# 96AAAjetta's build/story thread



## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Well, after 2 years in England, 6 months in the desert, and one trip home last x-mas, during which I broke my car in spectacular fashion, I'm finally(almost) home for good (Constantly back and forth between the Charleston S.C. area and Ft. Bragg N.C. anybody around there feel free to hit me up sometime) I figure this is as good a time as any to make a build/story thread. 

Once upon a time…. about a year ago, when i was deployed, i decided I needed to go ahead and spend all my money on something.
Enter my beautiful money pit.


Sourced her on CL from a married couple about 45 minutes from my house. Had my mom go check it out, haggle them down and get it for me. 2002 225TT with 80K for $10,000. Not bad if you ask me. But whats up with that odo. reading? 80K on the clock and still on the original timing belt/water pump? Better put that sweet thang in the shop for some loving.

So now I have this sweet ride and still not out of money yet, cause I'm still deployed, so let the shopping begin. Heres what i picked up:
Boost Machine, Podi boost gauge, Blitz turbo timer, DV from Mad Max, Intake and 3" turbo back from 42 Drafts.

Meanwhile, my mom gets the car out of the shop, and drives it around while her car is getting fixed. She drives it to Tennessee and back twice, and all around, doing what moms do. She pulls into the gas station to get gas one day…




POW! Some guy towing a boat trailer cut his turn too sharp and thrashed the front end up pretty good. Welp, better put it back in the shop and get it fixed. While it was in the shop getting the body damage worked out, my mom had them put all the parts on that i had been hoarding. Normally i would not have been a big fan of this, but when she told me that he did it for free and got the insurance company to pay for it, all of a sudden i was okay with it.

While the car was in the shop getting body work and round 1 of mods installed, I started on buying round 2, which included:
ST coilers, Samco TIP, Stainless brake/clutch lines, 2 sets of MadMax control arms, BFI stage 1 engine/trans mounts, un-baffled boost pipe, and a REVO stage 2 tune.

Fast-forward a few months and i get back to england, and fly home for a month. I installed all of the "round 2" mods and got the REVO tune. So there i was, just driving along, minding my own business when i decide to do some "spirited driving". During said "spirited driving" i saw a boost spike that must have been around 28 PSI, and then heard one of those sounds that you never, ever want to hear....
Stay tuned, more to come.


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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

Glad to see you back in action Josh :thumbup:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

I wish i was but I'm not quite there yet.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

When i heard the knock, i was down the street from the shop that put all the round 1 mods on, did the body work, and did the REVO flash. I went straight there, told the owner what happened, and let him listen to the sound. He asked me what i wanted to do. I didn't have the time left to fix it myself since i had to go back to england 2 weeks later, so I gave him 2K to get things going, told him to keep it, fix it and send me the bill. He called me a few days later and told me they took the oil pan off and the number 2 rod look roughly like this---> "@", and had taken out a few chunks of the block, as well as the oiler. I told him to get a short block with forged rods, a stage 4 clutch and a SM steel flywheel. He said no problem, it'd take him about 2 weeks. By the way, important note, I dropped the car off to him on the 28th of Dec. So over the next few weeks I called for updates and was told the usual, "had to source a block, head is at the machine shop, waiting on parts, broke this and that." etc. Then the excuses got a bit more wild. Clogged oil lines, blown turbo, first engine he got was bad, had to go get another one, etc. At first it wasn't a huge deal cause I had plenty of time and was busy getting ready to out-process my base. But then a few weeks ago I told him I'd had enough. I gave him a week to get the car out the door or I'd have a flatbed at his shop to pick it up. The day came, car wasn't ready, and I had a truck there to get it. in 4 1/2 months he had accomplished nothing more than tearing my car apart. When it got dropped off at my house it looked something like this:





My dad got the oil pan off and pulled a few pieces out: (im still waiting on a pic of the #2 rod)



So over the last week I mad a few calls and sent a few emails. I call Issam at INA Engineering, and Clay at CTS Turbo. ~ 5 grand later I now have a 1802CC, fully forged short block on the way from INA, a Clutchmasters FX400 kit, a SM steel flywheel, and a FMIC kit on the way from CTS which should both be there by the time I get home. *Shameless bump* Clay @CTS and Issam @ INA are both great dudes who went above and beyond to help me get the stuff I need in the really short time span I need them in. You'd be doing yourself a huge favor ordering anything from them.

So now I'm trying to burn through the next 2 1/2 weeks till I can get home and put it all back together. More updates and pics to come.


