Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

[FOSSIE]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

That should have been "pinned drive shaft flange to pinion NUT" left out the last word, using a 4mm roll pin, 4mm hole drilled through the nut's outer flange and into the driveshaft pinion flange with the nut fully tightened with loctite, we had one gradually get loose one time hence the pin there to stop the nut moving anywhere problem solved

New one on me too, never come across that before. We sometimes dowel the crownwheel onto the LSD body, taking the sheer loads off the CW bolts, as they're only just up to the job especially on big bangers with dog boxes...

Anyway, back to the English, have you considered having your chosen cw&p shotpeened? It gives an increase in strength and a big increase in fatigue resistance... Might just make the difference. The one in this picture below has been shot peened and super-finished which further helps with lubrication as much as anything. Not cheap process though, I'm afraid.

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

Theres no company that I know of that does shot peening in Finland. Haven't really thought about it but sounds like a good idea. The CWP I have is a bargain aftermarket item bought from this forum. It was originally bought from ebay. It was only ever trial fitted and for some reason sold on. Eventually to me so I hope the reason for the low price I got it for isn't the fackt that it refuses to sit right in the diff.
I believe I'll try and set this cwp up and if it will not co-operate I'll look into getting an shot peened one from you UK fellars. If it will build up nicely I'll see how well it takes the wear and fatique.
When I raced the pinto I had a similar CWP and english axle. I levelled one pimion in a single race but the rebuilt diff was in use for years and took the beating well. I'm hoping the one I have now is the latter type. The first one may have been built up incorrectly though.

The alloy diff came back to hount me. I spoke to Steve from Tracsport and he seemed like a really smart fella. I talked to him about my application and he explained thoroughly all the variables stress vise and the differnces in materials. He was not worried about the strnght of hes product in my application. He'd sold these carriers to rally,sprint,hillclimb and even drag race cars with no issues. So circuit racing with a small engine with low torque, in a light car with mere semi slicks SHOULD not be a problem. I naturally asked about building them up and the quality of machinig and he said they'd build up fast with a good mesh. He even gave me the specs to the correct set up.

He was very convinsing but then again he sells them. Is this all a salesteam / marketing talk or are these Tracsport items what they claim to be? I have to say I am tempted to loose the 5kg's of unsprung weight. Plus theres the cooling factor which could make the CWP's life a little longer if not easier. Any insight there Fossie?

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

The axle gusset.

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

Made the wholes a bit gigger and did the math. I saved a whopping 30,9gramms

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

Did the math wrong though. its 3mm thick these brackets so the saving is a ground shacking laptime altering 41,2g's

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

From digital to real life. Made a cardboard model of the axle gusset. Once I got the formula right its a very simple piece to fold. Too bad this is pretty much the final thing do to this axle. Should not be welded on untill the axle is aligned which for its part cant be done untill fully assembled.

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

The gussets are pretty much ready. Cut and folded them today and offered them to the axle. They fit nicely but still need a bit grinding to fit perfectly. Cant wait to weld'em on there but for now I need to hold my horses.

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

Weighted my axle casing today at its current condition. Shock and panhard brackets still missing and still with the english housing ends. But with diamond brackets and gussets and all. 9.7kg's I was expecting more I wonder what the OE escort housing would weight a little less but not much I'd say.

[stuartf]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

The alloy diff came back to hount me. I spoke to Steve from Tracsport and he seemed like a really smart fella. I talked to him about my application and he explained thoroughly all the variables stress vise and the differnces in materials. He was not worried about the strnght of hes product in my application. He'd sold these carriers to rally,sprint,hillclimb and even drag race cars with no issues. So circuit racing with a small engine with low torque, in a light car with mere semi slicks SHOULD not be a problem. I naturally asked about building them up and the quality of machinig and he said they'd build up fast with a good mesh. He even gave me the specs to the correct set up.

He was very convinsing but then again he sells them. Is this all a salesteam / marketing talk or are these Tracsport items what they claim to be? I have to say I am tempted to loose the 5kg's of unsprung weight. Plus theres the cooling factor which could make the CWP's life a little longer if not easier. Any insight there Fossie?

Steve's no marketing monkey - he's been rebuilding all our race transmissions for 5 years now, and we've only ever had one failure (a manufacturing issue, not something he'd made). That's probably in excess of 50 gearbox rebuilds. Having looked through this thread, I'd strongly recommend sending him your gearbox and getting it sorted once and for all - Steve worked for Tran X in the distant past, so he's well aware of their shortcomings. He's not the cheapest, but worth every penny.

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

Thanks for that. I may well need some help with the box. Thres olwasy the freight overses so costs will add up. But again, thanks. I was considdering sending the box to Tran-X but if it comes to UK delivery I'd propably be better off sending it to Steve.

[stuartf]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

How much have you spent in wasted entry fees and your time? It all adds up.

Don't send it to Tran-X\quaife - they're just fitters these days, and they're not even good at that.

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

True. But there are good gear smiths here too.

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

Did some more weighting. Not 100% accurate weighted with a person scale with the items still in their boxes

Diff carrier: 8,3 kg
Quaife 16t LSD: 5,7 kg
5.3:1 CWP : 4,1 kg

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

Made drain plug today. This is somtehing I've always wanted for a rear axle but had doubts. This time however I decided I need the diff to be very service friendly so decided to make one.

So sourced the parts from my work. One Fiesta lambda plug



One transit steering rod end nut.



Had a lot of thought on where to place the plug. Decided to make it a bit offset so that the lowest point of the hole reaches to the bottom of the oil pan.
Drilled a guide hole



Drilled the actual hole. Big enough for all the loose teeth to come out. The lowest point of the hole is flush with the axle housing floor so that all the loose metal would wash out with the oil.



Having the plug more to one side only looses 8mm's of ground clearance. And if the plug were to scrub on something it will hit the lowest point first thus tightening it rather than punching it loose. Which is me worst fear. I propably could have welded the nut inside the casing but for some reason I just did not...



Tightened the plug inside out to keep the nut steady for welding.



With some hammering I got the plug almost waterproof even before welding so hopefully it will be leak proof afterwards too.
So now I need to get to my welder.

[Roadsport]

Re: Escort Sigma 1600 Race Car

Note to self: Transit rod end nut does not take well to welding.

So I melted the nut I had. Had to make the plug from something else I found. The welding again was not very presentable and I had to spend some time grinding it down. But it holds oil so a succes in my books

The axle was cut today too. I now could offer the diamond brackets to the axle. A good enough fit. The brackets can now be welded on. I'll propably still only tak them in place and test fit the axle to the car before welding them on permanently.

The Atlas housing ends are at the machine shop to be shaved so hopefully will get them back by the end of the week.