# New here, Figure it's time to say hey.



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

*The tale of a broke guy and his TT*

Hey guys, I've been lurking for a good while, and figured it was time to pop my face in. Definitely not new to Vortex (Old name TeamZleep... Black holed a long time ago). 

I've been through a LOT of vw's... and managed to turn 3k into a really... REALLY clean 225QC. It required me basically being a car crack-head and flipping left and right, but I managed to hit a happy spot in vw/audi ownership. Sorry, not sorry, for the long intro, but I figure why not? Out of all my cars, my mkv .:R held a high place in my heart... So much that I was looking for a VR TT, but after falling in love with the 1.8t and stumbling across the 225... I couldn't pass it up! Luckily, I've grown up a LOT in the past 7 years, and this car will be tracked stock for a while, but will probably end up in ST, or something along the lines of that. It'll probably end up down the slippery slope, but I'm trying to keep costs down and keep it simple for now. :laugh:


The TT as I got it: 


















Only things on it are:
APR 93 tune
Bailey DV 
Mk4 .:R32 suspension with Half-height caps up front to level it back out (I'm missing the upper and lower rear spring mounts, hence the reverse rake)


I'd like to get it to a near stock setup, replace the DV or flip it's orientation (seems to open slightly in 3rd or higher), and track the hell out of it while dailying. I have a set of adjustable control arms... All 4, but I don't know if they're really necessary to have at the time being as I want to run stock class for a while... Which means the APR tune will have to go too. I honestly just want to enjoy it, keep it up to date on maintenance, and attack some cones. I'll probably use this thread as a progress thread, but who knows, lol. 

Pictures of my old cars (because everyone loves pictures!)

08' 2.5T Rabbit









Doing some work:









Switched directions and got a mkv .:R (had a LOT of time/money/etc. into it.. I miss it still)


















For some dumb reason, I decided I wanted a more "pure" sports car.. So I got an FRS. It definitely fed into my boy-racer/have lots of fun with a car... But the motor had it's fair share of issues and led me to get rid of it. I was tired of car payments too, so I parted it out and sold it.









I picked up a 76' 280Z (I'm an old datsun-head at heart)... 82' turbo motor, Big turbo, refreshed EVERYTHING, AZ car (no rust!!!). This thing was the damn devil... Literally the Best Z I've ever owned... But having a kid and no back seat in it (in case I had to get my kiddo or something) and no AC... It sadly had to go.. 










That's when I decided to buy a cheap car... Scored a 2000 e39 528i 5-speed. It was fun, but BMW maintenance isn't for the faint of heart, so I sold it, and picked up a Jazz Blue 20th AE (no Highwaystar for this one... Let's just say I'm done with "car clubs" and the nonsense that goes with it...)



















The GTI was wonderful... But the constant wheelspin had me beat. I ended up trading for the TT, and I'll never look back. Funny thing, is I sold the FRS in January of this year! I've been quite the car crack-head... I guess the thing that makes me content is the TT fits every need I have, and is a hoot! This one's a keeper. :heart:


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

I'm in love with the 280z and plan on picking up a 240 for a project after I finish college, but welcome! Glad you're loving it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

BoostedLTH said:


> I'm in love with the 280z and plan on picking up a 240 for a project after I finish college, but welcome! Glad you're loving it!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks man! Trust me... I MISS IT. I've owned shoot... 13 of them?!?! haha. This one was by far the cleanest/fastest/most amazing one. Everything from top to bottom was redone or upgraded, all it needed was a good paint job (and a new hood). Luckily it's in the hands of my best friend since darn near birth, so I get to use it from time to time...  It's like a family heirloom.


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

Hahaha maybe I'll get ahold of you for advice when I set myself up to build one [up]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

BoostedLTH said:


> Hahaha maybe I'll get ahold of you for advice when I set myself up to build one [up]
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Definitely! I have a lot of still new parts laying around... Also bags and bags of weatherstripping for the entire car. Safely stored for when the car finally needed stuff replaced.


