[Brake Weight]

That's nice and clean. What's all the gauges on the pillar there?

 

[CD155MX]

I updated the first post with the mods that were done to the car when I purchased it.

That's nice and clean. What's all the gauges on the pillar there?

Boost and EGT. I may relocate the the gauges somewhere else in the future. A-pillar has that "Boy Racer" look that I'd like to avoid, but for now they work.

 

[CD155MX]

Well I have some good news and some bad news.

Good news is that I found a set of wheels that I like. I had a set of Superleggeras in 16" on my old MK3 and really like them. A set in MK4 fitment (18x8, 5x100 ET 35) popped up locally and they are now mine. Two of the tires are decent and two need to be replaced. I'm really excited to run them seeing as they are wayyy lighter than OEM Aristos, but have a similar look.

Bad news is about a week after finding the wheels I was driving on a dark unknown street and didnt see a curb divider in the street that was in a curve. I curbed the hell out of the right side of the Iforged wheels. :banghead: Also, I slightly tweaked the tie rod and the ball joint looks like it took a hit as well. I suspect the control arm, and spindle are not perfect anymore as well.

I've decided to refresh the entire front end and do some upgrades as well. I'll also need to have the Iforged wheels checked out and refinished before I can sell them. Stay tuned for all of that.

 

[00noma]

Nice car dude. Do the 18x8 et35 wheels bolt up without any issues? Do you need a spacer to clear the suspension or what up front? would be nice to see some photos as I'm ordering a set of custom wheels similar to that I think

 

[CD155MX]

Nice car dude. Do the 18x8 et35 wheels bolt up without any issues? Do you need a spacer to clear the suspension or what up front? would be nice to see some photos as I'm ordering a set of custom wheels similar to that I think

Thanks. Yea they bolt up fine, but one of my changes will be raising my ride height to a more appropriate level for the car to handle well. I have no idea if it'll work when you are low.

 

[CD155MX]

4-25-15
75,153 Miles
FRONT END REFRESH WORK

• Powerflex Polyurethane Strut Mounts
• Strut Bearings
• Left and Right Ball Joints (Part #'s 1J0407365H & 1J0407366C)
• Right Side Spindle with New Hub and Wheel Bearing
• Tie Rod Service Kit (Part # 1J0422803HKT2)
• Powerflex Polyurethane Steering Rack Bushing
• Control Arms (Part # 1J0407151C) (2 ct.)
• Control Arm Hardware kit (Part # 1J0498099) (2 ct.)
• R32 and Polyurethane Control Arm Bushings (2 ct.)
• Tyrolsport Subframe Bushings
• New Wildwood Brake Pads
• Refreshed Axles w/ OEM CV Boot Kits and new hardware
• Autotech Front Lower Stress Bar

• Some of the parts all laid out

• Spindle Damage

-Here you can see the damage to the spindle at the ball joint hole. Throw it in the trash and replace with a new one.

• Axle Rebuild

-Both axles buttoned up with fresh grease and new boots.

• Tyrolsport Subframe Bushings

-Old Bushings out.

- New Bushings in. Also giving everything a good dose of simple green and the pressure washer.

​

• Powerflex Steering Rack Bushing Installed.

• OEM Tie Rod Kit being installed. Inner and outter Rods, Boosts and Clamps. (Clamp not tightened yet in pic)

• New Control Arms with R32 Rear Bushings, Polyurethane Front Bushings, and new hardware.

• Autotech Lower Stress Bar

• New right side Spindle, Bearing, and Hub.

• Powerflex Polyurethane Strut Mount with new Strut Bearing and Hardware.

• New Wilwood Brake Pads.

-The old ones weren't that far gone, but I figured while I'm there may as well change them.

• Things getting buttoned up

• A few days later getting everything aligned

-I put my OZ's on with new front tires (Hankook Ventus R-S3's). I like like the look of the OZ's much better and at only 17.8 lbs a wheels they pretty darn light. I also adjusted my coils up quite a bit. I know its 4x4 status, but all these refresh items and upgrades combined with the revised ride height made for a much more precise car. It rides better, handles better, and never scrapes on driveways. Very pleased with the car now.

 

[ThreeDubber]

4-25-15
It rides, better, handles better, and never scrapes on driveways. Very pleased with the car now.

