Tom's Track Car - BMW E46 -Engine Number 3

[Sean197]

@tombate911 awesome update, car should be a real beast on track now!

@Big Ben you do mate, I removed my air-con rad on Monday as it was in a shocking state. The rad itself is very easy to remove, the piping is a little more tricky. Just make sure it's been degassed first obviously.

 

[Pav]

so the "fully track slag" project is now on then?great upgrade Tom..will be interesting how your set up compares to your mate's now..should be easier to shake him off in the bends now

 

[tombate911]

Great update Tom. Cars turning into a weapon mate.

Did you have to remove front bumper to strip out all the a/c stuff?
Considering doing this as my a/c is fubar

Yes, it was a front end off and the right wheel arch. Not that bad of a job to do to be honest. My aircon wasn't working. I put a rag over the air con valves in the engine bay and pressed with a screwdriver but there was no gas left in it, removed all the pipes, condenser and the compressor. Fair bit of weight removed there and replaced with the pulley posted above which got rid of the tensioner and the compressor so taken some labour off the engine especially with the lightweight smaller pulley,

Loving this thread mate. Always impressed with someone doing the work themselves. I have no garage skills what so ever Enjoying watching though.

Thanks! Really appreciate the comments! I get great enjoyment out of building everything my self at home.

Coilies look like a nice bit of kit Tom, true coilovers all around too. I should imagine they will be fantastic on the car, be keen to hear your reviews post track day, let us know how you get on at Anglesey.

Yeah can't wait to try them at weekend, lowered the car slightly today and had the alignment done. I love the full coilover set up rather than the spring and damper. Running 1.5R and 2.5F camber. Got the Damping set mid way with the 350lbs and 600lbs spring retrospectively.

Just ordered one of these. Looking forward to fitting it. What torque setting did you set the crank pulley at?

Torque setting for the bolt is 60NM +100' (+-10') - Taken from the renault service manual. Great pulley/kit, Just don't forget you need to completely remove the alternator and rotate it around one set of bolt holes towards the front of the car so the pulley is lower.

 

[tombate911]

Update after a very wet and windy day at Anglesey.
Will pop back and update tomorrow with a couple of photos and information. Car felt great on track... however....

Current status = Broken!

 

[Big Ben]

Update after a very wet and windy day at Anglesey.
Will pop back and update tomorrow with a couple of photos and information. Car felt great on track... however....

Current status = Broken!

Hope it's a cheap fix for you. Weather issues always a blow but you pays your money and take your chance...

 

[john_walker74]

Not nice to hear. What has happened?

 

[sevenfourate]

Nothing too serious i hope Tom..........

 

[tombate911]

Not nice to hear. What has happened?

Nothing too serious i hope Tom..........

Hope it's a cheap fix for you. Weather issues always a blow but you pays your money and take your chance...

Should be able to take some photos and know the answer for my self tomorrow when i've got the clutch and gearbox out of the car tomorrow. It was just coming to the end of the morning session and the clio was going amazing on track, one of the fastest cars on track, probably the 2nd or 3rd fastest in those wet conditions. With the right tyres and set up I absolutely love a wet track day so it didn't bother me at all.

Went out for a final session just before dinner. Was coming down the box. 5th, 4th, 3rd then into 2nd, hit the limiter and went to change into 3rd, absolutely nothing then the clutch pedal went to the floor, managed to roll back to the pits and get it into second while rolling down one of the downhill sections. Checked the fluids no problem and all the pipes in the engine bay. Remove the under tray and there is fluid coming out from between the bell housing and the block. So i'm guessing the slave has shat it;s self inside the gear box. Going to remove the box tomorrow and see if it just requires a new slave cylinder and see if a new clutch plate is required too if it;s got covered in brake fluid.

We shall see what we discover tomorrow when it;s stripped.

 

[john_walker74]

Should be able to take some photos and know the answer for my self tomorrow when i've got the clutch and gearbox out of the car tomorrow. It was just coming to the end of the morning session and the clio was going amazing on track, one of the fastest cars on track, probably the 2nd or 3rd fastest in those wet conditions. With the right tyres and set up I absolutely love a wet track day so it didn't bother me at all.

Went out for a final session just before dinner. Was coming down the box. 5th, 4th, 3rd then into 2nd, hit the limiter and went to change into 3rd, absolutely nothing then the clutch pedal went to the floor, managed to roll back to the pits and get it into second while rolling down one of the downhill sections. Checked the fluids no problem and all the pipes in the engine bay. Remove the under tray and there is fluid coming out from between the bell housing and the block. So i'm guessing the slave has shat it;s self inside the gear box. Going to remove the box tomorrow and see if it just requires a new slave cylinder and see if a new clutch plate is required too if it;s got covered in brake fluid.

We shall see what we discover tomorrow when it;s stripped.

Oh that is bad news. I have suffered the same issue before. It will either be an exploded clutch slave cylinder, or if you have bled the clutch recently the clip may have come off if it wasn't seated correctly.

 

[Pav]

sorry to hear this Tom..your car has an amazing set up so bet you were trashing most of the cars on track..
hope its just a knackered slave so it doesn't cost you an arm and leg..
just in case you need any spare parts,let me know..

