ChrisGT's Black 5 door GT TDI 170

[ChrisGT]

@Matto - thanks, much appreciated 

I was planning on the replacement part: http://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/productimage.php?product_id=331&current_image=4

There might be a slight increase in vibes from this mount although from what I've read on the product reviews threads then the subframe mount alone doesn't really cause much more but fitting the other stiffer engine mounts as well will increase this a lot more (None of the threads I read were anyone who had a diesel so can only imagine vibes would be worse). That's why I thought I'd change the subframe mount for the stiffer one and the others for standard mounts and hopefully therefore get some reduced engine movement without too many vibes. I definitely have more engine movement than I think there should be so going to check all mounts and make a decision at that time.

The engine manifold in my car is plastic yes. The kit they have sent me is an alloy one from the BKD engine which is apparently quite a good mod done by a few 170 owners. it is pretty much a straight swap and removes the swirl flaps which the 170BMN had but the 140BKD didn't. The seal at the actuator end of the plastic manifold can fail (which mine is showing signs of) the swirl flaps also get chocked up with soot and rubbish that comes in through the egr and can stick a bit, making them useless at best or restricting air flow at worst. Some of the very first 170BMN engines came with an alloy manifold with swirl flaps but these are damn near impossible to find. more info in paragraph two of post #38.

Thanks for looking and commenting, I started reading your build thread last night and got to page 5 so will finish reading that today, really like the ed30 front splitter and the colour of yours is awesome! It's the one thing that almost put me off this car is that it's black... Looks great when it's cleaned up but gets dirty and looks terrible so quickly! 

Chris

[ChrisGT]

Went to replace the air filter a few days ago and was met by these screws holding the air box together:



Went to look about online for new screws... couldn't find any... Nipped along to local car parts place and was told they couldn't get screws for it and couldn't just replace the lid of the airbox had to buy the whole airbox... for over £100... no thanks.

A friend managed to find a part number for skoda airbox screws that looked exactly the same as one that I had managed to remove.

The part number was listed as the right screw for the airbox on almost every vw, seat, skoda and audi apart from my car...

My friend was near a vw dealer in Edinburgh and went along to check if it was on their system and they too had the same part number for the screws but said that there wasn't any listed for my car or any GT models... bought some anyway and they are a perfect fit, identical to the ones I removed so replaced all the airbox screws for about £12 instead of buying a seond hand air box off ebay or a brand new one...

The part number is WHT 002 087 in case anyone else needs new screws for their airbox 

So, new K&N panel filter in today too 

Chris

[ChrisGT]

Changed my fuel filter tonight. Was met by some very black fuel...







from what I've read this is an indication of oil in the fuel which is caused by the failure of the oil seal in the tandem fuel pump.

The car sometimes just cranks first thing in the morning and doesn't fire up very quickly unless you turn off the ignition and turn it on again then starts perfectly. The car does smoke a bit and can be quite dark smoke which would indicate oil being burned.

The car has burned about a litre of oil in the last 1300 miles which is more than I think it should be although I know these engines are supposed to burn a bit of oil so that you top it up and therefore keep the oil cleaner for longer and that's supposed to help with the long life servicing.

A new tandem pump from Darkside developments is £310... one from a vw dealer on ebay is £235... or a used one is about £50. I'd rather go for a genuine one though.

Edit: having looked around I have found a seal kit to rebuild the tandem pump with for £35: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171851464956?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

One thing to note is that with the tank of fuel, which has about 60 miles left in it, I put in Archoil DPF cleaner which may be the cause of the discoloured fuel however with the other things I have noted above I believe it is more likely the tandem pump. It's probably the original and the car is 61k now.

Can anyone confirm from the pictures that it's oil contamination??

Cheers,

Chris

[ChrisGT]

The car seems to be running really good and feels up on power a bit with the new fuel and air filter.

Have ordered the seal kit for the tandem pump so will get that changed as soon as I can and then run a couple of tanks of fuel through and then check the fuel filter again and see if that clears up the black fuel issue. If I take the tandem pump apart and it's obviously completely knackered and not just the seals that have gone then I can always buy a new pump but figure this way I could save myself £200 by just changing the seals instead of the whole pump.

Chris

[ChrisGT]

Tandem fuel pump seal kit arrived today so will hopefully get that changed over in the next couple of weeks and then run a couple of tanks of fuel through the car and if it's still contaminated then will replace the injector seals.

