Alex's 7A Swapped CGT - New Wheels

[AudiSport4000]

VERY interested in the LED's you used. I had experimented with different bulbs so long ago, but the ones you have seem better. Additional information when you can provide it would be awesome. Would there also be a good replacement for the heater control panel bulb?

[alxdgr8]

VERY interested in the LED's you used. I had experimented with different bulbs so long ago, but the ones you have seem better. Additional information when you can provide it would be awesome. Would there also be a good replacement for the heater control panel bulb?

I did replace the heater bulb, it takes the same bulbs that the aux gauges take. I plan on doing a writeup soon...priority is to get the car running first though
Also had a few initial problems with the dimmer, but working with the designer to resolve them and also get a preprogrammed one for B2 Audi rheostats in case people have problems learning a 30y.o. noisy rheostat.

[AudiSport4000]

Awesome! Thanks, Alex

[alxdgr8]

15 days to go (for the first deadline, 23 until BBQ journey begins).

The Coupe has always been a WA car, so it didn't get the CEL like CA cars. So, I wanted to add one in order to easily flash codes. This ended up taking a lot longer than I expected, probably spent 8 hours on it trying things. Had to run wiring from the OBD1 ports for power and ground from the 7A IC connector. The CEL gets constant power and is triggered by the ground. This doesn't work well since the CEL in the CGT cluster shares a common ground with everything else. I had to remove the board contact prongs from a dash light and solder the wires directly to it. I had to do this twice since the first time I used an LED. The LED always has power, and even after key off there's low enough resistance in the wire that the LED will continue to glow. So I had to swap in a normal incandescent and this solved that problem.

Try #1 with the LED, didn't take a pic of the second try.

IMG_20150917_191628737 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Working code flashing! (click for video)

VID_20150919_162104280 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Never been so happy to see so many warning lights! Still don't have the oil pressure warning light working, but the oil pressure gauge works so that's the most important.

IMG_20150919_175507782 by Vex Art, on Flickr

I'm glad I wired up the CEL as it helped me diagnose some bad ISV wiring (forgot to plug in the power supply for it on the relay board). Figured this out after I cleaned the ISV.

IMG_20150920_174105126_TOP by Vex Art, on Flickr

Fabbed up an exhaust with what I had. It's not pretty but it'll do the job for now. It's still a little loud, I don't really like the muffler choices (cheap straight through) but it's an unknown SS catback. Cat is hollowed. I'll do a better one done the line, especially since this is mostly 2" right now.

IMG_20150920_155135883 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Got the brakes/clutch, cooling system, and power steering filled and bled. Everything feels great.
Threw the ABT's on the car to roll it around, new tires come tomorrow to put on the TSW's.

Once I fixed the ISV problem, the car seemed to start and run pretty decent. I need to adjust the idle again after I messed with it troubleshooting the ISV.
I also think I have faulty plug wires, or at least the coil to distributor one. If I jiggle the coil wire while the car's running it'll die. Also if I turn the wheel while it's idleing it'll die as the power steering pump puts load on it. Dave is sending me some new plug wires, hopefully that fixes the problem.
Rolled it outside for the first time in over 6 months and took a family picture.

IMG_20150920_191921490 by Vex Art, on Flickr

[the german]

Woohoo!! I really can't wait to see this thing running.

[alxdgr8]

Got the replacement IC for the LED dimmer with new programming specifically for the Audi B2 dimmer (21 ohm). Works great! Does a fade up to the current rheostat setting when powered on. There is a slight flicker when it first turns on, but doesn't bother me. I had Ed at Protizmo also setup the dimmer to completely shut off at the minimum since this is sometimes handy. He's now added this configuration to his website. He should have another batch ready to go in shortly if anyone is interested.

*Click for video*

[alxdgr8]

Fought some insane traffic (thank you Chinese President) to get home in time to take it for a spin around the block before it got dark. Felt kinda sluggish. And when it's warm and you let off the gas from 2-3k+ rpm, it seems like it struggles a bit to recover the idle. I think that might be the ISV, I did take it apart and clean it, but that might not be enough.
Decided to check the plugs, they all looked pretty decent, nothing fouled or anything. Figured while I had the plugs out I'd check compression (warm and dry) and it seemed in spec. 7A's have a large variance of 145-200psi new, with a 116psi wear limit and a max delta of 45psi. So mine came out at (1-5) as 127/140/135/127/142 which seems reasonable for a 180k+ mile engine.
Decided to check timing and it looks like the cam gear was just over half a tooth off. Not quite a full tooth, but close enough that I decided to try it with it changed a tooth.
While I'm waiting on some Nology Hotwires from Dave, I grabbed some new OE size wires just to try and to have a spare set. These seemed to help a little.

With the flywheel mark aligned:
2015-09-24_12-11-00 by Vex Art, on Flickr

The car seemed to pull better, with a better neutral recovery, but still with a little struggle for a few seconds before it's fully recovered.
Put the car into "just legal to drive around at night" mode. Tried not to hammer on it too much since the exhaust is very loud! (ordered parts to fix that; gotta get some more argon for the TIG too)

2015-09-24_12-12-55 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Car was doing pretty good until I went to do one last romp and really rev it out. It started cutting out and CEL came on. Ran the codes at home and it said it was the RPM sensor. Going to look for one of my spares and swap it in and see if that changes anything. Maybe I'm just imagining things with it being slower than a 7A should be...
I definitely need to swap in the Koni's in the front and get an alignment. The front is very bouncy with coilover springs and stock struts, even at pretty much stock ride height.

On another note, I spent way too much time thinking about wiring up the Euro H1/H4's. Wanted to do it right and relay it, then I looked and found out I didn't have any 12AWG wiring. Starting wiring research and decided like my battery cables, I didn't want to skimp out and get the cheap wire. So I ordered about $200 in Hella relays, a relay box, fuses, and 12AWG Type GXL wire.

[audifreakjim]

Keep ironing it out, it will get there. That picture looks like its off a tooth to me. Are you going by the flywheel marks or the pulley on the bottom end?

[alxdgr8]

Keep ironing it out, it will get there. That picture looks like its off a tooth to me. Are you going by the flywheel marks or the pulley on the bottom end?

Flywheel mark, pulley is probably 30 degrees off it has rotated so much. I fixed it and now the mark is a little to the left when the flywheel is dead on, but I think it's right now. Distributor is spot on too.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[dana]

Keep ironing it out, it will get there. That picture looks like its off a tooth to me. Are you going by the flywheel marks or the pulley on the bottom end?

Flywheel mark, pulley is probably 30 degrees off it has rotated so much. I fixed it and now the mark is a little to the left when the flywheel is dead on, but I think it's right now. Distributor is spot on too.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

I have found that they are rarely dead on to that cam mark. I usually set the flywheel to tdc, then set the belt on cam and set it back one tooth (or forward) and pick whichever is closest to the mark. Its never been dead on when I've done it.

[alxdgr8]

Status update, 16 days before I leave...

Still to do:
-Cleaup wiring, install drivers side lower dash *COMPLETE*
-Fill/flush powersteering *COMPLETE*
-Bleed clutch master/slave/brakes *COMPLETE*
-Fab up exhaust *COMPLETE*
-Hook up shifter *COMPLETE*
-Uninstall front suspension to install new Konis *COMPLETE*
-Uninstall/reinstall rear Konis to adjust them since I don't know what they're currently at *Still Needed*
-Fill cooling system, warm up, check for leaks *COMPLETE*
-Mount front bumper *COMPLETE*
-Wire up and mount H1/H4 headlights *Mounted, need wiring, parts in hand*
-Mount new tires when they get here later this week. Cleanup the wheels too; sadly won't have time to powdercoat them. *Getting done tomorrow*
-Test drive and hope for the best! *COMPLETE*
-Get an alignment. *Scheduled*
-Reinstall rear seat. *Still Needed*
-Vacuum interior. *Still Needed*
-Reseal sunroof. *Still Needed*
-Troubleshoot cruise control. *Still Needed*

Have taken it around the block a few times and it's running pretty good. I think I need to try another ISV, mine is still acting a little funny. Also leaking a little bit of oil, but nothing alarming.
Looks like a car again!

2015-09-28_12-49-39 by Vex Art, on Flickr

[alxdgr8]

Tires mounted and coilovers lowered. Going to drive it to work tomorrow and see how bad the alignment is and find out if it has any issues with 35 miles round trip.

P1010735 by Vex Art, on Flickr

P1010745 by Vex Art, on Flickr

[alxdgr8]

Made it 17 miles to work, no issues. Cruise still doesn't work, gotta troubleshoot that.

[audifreakjim]

Nice! Oh, I have to rig mine up too. haha

[vt10vt]

Congratulations on a successful first commute! That first commute to work always makes me feel like "ok, this thing is really getting there. And at least it didn't cost me my job."

[ringbearer]

Sweet! Looks great, enjoy it!

[Afterthought]

man the attention to detail on your project is great. Those LED's are bad ass.
One day when I get closer I may have to copy a few of the things you did!

[alxdgr8]

Still to do:
-Cleaup wiring, install drivers side lower dash *COMPLETE*
-Fill/flush powersteering *COMPLETE*
-Bleed clutch master/slave/brakes *COMPLETE*
-Fab up exhaust *COMPLETE*
-Hook up shifter *COMPLETE*
-Uninstall front suspension to install new Konis *COMPLETE*
-Uninstall/reinstall rear Konis to adjust them since I don't know what they're currently at *Rides fine, deemed OK for now*
-Fill cooling system, warm up, check for leaks *COMPLETE*
-Mount front bumper *COMPLETE*
-Wire up and mount H1/H4 headlights *COMPLETE*
-Mount new tires when they get here later this week. Cleanup the wheels too; sadly won't have time to powdercoat them. *COMPLETE*
-Test drive and hope for the best! *COMPLETE*
-Get an alignment. *Scheduled*
-Reinstall rear seat. *COMPLETE*
-Vacuum interior. *COMPLETE*
-Reseal sunroof. *Need to order parts, what I thought would work won't*
-Troubleshoot cruise control. *Still Needed*

Built the wiring harness for the new headlight relay's. Didn't take very many pictures sadly. Used a Hella 4-relay enclosure with 2 Bosch relays, 12 AWG SGT wire wrapped with snakeskin, and ceramic H4 connectors.

IMG_20151003_220156062 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20151004_230401517 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Installed an old Alpine head unit that has an aux input. Also upgraded the rear speakers to a set of old MB Quart 6.5" components I had sitting around. Should've updated the front speakers while I had the dash out, but had more important things to do at the time. Sounds decent for now.

IMG_20151004_230326280 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Got the rest of the interior put back together. Installed a toggle into the cubby that's wired to the OBD1 port so I can read codes without jumpering the connectors.

Flex-sealed the rain tray and radiator cover to cover up some cracks. Forgot to take after pics, I'll do that tonight.
IMG_20151003_161413351 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Also gave the car a much needed wash and clay bar. Took over 2 ours to clay the car since there was so much grime on it. Gotta polish and wax it tonight to try and get rid of all the swirl marks.
It's a good 10 footer for now. I really need to get the dents in the doors fixed in the future, hoping paintless dent repair can work.

2015-10-05_11-12-40 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Going to make one more revision to the exhaust to try and cut down on some drone. It's still a bit too loud for 3200 miles of road tripping. Got a few minor things left to do, but otherwise I'm ready for Battle Born!

[90quattrocoupe]

very nice, Alex. You did very well.

Greg W.

[Aktapod]

Looks amazing!! Excellent work, man.

[the german]

fantastic. well done Alex

[alxdgr8]

Forgot to plug in the speedo sensor for the cruise control, so I fixed that hoping for the best...no go. Gotta check for vacuum leaks and resolder the CC brain in an attempt to get the cruise working.

Pics of the "flex-seal" on the rain tray and radiator cover

IMG_20151006_244254925 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20151006_244249484 by Vex Art, on Flickr

The paint in the HVAC/fusebox tray was all kinda of messed up and was a mix of white and black paint. I first tried painting it white, but it didn't match so I got a can of black automotive enamel spray paint and did it in that. I think it blends nicely with the black fusebox and rain cover. Looks much better than the chipped white and black paint.

IMG_20151005_221206208 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20151006_241155224_HDR by Vex Art, on Flickr

Had a scare at the auto parts store, came out to a pool of water under my car. Thankfully it was just a split in the radiator to overflow hose and was easily replaced.

Brought out the heavy machinery to polish the car and it cleaned up pretty well. However it was taking FOREVER to get all the swirls out so I only got about half of the roof done right. I quickly went over the rest of the car to at least get it decently shiny. I'll have to go back some other time and do a full paint correction on it...or pay someone to do it. I spent almost 5 hours just on what I did last night.

IMG_20151006_241247067 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Still some swirls evident in the hood.

IMG_20151006_241257067_HDR by Vex Art, on Flickr

[the german]

I didn't think the paint could come back to looking that good. Well done! Have you done anything about the plastic c-pillar vents?

[alxdgr8]

I didn't think the paint could come back to looking that good. Well done! Have you done anything about the plastic c-pillar vents?

Not yet, I was thinking of painting those black but not sure how they'd look. Might need to get some actual alpine white for those.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[alxdgr8]

Ready for BBQ!!!!!

Last Thursday I was driving it home from work and noticed the RR brake smelled hot. Took the drum off and found a locked up brake cylinder and some smoked shoes. Turns out the 4x108 drums are impossible to find locally, all of the auto parts stores have the early 4x100 and say they work with the later cars... Got replacement wheel cylinders, hardware/springs, shoes, and wheel bearings and got those swapped in Friday night. All brakes works great now. Got an alignment on Saturday. Replaced the vacuum hoses for the cruise control and re-soldered the module and it works now too! Still don't have my replacement ISV...was supposed to be here Saturday but got delayed so now it won't come until Tuesday thanks to Columbus day. Leaving at 7AM Wednesday!

Nasty brakes, can't wait to convert to drums:

IMG_20151009_175917751 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Exhaust revision one million....still a little loud and raspy, but no more vibrations. It'll do for now. Pretty sure I have the worst TIG skills in the world, I definitely need to practice.

IMG_20151007_212017676 by Vex Art, on Flickr

LED dome light

IMG_20151008_244310280 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Checked the plugs and swapped on the Hotwires that Dave graciously donated. It's definitely burning oil on a few cylinders and it's leaking out of the new 1.8T rear main seal, but nothing severe enough that'll keep me from coming.

IMG_20151012_190837705 by Vex Art, on Flickr