The 19 Hour AWM Engine Build

[GetBoosted84]

Got the engine built at 4am on Sunday morning. Everything started right up with the exception of two connectors that we forgot to plug in but after plugging them in the car has been running like a champ.

So far I have only received one CEL for my SAI system which I get every few months so I just cleared it out and all is well again.

Had a minor scare today when the car stalled out on the the road but it ended up being a loose intercooler pipe blowing off.

So far I have put over 50 miles on the build and it is working great. The southbend stage 5 clutch feels so much better than the stocker and I'm not sure if it's just me or not but the car feels stronger than it did before the re-build even just after 50 miles.

Can't wait to get all the bungs and piping welded up so I can swap out the turbo and get this show on the road.

P.S. - The chatter from a LWFW is definitely not bad for anyone on the fence about getting one. This is my daily driver and I am very surprised how quiet the chatter is.

Anyway here are some photos for everyone:

The parts:


My car with the Poopster starting the surgery on my car:


The engine:


My naked front end:


Just the block:


Another shot showing all the carbon keeping compression on the two outside cylinders:


My stock clutch:


Still tons of material left on it:


The head & turbo:


The block w/out pistons:


The cylinder walls:


The old hardware:


A close up showing the carbon loving pistons:


The stock piston all cleaned up:


The engine back into the car sometime in the wee morning hours of sunday:

[GetBoosted84]

Many thanks to Poopie and Bassed for all their help with this. I would still be screwing around with the piston wristpins by now if it wasn't for those guys.

[Nebone]

Finally some love for the AWM.

[Poopie]

nice pics man. i didn't even notice you taking all of them. i like my white jump suit. i have to steal a couple more from work tomorrow. that one is trash...hahah i had duct tape holding it together.

[AudiA4_20T]

did you guys hone and re-ring or no? and what was the reason for pulling the whole block out?

[Poopie]

re cross hatched and reringed. all new seals and bearings. the motor was a bit low on compression and wanting to make sure the gt28rs had a healthy home.

[GetBoosted84]

nice pics man. i didn't even notice you taking all of them. i like my white jump suit. i have to steal a couple more from work tomorrow. that one is trash...hahah i had duct tape holding it together.

The duct tape gives it character

did you guys hone and re-ring or no? and what was the reason for pulling the whole block out?

Pulling/Putting in the clutch/flywheel is also a 15 minute job with the engine out versus doing it while the engine is in the car which takes forever.

[Mawhitey]

i like your style !!

[theskuh]

What did you use to re-cross hatch? Ball hone?

[bassed]

What did you use to re-cross hatch? Ball hone?

It's a drill attachment you can get at Harbor Freight, my new favorite store.

[GetBoosted84]

lol, Aaron got you hooked. I love that place too. I always spend way too much when I'm there though.

[Don Supreme]

Good work guys. Have you tested the compression after the build?

What was the compression before?

[GetBoosted84]

I just completed the first 50 mile run. I'm going to check the compression after I put another 100 miles on it just to make sure all is well.

My compression before was:
Cylinder 1 = 168
Cylinder 2 = 145
Cylinder 3 = 150
Cylinder 4 = 165

[94jedi]

damn, you guys are bad ass to do that in a weekend. My hat's off to the three of you!

[pipe7284]

X2

[dougyfresh]

re cross hatched and reringed. all new seals and bearings. the motor was a bit low on compression and wanting to make sure the gt28rs had a healthy home.

I like your style.

Pulling/Putting in the clutch/flywheel is also a 15 minute job with the engine out versus doing it while the engine is in the car which takes forever.

SO much easier. That is why I pulled my trans out with my engine when I swapped my engine.


How's compression look at 50miles? I presume you properly broke the rings in. Good deal! Glad to see another successful build/rebuild.

[Nebone]

How many original miles on the motor before the rebuild? Did it feels strong with the lower cyl 2 compression?

[GetBoosted84]

How's compression look at 50miles? I presume you properly broke the rings in. Good deal! Glad to see another successful build/rebuild.

I'm not sure, I'll have to check tonight or tomorrow to see where it's at to see if it gets any better after another 100 miles of break-in.

How many original miles on the motor before the rebuild? Did it feels strong with the lower cyl 2 compression?

Just hit 92k miles. It actually felt pretty strong although I could notice a slight drop in performance from when I first started boosting at 23 psi.

[dougyfresh]

I'm not sure, I'll have to check tonight or tomorrow to see where it's at to see if it gets any better after another 100 miles of break-in.

