Edgar's A4 B7 2.0TFSI BT Build

[i3oricua]

New 034 motor mounts going in this week or weekend.

Also finished the mock up lines. Will probably put them in on Sunday. I have a dyno day lined up on Saturday in Fort Collins. Tune isn't finished yet but I'm curious how much power I'm making right now. I'm hoping to get one more revision from Motoza before then but if not this will be my "low boost" setting so it'll be cool to know how much I'm making at around 24-25 psi.

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[i3oricua]

Did a dyno day with a group from Slush at Finishline Industries in Fort Collins. I invitrd Jordan from Motoza and he obliged and came out. Super cool guy and really knows his stuff. They let him sit in the car during the dyno since they found out he's a tuner. Unfortunately we weren't ready for that or we would have brought a laptop and cable to some logging and tweaking. Overall, I'm happy with the progress and Jordan got to see first hand how the car is misbehaving so he's eager to get more power out of it and he wants me to send a log today. You can see on the graph below at around 7000 rpm it would just cut and drop power and my redline is 8000 so it should have been a more linear graph.

More to come. Over 400 hp to the wheels and I'm at 5500+ feet of elevation so i can't wait to see what else we get out of it.

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[Dan_Avant]

What’s the max hp/torque your set up is capable of?

Are you still on the stock ECU or have you upgraded?

 

[i3oricua]

What’s the max hp/torque your set up is capable of?

Are you still on the stock ECU or have you upgraded?

The turbo is capable of 550hp. We still have some ways to go but I'd be pretty surprised if the fueling will let us get there. The engine is forged so there's no problem getting there from that standpoint.

Stock ecu.

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[i3oricua]

I think I bricked my ecu flashing a file. Anyone know how to unbrick one?

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[i3oricua]

Changed my shocks tonight. Took out some blown Bilsteins that someone sold me not long ago. They're going in the trash. Just a quick snapshot below of the size difference between the Koni STR.T's and the Bilsteins. I'm sure they'll be noticably better than what I had in. The old ride was like a lowered mini truck on cut springs.

In other news, i have a new TurboSmart wastegate on the way. The car is not holding boost well past 6000 rpm. It gets to about 24-25 psi and then drops to about 17 psi, give or take. We've tried multiple things and logged them all and nothing seems to make a difference. Hopefully the new wastegate does the trick.

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[i3oricua]

Got my new TurboSmart Comp Gate 40. Set it up with a 17 lb spring combo. Haven't taken it out yet but it looks pretty.

Plan on getting some logs tomorrow or this weekend. Hope it fixes things or i might put in a heavier spring combo to see if that does anything.

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[Dan_Avant]

Looks awesome mate!

I notice you’ve got a turbo jacket fitted. Is that just to protect components or Did you see a slight improvement in spool?

I’ve got one but haven’t fitted it yet as got an oil leak above the turbo. I’ve read all the stories online about the possibility that they could cook the oil in the turbo, have you experienced anything like that?

My theory is if you warm up/cool down properly, as you’re supposed to with a tuned engine, it will be fine but looking for some ‘real world’ experience as I don’t know anyone who’s ever fitted one.

 

[i3oricua]

The blanket shouldn't cause anything to cook in the turbo. If you're driving the car hard then you definitely give it a minute or two to cool down but modern day turbos are well built for this.

I don't know that I've noticed any increase spool time but the engine bay is noticeably cooler. I mean, it's still hot but not burn your face off hot.

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[Charlie Farley]

Got my new TurboSmart Comp Gate 40. Set it up with a 17 lb spring combo. Haven't taken it out yet but it looks pretty.

Plan on getting some logs tomorrow or this weekend. Hope it fixes things or i might put in a heavier spring combo to see if that does anything.

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It's a shame to hide all that brilliant engine bay under a solid bonnet, looks great Edgar.
Hows the Mishimoto catch can setup working now?

 

[i3oricua]

It's a shame to hide all that brilliant engine bay under a solid bonnet, looks great Edgar.
Hows the Mishimoto catch can setup working now?

Thanks Rob. It is a shame but I'd like to tuck and hide the wires and hoses better if i was going to show it off more.

