My final attempt to make a working car! 3.2 24v Rado

[borachris 0]

Well, an Engine swap has crossed my mind more than once but i'm leaning more toward diesel. Just now i'm reading up what I can find to get a feel for what would be involved in the project, the problems and pitfalls, before I dive in to anything. I'd say I was pretty technically minded but this would be totally different to anything i've done before.

 

I started putting a diesel engine in a mk2 a few years ago, the project got abandoned due to a lack of time really, kids are getting older now so it's a it easier but I still find it a struggle to get stuff done lol

 

Link to tdi club build on my mk2 PD conversion.

 

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=296191

 

The sub forum that thread is in will be very useful for you if you do go the diesel route :)

 

Glad to see some progress is being made!

 

I've seen some truly awful work from companies that get raved about on forums!

 

Yeah cheers Kev, we're definetly getting somewhere now!!

 

The loom work mark has done seems to be ok tbh, most of connections are in the right area. He didn't include the aux waterpump which I asked for, and the oil temp wire was just left with no spade on and he didn't know what it was when I asked him about it.

 

Customer service was also poor, he lied to me about when he posted stuff, fobbed me off with excuses for why it took so long, ignored calls and voicemails and finally totally messed up my ECU.

 

So what should have cost me £550, has ended up costing me about £800 and a lot of wasted time, very nearly sold the lot for scrap last year!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

R32 conversions seldom go smoothly and it's ALWAYS the electrical / ECU side that throws a giant spanner in the works. Kudos to you for sticking with it though!

 

I remember Vince at Stealth telling me there's half a dozen different ECUs for the 3.2 24V engine. I wonder if SWICT got one they weren't used to? Having said that, yours is the 3rd one of theirs I'm aware of that has had running problems. Still, that's no excuse for the way you were treated!

[borachris 0]

This was the 3rd engine conversion I've started, I told myself if I didn't finish it, no matter how long it took, that I might as well just buy a rover 75 and give up on life lol

 

Funny you should say that Kev, AndyO said the immo file that was on the ECU wasn't the correct file for the ECU, he tried to flash a different file on it but he couldn't even do that, I've left it with John at BFT as he said he will have a play around with it when he gets some spare time but he wasn't hopeful of being able to fix it!

 

Yeah I pm'd a couple of other people on here that used SWICT and they had issues too, if I had been aware of that I would never have used them!

[borachris 0]

Well, tomorrow is hopefully the day, fingers crossed!!

[Sean_Jaymo 0]

How did you get on?

[borachris 0]

How did you get on?

 

All put back together apart from the interior and the decat which doesn't fit the middle box, I'll sort that out when I can get the car a bit higher off the ground, my decent jack shat itself and the one I was using is rubbish lol

 

Need to bleed the clutch as it must have got air in when I removed the servo, pedal just goes straight to the floor, should be doing that this afty :)

[borachris 0]

Well I drove her down the road and back, couldn't get first and I didn't have anything to lock the shift tower but 2nd, 3rd, 4th and reverse work, probably just needs a bit of a tweak!

 

It sounds awful with no exhaust and I forgot how horribly crashy it is, need to get the konis on ASAP! Also there was a bit of a funny noise coming from the engine when I got back, left it at that for now lol

[lilfuzzer 1]

Hope its ok bud glad u got a bit of a road test done :)

[borachris 0]

Probably just me being paranoid lol, let's hope so anyway mate!!

 

Been a long time coming, the VR died the beginning of May last year I think!

[lilfuzzer 1]

Yeah prob matevthe first install of mine I thought there was all sorts of noises. Took it to a mate and he said stop being daft sounds spot on

[borachris 0]

Need to sort the exhaust out before I start worrying like!

 

I was only going steady but it felt pretty pokey lol

[quicky1980 0]

great read. Looking forward to seeing it run properlu as I bet you are too.

 

Sad to hear about the issues you had with Mark/SWICT. I must admit that his customer service was very slow and when I had issues he didnt really want to know or help. Fortunately Kev came to the rescue for me (legend!).

 

I think I still have an ecu or wiring issue, might take it somewhere else to sort it out, maybe stealth.

 

all the best with the rest of the work.

[borachris 0]

Cheers Sam, and yes I can't wait!

 

It was just one thing after another with SWICT, from simple things like forgetting to tell me I needed to change the 109 relay for a 30(which Rubjonny on ed38 figured out before mark remembered) to just blatantly lying about posting things, on more than one occasion. Then finally turning my first ECU into an expensive paperweight!

 

I'm going to source a spare ECU within the next few weeks for when I start tinkering with the turbo, once I've got it and had it de-immo'd if you want to try it on yours with a standard file I'll happily send it down, if it solved the problem the fault must be software. Alternatively i might have the same issue as you this time next week and can test it myself. I really hope that isn't the case though!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Sam, try pulling the MAF and see if the 2000rpm chuntering is worse or better.

 

Looking forward to the turbo development Chris :) Are you still looking to go rear mounted?

[quicky1980 0]

relay change?! will need to check that. whys it need changing?

 

Kevin, I plan I doing that this weekend, also seen a few reports with golf r32's variable inlet being a potential.

 

Thanks for the offer Chris. May take you up on it if I cant work out whats going on. Remind me, are you audi BDB?

[swiftkid 1]

I believe you only need to change the relay under certain circumstances, something to do with whether the ECU relay is earth triggered. My Audi A3 BDB engine is earth triggered so I don't need to change the relay. After reading this I'm kind of glad I didn't go SWICT, i had spoke to him a few years back and was confident with his work but after hearing he is now charging double what I previously got quoted I was put off.

