NarfBLAST
Top Post Dawg
Day 4 Update
Lets start this story by going back about three weeks in time:
I had gone for a few short test drives and managed to overboost and get into limp mode. I have replaced the VNT actuator twice allready for rust so I knew what I needed to do. Sure enough, this car's third actuator was starting to rust inside: it was crunchy to move and pieces of rust would fall out of the vent hole when you shook it. I sprayed some "Rust Check" lubricant (the pink stuff) inside and out and got the actuator pretty much freed up so it would not make crunching sounds when vacuum was applied, and it sort of held vacuum so I thought it might last a while longer.
I remembered to check the VNT lever arm on the turbo itself just before I re-installed the actuator. My heart sank only for a moment when the VNT lever arm on the turbo would hardly move at all. During the subsequent test drive I could repeatedly get the boost to spike at 20 psi and not come back down, confirming the vanes were not moving. After a dozen hard hard pulls in 3rd gear and several times shutting the car off while rolling in gear and switching it back on to reset limp mode, the boost started to regulate again! The turbo seemed to be clean and so were the brakes!
Fast forward to the past weekend, I was not too bothered that the car was going into limp mode... and sure enough, by Sunday, the turbo was working perfectly again!
Now, the Day 4 Update:
The car is running better than ever! It is so much fun to watch the boost gauge. When driving aggressively (over 3000 rpm) the boost builds quickly to 20psi then comes right down to 14psi and stays there right to 4500 rpm when it start to taper off. I don't have a tune, just a PSI Powerbox which is a micro-controller based turning box that plus into the injection pump wiring harness and fools the ECU into injecting slightly more fuel. Anyway, the car pulls hard and smooth all the way thru the rev range and I am really really happy with it.
With the money I saved on the serpentine belt tensioner and the VNT actuator, it was even easier to justify the purchase of two racing buckets with five point harnesses!
I found one these seats on sale at the Canadian Tire in Waterdown for $69.99 and picked one up for the Volkswagen immediately after getting the registration sticker for the car on Friday. Today being Monday I am watching my two year old nephew and had to swap a seat out of the Honda Odyssey first thing in the morning so that I could drive the Volkswagen. I figure that in order to maximize the investments of time and money I am making in the Volkwagen, I need to drive it as much as possible. To drive it as much as possible I would either need to move car seats twice a day four times a week, which ridiculous, or drive the eight passenger van with only three kids in it, which is sad when the Volkswagen is running great and uses half as much fuel. Not to worry, the Van will still get driven at least three time during the week when I have five kids with me, and I weekends when the four kids and my wife want to go somewhere in one car. Besides, the seats were on sale, and they look awesome! Finally, I have matching buckets with five point harnesses!
Speaking of awesome, check out this road sign:
Lets start this story by going back about three weeks in time:
I had gone for a few short test drives and managed to overboost and get into limp mode. I have replaced the VNT actuator twice allready for rust so I knew what I needed to do. Sure enough, this car's third actuator was starting to rust inside: it was crunchy to move and pieces of rust would fall out of the vent hole when you shook it. I sprayed some "Rust Check" lubricant (the pink stuff) inside and out and got the actuator pretty much freed up so it would not make crunching sounds when vacuum was applied, and it sort of held vacuum so I thought it might last a while longer.
I remembered to check the VNT lever arm on the turbo itself just before I re-installed the actuator. My heart sank only for a moment when the VNT lever arm on the turbo would hardly move at all. During the subsequent test drive I could repeatedly get the boost to spike at 20 psi and not come back down, confirming the vanes were not moving. After a dozen hard hard pulls in 3rd gear and several times shutting the car off while rolling in gear and switching it back on to reset limp mode, the boost started to regulate again! The turbo seemed to be clean and so were the brakes!
Fast forward to the past weekend, I was not too bothered that the car was going into limp mode... and sure enough, by Sunday, the turbo was working perfectly again!
Now, the Day 4 Update:
The car is running better than ever! It is so much fun to watch the boost gauge. When driving aggressively (over 3000 rpm) the boost builds quickly to 20psi then comes right down to 14psi and stays there right to 4500 rpm when it start to taper off. I don't have a tune, just a PSI Powerbox which is a micro-controller based turning box that plus into the injection pump wiring harness and fools the ECU into injecting slightly more fuel. Anyway, the car pulls hard and smooth all the way thru the rev range and I am really really happy with it.
With the money I saved on the serpentine belt tensioner and the VNT actuator, it was even easier to justify the purchase of two racing buckets with five point harnesses!
I found one these seats on sale at the Canadian Tire in Waterdown for $69.99 and picked one up for the Volkswagen immediately after getting the registration sticker for the car on Friday. Today being Monday I am watching my two year old nephew and had to swap a seat out of the Honda Odyssey first thing in the morning so that I could drive the Volkswagen. I figure that in order to maximize the investments of time and money I am making in the Volkwagen, I need to drive it as much as possible. To drive it as much as possible I would either need to move car seats twice a day four times a week, which ridiculous, or drive the eight passenger van with only three kids in it, which is sad when the Volkswagen is running great and uses half as much fuel. Not to worry, the Van will still get driven at least three time during the week when I have five kids with me, and I weekends when the four kids and my wife want to go somewhere in one car. Besides, the seats were on sale, and they look awesome! Finally, I have matching buckets with five point harnesses!
Speaking of awesome, check out this road sign:
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