Project Hailstorm

[mrfrankmrfrank]

So I am starting to plan out my path to upgraded mod bliss. I am trying to plan an order of purchases / upgrades and I am looking for advice. I start thinking.. ok, I'll buy this, then this, but what about that then this and I end up fearing that I need to buy everything at once or my engine will end up running quite poorly. Please keep in mind that I am a severe engine novice and will be trying to learn as much as possible. I read some of the things you guys post about nozzles and clutches and flywheels etc and I wonder how you all know so much. I can take every last screw out of a macbook pro and put it back together with ease, but my tdi seems overwhelming to me.

I have a feeling that my intake manifold is quite dirty as I am almost positive it has never been cleaned in its entire 183,000 miles. I have almost forced myself to remove my existing intake manifold several times over the past several weekends to clean it, but then I stop myself. I stop myself because I say to myself, why would I spend so much time taking out the existing manifold, cleaning it, and then reinstalling it when I plan on upgrading as soon as I can afford to buy a pd150 intake. I am such a novice that I know it will likely take me several hours to disassemble and reassemble.

Overall I want to have nozzles, upgraded turbo, chipped, fmic, etc. upgraded air intake

To start with, rather than clean the existing egr and intake manifold, if I purchase a pd150 intake manifold and 2.5inch race pipe to replace the egr. I can also purchase the egr cooler delete kit from DG. I am concerned about my ability to get the stock boost elbow over the 2.5 inch race pipe, but I'm hopeful that after heating it up in an oven i can stretch it over the pipe for the time being. (I fully plan on upgrading all of the boost pipes when I install the fmic, but I plan to use existing piping for now)

So I'll have the pd150 and the race pipe to start with. I know I will end up with a cel at this point for the egr delete, but I don't care. My next plan after upgrading the intake manifold would be along the lines of installing the pd in tank lift pump and upgrading the nozzles. From what i've read, nozzles should come towards the beginning of an upgrade journey. I have selected the Bosio PP 764 nozzles. My concern here is with regards to the lack of tune at this point and lack of upgraded turbo.

Will I be able to upgrade to the 764 nozzles without a tune and without the larger turbo? I anticipate smoking and perhaps general issues with the way the engine runs at this point. Would I be able to get by with upgrading to these nozzles and simply adjusting the fuel using a vagcom?

So then naturally after I have upgraded the nozzles I would start planning an upgraded turbo and fmic. I guess I am trying to avoid having to pay for multiple tunes, ie RC1, RC2, etc and perhaps upgrade myself to a point where I can pay for RC4 one time when I'm ready.

Thanks for your thoughts guys

 

[mrfrankmrfrank]

oh, forgot to mention 11mm ip at some point too!

 

[mrfrankmrfrank]

on an unrelated note, I think my clutch may need replacing soon. I mostly know zero about transmissions in general, however after speaking with a trusted mechanic who will look at the car in a few weeks, my clutch is likely on its last legs. About a week ago, I started having issues shifting into 3rd. I'd go to shift into third and I wouldn't be able to get it in, I would find resistance and I'd have to back off the stick. Then if I tried again, it might go in. Sometimes I'd have to release the clutch and move the stick 2 or 3 times before it would go into third. This only happens maybe once a day, but it seems to be getting worse. Then yesterday this same thing happened to me whilst trying to shift into second gear.

Im thinking about this clutch / flywheel http://www.idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=76_102&products_id=764


*edit perhaps a southbend clutch would be better. recommendations are welcome.

 

[spartan]

You should make sure that your shift linkage is adjusted properly. There are a bunch of how to's online for the procedure, and it is relatively easy.

 

[3L3M3NT]

If you are dead set on doing the pd150 intake, then you could use this reducer to work with your 2.5" race pipe and factory Upper IC pipe.http://www.forgemotorsport.com/content.asp?inc=product&cat=0022R&product=FMR63-51

I'm not very versed with the ALH engine, but you may want to do the tune and nozzles after the intake manifold.

