Supergrunt! - Turbo Diesel Build.

keithrulz

keithrulz

Well-known member
Since photobucket changed their liscense agreement the images in this will not show up. To see them, I attached a link below to my album. They are not in any specific order but for those who care enough this may be of interest.

https://s1009.photobucket.com/user/keithrulz/profile/

I was going to wait until completion, but I don?t think I?ll ever complete this build and in large part due to my slightly out of hand OCD, the unfortunate truth that nearly everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, and these new ideas just keep flooding in.  Hang in there with me as I catch you up to speed. This will be picture heavy and since I?m not posting things necessarily in chronological order ?although I will try my best- things may not flow well until things are up to date.






The donor vehicle was an 86 VW golf which I bought up by Chicago and drove home to north central Indiana.  Getting it home under its own power was great I thought, but it felt low on power and smelt of burning oil.  When I got it home I discovered oil in the intake so it had obvious blow by or failing turbo seals. The compression test turned out 400psi on all cylinders. I decided to go ahead and rebuild it. After tearing the engine down, I discovered 1mm oversized pistons in the block and cylinders with some pretty bad pitting.  I contemplated getting custom Darton sleeves made, but I found the correct engine block on Ebay at the original bore and decided to go that route.  I also discovered a crack in the head that extended from the pre combustion chamber to the either intake or exhaust valve. Needless to say I got a reman head and had the new block bored out 1mm then honed and cross hatched to fit the 1mm pistons.  It really annoys me not to have been able to use the head or the block from the donor..

Pulling the engine from the VW, Frankie -my daughter- had fun watching my old man and I.  Then I tore it down.



Rebuild and adapter kit.


The block I had to get.. all cleaned up and primered. I decided to paint everything in CAT yellow.




The head I had to order and parts cleaned up


I got a performance build from giles for the injection pump with a target of 15psi on a k24 turbo. pump and injectors rebuilt


Head gasket in place

Head on and torqued to spec

I decided to make a fuel heater out of a VW oil cooler utilizing the same coolant that cools the oil to heat the fuel.. But first I needed a welder. I decided on a nice 220 amp tig.







Things are getting painted as they come together.





I decided to counter bore the hole in the oil cooler pedestal to get a little more angle out of the oil cooler for easier hose routing.


Adapter plate work.





New starter and alternator.


Here?s where S*** hits the fan.  I bleed the injector pump and go to start the engine to no avail just to find this..


Gas dripping out from the head gasket. I knew something was up when black smoke was just fluming out the exhaust when it wouldn?t fire up. I take the valve cover off to find all 10 head bolts with about 10 pound feet of torque to them. I followed the procedure. The 30,43 pounds then 90 degree specs from the Bentley manual.. all 10 bolts looked like this.

I spent too much on this replacement block to throw it away so I decided to look up the best remedy.




I time-serted all to holes. These things are better than helicoils in that they are solid and less likely to strip out. I decided to say forget it with the OEM stretch bolts and ordered some ARP head studs.

While I was getting everything back together I decided I didn?t like the flimsy valve cover hold downs, so I decided to hop on CAD and reverse engineer them. I also needed a way to mount that CS130d alternator to the ACME adapter plate, so I also designed and lasered out and bent up one of those.. There will be many more custom fab jobs to come. 




The engine is back together now. The instructions with the ARP studs seem excessive at 125lb/ft tq. I went to 90 and even at that I?m thinking it?s too much because of the fine thread of the ARP studs and the special lube they provide.. at the same time I don?t want to back off the torque and have the gasket not seal or something.

 
Looks like a nice build ... ;)

Sorry to hear about your head bolt issue though , that bites ! :(   I have seen it happen before  , it can be caused from debris in the thread area ... The debris do not allow the stud to enter full torque yield .. It can appear like it dose when first tightened , however left for a period of time , the stud pulls the thread area away from the block .. :o    This is why it is imperative to thread chase and air blow all bottomless fastening area's ... [thumbsup]   All the VW diesels have dry head bolts , meaning the holes have bottoms .....

