My very own update thread - AZ edition (picture heavy)

[BaseDrifter]

Job well done!

What did you use to clean the CV grease from the wheels and to clean the spindle and so on?

Thanks, I just used Simple Green. Worked well enough.

Great work bro now it's finished grab your favorite brew and enjoy the sweet smell of VICTORY!!!!

I may have to go get myself a Staropramen tonight. I miss my Czech beers! My reward is getting my car back in the garage to hopefully fix my boost leak. :P

[BaseDrifter]

Can't have too many successes in one day it seems. Replacing my cracked intercooler did not fix my lack of boost. It didn't even increase my boost at all, I'm still getting 12psi instead of at least 16. How can you fix a big boost leak from a cracked intercooler and not see a single PSI increase in boost? Boggles my mind…

In the morning I'll do another boost leak test with the new intercooler in place.

[kraylon]

Maybe your in limp mode??
Just a thought

[BaseDrifter]

Maybe your in limp mode??
Just a thought

It's a thought, but limp mode wouldn't have me seeing 12psi. I've been in limp before and was getting 5psi (WG spring boost level.) I might try swapping out the N75 again.

Not necessarily related, but my heart skips a beat every time I turn the motor off. It makes quite a racket and I can feel a couple big jolts go through the clutch pedal (clutch depressed, in 1st gear) as the engine stops spinning. I have no idea why that would be, but I also don't think that is a problem that will be easily solved, it sounds like something internal. My dad's 1.8T definitely does not make that noise as it shuts down. Really hoping it's something with the clutch or flywheel and not something more serious. Any thoughts?

[kraylon]

When my car goes into limp mode I would see 8-10 psi
Which would baffle me how It could even go into limp mode since the waste gate wasn't controlled by the n75 and my dv isn't controlled by the computer, a mystery for sure.

Your other issue doesn't sound good but I don't have any answers for it

[bhusted]

It's a thought, but limp mode wouldn't have me seeing 12psi. I've been in limp before and was getting 5psi (WG spring boost level.) I might try swapping out the N75 again.

Not necessarily related, but my heart skips a beat every time I turn the motor off. It makes quite a racket and I can feel a couple big jolts go through the clutch pedal (clutch depressed, in 1st gear) as the engine stops spinning. I have no idea why that would be, but I also don't think that is a problem that will be easily solved, it sounds like something internal. My dad's 1.8T definitely does not make that noise as it shuts down. Really hoping it's something with the clutch or flywheel and not something more serious. Any thoughts?

Does the 1.8 use a dual mass flywheel like the 2.8 does? I wonder if one of the springs in the flywheel is broken.

[MetalMan]

When my car goes into limp mode I would see 8-10 psi
Which would baffle me how It could even go into limp mode since the waste gate wasn't controlled by the n75 and my dv isn't controlled by the computer, a mystery for sure.

Your other issue doesn't sound good but I don't have any answers for it

8psi is about wastegate pressure for FT.
On DBW I believe the ECU can control throttle to limit boost based on readings from the MAP sensor.

[BaseDrifter]

Does the 1.8 use a dual mass flywheel like the 2.8 does? I wonder if one of the springs in the flywheel is broken.

Yeah it does, that seems like it could be a possibility. Would love to get a 240mm 19lb steel flywheel and FX300 clutch..

[B5A4coastie]

This thread made me go out and clean my engine bay up. I'll be looking into the covers and fuild containers as well. Thanks for the motivation and the weekend project.

[nynoah]

For piece of mind, I would check your timing marks.

[BaseDrifter]

I did a TB service back in July of 2013, I re-checked my timing in December when I had the car in service position again to replace the turbo and fix some seals. The timing mark on the crank pulley did not line up exactly, but the physical timing did. I pulled plug #1 and set TDC using a dowel on the piston face, then confirmed the cam marks lined up and had 16 links across the chain.

Here's the crank pulley not lined up with the piston at TDC.



Cam markings all lined up.

[nynoah]

I would call that off one tooth. Check it again. Check lower marks with cam pulley and valve cover notch.

[BaseDrifter]

I would call that off one tooth. Check it again. Check lower marks with cam pulley and valve cover notch.

It was my understanding that the crank pulley mark was not terribly accurate to begin with. That's why I made sure to verify actual TDC by making sure the #1 piston was at the top of it's stroke and then checking the cam marks.

I'll see what the next boost leak test turns up first, if I don't find another leak I'll look into doing a compression test and checking the timing again.

[nynoah]

To me, right now, it sounds like your valves are kissing your pistons in the video.

[BaseDrifter]

To me, right now, it sounds like your valves are kissing your pistons in the video.

