Ben's Black Mk2 2.0 16v Project

[Judderi]

cont......


You will then be presented with the thermostat. I have no idea how it works but from what i can gather it moves and opens up the water channel to the radiator once the engine coolant reaches a certain temperature. Anyway it looks like so. The old one is the silver one.






When i was putting it back together 1 of the flippin bolts sheared off! So i took the pump off again and set to work getting the remaining thread out. To do so i carefully welded some blobs onto the bolt, then welded an old nut and bolt to that. Voila job done, only took me 10 Min's too.








So with the pump repaired and re installed i bolted on the alternator bracket and alternator.






I then replaced my radiator switch for the new 3 pole one. At the moment i don't have a twin speed fan setup so will end up just using it on the full speed connector setting for now.




I then bolted on the front water flange. By the way Ive been using all new seals and gaskets with some silicone for all these parts when re installing them.




Next up was the PAS pump. I had a right head ache trying to figure out how this went on. But once i figured out where this bracket bolted on things started to take shape.










I then fitted the dizzy and side water flange.





I finished the day off with a simple job. I replaced my faulty throttle position sensor. The new one is the silver one on top.




So all that done in now looks something like this. Even though on this pic the alternator isn't on.




While in the area i took a picture of one of the newly polished inlet ports on the head. Spot the difference.






Also a pic of my bargain vernier.




At the end of the day i was left with 2 parts. I couldn't figure out where they were supposed to go but after a big of investigation using the pics i took for reference when removing the engine and ETKA i have now found out where they go. So they will be the 1st to be installed next week. I might have to take some stuff back off to fit them but hey I'm sure they are there for a reason so i best do so.




At this rate i might be finished next week! 

[Judderi]

15th August 06

Ok. This weekend i had a bit of a night mare. I'm starting to fret as to wheather then engine will ever run again. I'm sure it will but i bet i doesent at first. Anyway, my first crappy job of the day was to install the parts that were left over last week. I found out that the thin shield looking part was indeed a shield that went in between the block and cam belt. I thought i might have to take take all the belt and pulleys off to put it on which i really didn't want to do as it had all been timed up exact by the engine builders. I know its not a major job and easy enough if you mark everything but none the less i didn't really want to do it. Luckily i didn't have to, i was able to gain enough room by pulling the plastic cover back. I did however have to take all the alternator and water pump back off again!




I had a right old night mare as i ended up dropping both the bolt and a rubber spacer i was wrongly using down into the bottom of the belts and cover. So after fishing them out with great difficulty i eventually got it bolted on and put the cam cover back on.






With that arse on finished i went to bolt on the other mystery piece which bolts to the front of the block just above the housing for the water pump. I figured that this was maybe something that was used when running a complete 9A engine but no longer needed on my conversion. How wrong i was! This part actually acts as a spacer for the shield that id just spent ages installing. Which meant i had to take it all off again and start over using this second mystery part as a spacer and not some home made spacer that i was wrongly using. At least its all done properly now.






That all done and dusted i was able to re install the water pump and alternator for about the 5th time. At this point i also installed the front subframe and engine mount.








As the engine was all now seated correctly and level i decided to fill the gearbox with its fresh new oil. I followed the procedure of filling it via the speedo drive hole till oil ran out of the side fill hole. Once full i cleaned up and re connected the speedo drive cable.






I then bolted up the 4 branch manifold up good and tight with new gaskets.






With this done i could now clamp up the exhaust with some sealant paste.






At this point my missus and baby arrived with some dinner. I made the mistake of leaving my phone out. So it was promptly grabbed and some action shots were taken. Here i was attaching the clutch cable. I look well scruffy. I'm not normally, honest!






I then started with the job that Ive been putting off. Re connecting all the wires! This took ages as some needed new spades soldering on and its never easy soldering to a rusted wire. I re connected the alternator, oil filter sensors, warm up regulator and the 3 temp sensors on the side of the head near the water flange. I also soldered on the new connector for the header tank.




I bought a new battery terminal which i wanted to use for the negative side. I didn't realize that the negative terminal was smaller than the positive one so i had to make up a shim to space it out. Ta da! The chunky cable is my new zero Gage earth.






