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Phase 4 the power plant

As promised, we present here the stage before last of this partial restoration to all the fans of the R5 Turbo who have been following us regularly. We left off last month with the "closing" of the engine, so we will now help you discover all the "secrets" of the assembly of the power plant.

The exhaust manifold, which is often neglected even though it is an essential part, was carefully checked before being put back. Indeed, the bracket of fixing of turbo, which was extremely weak, was replaced by a thicker 15 mm stainless steel one (the original one was made of steel). The first parts thus repaired over fifteen years ago never caused trouble again. The turbo can be put back without any risk of leaking, a new gasket and a moderate tightening ensure the efficiency and reliability of the unit.

	The clutch, another extremely sensitive part, was reinforced (Don’t rush to your phone, it was the last one). A completely different assembly with pushed diaphragm and hydraulic stop block will soon be available in our part catalogue. Be careful with the assemblies which are strictly of origin: since the advent of the linings without asbestos we’ve encountered many problems even with the series engine (almost impossible to use with a prepared engine). For this case, asbestos-free new discs, which have, however, a more strongly tared mechanism, will be sufficient for this 200 CV version.

		The alternator, the water pump and the electrical wiring having been recently replaced, they can be re-used after being controlled. The various parts which have been sanded and dichromated beforehand take here all their value by making the end product look undeniably new, fully justifying the work done on these elements

The reinstallation of the unit in "the engine room" is a key moment (some even say it’s moving!), and it requires much more care and precautions that it would seem. Indeed it would be unforgivable to scratch, or even worse, to dent any part of this compartment, whose careful restoration we have just finished. It is quite obvious that the simultaneous use of the hydraulic ramp and the workshop crane largely facilitates this "reversed childbirth". Much attention must be paid to the arm of the crane, which tends to quickly bump into the higher part of the back bay (I’ve seen more than one car being unfortunately deformed there).

The engine and the gearbox are coupled and can thus leave the assembly jig. The last equipments can finally be installed, the silents block driving support, and the reinforcement squares are put in, and the power plant is ready to be reinstalled.

	Once more the importance given to the details and to the beforehand preparation is essential for the overall quality of the end result. The "experts" on the Turbo will of course have noticed the small reinforcements added to the cages of silents block of gear box on the photograph on the left. What they can’t have seen is that the bottom part was unsoldered and resoldered higher, in order to limit lags (on the Renault Sport parts, the low part was not moved, but a flat iron welded on top of it provided the same function, which was not very scientific!).

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