davidc1

Sorry Spitfire, maybe I was being a little bit of a dick...it's just hard to read you sometimes. Don't know if you're being confrontational, or it's just the language barrier.

alSpeed2k

I think this discussion is great! Not that I have anything to add though.

Spitfire, do you have a picture of your "mod"? Did you sandblast your worm gear?


Wasn't Saki's DIY the one where you sandblast the worm gear? Afaik, this only a temporary fix (perhaps why you've had to redo it 3x already). Not sure about Ballade's TCT, but isn't Billman's mod supposed to be a permanent fix?

Spit, how many miles/kms have you run your modified TCT? Have you had to "clean it up" more than once?

SpitfireS

The Muppet is the Swedish Chef.
As far as I remember the running joke with him was that he speaks what (we think is) Swedish but it really makes no sense at all, apart from some English words here and there.
I posted it for fun as a reply to Valkerie's post, actually.
Anyway.... no worries

Back on topic.
No, I never sandblasted the worm gear.
The surface has to be smooth / polished to work.
It will allow the main piston to retract when the oil pressure is high and keep the piston at position when the oil pressure is low.
IMO is the ability for the piston to retract important.
The timing chain will strech under load.
It is not hard to imagine that the load on the chain increases a lot as the rpm's increase, especially going into VTEC.
That extra slack has to be compensated AND "given back" as the rpm's drop again, but MAINTAINED during high rpm shifts.
The TCT has a job to do.
IMO the oil plays a big role.
The oil pressure will push the main piston out with higher force than the springs.
So if the TCT makes the chain rattle it would be better to look at the oil flow IMO.
And that's what I did.
Yes, I have a photo of my modified TCT.
I'll see if I can upload it somewhere again.
Webshots turned into a payed site so most of my photo's are not shown anymore (sorry)
As far as I remmeber I modified my TCT in 2010/2011 and I posted about it, with pictures.
It's been in the car since then, still works fine.

SpitfireS

The TCT is not just a simple oil driven piston



.

This is where the oil enters the TCT.





Oil comes out the bottom-right hole and flows as the arrows point.
The screw leads into the housing, the hole on the left leads to a small exit hole, spraying oil on the guide / chain (I think)





This is the small exit hole, I never made this larger to avoid oil pressure issues.
In theory this is an oil "leak", a direct path from pump to this hole.
The small diameter and lenght create enough resistance to not be a real leak.






The tapered area is a valve seat, mates with the worm.



That's the worm, IMO you should never make this rough, it all needs to be smooth to work.



So.....
The oil enters the main cylinder, pushes the main piston out, the worm turns / extends out the main piston and closes the valve.
Now there are 2 oil compartments.
In the main piston, closed off by the worm.
Under the piston, oil can only get out through the small pressure relieve valve at the end of the small channel.
The ID of the main piston is still under running oil pressure, keeping the tension on the chain.
If needed, the worm can retract, it needs oil pressure to do so (and it needs to be smooth)
The oil under the main piston can escape through the pressure relieve valve, that valve also sets the force needed to make this happen.



This shows what I did to my TCT.
I made a groove in the body to allow more oil flow around the body (to avoid any oscillations / resonations / standing waves (*) in the oil that stop oil getting into the TCT.)
Also, the enrty hole is a bit bigger.
(*) the standing waves idea I got from a speaker design.
When air pressure waves flow through a pipe and reach an open end, they reverse direction (and pressure) and can cancle out the next wave coming.
In a way they control the resonance frequency, important in speaker design to have a smooth bass.
I think that is what happens with the TCT at specific oil viscosities & flows, stopping the oil from getting to - and into - the TCT reducing force on the main piston.

AE_Racer

Heres a reply from their for sale thread

alSpeed2k

Nice write-up Spitfire S! That hole is not "a bit" bigger, it's A LOT bigger!

As for the groove in the body, I assume this area between the arrows is what you are referring to?



I guess not everyone has access to a machine shop to get this work done, so it still might be easier to just buy either Ballade's or Billman's unit.

It is interesting though that such different approaches (Ballade vs SpitfireS, not sure about Billman's design) could (should?) resolve the ticking issue.

Ryuu

tct's go out.. I don't sandblast, I have a nice setup.. old fashion, tape it up, emery cloth it out, I get about 20k to 50k miles inbetween.. these are common S2000 routines.. although, I know of S2000's with over 100k miles an still on original equipment, even brake pads, if you can imagine that.. I don't know of any over 200k miles, and original..




most cities / towns, have some sort of machine shop.. you merely contact one an arrange them to do that level work for you.. if they can..




I like this mod.. how many miles have been put on it since 2010/2011..

SpitfireS

Installed modified TCT 20-March-2011 @ 200xxx km.
Now @ 265xxx km.
Btw, you do not need a workshop to do this.
A set of key files (around $5) and a couple of drill bits will do the trick.
Filing you can do anywhere on a table / workbench.
A drill press would be nice but a Dremel will work as well.
If you're able enough to remove the TCT you can do this mod too.
Free pics to guide you.
Sure, using a file will not make it look as nice (and it will take some time & elbow grease) but it will be just as effective.
And if it does not work for you (no warranty ) I WILL GUARANTEE it will not make it worse.
Unless you start drilling through the whole TCT or something....

alSpeed2k

Lol! Using a set of files would make it look pretty ghetto!

Ryuu

you should watch a metal smith work sometime, they are remarkable with hand tools.. it is a skill..