Ronin225's Candy rimmed Black LCR - Project 500-4WD, Cage installed and bigger turbo

[grahams81]

Just found some bed time reading for you - an extremely useful haldex training guide -

http://www.vaglinks.com/Docs/VW/Misc/VW_Haldex_AWD_SelfStudyGuide.pdf

 

[Ronin225]

Thats where i got the pic from which keeps referring to th J220 Engine control unit.
I found a link to a bentley manual saying that J220 is located under the scuttle hence thinking it must have communication with the main ECU.
I will have a late night cup of tea and read it again as there is a hell of a lot of information to take in

 

[Ronin225]

Had a quick hour of daylight after work before it got dark so thought id do some more removal and finding it quite interesting how similar the audi is put together to the leon but is that little bit different too.
Heres one example that interested me, everybody knows the TT and the S3 have vents in the arch lining to aid flow through the SMIC's but after removing the liner i found the vents go much higher.
The intake actually goes through the wing and is picked up in the wheel arch
The top half is very similar to the leon then disappears into the wing

Then the intake with arch liner removed

Then managed to disassemble the front quite quickly so may keep the washer bottle and pump and install some headlight washers in mine

 

[Ronin225]

Well had another day of cracking on with the S3, getting towards the bits i need now and hopefully learning a bit about the constructionetc of these cars.

I've decided to keep the 5.5l washer bottle and install some headlight washers.
Phillc has done this already and told me where to get the extra loom required from so i may do a guide when i come to fit it.
Ive also put aside all the bits for the S3 engine covers so i'll put all the parts numbers up soon for anyone who is interested and wanting to fit some.
I've also been doing some reading up on these haldex systems, they dont seem overly complicated mechanically or hydraulically as most the unit is contained.
On the electronics side i'm finding it difficult to find if the S3 uses the same ECU as the LCR.
If so are some ports/areas of the ECU not used on the 2wd cars?
Would swapping the S3's ECU into the LCR be a better option than attempting to fettle the LCR's one??
I have sent a few emails to tuners but not heard back, so any haldex gurus out there?

 

[john_tdi]

Had a quick hour of daylight after work before it got dark so thought id do some more removal and finding it quite interesting how similar the audi is put together to the leon but is that little bit different too.
Heres one example that interested me, everybody knows the TT and the S3 have vents in the arch lining to aid flow through the SMIC's but after removing the liner i found the vents go much higher.
The intake actually goes through the wing and is picked up in the wheel arch
The top half is very similar to the leon then disappears into the wing

Then the intake with arch liner removed

Then managed to disassemble the front quite quickly so may keep the washer bottle and pump and install some headlight washers in mine

My octavia vrs 1.8t had the same thing (filter intake). Just stopped in the inner wing. Doesn't half look like the same thing.

 

[t0m]

Ronin, have you rung Bill on the ECU swap potential?

My gut feeling is to use the S3 one because of the Haldex.... but tbh this is out of my depth.

Keen to see what people have to say on this issue.

Keep it up mate

 

[Ronin225]

My octavia vrs 1.8t had the same thing (filter intake). Just stopped in the inner wing. Doesn't half look like the same thing.

Interesting, maybe the leon is the odd one out with its intake?

Ronin, have you rung Bill on the ECU swap potential?

My gut feeling is to use the S3 one because of the Haldex.... but tbh this is out of my depth.

Keen to see what people have to say on this issue.

Keep it up mate

Not spoken to bill about the ECU issues yet but i have briefly spoken to him when i've been picking some bits up.
Trying to keep as much of the control as OE as possible hoping it might be more dependable than multiple separate stand alone systems and less problematic

 

[t0m]

Not spoken to bill about the ECU issues yet but i have briefly spoken to him when i've been picking some bits up.
Trying to keep as much of the control as OE as possible hoping it might be more dependable than multiple separate stand alone systems and less problematic

Indeed, would have thought the more OE the better in that respect.

I'm sure you'll get the answers soon enough.

Going to be an awesome car when finished!

 

[m0rk]

Would something like this not get round it?

http://www.sqsracing.com/produkt/314:406:haldex-regulator-controler-valve

Bit awkward to get at to adjust.... but then I bet it's one of those things that's set once it's set

 

[Ronin225]

Indeed, would have thought the more OE the better in that respect.

I'm sure you'll get the answers soon enough.

Going to be an awesome car when finished!

Well cheers mate hopefully will all go smooth.
You never know it might be the next big thing everybody starts doing to the LCR

 

[Ronin225]

Would something like this not get round it?

http://www.sqsracing.com/produkt/314:406:haldex-regulator-controler-valve

Bit awkward to get at to adjust.... but then I bet it's one of those things that's set once it's set

I thought that these were just to replace the existing haldex controller on the diff itself?
Its nice to get some ideas though and appreciate people input
I think i need to find someone who knows much more than me for a chat as i dont want to end up throwing or selling anything off the audi i'm going to need

 

[m0rk]

I've been having a read, the majority suggest using the Audi setup entirely

 

[Ronin225]

It would be nice to have the adjustablity though but it does put a lot more strain on the unit
Time to fire off some emails to the tuners
Tomorrow going to trying to strip the engine down as much as possible, being as its knackered and only some parts worth keeping im going to try to get away with stripping and removing with out a crane.
Anyone know much the gearbox weighs? 100-150kg??

