Therusterman
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Posts posted by Therusterman
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Any ideas what this is and where it could of come from?! Found the longest bit hanging out of the oil pickup filter and the rest of it floating around the bottom of the sump!
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Mid service update
Been working on the car for the past few days and starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.
Started with the disassembly of the engine and ancillaries, and noticed the inlet runners for the inlet manifold looked rather oily;
This prompted me to pull the spark plugs aswell. The only ones that were of some concern were cylinders 1 and you probably guessed it...6.
I did a compression test to get an idea of how things were looking, and this was quite positive getting between over 180 psi in most checks, lowest been cylinder 5 with a reading of 168 psi.
From what I've read the valve guides wear causing the oil to get by the valves, which may be contributing to the high oil consumption. But until I've got the leaks fixed I can't tell for certain what the real 'usage' is. For reference VW deem 1 litre of oil use over 1000 miles within tolerances.
I contacted Vince at Stealth Racing to get a professional opinion. He suggested rebuilding the engine, as that is what it will probably need in the long run. But he did point out if the engine is running fine otherwise not to be too hasty in doing anything just yet.
The only other highlight of the strip down was rounding the head out of one of the thermostat housing bolts, luckily I've got some Erwin bolt removers, and a spare bolt.
I eventually worked my way down to the timing chain covers. The source of the leak I was getting appeared to be where the two covers meet. I did find when removing the two 6mm hex bolts, that mount vertically between the two covers, one of them wasn't particularly tight.
I had a read of the Bentley manual and it specifies that these two bolts must be tightened first, as it sandwiches the two covers together between the head gasket, and mentions failing to do so may cause it to leak
Needless to say, when I refitted them after a clean I followed those instructions to the letter.Since the gearbox was out I decided to give it a bit of a spruce up as it was filthy from years of oil been blasted over it. After pressure washing, steam cleaning and degreasing it the only way to make an impression on it was the trusty wire wheel.
Its far from perfect, but significantly better from before and should help spot any future fluid leaks. Of which there should be none!
Unfortunately when struggling to fit the gearbox back in I broke the plastic fitting one of the gear lever cables go onto. Fortunately this looks like a kind of sacrificial part and is widely available so getting one was easy and inexpensive, for reference part number is 1J0 711 256
Next will be dropping the sump to fit a new gasket and hopefully solve that leak too.
- thesurgeon, D11PS and Bealieboy
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6 Month service
Its getting close to 6 months now since I completed the last oil service. Since that time I've used a lot of the spare oil I had from the last oil service, requiring top-ups every couple of weeks. I don't think I'm burning much as I haven't seen any blue smoke. But I know I'm dropping oil from a persistent leak which I tried to eliminate back in May by replacing the oil cooler and seals.
My suspicion is that the leak is coming from the timing chain cover plate, which I was hoping was not the case but that area is always damp with oil, especially around the join of the two parts. So unfortunately the gearbox and clutch will be coming out again
I've got my next tour off work so I'll have a run of 12 days to get it all sorted (hopefully) and have started the obligatory parts haul. This has included new
- Flywheel bolts
- Clutch pressure plate bolts
- G13 Coolant
- Clutch operating lever
- Drive shaft bolts
- Sump gasket
- Oil and oil filter
The flywheel and pressure plate bolts have to replaced as a matter of course, and the drive shaft bolts I started to round some of the heads last time I refitted them, so opted for a new set. I also keep reading its a good idea the replace the clutch operating lever and at £11.43 for a genuine one I thought it would be rude not to. The clutch itself should be fine as its only got about 10,000 miles on it.
The sump gasket threw up a few queries. When I look at Vagcat it only lists one for engines up to number 255785 and to use a sealant after that. This is what I did when I had it off to replace a wishbone but wasn't convinced it would seal 100%. I've since spent more time looking into this and Elring list 2 sump gasket's one for models made between '92 and '93 then for models up to '97. I've already got one of these but neglected to fit it. The plan is to whip the sump off again and fit the gasket using a better sealant that I've found.
I'll also be inspecting the crank seal in case this is letting by any oil. Fingers crossed this will solve the oil leaks, and bring the oil consumption under control!
Front splitter
Just to mention, touch wood it so far has been fine and hasn't split or come apart. But that said the car isn't low enough to cause many clearance issues.
Mot
Passed the mot back in September. Had a couple of advisories around some slight corrosion of the brake pipes at the front of the car and some corrosion on the hard lines for the power steering. I'll address these when I have the gearbox out.
