Just Another ALH Build

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
I suppose after working on it for over 8 years (as of this post), it's about time I start a build thread for my 2003 Golf. Basically just a list of mods so I can keep track of them better. Questions or recommendations are welcome.

2.0L ALH
BHW Crank
BHW Pistons Ceramic Coated
PD150 Rosten Rods
17:1 CR
Ported ALH Head
Dual Valve Springs
256/256 11mm Lift Camshaft (2019 Update: Colt Stage 3 Cam)
RyanP GTB2260VK and Tubular Manifold
4 Bar MAP Sensor
DRW 6-Speed w/ Upgraded Shift Forks
Wavetrac LSD
TDTuning
Giles 12mm IP Head on 11mm Body with 10mm Delivery Valves
DSSR 0.360 Nozzles
LCR PD Lift Pump
Derale 13225 Frame Rail Fuel Cooler
Ported PD150 Intake Manifold
Heat Wrapped PD150 TIP
2.5" FMIC
1.8T Pancake Pipe
R32 Snorkel/Airbox/MAF
ARP Head Studs
Whitbread Block Girdle
2 Micron CAT Fuel Filter
Air Filter Minder
DieselGeek FMJ Panzer
DieselGeek Oil Bypass Filter
205 F Thermostat
3” Downpipe
AeroTurbine 3030XL Resonator
Ventectomy
BFI Stage 2 Dogbone (Back to Stock)
ClutchMasters Dual Disc FX600 (2016 Update: Sachs SRE)
Darkside Billet Single Mass Flywheel
Euro Switch/Rear Fog
Joey-Modded R32 Headlights/Fogs in Glass w/ Upgraded Wiring
McNally Boost/EGT Gauge
VDO Fuel Press/Oil Press/Oil Temp Gauges
Alientech Window Module
Mini Antenna
Polo Rear Wiper
Mudflaps
Roof Rack
Hitch/Bike Rack
Conti ExtremeContact DW 225/55/16 on Montreal 1 Wheels (Summer)
Pirelli Sottozero 3 215/55/16 on Montreal 2 Wheels (Winter)
Cover Mod
Alpine iDA-X100
Bilstein TC Sports
TT LCA Bushings
BFI RSB
FrostHeater
GLI Seats
Audi S3 Shift Knob w/ Red Stitching
DieselGeek Super Slider on Shift Tower
Leather 3-Spoke GTI Steering Wheel
Black leather door cards with red stitching
LED Trunk Lighting
OSB Reinforced Trunk Floor
Rear Bumper Sill Protector
Monster Mats
 
Last edited:

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
Pics or it didn't happen (jk. just want to see some pics)
Yeah, I've never been very good at taking pictures of a job unless I have an issue I need help troubleshooting. I'll see what I can find. There's at least one in this saga from a while back. http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=390152

Titan 502's?
Yeah, it's a long story. These originally belonged to RyanP for his personal car. He decided not to use them over the R520s that he already had because they flowed too much. Ryan is one of the few vendors that I've never had any problems or concerns with and I trust and respect him quite a bit. When I bought these from him, they were already mounted and balanced. His claim was that they were from a very early batch of the Titans and had higher flow than R520 nozzles. I have no reason to doubt that. I am, however, saving up for some big DSS nozzles since, even with the modified 12mm pump, I think these are limiting me a bit.
 

Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
Titan 502, looking for a slight increase over stock performance?

That's a 120-130hp nozzle... I have the flow data on them, so it's not even a debate.
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
Titan 502, looking for a slight increase over stock performance?

That's a 120-130hp nozzle... I have the flow data on them, so it's not even a debate.
I disagree based on my personal experience. Can we leave the trolling to another thread, please?
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
I guess the definitive thing that will put any doubts about the nozzles to bed are dyno results.

From where are you getting the camshaft?
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
From where are you getting the camshaft?
I got it through TDIinTexas, but I'm fairly certain that it's originally from Kyle. You know... the one bearing your name without consent...

