My minor modding thread

[<tuffty/>]

And of course I fitted the wheel...

...which was as it turns out the same colour (so not actual black, more nearly black) as my old wheel so the airbag went straight back on...

Just for reference here are the airbag details..

Will dig out the spare wheel module and get it coded up to use with this wheel so that I can at least look at testing it...

Feeling a lot more motivated to get the car sorted... hopefully not much longer

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

Dragged out the bench flash cable and my spare wheel module...

Need to use the CAN gateway module so that VCDS can talk to it...

Recoding is pretty simple...

...and done

I need to check the coding of the module fitted to the car to make sure there were no changes I had made to deal with my setup but thats the module ready to test to see if it 'works'

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

I fitted the wheel with the battery disconnected to minimise the chance of the airbag going off... some say you don't need to but I feel a bit safer doing it... I also took the opportunity to give it a top up charge... when I refitted the battery it was starting to get dark so tested the wheel to make sure it still worked as expected...

I feel the modern wheel does suit the S3 interior which has aged pretty well design wise IMO...

Today I had a go at the TT pedal... I had seen that it needs trimming but was kinda hoping with the original plastic bit it would fit a bit better... it didn't.... the TT and S3 foot rests are a bit different..

Taking it apart is pretty easy...

Offered it up to mark out what was needed to trim off...

I wanted to keep the metal trim secure so cut slots for the original tabs to slot in...

Out with the disc cutter

A bit of fettling of the metal and trimming of the rubber insert later...

Happy days

If only fitting the turbo was that easy lol

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

Sooooo... this happened!...

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

Gearbox turned up today...

Needs a clean (and some paint obvs!) but overall looks in good nick

Offered up the transfer box in the hope it would fit.... and it did!... sorta!!!!... on first look it seems to line up perfectly and even turns when you spin the input shaft...

....but!

B*gger!... doesn't quite seat in properly

I had a look at the gearbox that came with the engine... it was immediately obvious what the issue was...

Transfer box mounts on the Mk5 R32 DSG box...

..vs the ones on the Mk1 TT DSG box...

As you can see the mounts on the new box stick out the same amount as the gap its leaving... on the TT box they are flush with the case.... soooo... I will be cutting them off

...once I have done a few measurements etc to double check of course...

I also bought a starter for the box as its different to the manual... it did get damaged in transit though (not very well packed at all) but I can glue the broken bit back on I think...

I really do need to get this lot fitted lol

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

Had a few more bits turn up last week... as I have been debating over what to do with the transfer box issue I bagged an R32 transfer box so I could at least work out if there is any point modding the gearbox to take the TT one...

On the face of it they look the same but... there are a couple of subtle differences... one being the overall length of the through shaft to the right hand drive cup... there is about 10mm difference which of course changes the amount of engagement to the diff once fitted... this suggests that if I leave the box unmodded then the R32 transfer box would be the best bet... I then took a bunch of measurements to see where the drive cups etc would end up as this will dictate what I need to do for drive shafts.... please note that all measurements are approximate as:

A) I wasn't looking for precision... just looking to get an idea of what I am working with...
2) My eye sight is cr@p
z) please refer to the points above....

The 02M manual box as fitted to an 8L S3....

...and the 02E DSG box as fitted to a VR based TT or R32 (the pic is the TT one but the layout is the same)

So using the bellhousing mounting face as the datum as this will be the mount point to the engine and therefore the same across any box... you can see that the 02M transfer box flange face is 208mm from the face... while the TT DSG is 234mm... this is fine as there are off the shelf drive shafts that would fit the S3 as the Mk1 TT is the same chassis... they are tri-lobal inner joints though so somewhat on the fence about that...

However when looking at the R32 DSG set up (from a Mk5 chassis car as the Mk4 didn't have DSG) the dimension is 12mm more at 246mm... this is partly down to the R32 DSG box having the protruding transfer box mounts over the Mk1 TT DSG box's more flush ones...

