Grahams81-Leon 4wd, Big Turbo - Back in the saddle :-)

[grahams81]

This second rebuild seems to be pretty hardcore, what sort of power are you looking for now?

Get that head in the dishwasher whilst your mrs ain't looking

I just want to make sure it holds up, the turbo is rated for 500-800hp so i wan't to stretch it's legs ..... 650 would be nice lol, just got to see how it runs and then aim at keeping it all safe
Oh and the cylinder head's already been in the dishwasher once..... took me longer to clean the dishwasher out than it would have to just clean the head

Nice car mate good read

Cheers bud.

Fantastic attention to detail buddy, I'm like a kid in a candy store waiting for the next update

Thanks Mate... much appreciated.

Epic build matey, look forward to seeing how things develop

Thanks pal, i've been watching your mk2 thread.... a really good read

Took me 2 days to read this thread end to end and it's safe to say that my flabber is well and truly gasted at the immense amount of skill, dedication and attention to detail...

Keep up the good work buddy!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Wow thanks for the kind words.... thats some dedication to read all them pages... well done

Update time

Spent a couple of hours in the garage the last couple of days.
Lately I have been deliberating wether or not to remove the plugs from the oil galleries and clean them out with a pipe brush.

Here are the pesky ball bearings used to plug the oil galleries -

I did think about removing the ball bearings but after centre punching one with a HSS tap it didn't even mark it.... hard as hell

Anyhow i did some further inspection - I used a drill bit (by hand) through the oil holes for the lifters / camshaft journals - the drill didn't remove any unexpected carbon / coking.
Next i then plugged the holes up with Blue-tak and checked everyone of the lubrication points with compressed air..... all clear and none blocked so happy days.

I then started to clean the head up a little more than i did originally. When you look into how the camshaft journals get lubricated they use the bolt holes as a gallery..... the first time round i didn't clean them so good -

I found a 8mm drill fitted perfect so i used it (again by hand) gently turning it to remove the old oily buildup.... then cleaned each thread out using a bottle style brush -

After cleaning looking much better -

All cleaned up and ready for installation -

Next i positioned the crank just before TDC of cylinder 1 & 4.... as i was installing the head without cams there wasn't really any chance of any touching the pistons but why risk it

I then got the parts out of the spare room i was going to need for the re-assembly.

New Integrated Engineering overbore head gasket (allows bores of up to 83.5mm)..... i did think about re-using the one i originally built the engine up with as it'd never been het cycled etc.
Then i chickened out and thought for the price of the gasket i'll kick myself if it gave way -

Next job was to dig out the ARP Head stud kit and clean it up after the first installation.
Cleaned all the old lube off and put some fresh ARP Ultra-Torque Assembly Lubricant on the threads.

Installed by hand -

Unpacked the head gasket, cleaned it up and dropped it on, taking care about the orientation -

Hopefully the last time i'll see the pistons

I then carefully lifted the head onto the block.... locating in the pins -

I then lubricated the bottom edge of the ARP nuts and dropped them on. I then followed the instructions and hand tightened all the nuts in sequence, followed by torquing them to 20,40,60 then finally 80ft/lbs.

Instructions for reference -

Shot all torqued down showing the ARP nuts -

Next out of the spare room came some more IE goodies -

IE Billet Adjustable Cam Pulley, EKAGrip washer, ARP Bolt -

Next up unpacked my Integrated Engineering IECVA1's... these are the version 1's that i bought from Clay @ CTS ages ago -

The camshafts claim an extra 100bhp on GT30 sized turbo's and after comparing them to original cams i can quite believe it !!

Comparison of Exhaust Cams -

Comparison of Inlet Cams -

By the looks of the cams IE really went to town with the design of these, nice radiuses on the noses... plenty of duration.... looks like it'll be easier on the valve train than the peaky OEM cams.

Assembly time, put the Camshaft oil seal on, then the EKAGrip disc on - served with lashings of loctite style stuff. Torqued the bolt to 55ft/lbs if i can remember right (what ever the instructions said for the ARP bolt) -

Same for the inlet cam, seal on then trigger window - the OEM torque level was really low so i also loctited the bolt in, and torqued to OEM spec -

Placed them in the head to check fitment (without Lifters).... all good on the exhaust cam.
BUT then i ran into a problem with the Inlet camshaft.