Sheesh. I would think so. Very nice!

 

[CD155MX]

3-29-16
76,356 Miles

So I bought a house and moved back in June of 2015. I had been caught up with lots of house related projects (mostly garage improvements ) and rarely drove the car. It seemed as I was always taking my truck places to pick things up for the house and such. Having a dedicated garage bay to park the car in and work on it is such a dream compared to my old Costco Carport setup.

Anyways, I had been in the house for a few months and I decided to tackle the my next stage of refreshing/upgrading things on the car.

REAR END REFRESH WORK

• Seat Leon Cupra R Rear Beam Bushings (Part# 1ML 501 541)
• Trailing Arm Hardware Kit (Part# 1J0598000) (2 ct.)
• Polyurethane Rear Coil Spring Isolators - Pair (ECS Part# ES#900)
• ECS 6-Speed Clutch Bleeder Block (ECS Part# ES#2608027)
• EBCYellow Stuff Performance Rear Brake Pads (Part# DP4680R)
• Revised/Upgraded Rear Shock Mount (Part# 1J0513353D) (2 ct.)
• Rear Wheel Bearing Kit (Part# 1J0598477) (2 ct.)
• Rear Stub Axle (Part# 1J0501117B) (2 ct.)
• M10x32 Hex Bolts for Sub Axle (Part# N90758902) (8 ct.)
• Rear Shock Hardware Kit (Part# 1J0598501) (2 ct.)
• Brake Line Brackets (Part# 5Q0611797B) (8 ct.)
• Parking Brake Arm Springs (Left Part# 7H0615295A & Right Part# 7H0615296)

• Rear Beam Bushings

-I decided to remove the rear beam to make things easier. The old bushings were kind of a pain to get out.

-I followed the orientation direction per the Bently Manual

-Marking the orientation for the new bushings

-I bought this tool off Amazon. Helped making the new bushing install a little easier.

-New Bushing going in.

-New Bushings installed. While I had the beam out of the car I removed the swaybar, brakes, hubs, bearings, etc. in order to clean everything up real good and replace with new parts.

-Beam back in the car with new mounting hardware.

-Rear Sway Bar back in with bushings cleaned and re-greased with Powerflex Copper Grease.

​

• New Stub Axles, Wheel Bearings, and Revised/Upgraded Shock Mounts, Poly Spring Isolators, and new Hardware.

-I followed all the procedures and torque specs for tightening everything down per the Bentley Manual.

​

• New brake line clips installed.

-The old ones were a little brittle and at $1.34 a piece it wasn't worth messing with the old ones.

​

• Billet ECS Bleeder Block

-Old plastic OEM Bleeder Block out. I figured this was the appropriate time to replace this part since I would be bleeding the system anyways.

-New Billet ECS Bleeder Block going in.

​

• Rear Brakes

-Bench Bleeding the rear calipers per the Bentley Manual.

-Rear brakes installed with new EBC Yellow Stuff Brake Pads and Parking Brake Return Springs. The springs were cheap and I figured it couldn't hurt to add them.

​

• Finally, I bled the clutch and the brakes using my power bleeder

-I bought this Schwaben Brake Bleeder Kit (ECS Part# ES#2765516) and pushed almost 2L of new fluid through the entire hydraulic system. If you don't have a power bleeder, get one. It turns an annoying two person job into a relatively pleasant one person job.
{Side Note: The cap that came with the bleeder didnt seal very well against the master cylinder. I added a large O-ring to the cap and now it works great.}

Driver Side Axle Replacement
So while under the car I noticed that my outer driver side axle boot had come loose. Upon further inspection I found that one of the balls in the CV cage had jumped, but was still caught in the boot. Rather than mess with buying a replacement CV and what not (I needed the car back up ASAP) I bought a quality GKN axle replacement. I know OEM is supposed to be the end all be all of axles, but I've read great things about GKN's and figured I would take a chance. I saved my OEM so if this GKN fails me I will put a new OEM outer CV on it and swap it back into the car. Seeing as my car is not low I'm guessing I shouldn't have an issue

• [*]GKN Left Front Axle Shaft (Part# 1J0407271LA)
  [*]OEM Drive Axle Hub Bolt (Part# 4A0407643A)
  [*]Axle Bolt Backing Plates (Part# 1K0407357D) (3 ct.)
  [*]Axle Tripple Square Bolts (Part# N90991102) (6 ct.)
  
