Breezy_Pete

So I can relax? Really appreciate the input.

Maybe it's torsional vibration that I'm 'mis-seeing'?

Maybe a touch of paranoia affecting my perception? Not sure if there are other explanations that make more sense?

It definitely seems to jiggle when seen 'in the flesh'. Sequence of events went like this: Spun it over on the starter with plugs out and injectors disco'd to get some fresh oil round the place. Refitted everything and started it it for real. Ran tappety but pretty evenly straight away, quietening down pleasingly fast. Stood watching/listening from O/S wing and noted with some joy that the engine was virtually not vibrating at all. A short while passed then it switched modes, presumably after cat light-off or whatever, slowed its rpms and immediately started vibrating; big downer cos I thought briefly that the head change had sorted that. Not dramatic, but not as it used to be, say a year or two ago. Then my eye wss drawn down to that crank puley bolt, presumably by the fact that it seemed 'wrong'. 99% sure it wasn't jiggling til the revs dropped. Haven't done any investigation yet, but I'm reasonably sure that it smooths out above idle revs, possibly as oil pressure climbs and floats the crank properly?? I think it couldn't drive OK if that kept happening. Am thinking it may have more to do with the clutch failure than I was earlier. Aux belt tensioner also seems not to be back on perfectly cos the belt's not symmetrical on it.

Happy days, but might be worth ordering a spare switch anyway, they don't seem to last quite as long as the cars do. Must be an intermittent contact somewhere in the high-level light wiring, cos all three brake lights are powered through the pedal switch, so no obvious reason that tinkering with switch would affect just that. Maybe a nearly-busted wire between tailgate and car body?

Partner just came back from another test drive without any bad news. 😊 That jiggle of the crank pulley bolthead visible in the video looks scary to my untrained eye? She has been known to blithely ignore sounds of labouring from the engine when gear change just seems like too much trouble; so possibly bearing wear...

A high resistance contact at the switch could make the warning system false-trigger I guess. No idea what's going on with the high level light.

I think so, only been for one short local test drive so far. Recon head fitted too. Seem to have fixed the longstanding exhaust leakage problem, which has been annoying me for a very long time. Possibly the head's front face was distorted on the original head? Took me so long I'm briefly quite unenthusiastic about engines! If the crank bearing issue kills it soon I may well cry a bit.

Thanks for asking. Yeah, just yesterday I got everything back together. Clutch problem is gone. You wouldn't believe how slowly and carefully engine and gearbox came together this time round. Millimetre by millimetre, with an assistant (the owner) watching like a hawk. There looks to be a residual problem with crank bearings that I had never previously noticed, which may have contributed to the clutch issue, but I don't think it would have been the only problem that caused the clutch to mash itself. 20200816_181052.mp4

Or the bulb failure warning electronics might have (ironically) itself failed on this circuit?

Haynes's wiring diagram is possibly for a version without bulb failure warning detection; yours clearly has this function. Are all your bulbs conventional filament/incandescent units? I'll look at wiring info later if I get a chance.

Nothing to worry about.

Just air. But the inlet manifold end of it can be an oily area.

I think they should, yes. Do they, or don't they?

This is his playground. ☹️

Two distinct functions that I'm aware of @J.R.; Helping the engine to shut down cleanly by stopping the incoming airflow. Balancing pressures by restricting* incoming airflow - in certain operating conditions - to enable higher EGR flow rates than would otherwise be possible. *Or perhaps just spatially rearranging, to create local low(er) pressure near/at EGR entry point. Probably amounts to the same thing.

Condensers give the appearance of being super-fragile due to the very fine comb of fins that conduct heat away from the much more robust tubing that actually transports the refrigerant around.

Hey, you started it, by poking an 18-month dormant thread back into life. You supplied no information about brake fluid capacity, but just told the OP he didn't need to change it! Pots and kettles.

Are you doing the work yourself? DOT4 is DOT4. No point in buying it yourself if you're not DIYing though.

Cams, throttle body, exhaust, mapping. May be some other things. "We know what you're thinking"...😆

I bought a cheap spare alternator for our Fabia on ebay once. Despite having already acquired a cheap spare alternator for our Fabia from ebay some time before...and I knew that I had done so! Still to use either.

If the breather system is working properly, there should be no positive pressure in the crankcase to force oil past any seals. Do some reading about crankcase ventilation systems (abbreviated to PCV generally), especially for your engine type, or wait for someone familiar with the arrangement to advise you on here.

Fix the breather system fault that's causing the crankcase pressure to be high. What engine does you car have?

Battery voltage is a little low, but not hideous. Thinking of ways the alternator could fail whilst standing for two weeks, all I can come up with is that the carbon brushes have stuck in their holders, rather than being sprung onto the sliprings, so may not be making sufficient contact to energise the windings. If you're feeling 'experimental' try giving the alternator body (towards back/non-pulley end) a few taps with a rubber or wooden mallet, to try to shock them free?

What is the voltage between the battery posts? Best bet is to borrow a known good battery that will fit (any that physically fit, with the terminals the right way round). If that doesn't show an increase in voltage when the car is started, you can be fairly confident that it's not the battery that's at fault. What year is this car? Have you looked at the alternator fuse? Generally the leftmost stripfuse in the battery-top fuseholder.