I also noted that the TT transfer box has additional machining on the mount face that would let it sit further to the left... this makes sense as the other key measurement here is the centreline of the output flange to the prop shaft... On the TT DGS/transfer box setup this was the same as the manual 02M but on the R32 setup this was approx 10mm over to the right... this would effectively move the prop closer to the right side of the tunnel closing the gap required to get the downpipe through

Until I am at the point of actually making the downpipe for the turbo setup I am not sure how much trouble that will give me but 10mm is quite a lot given there is not much space there in the first place...

Anyhoo... thats a problem for later...

The other problem I have with the right hand side drive shaft is that the transfer box flange only seems to support a tri-lobal style inner CV... I am pretty sure that some R32 transfer boxes had flanges for the standard S3 inners so looks like I maybe keeping a lazy eye out for something else...

The left hand drive cup is 10mm different (requiring a longer shaft) to the 02M but the R32 is 5mm the other way which suggests that I should be able to use the standard left hand S3 shaft... ironically on the R32 DSG box the left drive cup supports the S3's inner CV's... the TT one however uses the tri-lobal style...

So... in summary... if I use the R32 DSG/transfer box as is... I can use the S3 left hand shaft, the prop will be 10mm over to the right making the down pipe a little more of a challenge and I will need a tri-loble right hand drive shaft that has an overall length some 38mm shorter than the S3's

I currently have my eye on a relatively cheap transfer box from a Mk7 Golf R... this should fit up to the box fine, has the correct drive flange for the right hand shaft but... will no doubt still move the prop over and has a different style prop flange although I believe the bolt pitch is the same so should be fine....

At the end of this I will have rather a lot of transfer boxes to sell I think LOL... the joys of trying to get stuff from newer cars to fit to our older cars...

<tuffty/>

 

[Bluepower]

Again, nice reading material! And love that you give all your thoughts and pointers here too..
But: the mk4 R32 DID come with a DSG, although not too many of them around...

 

[S.Pellegrino]

God, going through your thread is like a breath of fresh air! Always something new, I love it!

 

[<tuffty/>]

Again, nice reading material! And love that you give all your thoughts and pointers here too..
But: the mk4 R32 DID come with a DSG, although not too many of them around...

Interesting... not seen one in the UK as yet... would have been the same box setup as the Mk1 TT I suspect...

I have acquired another transfer box very cheaply.... this appears to be of the same design as the R32 but has normal looking drive cup... will see how that works out when it arrives...

I am hoping all I really need to do is get a right hand shaft made up the right length so I can retain the standard 02M inner CV's

Have to see how that goes

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

God, going through your thread is like a breath of fresh air! Always something new, I love it!

...new mainly due to things getting broken LOL

Near 13 years of joyful ownership portrayed over some 100 + pages

<tuffty/>

 

[S3AMJ]

...Near 13 years of joyful ownership portrayed over some 100 + pages

We don’t talk about the tears

I wonder if there is any differences in strengths between the transfer boxes, there are some slight differences physically between them.


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[<tuffty/>]

Maybe... hopefully... given I have nuked one of the 02M ones before

I have learnt my lessons and won't be launching the car anymore... nice bit of low down grunt, smooth big engine power and DSG gearbox will be enough to keep the intoxicating sound of the VR6 going

<tuffty/>

 

[S3AMJ]

Well I’m super intrigued mate, once both cars are done I’d like to see how yours feels in comparison, granted it’ll be slightly less power, but more torque. That delivery of power will be the main thing and yes very envious of that VR6 sound!


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[Brad1011]

With the ongoing easing of lockdown I have been able to get out and about more in the car which has been damn nice tbh...
View attachment 236391

...however... the old girls age and lack of use really has started to become apparent... I now have the dreaded low speed binding when turning... pulled the haldex fuse and shock horror it went away... bad times

Thankfully I have been stocking up!!
View attachment 236390

The top controller was one I bought for a song off a late Mk1 TT with pretty low miles... this is the newer metal gasket type fitment but has a damaged plug... thankfully most VAG connectors have the part number on (bless their germanic ways) which was 1J0973814... quick search on ebay netted me a complete new plug with terminals for less than a fiver... result

The lower controller was one I got off my replacement diff...
View attachment 236392

This still needs to be fitted at some point... not that I think it needs it but I did spend a rather silly amount of money on new seals etc for it and was low mileage with decent haldex clutch plates so given mine has a fair few miles on it... a lot of dyno time and has had its fair share of power then kinda makes sense to replace it all but tbh I will probably drop the whole rear end and do a full refurb including powder coating everything and replacing bearings and brake lines...

