Right, firstly i have blown up my car now, not sure what the problem is, but its definatly broken so i have decided it is time to forgo the rebuild i have been planning. i think it is worth rebuilding as it is such as good car. and went through MOT easy enough last time. THE PLAN ABF bottom end KR top end KR injection and metering head Tidy up the engine bay 4 branch exhaust New cams Clean and paint engine New brake lines and Master cylinder Etc.... I will be using Toytechs rebuild giude for the ABF/KR splicing. Day 1 Started to strip the engine bay today, decided I would only work on the head first, as i don't really have a massive amount of room to be working on the entire engine at once, and i don't really have the equipment to move the whole engine at once. some of you may say its quite light in comparison to a VR6, but i'm only little, and i would not be able to shift it. first things first, cooling system out, nice easy job to get me in the mood. will replace with new lines just to make sure, as there where many leaks in there. As you can see, not a clean car by any means. but i will restore it to its former glory by the end of this. The next step was to take the head off the engine, was relatively easy, and only took about 30-40 minutes. i also removed the battery, and water bottle, The air box. which BTW had been cut by the previous owner. Not sure if this actually helps performance. Then, not 20 minutes later, in Great British fashion, it started to rain. . I was left with most parts out, but i wanted to get more done. I removed the water pump, and alternator. but didn't get much further. hopefully the weather picks up soon. After taking everything in the shed, I began the clean-down, in order to spray it, i'm planning a blue and silver theme for the engine. I then stripped it all down completely, taking the inlet manifold off the head, the injectors out of that, etc... then started cleaning bits and bobs, but the guy who wad the car before me must have done some bits to it, and had a massive lover that gasket glue, and not the standard gaskets. Anyway, i found the problem of the "blown" engine. a very nicely destroyed head gasket. the cleaned parts, ready for spraying. I have also made a start on stripping the head down and cleaning it, but before i go all the way, is there anyone who can tell me if it is worth spending the money on getting it Ported and Polished whilst it is off. I will be getting it skimmed, but is the porting worth it and wot kind of power gains if any would i be looking at. That ends up day one, i will continue when i get time, any feedback on the P and P would be appreciated.
Fair play for starting the freshen' up! Its funny i made a similar list last year and it seemed pretty straight forward on paper, the list is now as long as when i started!! Would never go back now though! If you thought you loved your car now, you will love it more when you get further down the list!! Good Luck mate!
Since the head is off, you might as well get the head ported. The only downside I can relate to it is the increased desire to stomp your right foot. But do some research before you decide who's going to do it. There is plenty of detail on the forum about how to have a go yourself, and some information on who you should contact if you want it done properly.
Loving this already, nice rebuild thread allows us techno numpties to see what's going on ...Imo Keep the engine colours standard though in case you need to sell it.
DAY 2 today, in a break in the rain, i have decided to remove the front end. unfortunetly it started raining half way trough, so i may ahve gotten a little wet. but nonetheless i carried on. bumper off, lights out and HID wireing out. radiator off, nothing too streuous again. just some dodgy wireing to contend with, thanks to preious owner again to you. then after the rain had become too much, i went off inside to inspect the other parts removed yesturday, only to find that the distributor was badly damaged, i think i have found the cause of the horrendous misfire, lol. and also began to think that the throttle body was very restrictive on airflow. it seams to be quite narrow in parts that could be wider, and let air through easier. so this will need sorting, as there is plenty of meat to grind away at in the inlet, i might even grind the ports away slightly if it worth doing in these throttle bodies. whilst the engine is out i might aswell get as much power from the poor thing as i can. in the words of ASDA every little helps. its coming along well, but had to stop due to work, might be a long rebuild at this rate, but i cant wait till i have finished, i know im saying it early on, and im already behind schedule due to the appalling weather conditions. i have also bought the paint for the engine, and the air pipes. hope to get this on within the week, and then pick up the engine crane, and stand to put her back together in the shed. As thegave said, it proberly is a good idea to get ported and polished, no point doing all this work, then deciding later on i want to have it done. cheers for the advice, and i have a very heavy right foot anyway, it makes it hard to walk anywhere, so it seams i have to drive everywhere.
i wouldn't be doing this if i wanted to sell it, it would be gone by now if i did. But its a mk2 thing and i love driving her around, especially when a little saxo or something pulls up and you're gone by the time they have put it into first gear.
