536 replies to this topic

[Purple Tom]

Yeah, unfortunately the need for a house has outweighed the need for a 16V Mini

I got to the point of starting to take the 8V engine out, was actually stood in front of it with the tools ready, and then I looked and saw all of the hard work that went into making the 8V tidy, and I thought 'if its not broken then why take it all to pieces?'.

Instead I am going to look at modifying the 8V with a cam and a chip, possibly nitrous and maybe in the long term a lower CR, MS and a turbo But thats way off in the future.

First things first are a house with a decent garage, preferably with a flat floor and without 100% damp levels, and then work can start on the refresh

[alexcrosse]

do you have to shorten the rod coming out of the gearstick? got any pics if you do?

Cheers,

Al

[RacingGreen]

do you have to shorten the rod coming out of the gearstick? got any pics if you do?

Cheers,

Al

You dont have to shorten it, but it would be quite far back in the car if you didnt. If you want it in the original position on the shell it does need shortening. Its just a case of cutting out the required amount and welding the 2 ends together.

[Black.Ghost]

I have just sat and read all 33 pages of this.

Its been an amazing rebuild (many times), and it looks awesome. Im really thinking about doing such a conversion, but was going to use a roundnose. I think I need to have a bit of a think about it all. Its a lot of work, and I have fairly limited experience at the moment.

I do like the idea of just buying a brand new engine though.

Well done Tom - that is definitely something to be proud of.

[alexcrosse]

Alrite tom, Couple of questions for you!

Where are you measuring oil pressure from?

and the vacuum pipe that normally goes to the servo... have you just blanked it off, so theres no vacuum to the plenum atall?

Cheers,

Al

[Purple Tom]

Al - sorry, only just seen your reply!

Oil pressure has to be measured from the oil pressure sender position which is at the bottom of the oil pump just behind the crank pulley. You need a 90 degree angled union and then a union block to enable the oil pressure switch and oil pressure sender to work at the same time. It has to be 90degrees because there isn't enough room between the block and the subframe tower directly behind the oil pump, however behind the block above the driveshaft there is plenty of room.

The vacuum pipe was removed from my inlet when the reversing process was done. If you're not running a servo then I suggest just blanking it off, but the plenum will still have vacuum....the FPR on the fuel rail and the MAP sensor need vacuum to operate properly and because the throttle butterfly is at the end of the plenum chamber then the entire inlet manifold still has vacuum whether the servo is fitted or if the fitting is blanked.

[alexcrosse]

cheers, also... VSS sensor, where do i plug it into? I no it needs to be spliced into the ECU, but where! lol.

Cheers,

Al

[Purple Tom]

That is a good question because currently my car doesn't have a VSS which explains why it cuts out at junctions etc

Its something I'll be fitting soon though and when I have the answer I'll let you know!

[alexcrosse]

lol! ill let you no tomorrow, because thats when im wiring mine in! hopeing i can splice the VDO speedo into it too.

If you turn your car on cold, then rev it, does it drop so low on revs it cuts out?

Cheers for the uber quick reply mate!

Al

[Purple Tom]

Ok cool, I'm sure the VSS is just a hall sender device so you should be able to configure a VDO speedo to work with it easily enough.

It doesn't do that, its quite happy to hold a steady idle from cold or hot, it only struggles to idle if I've been driving and then decelerate and let it idle straight away. If I switch it off and then re-start the problem goes away. I think its pretty crucial that the ECU knows what speed the car is going in order to set the idle mixture/advance after a journey.

[RacingGreen]

Ok cool, I'm sure the VSS is just a hall sender device so you should be able to configure a VDO speedo to work with it easily enough.

It doesn't do that, its quite happy to hold a steady idle from cold or hot, it only struggles to idle if I've been driving and then decelerate and let it idle straight away. If I switch it off and then re-start the problem goes away. I think its pretty crucial that the ECU knows what speed the car is going in order to set the idle mixture/advance after a journey.

I thought the idle was controlled by the ICV valve? Well im sure thats what its like on the 20xe.

[Purple Tom]

Yeah, it does have an ICV as well, but I think its to do with the map that it needs the VSS as well to ensure the mixture is correct.

[craig 1010cc]

Yeah, it does have an ICV as well, but I think its to do with the map that it needs the VSS as well to ensure the mixture is correct.

Vehicle speed should have nowt to do with the mixture. The air flow meter takes care of the increase in air speed due to 'car' speed as your ECU wont have a different map for each gear, just for throttle pos and RPM. Plus it would get confused in a mini when you have fitted the wrong gearbox (for the ECU) and/or the mph/1000 is different to what it thinks it should be due to the different rolling radius.

Sounds more like your ICV is shot. Had the same on the wifes Ka, would stall at a junction but fire straight up, left no fault codes and was all down to a faulty ICV

[The Matt]

The only thing I know is that when my GF's focus had a fault, I traced it to a faulty speed sensor. It was cutting out when backing off the revs and dipping the clutch, quite often stalling as you approach roundabouts and the like.

I replaced the speed sensor and shazzam, the dirt was gone car ran perfectly. I can only assume that a missing or faulty VSS would give similar symptoms on the Vauxhall setup.

Anyway Tom, get her all prepped for Germini, you knows it! Be there!

[alexcrosse]

tom, the VSS plugs into the back of the gearbox onto the mechanical output (white plastic bit)

3 wires come out and should attach to the following:
Black - Ignition
Brown - Earth
blue&red - 9 pin connecter.

The 9 pin connecter is the 9 wires that normall go onto another part of the vauxhall loom. Same location as your tachometer wire and fuel pump wire. There will be a matching blue&red wire on here, attach wire it to this (not red&blue - thats fuel pump)

Hope it helps! mine is all wired in, cant really say if it works yet as i havnt driven it a great distance!

Al