MK2 ALH (Build Thread)

[Mozambiquer]

Spent a better portion of the day in the bathtub scrubbing 400,000 miles of gunk and grime

More bad news out of this donor motor. Seems like a fixed dent... may need to fab up a shield if I want this one to last.

Maybe a good idea to paint it?

Looks like it was cracked... I'd replace it, they're not that expensive, especially if you get one from one someone is parting out.
You can get a Panzer plate that will protect your oil pan. I've got one on my Passats.

 

[Poor King]

Looks like it was cracked... I'd replace it, they're not that expensive, especially if you get one from one someone is parting out.
You can get a Panzer plate that will protect your oil pan. I've got one on my Passats.

All that work cleaning it, down the drain. I'll check to see if that panzer plate will work on a MK2 right after I source another pan. The story behind the mysterious shards of metal bits and pieces that I found is starting to unveil itself.

 

[Poor King]

This may help someone save some elbow grease. From left-to-right those boat-like scotch Brite stuff gets the job done with ease, and the stuff on the right are a waste of atoms.

 

[Poor King]

Got'er in

 

[Poor King]

Rub a dub dub, guess who took a shower with an ALH block in their tub lol. I got loads of grime and carbon buildup off the block. This pic is only a quarter of how much was removed. Those were not an easy 400k on this ALH...



Wish I had taken a before pic; they were pretty much all black with loads of carbon buildup. Still not perfect and I will go over them once more when they are ready for the chamber.



Quick tip if you forget the orientation of the rod caps-- the VW & Audi logos always line up on the same end for factory spec balance.

 

[Poor King]

Can said Esmeralda green but looks tractor green to me. Thinking a matte black head & transmission, along with a silver valve cover would accentuate it real well.

The amount of carbon, rust buildup and chipping of the outer cast took me the whole day to remove. Hopefully I will have the transmission done tomorrow and the project will have to come to a conclusion for the time being.

Everything I've worked on and all my cars are up for sale. You can check the classifieds or pm me for the fine print. Hopefully someone will get to enjoy the amount of time I have put in.

 

[Poor King]

Not happy with how the transmission cleaned up. I'll clean it with lemon and vinegar the next time around if I ever get to do an lsd, then paint it the same color. That green is much nicer in person than the potato pics in different lighting

 

[Poor King]

Gunna have to remove the windshield to get the pano in the interior and up onto the roof. Guess I can justify doing that since the seal has started to crack in the corners and protrude out of it's seat. Also there's a proper rock chip with a thumb sized crack that needs taken care of.

 

[Poor King]

THIS BUILD IS OFFICIALLY FOR SALE!

PM or visit vehicle classifieds for more info.

 

[Poor King]

Did a bit of this today .. guess if I build it, they will come?

 

[Poor King]

When I original purchased this car, the previous owner went on about how he wanted to contrast the black car with red accents. Typical Jetta/GTI personalization most owners do. But dear Lord this guy went overboard...




The day started out with pre-fitting the front and rear shocks to get an idea on the ride height. Now the rear is a whole 'nother area I need to pay closer attention to.





Seems like he was trying to hide rust that was accumulating on the rear subframe. I'm glad the car stopped driving when it did because this was a death trap awaiting a victim. I do have two syncro rear ends coming in from Estonia, just not sure if doing an awd swap on a car I will finish up to sell is a smart way to go about it.

 

[Poor King]

Got the B4 booster bracket and pedal assembly in. Nearly opted for a Fabless MK2 hydro pedal kit which would've been the easier route but where's the fun in that!

Glad I stuck with this Passat TDI Pedal assembly since it is solid package over the two part MK2 pedal tree and keeps with the replaceable OEM parts bin theme. Out with the old...








... And in with the new

 

[Poor King]

6hr round trip to pick this up from a fellow tdiclub member. It's a mk3 Jetta rear beam which should add an additional 12mm on each end. I don't mind the wider track for a bit more stability with the lift or whatnot.



Bethel, PA

 

[Poor King]

30yo brake lines are not good times. I'll have to inspect all odds and ends after the most recent discovery. Can't believe I had it up for sale in that condition but I'll do it justice..

 

[Poor King]

Mk3 rear beam in MK2 is not a direct swap. The rear end may bolt right up however the proportional valve location differs and the brake lines needs to be extended. The unit on my MK2 rear beam was extremely rusted and doubt operational. And the unit on my newly acquired (not new) mk3 rear beam is also busted.