The inlet cam didn't want to seat fully into the head, it was awfully tight to rotate too.... hhhmm time to investigate. Dropped the stock inlet back in - that was free as a a bird.

I then busted out the verniers and started checking the journals of the IE cams... all perfect strange i thought but good news either way.
After much head scratching i thought ahhh maybe the width of the thrust cut out is too tight (last journal next to sprockets) again measured up all good.
I then found then last journal (thrust journal) on the cylinder head had burrs on it... Strange i checker all the journals very closely and it wasn't there before. That meant when i was turning the IE cam in the head it had burred the journal, but why all the sizes seamed perfect.

So i then concentrated on this journal and found the problem. The radiuses on the inlet camshaft were all not cut correctly, they are not deep enough.
For people who don't realise all changes in diameter should be radiused - the reason is a sharp 90 degree cut would create a weak point that a fracture could start from.

All of the journals of the cylinder head are much narrower than the cutout in the camshaft so the only one that was causing an issue was the rear Thrust journal as its wider than the rest (to stop the camshaft floating in and out)

I placed a flat edge along the journal and slid it along until it touched the rounded edge to show what i found -

When i inspected the journal in the head i could see the cam had been rubbing on the edge of it thus creating the burr. Hard to photograph with an iPhone but its the last journal (the one with the oil hole... not the one with the groove thats the cam seal seat)

I decided the easiest way out of this was to chamfer the journal in the head to give clearance for the radius. Machining the camshaft would have been very difficult as it would have been very very hard.
I then decided to put plenty of paper in the head to collect the swarf -

I then put a 1.0mm chamfer on the journal, both sides by hand, the aluminium is very soft so used a sharp knife and a needle file... again really hard to photo -

I did this a few times, taking off a bit at a time until the cam until it span freely... happy days.

This shows why you should never throw parts into an engine without checking and double checking stuff. Even very high class manufacturers like Integrated Engineering can have mistakes when having stuff made.
Most people just drop in cams but i think they should remove the lifter and check they spin freely with the caps installed.

Next up i cleaned up all the camshaft caps and torqued them down to OEM spec - they still span nice and freely.

I then unpacked the new hydraulic lifters and cleaned them up -

Removed the cam caps / camshafts in preparation for the final assembly -

Installed the lifters with plenty of redline lube on them -

I then put the crank round to TDC no 1 on the timing mark on the pulley and dropped the camshafts / VVC unit in with the new OEM timing chain -
Managed to get the timing right first time.... thinking it was luck more than judgement.
16 Rollers between camshaft marks

I also installed a new VVT gasket and half moon seal. A tiny bit of VW sealant on the areas that needed it (keeping away from the oil supply hole)

I then torqued down the cam caps in the correct order - Caps 2 & 4 first on each cam then 6 then 1 and finally 3. Cap 6 also got sealant on the faces.

Dropped in -

All bolted up and torqued

Next up, i popped the Gates kevlar belt on with the IE manual tensioner. I do have a TFSI tensioner coming from AL@PagParts which i'm gonna try out.
I'm planning on doing lots of testing with different set-ups - i'll report back on belt tensions once they arrive.

Next i cleaned up the rocker cover gaskets and fitted the covers to the inlet cams -

I cleaned up the NA rocker cover i bought a while ago and dropped it on -

Probably gonna paint it wrinkle black but i just want to get the motor all sealed up to stop any dirt getting into it.

And finally the money shot

Really happy now, just the oil filter housing to clean up then install the ancillaries.... oh and the sump.

Thanks for reading and any comments,

Graham.

 

[Applemobile]

Everytime i read threads like this, its amazing how many problems people come up against! Nice to see they never seem to come close to defeating you.

 

[Seal_LCR]

Wow just wow!

 

[Jules]

Amazing!!!

 

[Ronin225]

Im sure ive said it before but exceptional work
I still need to message you and sort this SEM too

 

[James23Parkin]

Incredible attention to detail as always Graham. I just wouldnt know where to start on something like this! I'll reiterate what Tim said; exceptional work. Hopefully you'll keep the momentum going and you'll meet your deadline for having the car road worthy in the months ahead. Roll on those European roads

 

[grahams81]

Everytime i read threads like this, its amazing how many problems people come up against! Nice to see they never seem to come close to defeating you.

