The Campus Turbo 'in stock' build

[Brigsy]

My bonnet has the same pimple from when i snapped my rear engine mount

Crank seal is a ballache, mine is leaking quite bad too. Im using a genuine renault one next.

 

[Will D93]

thinking about it i think its probs from trying to bump start it rather than just general hooning.

i didnt know you could get OE ones, i picked one up from gt turbo spares i think.

 

[Will D93]

So after last instalment,

I’ve fitted a relay in the starter circuit to see if that cures the hot not start issue.


coolant is still nice and green after a good run out and a few heat cycles.



having fitted a different rad switch and a new thermostat the fan now kicks in like it should and I’d feel FAIRLY confident about sitting at the traffic lights. Which is good.

I stuck a pipe on to avoid fuel all over the exhaust manifold in the event the carb diaphragm shits itself.


Replaced the last Chinese AN fitting with a torques one, ran up to temp a good few times. No leaks from that as yet.

I’ve not had it out for a run to See how it holds up, or how it starts when properly hot, although the starting is hugely improved just on the drive way.

the final thing i did was fitted a bleed valve I had knocking about in prep for carb rejetting.
I’ve got micro drill bits on order and I’ve been looking out for an AFR.



Feeling pretty good about the car this weekend! Sorted some shite issues and tidied some bits up. the crank seal is still a sore point but I don’t think it’s bad enough to do anything about right just now.

happy days, thanks for reading. Cheers

 

[Will D93]

Shortly after I said “feeling pretty good about the car” ...

I think the following weekend tbh. I went out for a hurl, the intention being to get it hot and see how it was starting, see if it would cut out at a junction etc.

those things were both ok, I think the starter relay needs refinement. Good, slightly thicker gauge wire etc.

Ihad a mess about with the bleed valve to bring the boost up a bit to the standard GTT value.
That was the idea anyway, I ended up just winding it to the stop and back in a wee bit, saw figures of about 18 psi, just faffing about really and making sure the thing was capable of more than 4psi lol
it is.

but that was enough of that, needs jetted and I need an AFR, still.

the car decided if it’s going to get max boost the down pipe needed revising... and the eBay flexi separated coming back into the town. I had to rob a bit of wire off a fence to tie the exhaust up to get home



so it sat in the garage for another week and I started looking at fabricating a new down pipe at the weekend.

i build enough down pipes/exhausts to want a better way of pie cutting pipe than using a grinder. A chop saw is £130!! for a cheap one!



the aim of the game here is clearence from all the shit it was too close to before. And I’m going to support the down pipe off the block, and I’ll sort out a turbo support aswell that i so far have neglected to do.

 

[Will D93]

Continued with the down pipe recently, finished it up tonight. when thinking about making a down pipe for it I was also thinking about placement of the AFR bung, my birthday this month so bought a new gauge off of eBay. So had the bung and the instructions of where to put it. Happy days,



More badly cut pie cuts and off we go.


also got a support bracket made up from the rear of the block.


new v band and flexi on the car to mate up with the new down pipe.

And I took a spare engine brace and have cut it up to make a turbo brace, not finished that, it got too late to keep making real noise. Also though I snapped my vice from my bench.!
made from kitchen worktop, that’s why it gave out. Need to sort something out there ASAP.



finally wrapped the down pipe in newheat wrap, and it looks tidy.



Cheers

 

[Will D93]

location no.1 I think, I’ll make a wee alloy plate so the boost gauge sits in there better aswell instead of just flopping in and out as it pleases.

made up an engine support bar from some scrap steel, began the disconnecting process and now at the point where the subframe can be unbolted and moved out the way so the gearbox can come out and the crank seal can be changed.

I hope to fuck it doesn’t leak..
I’ve got two crank seals in stock, one from gt turbo spares and one genuine Renault seal for a mk3 megane that should fit.. I think..

 

[DaveL485]

Not fancy the gauge on the A-Pillar?

 

[Brigsy]

Liking the breaking bad picture

What about fitting it in the coin tray in the centre of the dash, thats where mine is.

 

[Will D93]

Not fancy the gauge on the A-Pillar?

that’s too space ship for me in this I think haha


I hadn't thought about putting them up there tbh @Brigsy I might try that and see how it looks. Might point up to the roof too much though Maybe not..

 

[Brigsy]

Visibility is ok for a quick glance when driving in that position. Not sure about anybody else but i rarely look at the gauges unless issues after setting up.

Years ago it was a once a year check with my LM1 handheld on carburettor unless tuning, never went bang was always the same

 

[Will D93]

That’s a fair point really, only need to be able to glance at them.

pulled the finger out today and did some work.
I was fretting a bit about leaving the engine suspended over night on my home made bar (more so the straps that I had around it)
But I took the sub frame off and out the way, stuck the jack back under the engine to take the weight. Probs be fine

sub frame out and box off.
Crank seal is deffo been leaking, which is good news at this point, if it had been the sump again I’d have been pissed off.


wrestled to get the old one out, it’s a big chunky thing, not original unsurprisingly.