Turbo first though

Quick one, which is the haldex fuse ? I’ve got a noise from the rear that starts around 45mph goes when accelerating but then again it’s quite loud so can’t hear I get no wheel spin so it does work but I do get the judder on full lock.. just want to eliminate it’s not a wheel bearing if I can disconnect the haldex fuse it should go away if it’s the diff ?? … thanks in advance


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[<tuffty/>]

Quick one, which is the haldex fuse ? I’ve got a noise from the rear that starts around 45mph goes when accelerating but then again it’s quite loud so can’t hear I get no wheel spin so it does work but I do get the judder on full lock.. just want to eliminate it’s not a wheel bearing if I can disconnect the haldex fuse it should go away if it’s the diff ?? … thanks in advance


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Fuse 31... should be 5amp

<tuffty/>

 

[hydro s3]

How's this dsg gearbox modification going? I'm giving this some thought for mine but realise urs is now the r32 engine so not sure what all would transfer over that ur fitting onto the s3 engine.

 

[<tuffty/>]

How's this dsg gearbox modification going? I'm giving this some thought for mine but realise urs is now the r32 engine so not sure what all would transfer over that ur fitting onto the s3 engine.

Nothing is actually happening at this moment dude... I have most of the parts but just waiting to get the turbo on first...

Waiting for Bill to have a bit of space available to be able to leave my car up there for a week or so while I get the fabrication done... hopefully that will happen soon...

Once I have tuned the turbo setup on the manual box I will look to fit the DSG then... that way any running issues will just require tweaking rather than chasing my tail around it being either an issue caused by the box or the tune...

The principles will be the same though and Karl has fitted a DQ250 to his TT track car....head over to the TT section as he has gone into a fair bit of detail there

<tuffty/>

 

[hydro s3]

I'll do that mate thanks. What does he go by on here so I know who's thread to read

 

[axelmckenzie]

This is a really cool thread, I like the fact that you know what you want for this car. The progress looks good, and I can't wait to see more updates on this build.

 

[S3AMJ]

I'll do that mate thanks. What does he go by on here so I know who's thread to read

Mk1 TT 225 track day car, 0-60-3.2s , 0-100mph -7.2s 100-200Km/h 7.4s

Mk1 TT 225 track day car, Officially a ten second car 10.8 seconds at 127 mph.

Having done the odd track day event in my everyday A4 diesel estate decided that it might be a bit better if I have a go at converting a car to a decent track day spec to have some more serious fun. I know lots of people opt for Clios or BMW's but I was never one to follow the crowd. Used S3's...

r.tapatalk.com

Like Tuffty mentioned mate, Karl has done a DQ250 to the 1.8t platform with good succession, lots of useful info on his thread. It’s something I’m considering as well….. depending on how long my 02M box lasts


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[<tuffty/>]

Today.... I was faffing...

<tuffty/>

 

[Tadope]

Is gt35 too big for a 1.8t. I'm going for 500whp. But I don't want too much lag. I was thinking long intake runners might help

 

[<tuffty/>]

Is gt35 too big for a 1.8t. I'm going for 500whp. But I don't want too much lag. I was thinking long intake runners might help

GT35 on a 1.8 over a stroker will take a bit longer to get going... longer runners don't make much difference on blown applications in my experience

Lag... that magic word... a GT35 on a small 4 pot engine will always take a while to get going so you will have to alter your driving style... there are plenty of dyno plots on my thread to give you an idea of where it should end up if you build it right...

Lag is far too subjective a subject... depends on context... no, it won't feel like a K04 but as long as you are in the right gear at the right time and driving the car hard then lag is not an issue... just don't expect to be able to get the car going for an overtake in 6th while doing 70 on the motorway...

