"KIMI" - The RPM 1st Gen S2 (with bits of S3...)

[David Nock (RIP)]

OK, I\'ll fill up the tank with V-Power to start with, then try a tankful of Tesco 95 to see if I can tell the difference

I think you have to have several successive tankfuls.....though they would say that wouldn\'t they.

[Ian65]

Start at the rear O/S wheel (farthest) and slacken the nipple with a good titchcy little socket, immediately retightening. (The socket frees the nipple without rounding it off, but then you want the feel of a good openend spanner for the actual job).

One RPM sits in the car, another has a bleed tube on the nipple. Put brake pressure on and then the wheelman shouts \'Down Fast\' as he loosens the nipple. Woosh..fluid into the air as the tube flies off....no not really.
He retightens before shouting \'Up\', at which point the pedal can be released. Repeat this 3 or 4 times then move to shouting \'Down Slow\'. The trick here is for the wheelman to close off the nipple during the downstoke. Repeat this \'Slow\' business 3 or 4 times.

Then move on to the N/S back. Then Front N/S,  finally front O/S next to the master cylinder. All the time you have to watch the resevoir and keep it topped up with fresh fluid.

Mrs Nock and I are the world champs for this job on the FB. I keep trying to give her the wheelman\'s job but no luck so far.

Blimey Dave,
it\'s been a good few years since I went through that palaver!
Bought a one man bleed kit a decade ago and never looked back....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-MAN-BRAKE-AND-CLUTCH-BLEEDING-KIT-NV16-UNIVERSAL-/370533599044?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item5645860744

the best fiver I ever spent!.... probably.

[Steve-A]

I must have had a crap one man bleeder because it was crap! I went back to the technique Dave described.

Be glad to be the wheelman Dave, it\'s the skilled side to the job. You\'ll find most friends/partners/relatives/pets can perform the pedal work, but it\'s takes experience to get a good bleed from the wheel end. :Giggle:rollin

[Ian65]

I must have had a crap one man bleeder because it was crap! I went back to the technique Dave described.

it must have been because I\'ve had the same one for the last 10 years and it\'s fantastic.... never again will I fanny about with 2 people to bleed the brakes or clutch.

[johnnyboy]

Hi Malc.
V Power, divided opinion on this. I say it\'s great to give the car an edge....more response and smoother running. The wife swears by it and to prove it she knew when I\'d put V Power in. Ladies don\'t seem to do fill ups do they?
 
A thorough scientific test I saw said if your engine is a high worker and stressed, V Power is of real benefit. If it\'s a lazy old donkey you\'re wasting your money as the higher octane won\'t help it. So you have to be objective, put a few tankfuls in and see what you think yourself.

Back in the day (RX3 day that is...) it was "common knowledge" that Rotaries needed only the lowest grade fuel on sale - it was particularly noticable in foriegn parts (eg. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, India) in the mid 70\'s that Japanese cars in general and RX\'s in particular had less trouble with the poor quality petrol on sale than Land Rovers did.
 
I can also vouch from my rallying days that you needed to tune to a particular fuel grade to get any benefit.
 
Finally and most important, I asked this question of Tim at RX motors in regard of Miss January (and he knows a bit about rotaries...) and he was quite definate that we should use RON 95.
 
So I do...
 
John

[A7RXY]

When I got my frist RX in 81 I was told to use lead free petrol, in the UK then the closest you could get to that was 2 star, as the lead clogged up the tip seals.
Now its all lead free but I have always run mine on the lowest grade I can get and never had any problems.
 
 Dibs

[Ian65]

Now its all lead free but I have always run mine on the lowest grade I can get and never had any problems.
 
 Dibs

me too....

[Steve-A]

I\'m also a fan of 95 I\'ve run it in both my rotaries.

