mini project: 80 "GLI" by 2mAn

10 minute(s) of a 152 minute read

well apparantly my rear main is also leaking (though i just replaced that along with every other gasket, seal, etc but yea its leaking tranny fluid from the flange.

this was the puddles under my car the first night home

kinda hard to tell but theres two. the smaller one on the left is the rear main , the bigger one was from the trans

2/24/10

you can see the oil stains from the car on the driveway

heres the pic of the starter

and the two grounds, the body and the engine

WTF should i do?

2/27/10

im happy to report no issues since charging the battery!

i did talk to the shop owner last night and he originally told me that TT was out of stock of the downpipes, but after checking with them last night apparantly they were NOT out of stock, so the downpipe should be here tuesday. 

im also happy to report that i got pulled over today for my "defective exhaust" by the local PD, but after making him laugh about how much money ive spent on the car he let me off with a warning saying i had already paid enough 

i have been taking it higher into the rev counter and boy let me tell ya, i am excited to get the exhaust on and really get moving.

just to update with another pic, here how my engine bay looks now.

if someone could show me how to make a gif, i think i have enough pics from the deconstruction of the engine bay and the building of the new motor to make it a nice lil gif showing the process of the last 3 months from a tired 1.6 8v to a happy 1.8 16v

3/14/10

drove to tacoma and back today (~50 miles each way). ben (pocketrocket84gti) is leaving for the navy in may and i had told him that once my car is done i will be making sure his car gets done too so i drove him down to help him install his carbs, header and work on the fuel pump setup. if you guys havent seen his car, its ****ing badass. that being said, this is my cars thread so it made it without any issues, but i really need to fix the problems. the leaky main seal is becoming a big issue. my clutch slipped a little today 

i also ripped the valve cover and intake manifold off and re-torqued the ARP head bolts and maybe half of them needed an 1/8 turn. hopefully that will kill the white smoke ive seen out the exhaust. 

500 miles and counting, still got issues to iron out. 

pics soon

3/21/10

just about 900 miles so far and since the clutch is starting to slip, i think its time for some burnout pics 

edit: wanted to take the car out to take some new pics, but it was ugly and raining so i just clicked a few in the garage. i mentioned the new sticker i had made

3/28/10

well today was another classic day in the life of my project. went over to my buddies shop and used his lift to pull the trans, swap the main seal and put in a new clutch. everything seemed to go fine until i went to start the car and heard a gawd awful sound 

good news: leak is fixed

bad news: have to pull the trans again to see what the F i did wrong, i can only think that the flywheel didnt set properly, i was meticulous about everything so i was both frustrated and annoyed

ill be heading back to the shop tomorrow (weather permitting) and this time i get to pull the trans without the help of airtools and a lift 

3/31/10

laundry list of stuff complete, no more leaks, no horrible sound from the transmission, but car isnt starting! 

i had everything set to TDC before i ripped it all apart, its turning over just fine and it sounds like it wants to start, but isnt. ill try some more tomorrow, im beat. worked on it for about 7 hours straight. old headgasket didnt look bad, but a few of the ARP studs were showing threads at the bottom so i tightened those suckers down... back to work in a few hours, i need some rest

also a big THANK YOU to ben (pocketrocket84gti) for lending a hand to help me get the transmission in

4/6/10

i had tried several times with my roommate to get it timed and to fire up but we arent having any luck.

we have been setting the timing by lining up the bottom end according to the marks on the flywheel, then setting the cam to TDC by lining up the dimple on the pulley to the arrow on the valve cover. it still sounds like it wants to start but isnt. 

this is the pic ive been using for reference, but my flywheel doesnt really have a clear dimple, it has the triangle/ half diamond mark though

4/7/10

pulled #4 cyl spark plug and TDC actually was in the correct spot. went and added 2 more gallons just to make sure it wasnt something that stupid, but it wasnt. still not sure what to do next.

things i noticed/ found:

-spark plug smelled like gasoline so im sure the injectors are spraying, they should the car was running fine before i ripped it apart. shouldve just waited til the car was undriveable 

-found a small vacuum leak and fixed that, was very easy, the brake booster hose was a little loose.

-i need to get some spacers for my wheels, it will look so much sweeter sitting in the garage im thinking ~15mm

-my ipod! thought i had lost it

thats all, im pissed & my confidence is nowhere to be found. just when i think i can do work on my own car, 

i get a split forehead and a car dead in the garage even though everything seems to be legit

4/8/10

... to prove im not completely stubborn...

im starting back from square one, but this time im not using any marks, im going to use facts and my eyeballs

SO:

first im going to set piston #1 to TDC using the "remove the spark plug and set TDC" method for the bottom end

second im going to set the camshafts to TDC by turning the cams until the rotor is right at 10 o clock, ie right where the spark plug wire for cyl #1 is

third will be getting the timing belt back on, making sure its properly tensioned, turn the bottom end (by hand) one full rotation and see if everything is the same place it was 

im also going to pull each fuel injector and pump the plunger until i see fuel coming out of all the injectors

anything else i should do? i know the spark plug wires are firing so i cant think of anything else to do

and ladies and gentlemen.... IT RUNS!

after chatting with mr chromosexual and all the advice you guys gave me, i decided to start over and i figured out the problem

techtonics tuning is to blame!

we had been using the adjustable cam gears timing marks and it was way off. took the hall sender off and with everything lined up to TDC using the marks on the flywheel and the cam sprocket everything looked legit, except the rotor was way off. so i set the bottom end to TDC, set the cams to TDC and the sprocket was way off, but everything else looked legit and surprise surprise i found another little mark that lined up with the arrow on the valve cover. put it all back together and she fired up on the first try

4/17/10

im getting a lot more smoke out the tailpipe that i like. i think that whore of a head needs the valve stem seals changed... more work, but im not too concerned. i have the parts, just need the tools and time

4/22/10

well, tomorrow im going to back to where the car died on me on monday. i thought maybe the fuel filter got clogged so i changed that yesterday and shes just turning over and not firing. thought maybe the fuel pump took a crap, but i hear it turning on when i flip the switch. i talked to ricky and he mentioned something about the fuel return lines getting clogged. i dunno if thats whats wrong with mine, but at this point i wouldnt rule it out..

on a happy note, im getting another 80 coupe that is getting a turbo diesel and will be the daily so i wont have to drive this gas guzzling POS everyday

4/25/10

in other news i got a pic of that bootay for ya paul... whats that in the backround though? hmmm....

heres the other angle

4/26/10

well in a neverending effort to make this car reliable, i just ordered a rebuilt bosch distributor. while i was at it i also ordered a new set of ball joints. i love GAP, they matched mjm's price on the ball joints and they had the better price on the distributor. shipping also cost the same going 3 day priority usps as it was going 5 day ups ground, so ill have my parts before the end of the week....

if only my distributor hadnt gone out i wouldve ordered the ball joint extenders, but now thats going to have to wait til friday the earliest.

5/1/10

funny going back to page one of this thread and seeing how it all started especially since the JH on page 1 is going to get rebuilt for my other coupe and this one is getting another change here soon... 

i did order a FOHA rear spoiler and ive got a lead on a nice black trunk lid, MINT jetta GLi badge, some more taillights, and the FOHA. plan is to spray the trunklid the factory color and replace my current trunklid. if you get a chance to see my car in person before i change the trunklid make sure you autograph it before it comes off. 

heres a lil tease of how bad it is and whats been done to it

rubys big booty is going to look a lot sexier soon