<tuffty/>

 

[Tadope]

Well I expected it to take a bit longer compared to a k04. But the power on the k04 is stupid low rpm levels. (K03 must be absurd).
So I have no complaints about it taking longer than the k04.
I think "too much". Would be if you're still out of boost when you shift up during a power run.
A good setup should always be on power when you're flooring it through the gears.

I know a gt28 would.do that. And I'm pretty sure a gt30 would at least be close enough.
But my question is whether a gt35 would constantly be putting you in the dead range every shift

 

[<tuffty/>]

On mine it was fine between changes... couple of dyno runs from the last round of tweaking I had done before the rod let go...

The blue and yellow plots are from when I ran a non ported housing and had to tune the boost delivery around surge... the red plot is after I fitted the anti surge housing which allowed me to bring the boost up sooner

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

In an attempt to make 'some' progress while I wait for an opportunity to actually get going on the turbo fitting I have been busily collecting parts and having a faff about with bits to see what else I need so I can hit the ground running...

Dug out some pipework (old and new)

...and wanted to see what to expect from the downpipe/wastegate fitment...

Tried a downpipe that was lying about on the shelf...

I suspect there is not enough room for this but worth a look for gauging fitment

Next tried a 1D 3" bend... this looks like the most plausible approach with the wastegate entering the downpipe before it it goes past the prop

And for shizzles and giggles... a 3.5" DP...

Will see what space I have once its in but a 3.5" out the turbo would be nice

<tuffty/>

 

[S3AMJ]

In an attempt to make 'some' progress while I wait for an opportunity to actually get going on the turbo fitting I have been busily collecting parts and having a faff about with bits to see what else I need so I can hit the ground running...

Dug out some pipework (old and new)
View attachment 240242

...and wanted to see what to expect from the downpipe/wastegate fitment...

Tried a downpipe that was lying about on the shelf...
View attachment 240243
I suspect there is not enough room for this but worth a look for gauging fitment

Next tried a 1D 3" bend... this looks like the most plausible approach with the wastegate entering the downpipe before it it goes past the prop
View attachment 240245

And for shizzles and giggles... a 3.5" DP...
View attachment 240244

Will see what space I have once its in but a 3.5" out the turbo would be nice

Looks doable with the 3.5” mate, infact that actually looks a better setup than the 3”….. the wastegate would plumb in much nicer in that 3.5” 90


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[<tuffty/>]

Looks doable with the 3.5” mate, infact that actually looks a better setup than the 3”….. the wastegate would plumb in much nicer in that 3.5” 90


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tbh mate I have had a look at the Golf in the workshop that has a 3.5" and not 100% convinced... I shall most likely go 3" given my power goals... if at a later date I feel there would be some benefit to going 3.5" I will revisit it but a 3" will suffice for now and make the whole process easier overall

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

A few more odds and sods sorted...
Mocked up the turbo again to measure up the oil feed line...

I am using an inline filter as there is no outlet on the VR filter housing as standard... I plan to take the feed off the back of the oil pressure t-piece however this is in fact the non filtered side of the housing... others have welded on a fitting to the filtered side of the housing which does work but I also have an adaptor to feed from the chain tensioner... the issue with that it seems is that typically you need a 'longer' plunger in the tensioner to compensate and HPA seem to be the only people that do one... they also do a longer top chain (1 extra link I believe) that would over come the issues I had with the OE chain and head spacer...

Trouble is I am not inclined to start spanking another 200 quid on parts that require the gearbox to be removed at this time just to sort all that out so I will leave that for now until I am ready to do the DSG conversion... that way at least I have an excuse to remove the box and the flywheel to get at the chains

This will work fine however and I just need to make sure I clean the filter out at the same time as I change the oil which for me is typically every 12 months...

I also took delivery of the parts to make the down pipe

I mocked the bends together for shizzles and giggles but pretty sure this won't be the final shape...

Last thing was to apply a sticker for no other reason than I thought it might just look 'cool'

Its subtle but I kinda like it

Anyhoo... I have book two weeks off work from next weekend... can you guess what that means?

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

Bit more tinkering of parts while 'off' the car... the cold side outlet is pretty close to the exhaust manifold and not the best for longevity of any silicon joiner....

