Piston in!

 

That's all.

was it all good Dan?

was it all good Dan?

 

Seems to be... time will tell on whether I've done it right

Seems to be... time will tell on whether I've done it right

have some faith    sure it will be fine

have some faith    sure it will be fine

 

I'm not used to having to get it right first time. At work I just restore a backup/use test data/reset the config etc... nothing is ever permanent as you can just take a snap shot. Not quite the same with engines etc :p

 

Tomorrow will be the big day (again) I hope. Plan to get the head back on, get everything plumbed in, timing done, fluids suitably injected and engine started... may be a bit to much in one day but we shall see. Needs to be started this weekend and out of the garage... I have something I need to hide.

I'm not used to having to get it right first time. At work I just restore a backup/use test data/reset the config etc... nothing is ever permanent as you can just take a snap shot. Not quite the same with engines etc :p

Tomorrow will be the big day (again) I hope. Plan to get the head back on, get everything plumbed in, timing done, fluids suitably injected and engine started... may be a bit to much in one day but we shall see. Needs to be started this weekend and out of the garage... I have something I need to hide.

A grid girl?

A grid girl?

 

If I had one of those I wouldn't need to hide her, I'd just tell the girlfriend she's moving out :P

1 Step forward, 4 steps back. Yep, sounds about right!

 

 

Wasn't convinced that using the old rings was going to be the best plan, oil leaking past them under gravity alone. Maybe it would have worked, didn't fancy testing it though.

 

So new set of rings on order, honing tool ordered to do a deglaze on the walls, should all be here Mon/Tue's... still plan to get it on the road for next weekend!

Pistons in with the new rings on and head re-installed.

 

Forgot to buy con rod bolts so need to try the local dealers for some so I can carry on.

Slow progress over the last few days, went to sort the timing belt out last night and the head is very hard to turn over but only had to move it a tad to TDC. Connected the belt up and tried to check the timing by turning over the engine by hand and had to give up it was that stiff. Belt back off, pistons out the way and attention focused on the head...

 

It looked like it was the intake cam stopping the head from turning looking at the way the chain behaved, so I cracked the cap bolts off a tad and the bolts holding both ends of the cam (cam position sensor and the tensionner housing I believe), now the head turns and feels like it used to feel. Torqued them back up, solid. So backed all the caps one by one, solid. Cam position sensor end housing... free. Torqued the caps back up to confirm and yep, definitely something going on when these two are tightened:

 

(random internet pic not my head)

 

Just waiting to hear back from the guy who did my head now to see what the next step is.

 

Bitterly disappointed and very frustrated at this point... have been running through my head what I could recover selling up in bits...

I will have a spare working head Dan as I'm going for a AGU head off a golf I'm breaking so technically have two spare. Let me know if you need one. Do not sell it for spares just bare with and finish it trust me it will be worth it

Thanks for the offer Ben. I was feeling very sorry for myself this morning as I thought the head would end up coming off and it would be more money to replace it, along with all the consumables that go with it...

 

But I found the problem... under the final cap (I'm not even sure what it is referred to as its not a numbered cap like the others) there was sealant on the cam. So I cleaned up the cam, cleaned up the head, cleaned up the cap and installed the lot with some lube and fresh sealant. And there we have it... a working head! So simple you wouldn't believe it... just a bit of over enthusiasm by the head builder. However what has disappointed me is the fact this wasn't picked up before it was given back to the customer? Are they not tested? And the after care response has been poor.

 

I have purchased Tech1e's 1.8T block/head as a spare... why couldn't he or Richard have been selling up a few weeks/several weeks earlier!

 

Back out to the garage now to triple check the timing and then do the rod cap bolts and get the sump on to give it time to dry

Good stuff mate keep at it

Well done Dan and keep up the patient and hard work! Looking forward to seeing this on the road again soon!

Well its running, but its idling like something drag tuned and throwing a CPS fault.

 

Guess what... the cam timing doesn't make sense! TDC mark on the pulley and the TDC on the cam gear on the other side is no where to be seen.

Timings definitely out then. Id suggest turning it off lol.

Ah good thinking! May help with my dizzyness in this closed garage too.

 

The timing marks on the crank and cam pulleys are bang on (checked this so many times now I'm bored of doing it). I thought I'd check the inlet cam timing. From what I can find when the engine is all at TDC on crank/cam pulley you should be able to see the timing marks on the cam gears, right? Not on mine, the marks for the gears are a little over 1 rotation of the crank out (so around 190deg rotation on the cam pulley).

 

I have found some remarks regarding TDC bearing no relation to the gear marks... but only passing and not really from quotable sources.

Well this is getting to the point that you couldn't make this **** up...

 

So, after emailing the guy who did the head and following his advice of using a bar to move it to TDC, I installed the timing belt, then proceeded to turn the engine over to check the timing. Doing this was very difficult and I didn't get one rotation out of it before stopping. I've already documented what the original fault was... sealant on the cam under the final cap. Once this was cleaned up the head turned fine using the bolt on the pulley. The timing belt was reinstalled and everything looked ok.

 

When started it felt like the engine was miss firing and was idling like a drag car... throwing errors for the cam position sensor. So I started to investigate possible causes and check the intake cam timing etc... eventually I came to the conclusion that while the timing marks on the pulleys lined up perfectly it was lies...

 

 

The locator on the pulley was sheared and the pulley had rotated 180deg give or take 5...

 

:(

Reckon that was broken by the last time it ground to a halt?

Reckon that was broken by the last time it ground to a halt?

 

It would have been seen when the head was rebuilt surely?

It would have been seen when the head was rebuilt surely?

Should've been but saying that Silicone should've been removed and head spun over as well.

Should've been but saying that Silicone should've been removed and head spun over as well.

 

Definitely. 

Well that engines toast :(

Well that engines toast :(

Ffs what's happened mate?

Just a follow on from the recent troubles really.

 

Got a new cam pulley, fitted and timed everything up. Started the engine and there's a lot of vibration and quite a lot of noise from the top end. A very loud tinny rattle at around 1200 rpm.

 

The problem is I've forgotten how this engine used to sound... and being in an enclosed space with it probably doesn't help my perceptions. But it is vibrating a lot, it didn't do that before (though it is still on stands so no cushion of the tyres/suspension).

 

I think the rattle is the heat shield, which is a relief. But as for the rest I think I need someone to listen to it... because I don't know if I'm being paranoid, whether it just needs running or what!

 

The previous post was before I found the heat shield, it sounded very bad but a little bending and the heat shield is no longer rattling on the exhaust manifold, just the head and it doesn't sound so terminal.

 

No fault codes in VCDS. I really need to find the blocks for the vac and MAF on this engine.

Well **** a duck.

 

Unplugged the brake servo pipe and plugged the hole and its running much better. A bit of excess vibration when it tries to idle at 700rpm but smooth at 800rpm.

 

Runs the same with the MAF or without. Checked as best I could with leaks (tried propane method and carb cleaner method). Still sounds a little rattley... may have to go 'shopping' for a 1.8T tomorrow just to listen to the engine :P

 

Think I'm going to sort out whatever is up with the brake servo/pipe work, put it back together and just DRIVE!