For the tune with Jeff once you purchase a tune from him he only charges you ~$50 for doing a re-tune when you upgrade parts like a turbo or going with a 3 bar MAP sensor.

Also consider other tuners as well, since unless you plan on buying a spare ECU, so your car won't be down while your ECU is being tuned. The other tuners that have Flashloaders can loan you a loader to load your tune and have zero down time. Just a thought.

For a clutch get something with more holding power than you think you'll need, so you won't have to upgrade later on when you add more power mods. Something along these lines. http://www.idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=76_102&products_id=863

Good luck and maybe try posting your power upgrade thoughts in here http://forums.tdiclub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

 

[mrfrankmrfrank]

I had my mechanic remove the stock intake manifold and replace it with a pd150 intake manifold I ordered from ryanp. ryanp also provided a race pipe that for the time being will work with my stock intercooler piping.

here are some pics. also a quick question. my mechanic attached the vacuum line that used to go to the egr to the race pipe. Is this correct? Is the nipple on the race pipe meant for the vacuum line or is it meant for a boost guage?

(stock intake manifold removed)

 

[nkfry]

If the ASV is not in place you don't need to have that vacuum line in place. The port on the race pipe is for a boost gauge.

 

[mrfrankmrfrank]

We realized our error with this vacuum line and have since blocked it off!

 

[nkfry]

I'm not sure if you ever figured out your C-pillar leak, but I was in the same boat and thought it was the antenna base. $66 dollars and a whole day later it still leaked. It ended up being the sunroof drain connections on the tray were leaking horrendously and SOAKING the back half of the headliner to the point the adhesive failed. So the following weekend consisted of me removing the headliner again, removing ALL the connections to the rain tray and siliconing them followed by cutting the nipples off the ends of the drains (2 in the front door jams by the hinges, 2 under the rear two quarter panels) and dumping a 20 oz. bottle of water down each of the 4 and re-applying silicone where needed until the leaking ceased. Oh yeah, and I reupholstered the headliner and B & C pillars in black headliner fabric (the A pillars were impossible to get off).

 

[speed185187]

Oh my, when did that start?

I had put that new antenna base on when I first bought the car in 05. Used some red RTV to make sure everything sealed up nicely.

 

[nkfry]

Oh my, when did that start?

I had put that new antenna base on when I first bought the car in 05. Used some red RTV to make sure everything sealed up nicely.

Prolly about a month after I took her off your hands, the drains were leaking like faucets, all is well now though.

 

[biker250]

Not to hijack the thread, but a quick question.....I've searched, but can't find the benefits of upgrading to the PD150 intake....can somebody point me in the right direction? Thanks!

 

[mrfrankmrfrank]

This is an old thread that I started, however I still own this car. It has served me well, every single day for several years now. It's had it's ups and downs until recently. About a month ago I experienced a run-away diesel. I had to emergency pull over to the side of a very busy road and force the car to stall. I ended up having to tow the car to my mechanic 30 miles away. The diagnosis ended up being a seized engine. I had the option to let the car go, however I decided to reinvest.

I managed to find and purchase a brand new ALH engine. This is not a rebuilt engine, rather a surplus engine directly from VW. I am very excited to have an engine with 0 miles and I get to be responsible for all oil changes from day 1.

I have also purchased

borg warner s7 turbo
BOSIO 1019 nozzles
kerma upgraded smic
3 bar map
OMI
southbend stage 2 endurance clutch
and the kerma 3" stainless complete exhaust.

I am hopeful that my injection pump is not damaged and can be carried over to the new engine.

 

[mrfrankmrfrank]

Some Updates! All parts have arrived and my mechanic has started the engine swap.

Old engine pulled

 

[mrfrankmrfrank]

New turbo s7 installed. New southbend stage 2 endurance installed.

 

[mrfrankmrfrank]

IT LIVES

 

[Shello]

wow that OMI is so awesome...i have the kerma intake manifold and am running the piping on the oil vacuum pump side i was wondering if its still achievable to run the OMI around it i highly doubt it tho