Vanbcguy's M-TDI Build

[vanbcguy]

Replaced the passenger side engine mount yesterday - I had bought the '3 pack' of mounts from IDParts not realizing that the passenger mount was actually the wrong one.  The AHU in the Jetta/Golf came with a hydraulic mount on the passenger side rather than the rubber mounts found on the other engines.  I've been having some fairly significant vibration at idle so I decided to swap it out for the proper one.

Initial findings: noticeably less vibration.  Highly recommended.  The hydraulic mount allows a bit less movement of the engine too

[vanbcguy]

Okay, I've got a solid 1600km on my build now.  I think I've got most of the issues sorted out.  I still have a minor oil leak at the valve cover, I might take another crack at that today.

I had a bad TPS on my pump - turns out the Land Rover TPS is extremely hard to come across.  I guess there weren't that many of them sold with EGR in the first place, plus failure of the TPS is basically invisible to the operator.  Anyone who has done an EGR delete doesn't need it any more so basically the only people that want one are folks in places with extremely strict emissions control laws where they have some way of verifying that the EGR is actually working AND where the TPS has failed.  Wow!  That's not a big sample size.

My TPS had a bad connection internally.  It would work fine when it was cold, but as soon as it warmed up the ground connection would start to go.  It probably passed the testing that Bosch did on the bench when they rebuilt the pump but it doesn't work in the real world.  It wasn't worth sending the whole pump back to get it replaced so I ended up ponying up for a new one - $120!!  Bah.  I also got a couple of used ones sent to me by a very nice gentleman on DefenderSource so I have 3 good ones now.  I did manage to make up a little voltage divider on my bad one so I could limp along, but that reduced the resolution considerably.

Anyhow I'll be putting the new TPS on today and doing some more tuning...

Still having some issues getting my VNT control "just right" - I have some oscillation that I'm working on tuning out.  There aren't very many good places around here to make back to back to back runs so it's tough to do this in any sort of a scientific manner!  I adjusted the stop screw on my turbo last week but didn't have a working TPS till yesterday - that buggered up most of the tuning I had done previously so I'm more or less starting with a clean sheet now.  As of last night things are pretty usable though there is definitely some overshoot I need to get under control.  The system is 'hunting' too much still.

Oh the LDA control works PERFECT.  I have it set to start pulling off boost from the LDA when EGTs hit 650C.  It works great - I did an onramp pull yesterday that hit the limit, you can totally feel the fuel backing off big time.  The EGTs barely go past 650C no matter what you do - that is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for.  It's also neat seeing my LCD go from 'happy green' to 'ANGRY ORANGE' as the system warns me.  I do have it set up to go 'BLOOD RED' if EGTs get really high, but I haven't gotten up there.

And yes, I can definitely do a 2-wheel burnout now off the line on dry pavement.  This clutch holds great!

[libbydiesel]

I just wanted to say that you deserve some big Kudos on this project.  It is one of the most well-thought-out and well-executed car projects I have seen.  The engine, pump, turbo, intercooler choices are what I would also choose.  Great job on getting a working electronic control as well.  Thumbs-up.

[vanbcguy]

I just wanted to say that you deserve some big Kudos on this project.  It is one of the most well-thought-out and well-executed car projects I have seen.  The engine, pump, turbo, intercooler choices are what I would also choose.  Great job on getting a working electronic control as well.  Thumbs-up.

Thanks!!!  It's been a long road getting here but I'm NEARLY "done" whatever that means.

I did my first real road trip last weekend.  Drove out to Spokane on the North Cascades Highway in Washington State - SUPER gorgeous route, well worth checking out.  Spent the day in Spokane and then did a quick hop over to Idaho and then I90 back to Seattle.  Spent another day in Seattle and then I5 back to Vancouver.  The car did brilliantly - I did need to tweak my turbo program a bit, needed some more air at part throttle in certain situations but that's more for smoke control than anything.  I think I could probably stand to adjust my stop screw a tad too to give just a little bit quicker spoolup.

