What did you do on your 510 today?

[Benzo]

Thanks, now I need to protect my wagon too and replace the nylon tubing.

The sedan engine bay in all its glory.
FA418B7C-E383-47E8-B353-BF80AD4BD23D.jpeg

The engine is immaculate!

[Benzo]

Not today but a lil while ago Taka from Kyushahouse visited me and helped me sort out a driveability issue on the Mikuni's on my wagon. Found a vacuum leak on the intake manifold gasket but also replaced my accelerator pump jets and the engine/car drive so much better now. Taka is super chill and pro!

I also replaced the cap/rotor/plugs and ( NGK) wires since its been a while and tried those E3 plugs for curiosity. They work but basic NGK plugs would've been fine.

[KiKiIchiBan]

Over a couple of days I fitted my front T3 suspension components, gave it a clean and fitted my Watanabe wheels.









I also had a custom one off Kameari Engine Works L4 cam cover made up. They didn't take much persuasion/



I really wanted it finished by now for the long bank holiday weekend in the UK but I've still got parts being re furbished and will need to outsource some jobs I don't want to tackle.

[510rob]

that looks spectacular!!!

[bertvorgon]

Morning World!

Yesterday, I did the most dangerous thing I have done in my life.....changed the 510 oil in my son in laws pristine garage, the unmolested garage floor waiting for a mishap! I had a ton of those disposable bed covers jammed around and under the oil filter and cooler adapter. The oil catch tray was on cardboard and more pads, where, as I undid the plug, had to be so careful as the weight of almost 7 litres of oil came gushing out.

Then, to drain the oil cooler, I had to angle the bottom hose down through the engine bay, to hit a very small opening to the oil tray.

I tried to be as slow and safe as possible, that side mounted oil filter makes such a mess. Sucess for the most part, except..I have not used the cans in a long time and when I grabbed one, to tilt into the funnel, the can squished in a blorped a couple of table spoons of oil out onto my intake manifold and ignition wire loom...REALLY!!! NON hit the floor at any rate.

Re-fired the car and topped the oil up, ready for whatever season we get.

I also checked the moisture content with my cool little instrument, less than 1% in the brake master, but, I had not done the clutch for a few years and it showed, almost 3%. I will get someone to help bleed clutch and brakes soon, hopefully before 510 day and the car is still on jack stands.

No apparent leaks anywhere, car started in an instant so that was great, after almost 2 months since last fire up.

Weather still cold and rainy here this morning, 8C and light rain.

Today drop some new batteries into my two small temp gauges, lube the heim joints, top up methanol and check that system for function. I also will pull grill and check that the water spray covers the entire intercooler face. I have some fall leaf debris in the bottom of my fans from last years fall drive, so need some compressed air to blow that out and straighten a few radiator fins.

I noticed too that my brake cooling lines have both failed in a couple of spots so will order some new aircraft hose today. They owe me nothing at this point, been in service since I built my front cooling ducts back in the mid 90's. That stuff is NOT cheap, yikes!

Not going to insure car for Tuesday unless I see the weather will be good. Last year I did not insure till June 17th, as our spring weather was crap, covid restrictions, etc.

[brg510]

Keith, funny opening sentence. I’ve had a similar experience on fresh concrete.

Do you manually fill your oil cooler and lines prior to startup or just let the pump handle the air?

Jay

[bertvorgon]

hey Jay,

I try to fill the oil filter as much as I can, considering it goes horizontal, and no, I let the air just purge out on fire up. Oil pressure comes back very quickly when re-fired. Done this forever so I guess I have been ok, 21 years on this motor. That oil cooler is actually a GM Cadillac air conditioning unit, very efficient and small tubes in terms of volume.

No fuzzy's or bits on the magnet so that was good.

Today I changed out my water spray nozzles to cleaned ones. They are .020" opening so very small, these "misting nozzles" work well but do kinda plug up over a few seasons I guess.

With the grill out I did some more bug cleaning and fin straightening on the rad, need some compressed air now to back blow the rad.

I see my rad catch can needs some draining also, and then top up rad again. I should see my new brake cooling hose this coming week.

Topped up my methanol tank and hopefully my son will help me to check that the solenoids are working in that system. I have to pressurized the tank and then, with my bore scope snaked up the air intake, I can see the spray from the methanol jets when the solenoids trigger at 10 PSI and then 12 PSI boost.

I also popped the headlight out to check that spray pattern on intercooler with the new water jets in. Looked good, pretty much gets the WHOLE surface in my intercooler. Also cleaned out a few 100 MPH bugs jammed up into the top end of the cooler.

Possible tomorrow I will have help to bleed my brakes and clutch.

[bertvorgon]

Yesterday, finally, my son helped bleed brakes and clutch, installed new brake cooling ducting hose and generally helped push car around in garage with me.

Bleeding went ok, no air at all in brake system but with such a small master for the clutch, I missed getting it topped and it sucked air in so had to re-bleed. It had not been done in awhile anyhow so totally putting in can of fluid through was not a bad thing. I run a can through for both front and rear so the system is totally purged of old fluid. So nice to have those new bleeder nipples on the BMW calipers, NO wrench issues!