As John says you need to tune the engine to take advantage of the higher RON fuels, the FB was, like most cars of the era, tuned to run on the \'standard\' petrol of the day, which was more likely 89-91 RON so even 95 is overkill

All the marketing companies like shell put out, about increased fuel economy and more power, is based upon modern cars with ECUs that have evolving tunes that will detect the extra knock prevention of the higher grade fuel and then tune the engine automatically to make use of it .

[Ian65]

I always use premium unleaded 95 ron in my cars.... in my modern it is the  fuel specified by the manufacturer..... petrol\'s a big enough rip off as it is without paying an additional 6 or 7 pence a litre.
No benefit in super unleaded or performance fuels for me.

[David Nock (RIP)]

Blimey Dave,
it\'s been a good few years since I went through that palaver!
Bought a one man bleed kit a decade ago and never looked back....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-MAN-BRAKE-AND-CLUTCH-BLEEDING-KIT-NV16-UNIVERSAL-/370533599044?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item5645860744

the best fiver I ever spent!.... probably.

Naah.....A bit of old rubber gas pipe, you know, the stuff you used to connect your gas poker to...(:Nono!), an old jam jar, some fluid and \'orf you go.
The Nock duo can do the bleed in 30 mins or so, plus another 10 mins for the faffy clutch. (Can\'t get the jam jar to stay put)!

[Ian65]

Naah.....A bit of old rubber gas pipe, you know, the stuff you used to connect your gas poker to...(:Nono!)

gas poker!! I haven\'t seen one of those for 40 years!

[David Nock (RIP)]

With all four discs hot I think I would pedal adjust as a first step. Is the push rod into the master cylinder adjustable? Should there be some free play and there isn\'t any? Otherwise slow to release....? Master cylinder again.

Looking at Haynes there is a pedal adjust Malc. It seems you need 1/4 inch at the fork where the pedal connects to the master cylinder. So there is some pedal travel before the brakes are applied.

Worth checking.

[David Nock (RIP)]

gas poker!! I haven\'t seen one of those for 40 years!

You\'ll be telling me next you don\'t drain the water out of the engine every winters night! I bet you use this new fangled antifreeze mixture?

[Ian65]

guys, since John reshelled this car, has it ever been on the road or didn\'t he finish the reshell?
I ask as if it\'s been on the road but now has the occasional gremlin through lack of use, the solutions to any problems may be different to issues caused by stuff being assembled / installed incorrectly...

[Casey]

Many, many thanks for all the ideas on the two issues I spotted this morning.

guys, since John reshelled this car, has it ever been on the road or didn\'t he finish the reshell?
I ask as if it\'s been on the road but now has the occasional gremlin through lack of use, the solutions to any problems may be different to issues caused by stuff being assembled / installed incorrectly...

The car was reshelled in 1995, so John must have sorted out any teething issues long ago (I hope!).

As all four discs seem equally hot, I\'m hoping it might just be the pedal free play adjustment. If it is, I can easily do that tomorrow. I had already thought of Ian\'s suggestion that may be all the calipers need a refurb, but I\'m hoping this won\'t be needed. In fact the rear o/s caliper is clearly new, or a complete refurb unit already. The car brakes evenly and the heat in the discs is even, so I\'m still backing the theory the pedal needs adjusting as it\'s casuing some drag. The Haynes manual shows the adjustment method and that there should be 7-9mm gap between the pedal and the piston on the brake servo. I\'m hopign to find this gap is too small, causing slight application of the brakes with the pedal fully up.

The RPM team have already flushed the system with new brake fluid using the two-man method Dave so eloquently described , so I\'m guessing it\'s not that. There is no "mushiness" in the pedal, just ~zero travel to the bite point.

I\'m pleased the weeping diff is not unheard of. I\'ll try and track the source tomorrow and smear some sealant around as a temporary measure for now.

OK, I\'ll be up early tomorrow to have another look, then do another test run. Fingers crossed I can sort it tomorrow, so I can take her on a pilgrimage to RS8, where the other RPM\'ers can have a chance to drive her too.