oneohtwo

Out of interest I opened up the existing motor, and partly in the hope of using the connector, which perhaps in hindsight was a mistake, but if anyone is interested it looks like this: I've traced on the circuit routes below, as far as I can see them: I suppose the only point of interest is that the flat disk (with the 046 stamp on it) on the outside appears to be some sort of resistor (possibly, electronics is not a strong point, but I did notice the hard white insulating material falling out as I took it apart) and the feed for speeds 1 and 2 are passed through this before going into the motor itself, connecting via the spade connector on the left/right before connecting up with the terminal that Speed 3 runs directly into, and then around the motor circuit. Would this mean that the current for speeds 1 and 2 is regulated at the motor, rather than entirely by the control unit? Not sure if that needs any consideration for the slimline fan wiring. Anyway, there we go. Have possibly broken a perfectly good fan motor for no good reason - although it probably did need refurbishment anyway.

Bit more progress on the rebuild over the last few weeks after I wasn't able to get on it in January. Connected up the driveshafts which was a tricky job, had to jack the engine up at the gearbox end as the shaft had dropped down and it doesn't clear the gearbox and subframe which was a pain! Gear linkages all connected up, and the slave cylinder back on, oil filter and ancillary bracket on: Starter in - went for the newer Vr5 one, found a fairly cheap genuine Bosch (alledgedly, it had the correct tag) reconditioned one on ebay. Also refurbed alternator, oil cooler and bolted down the cam cover. I had treated myself to an alloy crack pipe from ECS earlier in the year in a moment of madness so fitted that and the thermostat housing I'd had sat on the shelf for a few years from when I last changed the radiator. Not as old as the thermostat I've had about 10 years, when I first put a new rad in. Could never get a siezed bolt out so had to leave it all this time. Felt good to finally put it in! And finally got the lower intake manifold and fuel rail on. I painted the intake in a crackle grey which I quite liked and intended to do the upper manifold in his as well but couldn't get any sort of good finish with the paint so abandoned that for something else. Got to sort all the wiring out as well. All connectors are labelled so no issues connecting it, but it doesn't seem to be running in the right place. Some areas don't reach and others there's too much slack. I took loads of photos but apparently not enough...

If it's this one: I thought the same but the plug is still in the hole, so I am stumped.

Need some help identifying a tiny screw on a VR6 if anyone else has disassmbled theirs. It's an M3/3mm diameter and about 6mm long. Needs an allen key to remove. Looks like this: Sadly it is the only screw I forgot to label. I distinctly remember being extra careful taking it out thinking if I drop it I'm never getting that back but cannot for the life of me remember where I took it out. My only inkling was that it was maybe around the throttle body area, or possibly the fuel rail. I was hoping it would be come apparent as I reassembled things but I am running out of parts to fit and it hasn't turned up so I am starting to get nervous! Help!

I don't know, I've not really looked into it but sounds plausible. Would match the wiring diagrams above certainly. I have got a couple of the Comex/revotec fans so need to start looking into the wiring.

Has anyone tried opening up the factory fan houseing and seen how the wiring works in there? Was just thinking within the there must be existing wiring set up to take the relevant power outputs from the 3 stages and directing to the electric motor accoridngly, doing what we try to replicate with the new harnesses. Wondering if it would be easy to keep the existing and just reconnect the outputs?

I agree with this. I think this is something that is being overlooked with the touchscreens, to do anything you have to take your eyes off the road to see what you are pressing, instead of using muscle memory. Obviously there are so many functions now that not everything can have a button or dial but keeping some key ones would be nice. Have to say I think interiors are where modern cars have come on massively over the last 10-15 years, more so than in the preceding 10. Hired a lowly Corsa the other day and it was a pretty comfortable, pleasant place to sit. Everything felt solid, materials were not bad quality and it looked pretty good. 10 years ago and in the equivalent you'd know you were sitting in something cheap and not so cheerful.

Thanks, that all looks very clean and tidy at the back there! Trying to work out why mine looks a lot more cluttered...

Thanks, that's a great help. Not seen 7zap before but will keep that in mind for future reference. Yes, it is carbon moulded. Basically my old one was rotten on the inside and I ran out of ideas for a replacement! Best option I could think of was to mould one in carbon. There's more details in my build thread if you're interested.

Hi all, does anyone know if there should be a bit of heatshield against the bulkhead here: There's an extra pin here that looks like it should have one attached, and it kinda looks like there is from otherpeople's engine bay pictures but I've not been able to confirm. If so, does anyone have a part number? My searching has only turned up the lower one so far.

Ahhh, shame! Still at least you know now. I rather suspected after you said there was an issue and was now showing out of stock that there was an error on the listing and they never had any. Probably such a rare purchase that the listing was never updated. It did seem surprising at the time that Amazon would be the only place to have any!

Hmmm, that's not so good. I haven't ever had an issue with Amazon in terms of customer service, although I have never tried ringing them. A few times I have had items not delivered and there's options next to the order (not easy to find), and they've immediately just sent out a replacement. They are such a large company I don't think I would bother trying to ring though, can see why you've had issues! Odd that you can't cancel - usually that would mean it has been dispatched I'd have thought and in transit. Have you had any email notification it has been despatched? Might have gone in junk, but they always send a dispatch notification, worth a look. Also you can track the order from your orders page: They're not some two-bit organisation so you should be able to find out some info there. That should at least let you know if it has been dispatched or they are waiting for stock anyway. If it's been dispatched then hopefully all good and it's just a matter of waiting for the delivery company to sort themselves out.

