Thread: The not quite S
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Old 01-24-2017, 02:20 PM   #12
78F350
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Oklahoma
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Garage
Update: No progress

I was just going to sneak a little update in as an edit rather than bumping the thread, but it seems that posts of a certain age can no longer be edited. So here is a 'no real progress' update.
No changes to the car other than putting an eBay-shipped-from-China resistor in one of the radiator fans.
I poked around the ABZ engine a bit and mated an '01 5-speed transmission up with it. The bolts that came with the transmission were not the right size or length to mate them up properly, but the bolts from an Audi/VW 2.8 V6 seem to fit well. Next point of interest was that the ABZ has a cable throttle and the 2000 Boxsters are e-Gas. Woody sent me a pedal and cable to swap in. I was thinking of stripping the harness off the engine to clean it up a bit, then it got cold. My garage is not heated....
Then I got an 03 Audi A8 with an AUX engine (40 valve 4.2L V8). A blind purchase from a salvage auction. I didn't really want the car, but I had been watching for one for a long time and when the opportunity presented, I couldn't resist putting in a low-ball bid. My bid did not meet the reserve, but the seller made a desperate counter offer. Feeling adventurous, I picked up the car at the salvage lot and drove it 70 miles home. My biggest concern with a D2 A8 was that the transmission would be bad, but it was fine. The car had problems though. Bad tires, one being an odd size from the rest. Failed LCD in the instrument panel. Passenger window went down, then not up. Bottom 1/2 of front bumper missing. Brake pads need to be replaced. It ran out of gas while the gauge was at 1/3 tank. Misfires all on bank 1. For a while I planned to fix the car and keep it as a loaner for friends and family, or flip it. When I did a thoughtful analysis of cost vs benefit, dumping all that money into that car didn't make sense. It is now an engine donor for my project. The ABZ is set aside, maybe for a swap in a '99 later.

Analysis of the engine lead me to believe that the cam adjuster for the #1 side had failed or the pads were bad. It is almost identical to the VarioCam system in our Boxsters. I bought parts and tools and waited for a not-too-cold day to get to work. Got it all opened up today and found that the timing belt was not set right. Off by about a tooth. Someone had obviously done some work without locking the cams. Markings implied that rather than set and lock TDC, they had picked a random point and hoped that nothing would shift. The valve-train on both sides looks good. The cam adjuster pads are barely worn. Since I have all that parts and tools, I am going to do the 'while I am in there' stuff of replacing the cam adjuster pads, thermostat, water pump, tensioner, and belt. I'm keeping the car together until I have the engine sorted out and tested, then it all comes apart. It will be good to have the whole donor car here as I figure out the swap.
I don't plan to do frequent posts or use this thread as a V8 swap journal. As I go, I will take notes and post any significant updates.

A couple pictures/notes:
Setting TDC: At TDC a tool screws into the case locking the crankshaft. The tabs on the cam gears are aligned with a bar that fits to the holes. They did not quite align.


Cam adjuster: Very similar to the VarioCam. The exhaust is driven from the timing belt, then the adjuster/tensioner changes the relative rotation of the intake cams. The pads actually looked fairly new. (Don't mind the color of the head. I have seen many of these pictured as dark orange inside.)
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Last edited by 78F350; 01-24-2017 at 05:08 PM.
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