General Swap Malarky

[jmodge]

A. I think I still have air in my system because of the lack circulation....or blocked coolant Passat. I have a 16 psi radiator cap. It's not enough pressure to push past and fill my expansion tank. I have pressurized the system to verify it opens at 16psi.

B. My aftermarket boost gauge will rise up to about 25. I use torque pro to watch things while testing, the ECU reads more accurately. My BHW max psi is about 22 with stage 2 tune.

Is it possible your bypass is causing air in your heater core? Path of least resistance maybe and the air in the heater core is compressing

 

[PickleRick]

Is it possible your bypass is causing air in your heater core? Path of least resistance maybe and the air in the heater core is compressing

I did use a pair of needle nose style vice grips to temporarily cut off the bypass tee. I'm sure they have a proper name.... Installed last night after a good half hour test drive which resulted in having heat once but it was brief. Noticed an immediate rise in coolant temps at load with the bypass clamped Once the air was out she went back to 194-197ish.

Then flow issue comes in, heat only while reving. But there was heat at least.

At idle or low rpms no heat.

Installed my faulty 160ish thermostat this morning. So I'll have heat the rest of this weekend.

 

[PickleRick]

Working on pulling one of my spare BHW motors. Time to part out the car. It had the replacement I think borg turbo and stainless oil feed. Approx 180k. EGR delte. Hope to find a balance shaft delete as these turbos rarely fail unless the dumb BS goes

 

[BimmerTim]

I did use a pair of needle nose style vice grips to temporarily cut off the bypass tee. I'm sure they have a proper name.... Installed last night after a good half hour test drive which resulted in having heat once but it was brief. Noticed an immediate rise in coolant temps at load with the bypass clamped Once the air was out she went back to 194-197ish.

Then flow issue comes in, heat only while reving. But there was heat at least.

At idle or low rpms no heat.

Installed my faulty 160ish thermostat this morning. So I'll have heat the rest of this weekend.

The heat only when reving and going away during idle seems like you might still have air in the heater core. When you rev the flow increases, overcoming the head to get up into the heater core.

When you clamp the tee off does the truck(?) get hot? I guess it's pretty cold to really test that. If so, but in the winter it's getting poor heat, you could put a little ball valve in the tee. That way it can be free-flowing in the summer, and flow through the heater core in the winter?

I really can't recommend the vacuum filler enough. Like you, I'm running the toyota filler, not the VW coolant ball, but I'm still able to fill with the vacuum filler. The cone attachment should be able to seal past the overflow hole, or mine does anyway.

https://www.amazon.com/Coolant-Cooling-Universal-Carrying-Connectors/dp/B09CL3YQJD/ref=asc_df_B09CL3YQJD?mcid=e769dc87f5243fe8ac90da9931db49c0&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693585715857&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15656414610559777051&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019526&hvtargid=pla-1432110898549&psc=1

 

[BimmerTim]

That’s a bit high. A tune on a stock turbo usually runs 18 with an initial spike of 21. Stock I believe is 15 and 18.

I wonder if this is a symptom of a poorly adjusted VNT actuator. Back when I was driving the car that my engine came out of the actuator rusted apart and was putting me in limp mode. When I replaced it, one of the bolts on the actuator bracket on the turbo broke off. The bracket is now pivoted in, closer to the turbo than it should be. I'd wager that's probably not doing me any favors.

Another question. When I'm on the highway, at say 2200rpm, and I let off the throttle, I'm still making 3-4psi boost. Unless I push the clutch in and let it idle down it stays slightly in boost. Is this normal?

 

[PickleRick]

In the two years I've had this in the road I've pulled the radiator and hoses a few times. She usually self bleeds the coolant quickly.

I have a pretty handy pressure gauge designed for vacuum and pressure testing carbs/crankcases. I find it also works well for pressurizing coolant systems.

I can park on an inclined and loosen the top heater core hose by the yota heater valve. This is the highest point in the system.

I then remove the overflow tube from my catch tank and pressurize it. She'll push out all the air and gurgle until already coolant comes out.

I feel the reason I'm not getting good bleed on the system is because of a lack of flow.

I ordered a new water pump that I will swap out on Tuesday or Wednesday. In the Toyota I can Access the timing belt without removing the radiator, still have a good 12 or so inches of space to work with so it's an hour job start to finish.