Also got a little thing of touch up paint as there are a couple of bad stone chips on the bonnet and a scratch on the rear driver side wing.

[ChrisGT]

My friend Matt came over today and we got the tandem pump seals changed. The oil seal for the shaft inside the pump was definitely not creating a good seal and pretty much fell apart so will run a few tanks of fuel through the car and see how the fuel in the fuel filter canister looks after that, if it's clearer then I'll change the filter again and if it's still black then I'll change the injector seals. Got a couple of pictures but really not much interesting to see and didn't really get any pics of the pump when disassembled.

While taking the pump off then we noticed a coolant pipe that was very perished and it started leaking as soon as it was moved very slightly to get access to the pump bolts. So, replaced with a new piece of pipe and topped up the coolant, good as new. Not sure why the garage that replaced the radiator didn't even notice/replce/mention about this pipe but it's changed now anyway.

Chris

[ChrisGT]

Here's the old coolant pipe.. the outer part just fell apart as we removed it.



So replaced it and topped up the coolant again. The tandem pump is off in this pic which is why there is a fuel pipe not connected to anything.



None of the pictures of the tandem pump really came out right and didn't get many of the inside of it but will put a couple below. The car seems to be running great, still a little smokey but the fuel will still be contaminated. There wasn't much fuel left in the car so topped it right up last night and will run another tank or two through it and then check for oil contamination again.

This is one once we'd removed the tandem pump:



Removing the bolts to separate the pump:



Really not a great picture but it's really the only one with the pump apart.



Chris

[doylebros]

Your repair reports will be helpful to others especially, the tandem pump repair kit,I've done a couple and found it has cured the fuel filter issue.
However, it will not cure your oil consumption and I suggest you monitor that if no oil leaks are visible.

[ChrisGT]

Thank you doylebros

I'm very pleased to hear that you've had positive results from doing the seal change before, how many tanks of fuel did it take for the fuel to clear up? I'm planning on checking it after I've run two or three full tanks through it. I'm pleased with how the job went and for the price of £35 for the seals instead of at least £240 for a new pump plus doing the job myself instead of getting a garage to do it then hopefully saved myself a few hundred quid at the end of the day.

I will be keeping a very close eye on the oil consumption and am hoping to get the car over a friends pit soon so that I can give it a really good check over from underneath too. I'm hoping that the oil it has been burning is normal other than what was being leaked into the fuel system but will keep an eye on it. There aren't any obvious leaks that I can see so hopefully nothing sinister

Chris

[doylebros]

I've just used a 1000 miles as the recall to inspect/check for how the filter contamination has progressed so your two or three tanks of fuel will be a good shout.

Let's see how your inspection of the engine bay goes but I would of expected you to of spotted any obvious oil leaks when doing your inlet manifold change out.

[ChrisGT]

Great, thanks for that.

I've not changed over the inlet manifold yet as I wanted to sort this problem before I modified anything else. 

Chris

[ChrisGT]

Decided to clean up my engine cover as it was pure filth!

couple of before and afters:









and the outer pieces, need to do this bit again though as not happy with it.





I gave them a rinse with water then a once over with a detailing brush and some Meguiar's APC, then went over them with an old tooth brush and auto finesse obliTARate then another once over with APC and then a rinse. Pleased with it for a quick 2 minute job. There's a few black marks on the silver inner part but it's just where the outer part has rubbed on it and worn through the silver paint.

Thinking I might paint them at some point. Might paint the silver inner part red and the TDI and VW logo on it black and leave the outer part black. Will see what happens though.

Done some longer runs in the car and mpg looking pretty good 



Chris

[Rippers]

Really good job on the engine cover

[ChrisGT]

Thanks Rippers 

Only took a few minutes so I'm really pleased with it, fairly brightens it up. Still trying to decide if I should paint it or not.

Chris

[ChrisGT]

Couple more bits arrived for the golf today so hopefully get them changed soon.

Subframe bolts and spacers as there is a bit of knock from it and a short shifter (don't really need it but that's the danger of shopping when tired and bored on night shift...  )



Hopefully the rain will stop soon and I'll be able to finally check my fuel filter and see if the tandem seals have cured my fuel contamination problem. Hate to jinx it but the car is smoking a lot less and not used any oil since I changed the seals. Will get some pics up when I get a chance to check it.

Chris