Skoda Rally Blog

So, with the trauma of total engine removal out of the way, it was time to get everything back in place.  Most of this is just straightforward stuff – obviously the driveshafts, gear linkage and cooling system, etc., are all unchanged, so are a piece of cake to put back on – particularly as they’ve been done so many times that everything is nice and easy – with the grease trick, even the driveshafts only elicited one expletive.

But of course there is the new manifold to put in place – and this is an unknown; it’s not just a manifold that you bolt on, there are all the bits that fit onto it – I was expecting to need to modify the fuel rail and so on, but I needn’t have worried; everything standard fits perfectly into place, which was a real relief!  Almost seemed too easy.  However, the one thing that was left which wouldn’t bolt on (and nor would I want it to) was the air inlet – the standard Skoda item is an odd shape and has always looked a bit restrictive (and indeed has made a dramatic difference to the way the car runs whenever it’s there, so I guess it must do).  In addition, the mini-kit manifold doesn’t have the mounting points for it, so it was bin time.  Fortunately I’d planned ahead and got the right sizes of silicone tubing and elbows to fit, and there’s just enough room to get it all in there – it looks like some kind of Max Power turbo jobbie now with blue silicone tubing and aluminium as well.

Ah... max power!

Time for fluids – oil, gearbox oil, water, and double-check everything.  I disconnected the coil pack and injectors and turned the engine over on the starter to let it build oil pressure which it did quickly enough (it’s got to fill the oil filter and all the galleries, so I’d rather do that at low speed with no load on anything).  And then…. time to see if it would fire, so I reconnected and turned the starter.

I wasn’t ready for what then happened – it didn’t fire up.  In fact, it sounded really bad – it was popping in the inlet, and sometimes slowing down suddenly, like the timing was off.  I got the laptop out, and connected it to the ECU, and tried again with the DTA diagnostics page on.  It showed the engine speed jumping around all over the place, which would make sense – the ignition timing was clearly not right because the sensor wasn’t working properly.   By now the battery was flat and I was feeling pretty deflated, so I left it – being a Sunday afternoon the shops were now all shut (Bank Holiday weekend), and it was best just to leave it rather than carry on – one thing I’ve learned is that desperation and tiredness don’t usually elicit a good outcome!