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## Forty-six and 2 (Jan 21, 2007)

Cool story and interesting build.:thumbup: 

Will be watching.opcorn:


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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

96AAAjetta said:


> I wish i was but I'm not quite there yet.


I know the engine build is in progress, I was talking abou forum action. It is always good to see some old timers posting since we lost so many along the way.:beer:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Marcus_Aurelius said:


> I know the engine build is in progress, I was talking abou forum action. It is always good to see some old timers posting since we lost so many along the way.:beer:


I plan to be on alot more now that im getting back to my car and my old life after so long. Ive got some big things planned in the future. Frankenturbo, big brake's all around, Porsche seats, and a few other goodies I'm still thinking about.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Clutch and Flywheel came in today, pics to follow. Also placed an order with Integrated. Got a billet SAI delete plate, billet 2.0T coil adapters, 2.0 TSI coils, and 3 SAI/EVAP/N249 resistors on the way. Those resistors look pretty bad-ass. They're soldered to OE style plugs and sealed. 

I wasn't too but-hurt on the pricing but the shipping did seem a bit ridiculous. Parts were ~ $222, shipping for, what i assume is a box that weighs 10-12 lbs. max, was almost $50.


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## Audiguy84 (Nov 14, 2006)

When i had my engine built it was at the machine shop for almost 6 months... I was pissed but really couldn't do anything. So i know how it goes when it looks liket the people working on your stuff are sand baging around. If your going to go big turbo, stay smaller then a gt30r, like max would say lag sucks.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

If i go big turbo it wont be for a while. My first leap will be a F23 from Frankenturbo. But even that is probably a year or more away. Im gonna enjoy the stock turbo for a while.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Got my order from Integrated yesterday and my FMIC from CTS today. Hoping to post pics soon.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Various items i've received throughout the week.
And the shift knob i made when i was in the desert. Still have to get it drilled and tapped but hope to have it on soon after i get home. I did some math and i figure it weighs about 2-2.5 lbs. Pretty hefty for a shift knob.

One for scale.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Got great news from Issam @ INA yesterday that my bottom end is together. Just going through QC, then packaging and shipping. It should be waiting on me when i get home next week or arrive shortly after I do at the latest. Half of me is excited to get home to my car, the other half is dreading the game of "find where this part goes, except that its all the parts and none of them are in the engine bay" I have waiting on me when i get home. Updates to follow in the next few weeks.


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## Issam Abed (Feb 12, 2004)

I would have thrown in the coil pack adapters :thumbup:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Issam Abed said:


> I would have thrown in the coil pack adapters :thumbup:


 No worries.  But i may (absolutely) be hitting you up soon for an SEM intake and an 80mm Hemi TB. Probably will be after i get the engine broken in and the car running right.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Got an oddly shaped package today. 
 

Turned out to be something the PO of my car managed to lose somehow.


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## PLAYED TT (Oct 17, 2010)

How do you lose that lol


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Finally got back to the good ole USA last night. Went out to look things over today and holy sh!t what a mess I have. I guess the only good thing, other than not having to worry if my power level is too much for the bottom end to handle, is that I can easily see what goes where and get a mental road map of all the hoses and lines. Comes in pretty handy for deleting the evap and pcv stuff. Gonna start gathering supplies and start scrubbing, cleaning, and painting anything I can. Need to order a few more parts and get the engine delivered then the reassembly can begin.


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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

A few :beer: for you brother.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks bud, Ill probably need a few over the next week or so.

So i got news from Issam at INA that my engine shipment was delayed a few days but it will ship out Monday. He's going to cover the cost of next day delivery to keep the original delivery date he promised me because thats the kind of high class gentleman he is. 

The plan for tomorrow is to clean up whatever i can get my hands on in the engine bay, clean and paint the intake manifold, valve cover, head, charge piping, and intercooler. Also going to try and get the trans and block separated, clean the trans up as much as needed, and re-install the wiring harness, wiper cowl, and wiper arms that were taken out for some mysterious reason. 

And now for something completely different:

The catch can and vac. manifold both look WAY bigger on the 42DD website. That's not exactly a bad thing, mind you.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Progress today? I don't know about that, but i did spend a few hours taking things apart. 

Separated the engine from the trans, took the flywheel and clutch assy. off. Took the pistons out of the block and inspected things a little bit. I was pretty surprised at the condition of the engine. After almost 90K the cylinder walls didnt show a whole lot of wear, and still had a beautiful crosshatch. As well the bearings didnt show a great deal of wear. The clutch, however, looks like it was about the sh!t the bed so im glad I have a shiny new one to put in. 

