Sierra estate 24v

[whiteestate]

Waiting on a set of std bearings at the mo for the boa which will go back into the estate but i have also found a low milage bob engine complete that I'm picking up the end of the month this engine will be my project motor which i will be building over the next year or so with some trick guts in it.

[whiteestate]

Some new goodies  





Will have to machine my own bushes to fit the spherical bearings so my struts fit correctly.

Engine has had a fresh set of bearings but now waiting on a new timing cover and water pump gasket as I've received them in the post today and they were ripped so the sellers posting more today  

Also fitted the fuel pump non return valve as mine did not have one so once the engine was switched off the high pressure line syphened back to the tank, not good as it then takes a little longer for the car to start and it can damage the fuel pump.

The sump nut has swollen into the sump so i had to cut it out it was a pita ! but i now had a shiny anodised red magnetic one to go in.

I have also hacked my abs loom up to make it fit in the engine bay neatly without having to pass around the front of the car like in the granada it came from and I've just used the 2 relay setup i think one its triggered off the 5 pin low pressure switch and the other off a higher pressure switch. This is how i believe the system works (yet to test)
5 pin abs valve
    - -
   - - -            Top right is - 0v, bottom middle and right is your low pressure and high pressure switch which is common with the - 0v going open under pressure. The other 2 are linked through the brake fluid level switch /2 pin plug for the warning lamps.

Going to clean up the engine bay a little to with a lick of paint just a spray can job but i did that on my old rs turbo and it came up well for an engine bay.

[TimoXr4i]

Im always wondering, do you even feel the diffenerence with those top mounts? Do you use them with coilovers or such? Ive got koni yellow, and when i replaced the top mount rubbers by polyurethane it only made more noise, car didnt feel stiffer, got all bushes in front replaced with pu bushes, and felt the difference immediatly, but the top mounts? Didnt feel anything...

[capri v8 driver]

For street duty I would not use the spherical bearings in the top mounts but use a rubber or polyurethane mount with a bearing.

[TimoXr4i]

Sierra has a bearng on top of the strut,or do you mean another bearing? Next problem is i need the exact measurements between the turrets for the front struts... Got me a very pretty suspentionbridge or whatever its name in the uk, but it wont fit, while i ordered an xr4i part and the number on the item matches the description, so, is my xr4i strut weakened,moris the bridge the wrong one?

[whiteestate]

I will be retaining the original sierra bearing with the spherical mounts as it will make steering a little smoother (i hope) i think the trouble with the spherical bearing is that there is a large load on the unit when it is compressed and then when the strut turns under steering there is a little too much load so it makes self steering a little slower so by using the original sierra top bearings they can take more axial loads (what they were designed for) so self steering should be restored to normal by using these as well as.

Timo is the strut brace too small/Big is there any adjustment ?

[capri v8 driver]

There is indeed a large load but also vibration on the mount and that load and vibration is transferred to the body. I have seen numbers of car, driven on the street with solid top mounts. Not only is there more noise in the car but I have also seen a few inner walls crack because of the load and vibration not being dampened.

[TimoXr4i]

The strut brace is to wide, and it didnt fit on the dohc i once had, so. Cant test it right. Ive red on sone forums the inner walls of the mk1 sierra tend to bend to eachother, and i cant adjust the thing, so, if i have measurements i can see whats wrong, if it is bent inwards i should be able to get it straight and fit the strutbrace!

[whiteestate]

There is indeed a large load but also vibration on the mount and that load and vibration is transferred to the body. I have seen numbers of car, driven on the street with solid top mounts. Not only is there more noise in the car but I have also seen a few inner walls crack because of the load and vibration not being dampened.

Wow but I'm using standard cosworth springs/shocks too so they are softer so it will have a bit more dampaning than if i was using coil overs with hard springs.

[turboshed]

i have compbrake spherical bearing top mounts with avo heavy coil over springs,they have done lots of potholes and track curbs,no sign of any cracking on mine

[capri v8 driver]

A picture says more than my words:

[whiteestate]

Bottom end has been rebuilt and is back together.Due to me having my gall bladder removed on monday however i cannot do any work putting the engine in the car and finished 

[whiteestate]

And Ade the dummy dizzy bearing was in good order too so no need to replace it but its deffo one that should be checked as its easy to get to.

[capri v8 driver]

Due to me having my gall bladder removed on monday however i cannot do any work putting the engine in the car and finished 

If it can be done with a few spanners and a angle grinder, we could give a helping hand.  just kidding.

I wish you a speedy recovery and get well soon.

[Lemon-Ade]

You don't hang about Liam    get well soon mate. That didn't work out to costly then really.

Fordpower healthcare services hey Paul lol I can stitch up after you do the cutting 

[whiteestate]

Cheers chaps got around 25 staples in me lol ! The pain after the op is bearable but the gall stone pain was a killer and well worth having it out. may have a potter around the garage on the weekend as i need to make an engine trolly as my last one broke these engines are seriously heavy !

[capri v8 driver]

Fordpower healthcare services hey Paul lol I can stitch up after you do the cutting 

No need for stiching, I have a mig and I have a tig welder.  If that doesn't do the trick, I have my secret weapons, super glue and duct tape. I have tested it on my self so I know it works. I must admit, it hurts a lot. I also have a staple gun, but I am afraid to use it on my self.

Cheers chaps got around 25 staples in me lol !

At least the gal stone is gone.

Get beter soon.

