What did you do to your mk7 today?

[wascally wabbitt]

Original engine is not hurt. Just cylinder four ring failing. Once I get the engine in and mine shipped I’ll have a better understanding for total cost.

BBT is almost finished with my build. Currently working out a plan to get the long block to my shop without my car having to sit, get my long block out to him, swap over accessories, then ship back.

Did they identify likely root causes for the failing ring?

 

[swcrow]

Did they identify likely root causes for the failing ring?

smoke in exhaust (light), compression test and leak down test (where you could hear the air escaping through the dipstick tube), dropping the piston and bore scoping the cylinder walls which showed slight scarring.

 

[ChristopherNeil]

Got this installed this morning; took about an hour or so. It took a little patience to get around the engine wiring harness because the rubber grommets are a little fiddly, but once lined up, fitment is literally perfect. I couldn't use the bracket for the Integrated Engineering SAI because of the volume of the chambers, but I'm ok with that for now.

 

[ChristopherNeil]

Now I need to get rid of the APR inlet tube. I hate that weave and I only have it because it facilitated my DTR install, as the MST inlet didn't fit. I wish Samco made a "vintage black" inlet tube.

 

[Tyler230]

Picked up the car this morning. With the O2 sensor plugged in this time. Trying it without the spacer for now.

AFR’s look MUCH better. Cruising at highway speed at 14.5-14.7 instead of 12.0.

Maybe I’m just not used to a downpipe since it’s my first one but it gets..noisy when I’m getting into boost. Maybe 15-18psi at the manifold. Unless it’s an exhaust leak or the downpipe is vibrating against a heat shield lower down or something. Might have someone from the shop ride along for a minute to listen.

 

[Nineeightyone]

Picked up the car this morning. With the O2 sensor plugged in this time. Trying it without the spacer for now.

AFR’s look MUCH better. Cruising at highway speed at 14.5-14.7 instead of 12.0.

Maybe I’m just not used to a downpipe since it’s my first one but it gets..noisy when I’m getting into boost. Maybe 15-18psi at the manifold. Unless it’s an exhaust leak or the downpipe is vibrating against a heat shield lower down or something. Might have someone from the shop ride along for a minute to listen.

Couldn't hurt, but I can say firsthand when I added a downpipe and resonator to the equation from stock downpipe and just a catback, it was also a fair gain in sound. Not bad, but definitely louder/more deep than previously.

 

[Tyler230]

Couldn't hurt, but I can say firsthand when I added a downpipe and resonator to the equation from stock downpipe and just a catback, it was also a fair gain in sound. Not bad, but definitely louder/more deep than previously.

No it’s not exhaust noise. It’s harsher and more vibration than noise I think. It’s only when I request a fair amount of torque. Maybe the engine is shifting enough under that much load to move the downpipe over to touch something. Definitely doesn’t feel right. I’ll have someone from the shop ride with me later today or tomorrow. Kind of killing the new stage 2 power vibes.

 

[ChristopherNeil]

Do you have a dogbone mount? The DP could be rubbing on a brace under the car. I'm surprised they didn't test drive it after to check.

 

[Tyler230]

Do you have a dogbone mount? The DP could be rubbing on a brace under the car. I'm surprised they didn't test drive it after to check.

No upgraded dog bone mount. It’s like 60%+ throttle and it honestly sounds like rolling anti lag or something. Like a gravel-y rumble and you can feel it in the floor pan. Does not sound super happy.

 

[Salami]

2019 Golf R. Does the spacer affect fuel trim or any negative effects?

EQT recommends unplugging the secondary O2 if there are codes related to the cat or fuel trim issues.

 

[Anthony3o55]

You might just have residual oil on the exhaust burning off still.

Worst case scenario, if the oil level went low enough you may have hurt the turbo & it’s leaking oil into the exhaust now.

Typically oil smoke is “blue”, but it’s really white smoke with a faint blue-ish tint.

A even worse worst case scenario would be valvetrain damage. The valve guides on these cars are junk to begin with, so without proper lubrication that could be the source of your smoke.

And of course absolutely worst case scenario would be oil control ring, ring land or cylinder wall damage. A cheap or rented borescope can rule that out.

I am hoping for the best!

the good thing is I'm not having misfires. Barely drove it since I got the cover replaced and left it sit for now. I'll take out the spark plugs and inspect the pistons with a borescope.

 

[Nineeightyone]

No it’s not exhaust noise. It’s harsher and more vibration than noise I think. It’s only when I request a fair amount of torque. Maybe the engine is shifting enough under that much load to move the downpipe over to touch something. Definitely doesn’t feel right. I’ll have someone from the shop ride with me later today or tomorrow. Kind of killing the new stage 2 power vibes.

It's very possible then. Stock mounts barely hold up to stock power, and a tune will make notably more power. If I were in your shoes I'd do mounts anyway (because they're nearly free power, in the sense that you're not adding to potential reliability issues but making more power because less power is lost in engine movement), at a minimum the powerflex hybrid mount. I briefly touched on it here with a photo of the tools used to extract the OEM lower dogbone insert, the hybrid puck is cheap and doesn't add a TON of vibration once it settles in. But I would say figure out for sure first if it's tied to vehicle speed, engine speed, relative power request, etc to really nail it down.

 

[Tyler230]

It's very possible then. Stock mounts barely hold up to stock power, and a tune will make notably more power. If I were in your shoes I'd do mounts anyway (because they're nearly free power, in the sense that you're not adding to potential reliability issues but making more power because less power is lost in engine movement), at a minimum the powerflex hybrid mount. I briefly touched on it here with a photo of the tools used to extract the OEM lower dogbone insert, the hybrid puck is cheap and doesn't add a TON of vibration once it settles in. But I would say figure out for sure first if it's tied to vehicle speed, engine speed, relative power request, etc to really nail it down.

Thank you for the info. I took it back late yesterday. They rode with and heard it. Put it on the lift and loosened the big bolt on the dog bone mount bushing and he said he watched the engine shift/settle into position. Torqued it back down and he test drove it quick and said it should be good now. I have not had a chance to test it again myself. He mentioned he took the subframe off when he installed the downpipe so it probably had something to do with that.

Otherwise the tune seems happy. Zero knock anyway. I’ll have to post a log once I can actually put my foot down.

 

[krs]

Thank you for the info. I took it back late yesterday. They rode with and heard it. Put it on the lift and loosened the big bolt on the dog bone mount bushing and he said he watched the engine shift/settle into position. Torqued it back down and he test drove it quick and said it should be good now. I have not had a chance to test it again myself. He mentioned he took the subframe off when he installed the downpipe so it probably had something to do with that.

Otherwise the tune seems happy. Zero knock anyway. I’ll have to post a log once I can actually put my foot down.

They took the subframe off? How'd they keep things aligned, or did you get an alignment after?

 

[swcrow]

They took the subframe off? How'd they keep things aligned, or did you get an alignment after?

Was thinking the same thing.