Cheers mate, i've come close tonight to letting it beat me... see below

Wow just wow!

Amazing!!!

Cheers Guys

Im sure ive said it before but exceptional work
I still need to message you and sort this SEM too

Thanks Tim, i think i might just run with the SEM mate... can't really afford to start lashing out more money on an IE one. Sorry to let you down but have a look at the exchange rate and I'm sure you'll pick one up at the moment for next to nowt.

Incredible attention to detail as always Graham. I just wouldnt know where to start on something like this! I'll reiterate what Tim said; exceptional work. Hopefully you'll keep the momentum going and you'll meet your deadline for having the car road worthy in the months ahead. Roll on those European roads

Thanks as always for the supporting words James.... must appreciated

Mini Update

I'm working from home this week so i managed to sneak into the garage for a few hours tonight...... i wish i hadn't bothered.

I'll rewind a bit, at the weekend i put the inlet manifold on, fitted the ID1000 injectors. I haven't ordered an IE fuel rail yet, but it's on the shopping list. I fitted the OEM fuel rail to hold the injectors in place and keep any dirt out of the system.
I also fitted the dipstick and tube.

Pics for proof -

Next up i wanted to get the block sealed up so i started to look again at the INA Shallow Baffled Sump.
Last time i tried the sump it on it wouldn't sit right as it was fouling on the ARP mains due to the girdle.

There were welds penetrated into the sump -

So i measured up and got the dremmel out to start making a clearance for the bolts -

Once it was clear of the bolts i checked the clearance of the oil pump chain to the sump with plasticine and it measured up at 3mm.

Put the oil pick-up on -

After Gulfstream gave me a heads-up to check the dipstick hole position... i did and found it was just catching on the edge of the hole so i ground it oval a bit to clear it -

Then while i was checking the clearances i nipped some of the bolts down to find the sump pull up on the other side -

I then decided to try and nip the rest of the bolts down and check to see if the sump would pull up flush. I then torqued all the bolts down to spec and got the feeler gauges out.
Unfortunately there are areas that are not pulling down flush so i then took the sump off and started to look at it with a straight edge.

HHHhhhhhmmmmm not very happy... it's obviously pulled like hell when it's been welded.

Here's some pics showing the straight edge across the sump showing how crazy the angle of the plate is -

First pic showing me holding the straight edge against the plate...

The other end of the straight edge with a 3.5mm allen key showing the size of the gap

Tested a little bit further up closer to the edge to find it even more distorted... just over 4mm here -

Random shots from around the sump -

I think the only way to sort this is gonna be milling or grinding the face flat. I'm a bit p*ssed off really i shouldn't have to do this sort of thing.

Anyhow thats enough moaning for one night... so long.

 

[Applemobile]

That's pretty shoddy. Worth speaking to INA about, you must have spent a few quid with them, looks like poor quality controll.

 

[ADAM_84]

As said above get on to INA about the sump issue seen them deal with some issues they had with some other sumps I believe and they got sorted swiftly.

 

[grahams81]

That's pretty shoddy. Worth speaking to INA about, you must have spent a few quid with them, looks like poor quality controll.

As said above get on to INA about the sump issue seen them deal with some issues they had with some other sumps I believe and they got sorted swiftly.

I sent Issam an email and he replied saying there all like that and the only way would be to use thicker plate... hmmm doesn't really help me though

Small Update

I decided to go with a TSFI style cam belt tensioner instead of the IE manual set-up i was going to run.
It came last week from AL@Pagparts, this consists of a tensioner that fits into the core plug of the head, with a special bolt that goes from M10 to M8.

Here's the kit in question -

So i stripped off the Fluidamper / timing belt covers, this is the Manual set-up -

Here is a comparison between the tensioning rollers -

I fitted the new set-up with the supplied INA timing belt - i was doing some testing on belt tension using various belts.... i won't go into details in this thread as it was for a thread on VWVortex.
My final set-up is this tensioner with a Gates racing belt.

New set-up -

For those that are interested the new tensioner is spring loaded so it keeps the belt preloaded.

Here is how you set the tension -

I had to drill the timing belt cover to get it fitting flush. Here's a photo of the finished job

Sump -

I tried to straighten the flange of the sump in a vice a bit at a time on the low points.