Now heres some carnage. 

 
No. 4 is fat left, No. 1 far right. Theres the key for some scale. 
 
 
Thats where the piston hit the oiler. 
Where the rod hit the block, theres also another chunk taken out of the cylinder wall just above that. 
 
And thats my alternate means of transportation. Despite the way it looks, and its reputation as a "chick car" its actually a lot of fun to drive (see TT).


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

So the engine showed up mid-day on Friday. I would have stopped to take pictures but i was too excited and it slipped my mind. After a few half days of work and a few trips to my local parts house for gaskets and such, I had the head,both manifolds, the trans, and all the accessories bolted on and ready to go back in the car. I notched the crash bar, and painted the FMIC and the pipes. I vise-gripped a C-clamp to my engine hoist and compressed the timing belt tensioner and put a cotter pin through to hold it. As i was in the process of putting that on the block I noticed something strange. 

 

Your attention should be drawn to the hole in the middle of the pic, just below the bottom bolt of the water pump. That is where I believe a core plug should be installed. I looked on my old block and there was one in both the front and the rear of the block. I popped the one out of the front, stuck a dowel rod in, marked the depth from the surface of the rear plug to the block surface, and checked the length on the new block. Sure enough the core plug from the rear is missing too. Not only did the mark from the other block go into the new block by about 3/8", i could hear the dowel tapping on the dust shield. 

So i shot an email off to Issam at INA just to verify that there should actually be core plugs in both locations. 

This setback really sucks cause I'm 100% ready to put the engine/trans back in the car and theres no point in putting it back in if I'm just going to have to take the engine back out to put 2 core plugs in, however I am really glad i caught it now as opposed to putting everything back together and having 2 massive oil/coolant leaks. 

In other news I got my WG actuator spring mod put in. I still want to get a nut to thread onto the WG actuator rod for my own peace of mind. Here it is, courtesy of Max's genius. Did i do it right Max? 
 

And a picture as it currently sits with the TIP/DV installed cause i was bored.


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## Forty-six and 2 (Jan 21, 2007)

Nice! Cool to see you are close to getting it running again.:beer: 

Could you do me a favor? I need a couple pictures of where the passenger side motor mount bracket bolts to the block.


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## Issam Abed (Feb 12, 2004)

Check your pm!


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## Chuckmeister87 (Nov 10, 2009)

96AAAjetta said:


> So the engine showed up mid-day on Friday. I would have stopped to take pictures but i was too excited and it slipped my mind. After a few half days of work and a few trips to my local parts house for gaskets and such, I had the head,both manifolds, the trans, and all the accessories bolted on and ready to go back in the car. I notched the crash bar, and painted the FMIC and the pipes. I vise-gripped a C-clamp to my engine hoist and compressed the timing belt tensioner and put a cotter pin through to hold it. As i was in the process of putting that on the block I noticed something strange.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


Looks nice. Almost ready to stick it in and drive :thumbup:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Forty-six and 2 said:


> Nice! Cool to see you are close to getting it running again.:beer:
> 
> Could you do me a favor? I need a couple pictures of where the passenger side motor mount bracket bolts to the block.


 Here ya go. 

 

The holes are where my finger and thumb are on the left and directly above the water pump on the right.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Issam Abed said:


> Check your pm!


 PM checked and replied.


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## Chuckmeister87 (Nov 10, 2009)

What are you going to do about your front bumper? Are you going to take care of it after you get to drive the car again? 

Nice FMIC. Who did you get it from? Take some pics when you put it on  And lets see the shift knob when it gets put on, too. I'm curious to see the style of it with the rest of the car. :beer:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Chuckmeister87 said:


> What are you going to do about your front bumper? Are you going to take care of it after you get to drive the car again?
> 
> Nice FMIC. Who did you get it from? Take some pics when you put it on  And lets see the shift knob when it gets put on, too. I'm curious to see the style of it with the rest of the car. :beer:


