nice build mate

always credit to people rebuilding there engines

how easy is it to fit new piston rings? think one of mine are fucked, while i have engine in peices i may as well do em lol.

so, deisel soaked + scouring pads = new looking pistons....will give it a go!

Well, someone on here may disagree and name some funky tool that you should use, but I just used my fingers to fit the rings (gently pull them apart like you would a fine lady:D). My mate held the piston and I fit the rings. Obviously you need to make sure you fit the right ring in the right hole, but you can see that it is illustrated on the packet I got them in so it isnt rocket science. However, there is a BIG BUT! before you put them back into the cylinders. You have to position the splits on the rings in parallel to the crankshaft BUT 180degress apart. So each split goes on the opposite side to the one below it. I assume so that it is harder for the oil to travel into the compression chamber and you lose minimal compression. If I haven't explained it very well give me a pm and i can try to explain differently. You will also need to get a spring compressor to squash the rings as tight as possible to be able to push the piston into each cylinder. You can pick one up on ebay for about a fiver.

You forgot the sore thumbs in the equation but pretty much right lol.

Edited 28 May, 200917 yr by goosyganger

nice build mate

always credit to people rebuilding there engines

Thanks bud, appreciated.

Nice to see someone rebuilding an engine. If your not familiar with doing it, then the help of an experienced engine builder/machinist is invaluable. Take your time and be thorough is the key. I wouldn't have painted it red, personally. I prefer to do them stain black.

Soaking the pistons in diesel / solvent degreaser is a good way to loosen the carbon and a scouring pad or scothbrite is fine as long as you dont scrub inside the ring lands or gudgeon pin bosses. You can clean the ring lands by getting one of the corresponding old rings, break a piece off and run it around to clear the carbon out (don't use sharp end).

It is easier to use a piston ring installer to hold them open when you fit them, but you can do it with your fingers if you have nails !

Nice to see someone rebuilding an engine. If your not familiar with doing it, then the help of an experienced engine builder/machinist is invaluable. Take your time and be thorough is the key. I wouldn't have painted it red, personally. I prefer to do them stain black.

Soaking the pistons in diesel / solvent degreaser is a good way to loosen the carbon and a scouring pad or scothbrite is fine as long as you dont scrub inside the ring lands or gudgeon pin bosses. You can clean the ring lands by getting one of the corresponding old rings, break a piece off and run it around to clear the carbon out (don't use sharp end).

It is easier to use a piston ring installer to hold them open when you fit them, but you can do it with your fingers if you have nails !

:) thanks, its all a learning experience but with some help it seems to have gone fairly problem free. See how it goes when I start to run in. But I agree that the help from an experienced person is definatly helpful.

Also, great advice, thanks for your input!

Respect where due, looking forward to this. Kinda regret just buying my g40 rather than getting stuck in!

Respect where due, looking forward to this. Kinda regret just buying my g40 rather than getting stuck in!

Thanks bud. Exams finish on tuesday for me at uni so hopefully be getting the engine innext weekend, so stay tuned.

Where is buckingham btw? thats not Buckinghamshire is it?

Nik

just re-read some of this. Did you say you put the piston rings 180 degrees apart?

i thought it was 120?

just re-read some of this. Did you say you put the piston rings 180 degrees apart?

i thought it was 120?

Yeah. It is what I was told to do. The bottom ring stops the oil and doesn't have a split in it like the top two. So I'm not sure why you would put the two top splits 120degrees apart because they couldn't have the maximum distence between them. But I may be wrong. They would have shifted position slightly anyway when installing them into the cylinder so they won't be perfect.

You space them 120 degrees apart so they are equal. It's just so they are the maximum distance apart to help compression and hold oil etc. They can shift when the engine runs anyway.

great thread. Hows this going now have you had this running yet?

Thanks dude, much appreciated. Things are going ok with it. I have more pictures of everything fitted in the car. I am just in the middle of the anoyance that is the wiring lol. Me and my mate have managed to get the car cranking on the starter motor but not yet fired up. going to carry on on monday and get the alternator wired up and check the spark, and fuel pressure, just general checks to see if everything is ok. But will keep this updated and will get those pics up soon . I really want it running soon cant wait for it!

Yeah it is in Buckinghamshire, near the top of it!

Good work, like others have said its great to see someone actually building their engine. Could do with more threads like this

Thanks mate, muchos appreciated. I would have imagined that quite a lot of people rebuilt their engines on here. Tomorrow I'm carrying on with the wiring with my mate so hopefully get it running. I need to update the pics because I have afew of the progress. Also ill try to get a vid of the running and try to get a youtube link up.

Cool rich, my bro has lived in bucks for a while so was just interested. Do you ever make it down to any london meets like no-rice in guildford?

Right still no progress with the ignition of the engine. I have no spark and have been trying to figure it out allllll bloody day. at it again tomorrow maybe find out something new. this is the most tedious part of the conversion I just hope I figure it out ok and it works fine.