----------



## TheDeckMan (Sep 26, 2004)

Welcome to the club! TT's make great track cars :thumbup:


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

DeckManDubs said:


> Welcome to the club! TT's make great track cars :thumbup:


That's reassuring... It's an absolute blast in turns/onramps/offramps... I can't wait for the spring to come!


----------



## TheDeckMan (Sep 26, 2004)

If you have any questions feel free to ask! A good bit of experience on this forum for track usage :thumbup:


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

DeckManDubs said:


> If you have any questions feel free to ask! A good bit of experience on this forum for track usage :thumbup:


It's a much better forum than any of the mk4/5 forums I've been on! 

Got a fun day tomorrow... Rear shock swap along with all 4 front axle boots... PO was on air, so they're all ripped. I'll end up upgrading to Bilstien's next year, hopefully before the race season starts. I'll probably leave the Neuspeed RSB on due to stock-ness... But I'm wondering if it'll be more beneficial to slap a stocker back there and just disconnect the FSB.


----------



## TheDeckMan (Sep 26, 2004)

225TTed said:


> It's a much better forum than any of the mk4/5 forums I've been on!
> 
> Got a fun day tomorrow... Rear shock swap along with all 4 front axle boots... PO was on air, so they're all ripped. I'll end up upgrading to Bilstien's next year, hopefully before the race season starts. I'll probably leave the Neuspeed RSB on due to stock-ness... But I'm wondering if it'll be more beneficial to slap a stocker back there and just disconnect the FSB.


A rear bar helps, leaving the stock bar until custom shocks/springs to eliminate the bar is the best route.


----------



## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

Welcome!


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Marcus_Aurelius said:


> Welcome!


Thanks! While Lurking around, I ended up reading your whole thread. I love it!


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 14, 2013)

Welcome to the club. If your going to track your car you read the right thread.

And a site note the vr6 TT's only came with the dsg transmission so you did good.


----------



## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

225TTed said:


> Thanks! While Lurking around, I ended up reading your whole thread. I love it!


Thank-you! You will be right at home in this forum. There is quite a few members here thatwent through the same journey you're about to take tracking your daily driver -- they will help make your experience that much more enjoyable. Never hesitate to ask and share! :thumbup:


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Marcus_Aurelius said:


> Thank-you! You will be right at home in this forum. There is quite a few members here thatwent through the same journey you're about to take tracking your daily driver -- they will help make your experience that much more enjoyable. Never hesitate to ask and share! :thumbup:


Definitely! 

Today I swapped out the rear shocks (got some oem ones with only 10k on them for free) and used some pipe I had laying around to make a muffler delete. I want to snag a 180 rear valance, since I'm only running one side. It's not terribly louder. Now has a nice, deeper tone and saved some weight to boot. Anyone notice how much the muffler is crunched under the rear diff???  Luckily I cut it back past it to get rid of any factory squashed pieces... The tip ended up tilting at a bit too much of an angle for my liking, so I'll have to cut/turn it back. Other than that, It was free fun in the garage today!

Also, no more rear end creaking at slow speeds! :laugh:


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

So a little update...

The Bailey DV (came off my 20th) seemed to leak under boost... Or it sounded like it. I added a washer, and it appeared to stop the leak/flutter when the engine was cold.


*BOY WAS I WRONG...*


Wasn't the DV at all... There was a crack in the flex pipe that was tiny, which is why it just added an extra whooshy noise, but after running it hard, the crack grew, and it basically split along the bottom of the flex joint. 

I tried to seal the crack up, but my welder A. isn't really cut out for that kind of repair and B. Couldn't fit in the area I needed. I managed to get most of it tacked back up, but I doubt it'll last... So there goes classing for autox this year... DP ordered. 


I could find a used one and drop the subframe, but I literally just got an alignment, and don't want another failure on my hands... ugh.


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

Which downpipe did you go with?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 14, 2013)

I'm confused ...downpipe causing a Boost leak.