For the mot I decided to remove the quad headlamp and go back to the original units. This turned into another massive pain in the arse because one of the adjusters had broken. I ordered a total of 3 replacement headlights, all of them having the same problem-broken adjusters. I understand this is becoming more of a problem as the plastic become old and brittle from the heat of the headlight bulb.
Eventually I found a headlight for sale locally which I collected as I didn't think the couriers chucking them around helped much. This turned out to be a after market reproduction anyway and the wrong side! It did however have part of the adjuster I needed and was able to rebuild it using bits of the broken one and finally had it fixed. At this time I also fitted some Oram Nightbreaker bulbs which were an improvement, but not as good as the HID's, shame these can't be used properly in the mk3 headlight.
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Saw this when it was for sale, thought I saw the Brembo calipers in one of the pictures! Nice buy matey.
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You may want to have the block looked at by a specialist as new rings may not be worthwhile if there is a lot of wear or scoring to it.
Head gasket definitely do whilst its off. The VR6 doesn't have a cambelt. It uses timing chains and tensioners, all of which are worth replacing if they haven't been already.
Other things to consider would be;
- Clutch+new mounting hardware
- Crank end oil seal
- Thermostat, thermostat housing, 'crack' pipe and all associated seals and fixings
- Possibly oil cooler+hoses, definitely the oil cooler seals
- Probably worth giving the cylinder head a refresh with new valve guides aswell
Most of this you could do yourself with the use of a good manual (have a look for one made by Bentley publishing) but some aspects are probably best left to a specialist re-builder who'll have the correct tools and expertise.
- michael5556 and Nazza27
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Textured trim? If faded grab a heat gun and gently heat the plastic, this will restore the colour than apply a product like Autoglym bumper care. Failing that another very good product (although expensive) is Gtechniq C4 trim restorer
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I ordered a Beru coil pack, as its the closest to o.e i could find. Have you had the car read for any fault codes?
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I thought because the air will be under boost, the benefits of the variable runner intake would be largely lost. And yes, I'd sell it and put the money towards other bits.
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Why do you think this is? Something to do with the master cylinder?
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Good stuff, hope they work ok for you
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What Luke said, made a difference for me when I purged the brakes, if possible. Have been reading that the brake feel isn't great when compared to modern cars.
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Decided today to remove the rubber cover around the filler neck. After blasting out the mud from behind there I found a single brown wire with a spade connector which looked like it had broken off where its meant to be, part number 3 below;
Is this bit essential, and does anyone know where it attaches to?
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I've only got the rear ones fitted, they use a u style clamp with a hex bolt to secure them
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Read good things about it, should also raise the boiling point of your coolant so works a little more efficiently, does look a little pricey though...
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This is a common issue around the vr6's cooling system, the above is a really good way to give your cooling system electrics a thorough health check and can be done in half an hour
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Don't quote me on this, but I believe the engine loom will be needed in as far back as the fuse box. You'll also need the clocks and immobiliser/transponder from the ignition switch.
Can't think of many threads on here, but take a look on VW Vortex, its an American forum but the mk3 section is very active and i've seen more vr6>cabriolet conversions over there. If I was in your position I'd get myself a donor car (often see a few on eBay) then you'll have everything you need.
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Regarding the brakes, if you opt to fit the vr6 engine, done properly will incorporate the 5 stud wheel hubs and either 280mm or 288mm front brakes along with a larger master cylinder. I'd go for a later 'obd 2' engine as they have a better engine management system and tend to make a little bit more power.
I'd recommend reading up on vr6 engine conversions and that will give you a good idea what's involved, best of luck!
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Didn't know that Luke, Knew it was a problem for the Corrado boys but not us.
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Have you got a volt meter? If so check the voltage your getting at the bulb connection
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Where are you located mate?
I'm right down by London, did see your advert though. Managed to get hold of a passenger side headlight and cannibalised it for the bit I need
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I'd say generally it is yes, catering for the golf/vento/corrado vr6. The AAA shares some similarities with the AYL and subsequent 6 cylinder engines, but some of the biggest differences occur with the cylinder head to accommodate more valves, variable intake runners etc and other changes to comply with emission regulations.
I'd say you may find more specific info for your engine on a mk4 golf forum as that car and models which share the same platform would of been fitted with the AYL engine.
Needless to say, when I refitted them after a clean I followed those instructions to the letter.
So I dropped the oil sump and look what I've found...
in Engine Maintenance and Problems
Posted
Just had a brainwave, it looks like part of the crank end oil seal. Didn't notice anything wrong with the current one so guess it is part of the old one?