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

[Will66]

Hopefully it\'s just the pedal adjustment.  Fingers crossed!

[Casey]

Good and bad news again;

The GOOD :mmmm

Brakes are sorted! There was ZERO free play in the pedal, which meant the brakes were slightly "on" all the time. Not enough to fail the MOT obviously, but enough to cause some drag. Just been for another run and the car feels so much better. It was a real joy to drive :yes I did about 20 miles on mixed roads and couldn\'t detect any problem from the driving seat. Temp about 1/4 to 1/3 on gauge, oil pressure ~50psi and no ominous noises or vibration. Got her up to 70mph and she was just fine. Handling is surprisingly good (my expectations wuite low, so well exceeded). Found the buzzer works too :Giggle

The BAD, but hopefully simple to fix......

The leak from the diff seems, on a quick look, to be FUEL, dripping down onto the diff from above, so not the diff at all. There wasn\'t enough before to make out it was fuel - by the time it had run down from the top of the diff housing, dissolving years of grime, it didn\'t seem like fuel.

I\'m just about to go out and jack the car up for a better look. I\'m assuming it\'s a leak in the fuel lines which I think runs over that area? If I\'ve got a hole in the top of the fuel tank it might be another matter.....

Ignore that! I\'d just refueled the car and got a splashback which has left a lingering petrol smell around. Car jacked up and we have 4 small corrosion holes on the top/rear (of car) of the diff housing. They can\'t be seen until the car is jacked. I\'ll try, as a temporary measure, to seal these with RTV silcone and try another test run when it\'s set. However, I guess it means we need a new diff longer term (or at least housing)?

[seanp]

So -- is that a green light for Rotorstock 8, then ? :-)

Do RPMers need to organise Day insurance so we can have a quick spin?

[David Nock (RIP)]

Ignore that! I\'d just refueled the car and got a splashback which has left a lingering petrol smell around. Car jacked up and we have 4 small corrosion holes on the top/rear (of car) of the diff housing. They can\'t be seen until the car is jacked. I\'ll try, as a temporary measure, to seal these with RTV silcone and try another test run when it\'s set. However, I guess it means we need a new diff longer term (or at least housing)?

That\'s a very unusual problem....never, ever come across this before.

[Casey]

OK, pics of the corrosion holes and silcone repair.....

Dave, should I be pleased we are the first to find this problem? - not sure on that, but at least others might like to check for this problem if they have a "weep" around the diff

I\'m going to get some lunch now, and do another test run when the sealant has set.

[Casey]

So -- is that a green light for Rotorstock 8, then ? :-)

Do RPMers need to organise Day insurance so we can have a quick spin?

Well, it\'s looking good so far, subject to the test run later. I think if you get day insurance it might put the mockers on me getting there

Also, when I looked into day insurance it was ~£25 per day, whereas I\'m paying £143 for a year (6 days at day rates...).

I was thinking there are lots of private roads at Santa Pod to take her for a little drive on private land - but don\'t be tempted to take her on the strip :p

If the journey up is uneventful, we might do an RPM "vote" on whether a "show run" on the sprint track is in order..............

[Casey]

OK, I\'m happy enough to attempt the drive to RS8 after the latest test run. Brakes are definately now OK, but still minor weeping from the repaired diff area. I\'ve dolloped on a load more silicone and will keep a check on it on the journey up.

Hoping to get to RS8 at about 8.30am if all goes smoothly......

[David Nock (RIP)]

When you get back Malc, check out something called Belsona. (belsona.com) It\'s a fabulous plastic metal. I used it once to repair a cylinder block that was blowing between cylinders. Once set you can actually machine it, saw it, anything that you can do to metal.

You would need to remove the silicone sealer, grind back to bright metal and use the Belsona. Might never need a new axle housing. There\'s no pressure there at all.

The problem will be bits falling in through the hole while you\'re grinding. Hard to see a way to stop this without pulling the diff. Maybe accept it and immediately do a couple of changes using cheap oil? Need to spin the diff in the oil by hand as well to get the bits out of the teeth?

[shaunwil]

May just be a bit of a mig weld job to weld over the hole. Be surprised if its corroded out because the diff is just covered in oil !

I got 46.61 last year in my FB, good target !

Shaun

[Casey]

Well, we\'ve got to tackle the underbody surface corrosion before it takes hold, so, at some point, it looks like we should drop the whole back end, inc fuel tank, and have a good go at everything under there, POR15, etc, changing bushes too...

Fingers crossed no unforeseen issues occur on the way to Santa Pod. It\'s almost exactly 100 miles each way, so a good long test run

[Ian.Mothersole]

Im sure it will be fine!

See you in the morning :Thumbs-up

[Ian65]

does anyone know if the rear axle/diff housing is the same for s2 & s3 cars..... I know the driveshafts, diff, splines, etc are different but what about the actual casing?
I ask because I\'m going to fit my refurbed axle onto my car in the winter when I fit the polybushes so will have a spare s3 axle which you could have for free if it would fit....
does anyone know?

[shaunwil]

Different lengths between the S2 and S3 because of the swap from drums to discs.

I can tape measure up next week after RS8 !

Shaun

[Casey]

does anyone know if the rear axle/diff housing is the same for s2 & s3 cars..... I know the driveshafts, diff, splines, etc are different but what about the actual casing?
I ask because I\'m going to fit my refurbed axle onto my car in the winter when I fit the polybushes so will have a spare s3 axle which you could have for free if it would fit....
does anyone know?

Ian, that would be fantastic, if it fits! Given our history with finding the correct oil seal for the rear axle, our run of luck has got to change, surely.......

[Will66]

If it fits it would be great!  However I think if there are a couple of other FBs, ideally a series 2 and a series 3 at Rotorstock it would be worth a bit of a poke about on both to see what parts of Kimi are series 2 and what are series 3.