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 14, 2013)

Jb weld ?


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

BoostedLTH said:


> Which downpipe did you go with?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I went with an off-brand stainless one, for good reason. I can modify it where need be, it's stainless, and cheap. If any welding needs to be reinforced/flanges swapped out, I can do that. Just really needed the piping in the general shape, made out of decent-grade stainless steel. 

I wanted to fork out the funds for the 42dd stainless optioned one, but it's not in the budget. The one I got was less than half the price of even the non-stainless 42dd pipe. So I'm taking a gamble.


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

I found a decent set up on eBay a few times. $26x shipped for stainless. Someday maybe I'll talk myself into it, but not today. Haha. I'm curious to see how your set up fits 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

[email protected] said:


> I'm confused ...downpipe causing a Boost leak.


Well not necessarily a leak, more of the sound of one. Car never felt like it was leaking, just sounded like it had a tial wastegate on it looping back into the DP (similar to my 2.5T mkv was). The crack growing just confirmed it. I think because the 20th had a ko3 instead of a ko4, I figured the dv wasn't up to par and just making noises... Odd suspicion.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

[email protected] said:


> Jb weld ?


:laugh::laugh::laugh: Tack weld blindly!! One step worse! lol



BoostedLTH said:


> I found a decent set up on eBay a few times. $26x shipped for stainless. Someday maybe I'll talk myself into it, but not today. Haha. I'm curious to see how your set up fits
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, got it for $226.26. 











I hope it does pay off...


----------



## youngblood7868 (Nov 12, 2012)

225TTed said:


> Hey guys, I've been lurking for a good while, and figured it was time to pop my face in. Definitely not new to Vortex (Old name TeamZleep... Black holed a long time ago).
> 
> I've been through a LOT of vw's... and managed to turn 3k into a really... REALLY clean 225QC. It required me basically being a car crack-head and flipping left and right, but I managed to hit a happy spot in vw/audi ownership. Sorry, not sorry, for the long intro, but I figure why not? Out of all my cars, my mkv .:R held a high place in my heart... So much that I was looking for a VR TT, but after falling in love with the 1.8t and stumbling across the 225... I couldn't pass it up! Luckily, I've grown up a LOT in the past 7 years, and this car will be tracked stock for a while, but will probably end up in ST, or something along the lines of that. It'll probably end up down the slippery slope, but I'm trying to keep costs down and keep it simple for now. :laugh:
> 
> ...


I recently bought a 06 audi tt 225, Coming from turbo 2.5 mkv jetta...Lots of power and front wheel drive wasn't fun lol...I love how this car handles man...Its just a well balanced car..I have installed st coilovers..


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

I had ST's on the FRS. Very well sorted coilovers. 


I would have loved to scoop a red TT... But the silver reminds me of the rabbit... So I'm okay with it.


----------



## youngblood7868 (Nov 12, 2012)

225TTed said:


> I had ST's on the FRS. Very well sorted coilovers.
> 
> 
> I would have loved to scoop a red TT... But the silver reminds me of the rabbit... So I'm okay with it.


Wasn't a fan of the red at first. ..But I have to say I love it now..


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 14, 2013)

youngblood7868 said:


> Wasn't a fan of the red at first. ..But I have to say I love it now..


Me to I never thought I would own a red car was planning on painting it now I don't think I could do it .....kinda weird.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Soooo... The downpipe pulled through for me!. It was a huge learning curve, that's for sure. 

Other than having to cut the hangar off and re-weld it, it actually fits well and clears everything. The only thing I don't like about it is that it hangs low in the center... Since I don't have any spare pipe/hangars/etc, I'm just going to go to a muffler shop and have them tuck it up and weld on my magnaflow muffler I have to shut it up some. Overall, not bad for only $226 spent. Car runs miles better. 










That long hangar had to be removed, then welded back on. Unless you want to drop the subframe. 









I think if the bend in this pipe wasn't so drastic/not bent... The exhaust would be tucked up nice and neat. 









See what I mean...?









