Four Days to Diesel (Fox, that is)

[Turbinepowered]

Alright, I've given myself four days to get this thing finished. Of those four, I work only Monday. On Wednesday, at the latest, I'm going to be starting it up. The diesel Fox shall live, dammitall, live!

I got the fuel tank drained tonight, and all but one of the coolant hoses hooked up. I need to get some bigger stock hose to hold that place until the formed hose arrives via post.

I figured out how to get both the AC compressor and the alternator on the passenger side, I think. Pictures forthcoming, and I still need to figure up how to compensate for the extra ~5mm or so of timing belt width.

Water pump has been taken care of. Professionally done spacers forthcoming.

The CIS transfer pump stayed in the tank, but I've renewed the little bit of rubber holding it on. Later it'll be a block of viton for biodiesel compatibility, but for now diesel rated rubber works.

I got the battery hooked up and turned the ignition to on. No smoke, sparks or fire!  :thumbup: So far so good! Hazards work, headlights work, highs/lows work, turn signals work.

Got the turbo drain port plugged until I get a turbo on there, so I can fill the pan with oil tomorrow without it all spilling out. This is also good.  :thumbup:

New oil pressure switches, and refreshed the previously cruddy connectors so they make good contact. T15 from the coil now supplies power to the fuel stop solenoid. Tachometer input (T1) is now routed to the interior, to the former residence of the CIS computer. I need to install the T-belt cover with the optical pickup still, and get my glow plug control box (The housing. The circuit's already been built) and installed, along with that optical tach pulse timer.

Analog coolant temp gauge installed in the dash, in place of the old cigarette lighter. I don't smoke, so it was useless to me.

Problems

One of the little wires pulled free of it's crimped connector in one of my harness plugs for the steering column. Small brownish wire. How would I go about putting this wire back where it belongs?

My DOMS (Dynamic Oil Pressure Monitoring System. ) light keeps flashing when the ignition is on. I'm assuming this is because there is no oil in the system at all, therefore it doesn't even have residual pressure in the galleries and therefore the .3 bar sensor in the head is reading nothing and throwing the light? Therefore, once the oil system is primed, this should go away?

Cross your fingers, folks, and join me in praying that the fecal material doesn't hit the turbulent airstream generator!

[lord_verminaard]

Sounds like good work!  I'd love to see some pictures of your setup.

You probably know that brown wires are grounds.  If it pulled out of the connector, you can pull the harness plug, and make a tool to pop these terminals out of the connectors so you can re-crimp them.  I used a small flathead screwdriver, one of the el-cheapo ones you get at a parts store for .99 that has a pocket clip, kinda like a ball-point pen?  Then I used a rotary tool (or you could use a file probably) to make the width of the tip a little more narrow so it would fit in the connector, and then made the flat part... um... "flatter" so it would fit.  There is a little locking tab on the "top" part of the connector that you need to depress with the homemade tool while pulling it out.  If the wire came off, it will be harder to pull but you could probably use an unbent paperclip to push out the connector while you use the tool to depress the locking tab.  It's hard to explain but much, much easier to actually do.  If I have a chance I'll try and take a picture of what I am talking about.

Good luck!  Hope she fires on the first try!

Brendan

[Turbinepowered]

Sounds like good work!  I'd love to see some pictures of your setup.

You probably know that brown wires are grounds.  If it pulled out of the connector, you can pull the harness plug, and make a tool to pop these terminals out of the connectors so you can re-crimp them.  I used a small flathead screwdriver, one of the el-cheapo ones you get at a parts store for .99 that has a pocket clip, kinda like a ball-point pen?  Then I used a rotary tool (or you could use a file probably) to make the width of the tip a little more narrow so it would fit in the connector, and then made the flat part... um... "flatter" so it would fit.  There is a little locking tab on the "top" part of the connector that you need to depress with the homemade tool while pulling it out.  If the wire came off, it will be harder to pull but you could probably use an unbent paperclip to push out the connector while you use the tool to depress the locking tab.  It's hard to explain but much, much easier to actually do.  If I have a chance I'll try and take a picture of what I am talking about.

Good luck!  Hope she fires on the first try!

Brendan

So let me see if I understand your "up" and "down" on the connector.

The locking tab is in the flat portion of the (crimped) connector, what you're referring to as the "top" of the connector, right?

So I need to have a tool small and flat enough to depress this tab while using another small tool to push it out.


Or

The locking tab is part of the molded plastic harness connector housing, and locks the crimped wire connector down against the "base" of the plastic connector housing. Press this down with a small, flat bladed tool (I have a large collection of flat jeweler's screwdrivers, one of those will probably work...) while pushing up against the crimped connector.

Where up, in this case, would mean I'm pushing it toward the wire end of the harness connector.







UGH. Sometimes I hate English, where words can mean different things at the exact same time.

[lord_verminaard]

So let me see if I understand your "up" and "down" on the connector.

The locking tab is in the flat portion of the (crimped) connector, what you're referring to as the "top" of the connector, right?

So I need to have a tool small and flat enough to depress this tab while using another small tool to push it out.

UGH. Sometimes I hate English, where words can mean different things at the exact same time.

Yup, you are correct here.  It's on the flat portion of the crimped connector, and it's kinda like a fish-hook- so when you push a crimped connector IN to the plastic housing, it clicks and locks in place.  Normally, to remove them, you insert whatever tool you have to depress the tab, then tug on the wire and it comes out, but since your wire is missing, it will take a little ingenuity.   :wink:  For me, the set of precision screwdrivers that I have didn't work so well so that's why I modified a junk screwdriver I had laying around.   Instead of just the head of the screwdriver being tapered, I made the first inch or so like a wedge, so it creates sufficient pressure against the locking tab so I don't have to wiggle it around while trying to pull out the connector.  This tool is a permanent part of my electrical kit now, I used it a LOT when going through my wiring harness.

Good luck!

Brendan

[Turbinepowered]

Man, I just can't seem to win with this car. It's like the Curse of the Quantum Syncro diesel, striking me while I work with a Fox!

I got the wire put back in, it fell out again, and I come to find it's just the ground for the horn so I'm not going to worry about it for a while.

I got all four injectors reshimmed and pop-tested to ~140bar, set them aside, and now I can only find three... so I just ordered some more nozzles.

I imagine as soon as I clean up, lap, and reshim the new injector, the wayward little thing will turn up!

[Dirtrag2]

best of luck on getting the beast running

BTW I found an 88 wagon, good enough shape, engine cooked, tranny still good for 225$ Goin' to see it monday if all goes well it will be dieselized this winter as my Fox Project.  

Keep up the good work and keep fighting the good battle to keep Fox's alive  :twisted:  oh and post some pic's when you get a chance, i'd love to see your work in the engine bay, AC and such is way more elaborate than i'll be doing  

[Turbinepowered]

best of luck on getting the beast running

BTW I found an 88 wagon, good enough shape, engine cooked, tranny still good for 225$ Goin' to see it monday if all goes well it will be dieselized this winter as my Fox Project.  

Keep up the good work and keep fighting the good battle to keep Fox's alive  :twisted:  oh and post some pic's when you get a chance, i'd love to see your work in the engine bay, AC and such is way more elaborate than i'll be doing  

I'm holding off on the AC until I can pick up a welder, I'll fab up a bracket using a spare block as a template. I don't have the time or resources to do it right now.  :roll:

[Dirtrag2]

how's that Wagon comming? any pics yet?
ps: I should be picking my wagon up this monday hehheh