTR
I have pictures of every trip on a flatbed, lol, great memories 😁 All part of the story and the adventure.
 

pablo

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pablo
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66,994
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Glengrimley
been doing some research and it seems that with the piper cams you need to fit a 1mm shim under the tappets to close the clearance (they are regrind cams) so looks like thats why they fell out, coupled with high rpm and load.
 

FM155

RMS Regular
Messages
8,653
Drives
Alfa 155
been doing some research and it seems that with the piper cams you need to fit a 1mm shim under the tappets to close the clearance (they are regrind cams) so looks like thats why they fell out, coupled with high rpm and load.
Are they still hydraulic tappets? Suppose they are just out of range of the hydro units, interesting. I've got reground cams to put in the mx5 but it's a solid tappet head.
 
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