I then connected the gearbox earth cable and main loom earth wire.




Other than putting the distributor on, that was about it for the day. I do However have 1 plug and 2 wires which i have no idea about where they go or plug into. Can anyone help? I figure the wire with a round end is an earth and the other wire goes to one of the head sensors (possibly the one on the back) but i have no idea where the plug goes. HELP!

[Judderi]

21st August 2006

I had a very productive weekend this week, I'm almost done!

I started off by plugging in the mystery wires into the right places which always helps. Again i had to solder some new spade connectors onto the rusty old wires. I'm an expert at soldering to rusty wires now. I also screwed on a new oil filter. To complete the run in process i need 3 lots of filters and oil! Have a read of the following like, makes interesting reading regarding running an engine in.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm






I then connected up the 3 earth wires to the earth clamp on the distributor.




Next up i finished off connecting all the power wires and my new 0 Gage amp wire and massive in line fuse. I bought another battery terminal to do so.






With the important parts of the electrics finished i decided to test a few things. All except my side repeaters in the wings worked. So i took the inner wing plastic off and check the cables. All was fine so i followed the cable into the engine bay where i found the cause. Id forgot to connect the 2 black plugs which live behind the header tank. The white plug with the brown wires near it is the connector for my fogs which i also wired in. I had to make a new loom for this as the original was none existent. I suspect the bodyshop removed it when they installed my fogs for some bizare reason as they had them wired to my main beam 






While the trusty soldering iron was out and i was working on the whole lights system i decided to bolt the slam panel on and get my head lamps up and running also. So again i corrected a previous bodge where the side lights were both getting their power from the 1 side. And installed my uprated headlight loom. It turns out one of my bulbs had blown which had me baffled for a while. Also when i tested my lights the relays for the uprated loom kinda fizzed and gave off a little smoke which had me worried but i think it was just some moisture as it soon stopped and everything was OK. I ran the whole loom as neatly as possible out of sight and hid the relays down the side of the battery. I was very happy with the finished result.










I then installed the header tank and washer bottle and plugged them in.




I then installed the LPG mixer, wired it in and connected the gas feed. Its the bit by the washer bottle.




Then i bolted on the intake manifolds and throttle body. Connected up the 5th injector and the Idle controll valve. Dropped in the airbox and metering head and connected up the fuel lines.








So there really isn't much left to do now. During the day i had 2 mishaps though. When i wanted to test the electrics i turned the ignition on not thinking that the fuel pump would prime. As a result petrol went everywhere. No big deal though as it just wiped up, at least i didn't have a fire like Lewy did. Then when connecting up the vacuum line on the deceleration valve (bit on back/bottom of airbox) i managed to snap the connector. So i need a replacement. New from VAG they cost £50 so I'm looking for a used one. 

[Judderi]

29 August 06

Well i managed to get hold of a second hand deceleration valve from somebody breaking a 16v on ebay. So this weekend i was able to get finished at last! But don't get too exited as i ran into 1 little problem which prevented me from starting it.

First i set to work getting the injectors seated. A little grease round the rings always helps here!  Anyway 1 of the rings needed replacing, luckily i have a few spares so with a little persuasion and a pair of circlip pliers i managed to stretch the new one on and roll it into place.






I then filled up with the special running in oil. Took about 4 litres to get it full. I also filled up with pink coolant. I must have had a leak on every bloody hose! So with some new jubilee clips and a bit of adjusting i think Ive sorted them all. No doubt when i run it for the 1st time i will have leaks all over, but will cross that bridge when i come to it!




I then finished off connecting up all the intake, idle controll and LPG feed pipes.




And thats the engine done! Just need to put the bumper and grill etc back on now. I had a bit of a nightmare getting the bolts for the bumper to line up but got there in the end. This pic shows inside the chassis leg where the bumper bracket goes.






Then my new chrome slat grill was fitted. I wasn't overly impressed with the quality or fit, especially for the price but hey its on and looks good.




I then finished off connecting up my indicators and fog lights.




