Stan's Epic Golf Build: 1.6se becomes 1.8T

[Stan]

Dylan, the mechanicals arent too hard, it's getting all the wiring and computer sorted that is the biggest hassel.
I've mostly finished this, just catching up with the thread.
The car cranks but wont fire. Low voltage at the fuel pump is one issue, and I'll change the relay, but suspect that isnt it.

Engine and loom are from a 1999 car and the Golf is a 2000 - guess what - a changeover year....

I've changed engines in a Toyota Corona (mine), rebuilt a Datsun 260z motor (mine), Ford Escort (mine) and helped with a Merc Fintail (which was actually the easiest.)

i also have an Austin Healey Sprite ('60 Bugeye) the was a ground up rebuild over several years - It's now my daily car whilst the Golf is out of action.

[Stan]

Empty the radiator, unplug everything (and label it with tape), undo any hoses etc that attach to the body - heater hoses etc.
Remove the scuttle cover etc to get at the ECU -Unplug the cables from the ECU
Wiper mechanism is held by 3 bolts and the lot pulls out in one piece, motor and all (love those Germans) - undo the wire clip to the wiper motor. Then you can get to the fuse box wire junction and take off the lid and unplug the 3 plugs there:





While you are at it the plenum chamber will be full of leaves, dirt and crap - get it all out and clean it up, unplug the drain holes etc. Also the time to replace the pollen filter, it lives under here too on the passenger side

Unplug and label any other wiring that enters the car or attaches to the body
Undo the throttle cable at the firewall
Disconnect the steering column from inside the footwell - remove the footrest, and plastic shield and undo the 13mm bolt - easy



Undo the 30mm hub nut and slide off the whole hub and brake assembly, unplug the wear sensor and the ABS sensor cable.
Leave the front suspension hanging by the strut towers, but remove it from the axle spline - gentle tapping from behind should get you there
Undo the o2 sensor cable - juction is in the black plastic box under the floor at about the driver's seat
Undo the connection between the down pipe and the rest of the exhaust.



At this point I made a wheeled frame for the engine to by lowered onto - just 4 pieces of stout timber with a swivvel wheel on each corner - I used long screws so the screws held the wheels and the timber together.

The engine is now supprted with the chain hoist to take the weight for when the subframe bolts are undone and then the whole lot lowered onto the frame/dolly...

[jnrm3]

hey stan, this is coming along nicely.
we had a similar issue where the car was cranking but wouldn't run. long story short it ended up being a coded key/ecu not sure if the audi's had this feature. it looked like a black ring that sat around the ignition barrel which linked up to the ecu once it was hooked up and had the matching key it started first kick.
also have a gti and a 1.6 here both complete cars if you need to reference anything. i will hopefully be doing this conversion very soon.
cheers
steve

[Stan]

hey Steve, not sure how useful I am, but if I can help in any way at all let me know.

Yeah, it all needs coding up. I have the original key, ignition and cluster still in the car - so the immobiliser etc are not talking to each other. However I thought that it should still crank (which it does), then run for a few seconds (which it doesnt) and then stop....

thanks for the offer, may need to take you up on it

[Stan]

on with the show:

undo the sleeve that connects the down pipe to the rest of the exhaust:



The gear lever needs to be disconnected too.
Pull off the leather surround and the clip around its base, pull them up and you can get the knob off.
There are 4 bolts holding this on - 2 up front which you get at from inside (take out the astray as well, it just pulls out) and 2 from under the car.

To get at the under car ones you have to pull off the aluminium heat shielding from under the floor - the big panel at the front and the middle one...as seen on the above exhaust shot...



unbolt the engine mounts.

Now check again for all piping and wiring that may be connecting the engine to the car....

[Stan]

Time for some more:

Remember to label stuff. i labelled the bits I pulled off the old engine and then made labels for the corresponding bits on the new one.





Any screws or bolts removed were either put back into the holes they came from or taped and labelled next to where they went.

If it is a duct or hole, tape it up or stuff a rag in it - bits of debris in an engine can kill it - even more so with a turbo:




With everything undone, labelled and taped up. The engine is supported with the chain hoist.
Time to undo the engine mounts. I checked the part numbers and they are exactly the same. So Initially I undid the bolts that attach the mount to the engine - These two:



And similar on the other side. This allows the engine to drop away, free of the mounts. When the engine was out I completely removed and exchanged the mounts , as the others were a good 100K kms newer.

With the mounts undone, the whole front subframe is held in by 4 bolts. You can reach them easily enough without getting under the subframe - so if something goes wrong, you dont end up with an engine on your head....

This is the AGU, but it shows where 3 of the 4 subframe bolts are. these bolts actually go in the other way around, they are in this way so they dont fall out:



Same from under the car. Circled is the o2 sensor housing - it is simply a cover and two cables clip together beneath it. Undo this connection, as the forward cable is attached a sensor on the downpipe:



At this point the engine is held by the hoist and ready to be lowered onto the dolly. Go very slowly as something is sure to be still attached. As best you can, run your hands around the engine to feel for any possible snags. If something needs undoing , stop the lowering, undo it and continue. I had a mate helping me at this stage to help guide the engine, an extra pair of eyes and this is potentially dangerous - good the have someone else there:



Things snag up a bit, so take your time and deal with them, but in a very short time you get this:

[dylan8]

Between you and James im keener then ever to do mine!
Dont see many threads with pictures, look forward to the rest.

[Stan]

it's kind of fun, but I am at the point that I wish it was finished.
My mistake was that it is my daily driver - it takes for more time to do right than I had planned.

Yeah, James' project will be interesting to watch as well.

Happy to give both of you any help I can.

If you want a specific pic, ask now - I might already have it , or can take it before the project ends

[Golf Loon]

Nice thread Stan. Are you any further forward with the wiring?

[Stan]

Thanks mate, you've been an awesome help.

Nope. Still the same issues, something is up and I cant find it. A few of the wires are different colours, but they still go to the same places according to AKL and AGU wiring diagrams.

Car still cranks but doesnt fire - i know for sure it's not fuelling - pump and relay are good, so i'll be @#$%ed as to what is going on.