The can works well. It fills up almost every week since the weather has been cold and damp but it does it's job.

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[i3oricua]

So if you've been keeping up then you'll know the car hasn't been feeling right. I did a compression test this weekend and although she's still very lively i can tell there's something amiss. Test showed pretty consistent across except for cylinder 3, a little lower than the rest, but overall the numbers are a bit low. This was done on a warm engine with two different testers. My cheap eBay tester read under 100 on each one (about 95psi). The one I rented from O'Reilly's was a bit better but still not great. I needed to pull the engine to fix some leaks anyways so looks like it's one more go this summer. Luckily I have almost everything i need to make it an easy and inexpensive job. Some new rings, a hone ball (i have one already), new head gasket, and that's about it. I'll check the bearings while I'm inside and replace the thrust washers for piece of mind but it should be a 2-3 day job at most. Anyways, until then I'll just keep driving it and see if i come up with any other theories before I pull the engine.

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[Charlie Farley]

You are a very dedicated B7 owner Edgar, full marks indeedy.

 

[i3oricua]

You are a very dedicated B7 owner Edgar, full marks indeedy.

No other real vices to spend money on Rob so i just throw it at this. I put a lot of money into savings and investments so i like to enjoy this car. It's only got a few more years until i throw it away and buy me a Porsche or some other expensive super-ish car to mod heavily for my mid life crisis.

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[i3oricua]

Back at it again. Car has been in this state for a little over a week now. Need to borrow the neighbors engine hoist but have been too lazy to walk across and ask him again. Just swapping the block out and reringing the pistons. Should fix some leaks i had, hopefully the massive oil consumption I've had as well, and whatever is causing boost to drop off. Fingers crossed. Probably won't have it all back together for another week but I'm not in any real hurry. I need to check the rear bearings too as well as swap out the bump stops on all four corners. Like I said, not in a real rush. At least it's warm and makes it comfortable to work in the garage.

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[Charlie Farley]

Hi Edgar, that lump is really giving you the run around.
Hopefully you have cracked the source of the problem now, top work .

 

[Charlie Farley]

just out of curiosity Edgar, how long does it take you to get the front end off to access the front of the engine.

 

[i3oricua]

just out of curiosity Edgar, how long does it take you to get the front end off to access the front of the engine.

Hi Rob,

You know these B7s. They continue to test our resolve.

The front end completely off, I'd say about an hour maybe. Probably less. I can have the whole engine out in about 4-5 hours with the transmission attached. If i didn't have the power steering cooler in front it would go a little bit quicker but i find myself pacing back and forth a lot because I don't want to drain any coolant or liquids. If i just commit to it right off the back the whole process goes faster but i just stare at it from time to time.

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[WOMBLERULZ]

You don’t fancy taking my engine out for me then . Then I can get my engine refurbed


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[i3oricua]

You don’t fancy taking my engine out for me then . Then I can get my engine refurbed


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Yup. Send it on over.

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[Charlie Farley]

Hi Rob,

You know these B7s. They continue to test our resolve.

The front end completely off, I'd say about an hour maybe. Probably less. I can have the whole engine out in about 4-5 hours with the transmission attached. If i didn't have the power steering cooler in front it would go a little bit quicker but i find myself pacing back and forth a lot because I don't want to drain any coolant or liquids. If i just commit to it right off the back the whole process goes faster but i just stare at it from time to time.

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Thanks for the info Edgar.
My old bus needs a cambelt/water pump change now, a bit overdue age-wise .
I know there are several ways to do it but I prefer the easy access version these days, I'd rather take the front end off and have a clear working space head-on than struggle from above.
Just done the belt and water pump on my MK1 180TT, not too bad a job albeit in a confined space, B7 looks almost childs play in comparison..lol

 

[i3oricua]

Thanks for the info Edgar.
My old bus needs a cambelt/water pump change now, a bit overdue age-wise .
I know there are several ways to do it but I prefer the easy access version these days, I'd rather take the front end off and have a clear working space head-on than struggle from above.
Just done the belt and water pump on my MK1 180TT, not too bad a job albeit in a confined space, B7 looks almost childs play in comparison..lol

You can do that without losing most of the coolant. If you swing the drivers side out of the way, looking at the pic, swing the left side to the right side then you should be fine. That will leave all the coolant lines attached. Your bigger headache will be getting the AC lines out of the way. You can put the front end in "service mode" and that should give you quite a bit of space to work with and doesn't require the whole end coming off.

