Boxster V8 project log

[Marc_986]

So I figure the disconnected steering feel could well be a separate issue from the shake. The swaybar bushings are in pretty bad shape. And with this anti-roll bar being of the original suspension, it would make sense to fit an M030 one to go with my new M030 suspension. These bad bushings might well be the cause of the vague transition side to side.

When we rock the steering wheel violently it does sound like there is a bit of a knock. And when feeling the wheel or tyre at the same time, you can feel a boink. Do you think steering rack or tie-rods?

[tcoradeschi]

Originally Posted by Marc_986

So I figure the disconnected steering feel could well be a separate issue from the shake. The swaybar bushings are in pretty bad shape. And with this anti-roll bar being of the original suspension, it would make sense to fit an M030 one to go with my new M030 suspension. These bad bushings might well be the cause of the vague transition side to side.

When we rock the steering wheel violently it does sound like there is a bit of a knock. And when feeling the wheel or tyre at the same time, you can feel a boink. Do you think steering rack or tie-rods?

The only way to diagnose is to inspect. The outer tie rod ends are super easy to see once the tire is off, obviously - for the inners, you will have to pull off the boot.

[Newsguy]

Could a bent wheel or two be the source of your vibration?

[Marc_986]

In the background I am planning the engine side of things. I have done quite a bit of reading over the last year or two and it seems like there are two main areas that don't quite fit;
1. Timing belt covers
2. Intake

So, on to getting myself an engine. Basically there are two real options (third for reference).
1. Timing belt 40V engine from Phaeton (BGH).
2. Timing chain engine from Audi A6 or S4
3. Timing belt 40V engine of the 077 family (ABZ, AYS, the lot)

I am more and more leaning towards a chain engine. Open for inputs on my way of thinking;
- It is quite more compact than the belt engines and no belt cover to interfere
- Only the alternator driven from the regular belt, so open area at the front to mount it to the car (might be able to move the alternator to a position normally taken by the AC compressor?)
- BBK engine from the S4 came in manual gearbox. Due to similarities with the A6 engine (BAT, BNK) I am confident we get it to run a manual. Also flywheel etc well available.
- This engine is much more similar to the later FSI engines. For now I guess these would foul the engine cover with the high pressure pump and I am worried about the electronics side, but at least mechanically it would be close
- Due to the above similarities with FSI engines from say the RS4 and RS5, there are more exhaust manifold / header options to choose from.

Now looking at engine control side, these ones still run the DME 7.1.1. I am guessing (educated guess I hope) I would get the Phaeton engine to run using a 'Euro S6 flash' on the factory DME or swapping out the DME. It'll need retuning back to Phaeton values. For the chain engines I would think that the S4 DME would be the right starting point. I might need to map it back to A6 values if I find that engine instead. In any case, all running DME 7.1.1, so should be able to sort it out.

Now the main concern with the chain engines is... ehh... well.. the chain. But by now I think the problem is so well understood and parts readily available that I could tackle that while the engine is out anyway, if needed. Honestly it doesn't concern me that much as there are still more engines out there on the original chains without issues than the ones that have failed. My daily driver has the dreaded BMW N47 engines, well know for... chain failure. It has now done well past 200k miles and is still going strong. Yearly inspected, no issues so far.

Another good thing, the best bargain seems to be to get the engine with a car around it. Pull what I need, sell other bits which have some demand and scrap metal value for the rest... Cheaper than the engines on Ebay...

Anyway, any reason (other than the chain) to avoid the chain driven engines?

[Marc_986]

Meanwhile I ordered and received a Volvo power steering pump. Cheap and low mileage unit, so should be good. I'll probably give it a short test in the weekend to see whether it spins up.

So far, I don't think it is going to fit where I wanted it to:


Alternatively I could fit it behind the front bumper. I have all the hardware to install the third radiator there, but am questioning the effectiveness anyway...

I'll need to have a further look into this.

[Smallblock454]

Part number of US and ROW sway bars are the same. So i suspect parts are identical.

Please take into consideration that stabilizer mountings and linkages need to be matched to the sway bar you choose.