All that was left to do now was put the wheels on and turn the key, i was getting pretty nervous at this point. The wheels needed a good scrub 1st though as they were all salted up and really dull as i hadn't cleaned them before packing them away. I wire Brillo pad soon brought them up nice though. They still need a polish but for now they look good enough. I was worried about the new back box getting in the way as its pretty huge but i was worrying for nothing as it fit no problem.






With all the wheels back on it was time to bring it down off the axle stands and put my top suspension caps on the front. I couldn't get over how low it was once off the axle stands. Looked real cool!




Again all had gone OK till this point. But as we rolled it out the garage i caught the door on the pillar chipping the paint and bending the corner a little. Its nothing major and you cant tell unless you look real closely but its still a bugger. I'm not that bothered though as that door already had a chip and needed attention. Then the big moment of truth came! We hooked up the jump leads to my mates civic and turned the key. There were a couple of coughs and splutters but it didn't seem to want to start. It turned over freely enough though. So i checked the usual spark fuel etc. It was real low on fuel so i popped to the garage and filled a couple of cans. My spark was also very weak and my old plugs had seen better days. But more importantly one of the wires to the hall sender plug was only hanging on by a thread and when i moved it, it snapped off completely. So I'm going to solder a new plug on, get new spark plugs, rotor arm, cap and leads for next week and fingers crossed!




At this point i was a little disappointed and it was getting late so i gave it a quick wash down and rolled it back into the garage. I put the battery on a 24hr charge also as it had drained completely. To be continued...........














P.S Oh i also had a little play with some of that quick clay. Cant say i was very impressed really as it left lots of surface scratches where i had rubbed. Yeah it made the paint feel like glass but id rather have it feel rough without scratches! I took a pic to try and capture the scratches but you cant really see. You can see a little in the bottom right.

[Judderi]

11 Sep 06

Well i didn't get a chance to do any work on the car last week but this week i got it finished! I managed to get the plug i needed from a local scrappy and the kind guy said i could just have it. I also ordered a whole load of ignition parts just to be sure. I got new 4 prong spark plugs, a set of HT leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm. So the 1st job of the day was to get the new parts installed and the new plug soldered on. The old rotor arm didn't want to come off at all so a hammer and screw driver later it was off and in pieces.






The old spark plugs had seen better days. They had a thick coating on them from the LPG and were very black. The new ones should work a treat.






Next up i installed the new HT leads which seem real good quality but a little shorter than the originals.




I then soldered on the new plug and decided it was time to give it another go. I tried starting it again but had no joy. With a bit of head scratching i came to the conclusion that i may have made quite a school boy error and got the HT leads the wrong way round. So i checked the Haynes which was no use at all. I checked the MX5 but it didn't have a conventional distributor. So i waited for my mate to come home so i could check the order on his Honda. While i waited i clayed the roof and gave it a polish.
When he returned it was clear that i had got the leads the wrong way round, hence the popping but non starting. So a quick re order later looked like so. The leads fitted much better now they were on in the correct order.




So i tried again. Still no joy at 1st but after tinkering with the metering head flap it fired up! Sounded a bit ropey at 1st but got better as the oil circulated. So i let it warm up as i franticly ran round checking oil water temps radiator fan sensors etc etc. All seemed OK really. Then the manifold heat wrap started to smoke. Lewy wasn't kidding! This stuff smokes loads at 1st! Filled the whole garage even though the doors were open. These pics were taken after the smoke started to die down.






So the last job was to re connect the speedo cable to the clocks. This time i used some thread lock as it has a bad habit of coming loose. I was going to do a write up but only ended up taking this pic.




Then i took it for a few tootles round the block. You can tell it needs setting up badly but it wasn't too bad really. All seemed OK so it was time to head out for the 1st stage of the run in process.

So i had a bit of a play on some back roads while my mate followed in case i broke down. There were a couple of minor hickups but nothing major. My gear selector weighted shift rod kept popping off because i need some new bushes. Also half way up the road i remembered i hadn't fully nipped up the wheel bolts. Also there was a bit of a bang and the sound of something falling off. At 1st i thought one of the whiney belts had snapped. It couldn't have been the timing belt though as the engine was still running. But all belts were fine. So i walked back down the road and found a large bolt which was a bit mangled. We headed back to the garage to sort everything out and check everything over. I looked everywhere but couldn't see where this bolt could have came from. I came to the conclusion that id just ran over it and was being paranoid. Time will tell, fingers crossed!

