Added another one to the fleet...

[turbocharged798]

All buttoned up and ready for a test fire. Put in a new Behr radiator, all new hoses, rebuilt injectors with sprint 520s from DBW, new question mark pipe, new oil cooler, and new coolant bottle. Hooked up an external fuel supply because I didn't trust what was in the fuel tank. Big question was the IP, given the state of the rest of the engine, I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Battery is all wrong as I can't even get the hold down clap. Once the car goes on the road, I will get a proper battery for it. Sorry for the crappy pic, lighting was bad and I couldn't get the focus right.

 

[turbocharged798]

Its alive!!!!
Pulled fuel through the IP, bled two of the injectors and she popped right off. Runs smooth and quiet. I think it still had a bit of air in the lines hence the bit of roughness sound in the video but its runs butter smooth now. IP doesn't leak at all and is nice and quiet. No leaks, no problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXRh7EppLh8

Now for the bad stuff, group 13 was kinda off, like -1.15 on #2 and +.8 on #1. Hoping it will straighten out once I make a few hard runs with it and get all the remaining air out of the fuel system. Pump was pretty dry so it took a lot of priming. Timing was pretty close to bang on, and its running around 3.5mg/stroke IQ. So I dunno why its so off other that I hope its air in the system.

Its missing the snorkel that goes to the airbox so its kinda loud there. I need to find one of those.

Gauge cluster looks like a Christmas tree. Throwing good old P0380 glow plug circuit malfunction. One ABS sensor is dead. Washer bottle was junk so that light is on for now. Airbags had a igniter code but I found a loose connection and cleared and it hasn't come back so far.

But the main problem is that the clutch is no workey. It just won't release fully. I can start it in gear but then can't get back out. I finally figured out if I push the clutch in and immediately shift I can get it into gear. Then I know it must be a hydraulic problem since it seems to leak down once you hold clutch. That's when it just dawned on me that I accidentally pushed the clutch in while the trans was out and popped the slave cylinder. I pushed the plunger back in but it must of damaged it somehow. I sure hope that's all it is because I REALLY do not want to pull the trans back out. Disappointing end to the day when I thought I would be driving it. Gotta locate a slave cylinder and see if it fixes it.

AC works fantastic though. Too bad the heater core is busted though.
Had to bypass it to get it running.

 

[MartyMcfly]

awesome work my man! love these threads where people give cars a second shot at life

 

[turbocharged798]

Thanks, wish I could save them all.

So...pulled the slave cylinder and took it completely apart. Simple device really, plastic housing, aluminum sleeve, and a plastic plunger and goes inside the sleeve with a spring to keep it extended.

Found nothing wrong with it, cleaned it up really well and put it back together. No dice, clutch still drags. The engagement point is about where it should be. Looks like the tranny is coming back out.

I did manage to drive it up the road a bit. Runs great, suspension is SHOT, like the wheels feel like they are ready to fall off.

The PN on the flywheel that was in the car is 037105273G. I used this valeo clutch kit:
http://www.idparts.com/valeo-clutch-kit-for-smf-a3b4a4-p-4087.html

Came with new TO bearing. I am thinking its either the wrong clutch for the flywheel or the flywheel is warped.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[turbocharged798]

OK so I spoke to cory @ IDparts and he said that the valeo clutch kit I ordered needed to go with the valeo flywheel. Basically, I either need to find a valeo flywheel or buy another clutch kit.

This blows.

 

[turbocharged798]

SO managed to find another member with a valeo flywheel thankfully. Pulled the trans and found this:

The clutch disk was rubbing on the flywheel bolts. The disk wasn't even making contact with the flywheel. Ground the heads of the bolts right down. The valeo flywheel has the bolts much more recessed and thus the disk won't rub on them.

Good news is that I have the valeo flywheel installed and it runs great! No more clutch issues and it shifts great. Took the opportunity to drop the fluid that was in the trans and replace with syncromesh. Of course its got that crappy 99.5 shift linkage that is a royal piece of crap but it shifts and I am happy.

Now onto suspension. Its so clapped out it feels like the wheels are going to come off. Left LCA bushing isn't even connected, tie rod ends have like 1/4in of play, rear beam bushings gone, and sway bar end links are broken right off. More work for another day.

 

[turbocharged798]

This car is such a pile. Getting around to suspension and just the front left, tie rods gone, ball joints loose, control arm bushings destroyed, struts clapped out, abs sensors inop, some goof beat the sensor and missed so the ring is shot too, it just doesn't stop. Want to yank the motor back out and burn this POS.

 

[Abacus]

OK so I spoke to cory @ IDparts and he said that the valeo clutch kit I ordered needed to go with the valeo flywheel. Basically, I either need to find a valeo flywheel or buy another clutch kit.

I pulled a Valeo flywheel and clutch off a B4 with the stock SMF. The flywheel was original and never removed from the engine, it neither slipped nor had any issues. It was replaced with a Sachs VR6 that also works fine.

Based on this, how could it be?

 

[turbocharged798]

Not sure. All I know that the valeo clutch on my sachs flywheel did not work.

It seems nobody really understands the differences between them. Maybe the valeo G60/VR6 is different than the stock B4 clutch? I dunno.

 

[MattRabbit]

I love watching rescues like this. Too often, owners destroy their vehicles and trash them, opting to just buy a new one when they're done. That just creates waste.

You've done a great job resurrecting this beast. Keep it up!

 

[FreshOntarioBeetle]

Keep going man!! don't burn it!

This will be the most epic resurrection thread once its on the road and ready to rock.

Have you gotten any farther in the last week or so?

YOU CAN DO IT!

 

[turbocharged798]

Sorry been really busy and haven't had time to update. Still working on the car, slowly but surely.