I bolted it up and after a few attempts it wasn't that bad. So i put some sealant of and torqued it down.
I'll fill it up with oil on the stand and check for leaks.

Next job i stripped the paint off the oil filter housing block, i painted it black during the first engine build.... wish i hadn't as it took ages to get off.

Stripped it down -

And bolted it upto the block, finally all sealed up now

Next job is gonna be stripping the gearbox down to check all the internals are in good condition.
I've also ordered up some strengthened 02M shifting forks from USP in America.

 

[Applemobile]

Nice work as ever. Are you keeping the stock gear ratio's?

 

[grahams81]

Nice work as ever. Are you keeping the stock gear ratio's?

Yeh gonna keep it standard for now see how it drives, i think it'll be too close ratio to be honest.

Once i find out what the power bands like i'll look into changing the ratio's. I'll probably go with TDI gears.

Cheers

 

[Applemobile]

Was thinking, that bloody great turbo might benefit from diesel gears, or probably a range change

 

[grahams81]

Was thinking, that bloody great turbo might benefit from diesel gears, or probably a range change

Gearbox Update

Well this weekend i started on the gearbox. For those that can't remember i bought the Audi TT Quattro gearbox from ebay, the guy reckoned it was a low mileage unit but i had no way of verifying.... so i decided to check it over, also replace the shift forks.... i searched a while for a guide on stripping the gearbox down, never found one - closest thing was a guide on fitting a diff.

I started off by having a massive clean-up after the engine build-up. Then i wrapped the engine up in plastic sheet to keep any crap off it -

Next up i lifted the box onto the bench to start working on it, it's fair to say it's plenty heavy... nearly pulled my back out.

I then busted out a 14mm Allen key and cracked off the drain plugs, balanced precariously to allow it to drain into a bucket, i was pleased to see the oil looked in good nick, no lumps of metal / shavings so a good start

Next up i removed the clutch slave cylinder and then the M8 bolts from inside of the bell housing.

Then i removed the outside screws holding the transfer box on.... i didn't have any instructions for how to remove this bit so i just tried to pull the transfer case off.... it moved out by about 5mm and stopped.
I then decided to remove the output flanges from the gearbox to see if that allowed the transfer box to come out of the gearbox.
Normal side was easy peasy, just removed the centre screw with a 6mm hexagon bit.... the flange came out nicely.

The next side however goes right through the transfer box and into the centre of the diff... so about 8" deep.... deeper than my long series allen keys reached, no problem i thought i have a hexagon bit, but the bore was too small to get my 1/2" set down, i then got the 3/8's set out and that was too big i didn't have an adaptor to use with a 1/4" set so i stood and scratched my head for a while.
I then came up with a solution, i found an old 6mm long reach allen key so i chopped the angle off to use in a 6mm 1/4" socket... i then tried it in and it still wasn't long enough

So i then looked in the bottom of my toolbox and found some 6mm key steel.... i used this in the socket as an extension with a comedy large tap wrench on the end, i then tried to loosen the bolt and span the allen key in the head
I knew i should have cut the ball off the end of the allen key but i was lazy, as the ball span it got stuck in the bolt head and i couldn't for the life of me get it out.... i spend an hour then trying to remove the allen key from the screw head...... lesson learned don't be lazy and cut corners it only costs you in the end.
Eventually i got the allen key bit out and cut the ball off, i then put it back in and give it a knock to shock the screw and reform the head.
Luckily this worked and i got the bolt out, here's a pic of the tool i used -

Once the bolt was out the transfer bolt pulled out nicely -

Next up i removed the rest of the bolts from the outside of the box -

I really struggled to get the covers opened fully so i decided to remove the gear selector assembly, having never had one of these boxes in parts i had no idea what i was doing so i just loosened everything... after another 10mins of struggling i had it out -

Once out the cover lifted off very easily -

Shots of the Gears exposed -

I then found a screw holding the input shaft in place, i slackened it and turned the locking plate round to allow me to remove the input shaft -

I couldn't get the other gears out so i refitted the cover and flipped the gearbox over then removed the other side cover -

I then lifted out the diff assembly -

Then the reverse gear, and another gear selector -

Then the output shafts with their gear selectors -

All laid out ready for inspection -

After a quick check of everything there doesn't appear to be any wear in the bearings / gears.
All the outer races are solid in the housings, no signs of any turning or overheating.
So my gamble worked out

I then cleaned the housings out -

Next weekend hopefully my new billet selector arms will be here from the states.
I'm gonna order up new seals and o-rings for the box but i can't see the point in replacing the bearings.... it takes loads of faff on checking and adjusting the preloads etc if you replace the bearings.