This is a common issue that is overlooked by most owners and some choose to bypass the valve altogether in order to save a few monies. That valve adjusts the rear brake bias based on your payload on the rear beam regardless of the brake setup (I'm keeping the mk3 drums).

Not to deter anyone from this swap since it is an overall upgrade over the mk2 unit, however it requires one to drill twin bolt heads in order to replace the valve unit body. Sorry for the potato pics.



Even worse, in the event that you want to change your swing arm bushings, you'd have to drill off and replace a perfectly working unit since the bracket bolts are inserted from the inside



You know there's a saying with VW/Audi engineers... throw them a ladder in a hole and they'll fabricate a shovel to get out of it.

 

[Poor King]

Yaa I'm not refurbishing all that. Turns out the GTI I have sitting around has fairly new front suspension, subframe and controls arms. So those parts are getting swapped along with the rear disks from it too. I'm gonna steal soo many parts of it, this will practically become a JTI

 

[Poor King]

Shopping up in PA once again; went everywhere but the Liberty Bell.

 

[jhax]

Sorry I didnt think of this sooner but the early mk2s came with two separate prop valves that screw right into the brake master cylinder

 

[Poor King]

Sorry I didnt think of this sooner but the early mk2s came with two separate prop valves that screw right into the brake master cylinder

That valve was a nightmare to drill out. Thankfully the good guy I purchased it from helped me tackle that valve when I returned to pick up the front end off the same TDI MK3 jetta. Damn thing just stared and laughed the whole time I was struggling.








Needed an extra set of hands to get that rear beam up and set. Ended up taking the grunt of the weight on my back

 

[Poor King]

The VR6 block was actually built as a diesel motor but then VW changed their plans. My third day up in PA.

Now, clearly, I am the King of junk!





I stripped the motor then and there to verify it wasn't internally damaged. All good for the gasser GTI 1/2 mike car build. Originally this is how this thread started off: a MK2 diesel 1/2mile racer.

But the need for hp on long runs disqualified the ALH or any vw diesel motor for that matter.

 

[Poor King]

 

[Poor King]

Threw the red GTI calipers and rotors in the vinegar tank. The lengths I would go to save original parts is way farther than the following posts.







Cleaned. Needasitdown think I back my broke.

 

[Poor King]

 

[Poor King]

Starting my own band..

 

[Poor King]

Back, back, back & forth... this brake job is taking waay too long. I don't know how MK2 owners are going about replacing rear backing plates / dust shields but the cheapest option I found were $70 for each side. I want to do this right but also not going to be stupid about it. So I purchased a set of Mk4's for $30 shipped and modded them by redrilling the spindle flange bolt holes along with a few bends to fit the caliper carrier. There are a few threads online which claim that polo dust shields are a direct fit however I did not want to wait a month and then have the possibility of them not fitting correctly either.



EDIT: do not attempt the above Mk4 dust shield backing plate. I tried it and hopefully this will help deter most from attempting Mk4 dust plates / backing plate with MK2/MK3 spindle. This rear disc brake setup's were found in latter era GTI's and 16V cars. The same disc brake assembly was also available on Passats of the same era. While the pre-install went well, after loading the rotor hubs with grease, the disc does not rotate without brushing the Mk4 plater ever-so-slightly. It is literally a 1mm offset which is causing it make a scraping noise. So I went ahead and ordered part# 6N0615611, 6N0615612 which is for the polo. At this point I am $120 in dust plates so I could have just purchased mk2 units from FCP Euro at $140. The polo units are $80 for the set on eBay.

 

[Poor King]

After 7 months of back and forth with the seller and figuring out the logistics of shipping the two sets of mk2 AWD rear beam, they're finally in my possession. Too bad the original AWD Jetta plans with the ALH did not fall through.



And an honorable mention this Chrysler Pacifica that has been making all the round trips in the tri-states for parts runs. It has been an absolute soldier on the highways. Although on the streets it bucks like a horse and often is late on the throttle input.



While the Jetta was on hold for the Polo backing plates, I got to work on this Audi TT. It needed full front & rear suspension replacement along with a few body panels to be replaced. Hopefully I can get this car out of my paws soon and get back on my beloved Jetta.


greenfield public library