I cleaned it all up and fitted the Renault seal, looks a good fit, but when knocking it in it went deep on one side and instead of pulling it back out at that point I kept going like a fanny and now it’s too far back and I’m not going to be able to get it out without fucking it up I don’t think.

had a quick look on eBay for another one but couldn’t come up with anything. Won’t have a chance to get to Renault anytime soon. So I think I might fit the other one I’ve got from GTT Spares. I’m keen to get it back together and get the boost set up with the AFR.



cheers,

 

[DaveL485]

Hmmm, tough one on the crank seal. Not much you can do to get that back out without damaging it....can you glue anything to it? Not ideal

 

[Will D93]

I just bit the bullet and pulled it out, fitted the one from gt turbo spares.

took the opertunity to swap the gearbox for the one in my collection with the least play in the input shaft and diff. And dry around the selector.


I think it’s come out of a ph1 16v as it’s missing some bolt holes on the casing, the ones I made the turbo support bar from- which is annoying

I’ll have to remake that.

so today I put that seal in, different Box in. Subframe back on, starter, shafts, intercooler, steering union. Clutch etc.

tomorrow I’m going to swap my top mounts left to right as they have always been on the wrong sides. And work towards getting it back together.

cheers ,

 

[Will D93]

It’s been 8/9 months since I’ve looked at the campus, at the end of last summer, having put a lot of effort in the first lock down to actually get it built and then working through teething issues as much as i could it came time to stop looking at it for a while as it was frustrating me.

so it’s been in the garage at the house since last September, and I moved into a separate unit in October. The car has barely seen the light of day.

issues I knew I had, wanted to revise were

wheel/tyre fitment, mainly rear axle width needed to change

waste gate actuator, fitted is the standard one to suit the turbo that’s been fitted, stock figure according to the internet is 6-7 psi
- I wanted to fit something aftermarket with various different spring rates to get rid of the wank bleed valve set up

I was never happy with how it was running, it would start and run. But not well, and would cut out at a junction. Not ideal

I needed to remake the turbo support bracket I made as when I changed gearboxes the mount holes I came off of were not there anymore. Conscious of the weight of the turbo I wanted this done


So, I decided about the end of March it was time I looked at it again, get it out this summer for some miles, maybe take it drag racing at crail or a track day to knockhill if possible.
So first and a fairly big thing was the rear axle width, I found a campus axle in Inverness, got it moved down to my work via the company parts vans (Tidy!)

I got the car moved to my new unit on Friday, immediatley set about swapping the 16v axle for the campus one to test the fitment/spacing

campus axle fitted, lowered to suit. Williams wheels fitted, and I’ve got space to run decent tyres, happy days



I need to get flexis for the back axle before I can get the lines remade etc so that put that bit on hold for just now,

I set about making a new turbo support as I could do that with what I had in stock, I decided to use a rose jointed rod I made up for this purpose originally.





happy I got that sorted out, only other thing I could do at this point without more parts was look at the running issues.

I got it running smooth last night at about 12.5 AFR, which considering there’s a cam in it is probably alright. Stop and start it no problem, running fine when hot. However the idle screw was backed right out, must have been about 8 turns at a guess.

I left it over night and it was a pig to get it going today, misfiring when it did eventually start, cleared up but wouldn’t idle without throttle.

I decided to remove and strip the carb to clean it, I had cleaned it previously with the ultrasonic at work, and blowen it out etc. But it then sat in a box for a month or so before I rebuilt it, and it’s now been sat for 9 months.

so it’s stripped down and steeping in V-Power at the moment, I’ll get it blowen out and rebuilt this week. Refitted and see if that’s made any difference





also on route are a new set of r888’s, a mamba wastegate actuator, rear brake flexis so i can get the axle plumbed in, a couple of torques bits to revise the turbo oil feed.

more updates to follow, thanks

 

[Will D93]

After my initial look at the car there was a chunk of money spent on parts, tyres and a new actuator making up the bulk of the purchase.

yesterday I set about finishing off the axle swap, now the campus rear axle is on it needed new shoes fitting, new cylinders, new lines and the handbrake sorting out.

sat morning comes and I go down to the shed and set about that lot, shoes cylinders and lines fitted. Handbrake mech lengthened back to standard set up, ( I shortened it to work with 172 cables)
bled up and working, handbrake needs adjustment.

no more brake fluid on the garage floor, happy days

sat night got the 888r’s swapped onto the Williams wheels.

so today I put the car back in it’s wheels and outside for it’s first wash in a year!

back in the shed to set up the tracking and camber on the front. First time I’ve done it on a car using string, although have done in numerous times for quads, rtv’s and the like.






worked well, I came home for tea so I might make a few small adjustments but it’s sorted really for now.

I need to fit the mamba actuator and then I can think about booking the MOT

 

[Adey]

tidy work, really need to learn the string method