 The bumper and fender got fixed right after the accident but i think, now that i dont have aliens anymore(deleted them by choice, not necessity) Im gonna have it shaved and resprayed. The FMIC is from CTS. It actually took a good bit of trimming the crash bar to get it to fit without rubbing anything, but it fits on there pretty nice now, and since i just sprayed it black, you can hardly notice it. I would have already had the shift knob put on but i cant find any solid evidence of what thread pitch it is. I tired testing a few screws on the stock knob and a few different nuts on the shifter but none wanted to go on easy and im not about to force them on and cross-thread one or the other cause i still have to have a shift knob. One of these days ill get a thread pitch gauge, measure it, and have it drilled and tapped.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Today i took a few steps forward, a few steps back, and got some cool data. I got confirmation from Issam that my freeze plugs will be overnighted so hopefully ill get them some time tomorrow and can get the engine back in the car tomorrow. I mocked up the catch can, and vacuum manifold. Also ordered some bolts and plastic bits from Audi. 
To put one of the freeze plugs in i had to separate the engine and trans, and take off the clutch/flywheel. I decided to grab a scale and do some weighing. 

I weighed myself and came in at 171 pounds. Then i held the stock clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, and all the bolts close to my chest and stepped on the scale. The scale read 207 pounds. A difference of 36 pounds; that's a pretty hefty hunk of metal the crank has to spin around. Then I grabbed the new clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, and all the bolts in the same fashion. The scale ticked to 196 pounds. A difference of 25 pounds; a slightly less huge hunk of metal. I feel like 11 an 11 pound lighter clutch/FW assembly is something i can live with. I dont think its going to be a PITA to get the car moving from a stop like it can be with an excessively light FW, but hopefully i will see the engine rev a bit faster than stock.


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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

96AAAjetta said:


> In other news I got my WG actuator spring mod put in. I still want to get a nut to thread onto the WG actuator rod for my own peace of mind. Here it is, courtesy of Max's genius. Did i do it right Max?


 Looks good and you did it right! Don't be surprised if I borrow your pic for the wastegate actuator mod thread (it really shows what need to be done with the engine out of the frame). 

Can't wait to hear that the car is up and running again :thumbup:


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## 20v master (May 7, 2009)

96AAAjetta said:


> I would have already had the shift knob put on but i cant find any solid evidence of what thread pitch it is.


 Off the top of my head, I think it's 12x1.75 or 12x1.25, can't remember. Take the OEM knob into Home Depot or Lowe's, and see what bolt fits in it.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Muthaf*cking progress!!! 









Got the oil gallery plugs from Issam around 11 this morning, threw them in, bolted up the clutch and flywheel, and had the trans bolted up by 12:30. Kept on pushing with little things here and there, got my head bolt tool in the mail, torqued the head down, and threw that bad boy between those frame rails. Got the exhaust, drive shafts, and motor mounts done and started on some of the wiring and plumbing. My buddy Omari, who knows way more about this car than me, is coming over tomorrow to help out with finding where all these friggen wiring connectors go, then i have to finish up the catch can, vacuum manifold, fill it with fluids, get some fresh gas, and hopefully by late tomorrow/early Saturday I can turn key and get this b*tch back on the street.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Well, after about 2 weeks of buying parts, waiting on parts, busted knuckles, yelling expletives, drinking beers, waiting on parts some more, cuts, yelling more expletives, drinking more beers, and banging my head against the wall..... it runs. 

Yesterday I finished buttoning up everything to get the engine in the car, put the front clip on, filled it with fluids and put the battery in. I started to turn the engine over with the injectors unplugged to pre-lube the bearings. I hopped out to take a look at things and plug the injectors in and i noticed a HUGE puddle of oil on the ground. Cut to today, i take the oil pump cover off and find the hole that the 3rd gallery plug Issam sent to me goes into. 

So i get that all put back together and then i realize that my headlights never made it back from the shop that the car was taken apart at. I roll up there to find the receptionist and the owner of the property/building, plus a random lawyer, taking inventory of everything in the building. I walk in and talk to the owner, who lets me look around to my hearts content to try and find my headlights. However, no headlights were there to be found. I can only assume the owner of the business that used to be there took them and sold them since Audi wants around 1200 yucks EACH to replace them. I found some new ones from a local parts supplier for about 350 each. 

"Whatever" i say to myself. I've made it this far, im not gonna let some friggen lights and turn signals get in my way. So i come back to the house, tie up some loose ends, and fire that mother up. It gave me a little static at first but then it smoothed out and purred like a kitten. I let it idle for about 2 hours, while i checked this and that, filled fluids, stopped a few small leaks, and made sure all was well. Then i ran it up to 3000 RPM's for about 3 minutes, per the MadMax engine break-in procedure.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Despite my better judgement, and having no headlights or turn signals, i took the car out and drove it around my neighborhood for a bit today. Put about 2 1/2 miles on it, and man did it feel good. So far everything feels solid. Most of the speed limits around the 'hood are in the 25-35 range and, since i didnt have any front turn signals, I didnt want to draw too much attention to myself so i didnt do too much over those. Only boosted to about 5 psi, but i can already notice much better throttle response due to the N249 being gone, and the DV being plumbed directly to the vac/boost source. 