 

[m0rk]

About 50kg - easily manageable by hand

 

[Ronin225]

Well had planned to do a few things tonight and pretty much failed on all of them
I started by thinking i would swap out my 007 and try the DV30 of the S3, after a quick vac check which it failed i didnt bother.
Need to look to strip and reseal the bailey valve now.
So after a mid week delivery of some tools and now having the correct torx socket to get the exhaust mani away from the turbo on the S3 i felt optomistic
The optomism was short lived as they were so tight i felt like i needed arnie to help removing them. I got one of three out by using jimmy bar and small piece of pipe and a spanner on the end of that.
So thought i'd give it a good soke in some WD and couldnt find it, so will get a large piece of pipe tomorrow and massively increase my mechanical advantage.
So after epically failing these i went out to get some petrol and while it was nice and quiet i thought i would have a joyful drive back.
Well hit limp mode again so obviously hit the 200g/s limit so then tootled home and found my exhaust manifold glowing white and steaming instead of its usual cherry red, i'll be expecting some cracks in this when it comes of for the rebuild so all in all not a good day

 

[Ronin225]

So another day of getting down to the bits i need
Managed to break a brand new torx driver from britool trying to remove one of the wings.
Had another go at the exhaust manifold bolts and just completely screwed them then tried to to get one of the sockets that cuts in to remove them and dropped it down the back and it didnt drop through.
So i thought id get the wheels and suspension off, well start after i got the wings off
So after drilling out about 8 bolts i got the wings off and i cracked all the wheel bolts and jacked it up.
After struggling like buggery to undo the bolts for the calipers and carriers i found the disc had the retaining countersunk screw completely rounded, so i then drilled these out, then realised i hadnt undone the hub nuts so wheels back on and todays best friend the breaker bar came out.
I also took some pics that i'll post in the mk1 section with the different types for people doing the conversion.
When i got my donor wishbones for my lcr they came from an s3 i had a little bracket on that i removed as there was nothing to attach to it but now i see the s3 has some sort of sensor on this.
I dont know if this is part of the ESP or self leveling headlights but i'll get the part number tomorrow and find out what it is

I also had a look under towards the back to see how the rear axle is in comparision with the rear beam and it appears the exhaust has a pancake point

After attacking most of the front with a breaker bar and finding nearly nothing had been touched since it was made and everything was rusted solid i made some progress but will finish it off and phill will be round for assistance too.
So had a quick go at the rear too and got most of it up and loosen and can now see what i want

Then as ever the lick of light stopped play and now heres how it stands

Looking forward to really cracking on tomorrow too, engine out is job number 1

 

[m0rk]

The link from the wishbone to a sensor is the self levelling sensor for the xenons.

 

[EL]

This is the problem with cars at this age, bolts which have never been touched become a pig to take off. Good luck with the rest of the build dude, only just caught up on what your doing!!!!

 

[Ronin225]

Another day and more graft
So today i had the much appreciated muscle and knowledge of phillc for help
I started by finishing the back brakes off and phill started by removing some of the loom out of the bay to get more access for the rip out
With these done we started to remove the head to leave the block and gearbox, so at this point we were feeling confident, even stopped for a beer and a photo

Then it all went wrong
The exhaust manifold i'd been struggling on in the evenings became a total pain and the bolts total rounded.
So with no other real choice after cursing the stupid design of the bolts i thought drilling was the only solution.
Obviously the heat these have been cycled through over the 12 years theyve been in as hardened them so i knew they wouldnt give up easily.
I only had normal HSS bits and they didnt really do alot TBH apart from stray so tomorrow i will have a search around for some cobalt bits or at least carbide tipped tools.
So exhaust mani now looks like this

Whilst i was firing out abuse up top phill started to fully remove the hubs and wishbones i had started yesterday.
All these major parts are bit of a testament to audi's build quality as they were original but all the fixings rusted solid
The driveshafts wouldnt come out of the hubs even though the nut was off and with persuasion with a lump hammer wouldnt budge.
After stripping the front out in bigger parts than originally wanted including attempted driveshaft removal on one side but not the other most of the front was gone.
We then dropped the subframe to allow access better to the prop and downpipe but still not got enough room and being as all the bolts are solid you need my massive breaker bar to crack them
Phill also removed all the auxillary bits and bracket so engine is nearly for the out but ran out of time and equipment.
So at the end of the day this is how it stands, will get some decent drills tomorrow and try to get rid of the POS exhaust mani bolts.

Organised a day off friday and myself and phill will hit it hard again then, probably with lots of swearing again too

 

[grahams81]

Buy a plasma cutter and be done with it....

For the price and ease of removing stupid bolts etc it'd be worth it - plus it'll make the 4wd a doddle. £180 for a 3 in one welder / ARC / TIG Plasma off of flea bay.

Have you not considered removing the down pipe and leaving the turbo on the engine until it's out ?

Also if the front subframes off just disconnect the prop / exhaust and pull it all backwards....

I don't envy you the strip down job mate - although at least your gonna have all the bits for the conversion to hand.

Anyways good luck... your gonna need it