More work done to the Rabbit this Saturday. Finally got the bends of the oil cooler brazed so that they don't leak, and sealed the rest with VW sealant for BPY cam bridges. The brass parts don't turn anymore in the cooler and are sealed against leaks, and are for good if that stuff holds up like I've seen it do on it's stock application. Put the fan back on, and it slotted right back in it's installation area. I also bought a stock VW 1.8T/2.slow oil filter to try fitting instead of the shorty filter I put on for the in-car oil leak test, but didn't get time to fit it; either way, that's the oil system taken care of.
After that I turned to trimming the two boost hoses that go between the turbo compressor outlet and AWIC core. Each needed about 8-10mm trimmed from their ends so that the hoses fit and the bend reducer to the core didn't rub on the passenger strut tower. The reducer is pulled a bit, but only about 9-10 degrees so it's not going to break or anything. It also just misses the strut tower, but doesn't hit any of the studs on the tower. That's the pressure side of the intake tract taken care of, but I'll stretch either some cheesecloth or a cheap filter over the turbo intake for initial start until .
Next thing on the list, fuel lines. I picked the fuel supply line off the old fuel pump, cleaned it up, and mounted it on the pump and filter housing. I also mounted the braided return line I had ordered long ago. I will stick the fuel filter assembly behind the passenger strut tower for initial start-up; after that I will put some studs through the rain tray and do a true hard mount. 5 gallons of diesel and a mityvac to prime the injection pump, and that's the fuel system taken care of for initial start-up.
Last thing I did that day was wire the oil cooler fan control relay. Mounted it behind the passenger headlamp on the fender side wall and ran the wires near the AWIC water hoses. The power supply and relay control wires went directly to the battery positive terminal, and the control ground went to the thermal switch in the oil cooler. The power supply wire needs to be wired into the right wire on the fan (blue and black wires, not marked for polarity), and the oil cooler body and fan need dedicated chassis grounds. That is not even 1/3 of the wiring that needs to be done, but the rest will be wired next weekend.
Final little bits include buzzing off the transmission-mounted shifter relay's ball ends and pressing the rest through their holes to prepare the relay for the Claus Von Essen 02A rod shift conversion, and installing the speedometer cable in the transmission. Both these parts will be installed next week, with the shifter needing adjustment and the cable possibly needing modification on the instrument cluster end. I could essentially start it up right now, and I might do that next week if the parts install goes smoothly next Saturday.
TCB, man.