Watching this! As Damien said ^ Keep the colours friendly to the eye and you can't go wrong. You might not be selling but you will have to live with the colours lol
The colors will only be matching the blue samco hoses that where in there, and it won't be the whole engine, the bay is staying white, but the car needs a touch up, but I know someone who works there so will do it cheap, and I trust his work, keeping it subtle, yet stunning
Day 3 today not very much happened, i only had a couple of hours before work, and spent it trying to get hold of an engine crane, and stand, i also cleaned up a few bits. And got confirmation of the paint, Arriving monday the airbox though, this had really been attacked by the previous guy. might need a new one, or something. also a couple of bits that got cleaned. this needs a bit of a clean, but im not sure what im doing with it yet, Definatly the WUR mod, that had been mentioned alot in other threads. i will also find out the pressure running throught the system. thanks to those who are watching
DAY 4 Only a few things happened today, removed the bottom end and subframe from the car. the piant also arrived, and i started painting a couple of bits. not sure what you guys think about the color. but i like it, and think it will look good once its all completed. just a couple of update pictures for you
day 5 anyone watching, i have now realised that i said more recently, i want to keep it stunning yet subtle. i have now thought about that comment and looked again at the bright blue paint that has come through. and has been applied, i will change the quote, "striking". lol. but i still like it. once again, only a couple of hours or so before work, so i decided to work out what i was going to do with the wiring, and try and work out through the massive levels of oil and sludge on the wings, so i thought i would have a little cleanup. I'm going to try and hide as much of the wiring as is possible to keep it clean and fresh. if anyone has any great ideas on the best ways of doing this, it would be much appreciated. that was a quick clean of the wing, looks alright, no welding really necessary, . ext job though it the cleanup of the engine, i really need to get this done and out the way to i have room to start working on the removal of the gearbox, and the rest of the sub frame. it is taking mildly longer than i had thought. Also if anyone has any advice on the best engine cleaning solution, because the ABF bottom end i have is completely covered in the worst grease i can think of. it really isn't wanting to move, without at least a month with a scrubbing brush. LOL cheers for watching so far guys, tomorrow should be a good day, no work
To be honest, "glaring" was the first word to come to mind when I saw the mani. But it's certainly different! For engine grease, fairy liquid or petrol are two solutions I've heard thrown around but it's been mentioned on here before, try running a search. Or ask Mike_H I believe he was the one that suggested petrol. Apologies Mike if you weren't.
For engine cleaning and getting rid of really stubborn grease I recommend Carb cleaner, with a straw nozzle to give it a bit of force when spraying - worked immensely well on the inside of my inlet manifold and that wasn't coming off for love nor money. A couple of cans of that sprayed around and it will be as clean as a whistle - remember to wipe it down with water afterwards, not sure how the paint would react with it left on there! Really interested in how you are getting on with this as it may dictate the direction I decide to go with mine! Plus you are making it look simple! Good show!
cheers for the advice. its quite a simple choice to make really. needed doing. and with not very much funding, i will try and make it as good as possible. the rest of the car will be out within the next few days, just trying to fit it around my 12 hours days, lol. will keep it posted.
That is a very nice, keep the good work. I have one suggestion for you about the fuel system. Whay don't you use a PB management for the fuel it is better then the KR system and with the setup which you are going to use will be very good.
If you're going to change the management you may as well just use digi 3.2 from the ABF. but k-jet works fine with suitable tweaks
day 6 (lunchtime update) i have a day off so 2 updates today, hopefully thanks for the advise guys, the fairy liquid worked wonders and i also found that there was paint under the oily, greasy mess on my engine. and it was in relatively good shape, also, ignor the head that is on there atm, that is off an old engine, its just on there whilst i clean this one, so i don't get water or rust anywhere i don't really want it. lol from this: to this: also the oil breather wouldn't come off due to a rust allen key bolt. but not to worry, it can stay on if it wants to. and all it took was a can of Relentless to cure the 4 hours sleep i had, and some fairy liquid and some tunes. good shout there. still needs a bit more work, but stopped for lunch, also the sump will be changed, so that doesn't need cleaning in any way, lol. and once again, IGNOR that head, i know its shagged. also the bit you are proberly most interested in: so that concludes the lunch update, but if anyone knows of the best fuel management system to use, that would be great, i have no real idea about the different ones and if i could get the pro's and con's from you knowledgeable people then im sure i will make the right decision as to what to go with. and cheers for your help
day 6 evening update unfortunetly not much happened, it did start to rain, and my brother wanted help with the build of his bike, he couldn't for the life of him get it started. LOL. so more to come guys, and on another note, i think i have decided against the bright blue, it looks awful against the black that i am leaving on the block. LOL
DAY 7 its going well, sorry for no update for a few days, been very busy, but with the weather today meant i had to craxk on. also have decided that the blue is not good, and would look hideous against the engine and the bay . so a bit of wasted time, but better to change now, rather than later. trust me on this, and if you dont want to see it cover your eyes LOL but this morning i started with this. an after a few hours of shouting at chewed bolts, and injuries. i got the gearbox, wishbones, steering rack and subframe out, it was then time to clean these parts, and see what i was working with, and after about half an hour with a jet washer, i was covered in the muck and the subframe looked a lot cleaner, but i will be replacing the engine mounts, and other parts. Going to paint the Subframe, but not in the blue also, i have to get an engine crane, my car is about 100m away from the place i am cleaning everything, and im younger than the car, but i will have to back of a 90 year old once i am dont moving the parts. also my gearbox has a massive gap between the block and the gearbox towards the back near the exhaust area, where masses of oil, dirt and **** was getting in, and might explain why my clutch was slipping, and getting quickly worse. this is just showing the crap build up in the gearbox. but in other news im happy, my Club GTI sticker has arrived can anyone tell me if it is worth getting poly bushes for everything, or if the standard bushes would be alright. is there much difference. so coming up this week, i will be trying to sort my wiring out in the bay, and getting it smoothed and resprayed. cant wait for it all to go in again, and drive it about. not long now i hope