It's not _that_ bad... I'd just prefer it to be up higher. The little resonator on it helps it not be obnoxious, it's just a hair louder than it was before with the rear muffler removed. 

I'm happy with it, and now if I ever have to do it again, I know how to wiggle through there. 

On a side note, if I didn't have the tools and whatnot I have... I would have just saved up and got a 42dd setup to save from the headache (unless those are just as much of a pain, then it just sucks to do all the way around). I'm just glad it's over...


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 14, 2013)

225TTed said:


> Soooo... The downpipe pulled through for me!. It was a huge learning curve, that's for sure.
> 
> Other than having to cut the hangar off and re-weld it, it actually fits well and clears everything. The only thing I don't like about it is that it hangs low in the center... Since I don't have any spare pipe/hangars/etc, I'm just going to go to a muffler shop and have them tuck it up and weld on my magnaflow muffler I have to shut it up some. Overall, not bad for only $226 spent. Car runs miles better.
> 
> ...


Looking good. From what I hear it is a pain no matter what. Oddly my 42dd 180q down pipe has no hanger at all ?


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

[email protected] said:


> Looking good. From what I hear it is a pain no matter what. Oddly my 42dd 180q down pipe has no hanger at all ?


I wondered if I needed it at all, but I decided to weld it back on just in case.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Got quoted $100 to have the magnaflow muffler I had laying around welded on the car... lol, f-that. 

Sawzall, welder, and abut an hour later, did it myself. I used the other exhaust tip off the factory muffler (it had just the right bend I needed), and it all lined up perfect. Muffler is tucked, tip is centered nicely, and it has a slightly lowder than stock growl without the 2700-3200 rpm farting. 

Managed to get a high flow setup while staying incognito. 

Pics when it's not dark.


----------



## youngblood7868 (Nov 12, 2012)

Yeah gonna do mine too...700 hundred dollars is a little steep for a catback..When there so easy to make. .


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

youngblood7868 said:


> Yeah gonna do mine too...700 hundred dollars is a little steep for a catback..When there so easy to make. .


As long as you buy quality pipe and have a decent welder, it's really easy if you take your time. 


So, the gray clouds out of the back of the car came back after replacing the Leaking Bailey's with a Forge 008. After reading all fuel trims and seeing that the car's running just fine, I start going through EVERYTHING. 


Needless to say... I love the 034 PCV silicone hoses, but boy is the billet check valve that came with it a giant POS. I bought a new OEM one, and surprise surprise... Took some driving, but ALL of the gunk burned out of the exhaust... Not a single puff of anything from the back end of the car!!! I can't say how excited I was to drop $26.00 at the dealer. :beer::beer::beer:


No other changes other than that. Saving for things like Front control arm bushings, clutch, timing belt kit, solid subframe bushings, solid steering rack bushings, ball joints, and tie rod ends.... Doing ALL of that at in one shot when I'm ready... :facepalm:


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

For the guys who've modded and modded the suspension.

Anyone have good luck with poly upper strut mount bushings? I was looking at the polo poly mounts, to keep the height decent with the R32 suspension on the car. I'd really like to go back to TT springs, but I can't find any it seems and also I can't find anything like the H&R OE sports. So my front will ride high if I use regular tops.  (goal is stock springs with Bilstien HD's... Simple).

Also, thoughts on poly front control arm bushings, both the front and rear one. I'm leaning towards just running OEM stuff, but I'd like improvements, but it's still my daily so no spherical bushings or anything like that.


----------



## L33t A2 (Aug 5, 2003)

225TTed said:


> Also, thoughts on poly front control arm bushings, both the front and rear one. I'm leaning towards just running OEM stuff, but I'd like improvements, but it's still my daily so no spherical bushings or anything like that.


