Bank account in pain time :(

A lot of work later, including fitting a different hybrid (supplied by me), fitting a baffled sump, paying for a short shifter (although it can't be fitted due to a problem which is being looked into), skimming the head, new head gasket, water impeller pump, 60k service, camshaft & bearings, loads of small bits & pieces like nuts/bolts/gaskets/washers etc to put it all back together again.

So far looking at 2.5k :( :(

Will be going there first thing tomorrow morning to drop off the Koni FSDs, then hopefully pick up the car Saturday morning, keep it for a week to run it in again (without propane).

Looks like I'll be warming up the credit card rather a lot, just hoping I can find one that has a working PIN AND sufficient dosh left as my overdraft won't quite stretch that far this month.

I was also recommended to get my car remapped as the max boost (even without propane) is pushing safe limits for the head gasket, probably due to custom-code going for maxing out the standard turbo by requesting crazy boosts, which my hybrid quite happily provides leading to problems.

Quite hurt by the amount of money spent, but then I've got to take it on the chin.

The guys at APS have been dead-honest about what they are happy with providing 'warranty on their work' for, and have recommended the remap to be done as soon as possible to avoid damage.

Annoyingly this amount is about 1k more than originally estimated (mainly due to the camshaft and the service that were added, not coz I'm getting ripped off) which puts some of the nice things I had in mind for this month under some strain.

I just hope I am able to find time & money to get the car custom mapped before the RR day, it will be a real challenge I think

Blimey.

Hope it all works out well for you WW. They seem like "good eggs" over at APS. I wouldn't hesitate to use them for sure.

£2.5k sounds quite reasonable for all the work and parts and labour that has been thrown at it .

Yeah - the price is absolutely fair for the work carried out, it is just a lot of money

Good luck with it , just think of how it will drive when everything is finished , that should bring a smile to your face (and make you forget about the Visa bill!)

That is a lot of money, but at least you know the work has been done properly (and warrantied!) so you should have plenty of trouble free miles ahead. Just don't do a Tom now and decide you want to trade it in for some "budget" motoring

Chris

I can't afford to trade it in Chris

The catch is that the warranty will be voided if I run with propane, which is kinda a pain tbh :(

Don't blame APS for that though, they've been excellent throughout

Good luck hope it all goes smoothly.

There are plenty of good deals out there on credit cards at the moment.

So too much boost for the head gasket. So how much boost do they recommend for the gasket?

Glad your getting your car back. Just a shame it turned out like it did.

WW from previous experience, take off all the go faster /stop better / handle better bits and sell them. Sell the car, a PD lump with an O/H head won't last all that long.

Sorry to hear of the cost WW, but the car'll put a smile on your face when you get it back I'm sure.

Personally I'd stay away from propane/nitrous, etc. Uprated injectors, turbo are probably the safest way to go....

Cheers Mate

Bas

Yep - speaking of turbos, there will be a stage 1 hybrid by TurboDynamics for sale soon, I may find out how much it would cost to get it checked/recon'd if req'd as well, just in case

Apparently the car is not pulling anywhere near potential now as the map is so badly wrong for the turbo

Slowly getting things sorted out in preparation for the remap, I have a feeling my RR results are going to be pretty shocking due to having to run the car in + it will take about a week to get the remap booked in, as it stands

Right - as requested an update

Koni FSDs are on, replacing my Eibach dampers that have done me well for 50k miles. Due to mileage I won't be putting those up for sale, they will be disposed off properly instead

Unfortunately the baffled sump is priced on an exchange basis, so no spare there either

I was told to run in the car, so I set out on a little journey round the roads from Brackley, ending up near Portsmouth where I met up with Chrissi & Stu for a bite to eat nice to see you again and then went back via some small villages, back roads etc.

Clocked up a total of 280ish miles, including picking up Hayley from work

Cannot drive with propane on for a while to allow the engine to settle in again.

The stage 2 hybrid is struggling a little to spool up where the current map wants it to, i.e. a small amount of lag, but it pulls ok. I've not tried full blat as yet, need to get 500 miles on first, then I'll drive it a bit harder again.

Imagine my joy then when the blasted light came on again on the way home, after the car had been parked up for a while :(

I checked the levels and it looks fine. Probaby the sludge that is in the cooling system at the moment, the pressure was 'normal' i.e. not blasting out after opening unlike before when the problem was present.

I reckon it will however need a flush to get this sorted, and I might need a clean bottle/sensor to avoid this from happening again (false alarm).

Just to say a massive thank you to the team at APS, great job & assuming the sensor is now the only minor remaining problem, we're in good shape

Thats 280 miles with the FSD's; review review review!!!

If there is any crud in the header tank it will bring the light on as the contacts get covered and it looses conductivity.

Stupid PC crashed just as I was typing the response

I will clean the contacts a bit for now, after a restart it was fine again so M-03's post agrees with what I'd expect as well.

Will get the system flushed / perhaps fit a new header tank again

Koni FSDs - a little hard to remember what the Eibachs were like tbh as I havent had the car for a month effectively

That said, it feels like it is 'softer' for small bumps and stuff like that, bit more like standard, but whilst maintaining good contact with the road. When making progress it handles well too, somehow firming up

So I suppose initial impressions are positive, bit early days still though I suppose