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

[grahams81]

Update

Yesterday afternoon i started getting the engine ready to be put back in, my mate popped round with my engine lift so there was no stopping me
I pushed the car back out of the garage a bit to give me some space at the front.

Had a tidy up then assembled the engine lift. Used ratchet straps to lift it (i know they shouldn't be used for lifting but i locked them by closing them fully)

Took the weight of the engine in the stand -

Unbolted the stand from the engine to access the flywheel end of the engine. Whilst i had it free i tapped all the holes out to get rid of excess paint.

Next up i got the new ARP flywheel fixing bolts out of the spare room along with the Eka diamond coated friction disc.... this is to improve friction between the flywheel and crankshaft -

I then checked the length of the bolts, thickness of the flywheel and then the thickness of the flange on the crankshaft.... this was just to make sure the bolts didn't bottom out against the main bearing cap. All was good.
When i installed the the ARP front crank pulley bolt i found the torque required was massively different between loctite, oil and ARP Lube.... it was noticeably different when tightening them both, the bolt felt notchy and banged as it was tightened not good for me.
So for the ARP Flywheel bolts i put ARP lube on the threads and under the head this allows the bolt to stretch nicely without the added friction from the head and threads.

All fitted -

I then lowered the engine down onto a crawler to protect it. This was so i could torque the flywheel bolts up properly.
For the last stage i had to put a breaker bar on the crankshaft bolt at the from to stop it from turning.

I torqued the bolts up in stages - 20lb/ft then 40, 60 and finally ending on 80lb/ft - the sheet that came with the bolts from IE said 64lb/ft but at that torqued level the bolts didn't feel like they were stretching at all so i added a bit more at a time until they felt good.

I then checked they were no clearance issues with the sump or girdle plate (there sometimes is with aftermarket flywheels) loads of clearance -

Next up was mounting the clutch assembly on the flywheel. To do this you need to centralise the clutch plate. When i bought the Clutchmasters FX400 it came with an alignment tool which didn't fit my crankshaft (probably as its a 1.9tdi crank) so a few months ago i bought a generic clutch aligning tool from machine mart... gave it a go and this also didn't fit

So i started trying sockets in the holes and found a perfect fit - a small 3/8 spark plug socket that the drive end fitted perfect in the crank and the other end fitted perfect in the clutch plate
After that i put the pressure plate on and installed the outer bolts with loctite, carefully torquing them up around the circumference of the clutch so nothing warped or bent.

All done - just offering up the gearbox -

I struggled on trying to fit it for a while, phoned a friend and he was busy so just started packing the gearbox up to get the angle and height correct.... in the end it went on but as it did the clutch slave cylinder (which i'd previously primed with brake fluid) obviously got compressed and it "came" brake fluid all over me in the excitement i felt dirty, but kinda enjoyed it lol.

Next up i moved everything around and re-strapped the engine to take the extra weight of the gearbox on the end. I took the fuel rail & injectors off as the straps may have damaged them. Then fitted the BFI engine & gearbox mounts.


Started lifting it in -

As before when i originally fitted the engine i had to draft the big guns in so i got the wife to give me a hand. It put up a good fight but we got there in the end -

Todays job is to final torque all the engine mounting bolts up and to fit the Dog-bone mount.... then who knows wiring loom / starter etc.

Thanks For reading and any comments,

Cheers,

Graham.

 

[cupra.al]

i love how clean and new your engine looks i bet that is a pleasure to work on your brake fluid reservoir is a bit dirty but im sure you will sort that in due time.
hopefully your successful in getting the turbo fitted between the bulkhead and engine just to keep everything neat like hoses etc.
have you got brakes for this yet i dont ever remember seeing if you had or not?

 

[rae1001]

No stopping you now! This is going to be finished by this time next week at this rate haha. Looks mega clean that engine does, good on you.
Really happy to see it coming together now, you must be getting excited lol

 

[tom t]

The engine looks well worthy off them beasty engine mounts and vice versa!