The factory rear bushing in the front control arm is really good.
The front bushing however can use some improvement. Poly is a cheap quick improvement but in a short amount of time will be sloppy and probably creak and squeak. There is also this "defcon" sleeve setup which uses pre safety recall bushings for better response and geometry. What I'm currently running is a UHMW-PE bushing set (similar to white delrin) I got them from Phenix Engineering a while ago, send them an email or PM DeckManDubs here for more info


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

L33t A2 said:


> The factory rear bushing in the front control arm is really good.
> The front bushing however can use some improvement. Poly is a cheap quick improvement but in a short amount of time will be sloppy and probably creak and squeak. There is also this "defcon" sleeve setup which uses pre safety recall bushings for better response and geometry. What I'm currently running is a UHMW-PE bushing set (similar to white delrin) I got them from Phenix Engineering a while ago, send them an email or PM DeckManDubs here for more info


Awesome. I'm gonna hit him up when the time gets closer. I was debating the defcons or even maybe what max is using, My issue is wear... I daily it. Don't care about nvh or creaking over slow bumps, but I just don't want to redo them every 10k. 

As for the rears, OEM or the Meyle HD's? I had good luck with the HD's on the BMW.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Oh, another thing I was pondering, was modifying the strut towers to accomodate mk5/6/7/tt mk2 strut mounts. I know it's frowned upon to drill into the towers, but mine have already been drilled for air ride. I think it would be a solid/oem + solution to all the movement up there, and it'll most likely keep the height in check due to those R32 front springs. 










They can be had for so cheap, and may actually work. I'll have to weld up/re-drill the holes for the strut tower bar, but I think it'd be an awesome upgrade. Especially since I think I still have some Kmac camber plates for a mkv... 


Thoughts?


----------



## youngblood7868 (Nov 12, 2012)

225TTed said:


> Hey guys, I've been lurking for a good while, and figured it was time to pop my face in. Definitely not new to Vortex (Old name TeamZleep... Black holed a long time ago).
> 
> I've been through a LOT of vw's... and managed to turn 3k into a really... REALLY clean 225QC. It required me basically being a car crack-head and flipping left and right, but I managed to hit a happy spot in vw/audi ownership. Sorry, not sorry, for the long intro, but I figure why not? Out of all my cars, my mkv .:R held a high place in my heart... So much that I was looking for a VR TT, but after falling in love with the 1.8t and stumbling across the 225... I couldn't pass it up! Luckily, I've grown up a LOT in the past 7 years, and this car will be tracked stock for a while, but will probably end up in ST, or something along the lines of that. It'll probably end up down the slippery slope, but I'm trying to keep costs down and keep it simple for now.
> 
> ...


I never drove a frs, Does the tt Drive that much better?


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

youngblood7868 said:


> I never drove a frs, Does the tt Drive that much better?


While it doesn't feel as nimble and light, yes... The audi drives miles better.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Since I don't want to make another thread, Anyone have issues with the fan/electric fuel pump fuse block on top of the battery? Mine decided to melt today. 

The fuse didn't melt, but the connection between it and the plug on the back of the fuse box melted. I cleaned everything up and it worked, but after reading, some people move the wire off to the side and it seems to not blow up/pop anymore. So I did something just like this:










The block looked like this, but the fuse was 100% okay.











All seems to be working fine, and the wires nor fuse seemed hot at all after a drive for a while with the ac on full blast... Anyone run into this?


----------



## L33t A2 (Aug 5, 2003)

Those things seem to be a problem for a lot of people, corrosion builds up in the terminals over time which add resistance to the circuit. Some people like to disconnect the battery and then take that thing apart (label all red wires) and clean everything up with a brass bristled brush or some emory paper once every year or two.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

L33t A2 said:


> Those things seem to be a problem for a lot of people, corrosion builds up in the terminals over time which add resistance to the circuit. Some people like to disconnect the battery and then take that thing apart (label all red wires) and clean everything up with a brass bristled brush or some emory paper once every year or two.


That seems like a solid plan, actually. I'm gonna give that a go, and leave the un-burnt fuse relocation alone.


----------



## youngblood7868 (Nov 12, 2012)

225TTed said:


> While it doesn't feel as nimble and light, yes... The audi drives miles better.


