Project A4

[D_Eclipse9916]

The only thing I worry about when starting the car in the cold, is those first 20 seconds for the oil, and then until operating temperature I dont give more than 18% throttle and 3000rpms ( I have AVCR so I can watch it lol). I want my piston rings to be fully sealing before I give it full throttle.

[WRXtranceformed]

This is very noticeable in my STi. My engine doesn't like to be awakened no matter what temperature it is... cold just compounds it. I usually let my car idle for a couple of minutes to get up to speed, then keep it under 3krpms for the first 5-10 minutes of driving, giving it intermittent bits of boost towards the end of it. That seems to make it the happiest. The car literally chugs like a locomotive until it gets warmed up, so the warm up process is pretty clear cut for me.

I am, of course, running 15w50 oil in it, so it's a little different from you guys :lol:

[BLINGMW]

I dont give more than 18% throttle and 3000rpms ( I have AVCR so I can watch it lol)

oh noes! 19%! hock: :lol:

[CaptainHenreh]

I dont give more than 18% throttle and 3000rpms ( I have AVCR so I can watch it lol)

oh noes! 19%! hock: :lol:

DANGER TO TEH MANIFOLD!

[ViPER1313]

I'm pretty nice to the SHO when its cold (try to keep it below 3k RPM and don't lug the engine) but I used to pound on the GL when it was cold. The thermostat was stuck wide open (to the point that the heat didn't work at all during the winter) and I used to floor it / keep the OD off to try and get a tiny bit of heat out of it. No ill effects to report :wink: .

[Beej]

Yeah the S2000 was hard to keep under 5k even when cold. I keep everything else below 3-3.5k for the first 10 minutes or so.

[Ryan T]

I usually let my car idle for at least a minute when it's cold. Then when I start driving it I keep the rpm's at less than 3k and throttle input at a very low level. I do have to rev it out to about 3k when cold though, cause if I shift at much less than that the engine tends to surge/buck since the revs are less than what the cold idle is.

[Feersty]

My car has developed a slight whine, that seemed to start with this cold spell. Could this be timing belt? I am near 60,000mi.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I highly doubt it is the timing belt, and all of you should get Remote Starts, ive had mine for 2.5 years and I start up my car 100% odf the time in the cold with it. I let it warm up at idle for 5 minutes, and then do my regular anal 18% thing until it is ompletely in the middle.

[ScottyB]

My car has developed a slight whine, that seemed to start with this cold spell. Could this be timing belt? I am near 60,000mi.

my car had a whine coming from the timing belt end that changed pitch with engine speed. turned out that the shop set the tensioner a little too tight when they replaced my belt. it was in all temps though

I highly doubt it is the timing belt, and all of you should get Remote Starts, ive had mine for 2.5 years and I start up my car 100% odf the time in the cold with it. I let it warm up at idle for 5 minutes, and then do my regular anal 18% thing until it is ompletely in the middle.

i'd really like one but don't you have to leave your car out of gear for that? i get paranoid that my car might roll away if the ebrake loosens or something so i always park in gear

[D_Eclipse9916]

If I am on a heavy hill I worry about it, other than that no. If you park close to the curb, the worst that will happen is you bump it a little.

I have had mine for 2.5 years so I think that is a pretty good testament to it working.

[ScottyB]

splitting off from the "oh shi*" thread.....

mechanic is convinced its a low end/crank bearing death noise. i still think it could be an upper engine noise. so, i'm having them take the top end off and look it over. if the problem is up there then that's that. they will also drop the pan and check out the crank/rod bearings.

if the head looks ok, then i guess i'm shopping for a shortblock since the crank would be scored if the bearings went bad. if bearings are the culprit though, should i be worried about shavings in the oil, which could F the whole thing up? remember this thing has run a total of like a minute since the noise started.

this is dreadful and exciting at the same time. if i end up getting a shortblock, most used ones aren't super pricey and i would definitely get some nice rods to start my engine build up early. i guess we'll see.

[ScottyB]

spun rod bearings.

the head was OK, thankfully (they can be as much as a bottom end) but the bearings went and the crank looks to be scored. all of my accessories are good too so i can transfer those over obviously.

the main thing is , do you guys have any advice in buyin a shortblock? do any of you german car fans know any good salvage yards on the east coast, preferably in the south? i'm having a really hard time finding anything despite the huge numbers of cars on the road with 1.8t engines. this is all very new to me.


also, i'm going to find a way to make a trophy showing automotive carnage. we'll give it out to someone in the club each year that has the worst shadetree mechanic endeavor. we'll call it "Madison Motorsports' Trophy of Failure" and you can give it out in my honor :lol:

[ViPER1313]

Click on the thumbnail for a list of engines close to you (still in the ATL, right?)



There is one listing for a short block - I would look into that. Also look into the price of grinding down the crank, getting new rods and installing oversized bearings. For the price of those used engines it might be worth it to make a heavy duty low compression motor

[JustinG]

are there any swaps that you can do?? dead set on the 1.8T?

[ViPER1313]

This is also an option - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-1-8T-Engine-Short-block-AUDI-A4-Passat_W0QQitemZ180017362770QQihZ008QQcategoryZ33615QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem">http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-1-8T- ... dZViewItem</a><!-- m -->

[BLINGMW]

I know you have 2 pull-a-parts (pullapart.com) down there, if you could find a 1.8t, it'd be cheap! (of course, you'd have to harvest it yourself)

Sorry man!

[ScottyB]

For the price of those used engines it might be worth it to make a heavy duty low compression motor

Thanks Adam, i'm going to take a deeper dive into Car-part when i get a minute. What kind of facility can do a crank grind-down? i had never even heard of it before. i'd love to put stronger rods in it for the price of a used stock shortblock.

are there any swaps that you can do?? dead set on the 1.8T?

i could do a N/A V6 or TT V6 swap but it would cost thousands, and i want nothing to do with either motor anyway. i gotta stick to the 1.8. there's also the fact that i need this car back on the road, stat. the explorer is a ticking time bomb as far as i'm concerned.

I know you have 2 pull-a-parts (pullapart.com) down there, if you could find a 1.8t, it'd be cheap! (of course, you'd have to harvest it yourself)

i was looking at those too! unfortunately i don't think they have any 1.8's at all. there are tons of VW/Audis down here so these yards are picked clean of most all new stuff

[ViPER1313]

Depending on how scored the crank is, any decent automotive machine shop should be able to take it out and turn it down.

You can get a whole new set of rods from a place like <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.eiptuning.com/eip/vw4cylinderrods.html">http://www.eiptuning.com/eip/vw4cylinderrods.html</a><!-- m --> , although I'm sure there are better / cheaper options (Blair??)

Install oversized bearings and a new oil pump for comfort and you're all set.

By the way, why did the engine fail? How many bearings were spun? Mileage?

[.RJ]

spun rod bearings.

the head was OK, thankfully (they can be as much as a bottom end) but the bearings went and the crank looks to be scored.

Dropping the crank out of the bottom, and installing it with new main and rod bearings and a new oil pump may not be a bad way to go - certainly cheaper than buying an installing a new shortblock. Have you talked about that with the shop?