 

[grahams81]

i love how clean and new your engine looks i bet that is a pleasure to work on your brake fluid reservoir is a bit dirty but im sure you will sort that in due time.
hopefully your successful in getting the turbo fitted between the bulkhead and engine just to keep everything neat like hoses etc.
have you got brakes for this yet i dont ever remember seeing if you had or not?

Thanks Al, i did want to change the brake reservoir but just haven't got round to it yet.
I've found one on fleabay for £20 so i may replace it... like you say it look dirty but i cleaned it out completely. It's just gone yellowy and dirty looking.
I've tried the turbo in - see below !!
As for the brakes, i've bought some quattro rear vented callipers for the back. I may buy an ECS rear big brake kit.... but i'm undecided at the moment.
For the fronts i'm not sure what I'm going to do. I may go with either a full kit like Tarox or K-Sports etc or just buy some Porsche 6 pots then discs.... hmmm decisions decisions

No stopping you now! This is going to be finished by this time next week at this rate haha. Looks mega clean that engine does, good on you.
Really happy to see it coming together now, you must be getting excited lol

Lol thanks mate, yeh i'm getting pretty excited.... i'm actually working out what i need to get it running.
I can't wait to here it start-up for the first time, although i'm also a little scared.

The engine looks well worthy off them beasty engine mounts and vice versa!

Cheers bud.

Smallish Update

I must warn you all, after the last big milestone of putting the engine in it will slow a little now..... i'm still gonna keep pushing on but it may not look like I'm doing much.

First up i decided to get the BFI doggone mount refitted - new bolts -

I then applied plenty of anti-sieze on the thread and under the head, i've done this on every bolt on the car...i also do it at work, one of the reasons i don't like doing stuff on cars is the fact everything is assembled dry and rusts up when its threatened with a cloud !!
The anti seize is incredibly important when using dissimilar metals - i.e steel bolts in aluminium threads, this is due to the metal "reactivity" (corrosion occurs when metals that are far apart in the reactivity scale are touched together)

Bolts greased up ready -

Fitted and bolts torqued up -

While i was under the car i noticed there is a rather large hole in my bell housing.... this is due to the INA shallow sump not having a machined end to it
I think i'm gonna cut a bit of plate out to fill the gap - that should stop any stone etc getting into the clutch assembly... it probably doesn't need it but it won't hurt having it closed like OEM.

Poor picture of the gap -

Then i decided to final torque all the upper engine mount bolts... first you torque the bolts up to a figure then turn them 90 degrees.... all was going well until a thread stripped in the gearbox side mount. Its the bit that connects the gearbox to the BFI mount.
No problems really as i'll just pick one up second hand and put a jack under the box while i change it.

Next i decided to fit the starter motor so i could then final torque all the engine to gearbox bolts. Quickly cleaned it up, fitted it then torqued all the joining bolts for the engine up.
Popped the clutch line back on -

Re-attached the selector cables and started roughly running the wiring loom to the engine -

Called it a day as i had to go out with the missus.

This morning i got the Turbo out of the spare bedroom (forgot how heavy it is !!!)

I then tried it in the space between the engine / bulkhead, it does fit but i had to remove the wastegate and bracket. If i went for an externally waste gated turbo then it would fit no problem but there really isn't an easy way to run the internal wastegate... don't get me wrong i could work it by making different brackets and grinding the lever off and repositioning but i don't really want to do that.

I used good old tie wraps to hold it up to check for fitment -

I tried moving the turbo around to obtain a better position but to be honest the position i originally picked seems to be the easiest solution.
I think I'm still going to re-design the manifold so it clear the rocker cover (so i can access everything without having to remove the manifold)
I'm planning on turning the flange round and feed the pipes from the bottom.... also merging the two 1.25" pipes into each other low down, then bring two 1.5" pipes to the turbo flange.
It's hard to describe but it'll all come clear when i start re-working it and show you all with pictures.

