Fort Wayne Dubbers

[FACTORYBOOST]

This is the longest page yet...and its 90% signature

I do what I can

[yeahbob]

any suggestions for cleaning the deck of a block and head? and suggestions for a timing cover sealant?

[buzbomb]

any suggestions for cleaning the deck of a block and head? and suggestions for a timing cover sealant?

Do a search for Roloc bristle discs:

http://www.3m.com/product/informatio...stle-Disc.html

We get ours off the Matco truck for about $25 each, and I've found the adaptors for cordless drill kits at the Dollar Store and Big Lots

I just bought a new tube of sealant, I'll get un-lazy (and over this bronchitis) & get the VR timed this week, hopefully I won't need any more for a while

[MByler1]

I find this absolutely incredible....

http://jalopnik.com/5947228/get-your...ome-iphone-app

I didn't print mine out, I used my iPhone.



Byler

[vw fiend]

I dont ever use carwashes, unless its in a bay by hand. Do we trust Mikes Carwash with an occasional wash of a new car? The wagon is filthy, and I just dont have the time to hand do it right now.

[n0rdicalex.]

that's tough.

we just got a Mike's in Columbus, and in the weekly coupon paper, they had two wash coupons that were free coupons for $17.95 washes - not bad at all.

i really hate brush washes, so i definitely didn't take the R through. but the BMW that has 207,000 miles and silver paint with small scratches all over it already, i have no problem, especially when it's suck an expensive was for free. typically i just use the $9.00 laser wash joint - sprays the underbody and wheels with high pressure water, and doesn't touch your car with anything. usually it's a good result for a touchless wash. so if you have one local, i'd go that route.

on the contrary, a friend's coworker in his department took his black E46 M3 he's trying to sell through Mike's, and the water didn't turn on. so they gave him a free wash, and he took it through again, and the water still didn't turn on. you can imagine the outcome of that - i believe Mike's took care of the car though.

[buzbomb]

Morning cartoons are over, time to photo-bomb the thread!

Here's another DIY, I'll call it "Fixing a Cracked Caddy".

Step one: Find the crack & clean it up:



Here we see where someone in the past repaired some accident damage to the driver's side front of Adam's Caddy. They neatly sliced thru the front motor support rail, down thru the front roll pan. This was all tacked together by brazing and not with MIG weld, and the vibrations / stress of the motor had split it all out:



The front had a light cover of bondo, and once it was removed you can see the brass-like brazed area. The brazing needs to be completely removed, as the MIG welding process won't work on brass. So, big grinder comes out of the box & lots of sparks fly, then the MIG welder does it's thing:



What a lovely scar I welded, huh? I repaired this using the "Butt With Backer" approach, where one places a thin strip of sheet steel behind the crack & both sides of said crack get welded to the backing sheet. Here's the mess I created on the inside:



All ground down & a light coat of paint to keep it from rusting - Adam gets to make it look pretty:





Now it's back to being a strong supporting member for the mighty rebuilt 1.6D motor

[buzbomb]

While I'm on the subject of Adam's Caddy, let's take a look at what killed the motor

The previous owner claimed that his "mechanic" had overfilled the oil by 6 quarts, which swamped the oil pump, which starved the motor of lubricants, which caused it to lock up tighter than your prom date's legs after you told her she "looked a little chunky in that dress"...

The diesel class tore down the bottom end last week while I was home with bronchitis, so yesterday was the first time I got to examine the damage. Here's the block & crank getting cleaned up & the head bolt threads chased:



Through forensic research (or just a lucky guess, IDK) we determined that this was the start of the issue - lack of oil caused the #1 rod bearing to eat itself, and the debris clogged up the oiling hole in the crank:



The now total lack of oil caused the bearing to shread itself. Here's a shot of the rod & what's left of the bearing, which is now paper thin. All this was welded together to the crank journal:



You can see the grooves in not only the bearing surfaces & the crank journal, but also the rod end:



Fortunately, the #1 cylinder and piston are fine, so we'll be able to reuse them. The crank & #1 rod are fux0r'd, good only to hang on the wall o' shame

We sourced a new bottom end from mechanicaldiesel (thanks again Ben!):



We were hoping to swap this new block assembly in, but closer examination revealed a large crack across the front of the block that runs thru 3 of the head bolts and water jackets that we didn't see when we picked it up. Fortunately, we'll be able to use the crank, #1 rod & bearings from this block to fix the original block