Ive got to replace the pass. window regulator and door switch. The windows dont crack open when i open the doors and the interior lights and door alarm dont come on when i open the passenger door anymore. Also, theres a clunk when at parking lot speed that i think is the charge pipe on the passengers side. And theres a really strange tapping noise that ive only heard right at 1100-1300 rpms while sitting still. It doesn't change with the clutch in or out. Not too sure what that is, so ill have to check that out some more tomorrow. 

I got the radio out of safe mode, relearned the windows for the one touch up/down, got a full tank of fresh 93 octane from my local BP station, and installed my special, secret squirrel MadMax adjustable control arms that, as Max told me, are just a little bit different than most of the rest of the arms he sells.


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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

Happy to hear she's running again Josh. 

Alignment recommendation for spirited street duties: 

*Front* 

-As much negative camber as the shop can squeeze out of the slotted holes on the ball joint mounting holes (located on the front control arms). 

- Zero toe 

- Caster is not adjustable unless you have aftermarket caster compensation 


*Rear* 

- Negative 1.3 (-1.3) camber 

- 1/16" to 1/32" of toe-in 

I hope this helps :beer:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Marcus_Aurelius said:


> Happy to hear she's running again Josh.
> 
> Alignment recommendation for spirited street duties:
> 
> ...


 Thanks Max. It's really good to have her back on the road. Im gonna try to get the alignment done later today.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Back from the dead with an update.

So its been about 6 months since i got my car back on the road, and not much has changed with it, yet. Been driving the sh*t out of it as much as i can and its taking the beating like a champ.
Ive been into it a good bit here lately trying to fix various rattles and noises, throwing little parts at it here and there, etc.

Today i added these
http://store.forcefedengineering.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=FFE_PE_SHIFT
and one of these
http://store.42draftdesigns.com/Audi-Shifter-Bushing-Set--Mk1-TT-56S-MY02-06_p_280.html#
I say i added one because one of the bushings i received was incorrect according to the parts list. But ill be on the phone with 42DD first thing wednesday morning and, cause they're all such great people, i'm sure they'll have me set straight in no time.
Initial feelings from them are good. The bushing that's incorrect is the front-back one so the slop is still there, but side-to-side feels pretty good. I chose to add them cause i wasn't a fan of the slop in my shift linkage, plus the shifter-end rubber bushings were all sorts of dry-rotted so they were due for a swap.
Also in the mail is one of these coil pack harnesses from ttstuff.com.
http://www.ttstuff.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=OEM-971658L1J0&Category_Code=T1PENI
Mines all cracked from the heat back there. Before that goes in though, i plan to make a stainless heat shield for it at work, and call up the fine folks at DEI and get a few different types of heat control devices. 
I also picked up these from 034
http://www.034motorsport.com/engine...-aem-digital-boost-gauge-3035psi-p-21754.html
http://www.034motorsport.com/engine...ideband-gauge-10199-afr-gasoline-p-21753.html
The boost gauge is gonna replace my POS Podi gauge that keeps randomly sticking at 10 psi and 20 in/Hg.
Also gonna procure some of that DEI header wrap and wrap my downpipe when i have it out to install the bung for the wideband.

In other news, I'm finalizing my master plan for a turbo swap, daily drivable AWIC setup, port meth injection, and a built head. 
Also, (read first page) the guy who screwed me over when i popped the engine last year, got arrested for writing a bad check to a guy for $225,000,(yes, that is a correct figure) spent a few months in jail, got bailed out by his parents, and most recently got picked up again by the local smokies, and is currently being bounced around by 3 different counties for various charges. So, while i may not have recovered any of my money yet, i have the satisfaction of knowing his life is far from easy these days.


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## hunTTsvegas (Aug 27, 2012)

CW2 Dishner, checking in! Glad you're back in the good ole CONUS! May be heading up to Bragg sometime in '13 to work with 3rd SFG. I'll be sure to hit you up and give some love to the "lady"!


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

hunTTsvegas said:


> CW2 Dishner, checking in! Glad you're back in the good ole CONUS! May be heading up to Bragg sometime in '13 to work with 3rd SFG. I'll be sure to hit you up and give some love to the "lady"!


