Sorry no updates in a while been busy! I pretty much have been spending every available moment on the Jetta for the last week because I really wanted to get it going. New battery,I resealed the pump, started buttoning up every last detail, nut, bolt, etc. Lots of updates.
Yesterday at about 7:30pm she left the garage under her own power for the first time!
She's a Driver!!! It drives great!, noisy as heck because I didn't put the interior in yet., but it goes and goes well. I ran half a can of SeaFoam through the crank case for about an hour as it seems like it has a ticky lifter to me. I'll try and post a video later and you guys can tell me, maybe I am just too used to the TDI. Engine was noticeably quieter after I drained the cheap "Supratech" oil and SeaFoam and pt in some Mobil1 TD Truck 5-40 (
after an hour of wrestling with the cheapie Fram Filter, I'll never do that again, OEM Only.). The Carat power stuff turned out to be a snap to hook up, the power windows, locks, mirrors all work great.
The trouble light in the picture was there to bake some JB Weld all night to cure. The 89 used the old style coolant reservoir and the bracket was welded to the strut tower, it is much wider and sits higher. It had a CE1 electrical connector, since I wanted to not cut the CE2 harness I am attempting to JB weld the studs for the late style reservoir and bracket in it's place.
It should work, the studs are surface welded on at the factory and twisted off pretty easily with vice grips. If it doesn't I guess I am drilling holes
I did some checking around about batteries before I bought one. I didn't want a generic Walmart or Autozone cheapie. It turns out a Company called Douglas Battery a division of Exide has the contract with Varta to produce new OEM replacement batteries here in the U.S. for BMW, Mercedes, Audi and VW. They are also sold under the brand name "Werker" through
Batteries Plus. The Group 41 Battery for the Jetta is a perfect fit and has the proper venting so hopefully battery acid won't slop all over my newly POR-15'd battery tray. At $89.99 the price is decent too only $10-$20 more that Generics.
Oh and last week a care package arrived for me from a distant land courtesy MontanaGTD.
I'll need to dig up a 1.6LDA or a pump soon and get it installed along with the Intercooler. Swapping the ASF code transmission in was a good call, at 60 MPH I am pulling around 2250 RPM and at 70 it's about 2500 RPM. 1st and 2nd gear though are slow, I definitely need more oomph, not allot, I think the Eco pump with an LDA should be fine, maybe if I save my pennies and can pay Giles to give it his special lovin' that would be enough. I am also going to look and see if I can bend or fab up the A/C line so I can use all of the GTD IC Shrouding.
I also changed my insulation / sound deadening strategy. I have been doing a bunch more reading about it on car audio forums. I read a really lengthy thread about sound deadening vs. sound quality. Basically the acoustic mat adds mass and improves sound quality but, the padding is what adds sound deadening. I also came across a couple of threads about a $6.47 closed cell camping mat that Walmart sells and, apparently it's made of the same stuff the audio places sell for allot more. I picked up 4 rolls and am doing a $27 insulation and padding experiment.
I have used one roll already under the dash and in front of the A/C box. The thickness is about right and didn't notice much rattling and squeaking from the dash last night but it's hard to tell at this point. Without the interior or so much as door seals in it at this point, it's really hard to tell.
I'll post more when it's done. Today's plan is to get the interior in give her a wash and a good cleaning.
I have a slow drip from the throttle shaft to still to deal with and also I need to order up belts, timing parts, valve cover gasket, etc and do those. There will be some detail stuff for the body and interior as well (headliner) so I'll be doing stuff for a while but, the major stuff is done and I can drive it
I had also planned on replacing struts, I was worried the the lowered Eibach springs and turbo gas struts would ride to harshly but, so far it seems ok. I need to drive it more I guess.
I'll see if I can get some driving videos up later.