WITW - Ricky's van attack

[spannerrash]

I made no reference at all to camshaft timing and completely agree that short cuts with this procedure and not using the correct tools is simply asking for trouble.

As for manufacture spending millions on research and development, of course they do, and yet they still get it wrong sometimes.

I have already conceded that in the future I will use the crank pin to hold the crank. This is not because the manual says so but because it has been tried and tested by someone with much more experience of working on these cars then me (MJ).

That surely is the point of this forum. Not degenerative by any means. As long as we are polite than we all benefit from the exchange of ideas and learn from these exchanges.

[RICKY D]

A while back I mentioned to a good family friend that I was going to have the engine completely inspected after the accident damage work was repaired and he said it’s not worth it.

He said you had the timing belt, tensioners, crank pulley etc work done a few years back and that he wouldn’t waste the money. I told him to watch this space...

Now, I would consider the garage that did all of this work previously to be a reputable one, and yet I still see pictures that scare the excrement out of me. Crank pulley not seated correctly, thermostat not installed the right way round, timing not correct. Just these things alone is why I knew this would be worth while.

Thank you MJ. Your attention to detail and can-do approach to tasks is unparalleled

[MikkiJayne]

After the horrors of the murple, all this stuff is just minor niggles

Freshly powdercoated sump:



Good crank pulley on the left, less good one on the right. The crank sprocket is very hard high-carbon steel whereas the pulley is much softer so when it was rattling about the sprocket both wore away and displaced the steel of the pulley and ate in to it by a couple of mm. The material which was worn away is visible as rusty dust, but most of it was just smushed around in to the pattern of the sprocket.



Good pulley mounted up.



Replacement fan bearing



The engine is back on the separating table, but the wrong way round



so that I can replace the crank rear main seal as this was leaking quite badly. Audi won't sell you a seal - there isn't even a part number for it. Instead, you have to replace the entire rear plate (for £300) which also requires the upper sump to be removed



Luckily Elring are having none of this silliness and will happily sell you the seal on its own for £25 or so. You just have to use the part number for the 2.5 TDI seal to find it



New seal in place



Drive plate back on with new bolts



Engine spun round and back on the gearbox. I can't attach the converter until the morning as the rear main seal has to sit for 4 hours before the crank can be turned, presumably to allow the material to relax in to position after fitting it.



Pre-filling the gearbox through the oil cooler return. I put 1L in the converter and pump while the sump was off, and put another 8L in like this so the level should be pretty close when it starts up again.



Mannol AG52 again, as the 5HP seems to respond really well to this stuff and its £4 a litre instead of £12 for OE! I have also used Mannol in the diffs (£6 a litre instead of £16) and in the engine too (same price but comes in a barrel instead of a stupid cardboard wine-box). It seems to be well made stuff at sensible prices so is going to be my default choice from now on

[steamship]

Quite appropriate stamp on the crank pulleys.

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

[RICKY D]

Originally Posted by steamship

Quite appropriate stamp on the crank pulleys.

Great spot

[MikkiJayne]

Good spot Sean

Did the drive plate bolts and the starter this morning



New spark plugs



Not sure if I've shown this tensioner trick before. The V8 tensioner is only available as a complete unit for £80-100 depending on brand, but the tensioner part itself is always fine. Its only ever the roller which wears out.



So, remove the roller



and acquire one from a Hyundai 2.7 Febi number in the pic - INA make one too. If you're going to do this, make sure you get a good quality one which comes with a new bolt and washers since we need one washer.



The Hyundai roller doesn't have the moulding to take the plastic cap from the original roller - instead it has this washer which goes under the bolt head. The washer has a 10mm hole though, and we need a 12mm hole...



Embiggen the hole with the step drill. Don't try and do this with a twist drill as it will grab and spin the washer. A step drill is much better for thin stuff.



Attach the new roller with the modified washer and original bolt



Back on the engine and running smooth again but for £22 instead of £80.



The clips for the header tank hose have dug in to the rubber.



I don't have any spares of this hose as its a very common problem. The hose isn't split though, so the area is protected with heatshrink sleeve.



Wiring harness back in place



The subframe is pretty grim!





Elbow Grease and the pressure washer mades short work of cleaning it



I stopped early for the Formula 1 so the engine and gearbox will go back on the subframe tomorrow, then after cleaning the engine bay it can all go back in

[homer simpson]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

I stopped early for the Formula 1 so the engine and gearbox will go back on the subframe tomorrow, then after cleaning the engine bay it can all go back in

Don't blame you, what a race!