After I was back I spent a few hours looping around through a really decent highway onramp to tune my turbo up, made serious progress.  It's pretty darn close to perfect now!  I've got a little bit of a spike past my max requested boost of 29 PSI but it settles down nicely.  It has perfect control at lower accelerator and boost levels.  WOT is a bit trickier since very small changes to the vane position have a significant impact, plus the engine speed (and therefore air consumption and exhaust production) are changing rapidly upwards.  Max EGTs are hitting about 650C at those boost levels, though that does include the controller hiding some boost from the LDA as EGTs approach 650C.  I'll probably be increasing that limit a little but there's no harm in being conservative at the moment.

I've got the car in for a re-do on my downpipe currently.  Not really happy with the first one I had made at all.  Besides being a total waste of money it was just designed stupid.  The guy who built the first one basically had no interest in fixing his sloppy work and I had no interest in fighting with him just to end up with patched up sloppy work as the end result so I'm paying to have it done again at a more reputable shop.  The first one was smacking the steering rack plus he set it up in such a way that my cat didn't fit properly.  I had him put v-bands on the cat so I could pop it out but I did want it to actually FIT in the car!!

[vanbcguy]

Useful note for anyone swapping a TDI into a Mk3 AAZ body...

The AAZ temp sensor has a different range than the AHU/1Z one does.  Your gauge will read low if you use the AHU (black with yellow ring) sensor with the AAZ cluster.  The AAZ cluster is designed for a sensor that is black with a green ring.

AAZ-specific sensor: 357919501
AHU/ABA sensor: 357919501A

By about 92C both sensors will read about the same, so the engine will SEEM to get up to operating temperature when you are stopped in traffic or whatever, but the yellow sensor will apparently read about 5-7C low in the 75-90C range, meaning your car will appear to not warm up much.  I've been seeing temperatures around 80C when highway driving which was starting to have me worried that I had a bad t-stat.  Will be picking up a new one tomorrow.

[vanbcguy]

Latest code, latest tuning values, latest WOT run... Target at WOT was 205 kPa, it spiked to 247 then settled in between 197-210.  That's pretty darn close to perfect.  I still want to tame the spike a little but even the guys with pro tunes get a bit of a boost spike.

Man am I ever getting sick of looking at logs...

[vanbcguy]

OK - haven't posted on this in a while...

Not long after posting my last log back in June we got notice that we had to move - yuck.  Thankfully my swap was done to the point where I had a running driving vehicle or I would have been up a certain creek without a paddle!!

I've done a few road trips now, everything has gone very very well.  The engine has settled in nicely and is running like a top.  I've dropped my idle down a bit more as things have smoothed out which has helped with the overall cabin vibrations and things.

Exhaust has been a problem.  My exhaust system really is a mess - in the end after a couple of attempts to get things sorted I've decided to buy an Autotech 2.5" catback and scrap my existing exhaust shop "custom" job.  My existing exhaust has multiple fitment issues plus I've realized that it has been causing me a TON of vibration as the shop added extra mounts to deal with the fact that the muffler wasn't even close to the factory position.  The muffler is also contacting the body which obviously adds quite a bit of vibration in itself.  I've pissed away a ton of money on the downpipe / exhaust now and I really wish I'd just started from scratch rather than trying to reuse my existing setup.  Live and learn.

Engine mounts have also been an issue.  The stock front mount absolutely cannot keep my engine in place, there's just too much torque.  I've been pounding my exhaust in to the crossmember below the seats despite there being nearly 1" of clearance there.  You can really feel the engine moving around when you are driving too.  I've decided to get a set of Stage 0.5 BFI mounts to hopefully keep things in check.  To start with I'm just going to put the front mount in as I have a brand new AHU-specific hydraulic mount on the passenger side already.  If that proves insufficient I'll add the rear BFI mount too.

On the 'good' side I can't believe the power now!  Every time I drive my wife's 1.8T and step on it I have this feeling of "huh? where's the power? I thought this was the fast car!".  I had a dude in a Porsche Cayenne pull up next to me at a light the other day and try to out-accelerate me - as soon as I caught second gear I had some tire chirp and then he disappeared behind me.  NOBODY expects a 20-year old Mk3 to be this fast.  Bwahahahahahahhaha...

The car is great with the trailer too - not that it was ever bad with the 1.6TD but this engine is waaaaaaay nicer for pulling something.