I know my 06 tt225 drives 100 times better than my old mkv jetta...Although I do miss the boosted 5 cylinder motor...


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

I do miss the boosted 2.5... 










I've debated picking up a used 2.5l motor and building another 2.5t (considering how reliable they are and how cheap they can be had for)... But this little 1.8t is growing on me.


----------



## youngblood7868 (Nov 12, 2012)

225TTed said:


> I do miss the boosted 2.5...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah plus there cheap power. ..And have huge aftermarket support


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Ordered a Revo Technica Boost gauge this morning, yay! 

I'm oddly excited about it, and now am on the hunt for a factory needle. 


Anyone? lol.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

*UPDATE!*


So I got bored and decided instead of calling around to wreckers/hunting the tex for a single cut-out valance... I'd just hit up some of the spare aluminum I have (lol, like 10 miles of this crap... I used to make custom diffusers), pop a couple of rivets, and hit the rear valance up with some paint. 









Looks a bit rough, but it's all in the prep work after the bending/cutting/smoothing of the edges. 












Better...































MUCH BETTER. Sorry about the potato pics, and the hand in the middle one, but hey! It only took an hour or so cruising around, hanging with the dog and Mr. Myles Davis in the background.

One of these days I'll scoop up a votex single-outlet piece, but for now, this will more than do.


----------



## TheDeckMan (Sep 26, 2004)

Looks nice!


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

Well done!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

*Ugh.*

So this is how today has been:













Seafoamed the car last week only to find smoke in the engine bay. Probably has something to do with my occasional blast of richness at idle. Decided it'd be a good idea to do the downpipe/turbo to manifold/and maybe even the exhaust manifold gaskets. 

Got the turbo to manifold gasket out, which required me to grind a stripped-headed e14 bolt out. The Dealer gave me a gasket for a ko3. Crap. The right one won't be here until Friday.










Hard to see, but there's two hairline cracks in the gasket... I don't know if it's enough for it to leak, but I'm only assuming it's part of the problem. Popping off the downpipe gasket as well, as I reused it when I installed the 3in. downpipe. It looked to be in good condition and way better quality than the fel-pro style gasket that came with the pipe. Doing this one for piece of mind... Better safe than sorry.




I do have a very good question... How the hell do you get the exhaust manifold out without completely dropping the turbo from where it sits? Or does the turbo have to come out? Kind of a :banghead: day... I can get to most of the bolts, all except for what's blocked by the air housing of the turbo. Kinda tight in there... Can any pro's shoot any kind of advice? 

I kind of want to just do the Manifold -> Turbo and the downpipe gaskets then do another seafoam check. I think those cracks on that gasket may have been my leak, but I'm not sure.


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

I'm no pro, but I would assume that since things expand when they heat, those cracks may have allowed some of the smoke to slip through. That is some bad luck. Hope you get it straightened out. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Boulderhead (Oct 21, 2012)

I just did a turbo swap and some friendly advice passed my way was to unbolt turbo from manifold, unbolt down pipe from turbo and loosen the line brackets and the turbo support bracket. You can muscle the downpipe far enough away to clear the studs and let the turbo fall back out of the way.

This lets you attack the manifold bolts much easier and then you can maneuver the manifold out of the way and swap the manifold to head gasket. 

Hope that helps


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Boulderhead said:


> I just did a turbo swap and some friendly advice passed my way was to unbolt turbo from manifold, unbolt down pipe from turbo and loosen the line brackets and the turbo support bracket. You can muscle the downpipe far enough away to clear the studs and let the turbo fall back out of the way.
> 
> This lets you attack the manifold bolts much easier and then you can maneuver the manifold out of the way and swap the manifold to head gasket.
> 
> ...


Man, I appreciate it, big time! 

Going to pay attention to all I've read/been reading and feel/inspect for oil in the downpipe as well. Decided to call it a night and work on this more tomorrow. 