Well that would be no good. I may pull the plugs today and inspect the pistons for any marks then.

[BaseDrifter]

I used a spray bottle with soapy water this time and found a couple leaks. Two at the fuel injector bungs (I didn't use a sealant between the bungs and manifold when I replaced them), one at the turbo outlet and one at the inlet (which isn't normally under boost.) The leaks at the turbo outlet and inlet are coming from between the edge of the hose and the pipe, not from a hole or something like that. All very small though, I highly doubt they could be causing a loss of 5psi. I'll pop the hoses off, clean them, and give them a good tightening. May also go rent a compression checker today for the hell of it.

[BaseDrifter]

Picked up some Permatex high temp thread sealant for the injector bungs and borrowed a compression tester from the parts store. I'll report back with my compression findings.



Here are a few pictures from swapping the SMIC last night.



Old, cracked intercooler out.



Replaced the lower mounting grommet with one I pulled from the junkyard.



Installed.

[BaseDrifter]

Here are the results from the compression test. The test was done with the motor hot.

Cylinder #2's compression was quite a bit lower than the others and does not fall within the 10% threshold. It is 13.7% lower than #3. I don't know if this is something to be concerned about or if it just is what it is.

Test #1

Cylinder 1: 161
Cylinder 2: 145
Cylinder 3: 168
Cylinder 4: 157

Maximum difference = 1- (145/168) = 13.7%

Test #2

Cylinder 1: 161
Cylinder 2: 149
Cylinder 3: 168
Cylinder 4: 161

Maximum difference = 1- (149/168) = 11.3%

And a picture of my plugs (NGK BKR7E.)

[MrSnickelsnizer]

I actually just had to pull the timing belt for a head gasket and that timing mark on the crank pulley was off exactly as much as yours is. I could not figure out why and verified top dead center exactly as you did and opted to just go for it and it runs perfect. I am tempted to just cut a new notch because the other mark is just wrong :/ You did line up the exhaust cam mark with valve cover mark to get the crank pulley to sit where it is though right? And make sure you tighten that adapter to your gauge way tight, unless you want it to unscrew and leave the adapter piece in your spark plug hole.. Ask me I know.

[bhusted]

A leak down test will tell you more about where your issue is if you believe that there is an issue with one of the cylinders. With each piston at TDC, compressed air is fed in through the spark plug hole and the guage tells you how much air is needed to make up the difference. The other benefit is you can listen in the intake, crank case and exhaust to find where your leak is.

[Nzila8]

F*** you guys contributing & are so talented.. feel like a retard smh.. Enjoying all the technicality in this thread.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[BaseDrifter]

I actually just had to pull the timing belt for a head gasket and that timing mark on the crank pulley was off exactly as much as yours is. I could not figure out why and verified top dead center exactly as you did and opted to just go for it and it runs perfect. I am tempted to just cut a new notch because the other mark is just wrong :/ You did line up the exhaust cam mark with valve cover mark to get the crank pulley to sit where it is though right? And make sure you tighten that adapter to your gauge way tight, unless you want it to unscrew and leave the adapter piece in your spark plug hole.. Ask me I know.

Glad to know yours was lined up the same. Sure did, cam marks lined up perfect, piston 1 at physical TDC, cam marks line up to the caps, 16 links between the cams. I made sure to rotate the engine by hand when I set the timing and didn't hear anything. The car drives the same if not better when off boost, just missing a few PSI. Still doesn't mean I shouldn't triple check the timing at some point, I just doubt the timing is actually off.

A leak down test will tell you more about where your issue is if you believe that there is an issue with one of the cylinders. With each piston at TDC, compressed air is fed in through the spark plug hole and the guage tells you how much air is needed to make up the difference. The other benefit is you can listen in the intake, crank case and exhaust to find where your leak is.

Yep, I may end up doing that. Hopefully I can rent one from O'Reillys. I didn't think the compression test would result in anything really surprising. I had been wanting to do a compression test for awhile just to get a baseline. The last time I had to do a compression check it was on my RX7's blown motor. What's the significance of keeping the compression within 10% of each other? Could it throw the engine off balance?

F*** you guys contributing & are so talented.. feel like a retard smh.. Enjoying all the technicality in this thread.

Thanks man, it's all a learning experience for me as well. I've been able to do what I have by reading and learning, then trying it out! Best way to learn IMO.

Here's a couple pictures from earlier tonight when I removed and sealed up the injector seats.



Last time I replaced them I ground down a large allen key to ~17mm. Works well enough to get the seats in and out.



Bleh, blow-by already. This was all spotless a few months ago. Hopefully the sealant works.