[borachris 0]

Sam, try pulling the MAF and see if the 2000rpm chuntering is worse or better.

 

Looking forward to the turbo development Chris :) Are you still looking to go rear mounted?

 

Yes Kev still going to be rear mounted, I've seen enough of the engine bay to last me a while, working at the other end will be a refreshing change lol

 

relay change?! will need to check that. whys it need changing?

 

Kevin, I plan I doing that this weekend, also seen a few reports with golf r32's variable inlet being a potential.

 

Thanks for the offer Chris. May take you up on it if I cant work out whats going on. Remind me, are you audi BDB?

 

It's the 109 ECU relay, the way mark wired it meant it needed to be changed for a 30 or 32, he neglected to tell me and a lot of head scratching ensued, rubjonny off ed38 came to the rescue with the solution, when I told mark he seemed a bit peeved I'd been talking to other people about it then said he had just forgot to tell me!

 

If it was wrong on yours it just wouldn't start mate.

 

Yeah it's a BDB engine :)

 

I believe you only need to change the relay under certain circumstances, something to do with whether the ECU relay is earth triggered. My Audi A3 BDB engine is earth triggered so I don't need to change the relay. After reading this I'm kind of glad I didn't go SWICT, i had spoke to him a few years back and was confident with his work but after hearing he is now charging double what I previously got quoted I was put off.

 

Mines BDB too as is Sams, I think Sam probably has the 109 and Mark just made a mess of mine and wired it differently. I paid him £550 for the work including the botched immo removal and supposed 280bhp ish generic map, which is probably the same one the other guys have, if they got him to do it.

 

I really can't stress enough how unhappy I was with SWICT, almost threw in the towel because of his incompetence!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I can't feel a difference when cruising if the intake flap opens / closes. You definitely can under acceleration though! You can check the flap is working with an assistant prodding the gas though.

 

The MAF seems to be the main culprit for poorly running R32s but they do at least throw a CEL light if it gets bad enough, but of course you guys don't have CELs :)

 

I had a BDB as well and I used the original relays from the donor car, so that's 30 for the ECU and 100 for the SAI pump. The VR6 fuel pump relay is OK though. I think there's another relay 100 for the main power supply circuit. I didn't use that on mine and I was getting intermittent "Power control" errors in VCDS.

 

Excellent, the rear mounted turbo is going to be a good laugh!

[borachris 0]

How do you test the variable intake Kev? Just get someone to rev it and check to see if the actuator moves? What sort of rpm should it activate?

 

A CEL would be a handy addition, someone else mentioned it recently too!

 

Yeah the 167 fuel pump relay works fine, you can also use a 32 for the ECU.

 

I need to check my SAI, I'm pretty sure I haven't got a relay for it anywhere, will this cause problems?

 

I have a 17841 fault code which relates to this, the only code that concerned me on the last scan.

 

Can anyone remember when they removed the original VR6 looms? I had a single relay not part of the fusebox just hanging loose behind it, only connected by 2 wires, I think that is a 100 but I don't know what it's for!

 

I'm dying to have a play with the turbo to see where I can fit it lol, going to drop the exhaust down soon and have a look to see how much room there is, another thought is to make a false floor in the boot and invert the spare wheel well....

[borachris 0]

Oh and I bought this today

 

[lilfuzzer 1]

:)

[borachris 0]

:)

 

You know what I'm doing don't ya mate, just in case I decide I like them lol

[Kevin Bacon 5]

How do you test the variable intake Kev? Just get someone to rev it and check to see if the actuator moves? What sort of rpm should it activate?

 

A CEL would be a handy addition, someone else mentioned it recently too!

 

Yeah the 167 fuel pump relay works fine, you can also use a 32 for the ECU.

 

I need to check my SAI, I'm pretty sure I haven't got a relay for it anywhere, will this cause problems?

 

I have a 17841 fault code which relates to this, the only code that concerned me on the last scan.

 

Can anyone remember when they removed the original VR6 looms? I had a single relay not part of the fusebox just hanging loose behind it, only connected by 2 wires, I think that is a 100 but I don't know what it's for!

 

I'm dying to have a play with the turbo to see where I can fit it lol, going to drop the exhaust down soon and have a look to see how much room there is, another thought is to make a false floor in the boot and invert the spare wheel well....

 

Yeah that's it. You have to give the throttle a firm stab and you should see the flap actuator move. I think it switches on at 1100rpm and then turns off at 4100rpm, but it seems to be load related as well.

 

If the SAI relay isn't connected, the ECU will fault code it and you also won't get any long term fuel trims. Ditto if the evap purge valve isn't connected.

 

That's a good idea about inverting the spare wheel well! Should give you tonnes of room!

[borachris 0]

Cool I'll check that at the weekend, cheers!

 

Looks like I'm going to have to open up the loom and fit a relay in, 99% sure I don't have one :(

 

Wonder if any of the other guys that used SWICT have the sai relay fitted?

 

I'm going to google fuel trims because I actually have no idea what they effect lol

[swiftkid 1]

From what I have read and been told, the SAI can be mapped out of the ECU without problems. I have had it explained to me but the SAI is for heating the cat up quicker so it is only functioning on warm up anyway. Apparently, it won't allow the car to map itself like the VR6 does, but I'm yet to be told why. Basically when the car learns lambda values, MAF values etc it can almost adapt itself to use the fuel more efficiently.