My originally designed manifold -

As my welding gas cylinder is round my mates i decided to crack on with the jobs i could do.... namely electrics.
It's been years since i had the car assembled so i had to consult the old photo's i took in the beginning when i stripped the car down.
I installed the bracket and cable holder to the starter motor bolt, and started laying out the cables out roughly into position.

Next job was working out the battery / earth connections for everything. I'm going to be running the battery in the boot, so earlier in the build i ran the 50mm2 cable from the boot to the engine bay.
I found the earth cable and decided to cut the connection off that normally goes to the battery. I then heat shrank the connection to tidy it up a bit, then i cleaned the connections up and put it in -

I then cleaned the paint off the chassis connection and mounted it all up -

Ages ago i bought a crimping tool for the beefy power cables -

Trimmed the main power cable back and inserted it into a 8mm ring terminal -

Tried the crimper with the 50mm2 tools installed - it didn't even compress the crimp - like if it had the wrong size on it. Tried the next size down (35mm2) and it worked a treat -

Slipped some heat shrink on to finish it off -

Before i connected it to the starter motor i started looking at the main power distribution / fuse box - i was struggling to mount it as there is no holes in the body of the box.
So i stripped it down and drilled some holes in the base for threading cable ties through it to connect it -

I then removed the main power lead that normally runs from the battery + terminal to the distribution box. I removed the captive nut and drilled the terminal out to 8mm so i could mount it to the starter motor along with the main power cable.
I cable tied the box down to a piece of trunking and installed the power cables etc...looks nice and tidy now -

Next job is to roughly mount up all the remaining parts so i can figure out the wiring, then start removing or tidying up the connections i don't need (SAI, Carbon canister etc etc)

Still need to order up a battery tray for the boot and finish all the connections, then can think about powering it all up

Thanks,

Graham.

 

[t0m]

This is getting very exciting to read each update now Graham. Pleasure reading this really is!

Can't get over the size of that tubby! Oh boy that thing is gona blowwwwwwww! Haha

Awesome work as always, keep it up you're almost there dude!

 

[RYAN_101]

That turbo is huuuge!, i kind of think it looks quite cool having the turbo on the side like that that, but its obviously funtionality other looks that matters.either way its going to make some pretty big power when its done!

 

[Asce]

You could live in that turbo.

 

[sparkie1984]

Fantastic project mate, I've been reading this bit by bit all week in bed. Absolutely In awe at your skill!!

Can't wait to have the money to buy my cupra

 

[grahams81]

This is getting very exciting to read each update now Graham. Pleasure reading this really is!

Can't get over the size of that tubby! Oh boy that thing is gona blowwwwwwww! Haha

Awesome work as always, keep it up you're almost there dude!

Thanks Tom, it's getting quite exciting to build too can see the finish line now

That turbo is huuuge!, i kind of think it looks quite cool having the turbo on the side like that that, but its obviously funtionality other looks that matters.either way its going to make some pretty big power when its done!

You could live in that turbo.

Cheers Guys, its been that long since i had the turbo in my hands (been buried in the spare room for like a year or so) i'd forgotten how heavy and massive it is

Fantastic project mate, I've been reading this bit by bit all week in bed. Absolutely In awe at your skill!!

Can't wait to have the money to buy my cupra

Thanks Bud, glad people are following it, makes it worthwhile taking all the photo's

Update

My wife has been getting on at me as she wants to do out the spare room therefore i needed to find a new home for all my parts...... what better home that the actual car !!!!

I've managed to order up most of the parts to finish off all the suspension / drivetrain.
Ordered all Powerflex Black Series bushes for the rear suspension...new rear hubs, then another massive order from the dealer - all bolts / nuts etc and brake backing plates / wheel bearings / new Rear ARB links etc etc.

Spent about £1200 in the last month just on genuine VW parts and another £500 on random stuff like hubs / rear callipers / propshaft etc.

Oh well - it needs finishing and i'm to far into it now.

Unfortunately i'm still waiting on a few solid rear subframe mounting bushes from the dealer so i can't mount the diff back in the car..... no worries i've still got loads to do.