  

-New Hardware

-GKN axle set in place prior to hardware being installed and torqued down.

• Getting Alignment Checked

-I make it a point to get the alignment done anytime I touch any suspension components.

​

The car feels even more planted in corners now. I haven't noticed any increased NVH, but I now have a much better feeling of what the car is doing. The car feels so neutral and balanced in corners now. It is so easy now to make the car slide or track through corners. With just the change of throttle you can induce or or less oversteer, but it's completely recoverable and smooth. Before adding the rear beam bushings the car was less predictable. I'm glad I went through all the trouble to upgrade the rear beam bushings and refresh all the wear parts while I was at it.

 

[CD155MX]

6-13-16
76,929 Miles

• Oil Change

- Last oil change was 74,200 miles, but it had been a long time and my drive to work is rather short(~10 miles)

- Motul 5W-40 8100 X-cess Full Synthetic
- Mann Filter

​

 

[CD155MX]

6-19-16
77,020 Miles

• OEM Ignition Coils (Part#06B998115R) (4 ct.)
  [*] Spark Plugs NGK BKR7EKT1 (4 ct.)
  [*] OEM Heat Shield (Part#8L9121659)

-Removing old coils and plugs

-New Coils and Plugs. I gapped the new plugs at .028 as recommended for "chipped" stock turbo 1.8T's.

-Installed with new OEM heat shield to protect the wires.

• OEM Cabin Filter (Part# 1J0819644A)

-Old one had been in there too long.

• MANN Fuel Filter (Part#1J0201511A)

-Old Filter out

-New Filter In

 

[UncleJB]

I like the way you are going through the car. I did the same, but unfortunately paid a shop to do it.

In for updates.

 

[CD155MX]

7-1-16
77,300 Miles

• Installed Stock 20th Steering Wheel
• Changed to Stock 20th Shifter

[HR][/HR]

Stock 20th Steering Wheel

So I think Airbags are cool. While I really liked the Momo Steering Wheel that was in the car, I'd much rather have the safety of an airbag for daily driving. The splines didn't quite line up perfectly with the old wheel so now my steering wheel is slightly rotated to the left when going straight. The car tracks and steers fine since I just had and alignment done, but I'll want to get that sorted next time I need tires and/or an alignment. I was hoping my airbag light would go off after installing the steering wheel, but I forgot that my Recaro Speed Seats don't have airbags either. Once I get around to putting the proper resistors in the plugs for the seat airbags the light should go away.

​

[HR][/HR]
Changed Shifters

The EIP shifter that was in the car when I bought it has EXTREMELY short throws. At first you might think its always better to have short throws, but there is a limit. I think the EIP is past that limit. The throws are so short that being accurate with your shifts becomes more difficult. I decided to try out the stock shifter with some solid shifter bracket bushings. The throws are MUCH longer with the stock shifter, but its actually much much easier to be accurate with your shifts. I now prefer the stocker over the EIP. In the future I will most likely put some 42 Draft Designs solid shifter cable ends in the car with an R32 Shifter. The throws on the R32 shifter are said to be just a little less than stock. Should make for a good setup down the road.

-You can see how much short the distance from the cable attachment to the pivot point is on the EIP. Too short if you ask me.

-Shifter side by side with the cable bracket and solid mounts used.

​

 

[CD155MX]

8-17-16
77,857 Miles

• SMOG and Registration Renewal

[HR][/HR]

I had to smog my car for this round of registration renewal. Car passed with no issues.

Also, later in the day I was out and about and found the holy grail of parking spots at my local Big 5 Sporting Goods store.

 

[CD155MX]

9-14-16
78,375 Miles

• Boost Leak Testing
• Clean MAF
• Clean Air Filter

- The car hasn't been idling as smooth as it should and I noticed a drop in fuel mileage at my last fillup. So tonight I had time and decided to do pressure test it to try and find leaks. Cleaned the MAF and Air Filter while I was at it.

• Boost Leak Testing

-My homemade tester hooked up to my air compressor with the regulator turned down to 10 psi.