Also Forge may be saving my butt tomorrow as well, they have the gaskets I need that the dealer doesn't have in stock. Also will be picking up a spare ko4 Friday from the classifieds. What haves my nerves going is finding out in the morning if I actually need to throw it in this weekend or not!


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

BoostedLTH said:


> I'm no pro, but I would assume that since things expand when they heat, those cracks may have allowed some of the smoke to slip through. That is some bad luck. Hope you get it straightened out.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah man... One thing after another.  All in all, I still love the car. It just appears that there's underlying maintenance that's been much needed. Keeps me busy and the wife happy that I'm not going nuts with the modding it... Just keeping it alive.


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

Mine was the same way. I found more band aids in the passed 7 months that should have been 'fixed' as the used dealer said when I went to look at it. Haha. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

BoostedLTH said:


> Mine was the same way. I found more band aids in the passed 7 months that should have been 'fixed' as the used dealer said when I went to look at it. Haha.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Luckily The previous owner of the car took amazing care of it, just didn't get as far into it as I. Now the two people before that... Well... That's subjective. Luckily everything that Brian (guy before me) did, he did RIGHT. So I have a solid base to start with, just needs some TLC in funky areas. 


*MY TURBO ISN'T BAD. AT ALL!!!!* 

Just popped off the downpipe... No oil anywhere, not even in the turbo housing. The turbo has virtually no shaft play, no play in and out, and has no oil residue anywhere. :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: 

I got the car under the assumption that it had a burnt exhaust valve. Well... Lifter tick is the only thing it does. Some 1.8t's tick loud, some don't. Now with the burnt valve... I've seen no symptoms of it and everything seems to be in check. It doesn't burn any oil on start-up and the lifter noise went down after running Amsoil 15w50 dominator. It was burning a little bit of oil from the pcv system (thanks, 034 pcv valve...) but has since been replaced by an oem one. Redid the PRV as well to be safe. My smoke issues didn't arise until the cat delete with the downpipe...

All signs point to abruptly running rich, and the re-used downpipe gasket seemed to be leaking, along with the cruddy looking turbo-manifold gasket. If I can make room, I'm doing the exhaust manifold gasket as well for piece of mind. That way there's absolutely NO LEAKS before the primary o2 sensor, and hopefully the fuel trims will level out and the car will start acting like it should. 


Now... I *do* expect some crap out of the exhaust without a cat, but not the happy mini-cloud like it's doing. Also, I'll be welding in the stock location.. I really don't see a reason not to have one, and it'll help burn up the smelly gasses like it should.


----------



## TheDeckMan (Sep 26, 2004)

The K04-02x's are tough suckers. I have close to 200k on my original one  Running 21psi for 150k miles.


----------



## Ame46mkI (May 5, 2008)

225TTed said:


> Luckily The previous owner of the car took amazing care of it, just didn't get as far into it as I. Now the two people before that... Well... That's subjective. Luckily everything that Brian (guy before me) did, he did RIGHT. So I have a solid base to start with, just needs some TLC in funky areas.
> 
> 
> *MY TURBO ISN'T BAD. AT ALL!!!!*
> ...


Lots of nice info in here!! Thanks!



DeckManDubs said:


> The K04-02x's are tough suckers. I have close to 200k on my original one  Running 21psi for 150k miles.


I like hearing things like this! I just bought a 225 and I've never owned a boosted car before. With that being said, I know my way around an engine bay, keep my 2.0 VW running up to 240k, and I will be selling it running and driving!


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

So today was a fun... Not so fun day.


Picked up the new gaskets and put the car back together. Ran some seafoam through it to check for leaks... What do you know. The exhaust manifold *WAS* leaking...


Back apart again. Luckily I had picked up the gasket, but didn't install it because I didn't know how I was going to get to the nuts. Loosening the turbo support bracket gave me enough room to get to the nuts! :beer: While the manifold was out, I took a mirror and looked around... Other than some carbon build-up on only one valve out of the 8, everything was clean and happy! The crud was odd... Looked like it had been there for eons but I didn't notice any oil near the top of any valves where it would leak from the guide seals. :screwy: Also, on that one valve, there was some buildup in the exhaust manifold on that runner... Could this be my culprit?