On thing did crop up to do with my methanol system which I will address in a future post, once I fully diagnose problem.

Tomorrow I will wax car, as I now have space in the garage all around the car..

I did re-stock my spark plugs with some new BPR8ES plugs and threw a fresh set into the car. I have 5's through to 9's. I always carry in car just in case and if anyone fouled a plug on any of our drives. The 5's in that box are really old, as they are not RESISTOR plugs.

[Benzo]

Installed the Technotoytuning Wagon leaf spring kit so wanted to share my install and experience with them. They are a good kit. Pretty satisfied with them. Noticeably stiffer than stock. I am using the additional 1" lowering blocks and it has the back sitting at the same height as stock springs using 2" blocks. So far seems no more axle wrapping or not as much and cornering is better. It is stable at high speeds or freeway driving. Cruising is very smooth. Have hit some hard bumps and hasn't hit the differential housing on the tunnel. Going to log more miles but so far so good!

[bertvorgon]

AW SNAP!!!!!!!

This will be only the second time my car has not hit the road or the race track since I built it in 1977/78!

It seems Murphy really decided to kick me this spring, the only thing positive is that it did not happen in Lillooet or somewhere out on the rolling dyno of B.C.’s highways.

This engine is now 21 years old and my worst fear(s) have been realized.

Two weeks for before 510 Day at Byron’s, my son Matt came and helped me bleed the brakes and clutch, as the final prep for the season. We flushed two cans of brake fluid through, ensuring fresh fluid in the whole system. I jumped in the car and felt the brake pedal..GREAT!

We then did the clutch, but, I did NOT check the pedal feel. Figured it would be fine…ha…ha….

We then set the car down, nose first, off of the jack stands, all of a sudden clear fluid was pouring out of my air filter….what the hell!? I then realized the ONLY thing it could be was that one of my methanol solenoids had actually failed OPEN, and as the nose of the car was now 2 feet lower than the rear, it started to siphon out. They have NEVER failed in the open position, always dying over a winter.

This would explain why I was showing my wideband running rich last summer, that at part throttle on the primary, as air velocity went UP, it was siphoning methanol out of one of the spray nozzles.

So, I pinched the line off, planning as I do every start of season, to check the methanol spray system, just making that a pure replacement issue, no biggy. I bought quite a few solenoids before I retired.

Then we set the rear of the car down. I jumped in to start the car and move it away from the garage wall. As I pushed in the clutch...the pedal went to the floor!!!! ARG!

So….back up on the front and we put 3 cans of fluid through to no avail, either master or slave bypassing. Likely master as it is original, 49 years old.

I then thought I would fire it up, to see how much play I had and would it be drivable to Specialty.

A bunch of things happened at once…car fired instantly and smoothly…and…as I carefully tried the clutch I almost went backwards at warp velocity into my son-in-laws freezer in the garage….THEN…Matt screamed shut it off, smoke and fuel leak.

My main Aeroquip fuel line had failed at my air box…and..it appeared fluid was coming out of the headgasket on the driver’s side under the intake/exhaust manifold…Holy Crap.

I suspect that the fuel line was leaking last season at some point and very lucky I never had a fire. Judging by the fuel staining on my heat shield, which I put off as a bit coming out of my boost line fitting, it was leaking for some time. This would also explain a little bit of the poor fuel economy I had last year, subtle but again as the wideband showed rich, I wondered what changed…NOW I KNOW!

The bottom line is the car is now stuffed back into the garage awaiting the time that Andy can fit me in at his convenience. I have no idea how Andy may approach this project, as there may be a bit of a domino effect as bits come off that have been bolted together for 21 years.

I have mentally written off the season, at least in the 510, I will use my G35 for any road trips this season, if you will allow. I do want to plan a RUN BEYOND HOPE soon, trip to Lillooet for lunch and back.

This really sucks too, as I have a brand new set of Yokohama A052’s sitting in my basement, which I will now bag up till next season. DAMN!!!!

My whine for the day, give your 510 a big hug for me and enjoy the season!

[RONSLYCHUK]

WOW! Sorry to hear that Keith. Like you say better to happen in the garage than out on a road trip.
One good thing is that it will run better than ever when it is all fixed.

[510rob]

That sucks Keith. Best to be methodical about things at this point.

[funwithmonkeys]

That is really lucky Keith. Fuel on a hot manifold could have been a lot worse.

[bertvorgon]

Yup, bloody hell, it is almost the same scenario that happened to Tim Brown and his Ford Probe race car down at Seattle. Almost burned the car up and the same type of main fuel line.

It just does show and prove everything will fail at some point. That Aeroquip line has been in service for over 38 years, far too long in reality for a key component.

I think the only saving grace is that the avgas evaporates almost instantly...

It also showed that when I start my car over the winter, I am always sitting in the car as it comes up to temp. I will forever more make sure I get out and check things, or have a second set of eyes like I did having Matt there.

I was pretty shocked to say the least, mentally challenging considering other things that have gone on in my life over the last little while...the nail in the coffin so to speak.

At least on a road trip I can listen to TUNES! ( and miss the music of an L series at boost and full throttle)

[gooned]

Mother crudmucker Keith, glad it’s just a set back & not rebuild!