B5 S4, operation money pit. Forever evolving, never ending.

[Exodus_2pt0]

I would go straight for the s366

I keep going back and forth between buying a porsche and keeping the 335i a daily or single turbo the 335i to 700+ whp and get a 535xi wagon as a daily

Also whats your thoughts on B8 S4 I told my dad to look at them I would be interested in them if i wasnt addicted to this n54

I haven't driven a B8 but I've seen them in action, and they are quite impressive. With a pulley and tune they roll with your average k04 S4. Alot of guys seem to be giving up their B5's for them.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Also, I got a deal on the 256 that I couldn't pass up. I actually think it should.make for a nice broad powerband without being a peak number queen.

If it's not enough, shouldn't be hard at all to swap to a bigger turbo. Which is honestly the biggest advantage to going single, no more engine pulls.

[Northern]

That S256 looks so big in the engine bay...

#updatespls

[Exodus_2pt0]

Not much to update right now, I was messing with it a little bit tonight just pulling parts off.

Looks like I'll have clearance on the back while keeping the secondary firewall, I'll have to redo the wiring harness and reroute but that's ok. In the photo it wouldn't fit down in there due to the current boost control hoses and egt control units.

Since both of those things will be gone, I removed them and it fight right down in there with a little room to spare. Also will have to relocated the vacuum ports away from the rear of the manifold.



Gotta buy an engine hoist and press from harbor freight here soon so i can get rolling. Probably won't order the rest of the parts until tax time.

I don't see this car being back on the road for quite some time. I'm in no rush and want to invest the time to do everything right.

[Exodus_2pt0]

All positioned. Lots of room, tools are behind me. Let's put the garage to use!



Spent about an hour on it tonight. My 3 year old has turned out to be an excellent helper. She made sure to keep my work light on point the entire time.



Rough positioning. It will sit a bit lower.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Bad news, decided to perform a compression test before I pulled the engine out.

All cylinders are low, around 120psi. Cylinder 5 rings are completely shot. 75psi repeated for multiple attempts. Added oil and it shot up to 160.

I wasn't planning on touching the rings, but I guess plans change. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to take apart the engine or just risk the stock block and run it.

So, now a engine tear down is inevitable. Hopefully the bores check out and I can just do a hone/re-ring.

If the bore is bad, then I need to take a step back and consider my options. I'm not getting into boring and aftermarket pistons with the 2.7, even with rods we are reaching the point of diminishing returns. (Stock block = 500whp. Drop in rods = 600whp, and you are already risking a cracked block if your torque is up there as well. )

So, if the bore is bad, do I find another short block or j
Make this a real long term project and start collecting vr6 parts?

I'm ok with this taking a extended period of time to do, this is the project I've wanted for a long time.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Picking up a short block on Saturday. Less mileage, ran when pulled, and it's the later style BF block which is supposed to be a bit stronger than the one I have.

I didn't post about it, but the last few times I started my car I had a low oil pressure warning pop up once it got warm. It was intermittent though, which leads me to think it wasn't a bad sensor. My power level is supposed to be safe, but that combined with the shit compression numbers is making me want to just take the heads and build another block.

Plus, the price on it I couldn't pass up.

[Exodus_2pt0]

[Exodus_2pt0]

New block looks and feels great.

Bought a new toy as well. Now I can actually pull everything.

I'm strongly considering doing the engine with forged rods and new rings, and reinstalling the current setup but with e85. I got a ride in a stock block e85 k04 car yesterday (conservative to not chuck a rod), and the car was fast. Very fast.

Don't worry, if I go this route, I'll be buying some junk heads to use the old engine as a mock-up and build the stk while I try to kill my f21's.

As always, nothing is set in stone until it happens. At this point my only priority is rebuilding the engine and trans. When it comes time to put everything back together I'll decide which route to go.

[Northern]

Just saying I'm still reading, don't want to disturb the progress though haha.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Just saying I'm still reading, don't want to disturb the progress though haha.

Good to know I'm not talking to myself!

Order placed for rods. I also bought a dry erase board to put in the garage so I can give myself a visual "to-do" list. Should help to prioritize and brainstorm plans. It works wonders for us at work on big jobs, so I figure it should help me cement things at home as well.

[MouseRat]

I love the B5 shape. So subtle!
This one is going to be completely crazy. Keep up the high quality work man

[2mAn]

Just went through the whole thread. Boost is addicting and you keep breaking shit and coming back with more power. As someone said earlier, you're a crazy bitch

[Exodus_2pt0]

Just went through the whole thread. Boost is addicting and you keep breaking shit and coming back with more power. As someone said earlier, you're a crazy bitch

Shake n' bake.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Did some wrenching tonight. Started to pull the drivetrain out, then remembered I forgot to unbolt the front axles. Everything else is disconnected, so at that point it was 11pm, and I called it a night.

I must be getting old, I'm not interested in working on the car until the early hours of the morning any more. 2-3 hours here and there, and I'm good.



Been meaning to snap a photo of this. We switched hardware suppliers at work, so I got to snag a couple bins from the old vendor that were being trashed. They make perfect organizers, should make reassembly a bit easier.



Also, first fun parts have arrived.


Got a new set of rings coming from a friend, got them for roughly shipping + a meal. Just have to order bearings now and I can put the short block together. I'm in no rush at this point, basically just buying parts here and there when deals present themselves.