Anyway we did approx 30 miles and headed back to do an oil and filter change. All seems OK and the exhaust sounds like a jet fighter! Even got a few flames pop out the back. So Ive got it booked in for a RR tune up at motorscope in Northallerton on the 23rd. Just need to get it insured and finish running it in now. I'm picking up the gear link bushes tonight also.

Ive got some high quality pictures and video clips which i will get posted tomorrow.

[Judderi]

12 Sep 06

First i will explain why i didnt manage to do any work on the car the other weekend, i was kinda worse for wear. I really didnt think i had drunk that much! I couldent even speak! Never felt that ill before!




I picked up the new gear linkage bushes last night. They are genuine VW ones and far better quality than the cheapo ones i got in the linkage repair kit i bought.




I also fogot to mention that i replaced my bulbs for these new ones as an element had gone in one of the bulbs. I was going to upgrade to a xenon kit but didnt like the fact that you can only have either the main beam or dipped beam running xenon and the other a standard bulb which is likely to blow. You can get all xenon high and low beam kits but they are about £600 so scrap that idea!




Also while my mate was sat in the car helping me with pumping the brakes he decided to have a play. I hadnt told him that the sunroof catches and not to use it. So one opening and closing later i had a nice scratch on the sunroof. Bugger!




Last but not least the mystery bolt that may have fallen off. Personally i dont think it was ever on the car or engine. What do you all think?

[Judderi]

13 September 06

Well some of you liked the photo of me ill so i thought id show you the night before. I went to a fancy dress party to raise cash for breast cancer. Was a good night!




























Baby Recaro's?




Took the car to get 2 new front tires last night. £120 for 2 good quality directionals wasn't bad really. I also got my insurance sorted by Martin B on here who works for HIC for a good price. Many thanks Martin. So Ive just got to get my tax today and check if i need an MOT.

[Judderi]

14 September 06

Well i dug out my MOT certificate last night and that has also expired. So thats Tax Test Insurance and tyres ive got to pay for all at once this month to get the car back on the road. My wallet is bleeding!

[Judderi]

18 September 06

MOT today! I think it may fail on emisions, fingers crossed. Only thing i did on the golf this week end was install a new rear seatbelt for the MOT. I had my wifes car to work on this week as the exhaust had fallen off and it needed new brakes and a service. All im gonna say is i HATE drum brakes! Why the hell do they need so many springs and clips! 
Anyway got a couple of daft pictures for yall. 1st up my little girl did an exorcist stye sick all over her teddy. I though it looked funny the way it has its hands up like "I surrender!"




It was dark by the time i finished on the wifes car so tried to capture some pics of my lights inside and out. There not brilliant but you get the idea.






And last but not least the garage that ive been using for the last 6 months. When i started it was imaculately clean and never been used. Now its kinda grimey. Sorry Kev.

[Judderi]

20 Sep 06

I took the car for an MOT after work the other night. All went well apart from the fact that my lights are LHD! Im dam sure i paid for RHD ones! I will have to dig out the receipt. Anyway the nice MOT man said i could pop over to Halfords, get some of them stick on deflectors and he would pass it for me. So i set off realizing i didnt know where Halfords was! So about an hour later after running all over the place i had the stickers and got back to the mot station to find them closing! Grrrrrr so i had to go back the next day. But hey ive now got a pice of paper which means i can now get my tax.

While looking for halfords the engine developed a bit of a squeel which worried me. It seems to be coming from the cams which cant be good! I checked the oil and everything but couldent find anything. Ive come to the conclusion that its an air leak whistle as it doesent change pitch with revs. I thought it might be the idle screw but tried fiddling with that and it made no change. I also wiggled the injectors which made no change. Anyway its been like that for 2 days now and ive covered about 100 miles and all has been fine. Maybe the tuners will know what it could be on Saturday. Fingers crossed it doesent blow up before then!