So, jumping back in a time a little....
Before I fitted the box, Dan had asked me to take my TIP off and inspect my turbo whilst access was easy, so I obliged:
Very happy to report, that after 4500 very hard miles, and a few hard trackdays, there is absolutely no movement in the bearings what so ever, the thrust is perfect, and side to side play is as tiny and minimal as any brand new turbo I've ever felt, which is to be expected given it's been dry for a month. Very happy with how it's doing indeed, the last unit, despite running at 5psi and 50bhp less was in a really bad state after this mileage. So top job from Beach Buggy Turbos once again
With that done and checked, it was time to get the box in. I wasn't feeling overly strong, so got the lifting beam out and hoisted it up into place rather than man handle it in like I've done previously:
Gearbox number EIGHT in it's new home:
A quick comparison of the engine mounts, old (tiger seal filled) and new (85A Poly filled)
Nasty tiger seal crap:
Smart poly resin:
And the engine side mount also:
With everything hooked up, it was time to fill it up:
And the last job, whilst it was up on stands, was to fit new powerflex 22mm arb bushes, and new drop links:
So that's that, ready to turn the key!
Success! It lived.
I took it out for a test drive this morning, and it feels absolutely fantastic. Everything is better. The gearbox feels tight and sharp, it goes into gear much better than the last one, smoother and quicker too, and the change feels positive.
The engine mounts do cause a fair old vibration at idle, but as soon as you've moving it's gone totally, and not at all annoying given how bare the rest of the car is.
Once rolling, there is noticably less engine movement from inside the cabin, you don't feel the engine move as you come on and off the power now, it just feels very direct and connected. Gear changes feel great, and it seems to put the power down better with the engine not trying to jump off it's mounts.
Wheelspin is also better managed, with a more smooth spin up of the wheels rather than the evil wheel hop which feels like everything is going to die.
I even found the time to take a few pictures of the old shed!