How the hell are you supposed to get the down pipe nuts off, in the middle of doing this as we speak, took a break to come on here, I almost have the head off but I can't get to the nuts that hold the down pipes on to the manifold it's impossible to get any tools in I have 4of em off but can't get the last two anyone know an easier way to do it, it's driving me crazy ! Btw it's mk3 8 valve
Cheers bud managed to get it off that way, now I'm even more ****ed off ! Got all the head cleaned and ready went to put new stem seals in and wrecked every one of em they just don't wanna fit they are really tight, I tried every method known to man and now I'm set back a few days til I get some more. Gallon of petrol and a match comes to mind, I'm so angry !
I'm baffled these stem seals simply will not fit, it's like the guides are too big, I have wrecked a full set trying to get em on I'm really stuck now I need it back together by Tuesday night as I'm back at work, am I doing something wrong ? I watched a youtube video with the head etc and the guy simply popped em on with a socket job done, I don't get it
yup 2 sizes of stem seal available depending on age of engine. if you let me know the engien code i can look it up, but by the sounds of it you were sold 7mm ones and you wanted 8mm
Thank you very much rubjonny, tried ringing my local vw dealer but constantly engaged so rang my local motor factor and gave him the part number after being on hold for a min he found the ones I need BUT he's ordered both types for me so I can take mine with me and make sure they are right lol only trouble is I have to wait til half 3 to pick em up I love being a member of CGTI it's been an absolute god send over the years. Thanks again guys
Hmmmmmmm stuck again waiting for parts, got all the new seals in and valves etc, went to assemble everything and noticed there's a ruddy great crack in the exhaust manifold so waiting for a second hand one being delivered now, project on hold at the moment
it probably wont leak they almost always crack, if there isnt any soot staining round the crack it'll be ok. but may as well wait for the replacement now
it has cracked all the way through but like you said theres no sign at all of any black soot marks anywhere so probs would have been ok , but i bought a second hand good condition one now so may as well do it right i suppose
Right guys stuck again, got it all back together nice and clean and all torqued up correctly everything plugged in as it should be, everything lubricated etc, switched ignition on, heard fuel pump prime and turned the key it turned over ok but wouldn't fire up, it turns over maybe 7 or 8 times then makes a thud and almost won't turn over for a sec then it turns over nice again til I get that thud again, there's a couple of possible reasons bit I may be wrong, (1) is it possible i have the timing wrong ? I set it up from the fly wheel but completely forgot to check for TDC .... (2) I have replaced the hydraulic lifters with brand new ones basically straight out the packet and into the head should I have prepped them in anyway ? I heard somewhere you have to pump them manually under oil to fill em up, gonna pull it to bits tomorrow and see what's what, Please please help guys it's always very much appreciated
before you pull it to bits, check the timing one more time, and if its good, keep cranking it, then let it settle, crank it some more, let it settle. reason for this is sometimes hydraulic lifters especially if put in dry, can take a long time to fill up, causing valves to not open and no compression and popping. i recently did a head on a MG ZR and cleaned all the hydraulic tappets out as they were full of sludge, it took bloody ages, then started on 3 cylinders, then got completely warm while only on 3 cylinders. triplechecked timing and was fine. spent about an hour scratching my head and went home. next morning turned the key and it was sweet as a nut! give it a chance before ripping it apart again, with the exception of making sure the cam timing is ok first
Still no go, timing is all set spot on crank lined up flywheel lined up cam lined up, turned it over still doing the same "turn turn turn thud" then it turns some more then thud again it seems like something is contacting internally then it's ok again,
next step get a compression test on it, that'll tell you if the valves are not sealing properly. dont forget to check the dizzy timing
