MK7 Golf Build

adjat84th

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
Some pics of the motor! Ignore the old turbo.
Pretty sure I'll delete the coolant lines for the HP EGR and Throttle valve/ASV for now to eliminate a bunch of hoses/pipes. The HP EGR is blocked on the backside so will be inoperable anyway, only concern is the ASV and whether it truly needs coolant running to it as that will still be running. The charge air cooler here is different in that it has a tee to provide coolant to the CUA turbo(s) then returns back to the CAC. The coolant temp sensor on this is actually under the CAC vs by the coolant flange on the head on CRUA. Will just need to add length to the wiring for that. Really trying to map out everything I'll need before taking the car down.

 
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adjat84th

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
I've been going cross-eyed looking at cooling diagrams lately for this project, and figuring out bypassing the HP EGR and ASV completely so that it's much less piping/hoses to run. The HP EGR in my case is blanked on the back of the head so no exhaust is flowing, but not sure what harm might be done to bypass the ASV coolant pipes even though it will remain on the new setup. With LP EGR gone as well, charge temps are far lower so thinking this won't be an issue unless there's an integrated temp sensor. I'll also be plumbing in coolant lines for the turbo on this so that heat is able to dissipate correctly after shutdown and not potentially torch these VKLR bearings. Probably not an issue with my mechanically sympathetic driving style, the larger turbine wheel, and resulting lower EGTs...but it won't hurt and it'll be easy to route with the motor out.

Something that was interesting to me is that, it appears the sole purpose of the heater support pump (electric pump on the back of the motor) is to keep coolant flowing through the motor, LP EGR, and heater core while the timing belt driven water pump shroud is covering the impeller and unable to move coolant on its own. If one were to replace the water pump with an unshrouded version, it could make the support pump in the back unnecessary since coolant would always be flowing. I'm unsure if that pump also runs during other high temp scenarios, but would decrease the complexity of the cooling system greatly if this is the case.
 

adjat84th

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
Finally got the itch to get going on this...
Motor prior to pulling, I swapped everything I could over to the new before pulling out.


Motor out, notice the soot stains on the firewall. Adam from Pioneering Performance believes the 2260vklr I have may be VK housings that weren't machined correctly or at all. Turbo ran fine otherwise.


Wiring harness labeled for reinstall. Only thing I should have to change is the length of the coolant temp sensor. CRUA location is on the side of the head back by the HP EGR runner, CUAA is on the frontside under the charge cooler.


Almost ready to go back in. CP3 just barely didn't fit, filed off a few mm's of one corner of the accessory bracket and was then able to rotate it down and in just fine. Still working on bending the high pressure line to fit nicely, that sucker is stiff!


Turbo is shipping out to be corrected/upgraded on Friday. Likely won't have that back for 4 weeks. Will do the injectors after it's up and running first and confirmed everything is going smoothly. That should be the game changer ;)
Have a set of GTD injectors I'll get inspected as well, and maybe throw onto the CRUA for a different project down the road.
 

adjat84th

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
Received the turbo Friday morning, and slowly put it together over the weekend between visiting family for the holiday. Got it fired up this morning and all seems well outside of some oil burning coming off-idle. The oil return for the new turbo is more vertically aligned than the previous setup, so am fairly sure it is not the culprit.
Could also be the engine needs some serious run-in being a 2015 build according to the sticker on the timing cover and never being run.

Edit/update: EGT sensor is dry so has to be coming from the turbo. Going to run a larger oil return (-10an vs -6an or 5/8" vs 3/8") that I was provided with the turbo and go from there. Odd that it drained just fine before, but now is causing an issue. These oil returns on the EA288s are a joy, will need to get a -10an bung welded to the fitting so I can then get a 90deg push-loc fitting pointing up to the turbo. Shouldn't be too bad I guess.

Sounds silky smooth though!

Link in case video fails

Also, haven't really pushed it in the 100 miles I've put on it but it feels healthy and ready to take off! The sintered paddle Sachs clutch disc is also surprisingly driveable unless you're in very slow traffic!

@kyle_h factory air box did need some trimming on the bottom side to clear the 2.5" charge piping. I could possibly run a 2" pipe to have it clear without needing it cut.

Other random items:
  • Running a non-variable timing belt driven water pump (Geba brand from idParts), and so I deleted the rear electric heater support pump as it's purpose is to circulate coolant through the head/LP EGR/heater core when the shroud on the OE water pump is blocking the rest of the system.
  • Variable valve timing is non-existent on the CUAA, was a quick code for Mike (tuner) to delete. Code for the above electric pump is also deleted.
  • Still want to come up with a bracket to secure the MAP sensor/vacuum pump hose arrangement better than I currently have it. The hard plastic vac pump line is not super easy to work with, and would almost entertain a rubber replacement taking a different route than the plastic line. For now...it works, and will probably be just fine.
 
