Sean's Shadow Blue GTI

[uglybastard]

I'm not sure if the bolts were e-torx or not as the socket was a bit loose on there, but it worked in getting them all off no issue. Here are the bearings from I think cylinder 2, but they all looked pretty identical, no big marks on any of them that I saw.

Here are the skirts on the pistons. Again they all looked pretty similar. The chipped skirt is from me giving it the ejecto seato out of the block onto the ground, wasn't like that in there. Not concerned about it though as i'm replacing the pistons anyways.

I got the main cap bolts out also, but couldn't get the actual caps off, anyone got any suggestions? I also gotta remove the block from the stand and take off the rear main seal before i'll be able to get the crank off though, so that's gonna a fun time. Gonna be more careful now since there are some delicate surfaces exposed.

I'm 99% sure i'm just gonna get it bored out to 83mm just to be safe. It's not too expensive and will give me some peace of mind. Coilovers are getting taken care of first though since those will most likely have the longest turn around time.

What coilovers are you going with

 

[smanierre]

What coilovers are you going with

Gonna give the YCW Aeris ones another shot and just send them to get rebuilt. Going with 7k front, 5k back (i think, the math and results is earlier on in the thread) and then getting them revalved to match the springs. I'm gonna guess I messed up the adjustment on them on install as I was constantly bottoming out hard on the bumpstops. If they fail again i'll probably end up going with pss10s or ohlins if I find a couple grand under my bed or something.

 

[smanierre]

Worked on getting the crank and balance shafts out. Got the two end main caps out, but couldn't get the middle ones out. Turns out I missed some bolts on the side of the block that hold them in. Might go back out right now and try and get those out. I did get the Block off the stand though and the rms off so once the mains come off, the crank will be out. Here are half the bearings from 1 and 5:

And here's the corresponding surfaces on the crank:

Last part will be the balance shafts. The bolts are out, but they don't want to come out easy. I may try and find a way to get them out without the tool. If that doesn't work i'll just end up buying the tool. Next task is gonna be getting rid of the OEM calipers on the rear since I don't use them for the parking brake. Will save some weight, look better, and get me some money back which is nice

 

[smanierre]

Speaking of clean interiors, I also got my bar installed last night too. Really easy install, hardest part is getting the small allen bolts in because the key kept hitting the trim. Should only take like 10 minutes though. I definitely heard some creaks as I tightened the bar up though so i'm hoping it does a good job keeping things a bit stiffer, especially without any back seats.

Here's how it connects. You have to push in the plastic with it a little bit but it's not too bad.

Other side

I also managed to get my exhaust side balance shaft out without the tool, but the intake side is still stuck in there . I missed the oil squirters before too so those are out now. One I get the intake shaft out and get the money it'll be off to a machine shop to get bored out and cleaned up.

Got around to doing the rear caliper delete yesterday also. Anyone wanna buy some MK5 R32 rear calipers? They were supposed to be for my emergency brake but I couldn't fit the pads in so they've just been on there with no pads looking bad and adding weight. Since the bolt threaded into the caliper carrier itself, I just replaced them with some nuts with locktite. Hoping it hold's or thats gonna be a bad day.

Before

After

Lastly I ordered another used master cylinder. This one is an actual RS3 one that was used so it should definitely be the right one. Even with the other one I bought i'm still at a cheaper price than buying the new one they sell for our cars. It also comes with the brake booster, i'm assuming they aren't interchangeable between the two cars right? Also would it have any benefit?

 

[smanierre]

Pulled off my rear brake calipers to get them cleaned up as they are pretty filthy. The paint is coming off a bit down near the tube which I heard was a common issue with the rotorlab ones. I'm just gonna get them as clean as I can then put them back on for now and maybe after this season i'll get them powder coated if it bothers me that much. I tried extracting the snapped exhaust stud in the head to no avail. Instead of dealing with that i'm just gonna let the shop do it when they're cleaning the rest of the head up. Hopefully i'll have all the valves out this week so it can be brought to the shop and cleaned up. Then just waiting on my rods and bearings to come in to get the block done and have all my tolerances checked.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

Hey Sean,

Out of curiosity what are the specs for the springs you've been running? I just ordered a Ground Control coilover conversion kit and I spec'ed 290lb/in x 8" long springs F/R.

Thanks,


Chris

 

[smanierre]

I think the springs are 6k front, 8k rear, honestly not sure what length they are though

 

[ChrisAttebery]

Thanks Sean.

 

[smanierre]

Got my head disassembled today. Honestly not bad at all. A tall IPA and some tunes and you're done in no time, didn't even have to swear at all. I'm gonna Clean all the valves myself while the head gets cleaned up by a local shop. Also gonna have that shop extract the stud and remove the seals and guides so they can be replaced as well. The carbon buildup was pretty significant and hopefully this is the last time I have to clean it since i'll have fuel getting sprayed into the charge pipe. Gonna take some time though to see if that is actually enough to keep the buildup at bay though. Also as I was pulling the plastic housing out of the side of the head a chunk of it separated so i'll have to replace that, just happy it didnt happen during running and get clogged somewhere.

 

[smanierre]

Removed the TOB and shifter from my trans so its now ready to go get cleaned up along with my head, hopefully dropping off tomorrow or maybe this weekend. These will serve as some good before pictures as a reference once it's done.

 

[smanierre]

Dropped off my trans, head, and valve cover at the shop today to get vapor honed. Gonna have the head pressure tested at a shop afterwards so I figured I should get the valves cleaned up. Started by soaking them in carb cleaner then used a wire wheel on a dremel to clean off the carbon. The carbon buildup on the back of the intake valves came off without any issue. It was a bit harder for the bottom of the valve that's in the cylinder, and for the exhaust valves. CLR came in really useful for softening up the hard stuff. I was able to get the intake valves totally clean, but the exhaust valves didn't want to come clean. I'll try again tomorrow or monday but if I cant i'll just see if the shop can do it for me.

 

[smanierre]

Rods finally got here today. Now to just sit on them for a bit. Ordered my new main bearings as well. Got a set of KS ones from a shop in cali. Apparently they are the OEM supplier for VW and a set was about 1/3 the price that VW charged. Gonna have the tolerances checked by the machine shop and hopefully I dont need to get any new ones. Once those get here i'll take it to get the machine work done, then it's build time.

 

[smanierre]

Got my rear calipers back on after cleaning them up and putting the crossover tubes back on since they were leaking a bit before. No issues putting them back on at all and while they arent super clean, they are a bit cleaner than they were before. I also replaced my brake master cylinder with one of the ones I got from a 2012 TT (allegedly a TTS or RS). It has 23 stamped on the bottom vs 22 that the stock one had, and it looks slightly bigger than the oem one. Whether its a 25.4mm like I wanted idk, but it looks bigger. I'll see how the pedal feels. Only modifications needed for it to fit was drilling out the reservoir hole a bit and swapping out the rubber seals from the old one to the new one.

OEM cylinder:

New Cylinder:

Size comparisons(OEM on bottom, new on top):

New one installed:

Rear brakes:

 

[smanierre]

Good day for the car. Stratified aux fuel kit showed up, got a call that my head is done getting cleaned up, going to drop off my block later to get the machining done, and i'm getting my clutch all packaged up to send out to get rebuilt hopefully tomorrow. Now I just need to call and setup my suspension rebuild and most major things sans turbo manifold will be done.

 

[smanierre]

Some pictures of the block. He said everything went smooth with the exception of the wrist pin holes on the rods being a bit small so he opened them up a bit.