Thanks for any comments,

Graham.

 

[Cupra R]

Nice clear concise update as ever graham.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Ronin225]

If any of the gears are damaged I have my original box I stripped, diff was knackered as was casing but shafts etc were fine. Have them for nowt if you want them

 

[tyrer]

Ultimate precision as always!!!

Hats off

 

[Applemobile]

Awesome as ever I bet the transfer box long allen key has defeated many people. Ive got a screwdriver set with one handle, and interchangable shafts, fortunately one of them is 6mm. No idea what i would have done without it. In fact i bought a gearbox that wasnt sold with the transfer box, but it turned up with it on...all bolts removed...bar that one

 

[Jamie_g]

whens it due to be finished

 

[grahams81]

Nice clear concise update as ever graham.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks Mate.

If any of the gears are damaged I have my original box I stripped, diff was knackered as was casing but shafts etc were fine. Have them for nowt if you want them

Cheers Tim - it all looks great to be honest.... but i appreciate the offer pal.

Ultimate precision as always!!!

Hats off

Thanks Pal

Awesome as ever I bet the transfer box long allen key has defeated many people. Ive got a screwdriver set with one handle, and interchangable shafts, fortunately one of them is 6mm. No idea what i would have done without it. In fact i bought a gearbox that wasnt sold with the transfer box, but it turned up with it on...all bolts removed...bar that one

Yeh it sounds like you gotta bargain there mate, not surprised like not many people keep 8" long allen key bits

whens it due to be finished

Lol - about 2 years ago..... it's a little overdue.

Tiny Update

So i've been very busy lately with work, working weekends etc and then friends weddings this weekend so unfortunately i haven't had much time on the car.
It hasn't stopped me being stuff though.

My strengthened shift forks from USP turned up a couple of weeks back, they look very nice and strong.... in fact quite agricultural.
For those who don't know the OEM 1-2 & 3-4 shift forks can break where they are joined by rivets.

The replacements are one piece steel with moulded hard plastic ends (to stop any wear agains the shifting rings)

Here are some pictures of the forks, both together -

Picture of the OEM parts -

Comparison Pictures -

The only thing is the early 02m shifting forks have a bushing on the shifting fork (this is for a spring loaded ball) but the replacement doesn't have one.... apparently they work just fine without it, but if VAG went to the effort of putting it into the gearbox then i think i'll remove it from the OEM rod and fit it onto the new billet one.

As all the bearings / gears look fine i'm not planning on replacing any of them, i am going to check the end float / preload on all the shafts.... i'll go into this in detail when i do, maybe even write a small DIY for those that are interested.

I also started gathering parts for the fuelling... a while ago i bought a used Audi TT Quattro OEM fuel pump and sender assembly, this is because my original Cupra fuel pump has no provision for the two sided pick-up required with the new Quattro fuel tank.

I have also been looking into the high pressure fuel side of things as a OEM fuel pump isn't exactly gonna be enough to fuel 4 x 1000cc injectors at high boost pressure.... so i decided on a surge tank is really the only way to go.
I did plenty of research and decided to stick with the tried and tested Bosch 044 pump, Integrated Engineering's Surge tank says their single 044 pump kits can support 650bhp.
As i may be knocking on the door of this figure i thought for the extra money i'd probably be better to buy their double pump set-up.... i have learnt during this project that doing things by halfs always cost me in the long run, i.e. end up running out of fuel and then having to redesign my set-up and selling stuff, so by doing this i can rest assured knowing that i'll always have enough fuel. Even if i go bananas and change turbo's / engines etc....

So knowing that i was gonna go with IE double pumper set-up i started to look for 044's.... it seems like they are much cheaper over here in the UK than the US.

In the end i got bought two brand new in sealed boxes complete with fitting kits for £80 each.. thats a bargain considering Demon Tweeks want £350 for each pump.

I was a little sceptical to see if the pumps were genuine but they certainly appear to be.

Hopefully i'll get cracking on the gearbox rebuild next weekend.

So long for now.