 

[sevenfourate]

sorry to hear this Tom..your car has an amazing set up so bet you were trashing most of the cars on track..
hope its just a knackered slave so it doesn't cost you an arm and leg..
just in case you need any spare parts,let me know..

Shouldnt imagine labour or the time to change a slave cylinder yourself is cheap or quick ?

 

[Pav]

not quick but if Tom does it himself then the cost is minimal..

 

[tombate911]

Well here's an update from today.

Got to my friends unit at 10am this morning and started to unload the car and all of the track day stuff which was still inside it from yesterday.



Once the car was unloaded and tucked in the corner of the unit it was time to start stripping the car 11am-1pm was spent removing the subframe, all suspensions components and most importantly the gearbox, I had already taken some engine bay components off yesterday to find and find where the leak was which was causing the clutch to go straight to the floor.



By 1am everything was out, we had assumed the slave cylinder had exploded inside the gearbox due to the fact the brake fluid was leaking out of the bell housing. I popped down to my local euro parts who had one in stock. Turns out the part that was on the shelf was also faulting when trying to prime the cylinder. Did some testing and bled the clutch system without it fitted in the gearbox and the fluid poured out of this one quicker than it did on the cylinder that failed! Gutted it was the only one on the self so i'll be picking up a new one tomorrow. Photo of the offender below.
I stripped the clutch pressure and friction plate off to check if it was contaminated and for wear. no issues there so bolted it back on. otherwise I was going to fit a new clutch too while it was all off.

Decided to leave rebuilding the gearbox with syncro's and a diff till a later date and do all of that all at the same time.



Unable to crack on with refitting the gearbox i started stripping down the the subframe and suspension (which was only fitted Tuesday night and Aligned on Wednesday)
You can see in the second photo that the wish bones have been removed the black serious polybushes have been ordered so they can be fitted before it all goes back together.

At the rate we was working it would have probably been back together tonight except from the subframe as I would have had to wait for the bushes anyway. Either way hopefully it will be back together after a few evenings work this week and £70 slave cylinder + fresh brake fluid.

 

[PAUL JA]

We had a similar issue with a brand new cylinder, it leaked at the join at the bottom of the straight plastic tube where the clip is. We never lost the clutch but went through plenty of fluid.

I'm sure I've seen an LUK slave cylinder with a one piece metal tube, it also had a retaining bush where the pipe comes through the bellhousing which would hopefully make bleeding much easier

 

[tombate911]

We had a similar issue with a brand new cylinder, it leaked at the join at the bottom of the straight plastic tube where the clip is. We never lost the clutch but went through plenty of fluid.

I'm sure I've seen an LUK slave cylinder with a one piece metal tube, it also had a retaining bush where the pipe comes through the bellhousing which would hopefully make bleeding much easier

I looked at the LUK one on euro parts earlier it's slightly more expensive at £115 but none in stock. Went with the Sachs in the End. Will see what the replacement is like tomorrow.

 

[tombate911]

So the story continues.

Picked up the replacement Sach slave cylinder Monday, fitted it to the box, bled the system, thought everything was going well, tried the clutch, no issues so started to build everything back up. thought i'd try the clutch before bolting the engine back up into place and the pedal goes straight to the floor and a pool of fluid on the floor. Took it all apart again Monday night with the box off again and testing the slave in a bucket of water with an air line to find out it was leaking from the O ring as @PAUL JA said earlier. The original replacement was leaking straight out of the seal on the main section of the slave.

Anyway with the box out again I decided to replace all moving parts in the clutch mechanism so ordered a full clutch kit that arrived tonight.



So I started at 6 and by 9-30 the car was built back up with the exception of the sub frame as i'm waiting for poly bushes to arrive for the wishbones while I've got the sub frame off
Bled the clutch through and tested it and everything feels ok for the moment, I have noticed though there is a tiny droplet of fluid coming from the bell housing every now and then after repeatedly pressing the clutch pedal which still makes me believe the one of the smaller o ring joins is passing fluid slightly but I've got everything built up again. Going to email the supplier and see what they say about it but I think i'm going to leave it as it is for the time being and see how it goes.

Polybushes black series for the wishbones should be here tomorrow so that's a job for Sunday to get it back on it's wheels.

 

[///M]

Bloody hell what a mission mate.

Hats off to you for just cracking on and not letting it get to you too much.

Sounds like you're almost there. Hope it's all plain sailing from now on.

 

[PAUL JA]

If it were me and theres any doubt about the slave you've fitted I'd be taking it out again

It will let you down at the worst possible moment !!

Did you see the post of the TRW item earlier this week - alloy body and metal pipe.

 

[Pav]

same as above..I would not fit it if it was faulty..it will let you down when you need it the least Tom..

 

[tombate911]

If it were me and theres any doubt about the slave you've fitted I'd be taking it out again

It will let you down at the worst possible moment !!

Did you see the post of the TRW item earlier this week - alloy body and metal pipe.

Well, I've had a look at it but not been able to find somewhere that seems reliable to buy it from, however I did only see the item after I had purchased the Renault kit from Renault. I'm away this weekend till Sunday so il have to have a look then and see how it is. I've taken the box out twice and got it all back together already but I thought the new part from Renault would be ok. I've replaced the slave with 3 different ones now! I'm just talking now and unsure of what to do.