Ah yeah, it does say 3-5 days dispatch, and the time of year and everything going on isn't going to help.

Has it arrived? I'm on tenter-hooks here!

Cool, thanks, mine did the same, so that's reassuring.

When you were doing your 288s I don't suppose you found the disc rubbed on the splashguard at all? The little tab that sticks out a bit and sits behind the ABS ring/sensor?

Fair play mate, at least you'll know either way. And it's a bit of a win-win. If its a knock off send it right back and you know you've got the best available in the Dasis, but if it is the genuine article you've got one of the few remaining Nissens/Hella rads.

Apologies! I know the feeling... Unfortunately the question and answer thing on Amazon is only answered by other customers (as far as I am aware) so we could post the question but I doubt we'd ever get an answer. It's not an independent seller either, so there isn't one to contact. The upshot of it being sold by Amazon themselves is they'd have a no quibble return policy if it isn't a genuine product. Having a look at their website Dasis specialise in cooling applications so should know what they're doing, and they manufacture in the EU, so I would have thought it's fine.

I saw the Hella sticker as well - the Hella ones were made by AKG so perhaps they were making identical ones for Nissens as well? It's sold by Amazon themselves so you'd hope they wouldn't be misrepresenting a listing. You're right the Dasis core is listed as 34mm on Autodoc - but then they also have the core dimensions as 630x310x24 which threw me. Don't suppose you have it to hand to do a quick measurement out of interest?

This thread peaked my interest from my rad search a couple of years back, and I thought I'd have a look around what with the Hellas now unavailable. Stumbled on these Nissens rads, on Amazon of all places! Nissens 65286 Radiator, engine cooling: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike Not sure how they are in stock on Amazon but not on Autodoc, etc... but it is the correct Nissens part number for the rado. Might be an option if the Dasis doesn't work out chap. I read on some other forum that Nissens may have made some OEM rads (Edit: Just noticed Bruno mentioned this on this thread as well), not sure about that but they seem similar to Hella in quality as far as I can tell. In fact the picture on the Amazon listing is actually a Hella/AKG. They both seem to have a thicker core than the other pattern rads - 35mm instead of 25. You can see on pg1 of my build thread the difference in thickness between the Hella and a cheapo GSF pattern part. The Dasis you have looks to have the thinner core, but the fin design and quality looks more like the Hella, so hopefully it's a good one. Bad luck about that ally one though...

Missed this one before, this is great stuff. Amazing how the time slips by. Redoing the underside looks like a horrendously unpleasant task! Great to know it is all in perfect condition. I like the idea of hiding the wiring so will be interested to see how that turns out - I've no idea how some people seem to be able to hide all the wiring, pipe work and ancillaries! How are you planning on getting the wiring out of the chassis legs out of interest? You're right about the custom exhausts droning. I have one, from Infinity, and whilst they have done a superb job with the look of it it does drone at, unfortunately, motorway cruising speed. Rest of the time it sounds quite good. Can you buy the Militek parts separately? Wondering whether I can just buy the back box and maybe keep the rest of the system as is. Also is that the plastic cam cover you have?

Thanks all! The gearbox was certainly many tedious hours spent on the floor with a variety of wire wheels... worth it in the end though. Block and head were largely Stealth's work. Had some help from the gf guiding it over the crossmember, but then she had to continue working so I was wrestling with it by myself to get it on the mounts. It seems you need a precise alignment of the crane, leveller, planets etc... to get it in. And then a bit of brute force. Few bits of paint scrapped off here and there which is annoying, but I think should be fixable in-situ. Shame to spoil the hard work! Knocked up a little stainless steel bracket to support the belt pulley splashguard as well: Wasn't going to bother as initially I thought it'd be too much hassle, but then seeing how close the guard is to the pulleys I thought best not to have it flapping around, and it was fairly straightforward in the end. Of course, had to make some adjustments after it was attached to get it around the crossmember. Turns out the cut out on the original is there for a reason! The rad support itself is noticeably a lot less stiff than the steel original once on the car. A little annoying in that I was following professional advice, but if I'd known a bit more I may have made it a thicker. Although having said that, it is only the front lip where it clips to the bumper that has a lot of flex and once it is all clipped in should be stiff enough. It definitely seems strong enough with the cross member bolted on. Took my weight OK on the engine mount in a not very scientific test, without any deflection though, and I am probably not too far off the load on that front mount. I think the engine all in weighs about 200 kg, hard to know the distribution but I suspect at least half is on the front mount, and I am 85kg or so. I think I will use one of the failed attempts as a test bed and do some load testing if I get a chance, just to see what ball park we are in.

Momentous day today... after a a year and a month on the stand the engine is back in the bay! My word, you realise it is a tight fit in the bay when you try and get it in. Was a job and a half, a good 2 hours or so of wrestling it in. Getting it over the cross member wasn't too bad, but for an absolute age I couldn't align it on the mounts. The exhaust downpipes hanging down get in the way nicely as well. Will have to assess the damage in the morning, but big relief to get that back in before the end of the year. Getting the gearbox on went fairly smoothly: Anyway, can sit back and enjoy Christmas now, the fun part of bolting things back on can begin in the new year!

Plinth looks good. Has it still got all the lugs on the back?! Was that a special plastic paint you used? Was thinking of doing the front grill.

Yup. if it's the one thing I have learnt more than any other throughout this build... Anyway, the thing won't undo now, oddly. I can't get it back out so there's not much to be done. Hopefully I'll never have to remove the engine mounts again so I can just forget about it.