When I clamped off the the tee I did initially run warmer, much warmer coolant wise. It hit around 210-215. Then she tapered back down. I was somewhere in the 40s last night. I am in the southeast but is cold for our average November currently.

If the water pump doesn't work I suspect I have an internal issues like clog or head gasket that is my culprit.

 

[BimmerTim]

In the two years I've had this in the road I've pulled the radiator and hoses a few times. She usually self bleeds the coolant quickly.

I have a pretty handy pressure gauge designed for vacuum and pressure testing carbs/crankcases. I find it also works well for pressurizing coolant systems.

I can park on an inclined and loosen the top heater core hose by the yota heater valve. This is the highest point in the system.

I then remove the overflow tube from my catch tank and pressurize it. She'll push out all the air and gurgle until already coolant comes out.

I feel the reason I'm not getting good bleed on the system is because of a lack of flow.

I ordered a new water pump that I will swap out on Tuesday or Wednesday. In the Toyota I can Access the timing belt without removing the radiator, still have a good 12 or so inches of space to work with so it's an hour job start to finish.


When I clamped off the the tee I did initially run warmer, much warmer coolant wise. It hit around 210-215. Then she tapered back down. I was somewhere in the 40s last night. I am in the southeast but is cold for our average November currently.

If the water pump doesn't work I suspect I have an internal issues like clog or head gasket that is my culprit.

That's a pretty clever bleeding solution too!

I hope the pump fixes it.

 

[PickleRick]

That's a pretty clever bleeding solution too!

I hope the pump fixes it.

You and me both. She self bled this morning within about 10 minutes. I'll have to top off after she cools. Whatever the issue is, it's odd.

 

[jmodge]

I wonder if this is a symptom of a poorly adjusted VNT actuator. Back when I was driving the car that my engine came out of the actuator rusted apart and was putting me in limp mode. When I replaced it, one of the bolts on the actuator bracket on the turbo broke off. The bracket is now pivoted in, closer to the turbo than it should be. I'd wager that's probably not doing me any favors.

Another question. When I'm on the highway, at say 2200rpm, and I let off the throttle, I'm still making 3-4psi boost. Unless I push the clutch in and let it idle down it stays slightly in boost. Is this normal?

No load cruise you should be able to drop to zero boost, but not for long, as load comes back so will boost. Did you set rod length with a mighty vac after refastening the bracket

 

[PickleRick]

I also hope you're using any sort of diagnostic tool to read the ECU boost reading and not an aftermarket gauge. Aftermarket is good for a kind of close enough reading.

 

[BimmerTim]

No load cruise you should be able to drop to zero boost, but not for long, as load comes back so will boost. Did you set rod length with a mighty vac after refastening the bracket

Nope. Did it in the winter in my driveway 5 or 6 years ago. Forgot about it until I saw that I was staying in boost off throttle. Could explain the 24psi spike too.

 

[BimmerTim]

I also hope you're using any sort of diagnostic tool to read the ECU boost reading and not an aftermarket gauge. Aftermarket is good for a kind of close enough reading.

I have logged in the past, but was looking for some other issues. Boost during a pull did spike to 2.5bar in VCDS, so 1.5-ish bar gauge, which is 22psi. So aftermarket is reading slightly high, but still in that range.

 

[PickleRick]

Test drive home with vice grip block off heater core bypass had near instant heat. Ran about 160-170 degrees. Could only maintain 55 for a few miles, don't think it got over 173

I don't like that my hoses are firm when hot, again it can't be over 16 psi as that's when the radiator cap pops. No level change in the coolant catch tank.

But then again, I never felt my hoses on any of my TDI vehicles soft or at normal running temps as I never had a need.

When I am pressurizing the coolant system to work out air bubbles the hoses do start feeling hard about 10-13 psi. About the same as they do now.

 

[BimmerTim]

Test drive home with vice grip block off heater core bypass had near instant heat. Ran about 160-170 degrees. Could only maintain 55 for a few miles, don't think it got over 173

I don't like that my hoses are firm when hot, again it can't be over 16 psi as that's when the radiator cap pops. No level change in the coolant catch tank.