[Tanzimur]

Is that normal wear for the plugs???

[kraylon]

They look normal to me, I wish my bkr7e plugs looked like that when I removed them, I'm getting tired of trying to figure out which my car likes better the bkr6e or the bkr7e plugs, so I'm back to the bosch f6dtc plugs which have never done me wrong, I just can't find them locally.

[Tanzimur]

They look normal to me, I wish my bkr7e plugs looked like that when I removed them, I'm getting tired of trying to figure out which my car likes better the bkr6e or the bkr7e plugs, so I'm back to the bosch f6dtc plugs which have never done me wrong, I just can't find them locally.

Alrite cool cause after 500 miles on fresh 7e plugs mine looked like that and i thought i was running lean lol

[kraylon]

check this for spark plug info

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/tech_su...d.asp?mode=nml
when i run BKR7E plugs they always look like the second pic, the BKR6E plugs look about the same but not as brown, the Bosch F6DTC plugs always look like the first pic but I can never find them locally so I have been looking for a "in a pinch" alternative

[BaseDrifter]

Yeah I'm not worried about the plugs, their wear appears to be normal.

Well, at least my injector seats don't leak anymore. A little thread sealant did the trick. I haven't found any other boost leaks for the time being so I'm still on the hunt for the cause of my problem (one of many that is.) Gonna try swapping N75s next and see if there's any change in boost. The local auto parts store doesn't have a leak down tester anymore, so I'll have to call around for that.

Last night I started respraying the interior grab handles. I had plasti dipped them before, but dip doesn't work so well in contact areas like the handles, just started peeling off. I'm respraying them with a satin black paint.

[kraylon]

Are you painting those while still on the car??

[BaseDrifter]

Are you painting those while still on the car??

Haha, that would be quite a feat. No, I'm removing them before painting.

[kraylon]

I was going to say you have some good taping skills

[BaseDrifter]

I do a little maintenance to my dad's car and now he's got the bug! Looks like we'll be ordering some parts to rehab his brake system. New reservoir, new brake lines, bushings, and fluid. He also wants to get the car chipped, which means he'll be getting a boost gauge and 710N DV, but we'll do the brakes first. He's got a boost leak from his suction pump, so that will be replaced soon as well.

Unfortunately, the new aftermarket axles have resulted in a vibration when the car is stopped while in gear (pretty much to be expected from solid axles.) He said it doesn't bother him, but I don't like it. It's fine for the time being, but I'll probably end up rebuilding his OEM axles and selling the aftermarket ones at some point. Not on the short list of things to do though.

Back to my car…I swapped N75s with no improvement in boost. Still only getting ~13-14psi with some fluctuation from 10-14 (it will initially spike to 13, drop to 10, then back to 14.) I have a "race" N75 I could try, but that doesn't seem to be the source of my problem. The fluctuation in boost is rather new, previously it was pretty constant around 12psi. I have now replaced the turbo, swapped N75s, replaced a cracked intercooler, sealed my injector seats, and checked all the vacuum lines for cracks. Next thing I'll try is disconnecting the vac line to the waste gate and see if I can get 5psi from the WG spring. Running out of ideas here. Guess I can try yet another boost leak test, but I do not think I have any large leaks left.

Boost boost where did you go? I miss you.

[JJ.]

Love all the work you put into your car, really spot on!

When I didn't have any boost my problem was that the cables to the N75 were broken of the connector. Doesn't sound like your problem, but maybe it's worth checking?

[BaseDrifter]

Love all the work you put into your car, really spot on!

When I didn't have any boost my problem was that the cables to the N75 were broken of the connector. Doesn't sound like your problem, but maybe it's worth checking?

Thanks man, anything is worth checking at this point, though I would expect a problem with the N75 wiring to result in a code. Gonna try disconnecting the WG vac line today, then the line off the compressor housing (being careful not to over boost, if possible.)

[BaseDrifter]

Boost! Oh glorious boost! I saw 20psi today for the first time in two years. Though I'm a little confused on why…

I disconnected the vac line going to the waste gate from the N75. I was under the impression that by removing that vacuum line, the turbo would only boost to the waste gate spring pressure (5psi.) I thought that if you left the vac line to the WG connected, and disconnected the line from the compressor housing going to the N75 that that would allow the turbo to "boost freely." My understanding was that the N75 controls boost by monitoring the boost output and keeping the WG closed with vacuum from the TIP until the desired level is reached as dictated by the tune, at which point it would open the WG. So wouldn't disconnecting the vac line from the compressor cause the N75 to not know the boost output and keep the WG closed? How am I seeing 20psi with the WG vac line disconnected?