On the 'not so good' side I've got some leaks still.  Looks like my power steering pressure hose is on its way out, I've got a seep from the fill plug of my transmission and I've still got some oil leaks from somewhere, looks like some of it is around my oil temp sensor.  The PS hose is going to be a pain - those hoses are NOT cheap nor are the fittings on the rack easy to get at.  Not looking forward to that job, I may just pay to have it done.

[sdubfid]

is power steering a requirement?  any plans to put this thing on a dyno?

[vanbcguy]

is power steering a requirement?  any plans to put this thing on a dyno?

Yeah - I drove without PS for quite a while, while do-able it isn't fun in an urban environment.  Add in that I tow with my car and it becomes absolutely necessary - trying to back the trailer up a hill without PS would be a mess.

I'm definitely interested in getting this on a dyno.  There's still more tuning I need to do though.  I lost the power adapter for my little laptop a while ago which has kind of made things difficult as I can't tweak the computer at all.  But yeah I mean I haven't even opened the top on the LDA yet so there's definitely still plenty of fuel available, I still need to do a small stop screw adjustment on the turbo, I still have been keeping EGTs at a fairly conservative level...  Moar power!

[vanbcguy]

Update...

Newer/better program on my VNT controller, has been working quite well.  Actually I'm finding that I was calling for TOO MUCH boost a lot of the time - backing it off a bit has made the car noticeably quicker, especially in the lower RPM ranges.  I attribute this to having the vanes open more which uncorks the engine quite noticeably.

I REALLY need to get new tires.  I've had a set of Kelly Navigator Golds on the car for about 4 years now - they have been great tires but they absolutely cannot stand up to the torque output of this engine, especially if it is at all wet out.  It is far too easy to spin the wheels, even with the LSD.  I've got a set of 15" Le Castlettes downstairs and I'm thinking of putting some Nitto Neo-Gens on there - I think I can fit the 205/50R15 size that a VR6 car would have used no problem.  My current tires are 185's so the extra 20mm of tread width plus a 'stickier' tire will probably help.

[vanbcguy]

2015 update!!

Appears my power steering leak was just a stupid loose clamp on the return hose from the rack to the reservoir.  It was pissing all over the place.  I went to replace my reverse switch and noticed the clamp was just spinning on the hose - that'll do 'er!  Tightened that up...

Oh and put in the new reverse switch.  For those of you who have done the 02J shifter tower swap, the standard 020 reverse switch works great IF it has a thick spacer washer on it.  My old 020 switch had the spacer when I installed it in the 02J shift tower, I tried without at first but the reverse lights just stayed on all the time.  With the spacer washer it works perfect.  I haven't had working backup lights in like 4 years so I'm enjoying my new found ability to tell people I'm backing up...

I developed an oil leak at my oil temperature sensor.  I was using a 1/8 NPT to M10 adapter fitting which wasn't sealing well at all.  I actually used adapters for both my oil pressure and oil temperature sensors; BOTH of them had leaking issues afterwards (and yes I had the copper crush washers installed).  I have just threaded the 1/8 NPT fitting in to the M10 holes with some sealant tape on both of those now and haven't had any more leaks.  I had to swap out the oil temp sensor with a shorter one of course, pain in the butt...

Tires, I ended up getting myself some winter tires.  I've got a set of Falken Eurowinters and so far I love 'em.  They're quiet, they stick really well in all conditions and they ride quite nicely.  I mounted them on a set of 15" B3 Syncro wheels I had here; I like how they look on the car.  Shoulda taken a picture but hey...  Went with 195/55R15s.

Oh, I also swapped out my front engine mount with a BFI Stage 0.5 mount.  I haven't done the rear one yet, not sure if I will or not.  So far the vibrations are pretty intense at idle - it's fine the rest of the time and I definitely can tell the engine is staying put a lot better now.  I don't think I even have 100km on these yet though so I'm not ready to make a final judgement.  Quite a few people reported that they had much reduced vibration after removing the rubber hood from the mount over on the Vortex, I haven't tried that yet but probably will if they don't settle down.  Starting the car right now when you don't remember they're in there is pretty funny.

