Project: Wife's Diesel Golf "GTD"

[Kameirocco]

i'm bored with these updates, get it runnin will ya

j/k doin a good job bub! keep up the good work, you're at the end/frustrating/kill someone/irritating part of just about every project.. getting it back running

[TheWolfsburg]

This is an awesome build... looking forward to seeing the finally product.

[Lord_Verminaard]

Thanks!

Well here we go. Another update, I've actually been working on it pretty steadily, but it seems that some days I'll spend the whole day and nothing really ends up getting done. But there is some real progress to report.

First up, the wiring is all finished and the interior is back together except for the passenger seat. I had ripped all the seats out, most of the carpet, and vaccumed everything while I was doing the wiring. Got all of the gauges sorted and working, and got the glow plug "pimping" done. I was figuring out where to mount all of the electrical additions with the glow plug system and relaying the headlights and didn't like the idea of just plopping it in the engine bay somewhere. So I had a spare ECU bracket from a digi car, and low and behold, the Golf has the mounting pins for it in the raintray. So I decided to put all my crap on that.

I especially like the solenoid underneath like that away from stray tools and wires and whatnot as opposed to being in the engine bay directly.

Here it is all wired up and installed:

I spent a lot of time wiping down everything inside the car to clean it up before I put it together. Here's the results of that effort:

On order are all new seat sliders and a new switch blank to cover that hole. Stereo coming eventually.

Next up, the god damn intercooler. For the record, the SAAB intercooler is not the best for this application, there just isn't a good place for it. I spent most of a day modding the AC condenser from my Corrado to make it fit since it was a little bit smaller, and when I was putting all of the AC lines back in, (with new o-rings) I twisted off the end of one of the fittings, and it was the last freaking line before the system was done. DAMMIT! So I yanked all of it except the compressor out. No AC for this car for now, maybe later. That gave me more space to mount the intercooler but it was still a bastard, I had to cut one of the mounting posts off of the intercooler, and nip one of the mounting bosses off of the radiator, and cut a lot of the core support away completely. But it fits!

Also tucked away on the right side is the oil cooler with a simple L-bracket to hold it in place.

The intercooler piping was a pain too. I had some left over exhaust bends, so I had to fabricate some pipes to go along with the cxracing.com aluminum pipe kit. I had to dimple one of the pipes with a hammer to clear the Alt. pulley:

It's a TIGHT fit. But I think it will work. Here are the rest of the pics that I took tonight:

The bay as it sits right now:

Still a few wires to clean up when I get around to it.

Yes, I'll put the upper timing cover back on. Didn't feel like doing it tonight.

The "Spectre" air filter and intake pipe kit from the rice section at AutoStoned. PITA to work with and the pipes are plastic, but unless you can bend and weld aluminum, it will have to do. It actually fits pretty nicely after I got it all together.

Whew. I had a bit of drama as some of you might know, I had to remove the injection pump to fix a coolant leak that I could not reach, and apparently when it put it back together, I got the timing off a bit and she wouldn't start. I went out and fixed that tonight and she starts right up, and no sign of the leak either. I think the timing is still advanced a bit too much as the "diesel clatter" is a bit louder than I think it should be, but it's about time to drive this thing.

I need to un-stick the parking brake, slap on the axles, (still have no idea if the turbo oil drain line will clear!!!) and get it on the ground for a trial run. Hopefully I can get that done this weekend. Wish me luck!!!

Brendan

[Michael Bee]

so.... what's the KBB value of this Golf then??

[punchbug]

Quote, originally posted by Lord_Verminaard »

. Wish me luck!!! Brendan

Obviously! Awesome that you're SO CLOSE!!!!!!!

[DubbinChris]

Great work man. Only suggestion...put a grommet in that hole where those 4 red wires pass through the hole in that digi mount plate. Also that silver braided heavy gauge wire sure looks famaliar...haha

[Lord_Verminaard]

Quote, originally posted by Michael Bee »

so.... what's the KBB value of this Golf then??

ROFL About six dollars. (drama in my Corrado sale thread)

Quote, originally posted by punchbug »

Awesome that you're SO CLOSE!!!!!!!

Close? HA! We've only just begun! Muahahaha!!!

Quote, originally posted by DubbinChris »

Only suggestion...put a grommet in that hole where those 4 red wires pass through the hole in that digi mount plate. Also that silver braided heavy gauge wire sure looks famaliar...haha

I got grommets. Yeah that cable- heh, I had to cut some of it to get it out, and I could have sworn I had a spare set of jumper cables to cut up for this but couldn't find them. I still have most of the other wires intact if you want them back.

