S3 WOT, 2 cylinders lost compression

[Sparky]

I hurt more than Henry's wallet.

[Chillidoggy]

It’s the end of an era.

[Sparky]

Henry asked last night "surely my car wasn't worse than Christine?"  It bloody well was.  I've pondered at length but can't think of the name of another evil car.  Anyone?

[skiing]

I feel that surely it could not be worse than Christine - it did take a fair amount of um lateral thinking to sort.. It also did do everything to not be collected yesterday.... including challenges like dead battery, getting all the gears to work, coolant all over the floor and then no volts from the alternator as the agitator wire had stopped working. We fixed this outside in the dark as well... But it then drove home happily - now just 1000 miles of running in to go... Well 932 give or take but who's counting. 

[skiing]

So to catalogue what happened here... 

1. Engine was fully rebuilt - including finding a very hard to get hold of new cam carrier and new set of cylinders and liners... head re-built, crank polished and balanced, oil pump, water pump etc. re-built. 

2. Re-assembly included:

Replacing pretty much every coolant hose, new hose clips, cleaning up through chassis pipes. Serious re-engineering required of cooling hoses due to the engine being from an excel - different thermostat location etc.  

Put recently renewed clutch back in. 

Replaced fuel pump and filter.

Replaced brake booster hose (the pipe in the chassis had crumbled to rust).

Replaced oil cooler and hoses.

Replaced belts - especially small belt required for water pump.

Removed and put back the most difficult, seized, complex exhaust system yet devised... needless to say it now fits better than it ever has and no longer rattles. This required special extra small exhaust nuts from a vw camper van (!) I think this required perhaps two days of time on its own?

Repaired wiring in engine bay (some was very um 'home-made'.) 

Faffed around with seized cross gate cable to get gear shift to work.

Fiddled around with getting engine surround to fit with almost no clearance - there were rumours of the deployment of a reciprocating saw but surely that can't be true? 

I think that is everything... 

 

 

[Sparky]

Thanks for the summary!  I find it too difficult to talk about in detail.

TBH removing and refitting that ludicrous snake's nest of an exhaust ate up a good 4 days.  The wiring was devised by Guillermo del Toro.  The cooling system?  I just can't.  Anybody thinking of putting an Excel HC engine in an S3?  Don't.

[skiing]

But think of the marvellous sense of achievement… it does amuse me that I was told when buying the engine that it would ‘just drop in’ with a few ‘minor’ adjustments…

[Chillidoggy]

3 minutes ago, skiing said:

But think of the marvellous sense of achievement… it does amuse me that I was told when buying the engine that it would ‘just drop in’ with a few ‘minor’ adjustments…

…..by Arthur Daley Motors?

[Sparky]

29 minutes ago, skiing said:

But think of the marvellous sense of achievement… it does amuse me that I was told when buying the engine that it would ‘just drop in’ with a few ‘minor’ adjustments…

And how long did he have it for, pray tell?

[Chillidoggy]

2 hours ago, skiing said:

But think of the marvellous sense of achievement… it does amuse me that I was told when buying the engine that it would ‘just drop in’ with a few ‘minor’ adjustments…

Sparky also found it incredibly amusing. Never heard him laugh so much.

[skiing]

He laughed so much he cried. Or maybe it was just crying and swearing. Either way, he remains a genius and I owe him much cider….

[Sparky]

Yore mi frend.

[Chillidoggy]

Sparky is now moving to Mariupol as, “It’s less stressful there.”

[Sparky]

I'm just happy he got it home; that's the warranty expired.