So knowing this was an issue I grabbed a 45 deg alloy fitting from the e of the bay...

Bit of prep to make sure the welds would penetrate...

...and...

Sadly the sump didn't go quite as well...

Finest chinesium at its best it seems and the welds were pulling all sorts of 'stuff' out the casting making the welds porous so looks like the take a punt £20 sump wasn't going to cut it... no matter... just means I will have to mod the OE one... which hopefully will weld a bit better...

Last thing to sort out on the manifold was the wastegate adaptor...

Just need to port it out a bit and jobs a good un!...

Big shout out to Alex of Badger 5 fame for welding these up for me... he is my cuddly little ginger hero

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

Bit more done today...

The exhaust mani is designed for a 2 bolt 38mm wastegate which I feel is a bit on the small side so after the 38mm to 44mm adaptor was welded on it appears that it smaller than 38mm anyway!...

So I ported it...

Next I gave the mani a blast in the aqua blast cabinet...

...and painted it (obvs!!)

I don't expect this to last very long tbh but the heat shield has held out so far and that will be going back on (modded to suit) to cover it up so its more because I can

Finally did a dry assembly to get an idea of how it all holds together...

And thats the mani and turbo pretty much ready to bolt on

<tuffty/>

 

[S3AMJ]

Nice work Tuffty! The porting must have taken a while quite a bit of material there. Only a couple weeks and we should be hearing turbo spoolie things along with that VR6


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[<tuffty/>]

One small headache has been trying to work out where to run the coolant lines for the turbo... as per usual with anything VR turbo related the info is a little thin on the ground so after spending a bit of time researching and looking over the VR6 cooling system flow diagram and exploded parts diagram for the Mk1 TT 3.2 (as thats where the engine and pipework is from) I have 3 possibilities!!

So... the standard flow diagram as originally posted by Karl...

..and the key to the components...
Coolant hose connection diagram
1 - Radiator
2 - Non-return valve
3 - Continued circulation coolant pump -V51-
4 - Oil cooler
5 - Coolant pump
6 - Cylinder head/cylinder block
7 - Expansion tank
8 - Filler cap for expansion tank
9 - Throttle valve module -J338-
10 - Heat exchanger
11 - Thermostat
12 - Non-return valve
13 - Gearbox oil cooler
14 - Auxiliary radiator

Note that the above caters for the DSG oil cooler (13) and secondary radiator (14) as normally fitted to a DSG equipped car... all I have done on my car so far is by pass the DSG cooler by connecting the coolant feed hose for it straight to the t-piece that the outlet of the DSG cooler goes to...

So, the options... the VR6 engine already has a continuous circulation pump (or after run pump as its sometimes called) as standard... I have two options in using this as part of the cooling circuit for the turbo (as per OE on K04 turbo's 1.8t's)...

Option 1...

In this option I tee off the feed out of the pump that goes to the DSG cooler... then return from the turbo into the same line as the DSG cooler... this essentially puts it in parallel to the DSG cooler circuit...

Option 2...

Again tee off the coolant feed to the DSG oil cooler but this time the return goes straight to the 'top' of the radiator much like how the 1.8t setup does...

Option 3... use a second pump...

This time tee off the feed to the heater matrix from the back of the head... and return through the pump to the 'top' of the rad...

Option 1 is my least favourite... not sure I like the idea of the turbo and DSG coolant lines running in parallel... not sure how that would effect flow on either component...

Option 2 feels a better solution if I am to use just the existing pump and feels more inline with how its set up on the 1.8t...

Option 3 'was' my preferred option as this eliminates any potential issue with the DSG cooler supply but... adding a second pump in means one more thing to go wrong and twice the current draw for the 10mins or so after shutting off the engine... I just feel that this could be an unnecessary strain on the battery that already has a habit of going flat over a few weeks (despite being fairly new) due to short journeys and little use

Given I am not fitting the DSG box for a little while I suspect for ease I will go with option 2 initially... this will at least get me up and running a bit quicker and just work... when I get around to fitting the DSG box I can then look at it again and see where the oil temps sit... I suspect I may have to look into alternative ways to cool the DSG box if it becomes an issue anyway as I don't really have the room for a second aux radiator

<tuffty/>

 

[S3AMJ]

I have to agree mate, looking at those options…… I’d go for option 2.