Changed the coil but still no spark, and have tested it directly from the new coil and its not producing a spark so I think I have the wrong connector on it. Trying to find the right one which doesnt appear to be in the loom. Hmmmmmmm interesting...

One that got me a years ago on the mk1 GT was the loom for the coil on the inner wing, the same colour wires dont go together on the plug next to the coil iirc. Its not so obvious depending on how your loom is. Worth a go...

Nice build btw! Was the gasket set G40 specific?

One that got me a years ago on the mk1 GT was the loom for the coil on the inner wing, the same colour wires dont go together on the plug next to the coil iirc. Its not so obvious depending on how your loom is. Worth a go...

Nice build btw! Was the gasket set G40 specific?

Thanks mate. The fella that got me the gasket sets went by the engine code so I presume that they are G40 specific.

The problem is that I cant seem to find the wiring that is near the coil that looks similar. But peteG40 stated, in the engine help section, that there are early and late spec looms with the late spec ones having the yellow wiring and connection in the scuttle tray by the fuse box for the fuel pump, and this is what I seem to have. But my engine is early spec. Is this a problem?

Haven't updated in a while so thought Id throw in some news and pics and actually finish the thread.

The problem I mentioned above was eventually resolved. It turned out that the loom I bought all the way from Birmingham (and got a speeding fine on the way back) turned out to be broken. So, I luckily managed to get another one from a Clubpolo member, actually tested this one. By this point I knew G40 looms like the back of my hand because of messing around with the old one so much trying to get it to work. Popped it into the bay plugged it up and turned the key. (At this point the exhaust mani wasnt connected as yet and wasnt really finished yet.) It just fired up! But it was pretty loud because of no exhaust fitted . My girlfriend was sitting next to it reading a book in the sun and it made her jump through the roof haha.

Here is how it all looked;

Edited 12 January, 201016 yr by goosyganger

looking good bud thought i recognised the user name.

Olly

looking good bud thought i recognised the user name.

Olly

Thanks mate, I've got loads more to come on now, I'm just putting them up and a little youtube vid at the end so might be worth subscribing lol.

The cam belt covers I got from you ended up not getting used but I have some new pulleys so will probably fit them when I change them ha.

i'll keep an eye on this one then.

Olly

Once I got the engine in and the charger set up I have to get some silicon hosing so I went to a local place near me. Once I got the hosing I thought it might be worth getting them to make my brakes lines, charger oil feeds hoses, mocal oil cooler (was a BARGAIN!), thermostatic sandwhich plate, and braided oil cooling hoses. All the braided lines and pipes were made on the spot, I just told them what I needed. Awesome place, its called Think automotive and they are a mocal dealer. Available to buy stuff on the web too.

Ow and got some normal Brake pads from GSF ( witha CP discount )

The braided hoses they do come with stainless steel connections and a plastic coating over the braiding for protection. Nice looking stuff.

Fitted all the hoses and made a fitting behind the grill for the oil cooler.

Edited 12 January, 201016 yr by goosyganger

Once all was fitted this is what it looked like in the engine bay.

As you can see the loom is not connected as yet, this is the broken one, it was taken out and replaced with a much better looking loom.

Also, a pic of the freshly painted brakes and the new brake line fitted. Looking at it now I wish I had blasted the struts with a wire brush disc on a grinder and given them a lick of paint. Maybe do that as the summer approaches.

Doing the timing was a bit of a mission. Took a while and was quite stressful because the engine would cut out after a few minutes. After some searching and questions on here it turned out that I didnt connect the vacuum line to the map sensor on the ECU. For those reading this that are doing their first conversion its the little nipple on the ECU. It needs a small vacuum line going from it to the large one way valve vacuum pipe going from the inlet manifold to the Brake servo. Similarly, the fuel pressure regulator vacuum also needs to go to this large vacuum pipe. I used to have the OEM plastic ones but they have been replaced with silicon vacuum lines now. They come in different colours and look neater.

The result of the vacuum not being connected to the ECU was the engine cutting out and ALOT of black smoke from the exhaust. Also when slightly accelerating when stationary it backfired with a ball of black smoke lol. Not cool. I must say thanks to Olly (polo6n2g40) for his reply in my post when I had this problem that helped solve it. Thanks mate.

Some might slate me for it but I ended up timing the cam belt without the belt cover with the knotches. But used it as a reference. I just forgot to put it on when putting on the V-belt pulley and didnt want to spend half the day taking it back off and putting it on. Any how, initially I got it a tooth out and this resulted in the engine running like shit, and the ignition being very hard to set up. So started again and repositioned the crank. Much better! then it was a trial and error process with the help of a timing gun and the shifting the distributor (and a few friends). All in all it took a while to get it right. The idle was very high and fuel consumption was aweful to start with, not to mention the epic hunt it was doing, but as I played with it a bit and adjusted the idle screw on the throttle body it eventually became better. Now once warm it idles just below 1000RPM. (with a slight hunt, a bit anoying but I've been told several times that some G40s can be a little moddy lol).

Edited 12 January, 201016 yr by goosyganger