We were doing mechanical work at school so I brought in the Jetta. 290 000km TD, original engine and everything.
Day one.
First off, got it on jackstands to do a thorough check up of the suspension, steering and braking system. Everything checks out A1 except for a clunky driver's side strut bearing (damn you stupid VW tool!!!) and a little bit of play in the driver's side rear wheel bearings. Nothing to worry about. I got the tires balanced and rotated while it was up and adjusted the parking brake.
Braking system will be overhauled with vented brembo discs and PBR pads this summer along with freshly rebuilt calipers and new flexible brake lines.
I got the car on the ground. I adjusted the cold start cable and fiddled with the screws on the pump. Now the second detent actually DOES something
Next up, GTD INJECTORS!!!! The ones on cylinder 1, 3 and 4 went really good. #2 was a PITA due to the LDA on the pump. When I finally got it off, guess what? A piece of the injector bowl fell off!!! OMG!!!11
I'm thinking: "ok this is bad, really bad!!!"
"It's like 1/3rd of the threads that fell off!!! It only has one complete thread left at the very bottom"
What are my options I ask.
Replace the head? "Yeah but the only spare I have is cracked at the same place and it has no cam bearings. I can't risk swapping the head only to snap the camshaft"
Weld it? "Ugh I'd have to get the head or injection pump off. It would be cheaper to get another head instead"
Take a deep breath and take a big risk? "Luck, and lots of it"
So I replace the heatshields, install the three injectors with the good threads and torque them to specs. I start threading the last one into the broken bowl, finger tight. Then with a needle torque wrench, I slowly torque it down to specs.
"OMG IT'S TORQUED DOWN!!!!"
Will it leak? "I don't know"
It's 3:20pm and classes end at 3:30pm. No time to finish the job. I get a ride home from a fellow student. The next day I walk to school and start working on the car.
Day two.
I reconnect the hard fuel lines and replace the old flexible lines. Since it's a diesel and I'm in a school garage we push the car outside to start it. I connect a battery booster to the battery so it won't drain while it cranks. I've got a school teacher checking for leaks. I put the key in, turn it to the "on" position and wait for the glow plugs. 7 seconds later I turn the key further. It cranks and it cranks and it cranks. It sputters to life. I pull the cold start cable to help it idle.
"It's NOT leaking" the teacher yells at me to cover the rattling of the engine.
"WTF" I say. I get out the car and take a look. Nope, as dry as the day it rolled out the factory. I wait 15 minutes for the engine to warm up. No leaks yet. Idling is pretty rough tho. I turn off the car and push it inside the garage to do some other stuff. I bought some Permatex Cold Weld (couldn't find JB Weld) the evening before. I glue the broken piece back on without removing the injector. It won't do much holding but it'll prevent any leaking, I hope.
When I drove the car home I realised it was running on three cylinders below 3000rpm yet idle sounded normal. Anything above was ok. It had trouble pulling off from a stop in first gear. Checked for any leaks when I got home. Still dry.
Day Three.
The next day I had the car in the garage again to bleed the injectors. Turns out #3 isn't doing it's job. Ugh. Bleeding isn't helping either. I decide to drive it a few days and see if it'll bleed itself. Meanwhile I had brought my spare K24 turbo and Jake's rebuild kit. Tore appart the turbo and rebuilt it during the day. Everything is cleaned, oiled and working fine except for a stuck wastegate, ugh. It'll soak in penetrating oil for a few days.
Classes are over, I decide to take the car for a highway run, 130kph for 15 minutes. Turns out this high speed run bled the faulty injector. It now pulls from a stop without hesitation. There's also no leaking going on from the glued on broken injector bowl piece.
The benefits from the GTD injectors are minimal performance wise. They pull a bit more and the engine also seems to idle smoother. I'll see if I get better MPG with these in a few weeks.
Today was my last day of school this week because exams are on thursday, friday, monday and tuesday. Short week but plenty of stress. Huge learning experience for me.
Time will tell if it'll hold. Next summer I'll be replacing the head with a good one, P&Ped and maybe it'll be a 1.9 head if I find one on the cheap. Metal headgasket, new TB and tensionner, rebuild K24, boost controller, tweaked fueling, turbo timer and some other goodies. Can't wait for next summer!!!
Yeah big ass post for not a whole lot
I wanted to share this with you guys, tell me what you think.
Topic: This week is over for me, at last... (Read 1981 times)