I decided to start with the rear trailing arms -

I cleaned all the powder coating from the threads and bores the got cracking re-installing the rose bearings for the tie arms -

Pulled the wheel bearings into the arms..... i decided to use dealer bearings as they were the same price as named ones on ebay.

Next up i cleaned all the brake pipe clips / cable trunking up and re-attached it all, fitted the new brake pipes i got from a guy on Edition.
I fitted new dealer brake flex's as the rear trailing arm section has a flex pipe moulded into the section so i couldn't see the point in fitting braided lines to the arm to body joint.
All new clips lubed and fitted -

When i stripped the arms down one of the threaded studs that hold the pipe clamps on snapped off.... so i drilled and tapped a M6 hole in the arm and bolted the pipe clamp down.... i didn't want any pipes braking due to not being securely fastened.
Also cleaned up the handbrake cable and installed it through the arm -

Next job was fitting the Powerflex bushes into the arm pivot -

Then i cleaned up the mounting bracket that bolts the arm assembly to the chassis. Again cleaned the powder coating out of the threads. It was actually quite difficult to fit due to the stiffness of the bushes.... after a bit of swearing and struggling i got it fitted nice and snug.
Of course new bolt fitted and torqued to spec -

I then pushed the spring seats on and bolted the new brake backing plate on - Note you can't put this on after installing the wheel hub as the ABS ring covers the bolts !!!!

Unpacked the new Febi front wheel hub, mounted the puller set in the vice and pulled the hub into the wheel bearing.... action shot -

All pulled in nice, ready for installation -

Before i put the arm on the car i dug out the rear shocker and spring assembly - worked out which way round to put it..... instructions with the coil overs would have been nice

All fitted again with all new bolts, all bolt threads lubed with anti-sieze. Also i stripped the coil over adjusters and coated the threads with anti seize (i did the fronts before i installed them too)

Bolts are just nipped, will be fully torqued once i have checked the alignment of everything -

Next up i decided to finish off the front end by fitting the new steering track rod ends. I bought some Febi ones for the job along with some new nuts. I measured the position of the old nut then removed it. Got the trusty wire brush out and cleaned up the threads, then gave the threads a liberal dose of anti-sieze and wound the new nut on then put the new track rod end on. Pulled the end up onto the hub -

Next i bolted up the new brake shields.... as always new bolts lubed up

So thats it for now, may get a few hours in the garage again tomorrow.. hopefully.

Cheers,

Graham.

 

[Ronin225]

Its definitely coming together now, you'll have to send me the link for the solid rear subframe bushes as when I looked a while ago no-one made them so thought I was going to have to machine up some myself
Also I see you've got new front brake splash guards, if you go for a big front setup you may have to remove these to suit the bigger and fatter discs

 

[grahams81]

Its definitely coming together now, you'll have to send me the link for the solid rear subframe bushes as when I looked a while ago no-one made them so thought I was going to have to machine up some myself
Also I see you've got new front brake splash guards, if you go for a big front setup you may have to remove these to suit the bigger and fatter discs

Cheers Tim, and thanks for my callipers
I ended up buying OEM bushes from a dealer but they are 18 quid each. I did think about just buying one and measuring them up and having some made but i couldn't be arsed with the hassle.

I'll measure them up when i get them out to install and let you have the dimensions

As for the splash guards i nearly didn't bother but i'm still undecided on what to do with the brakes.
I'm toying with running with the 17" BTCC wheels i bought just to get it on the road (to save money) but i don't know what size brakes i can get behind them. I know you said they never fitted on yours but was it the diameter of the set-up or did they catch behind the spokes ?

 

[Ronin225]

Appreciated if you could get dimensions
As for the wheels, I could get them over my brembos running 330s no problem.
They are proper motorsport wheels so the clearance to the spokes is enormous the issue I had was the diameter of the new disc

 

[grahams81]

Great, thanks for the info mate. Just out of interest your new brakes are Forge ones I think - are they 350mm discs ?
Been having a look and K-sport do some 330mm 8pots which are quite cheap.