But then again, I never felt my hoses on any of my TDI vehicles soft or at normal running temps as I never had a need.

When I am pressurizing the coolant system to work out air bubbles the hoses do start feeling hard about 10-13 psi. About the same as they do now.

Do you have any of the coolant pH test strips or coolant test fluid? That would confirm or deny a head gasket. I don’t have any, so I’m guessing most people don’t. I think you can get it a many parts stores.

 

[PickleRick]

I do not, those are not super reliable

What's weird is this is the thermostat that was running around 145-155 or 150-160. It's now running 180-190. It did climb to 195 or so after a good 30 min highway run at 65-70mph. The coolant Tee bypass is now functional. It's in the high 50s low 60s. It hit the 195 ish point as soon as we exited the freeway and hit 3 long traffic lights after another. As soon as we began moving she went back down to the 180s. Was running 165 to 175 before hitting the freeway. Heat worked the entire time after first mile or two.

A head gasket is 40 bucks. Head bolts are another 40. I should be able to suspend the exhaust manifold and pull it pretty easily. So long as it checks out with a straight edge it shouldn't be a difficult job other than the cleaning of oil/coolant . Would be easier than attempting to pull another BHW that may or not need a bs delete and/or new cam

 

[BimmerTim]

I adjusted my VNT actuator today. Got it hitting full at like 16-17 inHg, but I ran out of threads to go out further. Previously, above 2k rpm if I let off the throttle it would drop to 2-3psi, but jump back and sit at 6-7psi during no throttle deceleration.
Now, on deceleration it settles right down to 2-3psi.
My peak boost is now only 20-21psi, but sustained is still 14-15psi.

I also ran 2 bottles of straight diesel purge through it. Seems to have quieted down a bit and runs a bit smoother.

Another experiment I did today was installing a center support bearing that I had filled the voids with black window weld, basically silicone. It’s terrible. I installed a center support bearing a couple years ago and the rubber is already toast, which is why I tried to filled the voids in the rubber. I’m thinking that maybe my driveshaft is out of balance, which may have caused the last one to fail and this one to have a ton of vibration.

I ordered another one to be here tomorrow. I need it to be smooth for next week, because I’m driving back home 4 hours each way for Thanksgiving. When I get back I think I’m going to bring my driveshaft to a local shift to see if it needs balanced.

 

[PickleRick]

What do you guys think of the coolant capacity of this guy? 17 inches tall, 2 row. 13 inches wide? Think it will handle 100 degrees summers?

 

[BimmerTim]

What do you guys think of the coolant capacity of this guy? 17 inches tall, 2 row. 13 inches wide? Think it will handle 100 degrees summers?

Mine is the same height and width, roughly, but is 4 core. I think the core thickness is 2.75 or so. So far, zero issues. I have had my fan come on a few times, but not for extended periods. I also, have the Toyota heater control valve in place with no tee like you have on that circuit.

 

[PickleRick]

I was under the impression the tee was a requirement on the tdi engine as that constant circulation was required for proper coolant circulation.

Also thank you for the info

 

[jmodge]

I have no tee bypassing my heater core either

 

[BimmerTim]

I was under the impression the tee was a requirement on the tdi engine as that constant circulation was required for proper coolant circulation.

Also thank you for the info

Not sure. I mean, flow still exists through the oil cooler, but definitely less (1/2). I also don't have the trans cooler or the EGR cooler in place. Maybe I should have a tee in there somewhere...

I haven't tracked coolant temp in logs, but maybe I should. My temp gauge reads, but not accurately.

 

[caffeine]

A. I think I still have air in my system because of the lack circulation....or blocked coolant Passat. I have a 16 psi radiator cap. It's not enough pressure to push past and fill my expansion tank. I have pressurized the system to verify it opens at 16psi.

B. My aftermarket boost gauge will rise up to about 25. I use torque pro to watch things while testing, the ECU reads more accurately. My BHW max psi is about 22 with stage 2 tune.

22 psi for stage 2? Seems low for a BHW. Stock I believe is 20.5 psi.

 

[PickleRick]

Removed the water pump tonight, it was in as good of condition tonight as it was when is installed 30k ago.

So, began the tear down for the head. Everything is loose except the valve cover and head bolts. It got cold and dark.

