Stateside 998c Build Thread
Turbo Mini Forums

I am also loving the tools!

I have started posting on Instagram also my name on there is turbomk1golf

Nothing is impossible it just costs more and takes longer.

All this talk of my tools is making me a little uncomfortable :)

Made some solid progress this week/weekend.
Minispares sent a replacement turbo oil pump with larger sealing diameter. I should have definitely taken pictures of it but I forgot and it's in the engine now and I'm not taking it apart for the pictures. It's got a larger diameter sealing surface and uses cap head hex bolts as opposed to the standard hex bolts on the previous gen.

With this help of my GF I got the engine in last night and was really happy to find that there was PLENTY of clearance for the GT1548. I'll still run a longer engine steady but it doesn't seem like I'll really need to push the whole thing that far forward. Sweet!


I did find that I needed to adjust the bracket for the actuator and in messing around back there I broke off my welded on tab. Definitely a bummer since it's pretty hard to access with the engine in but I was able to get in there with the MIG and weld it back on. Hopefully this holds a little better.


One thing I noticed is that the front end is sitting pretty high. I've got new cones and hi-los fitted with the adjustment all the way down but still looks a bit like a 4x4. How much settling is expected? This seems pretty high for the lowest setting even if there is still some settling. Will it settle on it's own weight or will I need to drive?

the new cones will settle in time but I've known a few people that have had to machine a little off the hilo to get it a bit lower. Mine is currently running without the locknuts to get it sitting right

I had to cut the bolt head part off the hi-lo (keeping the locknuts), then adjust height from the top side. It was never going to settle as much as I needed it to.

Dang! That's pretty disappointing about the hi-los maybe needing some mods to get them low enough. Seems like removing the locknut will get me pretty far. Just getting the engine in and sitting on the wheels seems like it helped it settle a bit. I'll drive it a bit and then lock into taking the locknuts out.

Rear end looks fine. I haven't had the car on the wheels in a while. I forgot how small and low it is!

Got myself to a point where I could try and start the car today. Spent some time sorting out some mistakes I made hooking things up and then tried to turn it over.

Had to prime the oil pump but then after that I gained healthy oil pressure quickly.

After that I loaded a basic 998 turbo map I got off the forum a while ago and tried to go!

No such luck after a lot of cranking. I did get a couple things that sounded like ignition but nothing sustained. I didn't spend a lot of time trouble shooting since I ran out of time but I had a couple questions:

Is there a good way to set the mixture adjustment on the carb at an initial point? Something like all the way in and then two turns out?

Would the revs while turning over be picked up by the MJ software? I'm thinking this could be a good way to check if the timing wheel is being picked up.

Thoughts for the next steps:
-Sort out initial carb settings
-Pull out plugs and check for spark
-Try again :)

There is an intial carb setting.

I think it's turn the screw out until it's flush with the hole it's in and the two turns in. Not 100% on that though, its in the carb rebuild guides somewhere.

Yep found it. Set the jet to be flush and then go two turns clockwise on the screw. I imagine I did that but it was so long ago I'll check it out.

Just to confirm, here is my running in plan:

Start it and quickly get up to 2k-2.5k and hold for 20minutes. Does fuel/air matter here?

Stop, let it cool, change oil, and drive without a ton of loading for the first few hundred miles

Tried again today and found some issues:
Jet was set really low, so reset that
Manifold was not tight so leaking fuel
Trigger wheel sensor wasn't close enough

So now I have spark on the plugs but still no start!!!

Every so often it starts to sound alive but nothing sustained. Just a quick grumble. I'm also get a little bit of smoke out the exhaust

I'm really worried about how much cranking with a new cam. Is this a false concern? Is there anything I can do mitigate the potential risks?

Can someone help confirm the wiring order for the coil pack? Mine has no numbers on it.

Is there a good way to check the timing/megajolt system statically? I was trying with the timing light but having trouble picking up the timing notch.

I'm thinking now that it's an ignition problem but I'm having a lot of trouble diagnosing it.

Thanks to everyone that has helped.

My starting problems largely came down to the plug leads being swapped. Solved that pretty quickly, started right up and then...POP! Filter oil filter seal burst.
Whoops!


Turns out I had plugged the back pressure valve for the pressure relief valve and prevented it from operating. Sorted that out today and got the car started.
New oil plug:


It's starting okay but the second I put any throttle in it bogs, pops and dies. Messed with advance, timing, and everything else but I got nowhere.

Looks to me that the issue is from the carb flooding. I took off the dashpot and noticed fuel leaking out of the jet. If I squeeze the fuel hose I get a nice solid stream.
Pulled the carb and noticed nothing wrong, it's a new valve/seat and the float was set correctly. Float doesn't appear to have sprung a leak. I'm wondering if maybe it was caused by some gunk from the tank/new lines/hose/sitting around getting caught between the seat and valve and sticking it open.
I'll put it back in tomorrow and try again to see if it's sealing off properly.

I'm getting worried about how much I'm running/cranking without bedding the cam but I'm not sure what else to do.

I'm mostly just frustrated at finding all these issues. It's certainly killing my confidence.

Edited by seahuston on 21st Apr, 2016.

mine took a bit of time to initially get started and run properly before I could bed the cam in; given its been apart twice now, I've not experienced and cam wear under inspection.

Nailed it!

The passageway from the plenum to the carb was pretty junked up so I cleaned that up, put the carb back together and made some new blanking plugs (instead of screws) for the extra ports. No fuel seeping out of the jet and it started up just fine!

Took a bit of time for the idle to settle down and I had the fast idle set pretty high (just about 2k) which was actually pretty convenient. The fueling was a bit wonky so I had to play with that until to get it to run nicely without choke. The wideband makes that pretty easy! Don't mind the pressure gauge alignment, its only temporary.


Ran in the cam so now I can stop worrying about that one!

There is a pretty sizable oil drip from the radiator side of the engine. It's really hard to figure out where it is from but I think it might be the seal behind the timing belt cover. I'm really hoping it's not the half moon seal. Still debating if I take the engine out to swap the gasket or try to do it in place. Either way I want to get that fixed before I do any extended drives.