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[<tuffty/>]

So after much deliberation and anxiety induced sleep loss I am now looking at option 3 as the winner!! LOL... The main reason being this is the less likely route to compromising the existing cooling flow...

So... found this diagram which helps visualise the coolant flow a bit better...

VR6...

...vs the 20v...

The 20v turbo cooling flow takes engine temp coolant and flows back through the after run pump to the top of the rad....

The VR6 after run pump however seems to take the 'cooled' coolant from the rad and circulates that... I don't want to add any restrictions in the existing cooling circuit by sticking the turbo in the path of it... and in particular I don't want to potentially obstruct the DSG coolers ability to cool the gearbox oil so I will take the coolant feed from the path to the heat matrix and return it through a second pump (the original one from the 20v) to the top of the rad as per Option 3

This way the turbo cooling circuit is 'isolated' from the main cooling circuit as per the 20v...

Just need to get it all in the engine bay somehow

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

Today.... almost 2 years since I got the car home from the initial engine swap.... this happened!...

....yep, the turbo is going on at last...

Big shout out to Bill for finding me a bit of ramp time so I could crack on... and crack on I did... first job as you will have seen was to drop the sump... this was so I could fit the ACL big end bearings (same ones I used in my 20v) and ARP rod bolts... the shells that came out were in pretty good shape considering the engine had done 100k miles...

I used assembly lube for the bearings and ARP grease on the bolts...

The torque for these is 40ftlb which is a little less than for after market rods but then the bolts are a little smaller diameter so all good in reality...

So thats the bottom end mods done... this should be enough (so I am told) to allow the standard bottom end to hold together nicely for the power I am likely to see (between 400 and 500hp)... coupled with the 8.9:1 CR from the spacer gasket and the Supertech inconel exhaust valves I am hoping it will hold together for a while

Next job is to modify the OE sump for the oil drain... I have given up on the pattern part sump for now as tbh its was simply leaking from the welds and no matter what Bill and Alex tried the sump material was not playing ball...

Thats a job for tomorrow along with removing the current exhaust manifolds and down pipe.... I can then crack on with the down pipe

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

Some more progress today.... after the issues I had with the pattern part sump the only thing left to do was to mod the OE sump and hope this would weld better

Removed the boss on the sump...

Drilled a suitably sized hole...

...and thankfully the OE sump welded fine

So fitted that back on the engine and went to the next job...

Next job was to remove the NA exhaust manifolds and downpipe...

I ended up having to cut the downpipe to remove it (won't be using it again anyway)...

...leaving lots of room for 'vrooooom!'

I did a test fit of the turbo manifold and wastegate as I knew it was going to be tight... and it was!!..

So a minor application of the magic spanner (a hammer) later...

I think I would prefer a little more than that but it will do for now... then I fitted the turbo to see what other little challenges awaited me...

Turns out the cooling pipes are in the way a bit...

....but the good news is they do not really get in the way of the inlet to the turbo...

I was expecting this tbh and the hoses are a rationalised version of the Mk1 TT ones the engine came from... ths is an easy problem to resolve though so not bothered about it... and to that end I drained the coolant and removed the hoses for now so I could focus on fitting the turbo and then I can work around that once done

Plenty of room now lol.... and talking of room... I removed the wastegate to give me better access to the next job on the list....

...to continue tomorrow

<tuffty/>

 

[hydro s3]

Coming along nicely

 

[<tuffty/>]

Downpipe day.... a little bit rusty (no pun etc) at making these but got into the groove fairly quickly.... one thing I did actually achieve today was to use the TIG welder...

Previously I just tacked the stuff together using a MIG but that only had mild steel wire in it and the wrong gas for stainless so had a crack at TIG....

...ok... its just a tack weld but!... its a bit of a milestone for me considering how long I have been doing this level of work lol... that said... I did end up blowing a fair few holes in things until I got a bit more comfortable with it... it feels very much like rubbing your tummy and patting your head but I guess I will just need to practice a bit more....