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adjat84th

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
Mostly, the car is running great! I've already somehow put 1200 miles on it. I do have a few nagging/minor issues I'm working through.
Waiting for a more perfect turbo oil return fitting. What I have is fine but don't want to run that permanently, and Darkside is hopefully going to get me a nicer version of what I was able to get welded locally.
Spare set of injectors was sent off to S&S for testing then upgrading. They were purchased supposedly with <10k miles on them, so we'll see.

Tuning is in progress, boost comes on full right now at 3100rpm but there's plenty of air before that. Just plain normal driving is surprisingly spunky so far. Boost is dying off after initial spool, and underboosts all the way to redline (or hits EGT limiter). Trying to get that figured out at the moment, and hoping it's just a case of sneaking up on it in the tune.

Clutch disc is tricky from anything other than a dead stop or a good enough roll to get into 2nd. Hoping that settles down some more after more miles. Otherwise I just have to learn to drive around that, it's not a huge deal to me but could be for others. Sintered paddle disc vs organic disc is a big change in holding power. Would be great to have some combination of the two.

Have a tiny hairline crack in the cam cover that I could tell had been attempted to fix before I got it, but it's seeping the tiniest bit. So, I'll look to get a new one of those when I do the injectors.
Also getting an extended crank occasionally if it sits for a bit, so thinking I have a small air leak somewhere. If I cycle the ignition a second time after getting in the car to let the pump run extra, it's fine. Don't have any fuel leaking anywhere at least, and fuel economy is good. Still able to get 50mpg highway and averaged 44mpg over the first 1200 miles.
 

[486]

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Location
MN
TDI
02 golf ALH
Clutch disc is tricky from anything other than a dead stop or a good enough roll to get into 2nd. Hoping that settles down some more after more miles. Otherwise I just have to learn to drive around that, it's not a huge deal to me but could be for others. Sintered paddle disc vs organic disc is a big change in holding power. Would be great to have some combination of the two.
they actually seem to have better slipping characteristics when they're fresh and they get grabbier as the lining wears into full contact
on mine what I do is just mat the throttle fully after engagement, with it full against its stop there's none of the jerky flop-flop-flop of inertia moving my foot on the throttle
you just mash it completely, then come back to whatever throttle position you initially wanted, sometimes within a second, works a lot better with larger turbos rather than with little tiny ones

another thing that really helps is to set up the maps down below idle to give a lot of fuel without throttle input, so you can lug it into motion on flat ground without touching the throttle at all and without the engine stalling out as soon as its below whatever RPM they deem to be too low
Kinda acts more like a mechanical governor when lugging.
 

sardo_67

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2010
Location
CT
TDI
2015 Golf SEL 6spd
Mostly, the car is running great! I've already somehow put 1200 miles on it. I do have a few

snip

I have a 15 golf SEL i was going to start throwing money at. Is this a swap you’re doing for a customer or just personal use/fun?
 

adjat84th

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Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
@[486] - appreciate the suggestion, Will see how that works out. I can lug it into 1st, just slowly. I don't think these had the same sensitivity as the MK6 was known for. That, or it was already taken care of when I first had it tuned.

@sardo_67 - I'm just a regular guy who likes to tinker on my cars occasionally. This was my first time ever pulling an engine, which honestly wasn't all that bad. The very beginning of this project was just me searching part #s of the CUAA and seeing what could potentially be swapped over to the CRUA. It would take pistons/rods, cams, head, and I believe charge cooler to all work and by the time you find those you're looking at a pricey number even used. So was able to get an entire new motor for not much more at the time.
 

sardo_67

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Feb 15, 2010
Location
CT
TDI
2015 Golf SEL 6spd
@[486] - appreciate the suggestion, Will see how that works out. I can lug it into 1st, just slowly. I don't think these had the same sensitivity as the MK6 was known for. That, or it was already taken care of when I first had it tuned.

@sardo_67 - I'm just a regular guy who likes to tinker on my cars occasionally. This was my first time ever pulling an engine, which honestly wasn't all that bad. The very beginning of this project was just me searching part #s of the CUAA and seeing what could potentially be swapped over to the CRUA. It would take pistons/rods, cams, head, and I believe charge cooler to all work and by the time you find those you're looking at a pricey number even used. So was able to get an entire new motor for not much more at the time.
ohhh ok I thought you were the guy from TN who does the crazy TDI stuff. Had that pikes peak 2.0 race car he built.

nice work for a first time as well.
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline
@adjat84th
In here for IAT and EGT discussion from other highjacked thread.
When I suggested your W2A cooler is restrictive, I wasn't talking about the charge piping, but the core itself. Do you know what kind of pressure drop you're seeing across it?
 