So, next episode of "WFT Can Happen to Adam's Caddy Next", we'll measure / hone / install new rings / put the rotating assembly back together

[buzbomb]

One more - we're gonna call this "Keep Track of Your Nuts"

Adam noticed that the timing belt on his paint project MK4 Golf 2.0 was looking a little rough, so it spent a couple days keeping the Caddy company:



Brought it into the shop last Monday & started disecting. Belt was far more chewed up that originally thought. As I removed the lower timing belt cover, this little critter fell out:



At some point, said nut found it's way into the belt covers and went for a wild ride:



Here you can see where the bolt got stuck in the belt & tried to force it's way through - I found 4 different spots where this happened:



As the bolt was going for it's wild ride of destruction & carnage, it ate the crankshaft timing pulley:



To add insult to injury and just to be an even bigger pain in the ass, the bolt holding said chewed pulley to the crank now refuses to unscrew

So, stay tuned next week as we continue to explore just how bad Adam's automotive karma can be as we try a couple tricks to get that pesky crank bolt off

[04VWGTITURBO]

The end of the world...its coming.

[buzbomb]

The end of the world...its coming.

One more to round out my thread photo bombing for today - Scooter's rear axle had numerous issues, and last month the exhaust decided to rust away to nothing. Since winter is almost upon us, I decided to do something about both issues.

I started with the rear axle - the original was bent, and the rear bushings were only a memory. I had been saving the rear axle from Byler's red G60 Corrado because it was straight & rust free, but it's bushings were pretty shot as well. Captain Morgan gave me a tip to remove the old wasted bushings:



New in the middle - guess which one practically fell out once VW specific tool #BFH was applied

After a liberal application of Mr. Grinder, I sprayed some Rustoleum on the replacement axle:



Once it dried, I drug it down into the basement & proceeded to press the new bushings in place. I had found a couple threads on the MK3 forums about how difficult / impossible it was to install the new bushings with a typical hydraulic press, and decided to use a different method which required the "modification" of a couple Pitman arm pullers:



Lube the bushings up with some Murphey's Oil Soap, screw everything together & give it hell:



Both went in easier than I thought, although one of the bushings went in crooked & I may have to destroy it getting it out, but hey that's how you learn Anyway, finished shot:



I'll do a test fit sometime this week. Once the old axle comes off of Scooter, I'll be ripping the old rusty stock exhaust out & replacing it with the TT 2.25" stainless w/ Borla muffler that came off my red '86 GTI. Then the new axle will go in

[MikeHock]

Damn Brian! I love the picture updates Lots of good stuff going on.


I spent some time in Columbus over the past day or so. Left work last evening and made the trek to my friends place. Plan was to do a 75,000 mile service on the Audi...essentially timing belt, water pump, all that jazz. Didnt really get a chance to take many pictures except one. No real surprises until we noticed one of the accessory belts I ordered was the wrong size. So I'll have to get that sorted out later (old belt is ok). Pending snow tire installation the car is ready for winter use.

Another reason for the Columbus adventure was the 2nd annual Spook Rally!! This was a VERY fun drive set up by a few Ohio guys. Basically we met up and took this road (Ohio 555) and ended up at a guys house for grub. I was lucky enough to take Brandon's UrS6 Avant (RS2'd, other goodes, VERY fast). If I didnt miss driving a turbo car Id be lying. This thing hauls serious ass. The drive was fun but the hills were nuts and quite blind, so I was a bit cautious after going over the first one way too fast (80mph fast....). Corners were great even for a pig of a car.

A few pictures...(the white avant was my chariot)....

Timing belt fun!!!

[n0rdicalex.]

wow brian, very brave to do those bushings!

i read the DIY's before we replaced mine, and decided no way.

[MByler1]

Pretty cool last couple of weekends...



More from Grattan here :
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/25733054_rwMj87

Lots of photos & videos to edit and upload...