Also installed a new OEM yota coolant valve. Did rerouted my coolant hoses, getting rid of the pre heater core tee. Having the oil cooler hopefully provides sufficient flow. Fingers crossed Thanksgiving morning I have some free time to yank the head.

Still need to remove the cam sprocket to I believe unbolt the plastic timing belt backing plate. I don't think I'll need to remove the hub off of the cam but we'll see. The most I've done with a head on a TDI is replace the cam.

Now on a disco 2....I can tear the block down blindfolded.

 

[PickleRick]

22 psi for stage 2? Seems low for a BHW. Stock I believe is 20.5 psi.

I may make 25, about 22 is the highest I've seen while torque pro was running. I rarely push it hard.

 

[03Golfer]

Heater Valves Products

www.oldairproducts.com

I have one of these heater valves waiting to go in for my swap. I think if you Google image search it will come up with a contemporary GM product so you should be able to order locally and make your own cable bracket.

 

[PickleRick]

Luckily the OEM Toyota valve is still available, about 52 bucks so no mods needed for my HVAC control cables

 

[03Golfer]

The OE valve doesn't allow flow through, like these valves do. Just thought I'd mention it since you seem concerned about the oil cooler circuit not having enough flow through it with the valve closed

 

[PickleRick]

A few pics, looks like carbon to me on the water passages (tear drops).

I've scrubbed the head cleanly and will bring home more feeler gauges tonight to check flatness. .004" was the smallest I had at home which checked out ok on both straight edges I have at the house.

 

[PickleRick]

Got home with a machinist straight edge and a complete set of feeler gauges. Down to .002" I couldn't get anything to slide under the head. Used my pneumatic oil change pump to clean the threaded holes for head bolts in the block. Gave each hole a few hits of carb cleaner then hit a second time

Got the head on. 30nm, no problem. 60nm, going smoothly. The first 90 degree turn made me nervous. The second one I was waiting on one of those head bolts to snap. Never done a TDI head before. Unfortunately I've gotten really good at disco 2 heads. With arp head studs I don't torque past about 85 ft-lbs as the threads like to pull out of the block.

The Victor whatever brand head gasket said 80 degrees on the assembly spec sheet, it's floating right above freezing right now. Really won't get past the 50s for the next few days so I didn't want to put off the repair. It also said to lube threads of bolts and bottom of the head. I've read where vw puts them on dry. I put some wd 40 on them, shook off excess and installed them.


I'll finish reassembly tomorrow, see how it goes. If I end up having head gasket issues again I'll send the head off to Frank. Being right before the holidays and still being swamped with repair work due to hurricane Helene clean up I don't have time to let the Toyota site.

 

[PickleRick]

Ran into a couple issued. First the replacement injector harness didn't fit for crap and I damaged the pins installing. Then I wasn't getting any fuel as I forgotten to tighten the cam hub before installing the timing belt, allowing the torsion value to be off just enough to not fire off the injectors. Not sure how far past it has to be to achieve this point, I didn't vcds ir at that point but something told me to R&R the belt again. It couldn't be more than a tooth. It did set off a cam sensor CEL. Pulled back apart, put the locks back in place a second time and this time installed the belt with cam hub set in the center.


Immediate fuel. Reinstalled glow plugs to get up to normal running temp. Torsion value -5.6ish...small tweak and it was back to -1.5. called that good. Not going to worry about playing with that any more until I need the timing belt done in 20k

No heat on first run, no shocker.

Parked on hill after the hockey game and bled the system. Heat in less than a mile. Ran down the freeway about 10 min. Peaked at 197.8 with the new 190 thermostat reinstalled. Instead of heat spiking immediately after getting off the freeway she dropped down to about 194. She stayed 192-195 on all the 35-45 mph. Back roads.

Not sure if it was the head gasket, I redid a ton of coolant hoses to make the routing more clean, deleted the tee bypass.

We'll see how long she lasts as I don't like reinstalling heads that have not been "skimmed" or resurfaced. No one responded to the max tolerance for a straight edge on these but for normal cylinder heads .002 is good. Just but sure on these German engineer diesels.
Also, spent an hour looking for a turbo to manifold gasket thinking I lost it. My brain doesn't work well in cold weather