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[i3oricua]

Making some progress finally. Borrowed the engine hoist and made some space in the garage. Got pretty much all of the things attached to the block off of the block. Tomorrow I'll get the guts out and re-ring the pistons. Also need to run to the store and get some plasti gauge. I should have the guts out and back in by tomorrow..... hopefully.

Clutch doesn't look good. That my fault though. When I put the rear main seal on I mixed up the bolts and punched holes in the block causing oil to leak out and onto the clutch. I have a new clutch going in since I knew this was a problem.

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[Charlie Farley]

Best of luck with it Edgar, hopefully the end of your probs.

 

[i3oricua]

Best of luck with it Edgar, hopefully the end of your probs.

Thanks Rob. Luckily, with the exception of the clutch replacement, this only costs me about $200 and time. That's with new rings, fluids, and gaskets.

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[Charlie Farley]

wish things were that cheap over here...

 

[i3oricua]

New discoveries today. Variator rings/oil control rings were broken, well one of them was/is. I believe that explains my boost falling off up top but we'll see. Tuner thought it might have something to do with the VVT and so it correlates to me.

Also, pick up tube was in bad shape. Luckily I had the updated one in or I would have had a grenaded engine.

I'll check the gaps on the old piston rings once I get them off. I think I gapped them incorrectly last time. Much more confident this time.

Everything is off the old block and starting to put everything on the spare now. Just waiting on some APR thread lube to arrive in the mail for all the ARP studs. Also, waiting in a couple if replacement parts but nothing that will stop me from doing a majority of the work.

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[i3oricua]

So with all the gunk that was in the oil and pick up tube I decided to replace the bearings. Both the mains and the rods. Got the bottom end torqued down to spec and some assembly completed. Taking my time and just cleaning up some parts and I'll have it back in by next weekend.

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[i3oricua]

More progress as I move along waiting on one part to arrive. Should be in tomorrow and I should have the engine back in by Saturday, Sunday max.

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[Charlie Farley]

Making good progress Edgar , i've been reading back through this project recently and it has got me pondering on things on my old bus, I've been on and off with engine projects for years but now with the new go faster wheels maybe some extra BHP would do nicely.

 

[i3oricua]

Making good progress Edgar , i've been reading back through this project recently and it has got me pondering on things on my old bus, I've been on and off with engine projects for years but now with the new go faster wheels maybe some extra BHP would do nicely.

I would love to see and hear your reaction to some more power in your car

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[i3oricua]

Engine is in, primed the turbo, and got a first start last night. Got the engine back in over the weekend. No leaks detected so far. I still have to bleed the clutch and I'm not putting the wheels on until I change the bump stops. I need to get some break-in miles in on the engine and I think I can hear an exhaust leak. I'll work on that today after work.

Almost back on the road.

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[i3oricua]

Car continues to challenge me. Got one suspension side done. Broke the shock on the other. Then I accidentally peeled back the oil level sensor connector wire out of the connector. But what takes the cake is I fired up the car again chasing the exhaust leak and found that I have a crack above the v-band flange on my turbo manifold. Not worries. Just some setbacks that I'll work out and be back on the road soon enough.

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[i3oricua]

Manifold off. Pretty easy to do. Taking it to a guy today that says he welds and can fix it. I hope he does good work, that's just the Debby downer is me speaking. I'm sure it will be fine.

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[i3oricua]

Got the manifold rewelded above the flange. Doesn't seem like it was cracked. He inspected it after he ground it down some and then just filled it back in. Better safe than sorry. Manifold back in. No leaks that I can tell or hear.

Waiting on some suspension stuff to arrive tomorrow and I'll throw them on and hopefully be on the road by Sunday the latest. Would have been driving last weekend but ran into some last minute problems which should be finished up this weekend.



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[Charlie Farley]

You're doing a top job Edgar.