Byler

[vw fiend]

Volktoberfest is Sunday in Lebanon, mostly AC stuff

[buzbomb]

Volktoberfest is Sunday in Lebanon, mostly AC stuff

Rats, I'm headed to Muskegon for the weekend - midterms are over and we're getting out of town

Took advantage of the slack time between tests to do a little fix on Scooter. Two weeks ago it developed a nasty exhaust leak (note - open headers are LOUD), and I finally got it jacked up in the garage to investigate. I figured the culprit would be the rusty muffler had finally given up the ghost, but no:



The rusty, blown out piece on the left is the downpipe connection to the cat - new replacement flange on the right. Three new bolts & some new exhaust hangers later, and Scooter is pretty much silent again

[n0rdicalex.]

decided to visit some college friends that had their first baby two weeks ago, last tuesday after my 75k R service, and since i was in the area, i decided to make a stop and buy this:



missed out on the last few Lego Holiday sets, and i'm not paying the ebay prices people want, so i made sure to get this one.

looks like i get to go back again this coming tuesday so they can actually do the haldex service. apparently they didn't have the tool and some of the parts (seal and spare drain plug). they ordered them and scheduled me a new appointment. it was really frustrating at the time, but they (dreyer & reinbold) treated me really well and promised a discount on the haldex job.

also nice to hear from the tech and service writer that the engine, trans, and underbody on my R are super clean, and there are NO leaks/seeps anywhere. makes my decision to park it for winter that much easier.

[dreamweaver]

Ok, my 95 Golf GL 2liter manual tran is causing me problems. Typically when it rains or after its been raining my car won't start, starts but runs really rough until it warms up, or starts but the throttle gets less responsive and idles around 3000 rpm.

Novinger pulled codes and got 00515 camshaft position sensor G40 (short to ground) (intermittent)

After jiggling the throttle cable my car stopped idling at 3000rpm and seems to run almost normal. Does this issue seem as simple as needing to lobe up the throttle cable and call it a day?

[04VWGTITURBO]

Nick- lube it up. It wont hurt anything and if that fixes your problem then great! I would clean the inside of the throttle body too, in case its getting stuck (because its dirty).

Next, I would look into some ignition replacement parts (cheap)...new cap, rotor, spark plugs can all be had for around $20 for the ABA motor in your car.

Last, I would check out your timing belt for wear (or in my case holes and tears, as seen in buzbombs post) My golf threw a cam position sensor code in that car which led me to discover a beat up timing belt due to a random nut. The cam position sensors for mk3s arent that expensive if your belt isnt the problem, but if that sensor is bad or going bad, you can expect some misfires and lack of performance.

I remember your engine bay being fairly clean but you may want to check for cracked wires close to the engine (more specifically the throttle body position sensor wires and distributor wires) Do a search on here for 00515 if you need anymore ideas to try, make sure the search results pop up for your car as several engines can have that trouble code

If you cant figure it out give me a call (this is Adam btw) and ill try to help if you get stumped, but keep in mind I have a 4month old so I dont exactly have any "free time"

Good luck!

[vw fiend]

tinting the windows on the wagon Fridayl; think Rachel will have a huge adjustment to night driving at 30%?

to mud flap, or to not mud flap? they'll protect the car, but what about the junk that gets suck in the seams up against the paint?

[n0rdicalex.]

i've never been a fan of mudflaps on cars. i don't like the way they usually look, and like you mentioned, they can trap some sand/grit and wear down the paint.

maybe get some of that 3M Clear Bra material, and put it where there will be standard chips from the tires.

[buzbomb]

dreamweaver - Adam's got some good suggestions, especially changing out old spark plug wires. After time they crack, and when it's humid / wet the moisture causes weird sparking issues. You can double-check this by starting the car in a dark area & spraying down the wires with a fine mist of water. You'll see the sparks

I'd also check the intake rubber boots / tubes for cracks and make sure the clamps are snug. Any air that gets in past the MAF is unmetered air, and it'll raise your idle & cause mid-rpm power loss. I've seen lots of MK3 cars with splits in the intake boots that cause rough idle & lack of power.

Also - clean out your throttle body, and don't use Carb Cleaner - ONLY use Fuel Injection / Throttle Body Cleaner. Carb cleaner is way too harsh for the seals in the injection system, and it'll destroy a MAF pretty quickly.

vwfiend - n0rdicalex's suggestion of Clear Bra material is a good one, it won't trap any salt / grunge / nasty-nasty behind the flap

Speaking of Adam's lost nut - I finally got the crank pulley bolt to come off, happy days! Morgan had made a great crank pulley holding tool that I forgot to steal from him when he went off to PA, so I had to make my own yesterday. It's pretty simple, all you need is a couple pieces of scrap steel, a welder, and a end mill to cut the fancy half-circle to clear the crank bolt:



