Building AAZ motor; meet Harley

[CrazyAndy]

Seriously! You put that head on grandmas nice bed shall that she made for you!

That was NOT made by my grandmother . . . . it by was my stepmom.  What can I say, I hate light sheets.  And that head is hot-tanked CLEAN, mister!

In other news, Lowes is not a specialty fastener store, much to my lack of remembrance.  I couldn't find another bolt for my oil pump, so it's up to Friday's lunch time to deliver on a 8.8 grade 8x1.25 mm x 90mm bolt w/ a 65m thread-less shank.

[Gizmoman]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#91310a562/=ndqhhv
A lifetime supply and if you order it now - you will have it tomorrow - or next day at the latest

[CrazyAndy]

Damn, 10.9?  Should I get a corresponding wavy washer, or just use the silver-colored pack I got at Lowes?  I think the softer metal might cause torque issues, but I'm not a metallurgy specialist.  Either way, ordered!

[Gizmoman]

The 8.8 were more expensive but I think you got more with the order.
Just torque it down to the spec.

[CrazyAndy]

Okay, thanks.  Now if only I could get the site to place an order!

EDIT: Got it; Chrome was beign pissy, blocking the payment method pop-up, and you need to click on the payment method thingy in the leftmost column for anyone else who hasn't ordered from McM-C on here, which is probably a very low percentage of people now that I think about it.

[theman53]

I have never ordered from them. Probably never will especially for bolts since I sell bolts.

[CrazyAndy]

Obviously.

[CRSMP5]

freeken customs... they hate me more then u!!!!!!  

i get a pump sent from there to here with a set of lines in it.. lines for me... pump for customer... i think the bastards reboxed the pump.. did not notice the lines.. and did not put them back in the box........ and i trust the seller..

lookie what i grabbed today...



since customers tdi can go home now.. figured id bring this back..

[Syncroincity]

Where the hell did you find this? I ended up ordering one from VW. 

[CrazyAndy]

Synchro, I got that from my local NAPA; it was branded under their umbrella company Atrom Imports.  I did some looking into Altrom Group, and their manufacturer list is FULL of VW OEM companies!  I felt very confident that I'd get a good HG like Elring or Victor Reinz, but was surprised to get Goetze; I'm used to only getting piston rings from them.  Bottom line to me is I'm not afraid to order from NAPA for anything VW; they even had thickness specifications listed on their site so you know it's a true 1-hole.  It's nice to find another trusted local auto parts store since Carquest packed up and moved out of town.

Good to see you got the jackrabbit back in, CRS; have you done anything to it as of late?  I see the poo box in the background.  Am I to assume rightly that you bought it?

EDIT:  Oh, and going out to work on the engine tomorrow.  Finally got the piston ring compressor and pliers, so combine that with the head being clean and ready, I'm ready to make an almost-long block!  I need to wait to put in the oil pump, so the pan has to wait also.

[CRSMP5]

poo box belongs to guy in cali.. 337 the blue one is beside it.. so my lot has 3 in it.. i stripped/washed it yesterday.. ready for push rides at madness..

[RabbitJockey]

Synchro, I got that from my local NAPA; it was branded under their umbrella company Atrom Imports.  I did some looking into Altrom Group, and their manufacturer list is FULL of VW OEM companies!  I felt very confident that I'd get a good HG like Elring or Victor Reinz, but was surprised to get Goetze; I'm used to only getting piston rings from them.  Bottom line to me is I'm not afraid to order from NAPA for anything VW; they even had thickness specifications listed on their site so you know it's a true 1-hole.  It's nice to find another trusted local auto parts store since Carquest packed up and moved out of town.

Good to see you got the jackrabbit back in, CRS; have you done anything to it as of late?  I see the poo box in the background.  Am I to assume rightly that you bought it?

EDIT:  Oh, and going out to work on the engine tomorrow.  Finally got the piston ring compressor and pliers, so combine that with the head being clean and ready, I'm ready to make an almost-long block!  I need to wait to put in the oil pump, so the pan has to wait also.

Yep the altrom stuff rules.  I get employee pricing too.  U should always ask for altrom parts from napa sincr their usually oem alot of the time theyll have to order it in but thats fine because its usually cheaper as well

[CRSMP5]

trunks full of beer, ice, mikes hard... time to cook.. no problem.. pop open the grill.. i even installed my shifter incase of rain.. so we can have a teepee..


my crap may not run.. but at least it will attend and be a show of its own..

[CrazyAndy]

Totally ready!  Gonna get brown-faced on some proper beer this time, though; my palate for good liquor has grown a lot in the past 12 months, you'll be surprised.  It'll be nice to finally relax and not worry about having the car ready for some show; with any luck, I won't remember most of the weekend anyway.

And as promised, more progress at last.  Got the long block 90% together today with a buddy of mine! Lubricated the bores, got the piston and rod assemblies into the bores, torqued down the rod caps . . .





. . .cleaned the head and deck, spun in the head studs, thin application of Hylomar to the head gasket, let the stuff cure with the head on the block . . .





. . .and realized we didn't have a 13mm 12-point socket to torque the head with. Oops! We snugged the nuts up with a 14m 6-point, so the sealant should be fine since it's non-hardening anyway.

I'll make a stop by tomorrow and torque the head down, and maybe even dry install the valve cover to keep dust out. Who knows, maybe my fasteners will arrive tomorrow and I can install the oil pump, sump, and intermediate shaft!

This thing is getting really close to being done as a full block; I really need to attend to the smaller things, like making sure my turbo oil feed and drain are fabbed up, getting the oil cooler lines made, and ordering the AWIC and timing tools.  I also need to turn my attention on getting the trans ready by installing the 0.681 5th and new side plate seal, as well as keeping in contact with USPS about getting either A) my trans mounts back or B) a refund for their value.  Anyone have an old 02A reverse switch connector?

[CrazyAndy]

Back, so soon!  Finally got out and torqued the head down on the motor. Went flawlessly; three torque stages up to 50 ft/lbs, no drama. A little Hylomar came out in some areas, but that just means there was enough there to begin with; there's a nice blue line around most of the head gasket which assures me she's sealed for life.




 Also, finally got the hardware for the oil pump and pan in, as well as some extra to hold both main seals' plates down. Got everything bolted down with the windage tray gasket and some VW factory white sealant. While I would love to show you more photos of that, my phone decided to have a low battery, so no more photos for you today.



This thing is one IM shaft, vacuum pump, and oil filter boss away from being a true long block. That means once that is done the block will need to be moved out to where the car is in order to hang the turbo assembly, prime the oil system sans cooler, and get stuffed in the bay once the crap with the trans mounts and trans itself gets sorted. Then on to hanging the fuel system and timing her up!

P.S.: The exhaust manifold is tapped for EGT, huzzah!