[lowROLLERchevy]

4 hour work day for me at the shop. Used the time to do a valve body swap on a '01 Jetta 1.8t auto .... I successfully installed a transbrake on the car .... that however wasn't my intention.

Its in 2 gears at once in park, all other gears (R/N/D/2/1) are forward gears.... they all seam to be first gear.

I have it torn back down most of the way. Tuesday I'll actually get the VB back out and see whats up.... but part of me wants to take it out for a test drive the way it is just for the fun of it.

 

[lowROLLERchevy]

fan died on my computers video card today, heard popping noises, made the stupid decision of grabbing it. Now have a very faint PCB pattern on my fingers.

Fixed it with pliers. a 40mm case fan, zip ties and scotch tape.

 

[lowROLLERchevy]

Fun one from this week:

Audi TT fwd w/ an aftermarket turbo kit came in for a busted motor mount. Got the car on the lift and realize motor mounts not busted, but had lost a bolt and broke the other. Replaced the bolts. Easy peasy.

Notice one of the coolant lines to the turbo is rubbing on the CV shaft, go tie it out of the way and it breaks off at the crimp fitting and i take a blast of 200*+ coolant to the face.

Go to pull the banjo fitting off the turbo and notice one of the exhaust housing bolts is backed out against it. Spend forever retightening it.

Get the Banjo fitting off, cut off the crimp section, trim back the cooked coolant line and reattach everything w/ hose clamps.

Notice that the compressor side / center section is still loose. Its missing another bolt and 2 more are also backed out.

Try to tighten them, realize that the turbo is more then just loose, its got a massive amount of clearance between the center section and the exhaust housing, like someone put the wrong exhaust housing on the turbo.

Turbo is destroyed because the exhaust wheel has been knocked against the housing millions of times. Coolant lines need to be redesigned. Intercooler piping is made from hacked together steel tubing. Silicone couplers for the aftermarket kit have been hacked to oblivion. Oil supply and return lines are questionable. Intercooler / intercooler mounts are also probably in need of additional work.

I want to punch the company that made the kit, and I want to punch the people that installed it / built the intercooler piping.

Customer was expecting a $250 repair, the bolts made it a $30 repair, but the turbo stuff will add at least $1000 back onto that.

Oh, and my coworker picked it up from the customers house, and while driving down the highway someone whipped change at the car and shattered the wind screen behind the seats. (he had the top down because he follows my "having the top up on a convert is NOT COOL" mindset)

Amazingly, dude was totally cool about it all. Hes going to check if he has glass coverage and save up till he can do the turbo stuff.

 

[lowROLLERchevy]

That sounds like one of those days where you are happy SOMETHING was accomplished (like finding out everything you need to fix) but it is hard to talk yourself into that.

Brian

But its easy to remind myself that I no longer work for a company where so much BS goes on that I loose sleep at night, and I no longer work for a company that fires employees who get injured on THEIR OWN time.

 

[lowROLLERchevy]

another "What Did I Work On This week" reply:

Started ripping apart the GTI golf which was originally presumed to have a bad head gasket. its actually a bad turbo thats leaking coolant into the intake hosing and watering down only one cylinder. I was originally waiting for a day we could get it on the lift but i broke down and just started doing it on the floor.

pulling a turbo off one of these engines thats already out of the car is enough work as it is, its even less fun on your back in a cold shop on an assembled car.

That car will be getting a k03/k04 hybrid turbo since we have 2 busted k03's that are only good for parts at this point

Also got to diagnose a 2002 A4 quattro. Customer bought it 2 weeks / 275 miles ago and it came back on a flatbed. Customer stated "the engine just .. stopped" while driving on the highway.

Starter wouldnt turn the engine over. A socket / ratchet on the crank wouldn't turn the engine over. Pulled the plugs and cylinder #2 ate one of its valves as an afternoon snack. The head of the valve has about an inch is stem still intact, and its tripoded between the head and the piston. Piston looks like it was beaten with the end of a pipe, and even the spark plug hole is peened smaller from all the squished metal.

Car has a 7mo service plan that will pay up to $1200 for the repairs, but i have zero faith in the warranty company. They seam to like to parrot the phrases "normal wear" and "electrical issue"

Ill probably wind up punching the entire company in the face to get the car covered.

Fun times

 

[lowROLLERchevy]

1) A MK4 VW jetta: did a cv shaft swap. Turns out the CV shaft nut didnt tighten down properly when i torqued it. By the time i had it parked in the street I could hear the wheel bearing dieing a quick death.

By the time i had the car back up to the shop, it was totaly done for. I had to torque the thing down beyond belief to get it to pull back together enough to send the customer on his way overnight.

Monday I will be swapping out his month old wheel bearing for a new one. Luckily its and hour job and the bearing is lifetime warranty.

2) 2000 Audi S4: has a pesky low oil pressure light. Spent 3 hours screwing with it while the customer that JUST bought the car waited in the office. Swapped the sensor, motor flushed it. dropped the pan and inspected the oil pump. pulled the sensor and screwed in a pressure gauge to see what the actual pressure was ...

Turs out the pressure is ABOVE SPEC and the problem is that the car has an aftermarket tune thats got a glitch.

Monday we will be swapping the ECU w/ a brand "X" tune for the one we have laying around with a brand "Z" tune

 

[lowROLLERchevy]

**this project doesnt yet have its own thread on here, but i will be starting one soon. Till then, check out My 1985 naked / cafe brick build thread

scuffed the spark plug cover

tossed paint on it

Machined raised letters in progress

done

also finally got a GOOD coat of paint on the intake plenum

- - - Updated - - -

photo hack of the tail section. this is an extra 15* of rake, but im thinking 10* would be more to my liking. donno yet.

 

[lowROLLERchevy]

WHACK!

cut of the transverse brace, the seat lock, and both sides of the shock mount.
Checked the angle of the original frame (5* at its current spot)
Reset my gauge for 13* total
cut the frame, bent them up, and threw a tack weld on.
Double checked they are parrallel
Cut off the rear section of the hoop
Started plotting how i want to trim the wheel well

 

[lowROLLERchevy]

well, thought i wasnt going to work on ANYTHING today, but as it turns out the oil change pit at the shop is flooded.

Our building USED to be an automotive repair shop, so it has a center floor drain and an oil change pit. I heard earlier that the floor drain pit was up to the grate, but when i got to the shop it was drained ....

sewer is plugged, sump pump died, water drained back from the floor drain into the pit and now the pit has 4 fet of water. I have 3 pumps running right now so i can go home asap.

My family does basement water proofing .... but our company shop has a flooded basement... frack ...