For the record, everything in the original post is already complete (and has been for quite some time) so this is all thoroughly tested. Fastest "120 HP" TDI I've ever driven. :rolleyes:
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
All hatchets have been buried. Interested to know how you're liking it.
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
I made so many changes at the same time, it's hard to separate the camshaft from the rest of the differences. I can say it keeps pulling crazy hard from 2400 RPM to 6000 RPM, so I assume flow is great. EGTs are nice and low. It sounds like a Harley and Mack truck had a lovechild. Pretty much no power to speak of below 2000 RPM but, like I said, so many variables it's hard to tie it to one thing.
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
Installed a fuel cooler today to keep the pump happy now that summer is on the way. Front mounted a 24" frame rail cooler under my intercooler.
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
Good news: My new DSSR nozzles are mounted and in the mail back from Giles.
Bad news: My clutch went out this morning, so time to go shopping.
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
What are you looking at? I am still searching for a clutch for mine.
Not sure what I'm going with yet, but an SRE setup from Darkside is likely. Ryan is a stand up guy and I know I can trust him and his parts. I started a thread fishing for options. http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=5148908

I'll start tearing it down this weekend to see what really happened. Sudden catastrophic failure with symptoms of either disc disintegration or pressure plate failure.
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
Well, out of commission again. Using a mL of oil every mile and belching smoke on startups. Along with that, a major exhaust leak that opened up between the turbo and manifold. With newborn twins at home, she won't be running again for a good long while. Any gurus want to make a buck fixing my can-o-worms since I have zero time and about as much spirit left for it?
 

Votblindub

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Location
NY
TDI
MK4 Jetta Wagon
Well, out of commission again. Using a mL of oil every mile and belching smoke on startups. Along with that, a major exhaust leak that opened up between the turbo and manifold. With newborn twins at home, she won't be running again for a good long while. Any gurus want to make a buck fixing my can-o-worms since I have zero time and about as much spirit left for it?
Did you damage the rings?
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
Did you damage the rings?
It's used a good bit of oil since the built engine went in, but it's gotten worse over the last year or two, so I'm assuming the rings need to be replaced. Could be a lot of different things causing it, though. I don't have the time to dig in and figure it out.
 

kooyajerms

grocery getter
Joined
May 5, 2004
Location
Pomona, Southern California
TDI
97 B4V (mine), 11 x5 35d (hers) 04 V10 (that one you want), 2014 Q7 (mom's) 74 Shasta 1400
Tubular manifolds have been my bane since going beyond stock. I Should have went with a cast from the beginning.

Good luck
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
Could be that your ported head poked into an oil gallery somewhere. Take off the exhaust manifold and peer into the ports to see any evidence of oil or excessive carbon (than should be usual).
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
I suppose I should update this. Way back in February 2019 I gave up on trying to find time to do it myself and dropped my homegrown hack-job off with Anuthee (aNut) at DieselLand. Wonderful experience with him, BTW. His guys got the exhaust leaks mended and did a lot of digging on the oil consumption. Ended up finding a valve guide leaking badly into the cylinder between the guide and the head (not the seal). We decided that the best course of action would be to replace the head completely with a newly ported and proven one. It's been a year and a half since I got her back and she's still running beautifully. I think the tune could use a few tweaks for smoke still (those big injectors and big pump really dump a lot of fuel) but haven't been able to get a good conversation going with Mike yet.

The next adventure was getting side swiped by a soccer mom in an SUV last fall. Had to buy back the totaled car from her insurance, fix it myself, etc. but it looks better now than it has in years. I took the opportunity to revamp the headlights, re-upholser the door cards, deep detail the interior, and so on. I guess it was a blessing in disguise since I like driving it even more now. Just need to redo the headliner and it'll feel almost new again. That probably buys me a few more years of lusting after those fancy new electric cars before I jump in and buy one of those.
 

arne487

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Fort Collins, CO
TDI
'03 Golf TDI, '10 TDI Cup Jetta
Pretty uneventful year so far aside from having to replace a leaking clutch slave cylinder inside the 02M a coupe of weeks ago. Thankfully no fluid on the clutch! The older I get the heavier that transmission feels.

 

jhax

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Location
Golden, CO
TDI
96 Passat B4V, ALH engine out of a 2002 Jetta, some IE Rods and ASV Pistons. Nothing drivable yet though
It's been a mild winter so far, glad to see Anuthee got you sorted out, he is good people. Ive managed 740 miles on my new build so far. I am in the process of fixing a cluster issue in my daily so I have been driving my ALH golf around in the meantime. Keep it going!
 
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