In reply to Stealthtercel:
She is doing well. She's going underground for a little bit for personal reasons. Not my place to share her personal information.
In reply to Stealthtercel:
She is doing well. She's going underground for a little bit for personal reasons. Not my place to share her personal information.
Of course. No problem. Thanks for the note.
Hello all :)
Well Jeez, I am really sorry for the long leave of absence. I promise that I have a good reason, but I won't go into that. Even though I haven't been posting here, I have still been chipping away slowly at all the work that is still left to do.
Let's see, where the heck was I when I last posted?
Well, the struggle continued to inspire any coworkers to hang out after hours, so I decided to find a covered spot to rent where I could stay as late as I wanted. I did find one, about 3 miles from my apartment. (Oh yeah, and on a side note: I finally moved to a place of my own. I hopped around to 3 different couches since you heard from me last - well, one school bus, apartment sitting for January and then a couch for February and March.... finally saved up enough for my own place!!!) Its small, but its on a lake, with a balcony. THe one downside being uncovered, limited parking spaces. Where on Earth am I going to put my rabbit when she is done, let alone the Supra that I want to get next!?! (no supra hating comments here, please! lol) Thus, enter in the rental shop. And more towing. She has travelled more on the back of a tow truck than under her own power this year.
Well, I finished up the wiring round 1, put oil and coolant in her, and ...
....
....
turned the key...
(drumroll, please....)
Okay, nothing happened. Well, not nothing. She turned over, and sounded awesome, so hey! I know that I have good compression and installed the timing belt correctly (even though I had help with that part, I am still always terrified of the first startup after that job...) So even though I was bummed, I had low expectations, and had 2 small victories. (But still... no spark, no fuel.)
I spent the next 2 months (all of February and March) struggling with this wiring harness, chasing leads, double checking my work, and becoming frustrated as hell. Not to mention that from the get-go, there were 2 wires coming out of the ECU that didn't match up color-wise to any of the wiring diagrams that I could find. I cursed myself for not labeling everything better when I ripped it out of the car, but I was in an awful rush.
Eventually, I came to my senses. My wiring job was kind of a hack to start out with, my relays were strewn about, and my routing wasn't perfect.
I decided to start over. And really REALLY do it right.
I started by changing the location of my ECU. I had originally mounted it on the firewall behind the motor, because I didn't want to risk exposing it to any moisture that may collect in the rain tray. Well.... heat is just as bad, if not worse, than water for an ECU, so I decided to modify my ECU carrier plate to sit an inch off of the bottom of the rain tray.
And, if you recall, my fuel pump WAS there... I decided to move that, too, after reading more about it and discovering that it is a "pushing" pump, not a "pulling" pump..... who knew? Back to the fuel tank for you.... (I haven't gotten here yet) and a mount needs to be fabricated and space must be made - remember, this was a diesel, so there has never been a pump back there near the tank.
I found another complete wiring harness from a 93 Jetta. I strung it up and went through every wire. The colors matched up, all of my connectors were there.... it was perfect.
And I took my time. I printed out the complete wiring diagram from AllData and made notes of everything. What I removed, (not much) what I kept but tied back and kept as part of the harness just folded up (in case I wanted to use it later), and what color I used if I had to extend a wire (only twice). This time, instead of snipping and hacking to move my connectors around, I purchased the set of tools from the tool truck for depressing those little tangs that keep the terminals inside the connectors. I laid the harness out in my engine bay and decided where I wanted it to go and shortened/lengthened the wires appropriately.
And the engine part of the engine wiring harness is done. Wrapped, covered, double, triple, and quadruple checked. And honestly, you gotta admit, for everything being out there (not tucked, deleted, camouflaged or whatever the heck these people do with their show cars!!) it's awfully clean looking. I'm proud of that.
Now...
Now for the fuse box. Oh boy.
And the entire body harness. Not that that part is so complicated, but, because I have to go and mess with everything, I cut up and hacked out and threw away my original body harness. So, I sourced one from a mk1 Scirocco. That put me out another couple of weeks.
I was going to start that last week (because I was putting off the fuse box wiring) but I got sidetracked again and decided to reseal my brake fluid reservoir. It has been leaking at the grommets for about a year or more. When I pulled out the grommets, though, they seemed to be in pretty decent shape. It was the rust in the master cylinder that had caused a poor sealing surface for the grommets. The amount of rust that would have had to been sanded away to make it smooth would have caused the grommets to leak even worse, so I decided to source a new one.
It took me forever to find a proper master cylinder for an early American rabbit, and when I finally had it in my possession and went to install it, I discovered that my brake booster was also bad. :-/ This was kind of a bummer, except that now I have options. Because I have the disc brakes in the rear, (which do have a higher displacement of fluid in the calipers vs the little wheel cylinders) I could use the German style booster and then the master cylinder from an Audi 5000 (I think.... trying to fact check right now) which bolts right up and has a higher displacement. Can anyone confirm this? I guess I won't know for certain until I try.
I'll start updating again. :)
Nice job so far. And its good to have you back, too.
About time! 
Since you have swapped in rear discs, the ideal solution would be to find the booster and master cylinder from an 86-88 16V Scirocco. You'll also want the proportioning valves that are attached to the master cylinder.
After typing that out, I realized that I may actually have that whole assembly out in the garage somewhere. I'll go look when I get home.
that wiring makes me want to stab baby giraffes.
Pretty sweet crap though.
This woman makes me sad when I think of the progress on my projects.
DoctorBlade wrote: About time!