And more importantly, what does this mean for actually fixing my problem?

Edited to add: When I did this same test on my old turbo, disconnecting the WG vac line, I would only get 2psi of boost. 3psi less than the WG is rated for, that was the reason I decided to replace the turbo in the first place. So I'm a little confused by these results, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

[MetalMan]

Did you try connecting a line between the compressor and WG? This should net you WG pressure (5psi as you know with K03).

[BaseDrifter]

Nope, didn't even think of that. Will the WG only open if it is receiving boost? I assumed that the internal spring would work and open the WG based on pressure from the exhaust. Now that I think about it though, what you're saying makes more sense.

Edit: It makes a lot more sense. I should've known that the WG opens by boost and not vacuum. When I had the turbo on the bench I tested the WG by blowing compressed air into it. Vacuum would be doing the opposite. So the N75 regulates the boost by preventing it from going to the WG, not vacuum from the TIP. I assume the vacuum from the TIP is used to keep the N75 closed until the ECU tells it to open and allow boost to open the WG.

[BaseDrifter]

When I didn't have any boost my problem was that the cables to the N75 were broken of the connector. Doesn't sound like your problem, but maybe it's worth checking?

I'm gonna have to say that you may be correct. The last test showed that the hardware is working. I have now tried 3 different N75s, all with the same result, ~12psi. I was examining the harness and where it splits out into the N75, MAF, and ICM connections the N75 harness is kinked pretty bad. It's gotta be the harness. Time to start perusing my Bentley to trace the wiring diagram and do some testing. If that is the problem I can splice in a new harness with one from the Pick n Pull.

[MetalMan]

Nope, didn't even think of that. Will the WG only open if it is receiving boost? I assumed that the internal spring would work and open the WG based on pressure from the exhaust. Now that I think about it though, what you're saying makes more sense.

Edit: It makes a lot more sense. I should've known that the WG opens by boost and not vacuum. When I had the turbo on the bench I tested the WG by blowing compressed air into it. Vacuum would be doing the opposite. So the N75 regulates the boost by preventing it from going to the WG, not vacuum from the TIP. I assume the vacuum from the TIP is used to keep the N75 closed until the ECU tells it to open and allow boost to open the WG.

The N75 uses boost pressure from the compressor housing to open the WG. Its connection to the TIP allows it to bleed off boost from the compressor (without affecting MAF readings), so it only allows a certain amount of boost into the WG.

[BaseDrifter]

Thanks for the clarification MetalMan.

Did a bunch of diagnosing today. Not happy with the results, or lack thereof. I found this article on diagnosing N75s and started working off of it.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/7971/n75.pdf

I measured the resistance of all three of my N75s and they all checked out. Spec is 25-35 ohms, I was getting 27-29. I then physically checked them by blowing into the side and top ports to check for leakage out the long bottom port, no leaking. Next I connected a test light to pin 1 on the N75 and grounded it to the engine. I disconnected the fuel injector harness and cranked the motor, the LED lit solid as it should per that article. The article states to check continuity between pin 1 and fuse 29 if you do NOT get a solid light, I decided to check this anyways and the wire does have continuity.

After that I connected the test light to both pins on the N75, did an output test, and got a flashing LED. If the LED did not flash, you're supposed to check the wire between pin 2 and the ECU. I checked this anyways and the wire has continuity. I then connected an N75 to the plug and did the output test again and could hear the valve clicking (I didn't expect a different result since this is what the test light is simulating.)

The article states that if everything checks out, to replace the ECU, that's not happening right now. This problem has held constant with many different ECUs (557P, 557N, 558M), and with an APR tune as well as a custom tune.

In desperation I decided to make a slit in the wiring loom and examine the N75's wires where they were kinked and saw no physical damage to them.

So to recap: with the WG vac line disconnected I saw 20psi, with a vac line from the compressor housing directly to the WG I got 4psi, with all the vac lines connected but the electrical plug disconnected I got 3psi. All the electrical tests came out as they should.

I read through this whole thread from the B6 forums (with lots of great input by our very own Walky), and his problem was mostly fixed by adjusting the WG actuator. Before I put this turbo in I made sure that the the WG sealed tight and operated properly, but did not adjust the preload.

[BaseDrifter]

Bump. Anyone have an idea for what to check next?

The hardware seems to check out based on getting 20psi with the WG vac disconnected. So it seems like my issue is still electronic, though I don't know what else to check. Maybe the next step is to try a manual boost controller? I was hoping to avoid running one, never liked the idea of them (seems like a half ass fix that won't address the actual problem.)