Car is back together and running like a damn freight train (Probably from replacing the tip that was falling apart and eliminating all pre-o2 sensor leaks). 




Now on a funny thought... I know the PCV system was severely borked, so I wonder if there's oil in my intercoolers. Everything pre-intercoolers is clean, But I've yet to check the TB hose and the intercoolers themselves. The investigation continues... But just to cut down on it if it's a leaking valve guide seals on the intake side/the #2 cylinder, I'm installing a 3in. cat to go back into the system. It's a band-aid, but it'll at least not smoke in traffic until I can have some serious downtime and just rebuild the head.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Pictures to follow later...


Boost gauge came in, made my own adapter for the vent, and made a smooth install. Even ran it to it's own dedicated port on the intake. 

Decided to attack the intercoolers... Boy am I glad I did....


The driver's side Intercooler was almost 1/4 of the way *FILLED... YEAH... FILLED*... With that oily murky crap you find in catch cans... The Passenger side was damn clean, as was the pipe between them. Gave both intercoolers a bath in hot water and Dawn for the better part of an hour. They both look new on the inside! Now to let them dry for the rest of the night and most of tomorrow. 


I'm betting it filled up between the bad pcv setup and 130k worth of driving. After all I've seen with the rest of the system... I honestly think all of this old crap is where my smoke was coming from. I just couldn't believe how much gunk was in that intercooler! Honestly, I want to now run an inline catch can to catch that stuff, but keep the oem system running.


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

So I had a few days off from work being the slow season for what I do, so I decided to tackle a small project.

Used up some of the tons of aluminum I have laying around, did some chopping, grinding, a tad of welding for nut plates on existing mounts, and...

Walaaaaaaa. Made a rear diffuser.  It's not 100% perfect, but it's gonna do what I need it to do, and is able to be extended to cover up the entire rear of the car. I'll get to that and slotting the main deck to run the fins through to eliminate having the 90deg. bends above the diffuser. 






































Satin black paint will blend it in well. Just waiting for the local ace to open so I can grab some flat hardware and paint. Simple, not over the top, and will help with the giant gaping area under the car. I just can't wait to seal off the rest of it. That'll happen soon enough. :beer:


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

Painted.






















Annnnd, on the car. 
































I'm pleased.


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

This is awesome. Great work! Subtle yet functional!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

BoostedLTH said:


> This is awesome. Great work! Subtle yet functional!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks man! I forgot how much I like goofing off in the garage, lol. I think for $0.00, it turned out great!


----------



## BoostedLTH (Mar 19, 2014)

Absolutely! I mean, you could sell them! Haha. Good stuff 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 225TTed (Nov 28, 2014)

BoostedLTH said:


> Absolutely! I mean, you could sell them! Haha. Good stuff
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I was doing that about 6 months ago, except taking my time on them, making sure the fit and finish was perfect. Some people wanted flashy, others wanted as functional as possible. Underbody panels, etc. Laps with strings taped everywhere and go-pro's... haha. It was fun, but some big life changes happened (Brother was run off the road on his motorcycle). So the TT is becoming more of a fun daily as opposed to the original track monster idea... But that's what Max is for, lol. 

On a super awesome note, I finally completely solved my pcv/smoking at idle issue! Turns out after about a week, I was still (even with the catch can setup with oem vac!) making plumes of oil smoke at idle. I was worried my rings were gone. 

I figured it was time to give one last idea a try... Swap the puck with another pcv valve. No more dancing oil cap, and pretty much instantly the smoke went away. I know there's like 100 ways to run the pcv setup on 1.8t's, and most people beat a dead horse on what is better, but it seems like this setup works ideal for me. 

Followed this video minus the suction jet, I'm running a port on the manifold and a port off the tip for the brake booster via Max's advice.


----------

