The GTD RETURNS!

[fspGTD]

Great work, Joe, thanks for the update.

[RabbitGTDguy]

Thanks Jake... was working on some more details today and prepping the head and the intake manifold for the port matching job Fun stuff. Can't wait. More anxious for finding my pistons I need

Joe

[AntonUK]

Hey Joe thought Id wonder over to the past of my IDI and this forum and found your project! Looking very sweet indeed. Thanks for the comments on mine on tdiclub. Looking forward to some more picture updates!

[RabbitGTDguy]

Yeap...can't wait. I've been waiting for a TDI for years and its finally a partial reality  More than glad to leave the comments on yours...its very nice...and coming along nicely!

Joe

[RabbitGTDguy]

Updates, Updates...

For anyone following the thread.... alot of progress came today when I got my pistons back from the machine shop...

Before machining...


After machining to bring down the CR slightly to allow for more fuel/boost as well as elminate hot spots associated with the lip...







CR should now be around 17.5:1 after ceramic coating which I hope they will go in for through SwainTech next week  Going to CC the pistons and also see where I am at prior to ceramic and after though its easily figurable, I'd like to run through it again.

Also, using the cummins pump on my application and needed to find a solution to the injection pump pulley since the nose on the cummins pump is shorter than a TDI unit. I liked the stoutness of the MK4 style TDI injection pump sprocket and the fact that it is "adjustable" for timing without loosing the pump...so I went the route of having this machined to fit. Problem was, turned correctly on the injection pump pulley's hub it stuck out to far and wouldn't align. Turn it around backwards and it would align but would hit against the injection pump bracket, its "bubble" on the one. So...problem fixed

Before:

After:




Now, everything is here with the exception of Swaintech doing the pistons for me in TBC and PC-9  and the need to get Racewares... March, here we come!

A few more pics... Will readily start working on assembling the bottom end tomorrow. Have to press in new int. shaft bearings, then do the crank, etc. while the pistons are being done.
Gov. swap on the Cummins pump went like a charm and now with the added adjustablity of the injection pump sprocket on the fly should make for a really nice setup come spring. Also, to those wanting to clue in on using the cummins pump, give me a shout, IDI or TDI and I can help you out.

[AntonUK]

Hey Joe great update!! Im so jelous of what you did with your pistons :twisted:  I was going to take the same route but couldnt source any spare pistons to work with now my engine is in and I dont want to drop the bottom end. Also glad you got your pump sprocket sorted...now get it together! Im on a long holiday in Russia at the mo drinking really horrible vodka so no time for my car at the mo :cry:  but not long left....keep us updated your doing great

[RabbitGTDguy]

Def. will keep the updates coming. The ball should really be moving now, especially once the pistons get back from SwainTech. If anyone has a stock TDI piston they could "cc" for me, I lost the information I had recorded on a computer that crashed between the time I dropped the pistons off and I received them back. I had CC'd the ALH piston prior so I could see "exactly" what the CR would be when they were machined, but I only recorded it on the computer... it'd be great if someone had one they could measure for me. I did the machined ones tonight and got 29cc on each filling the bowl as well as the valve impressions...

I slate the CR to be around 17.5:1 once they come back from coating... Def. optimal for high boost and fuel

Plan is to have the motor done by the end of next month I hope...in the car for March or April...

Of course...never know But it def. was worth ripping the bottom end apart and doing this nice and neat how I always wanted it

Anton! can't wait to see more progress pics on yours too...

Joe

[therabbittree]

Joe, Looks nice...I've been driving  mine since sunday...mummn mines got some issues i'll start a new thread not to high jack yours....tell you what though.... TONS TOND OF TORQUE AND TRACTOR NOISE..later
Deo

[RabbitGTDguy]

No sooner did the pistons get back that I now sent them away again

But for coating at SwainTech this time TBC and PC-9  Supposedly a week turn around and they'll arrive tomorrow...so maybe sometime next week they will be back!

Joe

[RabbitGTDguy]

Well... pistons came back from SwainTech already today... awesome... a week turnaround almost to the hour it seems...awesome guys...

Here are some pics of the TBC top coating and the PC-9 dry film coating on the skirts...









And I'm almost ready to install them believe it or not. Got the crank installed and am hopefully going to finish install the seals and their carriers tonight or tomorrow... have to wait for a new paper rear gasket to come in again though for the rear...





Wahoo...going to be able to get movin now!

Joe

[malone]

Awesome!! The coating looks great.

[therabbittree]

Joe,
     Just curious, what did it run to get em coated? That looks good,
Thanks,
Deo
\x/ hillfolk

[RabbitGTDguy]

check out SwainTech's site for all the pricing info as depending on what kind of coatings you want to run it depends... mine ended up at around 38 a piston...

www.swaintech.com

Marc did similar on the Blue Monster AHU he just sold here in the fall, however, I believe his were TBC top coating but the Poly-Moly on the sides instead of PC-9.

Joe

[fspGTD]

Those pistons look great, Joe...  Makes me think more seriously about coating mine!  

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has run any coatings on their piston crowns, valve faces, or combustion chamber surfaces for any length of time and gotten a chance to inspect it to see how it held up later.

On a 1.6lTD I tried a thermal barrier coating on the valve faces once upon a time, not from swain tech though it was from http://www.performancecoatings.com .  Some of the coated valves didn't hold up as well as I would have liked to see, the coating showed some pitting after head removal and inspection! :?

Come to think of it, I have had generally negative results with every other time I have tried engine coatings, but maybe it's because I used the wrong place.  A brand new oil pump I had just blueprinted got nicked and it's walls scored during dry-film impregnation and ended up putting out less oil pressure than the several hundred thousand mile old used oil pump it replaced.  Exhaust coating results have also been mixed.  I will grant that the coating does seem to effectively reduce the transfer of heat.  A stainless steel coated downpipe looked great after coating and still looks great years later (as you'd expect from stainless...) but a coated 1.6lTD exhaust manifold ended up after a few years with some kinda ugly rust specs peeking through what used to be a nice looking coating.  Any successful, or not so successful engine coating experiences on here?

I didn't mean to derail Joe's thread too much (please carry on Joe, and keep up the excellent reporting!)

[RabbitGTDguy]

Wasn't feeling well today so I stayed home...ended up getting antzy though and thought I'd wrench downstairs for a while...got some stuff done:)

After a nice delay due to some tq differences between the intergrated rear main seal/carrier and the old style press in seal w/ paper gasket and carrier...got it installed, and the block/crank assembly onto the stand...


Also...can't beat the quality of OEM Goetze rings... I was impressed with the used ones and how much "in spec" they were even at 126k when I tore the motor down this fall...barely showed signs of use. Most impressed with the new units out of the box and now installed as well... glad I chose the OEM route instead of going Total Seal


Always start with good materials


Cleaning Gasket surface (night and day pic) prior to piston install...


Ready to install machined and coated pistons...






Tick tick tick...









Looks like the bottom end can be done by the end of the week! Wahoo!


On a seperate note. I had looked into performancecoatings.com before but after weighing it heavily, talking to SwainTech and even those that have put their stuff to the test, there was no substitute for having the right company with the right prep equipment and application/curing equipment to do it once and do it right. I've heard horror stories of even more hot spots and such from unevenly dispersed DIY coatings as well as wear issues, etc. Swain also took the time to explain that the DIY coatings aren't nearly the same formula as what they use. I didn't have any problems paying the money to have it done through them for the insurance...besides, they started it all in the first place!

Joe