ROW


US

[Marc_986]

Originally Posted by Gilles

My point is that you may Not have to swap the steering rack and only have to replace the o-rings to stop the leak, awesome project, none the less :-)

Ah yes, but I'll replace it because of the play I found, not because of the minor leak. I am quite positive this is giving me the strange feel when turning. Even my wife notices it, so it is an obvious behavior.

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Part number of US and ROW sway bars are the same. So i suspect parts are identical.

Please take into consideration that stabilizer mountings and linkages need to be matched to the sway bar you choose.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'll take the front ARB of the wreck and see which size it is. For now I can only measure in the bend and that's not very accurate at all.

[Marc_986]

Another update for today. I spend a few hours removing both wheel carrier / control arm / strut assemblies after separating the tie-rods from the wheel carriers Then I released the power steering lines and took the rack out. Finally the subframe was removed. Sooo much space now ;-). The brake line is still held by the final remaining tank strap. At the moment my transmission jack is used to hold a bucket for catching the power steering fluid. I'll let it drip for a night, then I can use the jack to support the tank while I take the brake line out.

I might hold off that job till I get my new line. Need to get that one ordered anytime soon.

With all the stuff out of the way it is also time to think about the position for the power steering pump. Basically there are two options, each with pros and cons. I would welcome some feedback and / or alternative ideas.

1. Mount it in the frunk:
+ easily accessible
+ close to wiring options
+ 3rd radiator option remains open
- takes space away from the frunk. Might not be the most visually appealing.
- might mean I can't mount the spare wheel anymore

2. Mount it at the front, behind the bumper cover
+ seems like plenty space there
+ easy hose routing to the rack
- longer electrical wiring, but still ok I guess
- not accessible to fill it up (although I can't recall the last time I had to top up power steering fluid..)
- no more option to add third radiator

On the aesthetics of option 1 I was thinking of getting myself a brake reservoir cover from a RHD vehicle. That might work out nicely.

[Marc_986]

Little update on this project. I picked up the new brakes lines and some small clips and pieces at the dealer today.

First of, get the front brake line in place together with the new clips (one was broken on removal of the old line, the other looked poor as well). Also the small lines from MC to ABS unit were mounted.



The plastic cover for the RHD brake reservoir also arrived, so I could position it and see what it brings. Actually, quite a lot of space within this cover. Unfortunately though, not fitting the volvo pump. For this to work, I probably need a Jeep / Dodge pump or something alike. I'd also need to sort out where to take the line from the inside to the outside. Most likely run it across close to the ABS unit and drill some holes to feed it down from there.



The other idea in my mind required removal of the bumper cover. Easy enough, so off it went. I placed the third radiator for fitting and surely enough, no way to fit the power steering pump as well. However, without this third radiator, there is a lot of space to fit the pump:



And the position is perfect for a short hose to the steering rack, with a nice channel available for routing the hoses:



It looks like a no-brainer to mount it there. The only thing that doesn't feel right is that minor accidents which would normally only require a new bumper + cover will now likely slamp the pump into the frunk. Not a safety concern, but damage from small accidents can be quite more significant.

So open for input while I also let it rest for a moment to consider this. As it stands I'll either need to get myself a different pump and mount it under this RHD cover, or just go for front bumper cover location.

[Gilles]

I would have retain the center cooling radiator for the V8 engine and install the electric power steering pump inside the frunk, IMHO you would need as much cooling capacity as you can get to cool a V8..

[Marc_986]

Last update for this year. Still no V8 (which was expected )

But progress on power steering. I received the remote reservoir volvo pump which unfortunately doesn't fit in the wheel well. The reservoir part on the pump is actually quite a bit larger than I expected, making it fit to high and doesn't allow the remote reservoir to be higher than the pump reservoir. So that option is out.

So next option is the Astra pump. Visually it looked like the pump is actually the same. And having seen the TRW branding of the actual pump (the Volvo one) made me expect that it actually is the same basic pump, but the Astra reservoir is much lower. Ordered an Astra pump.