I know, seriously!!!
theenico wrote: Since you have swapped in rear discs, the ideal solution would be to find the booster and master cylinder from an 86-88 16V Scirocco. You'll also want the proportioning valves that are attached to the master cylinder. After typing that out, I realized that I may actually have that whole assembly out in the garage somewhere. I'll go look when I get home.
Oh yaaayyy! :D Didn't the proportioning valve on those sit on a bracket that was welded to the firewall/body? I feel like I looked at one in a junkyard almost a year ago now but deeply considered buying it.... and didn't. Would gladly make good use of that. ;)
Spinout007 wrote: This woman makes me sad when I think of the progress on my projects.
Ha! The trick is never becoming disengaged. This is actually something that my friend taught me. He said that even if you do the smallest thing each day, it helps you to move forward, and it keeps me connected to my goal. Even if it is spending 10 minutes sorting through paperwork to get the color code of your paint, figuring out one trouble connector, or purchasing and installing a new part, every step along the way counts.
Okay, and honestly, this forum really helps. I have missed you guys.
And please, please spare the baby giraffes. Someday I will be a wiring master, and you will all come to me with your completely obscure VW electrical woes ;) Ha!
Awesome thread/project!
If I ever own a VW, feel free to stab me. I'll stick to my infuriatingly stupid Hondas and Jeeps.
Crazy German's and their VD wiring.
beans wrote: If I ever own a VW, feel free to stab me. I'll stick to my infuriatingly stupid Hondas and Jeeps. Crazy German's and their VD wiring.
If I stab you hard enough, do I get to keep the car??? ;)
Message received and replied to. I found it.
I'm really impressed with your wiring abilities!!! Wanna fly out here and help with the Mazda before the $2013 Challenge? Lol... After I get the issues figured out with the MS, The engine bay is my next goal.... Tidy and Neat, the lack of that I think cost me top 10 overall last year!
Long time no hear, once again. Welcome back.
You wont hear any Supra hating from me. The only one I ever drove had 2x the turbos it really needed. Hella fun.
dansxr2 wrote: I'm really impressed with your wiring abilities!!! Wanna fly out here and help with the Mazda before the $2013 Challenge? Lol... After I get the issues figured out with the MS, The engine bay is my next goal.... Tidy and Neat, the lack of that I think cost me top 10 overall last year!
Only if I get to race it, too ;)
N Sperlo wrote: Long time no hear, once again. Welcome back. You wont hear any Supra hating from me. The only one I ever drove had 2x the turbos it really needed. Hella fun.
Well then your input is welcome. ;)
anjaloveshervw wrote:dansxr2 wrote: I'm really impressed with your wiring abilities!!! Wanna fly out here and help with the Mazda before the $2013 Challenge? Lol... After I get the issues figured out with the MS, The engine bay is my next goal.... Tidy and Neat, the lack of that I think cost me top 10 overall last year!Only if I get to race it, too ;)
One of us run drags, the other autocross. DEAL!
dansxr2 wrote:anjaloveshervw wrote:One of us run drags, the other autocross. DEAL!dansxr2 wrote: I'm really impressed with your wiring abilities!!! Wanna fly out here and help with the Mazda before the $2013 Challenge? Lol... After I get the issues figured out with the MS, The engine bay is my next goal.... Tidy and Neat, the lack of that I think cost me top 10 overall last year!Only if I get to race it, too ;)
BRING.
IT.
ON.
anjaloveshervw wrote:beans wrote: If I ever own a VW, feel free to stab me. I'll stick to my infuriatingly stupid Hondas and Jeeps. Crazy German's and their VD wiring.If I stab you hard enough, do I get to keep the car??? ;)
I'll never own a VW, I'm much too lazy for that... if I did, and you stabbed me(highly unlikely as my hispanic heritage makes me impervious to stab wounds), you would get to keep it. I stick to easy Honda's that don't break, and Jeeps that can be fixed with hammers.
I gave up on a decently clean 93 Civic Hatchback project early this year because of a botched VAFC install by the PO's that hacked the harness near the ECU plugs. That's how much I hate wiring.
anjaloveshervw wrote:dansxr2 wrote:BRING. IT. ON.anjaloveshervw wrote:One of us run drags, the other autocross. DEAL!dansxr2 wrote: I'm really impressed with your wiring abilities!!! Wanna fly out here and help with the Mazda before the $2013 Challenge? Lol... After I get the issues figured out with the MS, The engine bay is my next goal.... Tidy and Neat, the lack of that I think cost me top 10 overall last year!Only if I get to race it, too ;)
:-) You'll Love It!
Yesterday I went to work on my car for a couple hours, and when I showed up, look what was waiting for me:
A set of Sebring wheels in awesome shape! These are one of my favorite stock VW wheels. I had recently been bummed about the shape of my set, which had been subjected to years of New England driving and racing, and were horribly bent. I was unable to balance them on my machine at work... which was no surprise, they didn't even roll across the floor in a straight line. Three out of the four were bent beyond my ability to repair, and the quote to just straighten them was around $100 each. $300 for these wheels? Oof. I would have to save for a bit.
BUT!!!!! One of the guys who also rents at the same shop found this pair on Craigslist and got them for me as a surprise. This means that now I have 8, and a straight set of 5, one for my spare wheel mount. There is even a tire in good shape that will make a perfect spare.
Now, I can sand and paint them...... :D
And she's back! Hope all is well, I know we're all looking forward to seeing this project completed! (well, as completed as a project ever is...) 
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