Aurel`s engine rebuild thread

[Aurel]

I got a gas leak on the 3 inch hose bewteen the gas tank and the fuel pump. Probably caused by clamping the 30 year old hose when I replaced the fuel pump. No big deal to replace, but I hate that gas smell in the cabin.

Aurel

[911pcars]

It doesn't take much of a leak to make you notice - even a little wet spot will do it. However, it's fortunate it has an odor, like natural gas for your home. If it was odorless, we'd be in a world of potential hurt.

Sherwood

[Aurel]

Here is an update: slowly, the motor started to develop a pop pop noise at acceleration, and it felt like a cylinder was not working well. At 1,000 miles miles, I retorqued the heads and readjusted the valves. One of the intake valves on passenger side was very loose, and the heads nuts were not very tight everywhere. Now, the sound is gone, and the motor run great again. I feel releived !

Aurel

[efhughes3]

Why were your head nuts so loose? I've always been under the impression that when most guys go in to check head nut torque after a build, that there's been nothing to be done, for the most part.

[Mster]

Aurel,
I recently read through the entire story of your re-build, congratulations !
While it sounds like it took longer than you initially planned, can you estimate how many hours it may have taken ?
How close to your original budget did you come ?
How satisfied with the results are you now ?
I'm considering something similar with an 82 SC and would be very interested in your thoughts now that it's complete.
Thanks & Enjoy your ride !
Mster

[Aurel]

Hi Mster,

I had not added the costs yet, so here we go:

Tools $264.35
Stand $40
Gearbox work $2,567
Heads work $1,310
ATV cart $60
PP#1 $1,057
PP#2 $586
PP#3 $338.55
PP#4 $219.10
PP#5 $94
Total $6,535.80

Clearly, only the top-end work would have cost ~ $4k, but the gearbox rebuild was a big chunk.
By doing the work myself, I got both done. A pro would have charged that much for just the top-end.

As far as time, I did not keep track of it. A rough estimate would be 5h/week on average for 24 weeks ~ 120h maybe...

I am quite happy with the result, although I have a few leaks and still need to have the mixture adjusted to pass emissions.

Aurel

[Aurel]

Update: I replaced the pressure fuel line, which was leaking just after the fuel pump. What a transformation! The car starts immediately, the motor has more power and uses less gas. It looks like I will get 400 miles on the gas tank this time.
I suspect I did not have enough fuel pressure in the CIS before that. I also backdated the heat and rebuilt the pedal cluster. Replaced rear sway bar drop links; I can feel the difference in handling too. My next project is to try a cat bypass...


Aurel

[AgPete139]

Great looking motor! I'll be referring to this thread when my 2.0T...

Peter

[Aurel]

Update: I`ve added 1 quart of oil at 113,550 miles. My last oil change was at ~ 111,300, so I consumed ~1 qt/2250 miles. Not bad, eh!

[Aurel]

Update: I used the accelerometer in my ipod touch and the app dynolicious to measure my hp output during acceleration. With a weight of 2760# and a drivetrain loss of 15%, it says 202 hp .

[mca]

Sweet! Cool to see a graph of that app!

So are you getting 0-60 in 8.2 seconds or were you not going WOT?

[TibetanT]

Excellent results!

I noticed something "new" on your oil filter...what is that a magnet?

[Aurel]

Originally Posted by mca

Sweet! Cool to see a graph of that app!

So are you getting 0-60 in 8.2 seconds or were you not going WOT?

I slipped the clutch during launch in 1st gear, which cost me ~2s on the run. My best run was 0-60 in 7.58s, but the hp numbers came lower. With some practice, I hope to get in high 6s for 0-60. Need to find an empty road for that .

[Aurel]

Originally Posted by TibetanT

Excellent results!

I noticed something "new" on your oil filter...what is that a magnet?

That is a cool collar, not really needed anymore, but it cannot hurt. A magnet to catch metal particles is a good idea too...

[mca]

Originally Posted by Aurel

I slipped the clutch during launch in 1st gear, which cost me ~2s on the run. My best run was 0-60 in 7.58s, but the hp numbers came lower. With some practice, I hope to get in high 6s for 0-60. Need to find an empty road for that .

Saw your other thread too. I may have to get the iPod Touch. Really cool app!

[MassGuy]

This thread made my night!

Great job!

[gregwils]

Aurel - I was hoping for an update on your motor, not sure if you have run the car this winter yet or not. I am planning to do a top-end this fall ('09) and am also hoping to re-ring my alusils. I know that on this board re-ringing alusils is as controversial as religion and politics, so really don't want to go there.

Can you give us an update on number of miles on the rebuild, and your current compression and oil consumption? You indicated that you prepped the cylinders with scotchbrite/hone. Can you provide a little more detail on the cylinder prep/cleaning process?

I have seen a number of people indicated that they have successfully re-ringed alusils (and many unsuccessful). The common thread seems to be cleaning with scotchbrite only - no abrasive pastes, no grape or stone hones. The only thing is the threads die after the rebuild and I have seen very little longer-term assessments.

Thanks.

[Aurel]

Greg,

I now have ~4,400 miles on the rebuild. I`ve added one quart of oil since the last oil change 3,400 miles ago. The car does not smoke, I have not checked compression but it feels all right. I have driven it a bit this winter, and I will install a cat bypass this week-end.

The cylinders were prepared by cleaning with brake cleaner, then honing with scotch brite pads on a flexible hone spinning slowly for ~1minute with large up and down motions. No abrasive paste was used. Then I cleaned again with brake cleaner and installed Goetze rings. So far, so good .

[gregwils]

Aurel,

Thanks for the update. Your low oil consumption is amazing, I am around 500 miles/qt. I think you nailed the correct alusil re-ring procedure. I am still months away from my rebuild, so I hope you don't mind if I check back for a further update. Thanks again.

[carslutt]

wow nice story to read!.....