Sounds good. I'll most certainly still be here. Ive seen a few other Mk. 1's rolling around the base. Maybe we can all organize and get some beers and food, or cruise around.


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## hunTTsvegas (Aug 27, 2012)

96AAAjetta said:


> Sounds good. I'll most certainly still be here. Ive seen a few other Mk. 1's rolling around the base. Maybe we can all organize and get some beers and food, or cruise around.


That sounds like a plan. Every TT owner I meet around here disapprovingly glances away when I wave to say Hi, so it'd be nice to socialize with fellow TT brethren.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Twas a good, productive New Years Weekend. Replaced the fuel filter, installed the other half of my 42DD shifter bushing set (which [email protected] was AWESOME about sending me the correct set once I talked to him about receiving the wrong one), now I gotta mail the other ones back to 42, 86'd that outrageously huge relay block that somehow manages to contain all the 2 relays that Audi decided to stick in there, and showed off my mad wire-tucking skillz. Also got rid of the rear seats, and all the plastic/particle board from the seats-rearward, as well as all the cargo tie-downs, spare tire(which was flat anyway), tools, jack, etc, etc. Now that I have the room, I think its time for a battery relocation.

Plus I swung by a certain super-secret fabrication shop near me and fabbed up a sweet custom mount for my AFR gauge.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

A little more progress this weekend, and a small regression. Pulled off the rear bumper, which was really easy(wish the front was that simple), and took off that obnoxious "vibration damper". Got curious and took it to work yesterday and threw it on the control surface scale. 








and then..... 








36.2 pounds. Completely re-tahd-ed. So i put it right where it belongs, 








Ahhhh, much better. 

Also, on Monday, I got my DP wrap, and Cooltube from DEI, so i ripped the car apart and wrapped the DP. Think i went a bit overboard, used 25ft for just the DP. Finally had a chance to put it all back together today, now there's a noise that im pretty sure is something resting on the driveshaft. I also ended up thrashing one of the heat shields that go under the car pretty good, and mangled the clips that hold the other one on, so right i have no heat shielding until the one under the fuel tank. Guess it'll be ok till i can get some new clips and throw the other one back on. 

The next project(s) will consist of finally installing my wide band, and relocating the battery to the hatch, putting the new coil harness on, fabbing a heat shield to go over the new coil harness, and purchasing some silicone hoses and t-bolt clamps to try and minimize vac/boost leaks.


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## Boulderhead (Oct 21, 2012)

Hey mate, first of all thanks for your service :beer:. I just got a new harness from TTstuff as well as well as some other maintenance bits. Did you pick up the VAG electrical tool set as well or you going the home made route? 

Looking forward to see how the heat shield turns out :thumbup:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Boulderhead said:


> Hey mate, first of all thanks for your service :beer:. I just got a new harness from TTstuff as well as well as some other maintenance bits. Did you pick up the VAG electrical tool set as well or you going the home made route?
> 
> Looking forward to see how the heat shield turns out :thumbup:


 Nah, I didn't spring for any fancy-schmancy VAG tools. I'll use the trusty soldering iron, and some heat-shrink tube. At the same time ill take the valve cover to my fab shop, bang and mangle, and hopefully come out with a decent product.


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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

:thumbup:


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## Boulderhead (Oct 21, 2012)

96AAAjetta said:


> I'll use the trusty soldering iron, and some heat-shrink tube..


 Ahh, so rather than de-pinning the ECU connector you are just going to splice in near the connector? Makes good sense.. Fussing with the connector itself would cause for some head banging moments. I still may try that anyway for kicks :laugh:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Boulderhead said:


> Ahh, so rather than de-pinning the ECU connector you are just going to splice in near the connector? Makes good sense.. Fussing with the connector itself would cause for some head banging moments. I still may try that anyway for kicks :laugh:


 Yep. Plus, as I will be working in my apartment complex's parking lot, I feel my methon will be more efficiently accomplished by tracing the wiring back as far as needed and making the splice there. I'm assuming it'll be somewhere around the starter. We'll see.


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## bklnstunt718 (May 30, 2007)

such an awesome thread dude!!! Im keeping both my eyes on this !! 


Its SOOOO funny how we both own a silver TT and a black Miata!!! hahaha :beer::thumbup::wave:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

bklnstunt718 said:


> such an awesome thread dude!!! Im keeping both my eyes on this !!
> 
> 
> Its SOOOO funny how we both own a silver TT and a black Miata!!! hahaha :beer::thumbup::wave:


 Thanks man. 