Re-did the dirty, falling down head liner. Not perfect but 100x better than what was in there. Got the material for $27

Before:

After:

Also cleaned the side panels. I used heavy duty cleaner and lots of hot water/scrubbing and they came out looking great.

Results came out pretty nice. Not perfect, but very presentable.

 

[turbocharged798]

Been working on the front suspension and found this after pressing in the R32/tt bushings.

So got a junkyard shipping me another control arm and hopefully have the front suspension ironed out.

 

[TNguy]

Where did you get the headliner material?

Can you post a link? I need to do mine but hesitant on it and getting a color to match the factory. Did the material have foam/padding on it?

Car has certainly had a journey, keep up the good work!

 

[turbocharged798]

Ebay, it was a special and the guy only had like 2 yards left on a roll and was selling it cheap. It was labeled as "light gray" and matched perfect. Maybe very slight difference but hardly noticeable.

Here is what I bought:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351530409611?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
He might have more if you look around.

Yes, it had padding. Make sure to use a good contact adhesive( I used 3M heavy duty stuff) and get all the old backing material off otherwise it won't adhere properly..

 

[JimGarb]

I'm loving the updates on this car. You've brought this thing back to life. I also see you're in Ellenville, somewhat close to where I am. Keep up the great work and pictures.

 

[turbocharged798]

Time for some much needed updates . Got the heater core done along with the blend door foam delete. It was in surprising good shape but I wanted to get that foam out of there before it became an issue.

 

[turbocharged798]

Scored these at a u-pull junkyard. They are mint and got both for $80.

Then I went down to my local NAPA and first asked for T-red paint and he told me it likely wouldn't match because of fade. Took come chips and matched it up to their colors. Took it home and shot it right in my front yard. A few bugs here and there but came out really nice overall.

 

[GIDDY_UP_GO]

Looking good! Keep up the good fight! You will be proud of your baby wants its back on the road.

 

[turbocharged798]

Thanks, lots more to come.

Attempted to do rear axle bushings. Man were those shot. It really wasn't even attached any more. Then I found the heat shields were rotted and the brake lines were so so. Rear shocks are rotted so bad oil was pissing out everywhere. So I ended up pulling the rear axle.

It ended up being a good thing because I found that the bushing mounts were pretty rotten, enough that it made me feel uneasy about using the axle. It was pretty thin in that area after I knocked the rust off.

At this point I chucked the rear axle in the scrap pile and went on the hunt for another axle.

 

[turbocharged798]

Found a mint rear axle from an 03 GLI from a u-pull it yard and was able to get whole thing for around $100 or so Much better deal than trying to rebuild the current axle as the ABS sensors were bad and they were like $35 a piece alone. Added a new set of Zimmerman rotors and OE pagid pads.

Also put new bushings in the axle as it was so easy to get at now. My homemade bushing install tool. Old strut spring top, old wheel bearing, motorcycle sproket, and a piece of threaded rod. Was pretty tricky to get it started as it kept going crooked in the bore so I ended up using a bar clamp to help straighten it. Once it started going, it went right in.

 

[turbocharged798]

Installed! Had an good used set of napa shocks that I threw in for now and a set of new/used springs. The old springs were broken on by sides! Probably upgrade later with new springs and billy TC shocks.

 

[panthers89fan90]

.

Time for some much needed updates . Got the heater core done along with the blend door foam delete. It was in surprising good shape but I wanted to get that foam out of there before it became an issue.

That looks like quite a bit of work! I have been holding off because of this. My car shoots little pieces of foam at me through the vents. When the foam is completely gone, the worst that happens is that it mixes cold and hot air right?

I really need to do this soon!

 

[turbocharged798]

One door controls the heat/cold air and the other one control where the air goes. The heat/cold door is the real problem because when then goes, all you get is slightly warm air no matter what. Once you get foam blowing out, it means that its not long before you are going to have heat/AC issues.

 

[turbocharged798]

So she is together and running great. Got plates and insurance for it and now can drive it legally. Had an issue with the glow plugs throwing the classic P0380 code. First it was a bad connection under the battery causing no voltage at the glow plugs. Fixed that and the code went away for a day or so and then came back. Spent many frustrating hours tracking down all the wiring only to find that during the time one of the original glow plugs(that I had tested during the rebuild) failed and thus was the result of the code.Real DUH moment. Popped in a new glow plugs and the P0380 hasn't come back since. Was able to run down to a local shop and get an inspection sticker. Passed no problem.

Made a trip to to Mikes(MMautocycle) to get an alignment. Really great guys there, talked about the car and Mike's guys did a fantastic job on the alignment and showed me everything in the process. Took the car out on the interstate on the way home from NJ and it did great. Car seem nicer than my black 99.5, just feels tighter and quieter. Really weird.

This car was definitely an adventure and a LOT of work but in the end I think it was totally worth it. Probably got $5,000 invested by the time it is set and done but I now have a completely rebuilt ALH car that will likely run another 300K or so. Just need to keep the rust at bay and she should be good for a while.

Probably going to give it a bit more paint and body work now. Think I am going to sand the car down lightly and re-clearcoat the whole car. This should stop the clear coat from failing worse and give it a nice shine back. Weather is not good for painting at the moment so that will likely not happen for a while.

 

[Robski92]

Awesome build. It seemed that literally everything that could possibly be wrong on the car was. Great turnaround.

 

[crawdaddy]

Of course its got that crappy 99.5 shift linkage that is a royal piece of crap

Is just that year, 99.5 shift linkage bad, or the that you were working on?

 

[turbocharged798]

Yes, 99.5 cars had a weird linkage setup that was pretty much a A3 leftover. 2000+ they switched to a much better linkage. I picked up a later style linkage in the junkyard a while back but never got around to putting it.