[TimoXr4i]

Just go easy on the staples,i wasnt, and moved around to much, cousing all 53 of them to tear my skin open, and making it unpleasant to remove a whell, better than a gall stonei suppose, i had kidneystone once, and that want a good feeling, but hey, they can fix almost everything these days!

Good luck with the recovery mate!

Like the look of the 24v engine sitting like that, ready to be built in your car!

[mk22door]

Nice 24v project   

Did you sort the idle speed control valve?

I used Escort Cosworth Shocks in my Granada hubs, half done/doing a Sapphire empty shell with all the guts from a rotten 24v Granada, used everything - like a re-shell.

But then I bought a very good 24v engine attached to an XR4x4.

So now I plan to undo it all and kind of start again. 

[whiteestate]

Cheers mk22door haven't looked into the idle valve problem as i need to fit the engine after the big ends started knocking and i replaced all for new. Should do a bit this week on getting it fitted but I'm taking it easy at the mo. Yeah mines sitting on granada hubs and the granny cosworth wheels but need to do some work on the rear suspension to firm thinks up a little, my plan is to finish it off by the end of may finger crossed 

[whiteestate]

Even though I'm ill and i may have overdone it and pulled on a few staples too much !!! i have the car back into the garage and the engine back in place to lift into position so all being well it should be up and running by the weekend  



I have also picked up a snap on 160 amp mig welder for £80 as spares apparently it welds but poorly me thinks that the rectifier diodes have blown which is a couple of quid for me to fix welders are so basic in construction and are easy to repair.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Snap-On-Mig-Welder-Spares-Or-Repair-/290894996292?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=yFcUv18TKNVUv5WaFhLTua0fZZg%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

[whiteestate]

Before the engine was put back in i also fitted solid aluminium bushes in the gear selector mountings and it has made a massive difference to the gear change very positive as the old rubber mounts were so sloppy.








With the smaller bushes they were not a good fit and were loose in the cradle so with a chisel and mallet i put 4 indents into the steel so when i pressed the aluminium bush in it was a nice tight fit and will not fall out or come loose.



Nice and snug



If you want a cheap fix and don't want to fit new bushes fit large washers over the bushes on the side and put the bolts back in and tighten job done 

Things then escalated and an hour later....

[whiteestate]

Had a little bit of luck on ebay last week i picked up a xr4x4 front diff and sump front and rear prop type 9 v6 bell housing all for a bargain price of £10.50 !
I also picked up an xr4i 2.8 full exhaust system for £20 which had a stainless steel back box in very good condition and a snap on 160 mig welder for £80.







Now i should be able to finish of the exhaust and weld new down pipe flanges to suit the engine just waiting on gas and my welding lid and should be done over the next couple of days.
Also noticed the type 9 gearbox mount fouls the mt75 gearbox at the rear of the case so i have taken it out and modified with my trusty grinder.

[Lemon-Ade]

Nice work Liam , looking very tidy under the hood  some great finds too.  I have the t5 and I ditched the rubber insulator bush off the stick and it feels way better, the down side is I don't leave my hand on the stick for to long now  ;)getting old me thinks lol.

[mk2 cossie]

You shouldnt rest your hand on the stick any way Ade 

Looks like it should be a nice tidy install when its all done though, and different being an estate 

[whiteestate]

Fitted my struts to the top mounts but as they move the strut about 40-50mm further down than the original position I'm going to either get lowering springs or coil overs 
I may even cut a little off the springs as there is no flat spot where the spring mounts to the spring cup so seating is not an issue.



Here the exposed thread to lock the strut to the top mount is small so i will try and get hold of a longer threaded insert that goes into the spherical bearing as oppose to the nut and washer method i have used (not the final safe way this is a trial fit and it would not be safe for road use).

[whiteestate]

Scrap any idea of using the standard struts/springs just get a set of coil overs as cheapest isn't always a good bet ! i did try but there is such a height diff with the top mounts that its not worth messing with the original escos struts/springs to get them to work so I'm having to save for some coil overs 

[whiteestate]

Finished off my abs loom conversion and have to say it works a treat   wired 2 relays one is low pressure which switches off first, then linked through is the other relay which powers pump off pump completely at high pressure. So effectively this is a fail safe setup incase one relay fails or a pressure switch fails.
On the low pressure switch activating it also switches another pair on the pressure switch which go to a n/c position i presume to trigger the fault relay which i will be adding on to switch a light on my dash.

Here's the two relays be at the bottom of the glove box on a little bracket i made and the cable ties are just for extra safety they are not really needed



I have also cracked on with the exhaust fitment and i have cut it all and positioned it as i wanted ready for me to tac weld up when i collect some welding gas.



Left side is not bad to access



Right is a little tight but i will remove the oil filter housing so i can tac weld in place



Going to get the engine fired up and see if i can sort this idle valve problem out too

[mk22door]

Looking great 

Some nice bargains there too!

Could you tell me more about how you are using the type 9 crossmember and the MT75 gearbox please?

[whiteestate]

Looking great 

Some nice bargains there too!

Could you tell me more about how you are using the type 9 crossmember and the MT75 gearbox please?

its a 2wd mt75 box for one, the only issue i had was the back of the gearbox fouled the lip edge around the mount but i trimmed a sort of u around the lip till it no longer interfered.the prop was a 2wd sapphire unit which came from cars equipped with the mt75 2wd box.
I have not needed to modify the mounting position what so ever pretty much bolted straight up ,but don't use a granada type 9 mount as these are the wrong size and will not fit.
Had some good deals been well happy tbh