TurboABA

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Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline
Your log has been annoying me a lot...... (I know, I have issues)

Are you sure you don't have a boost leak? I'm seeing your charge temps being high, which leads me to believe that the compressor is making boost, but there's a significant variation between the requested and actual pressure. Even when you're just cruising.

I know for sure your charge cooler isn't up to the task, because if you're doing that log in 9dec C, it's only managing to cool within 37deg C of ambient..... I wouldn't deal with that well.

Do you have the ability to pressurize the charge system to check if you have a crazy boost leak somewhere? When the vanes open up, boost just falls off a cliff, which I am having great difficulty understanding without a leak.
 

adjat84th

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Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
I am pretty familiar with what a boost leak sounds like, and usually there is oil present where there's a leak. I had the intake/charge pipes smoke tested and there are no leaks, but can certainly get the system pressure tested in case there's a leak that only shows up under higher boost.
For charge temps, I'm sorry to say that this charge cooler is running 10C lower temps than the CRUA did, and that's just how they work unfortunately. Not crazy low temps, just steady.
For anyone else that might be curious what we're looking at.. Here's a log of the current tune, and another here with a slight adjustment on the actuator rod.
The log with actuator adjustment keeps boost steady on the top end (although well below requested), whereas the previous just tapers until EGT limiter kicks in.
150% over injectors should be done this week, and for now these logs are on the tiny stock injectors supposedly only good for ~230bhp.
 
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TurboABA

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Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline
I'm only suggesting things, I am not saying that you didn't already check, etc.
Based on my logic, there's no reason for the intake air to heat up unless it's being compressed!
If that's true, why isn't said boost reaching your intake?
Also, how to do you explain the boost falling off a cliff once the vanes open?

Regarding the charge cooler. I'm not suggesting that it's not better than what you replaced, but I am saying that I would want it to cool more. A good design FMIC (air2air) system usually cools within 6-12dec C of ambient (on a properly setup FI system, etc). On a similar vehicle, a good design water2air system should be able to come within 8-12deg C of the afore mentioned FMIC setup. This is all on a vehicles that's moving, aka street\track car, not drag or offroad setups. This is why I'm not happy with your current charge cooler, although I do understand its benefits and appeal as far as reducing charge piping and improving response, consistency, etc.

Regardless, I'm not trying to hate on your setup, I'm only trying to suggest stuff that might help you sort things out or trigger input from others that may help.

The way I'm reading your graphs, once the vanes open up, your EGTs go haywire which I can only explain by the fact that your boost falls off a cliff and you're still dumping fuel (are per your maxxed out injectors at 2800rpm comments) but don't have sufficient air to burn it.

I really think you should log AFR to see if it reveals any clues.
 

adjat84th

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Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
Thanks to @TurboABA and @m1ketdi for a little motivation! I made another adjustment on the actuator (even longer now) and got the below result after an updated file with new position voltages. Adding more fuel + shorter duration will certainly change things again.

 
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m1ketdi

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May 18, 2009
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Leam
TDI
Leon BKD
Thanks to @TurboABA and @m1ketdi for a little motivation! I made another adjustment on the actuator (even longer now) and got the below result after an updated file with new position voltages. Adding more fuel will certainly change things again.

Will be good to see how egt goes once you drop the new big injectors in
 

adjat84th

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Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
Long awaited...150% Injectors should be shipping this week from S&S.
Finally was able to solve the oil smoke when coming away from a stop with a 1mm oil restrictor for the turbo oil feed, happy it was that simple and wish I had tried that from the beginning. I think I attempted three different oil returns, and now wondering if I really needed to in the first place.
 

3L3M3NT

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Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Location
Sturgeon Bay, WI
TDI
04 Jetta GLS TDI, 04 RTDI
That's awesome news that the bigger injectors are on their way and that you solved the oil feed line issue with an affordable fix. It just sucks that it took you so many tries to find the perfect solution.
I honestly kinda wondered if the size fittings and lines were too big for feeding and return of the oil from the turbo. Especially considering that Adam provides -4AN fitting size with his VKLR Oil and Water feed kit. I guess bigger isn't better in this case. 🤣🤷‍♂️
 

adjat84th

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Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
-4AN feed was what I had with the 2260vklr and a -6AN return without any smoke. There's only a couple of posts among this forum about the upgraded turbine wheel needing a restrictor, as well Adam recommended to try a 1mm restrictor after I reached out to him. I got an inline version that is -4an female on one end and -4an male on the other. Cheap and easy.
 
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