Bolt the tool to the crank and have two of the larger guys in the shop hold it while the other guy works on the crank bolt with a breaker bar & 6-foot long cheater pipe, and voila it spins right off

Here's the tool & crank pulley for comparison (and yes, it did get bent with two large guys pulling against said cheater bar setup):



Here's a close-up of the wasted crank pulley. You can see how the teeth were chewed up by the loose nut. Look closely just below the VW/Audi logo, you'll see where the bolt actually bent the crank pulley



All this damage just from one dropped 13mm nut

[LateAPXR]

My golf threw a cam position sensor code in that car which led me to discover a beat up timing belt due to a random nut. The cam position sensors for mk3s arent that expensive if your belt isnt the problem, but if that sensor is bad or going bad, you can expect some misfires and lack of performance.

Yep, we started the car at one point while pulling codes so that I could see what was happening. It was definitely miss-firing randomly and struggled to find an idle point until the engine warmed up and/or Nick jiggled the throttle cable around. Both happened at about the same time so I'm not sure what it was that fixed it (for certain anyhow).

Once it warmed up it sounded and felt normal.

[vw fiend]

I actually dont mind the mud flaps, just torn about whether they'll do more good than bad.

I've clear bra-ed the hood, fenders and mirrors, and have Laminex waiting for the headlights.

[buzbomb]

Yep, we started the car at one point while pulling codes so that I could see what was happening. It was definitely miss-firing randomly and struggled to find an idle point until the engine warmed up and/or Nick jiggled the throttle cable around. Both happened at about the same time so I'm not sure what it was that fixed it (for certain anyhow).

Once it warmed up it sounded and felt normal.

The only way the throttle cable will have anything to do with a ignition misfire or the cam position sensor is if the motor is trying to ground itself thru said throttle cable, and chances are you would have felt it as a shock. You might examine the spark plug wires and cam position sensor wiring to make sure one or more haven't rubbed on the block and caused a short to ground.

Remember, as the engine warms up, metal / plastic / rubber expands with heat. When it's cold, the cracks open up. Once warmed up, said cracks might seal themselves shut. If the motor is running better once it warms up, that still points to cracks in intake boots / cracks in plug wires (and without putting eyes / hands on this car, that's still where I'd be looking)...

vw fiend - I doubt you're going to take a "scene points hit" for putting mud flaps on your wife's DD wagon, do what you feel is right

[vw fiend]

vw fiend - I doubt you're going to take a "scene points hit" for putting mud flaps on your wife's DD wagon, do what you feel is right

I'm just trying to protect what I'll inevitably inherit as a DD one day...

[04VWGTITURBO]

Might as well do what you can to keep it clean. Im happy i strictly enforced the "dont touch my car" rule with my 04 gti. If i dont even lean up against it why should you? (that used to piss my friends off when i was an 18 year old) Now its just another 8-9 year old mk4 but the last few times ive had it out of the garage ive had people tell me the respray looks amazing, even tho its factory paint

[MikeHock]

Cars and Coffee Saturday...anyone going? I'll be there for a bit as the weather should be nice.

[FACTORYBOOST]

Cars and Coffee Saturday...anyone going? I'll be there for a bit as the weather should be nice.

I'll be at work...

[MByler1]

Sold em...

[buzbomb]

Posting this up from the Strictly German Facebook page:



October Strictly German meeting - next Tuesday, Oct. 23rd, 7:30pm - IHOP at the intersection of Lima & Washington Center

[buzbomb]

Put Scooter up on the alignment rack just to see how bent the rear axle was before I ripped it out.

This is the alignment computer screen, and it's real easy to figure out what needs changed from this readout. Basically, anything in the red is bad, green is OK, and you can get to "great" by being nit-picky with the numbers:



The rear axle numbers weren't a real shock, I knew that axle was tweaked. But the front toe & camber was a surprise - I had paid Fox & Fox to do a alignment 9 months ago, car drove straight, but the driver's side setting is just not acceptable Only took 5 minutes to set toe correctly. Once I get the rear axle replaced, I'll grind out the front strut mounting holes to get the camber back where it belongs

[MikeHock]

I should be able to make the meet!

[MByler1]

Some know this better than others...

Byler

[FACTORYBOOST]

That's pretty awesome Byler! And I saw a Neon not too long ago that had a tie rod/rack break. The front wheels were perpendicular to each other...