MOT day and service on the "Beast"

 After COVID restrictions were lifted at the MOT centres, I had to finally book a test after a 6 month free exception. This meant installing the catalytic converter again for the day to get through emissions and the "visual check" test where you physically need to have a cat installed.

It was also a good chance to give the car a good going over and service. Most of the use this past 18 months has been used for aggressive road pulls and mapping to get the car up to full boost pressure after the running in period. Its crazy to think that with work and other commitments I only do around 1000 miles a a year in the car. 

I decided to use so Fuchs oil again which has a high viscosity (high resistance to flow) so when you pour the oil out of the bottle, its like honey!! This thicker oil is great for racing use and high boost applications to protect your bearings and give extra protection under high load and heat. 

Again, Mums old Turkey tray and washing basin went missing and a new Japanese "black" oil filter was used. 

Once the oil was drained and filter installed, the new oil was filled. It tool around 5.5ltrs due to the increased capacity of the HEL oil cooler and lines. 

I also noticed that since the new engine went one, there were some small coolant leaks that I could NEVER find. I had covered around 3500 miles since the engine build and could never see any fluids on the driveway after hard driving or any signs of leakage. 

It had gotten to the point that I was getting worried that the head gasket might be slowly on its way out. However fortunately the weather was so cold this time, that I found the culprit. 

The radiator cap on the Mishimoto radiator was not clamping tight enough. Even though the cap was securely fitted and was as tight as possible, once the car was run up to temperature, you could actually see coolant evaporating out from the cap. 

I tested this by letting the car cool and swapping caps between the radiator and the header tank. After a long drive, the water level was remaining constant in the header tank and system. I ordered a new radiator car (standard 1.1Bar STI) and fitted it and the car has been perfect since. I think its a good example of how you shouldn't jump to conclusions and start your fault finding with the basics! After all, what's easier to replace first? A radiator cap or a head gasket!? 

I then did a check on the remaining hoses and oil line and found that the radiator hose had actually been touching the alternator belt. Again, how some road testing on a new engine is needed to really show any small issues in the build. 

I ordered a new stock hose and removed the Mishimoto hose. I then measured the old and new so that I could install the water temperature sensor into the new hose. Remember, measure twice, cut once!

I also discovered that the factory fog switch had died...not the actual bulb. This was a simply wiring job to splice in a new switch and install in it the original location so that the fog light activate on demand.....again it would be an instant fail if there was no working fog. 

Only thing that remained was to fill new coolant and give the car a wash and take it to the test.