Anyhoo... the DP itself was a little bit of a challenge... the turbo sits quite low and a little more centrally than it did on my 20v... felt more like my original GT3071 install tbh but once I had worked out the initial part of the DP the rest fell into place nicely...

Tried to make sure I had as much clearance for the prop as possible in prep for when the DSG finally goes in as the prop will move over to the right/drivers side a bit..

And here is the main part of the DP

Alex will be welding that up tomorrow and I can then do the wastegate pipework afterwards...

I next moved onto the cooling system 'challenges'... other than the coolant lines to/from the turbo I had to rejig some of the main engine coolant lines to the heater matrix and expansion bottle too...

Made a start on this mocking up a few things to see what would work

I also mocked up the intake pipe out of the old 20v parts to see what else I may need... as a result I now have a better idea of how its all going to hang together and of course a long list of bits to order

More tomorrow...

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

It would appear that the years of a desk job is starting to catch up with me lol... 3 days of working on the car and I am stiff as a board (fnarr!)... anyhoo... more done today

First job was to fabricate the turbo coolant lines...

...done... well... nearly... waiting on a 'barb' to weld onto the end of the shorter line so I can connect it up to the hose that feeds it...

Next up... I fabricated the charge pipe... main reason for this was I need to work out how much room I have to play with for the turbo after run pump that will be fitted under the battery cover... in order to do this I need the parts that have little room for adjustment in so I cracked on with that...

Happy with the way it runs... need to finalise a few things as waiting on hoses etc and need to work out how to secure it to the side of the head but its coming together how I visualised it... I also positioned the dump valve...

...yes, its a BOV bruv... but I am on standalone ECU using speed density so its fine

Last job was to sort the oil feed to the turbo... there appears to be a few ways that this can be achieved on a VR6 turbo conversion... the information (as always) is suitably vague but... some people weld a fitting to the top of the oil filter housing but this seems a little sketchy to me as the top of the housing is just a void and while it is the filtered side it seems that it could drain down between starts so maybe cause air to be drawn into the feed leading to a small chance of oil starvation...

I am sure that in reality its fine but just didn't feel right to me... so another option was to use the adaptor I bought a while back that you fit teh timing chain tensioner through so it can feed from there... however it seems that a larger plunger is needed to make up for the way the oil take off spaces the tensioner away from the chain... this seems to be something HPA sells along with a longer top chain so decided I will wait until I have those parts ($225 plus shipping!) before I decide on using the adaptor... that will also wait until I am ready to swap to the DSG box as you need the box off to play with chains..

So I went for plan Z and fitted a 10x1 to AN4 stainless fitting to the end of the oil pressure t-piece...

..to which I fitted the oil feed pipe... All a bit tight there but have cable tied and spaced to make sure it doesn't end up in the fans....

The only real issue with this solution is that the oil from the oil pressure switch side is not filtered... so I got an inline filter with AN4 fitting... its a 149 micron mesh filter that is cleanable and will do the job nicely...

I may well review this at a later date once I have the parts from HPA but happy with the solution as it stands... I just need to take the front off the car to feed it more elegantly but will address that when I take the inlet off to be powder coated again

While I was faffing about the hero that is Alex welded up my downpipe..

This means that tomorrows work will be sorting the wastegate and getting that fed into the down pipe along with finalising EGT and lambda boss locations...

All in all I am happy with progress... waiting for parts is a pain but they are bits I wasn't sure of needing until I had worked out how it was all going together..

My S3 however is clearly not happy about me not giving her much attention over the past 2 years and so is making me pay for it lol...

Nice engine bay rash from building the downpipe...

Nice burn from linishing the cut ends of the downpipe bends... stupidly managed to grab the hot bit while turning the cut piece around...

After realising I was TIG welding without heat resistant gloves (just had nitrile gloves on) I managed to stab myself with the hot end of the filler rod while putting stuff down to grab the gloves...

Lastly... managed to pinch my finger (somehow) whilst doing something in the vice!!... nice bulge too!..

I expect to bleed a bit when I do car stuff as that is the nature of things but its getting out of hand now LOL...

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