I had another look at the driveshaft shield tonight - I decided it was the coolant flexi return that was pushing the shield against the driveshaft coupling slightly. Bright lights and mirror and
- a small coolant leak on the banjo on the block -
AND I'd misplaced the gasket on the oil return on the base of the turbo - just as in the following picture!
(The picture above is a 5 speed. My 6 speed has a much bigger coupling with the bolts running right underneath the oil drain!)
I dropped the driveshaft again and located the oil drain gasket without any oil loss. A bucket under the back of the engine, undid the banjo and I managed to catch 90% of the coolant. I redid the banjo with some better copper washers.
Fire up and warm up - no leaks this time. The smell of new gaskets etc on a warming engine is always a little alarming - but no probs.
Axle stands out, go to drive it off the ramps..... Can't quite get reverse. I pushed it off the ramps for safety, adjusted the shifter cable slightly and reverse is easy.
SPS3 out. - Revo on - LB5, T5.
Went for a 1 mile drive. Then a two mile drive, then 3 miles. Then 3 5-milers. Each time, I brought it home, bonnet up to check all looked ok.
Sorry, I haven't done any logs tonight, I've decided to let it settle in gently for a few days.
I am one happy bunny!
The car is a nice smooth drive as before. No issues with the gearchange - it doesn't feel any different to before.
The sound of the turbo is awesome, like an air raid siren starting up. It doesn't feel laggy and **** me, it pulls like a train! I haven't pushed it hard for long, but the car has a LOT more poke and the induction sound is also really good. No error codes.
I am really looking forward to tweaking this up.
A big thanks to everyone here who has given me the moral support to get it done. I also have to say, thank you Revo! I'm so impressed that the flashed stage 3 can come on your ecu in the post.