That was one of the things I did when changing the oil while breaking in my motor. I have four sets of compression results for the first 2500miles. Had perfect compression 30miles in. Told me I broke the rings in properly. Never lost any oil after 30miles. I lost some within the first 5miles but that was expected.

[GetBoosted84]

I definitely need to check it tonight now. I'm excited to see my compression be where it should be so I can slap a new turbo on there and get some real power out of this engine.

[Nebone]

Where did you buy the rebuild parts from? Can you post specs on which rods, bearings and piston rings you used?

[GetBoosted84]

Where did you buy the rebuild parts from? Can you post specs on which rods, bearings and piston rings you used?

Parts Required to Build a AWM Engine:

Engine:
* 1 x Head Bolt Set $19.95 - From PureMS (Link)
* 4 x Piston Ring Sets $35.95 - From PureMS (Link)
* 1 x Rod Bearing Set $43.95 - From PureMS (Link)

Gaskets:
* 1 x Head Gasket Set $94.95 - From PureMS (Link)
* 1 x Oil drain line gasket $2.79 - From PureMS (Link)

If you are building your engine you may want to also pick up a timing belt kit while you are in there. I opted not to since my timing belt is about 8-10k miles old.

[Nebone]

Are the rods 144x20mm or 144x19mm?

[GetBoosted84]

Are the rods 144x20mm or 144x19mm?

19mm. AWM engines got screwed over with the smaller wristpin. You could always get a set of AEB pistons and go for the 20mm wristpin rods too but I decided not to for the power goals I am going for.

[Nebone]

Yea, so I've heard but the pistons are really expensive to replace. So the correct rods 144x19 mm are $379.99

[Nebone]

This is coincidence but your build is precicely what I had in mind for a while now. I might not rush into a stage 5 but definitely stage 4 w/ 15 lb flywheel. Must feel like a brand new car now.

[GetBoosted84]

Great minds think alike :-)

[dougyfresh]

19mm. AWM engines got screwed over with the smaller wristpin. You could always get a set of AEB pistons and go for the 20mm wristpin rods too but I decided not to for the power goals I am going for.

Just like the B6 AMBs.

Great minds think alike :-)

You have no idea. The car feels SOOO much better. Even though I am still breaking it in and not in boost I am enjoying every minute of it. I would highly recommend the stage 5. It's definitely streetable. This is my daily driver and I am loving it.

My 2.0 feels so much smoother running than my old and tired 1.8. Glad to see you are happy.

[Nebone]

This way we'll never know how many miles our motors can originally do. Who wants to see that tho.

[Don Supreme]

Those purems prices are great.

[GetBoosted84]

Yeah, they were the cheapest place I found for everything I needed. And integrated engineering wouldn't price match PureMS so they lost out on a bigger sale.

[Nebone]

Check out this price on piston rings. MJM

They also sell the ARP head bolts w/ tool for $150.

Did your rods come with ARP rod bolts and nuts?

[mike-2ptzero]

Check out this price on piston rings. MJM

They also sell the ARP head bolts w/ tool for $150.

Did your rods come with ARP rod bolts and nuts?

Why spend $150 on upgraded head bolts when stock head bolts at $19.95 works just fine even while making 500+whp. So unless your looking at pushing 30+psi and making 600+whp it just really isn't something that needs to be upgraded.

[O2VW1.8T]

Why spend $150 on upgraded head bolts when stock head bolts at $19.95 works just fine even while making 500+whp. So unless your looking at pushing 30+psi and making 600+whp it just really isn't something that needs to be upgraded.

you mike, frankie on vortex is running the stock head bolts over 30psi and 707whp

[317ssayzarc]

you mike, frankie on vortex is running the stock head bolts over 30psi and 707whp

heard autoextreme lifted one though...

[GetBoosted84]

[QUOTE=nebone22;2784725]Check out this price on piston rings. MJM

Good find on the rings... thats cheap! Too bad they are out of stock.

[Nebone]

Putting any miles on it?

[onemoremile]

heard autoextreme lifted one though...

Did Marc's engine get messed up or anything? Was this on the drag car?

[GetBoosted84]

Putting any miles on it?

I just completed the 100 mile run (did 40.2 before this). I am going to change out the oil, check the compression and do another 500 and see how it goes. Engine is feeling great but I keep getting a SAI code. I need to double check the hoses for that silly thing.

[Militant-Grunt]

Very nice build up thread. How does the stage 5 feel? Is it okay for everyday driving?