Putting them side by side, the similarities are obvious;


Taking the reservoir of to compare internals, pretty much the same pump:


Looking at the reservoirs, it is amazing how much more compact the Astra reservoir is. So the size of the Volvo reservoir likely isn't for cornering loads, expansion or whather, just for a good fit in the chassis.


So finally, let's put the Astra reservoir on the Volvo pump and try to fit in the chassis. Height wise, no issues.


All good to fit the pump there. I'll need to work out the details for the hose routing. Two options I am thinking of:
1. Route them alongside the battery to the steering part, feed them down to where the original lines are.
2. Route them in the frunk towards the ABS unit and then down a bit. Feed them through there.

I intend to run the Volvo pump as the CAN messages are known and speed can be adjusted. But if the hose routing favors the Astra pump, I might as well use that one

[Marc_986]

Today I swapped the small coolant pipes and hoses on the drivers side for the Boxster S ones. Unfortunately I did have to remove the radiator again, but it is more of a hassle than actual work. So the upgrade is done on the drivers side, other side to go (missing two hoses and a few clips which I'll need to order).

Having done this gives a better view of power steering hose routing options. The wheel well is quite full already with this coolant lines, brake lines, clutch line, some wires. Also it gave me a third option for the steering lines.

1. As above, take the lines from the pump directly through the bulkhead to the battery compartment area. Then either route on the front side of the battery or more along the reinforcement bars on the wiper side. In any case, it needs to go the drivers side where they can go down through the sheet metal. On the bottom side of the car they would fit to the original hoses. No additional crossing this way and actually quite neat.

Drawback seems that the separation between battery compartment and frunk becomes more compromised. But in any case there is only a rubber cap between now. Previously this was used for the CD changer wiring.

2. Likely needs to be revisited a bit. The approach would be to route 'behind' the spare wheel towards the bottom of the frunk where the lines can feed through to the steering rack area. They'll need a 180deg bend there, so I'd need to get a set of the rack to AN6 adapters. Still neat and tidy underneath the car, but the frunk will be less clean that way.

3. The new option is to route in the frunk, behind the amp directly to the drivers side. There it can go horizontally through the sheet metal to the wheel well. 90deg bulkhead adapters or 90deg hose fittings would get the lines down towards the steering rack. However, they would need to be routed on the wheel side of the coolant pipes. Not so nice, cluttered and unknown for clearance to the wheel.

For now I do think option 1. is a good compromise. Already checked the length of original hose and it will easily make it to the top where a bulkhead adapter would be placed. I'll need to check a bit more on the battery compartment side tomorrow.

It looks like I can go through the side sheet metal at the brake booster. N

[Marc_986]

Minor update while sorting out the steering parts; look what Sinterklaas gave me (a bit late, but ok) ;-)



Two of these hoses go towards the radiator so I can run double radiator setup instead of three. I also got myself the set from the long bottom pipes to the wheel wells. These are easily accessible now and I'm not that sure that the 25-year old hoses will seal correctly again. Don't want to mess with these again

[Marc_986]

Today I picked up some hydraulic parts (hoses and different adapters) at the local hydraulics shop. Honestly, much cheaper than I would have thought.

Pressure line will be 3/8" hose with 8L (M16x1.5) fittings
Return line will be 1/2" hose with 10L (M18x1.5) fittings



One of the fittings is a flat seal M16x1.5 adapter to fit the steering pump. The adapters I see on Ebay seem to replicate the hardline into the pump with an O-ring on it, but I really don't see why this adapter wouldn't work just as well.

Here a picture with the adapter separately on the pump (somewhere in the middle)


And once fitted, it look like this:

[Marc_986]

So I played around a bit on the car to check the different hose routing options. I think the one pictured below is going to be best.



If you start looking from the left side you can see the hose left of the pump. It would fit through the bulkhead hole to the battery tray compartment. There it will follow the reinforcement bar to the wiper area (keeping it close to the window washer side so they won't touch the wiper arms) and back along the reinforcement on the right side. There, just right of the brake assembly they'll go down to the bottom of the car. From here the second set of hoses will fit in original mounting towards the steering rack. I think this will keep it all nice and clean.