Brendan

[DubbinChris]

Yeah I really got those cables in there good iirc. I wouldn't mind those patch cables back actually. No hurry obviously.

Can't want to hear this thing run in person.

[DubbinChris]

Quote, originally posted by Lord_Verminaard »

Thanks! Whew. I had a bit of drama as some of you might know, I had to remove the injection pump to fix a coolant leak that I could not reach, and apparently when it put it back together, I got the timing off a bit and she wouldn't start. I went out and fixed that tonight and she starts right up, and no sign of the leak either. I think the timing is still advanced a bit too much as the "diesel clatter" is a bit louder than I think it should be, but it's about time to drive this thing.

I just read this again. I hope nothing crashed in the motor when the timing was off. I don't know much it needs to be off for valves to crash. Hopefully it was just the IP that was off a tooth or two and not the cam pulley.

BTW do you have the puller to pull off that IP pulley? I need to borrow one at some point as I have an IDI pump to pull on my Quantum to have it resealed but can't track down the puller. I have the locking plate and pin but no puller. Everyone I know has the TDI and the puller for that is different.

[TheWolfsburg]

Quote, originally posted by Michael Bee »

so.... what's the KBB value of this Golf then??

ROFLMFAO.....oh i almost hurt myself when I read that!!!!!!!

[biturbocurious]

Looking good man. Subscribed for sure. Still fairly new to the Diesel market myself, but I'm learning and modding fast! You have me a little worried on this though:

Quote, originally posted by Lord_Verminaard »

Drilled and taped the EGT port on the manifold- that was a bitch, since the runners would interfere with the T-handle wrench I was using on the tap- I had to inch it about an 1/8th of a turn, reposition the wrench, do another 1/8th of a turn, then carefully use a pipe wrench about 1/4 of a turn, then back to the T-handle again. Took forever.

I've ALWAYS tapped the EGT probe in the DP on all my turbo cars (as the gauge manufacturer recommends). Your reading won't be that far off, and if the probe breaks it won't cost you turbo.

[Lord_Verminaard]

Thanks for the concern, I'm not worried. VDO recommends pre-turbo tapping, and from the looks of the probe, the only way it would break is if a giant chunk of piston came out of the head and slammed into it at full speed.

Update, I drove it to work today.

We took it for a test-spin on Sunday, and everything went well. No leaks, no scary noises, and it drives really well.

Monday, we got it registered, titled, and insured. I also lined up the headlights and put air in the tires.

A few concerns, but nothing major. Rear wheel bearings are shot, the alignment is out pretty badly, and I have a boost leak somewhere. And I need more fuel, it doesn't smoke even a little bit.

The speedo/odo do not work. I hear clicking in the cluster though, that usually means it's fooked, right?

The 4-crawler relay shaft ball bushing thingy is too tight. The shifter does not auto-center and it's annoying. Going to have to figure out how to fix that.

The power steering doesn't feel like it's doing much. It's stiff. REALLY stiff, like stiffer than the manual steering in my Scirocco with 195's and this car only has 155's. Laura won't like that.

It started instantly, and I mean instantly this morning, it was cold too, about 30* F, and I didn't use the block heater. That makes me happy.

No pics or video yet, Laura left her camera at a friend's house.

So far though, I'm happy, it's turning out to be a really great little car.

Now, I'm off to flog it a little more for a proper break-in.

Brendan

[punchbug]

Quote, originally posted by Lord_Verminaard »

Close? HA! We've only just begun! Muahahaha!!!

Wait, I'm confused. (my normal condition) Were you not just saying that you were flogging it, or are we talking about two different cars?

(How's that flogging going? Has morale im proved yet? )

[Lord_Verminaard]

Quote, originally posted by punchbug »

Wait, I'm confused. (my normal condition) Were you not just saying that you were flogging it, or are we talking about two different cars? (How's that flogging going? Has morale im proved yet? )

I guess I was just referring to the fact that most VW projects are not ever really done. Just being able to drive the thing is like, phase 1.

On a side note, the goddamn headgasket is leaking coolant. Apparently I didn't seal up the extra coolant passage well enough on the AAZ headgasket. There's $120 down the tubes. Does not look like the weather is going to cooperate either. Rawr!

Brendan

[Lord_Verminaard]

Oh yeah, and FWIW, G12 plus will eat paint off of an engine block.

Brendan

[TheWolfsburg]

Quote, originally posted by Lord_Verminaard »

Oh yeah, and FWIW, G12 plus will eat paint off of an engine block. Brendan

oh noes!!!! Sorry to hear that... things looked to be coming so nicely. But small potatos, things could be worse