Are you using fully steel head gasket , because the fiber gasket can crush under too much torque .. All the ARP stud kits I have used in the VW diesels call for 80ft lb's of torque with the ARP MOLY ASSEMBLY LUBE , and 120ft lb's with 30wt oil ...  However I have tightened them to 100ft lb's even with moly on the steel head gaskets without issue ... Once you go beyond 100ft lbs you will print the cylinder head , so I do not recommend it ... I have run 30psi of boost with 100ft lbs on the ARP's ! No issues ... ;)

You say you are wanting 15psi of boost , well you better block off the blow-off valve on the front of your intake manifold , most will only reach 13psi .. ;)  If you loosen the band clamp it will allow removal ... you can replace the valve with a round disc... This will put all the boost regulating directly through to your turbo`s waste gate then .. Adjustments to the waste gate will allow you to reach your full potential ..  [thumbsup]   

Nice work on the fabrication too .. [thumbsup]

Cheers ............... [thirsty]
 
Thanks for the kind words Newfie!

There was definitely something fishy with pretty much all of the threads on that block. When I tried mounting the water pump and ACME alternator bracket I noticed the screws wouldn't go into the block, it literally felt like they were the wrong thread for the block. I emailed ACME asking him if there were more than 1 thread used on these 1.6 diesels and he said not to his knowledge.  Seeing as how I got it from a guy on ebay.. who knows what was up with it. When i got the block i checked the head to make sure it was indeed 12mm and the bolts threaded into the block but only about a half inch and with a lot of resistance, once again i thought they were the wrong thread too. I said oh must just need the threads chased.  I chased the threads with a M12x1.75 tap for that first half inch it was good then after that it was very difficult and i noticed shavings of some sort coming out. The shavings didn't exactly look or feel metalic necessarily but were extremely hard. my first thought was someone used JB weld or an extreme amount of loctite. after taping the threads they looked good visually but as you know they must not have been.  I also found it weird though that the head bolts were sloppy in the holes whereas the arp head studs were noticeably more fit (before i drilled them out for time-serts)... I thought parts place.net might have sent me on accident 11mm head bolts but they were 12 point.. and the package said they were 12mm but i suppose what the package says doesn't necessarily mean anything. The head bolt delima is still a mystery to me.

The head gasket I have is a 1 notch Victor Reinz, I don't think it is all metal, but on the bright side the piston protrusion was on the very minimum for a 1 notch gasket - actually slightly less than minimum. so if it crushed some there's at least some wiggle room.

I have heard about the blow off valve being an issue i tightened it down all the way but i thought it would be enough, guess not. I'll have to just laser out an aluminum disc at work, easy enough. maybe ill even etch something neat on it.
 
I thread chase all the holes in the VW's during rebuilds , remember too a thread chaser is different than a tap ..  The chaser just cleans and straightens the thread pattern , unlike the tap , which cuts the pattern .. ;) 

The Alternator Bracket ACME sells , mounts using holes in the VW block which are not normally used in the transverse mounted engine , like in the Golf , Jetta , etc.. So these holes are normally a little rusty or plugged with dirt and debris ... Thread chasing , or even re-tapping these holes is not uncommon ..    [approve] 

As for your head bolts , well if each one pulled away like you mentioned  , there has to be a common denominator in the over all issue ..  My thoughts would be that the previous owner reused the head-bolts , which are a torque to yield , so one time use on these , no exceptions ..  I have seen head fasteners that were reused several times over cause this issue too ... This  is because with each tightening your stretching the thread pattern ... If stretched to far they will no longer tighten properly , and can even bottom and break off into the block ... If the bolts were stretched too far , they can even draw the block threads outwards from the unit  , especially if they were re-used or extremely over tightened  Hot ...  This would make sense  , and could explain the sloppy bolts ... It would also explain  why your Tap was cutting the pattern , as it was entering the engine block ..    [approve] 

If you have a 1 notch , it is a rare bird ... They are not to common ... The latest one I have , measured out to a 2 notch when I checked the protrusion  , however I installed a 3 notch gasket since it will be feed bio-fuel , ( WVO ) ...  I do this for the heavier fuel , and   cold starts up here in Canada , has no effect on starting or performance either , works well actually ... ;)

The blow off I spoke of above is not you waste-gate ... You are correct ,  the waste-gate is adjustable to a degree , just as you said actually , by adjusting the bolt entering the valves diaphragm .. ;)  The Blow-Off I am referring to , is onto your intake manifold ... See the black unit towards the front of your intake manifold ? This is the unit I am referring to ... :)