Do you also live in Fayetteville, NC? Cause that would make this the smallest world ever.


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## hunTTsvegas (Aug 27, 2012)

I think I missed this somewhere but what was the purpose of the "vibration damper" and what benefit is gained (other than reducing weight) is gained from removing it? :beer:


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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

hunTTsvegas said:


> I think I missed this somewhere but what was the purpose of the "vibration damper" and what benefit is gained (other than reducing weight) is gained from removing it? :beer:


 Arguably, the purpose is to cancel harmonic vibration in the chassis (as the name suggests). Others theories suggest that it's to balance front/rear weight distribution. However, the placement strongly contradicts the logic because it's bolted in the worst spot to help the balance dynamically (cross weight transfer). 

The benefit gained is ditching a big chunk of polar weight on the car (polar weight is weight placed at the farthest distances from the center of mass). Polar weight have the most effect and very detrimental to handling, needless to say they are unwanted! 

For those worrying about the effects the engineers wanted with this piece: 
These harmonics that the damper is suppose to cancel are shifted anyway once the car is lowered, and spring rates, dampers are modified. To keep the effect, the damper would have to be relocated to a location specific to the car's modifications. :beer:


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

After staring at the box collecting dust for the last 2 months, I finally installed my wide band kit. I started tearing the car apart yesterday afternoon, and finished it this afternoon. I haven't driven the car yet, due to the fact that I enjoyed quite a few adult beverages while working, but I'm pretty happy with things thus far.

I went with an AEM unit because I enjoy a quality product. Also, I hate money. 











The view from the drivers seat, sort of. I'm 6'2" so i sit up a bit higher and can see more of the tach than the pic shows. However, the time/date display is still covered up, but no biggie, thats what I wear a watch for.









The position isn't final, the mounting bracket needs to be painted black, and properly mounted in its final position, as it is currently stuck in place with double-side tape. The final position for the boost gauge and the UEGO might end up being in a custom fiberglass housing above the 2 center vents. It's an idea I'm kicking around.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Bought my next sub-project today. It's a small port head off of what appears to be a VVT, K03, car of some variety. I plan to build it to a performance level I will simply describe as "Dirty", to be used in conjunction with an F23 build that I have planned in the near-ish future. 

Got the exhaust manifold along with it. Need a test piece when I start delving into porting and polishing, so that's what I'll use that for. 

I'll use the valve cover to start fabing up a few prototype heat shields, that may later go into a small scale level of production and sale here on the forums.









I also got a lightly used Bosch 044, to be used on my F23 build.









I picked the turbo up to fix, and flip for a profit, so we'll see how that goes. It came off some sort of Saab, has a t28 inlet flange, and a 5-bolt Ford style outlet flange. The WG hole is cracked in 2 spots, but that is easily fixed by a guy I know and a welding machine. I'll do some more research and find out exactly what it is. Hopefully it's worth a few bucks. The bearings are still good, no shaft play, and all that jazz.

More to come.....


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Finally got to do some driving around today, with the wide band installed. I did a few 3rd gear pulls from 3k-6.5k @ 65*f ambient air temps. AFR sits in the mid 13's and tapers down to 12.5-ish as boost bleeds off in the higher revs. Idle seems to bounce back and forth from 14.6 to 15.4, and part throttle cruising seems to be pretty squirelly. I'm pretty sure i have a boost leak as I don't seem to spike at 23 PSI like i was back in the late summer/early fall, now its more like 19-20. Could be the weather though, on some of the colder days we had (30's and 40's) it was spiking around 15-16. Ill try and test it this weekend and we'll see what I find. More to come...


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Plans have changed in regards to my timeline, and when i'm doing what. I found out 2 weeks ago that I'm going on what I will call a "government funded vacation to a beach with no water". I should be back late summer-ish, which gives me plenty of time to hoard parts. So on to the part hoarding!!!!

A 3in steel 180/45 or a "U-J" whichever you prefer. 








That will used with this bad boy, a 5X8 oval Magnaflow blow-through race muffler with 3in in/out. Should pick up a bit of flow over the 42DD unit it will replace, and be loud as hell too. Pictured next to a 5qt jug of RP for scale








Also picked up, from 42DD, a 3in exhaust flange, to do my exhaust the right way, and a MAP sensor flange to be used with my AWIC when the time comes.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Got a few packages in this week. 

Got these from MCPI. Mike is a great dude and really easy to deal with. 