 

[Ronin225]

Mine currently are the forge 356mm 6 pot setup, however wont be for much longer
I know they are basically k sport stuff rebranded, my friend who has his own garage really doesn't rate them. Says initially they are ok but don't age well
I've decided to go for some AP's now as the forge brakes are poor on the road and no better on track, always find yourself braking earlier and softer just to make sure they stop you
If you're keeping the 17's it does limit kits available, I think about 330mm will be the limit unless the calipers are very curved

 

[grahams81]

Mine currently are the forge 356mm 6 pot setup, however wont be for much longer
I know they are basically k sport stuff rebranded, my friend who has his own garage really doesn't rate them. Says initially they are ok but don't age well
I've decided to go for some AP's now as the forge brakes are poor on the road and no better on track, always find yourself braking earlier and softer just to make sure they stop you
If you're keeping the 17's it does limit kits available, I think about 330mm will be the limit unless the calipers are very curved

Thanks for the info Tim, i have the dimensions for the solid rear subframe bushes.... i'll pm you them as you may want to start selling them

Small Update

I never got too much done this weekend, got a little bit done so i thought i'd do a mini up date.

Saturday was spent fitting a LSD to Chris of Vagcars 02M.... all done nicely.... I did however sneak a few hours on my project on Sunday

Started off by getting some of the powder coated bits out of the spare room.
Cleaned all the excess powder coating from the bush bores / threads then dug out the new bushes ready for installation.

The black brackety thing is the front support for the diff assembly - it connects the diff to the rear subframe.
I then noticed the bushes had an Arrow moulded into them, i thought i better check this out so had a look online at a genuine manual and found the arrow is to face up or down. Worth noting if you ever replace the bushes. To line them up i simply put the arrow in line with the faces of the bolt flange.

Pushed the bushes in, this was a nightmare to be honest.... they have plastic outside shell and kept slipping one way or another.... i didn't have a long enough bolt to draw them in.
In the end i found an old bolt and drilled an tapped a bit of aluminium plate - the bolt was just long enough but i had to stop it from pushing out one side with a G-clamp.

Both bushes fitted -

Next up was the rear subframe, so i got it out ready then got the bushes all unpacked -

For those that wanted to know about the solid rear subframe bushes here are a few shots -

They are genuine VW dealer parts that are fitted as standard to an Audi TT Roadster (cabriolet) they make the rear subframe a stressed member to help stiffen the chassis.

As with the diff support the two rubber bushes were a nightmare, but i managed in the end. The Alloy bushes went in a piece of p*ss.... all done -

Next up i lifted the rear diff on the bench and bolted on the rear diff to subframe support bracket (as always new bolts.. all nicely lubed up and torqued to spec).... then i stood the diff up on its ass on top of my socket set box and carefully lowered the rear subframe over the top. Then connected the supports and installed all the bolts.

I then lifted it down off the bench (Fecking heavy lump) and put it on a crawler to move it into position with out damaging the fresh paintwork. I forgot how heavy this was, real solid lump of metal, nearly pulled my back out !!
Once i wheeled it under the car into position i set about using ratchet straps and axle stands to get it up in the air somewhere near position. I struggled and struggled and in the end laid underneath the thing and bench pressed it up against the chassis then held it with my knees and one hand and managed to get a bolt in. Once i got another bolt i could rest but it was heavy going.
About 30 seconds after i'd got it bolted up my friend popped round to borrow more tools off me, Blister.... he always turns up after the hard work is done !!!

Couple of crap shots (i can't open the garage door at the moment as i have the car up against it to access the front) hopefully get some more pictures at the weekend and get the propshaft installed so i can weld up the bearing supports into the exhaust tunnel.

So long for now and thanks for reading and any comments,

Graham.

 

[Rob Kelz]

Love the progress Graham excellent word mate

 

[t0m]

Such precise work as always mate. Lovely stuff

 

[davidif]

Looking forward to your next update Graham. Cracking work

 

[Bradderz]

Looks good mate keep up the good work