WITW - Barn-find Final Edition

[MikkiJayne]

Hans, you have requested 1 million Deutschmarks for pressure die cast tooling for production of a <squints at paperwork> an inlet manifold?! Explain yourself!

Well sir, we noticed the inlet manifold on the 32V V8 is a simple sand casting, which is easy to make, and never fails. We suspect they will still be working decades after the warranty expires.

<general muttering of discontent>

So, we have devised a new inlet manifold of such awesome cunning that we can claim it is progress, but at the same time introducing many new failure modes such as unexplained air leaks, flaps seizing up, and paint peeling off which will start just after the warranty runs out, thus causing the owners many wasted hours of fault finding and unnecessary maintenance.

<applause breaks out>

Well done Hans, its not quite as fiendish as Simon's cam chain tensioners, but funding approved!

[David's8]

Did he win over the handbrake adjusting mechanism designer?

[MikkiJayne]

I can do that on the lift without taking anything apart so he doesn't even get an honourable mention

[David's8]

i guess he didnt get sufficient funding so just decided to make it as difficult as possible for people without access to lifts
Nice work on the manifold though. I removed mine a few years ago and spray painted it but wish i had done a more thorough job as the paint blemishes show badly.

[tintin]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

So, we have devised a new inlet manifold of such awesome cunning that we can claim it is progress, but at the same time introducing many new failure modes such as unexplained air leaks, flaps seizing up, and paint peeling off which will start just after the warranty runs out, thus causing the owners many wasted hours of fault finding and unnecessary maintenance.

Vorsprung Durch Komplexität - Audi all over

[MikkiJayne]

Gearbox this evening. I've taken as much red ATF out of the torque converter as possible (2.2L) so put it back in the gearbox so I can refill it.



Primed the pump



then primed the filter



Then I had a great idea! Since I have all the breather ports bunged up, I could put 8 litres of oil in it while it's upside down, put the sump back on, and flip it over. That will save ages compared to pumping it in through the oil cooler ports



I put a cable tie and a support round the bung just in case



There we go - 8 litres of oil, plus one in the converter. That should be enough so that on first start it is slightly over filled and I can pop the fill plug out and let it drain to level.



Freshly powdercoated sump



Magnets back in the correct places



Installed



Its not leaking so it can sit upside down overnight while the solvent flashes off in the sump sealant, and I will flip it back over tomorrow.

[MikkiJayne]

Put the engine and gearbox back on the separating table



Since I had the engine crane out, I contrived a solution to split the inlet manifold. The strap goes through each inlet port and supports the inner portion. The outer portion is wedged underneath the two box sections which are clamped to the legs of the engine crane





A little persuasion from the crane and the inner just popped out I'd dropped some brake cleaner in there previously so this probably loosened the silicone



Lift it out



and thats it from the top. These flaps open up at high rpm and shorten the inlet tracts. Its an interesting arrangement - the springs on the front hold them open, and the vacuum pods pull them shut at low speed. Presumably this is because the engine has less vacuum at high rpm since the throttle is open, so its easier to let go of the pods to actuate the manifold than it would be to try and actuate the pods.

This piece is a very intricate pressure die-cast. The tool for this must have been exceedingly difficult to make with such fine details.



The upper manifold is also die cast, but a magnesium alloy, the same as the cam covers. What's particularly interesting is that it looks like the mould must have been sand blasted after machining to give the outer surface a sand-cast alloy look. That's purely for visual effect, rather than an artefact of the manufacturing process.



The two halves are sealed together with silicone





Back on the engine. Gearbox and torque converter bolted on, starter back on


New manifold bolts and powder-coated upper coolant pipe



Reconditioned alternator

[tonupkid]

Manifold porn

[strummagnet]

Is the manifold a repair project or just take it apart and admire Han's design excellence...??

[MikkiJayne]

Take it to bits and see how it works