P
 
Blow -Off I am referring too , check this unit .....  ;)

 

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I didn't say anything about a waste gate.. but that does remind me the turbo waste gate won't actuate, it's bound up and I've spent days trying to free it. I'm thinking it's bent.  But back to the blow off valve, it Indeed has a flat head screw adjustment in the center of it, i was revering to that when i said i tightened it down. If i remove the blow off valve from the V- band clamp and laser out an aluminum disk the same diameter, then tighten the v band on the disk.. the aluminum should make a seal and if not I could just weld the hole shut with it.

As for the actual waste-gate.. until I can find one ill just install it on the turbo all the way opened and deal with the lag/lack of boost.
I was also surprised to see the need for a 1 notch as the rebuild kits come with a universal 3. notch, I ordered the 1 notch with some other odds and ends after receiving the kit. I would like to know the actual difference in compression ratio running a 3 notch. If it really isn't much, a 3 notch makes sense to me in that it would allow for a little more wiggle room with the valve to piston contact. 

I am a rotary guy fiddling in a piston world and all this timing talk has me nervous.Assemble a rotary and the timing is set in it's design, nothing to adjust, nothing to slip out of time!
 
Great build going there Keith!

Dude, you have " all the toys" [ tools ]..........TIG, CAD, etc........nice!

And yep, you gotta have deep pockets for these diesel builds for sure.
 
keithrulz date=1428163621 said:
I didn't say anything about a waste gate.. but that does remind me the turbo waste gate won't actuate, it's bound up and I've spent days trying to free it. I'm thinking it's bent.  But back to the blow off valve, it Indeed has a flat head screw adjustment in the center of it, i was revering to that when i said i tightened it down. If i remove the blow off valve from the V- band clamp and laser out an aluminum disk the same diameter, then tighten the v band on the disk.. the aluminum should make a seal and if not I could just weld the hole shut with it.

As for the actual waste-gate.. until I can find one ill just install it on the turbo all the way opened and deal with the lag/lack of boost.
I was also surprised to see the need for a 1 notch as the rebuild kits come with a universal 3. notch, I ordered the 1 notch with some other odds and ends after receiving the kit. I would like to know the actual difference in compression ratio running a 3 notch. If it really isn't much, a 3 notch makes sense to me in that it would allow for a little more wiggle room with the valve to piston contact. 

I am a rotary guy fiddling in a piston world and all this timing talk has me nervous.Assemble a rotary and the timing is set in it's design, nothing to adjust, nothing to slip out of time!
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My bad ... I thought you were referring to the waste-gate , when I was referring to the Blow-off valve ... ;D ;D ;D

If the waste gate is seized , you can remove it , and try soaking it in household vinegar over night ...  They are also able to be disassembled with some care .. ;)

Replacements are usually on Ebay :    Mamba Turbo Wastegate Actuator KKK K24 53249706405 Iveco

There is a lot of talk about using the correct thickness gasket , but bumping up one notch won't effect much ...  The thickness of the average VW diesel head gasket , which are used on the VW1.9 & VW1.6 hydraulic diesels are  :

1 hole (1.53mm)
2 hole (1.57mm)
3 hole (1.61mm)

Some will  say it can effect cold starts and performance ?  What I say to that is  :  " NOT  "  ... Look at the above numbers , we are only talking 0.04 millimeters /  0.0015748 inches .. I can tell you from personal experience , that the timing of the injection pump has a lot more to do with cold starts and performance , than the above numbers ... I wouldn't go up two , but jumping one , yes , not a prob ...  I have done it many times over ... ;)

If you have check and verified the piston protrusion , go with the numbers you have ... I only go up if possible , due to the use of Bio-Fuel ...  [approve] [approve] 


 
I Just found this waste gate for a K-24 on eBay :       Item number # 171722879490  

Insert the above number in the search engine on eBay , should bring you right to it ..  
 
Wow!! Thanks Newfie, I was looking all over for one, I purchased it.. I can't even find the one you posted if I search keywords.. strange, but no longer a problem now. thanks again.

