June 2007
Thursday 28th June 2007
I'm selling my Suzuki GSXR throttle bodies on Ebay at the moment. They're on a custom made manifold for a 2.0 Zetec, and come with a 4 bar fuel pressure regulator and integral fuel rail. The auction ends in 4 days time. The reason I'm selling them is because I'm about to invest in a set of new Jenvey tapered throttle bodies, in an attempt to fit an air box to give me more horsepower. The Suzukis are now surplus to my requirements.
Another mad week at work. I'm trying to convince my peers that we must upgrade our software delivery servers to use the latest and greatest Symantec offering, Live State Delivery. We're heavily reliant on the old version, CCM, which is well overdue an overhaul.
As a result, I've not managed to get half as much done at home this week as I'd wanted to. Never mind. At least I've finally rigged up the workshop camera. The view will change, I've got it rigged up in the workshop at the moment, and need to move it to the garage. I've run a 100MB ethernet connection in to the garage, which is connected permanently to my wireless router in the house.
I've also plugged the battery charger in, and it seems to think that the Red Top is working OK. Within an hour the LED changed from Amber to Green, which means that the battery is working as well as can be expected. The operation is fully automatic, just plug in and go. I've connected it to the Anderson connector inside the car, which still connects to the battery even when the isolator is in the off position.
Monday 25th June 2007
Got the Mondeo back last Friday, after waiting 10 days for the parts to come in. The new EGR valve seems to have cured the problem with the engine dying, and the noise from the front on full lock has also disappeared. I had disconnected the EGR valve whilst waiting for the spare. The valve opens when the engine is off boost, and helps reduce Oxides of Nitrogen by recirculating exhaust gas back in to the inlet manifold. As soon as boost is being generated, the valve closes again, otherwise compressed air is fed straight back in to the exhaust manifold. To ensure that the valve is fully closed before disconnecting it, turn the ignition on, and the valve should be closed by the stepper motor. Now you can unplug the connector, and the valve will stay permanently closed. With it disconnected, the engine felt more responsive, and the fault was at least held at bay until the replacement valve was available.
I've ordered a battery conditioner for the Varley Red Top in the Fiesta. The battery had gone flat over the winter, even though the battery was totally isolated when the power was off. So I've bought an Optimate IIIsp from Radio Spares website (rswww.com) for only £33.16p. I'll review it when it comes in.
I'm going to have a go at making a carbon sunroof. I've already bought carbon material, as well as gelcoat and resins etc. I'll make a start this week at making the mold using a glass sunroof as the plug.
Saturday 9th June 2007
Ford say that the EGR valve has gone on my Mondeo. And the outer CV joint on the OSF also needs replacment. Parts are now ordered, expected delivery next wednesday. In the mean time the fault occurs every time I now drive the car, and I've at least 500 miles to cover next week. Oh well.
Wednesday 6th June 2007
The Mondeo is now dying on a daily basis. The engine management light is on permanently, and the glow plug warning light even starts flasheing when I start the engine. She's booked in tomorrow at the dealers in Leicester for them to sort out. If they cant cure it, I'll escalate the issue with Ford directly.
Performance Ford magazine are talking about a session at Brands Hatch, which I'll be taking the Fiesta to. Not sure when, maybe late summer, who knows, but I'll definitely be there. Not driven Brands before, so really looking forwards to blowing the cobwebs out again.