-Found the leak coming from one of the PCV pipes

-Electrical Taped it up for the time being. Will order a replacement, but this will have to hold till it comes in.

-Back together for the time being

​

[HR][/HR]

• MAF Cleaning

-I did this because I already had things loose so I figured why not.

[HR][/HR]

• Air Filter Cleaning

-Filter wasn't that dirty, but once again I already had things out. May as well.

​

 

[CD155MX]

9-15-16

Just ordered the 034 Motorsports Silicone Breather Hose Kit.

-I was going to just replace the one broken hose, but figured the other hoses are probably on their way out as well. May as well fix it all.

Here is a link to the kit for anybody interested:
http://www.urotuning.com/Breather-Hose-Kit-Mk4-1-8T-Reinforced-Silicone-p/034_mk4-breather.htm

Looks like this:

 

[Brystephor]

Are the silicone hoses stronger then the stock ones (are oem hoses rubber?)? I plan on getting a 1.8t soon and one the first things I wanna do is take all of the old hoses out and replacing them with newer, stronger hoses. What fun is a tubro car if the boost just leaks out?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Slverjet]

Are the silicone hoses stronger then the stock ones (are oem hoses rubber?)? I plan on getting a 1.8t soon and one the first things I wanna do is take all of the old hoses out and replacing them with newer, stronger hoses. What fun is a tubro car if the boost just leaks out?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

From what i've read, yes silicone is stronger.

 

[MrWizard]

looking great :thumbup:

 

[CD155MX]

9-24-16
78,642 Miles

• Install 034 Motorsports Silicone Breather Hose Kit

-So I started the install of the kit Saturday Morning and I ran into some troubles.
Apparently, VW changed up a few things throughout the run of AWP 1.8T's and as a result there are a couple variations of the Breather Hose Kits. I followed the descriptions listed on Urotuning's website (http://www.urotuning.com/Breather-Hose-Kit-Mk4-1-8T-Reinforced-Silicone-p/034_mk4-breather.htm) regarding late style vs. early style. My car has the two ports coming off my valve cover; first the main breather hose and second the small vacuum port. Based on that and the year ranges listed on the website I determined that I needed the Late Style kit.

-Here is how the kit came.

-Here is the kit compared to the stock breather hoses. Take note that the kit eliminates the auxiliary check valve and breather hose portion that goes up to the small vacuum port on the valve cover and that is why that portion of the kit is missing the "Y" section and associated hoses. After seeing the kit side by side with the stock setup I understand why. This auxiliary system is redundant and really seems to just provide extra opportunities for leaks. That being said if I notice any issue with this delete I will just order a 100% new OEM auxiliary system and integrate it with the silicone PCV kit.

-Upon trying to perform the install I noticed that the S-hose provided in the kit (Late Style) looks very different than the stock S-hose that was in my car. (Obviously ignoring the auxiliary check valve and breather hose that the kit eliminates)

-Using the info on Urotuning's website, it seems as as if the stock S-hose on my car closely resembles the S-hose that is for the Early Style kit.

-Anyways I sent an email to Urotuning that Saturday morning regarding this issue with a few pictures to help them understand. At 9:30 Monday morning I talked to one of them on the phone and they are sending me the Early Style S-hose with a return label for me to send them back the Late-Style hose in the kit.

Essentially we are switching out these two parts.
Late Style:
http://www.urotuning.com/Breather-S-Hose-Late-Style-Mk4-1-8T-Reinforced-p/034-101-3034.htm
for
Early Style:
http://www.urotuning.com/Breather-S-Hose-Mk4-1-8T-Reinforced-Silicone-p/034-101-3037.htm

I'm quite impressed with their customer service so far. If this exchange goes smoothly I will make it a point to order other maintenance items from Urotuning in the future. I firmly believe in doing business with companies that take care of their customers.

-Since I already had everything apart I moved onto the rest of the installation. Here is the only pic I snapped so far of the lower hose installed.

​

[HR][/HR]
-I didn't want to put the old ripped hoses back in and button everything up only to take it all back apart in a couple days so right now I'm currently bumming a ride from my fiance or riding my commuter bike to work (only 10 miles) while I wait for the part to come. PEDAL POWER!!!!

 

[Nick_Joudrey]

nice build so far man keep it up:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: