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Lupo GTI using oil (a lot)


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Hi Wolfgang! Good to see you on here :thumbup: Don't worry, the Lupo will be ready for another 176k (at least) soon!

Back to the cylinder head, I contacted the local VW garage to source some valve guides. A few back-and-forwards emails with the parts guy and he tells me the guides are not available as separate parts from VW and only come with a complete head. I wasn't about to argue the point, so asked around at work if anyone had a contact for cylinder head rebuilds.

One of the guys has a friend who races a VW, and they put me in touch with the guy who rebuilds his cylinder heads. Lovely chap, dropped the head off to him this afternoon and will hopefully have it back next week :D

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  • 10 months later...

So this thread is well overdue an update, I'll keep it brief as quite a lot has gone on in the past year.

I completed the engine rebuild with the reworked cylinder head, and on first start and drive everything appeared fine. I did notice however that while the engine was no longer smoking on startup there was quite a bit of smoke when cold or under load at high rpm.

My old Honda Jazz gave up the ghost in the middle of the summer, so I pressed the Lupo into service until a replacement was sourced. It was at this point that I found out the AC wasn't working, likewise the drivers window. Meant for a few sweaty trips in near 40° temperatures!

In the end the driver's window was traced to a load of broken wires in the door harness, along with a faulty regulator. Pain in the backside to sort, but got there in the end.

As motivation along the way, I picked up a brand new set of Oz Superturismo's with new (but dated 2014) tyres for the princely sum of €400 delivered, before and after below:

 

IMG_20210807_105145010_HDR

 

IMG_20210807_113609365_HDR

As winter approached I started the strip-down to remove the engine and replace the rings. Engine out first:

IMG_20220103_233811

As per the other thread I started on here, I wasn't sure what to do about getting the crank out, as it's supported by the timing cover on one end which needs a special tool to align it and form the seal. In the end I just pulled the crank out and will worry about reassembly when the time comes (might be a job for my local VW garage)

IMG_20220110_234528

As tends to happen, there has been a bit of scope creep. The engine paint was pretty ropey, so once the block gets back from the machine shop it'll be getting a fresh coat of paint. Overall I've been pretty surprised with how corrosion free the chassis is, mainly just bolt on parts that are showing a bit of rust, so I decided to get various brackets along with the ARB and front subframe powdercoated. The subframe is solid, just a bit of surface rust here and there:

IMG_20220125_214440

Three of the subframe bolts came out no problem, the third bound up towards the end and the nut started spinning. Managed to get it out by wedging a crowbar in the gap and applying a bit of downwards force, I'm hoping I can buzz the new bolt in with the rattle gun and the nut will bite and I can torque it up.

Next jobs are cleaning the burnt on carbon deposits out of the cylinder head, and reassembling it with new valve stem seals. Aim is to have the car back running again for the end of March, quite a lot of little bits and pieces to sort along the way so it might be a bit optimistic. Will report back on progress here anyway, in case anyone is interested.

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  • 2 weeks later...

There's nothing better than sending a load of rusty manky brackets off and getting freshly coated parts back, the following have been blasted, epoxy primered and powder coated:

IMG_20220224_171512

While they were away I pulled the cylinder head apart to clean the carbon deposits out. One valve is showing some odd markings, probably from the manufacturing process but to be on the safe side I'll put a new one in upon reassembly:

IMG_20220222_211929

Another thing I found when dissembling the head, is a few of the intake valve stem seals seemed a bit loose on the guides. It could be down to me being too heavy handed with the installation, but I did notice at the time that the seals (Ajusa) didn't 'snap' onto the guides.

Any recommendations for valve stem seals that have withstood the test of time?

I could obviously buy OEM seals from VW, and will if it's recommended, but at pretty much 10x the price I'd rather put the money elsewhere if I can get an equivalent aftermarket part.

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I really want to get all of the bolt-on parts of mine powder coated one-day, just need to win the lottery to be able to afford it! 

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On 3/1/2022 at 11:27 AM, lupogtiboy said:

I really want to get all of the bolt-on parts of mine powder coated one-day, just need to win the lottery to be able to afford it! 

It only cost 80€ to get the parts above degreased, blasted and powder coated. 

There's obviously a bit of effort involved to get everything off and back on again though!

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  • 2 weeks later...
236 / 5.000
 

Übersetzungsergebnisse

I'm thrilled when I see how beautiful one of my previous Lupo will be soon. It encourages me in my decision not to sell it in pieces. I have always hoped it gets back on the road thanks to the work done by skilled hands. Congratulation to the work already done.
 
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  • 4 weeks later...
On 3/14/2022 at 3:12 PM, wolfgang said:
236 / 5.000
 

Übersetzungsergebnisse

I'm thrilled when I see how beautiful one of my previous Lupo will be soon. It encourages me in my decision not to sell it in pieces. I have always hoped it gets back on the road thanks to the work done by skilled hands. Congratulation to the work already done.
 

Thanks Wolfgang! It's slow going, but gradually getting there 👍

 

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On 4/9/2022 at 9:10 AM, Blue Loop said:

Any progress? :)

Quite a bit, although not actually involving putting a spanner on the car!

Various parts ordered from VW (rod bolts, big end and main bearings, front subframe mounting bolts etc), some others ordered online (head gasket, clutch, pistons rings etc), just waiting for them all to come in. I've also found the VW tool for fitting the timing wheel/seal to the crank, which is also on it's way, and a bit of research turned up the correct diameter tapered ring compressor:

Ring compressor

The valves are mostly cleaned of carbon deposits, I've ordered a kit to lightly lap them in.

Drop links are proving a pain in the backside, I ordered some online and the wrong size turned up. Spoke to my local VW place and genuine parts are no longer available, so they sourced an alterative which is also wrong!

IMG_20220408_213506IMG_20220408_212714

Superpro do a poly bushing kit, so I think I'll send the VW ones back and replace the bushes in the other set with the poly bushes.

I also painted the engine block, didn't notice when I picked it up but the machine shop didn't take the pins out before facing it:

IMG_20220313_211724

And finally, I have managed to loose one of the ABS unit mounting screws (was planning to replace them with new, but NLA from VW), which has in turn meant I can't reassemble that corner of the engine bay yet.

Some pictures of the car actually starting to go back together should appear shortly!

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It's never easy to try and get everything perfect, but you'll get there :)

I'm looking forward to some progress pictures and hope you'll have it ready for summer - mine just got the summer tires on!

Edited by Blue Loop
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