[theman53]

good deal. I put a poly rear mount in once and it made your teeth itch at idle, but anything above that was fine like you said.

[vanbcguy]

The poly mount is definitely settling in a bit but cold starts are still pretty intense.  Definitely have to hold on to the steering wheel!!

I have been fighting oscilating boost when the accelerator is floored for a while - my boost control is really good at part throttle, around town driving is perfect but if you floor the car from low RPM I was getting a jumpy spiky graph that wouldn't settle down till the RPMs got higher.  That's actually the biggest thing I've been fighting with my boost controller since I built it more or less.

Well I was doing some reading today and stumbled across a forum posting I'd seen a million years ago but forgotten about... Listing the approximate surge line of the GTB1756 compressor.  It's not EXACT but it's close enough for a guess... Look a what my target boost settings were in the troublesome area... Ah. 

I was requesting enough boost to cause compressor surge which of course resulted in oscillating boost, which the poor controller was trying to clamp down on.  I've been messing in software trying to get a handle on it while all the while the real problem was I was just asking the turbo to do something it wasn't capable of. Duh.

Did a couple runs today with the boost request from 2k-3.5k RPM reduced to safer numbers and guess what, the wild oscillations are gone.  Actual boost is following requested quite smoothly, with a few little oddities I need to sort out still.  I have a highway onramp I use for testing - it's a long run on to the highway and it has its own lane (no merging needed), it's near the port here so it's designed for heavy trucks to be able to get up to speed without anything getting in their way, perfect place for testing.  First pull I did was from about 1800 RPM in 2nd gear, shift at about 5200, 3rd up to about 5200.  Big blue smoke cloud, uh oh... Oh wait, that was my TIRES.  Ha.  Yeah she has a little trouble staying hooked up even through 2nd/3rd at full pedal with a slightly damp road...

The decreased boost has actually increased power output a bit if my butt dyno is accurate, makes sense since my EGTs are plenty low in the range where I was making changes.  EGTs peaked at 707C (about 1300F) on my second run, still room for a little bit more fuel.  I'll probably add some more via the LDA as my controller can back that off if the EGTs get too high.

Anyhow, fun stuff, glad I finally sorted that out, I've been pulling my hair out trying to code around real life.

[vanbcguy]

Just over a year now since I first started her up!  First start was April 23 2014.  About 10,000 km on her now.

I've finally chased down the last of the oil leaks it appears.  My oil consumption has dropped to virtually nothing now that I'm not leaking it out the bottom.  The oil pan bolts all needed to be tightened plus both of the M10 to 1/8 NPT adapter I used for my oil temp / pressure gauges have been eliminated as they were a major source of leaks.  The valve cover gasket leaks were finally sorted using some high tack gasket adhesive.  I'm on to Rotella T6 now, seems to do the trick.  Definitely builds pressure faster after startup than it did with the Rotella T 15w40.

The gov mod REALLY woke things up; this engine pulls HARD to about 5000 RPM no problem.  I've tweaked my EGT control code a bit now too, it starts backing off pressure to the LDA above 700C gradually with pressure fully hidden from the LDA by 850C or so.  Earlier code version I had was pulling off before that; you could really feel the power output bouncing on the EGT limiter.  The GTB-series turbos are supposed to be good to about 800-850C.  As of today (when I made the last change) I can hit 800C at the end of a full power romp going through 2nd and 3rd gear - I did a pull from about 1850 RPM at WOT, shifted at about 5200 RPM and continued at WOT up to nearly 5K again before lifting.  I would probably melt things if I tried to climb a mountain at WOT but I don't see how that would happen...

The only problem with all of this is that now I'm going "but I want MORE!!!"... I'm considering looking for another head to have ported and I'm contemplating a cam plate swap on my pump (the Rover cam plate only has 2.45mm of lift, a stock TDI cam plate is closer to 3.00mm).  I think I'm going to hold off on any changes for the moment, I've got a few other things that need to be dealt with first realistically but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it!!

I AM also sort of considering looking for a B3V or B4V to drop this drivetrain in to... But that likewise will probably be waiting until at least next summer.

[theman53]

If you find a DE143 camplate for under 200 usd let me know. That is the camplate I am looking for.