I looked in your profile and it says you have a "Water/Methanol injection system" are you running a methanol blend and What are your thoughts on it with these engines? I have heard the compression ratio is too great for methanol and that it can pre-ignite. is this true?

I test ran it this evening and it fired up after a bit of puffin. i think the injector lines weren't all the way bled. Glad to hear her purr!

Thanks for the kid words guys, I work as a mechanical drafter/CAD technician, so utilizing the laser is a big perk and believe me I take advantage of it.

When i got the tig it was clear to me something was missing so I made this.








 
Glade I could help ... ;)

I love your fabrication work , amazing ... [thumbsup] [thumbsup] 

Water menthol  works great in a diesel .. I just use straight  water  mostly in the summer , however every now and then I do add the meth ...  My brother says the Zuk is a coke head !! [approve]  I am using the stage 1 , with injection coming on at 13psi ... ;)
 
Progress update.
SO this is the junky oil coated engine bay, i was just going to drop the engine in it and worry about it later, but just couldn't bring myself to do that.

how it looks now.

Engine finally in after a few test runs on the table.



I did some test fitment with the Hi-Lift hood mount brackets I made.


Alternator mount bracket fit like a glove. I just need to make a slotted brace for adjustment.  What belt arrangement are you all using? is there an individual belt that will fit well for the crank and water pump so i can use a dedicated belt for the alternator? It would have to be a good fit due to no adjustment over there.


 
Wow , It is looking great Keith ... Love it !! [thumbsup]

A particular  belt can be unique to a engine  install , depending on your alternator , it's location , and type of pulley your using ....

Probably wouldn't hurt to fire off an email to  ACME , they do have a few recommendations ... [approve]

I did have an alternator in a similar location on a previous VW1.6 build ...  I used a NAPA  FHP Belt  : 3L400 ( 3/8" x 40" ) ... These Kevlar Belts are available in a variety of lengths , and are quite strong , as they are used Mowers  and Blowers by many manufactures .. :)

 Kevlar Belts are far better than conventional V Belts ,  because they don't easily burn , making them much more durable . With strict specifications to ensure quality, Kevlar Belts ensure excellent performance , while protecting your machine's engine. I have used them on many applications , all with 100% satisfaction ... ;)

P

 
Nothing exciting lately.

Got the belts I needed. 27" belt fit nicely for the water pump.



The Golf radiator I had was quite large but with a lot of effort I managed to get it to fit.. The core is something like 27 or 27.5 inches long! I even had to mount it upside down for the inlet and outlet to be on the correct side. Mocked up the radiator hoses for it shortly afterward.



Just a Teaser for a future project... Winch bumper.

 
Thanks, Well I don't have one as the donor didn't have one on it.. I haven't looked at the salvage yard yet, but plan on running one. Not running one makes me nervous.
 
diabolical1 date=1429013237 said:
Thanks, Well I don't have one as the donor didn't have one on it.. I haven't looked at the salvage yard yet, but plan on running one. Not running one makes me nervous.
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Good idea .... I would never use an engine without one either .... [approve]

Mud and debri is bad enough , but snow & ice  is a bigger killer up here in Canada ... :o
 
So, I've got issues. and questions

After having issues I did a compression test of all 4 cylinders and got an even 400 psi across the board which is surprisingly low to me.. no?. checked timing and it's dead nuts accurate in conjunction with the crank and cam, yet when I time my Giles pump to the recommended .95mm the engine runs with a lot of white smoke and sputters and shakes.

I loosened the bolts and advanced the pump and the engine smoothed out and the smoke ceased.. locked the pump where it ran best then checked timing.. 1.2mm

do these engines run like S*** until the ring's are seated? or do I have bigger problems?

Only factors I can think of are that I am assuming my brand new glow plugs all work (will pull each and check tonight) and I dont know if I have actually gotten the engine up to operating temp. I let it run for 5 minutes and the issue didn't seem to improve when timing was set at .95mm.  I'm waiting on an adapter to put a mechanical water temp sender in the upper rad hose. since i don't know what temp the engine is at i don't want to run it much longer than that.

I'm really hoping I have a bad glow plug or two. or to hear that these engines puff a bit of white smoke when first ran. to mu understanding white smoke is purely unburnt fuel and that doesn't sound good to me
 

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