 

Also got this bad boy. 

 

Planning on porting it out and mimicking Max's manifold. This one does have 2 cracks near the collector outlet, but they should be pretty easy to get rid of when i start removing material. 

Unfortunately i have to wait until the other side of summer before i can start with any of it. Oh well.


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## 96AAAjetta (Jul 7, 2008)

Back from the dead again. I spent the summer in beautiful, sunny, 130 fu(king-degree-every-day Kuwait. That was fun. While I was there I picked up a few parts and random whatnot. And since I've been back I've managed to get a few projects finished, and dreamed up a few new ones.
Lets see here... I got some adjustable sway bar end links from the Verdict MS group buy that happened earlier this year and while I was deployed I got a set of Hotchkiss sway bars. Sadly, I have no pics of them before the install. But just you close your eyes and imagine a pair of big a$$ sways... there you go. I got my new axle-back fabbed and installed. 
<a href="http://s594.photobucket.com/user/shazam_man/media/photo_zpsed9a5e7c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt29/shazam_man/photo_zpsed9a5e7c.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo photo_zpsed9a5e7c.jpg"/></a>
It's not as mind-numbingly loud as I, or most other people expected, which I credit to the resonator further upstream in the 42DD exhaust section. It is, however, a bit louder than the 42DD unit it replaced, not a problem for me cause I dont drive it every day. Much to my delight it has absolutely zero drone. It's also much lighter than the 42DD unit. Also, save your comments on my welds. They're not the prettiest, but I fabricate airplane parts for a living, not weld. I do what I can.
Now comes the part where I don my flame suit...
So some of you may remember the thread in the 1.8T engine forum from a while back that started out by discussing how to control under-hood temps, and then degraded to a giant sh!t show like all the threads in the 1.8t engine forum do sooner or later. The main issue being that the turbo is behind the engine and thusly does not receive much cool air flow to control the temps back there. So it ends up heat soaking everything in the rear half of the engine bay, to include the charge piping and cold-side of the turbo. Bad. I found my own solution and, while I haven't had time to do any testing to get some hard numbers, I can use common sense to tell you that it works.
<a href="http://s594.photobucket.com/user/shazam_man/media/photo1_zps4be3e7dc.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt29/shazam_man/photo1_zps4be3e7dc.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo photo1_zps4be3e7dc.jpg"/></a>
As you can see there is now a giant vent in my hood. (My thought process beforehand was, in fact, "vent" not "scoop". So as you read this, think "vent" like an Evo, not "scoop" like a subie) Added just yesterday with the aid of a pneumatic saw. Say what you will about how it looks, which I personally don't think is too terrible, but it works. I have done a few multi-gear WOT pulls, stopped the car, and grabbed the charge pipe with my hand. While it is still warm as you would expect, I can still grab and hold on to it indefinitely. Like I said, its warm, but not hot enough to burn or cause my hand any pain. Same story with the strut bar. To me this shows that it actively lets air into the engine bay to cool things above the turbo while the car is in motion and, I would assume, the air makes its way back around the turbo and out the bottom through the drive shaft tunnel. When stopped, it also quite efficiently lets hot air vent out the top of the hood. So flame me if you want, but i'm 100% function-over-form. If you would like to do it yourself, you will notice that there are 4 "bays", if you will, on the bottom of your hood created by the substructure. I taped over the top of the hood so as to preserve the paint and took to the underside with the aforementioned saw and files/sandpaper, etc. I thought about doing the same to the forward left "bay" that more-or-less sits just over the battery/air filter area, but decided against it for now.
I also mounted my battery box in what used to be the back seat.
<a href="http://s594.photobucket.com/user/shazam_man/media/photo2_zps1c1a6084.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt29/shazam_man/photo2_zps1c1a6084.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo photo2_zps1c1a6084.jpg"/></a> 
Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. I got the box from EBAY, and fabbed the mount myself. Being a sheetmetal fabricator has its advantages every now and then. Now I just have to grab an Optima battery. I'm going with a 35 series with 750 CCA. I'm also using 1/0 (thats Zero gauge for the common folk) welding cable to run from the battery to the engine bay, along with a 180 amp circuit breaker, which will be mounted neatly inside the box. After the battery is in the back I'll start planning and fabbing things for the AWIC that will closely resemble what Max has on his car. I'm also beginning the process of a custom fiberglass gauge holder to sit atop the dash over the 2 center vents so I can have my [email protected] vent back, and also have my boost and wideband gauges in the same place. More to come....


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