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Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:06 am

I started a SAH 1.8t kit several weeks ago and I've made pretty good progress so far however I'm confused on some of the routing/plumbing for the vacuum lines on the AWP. I'm hoping someone who has done this swap can point me in the right direction or possibly post some pics of their finished install. SAH has been very good about responding to my questions however they are closed until mid next week and I'm wanting to get alot done this weekend so I thought I'd ask here.

At my current step, most of the questions I have are related to the vaccum and PCV lines under the intake manifold. I took several pics to see if anyone is familiar with the setup. Under the intake manifold there is a larger vaccuum port towards the front of the engine and 2 smaller ports at the rear of the manifold. I labeled where I need help to hopefully make someone's response easier, ie: Hose #1 goes to port A.

In this pic the line I'm holding is part of the modified SAH hose, the other two are part of the PCV suction pump.

This pic shows the vacuum pipes that mount to the side of the intake manifold.

If anyone could point out where some of these hoses go that would be much appreciated, I think it will start to make more sense once I get a few going to the right locations.
Thanks!

Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:17 am

Also here's a few pics/info of the 1.8t swap so far. The crate SAH sent was very well packaged and I was able to get a straight truck with lift gate to deliver it to my home.

The engine is a 1.8t AWP removed from a 2002 Audi TT. I replaced most of the gaskets along with a few upgrades:

- Ko4-001 turbo
- 034 exhaust manifold
- hybrid steel shortened oil pan
- IE manual timing belt setup
- Fluidampr crank pulley
- Forge turbo inlet pipe

I'm also not going to be running A/C at the moment so I installed a shorter belt to bypass where the compressor was.

I had the transmission rebuilt several years ago, but recently took it back to Mr. Gas in Co Springs for some more upgrades to better handle the hp/tq.
The stats on the trans are:

- 5.43 ring and pinion, .82 4th gear
- Peloquin diff
- Aluminum case, bellhousing, and gear carrier
- torsional input shaft
- steel caged bearings
- drilled/tapped for a trans temp gauge and cooler
- Oiling plates, thrust plate
- Powerflex poly mount

Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:15 pm

Well, I'll give you this....the hose connections you are looking for are probably the hardest to trace with the van put together! I just went out and looked and unfortunately, it's really hard for me to suss out what your asking compared to my access and what I can see.

What I can offer is this:
"1" goes to "A"
"B" goes to a small vacuum manifold on the back of the head. I didn't remove this on mine and it retains the factory clamp.
"2" adapts to the breather hose on the back of the head. (I just replaced my 3 piece hose with the SAH new 1 piece hose
I believe that "6" & "7" combine and connect to a steel fitting that comes from the back of the head (I can't see where this goes with the engine installed)

An individual with an intimate knowledge of how each of these connections is intended to function is probably best suited to help!

Bill

Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:41 pm

Thanks for checking your van, that should definitely help me eliminate a few of the connections. I'll check here in a little bit. Do you happen to have any more photos of the engine being prepped or installed in the van? I've been referencing your build thread and it's been very helpful. It seems to be the only 1.8t DIY thread that I can find on here. I'm getting fairly close to mounting the engine so I'm definitely looking forward to that!

Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:57 pm

Sure. If you PM me a phone number or email that I can text / email photos to, I'd be happy to pass some along.

I had my motor out and back in recently so have more photos from that too.

Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:15 pm

PM sent, thanks

Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:29 pm

Did you have to cut and rotate the forge TIP, or did you find one with the correct curve to fit? When I installed mine it as pointing 180 degrees the wrong way so I had to cut it and rotate it, clamping a connector pipe in between.

Also out of curiosity - whose tune are you using for the ko4?

Sat Jul 28, 2018 6:21 pm

I bought the TIP not knowing that the stock intake boot had to be flipped so I had to cut and rotate it. I'm not sure if there is one that will fit without doing so.

At first I'm going to run everything without a tune, after that I was thinking about Eurodyne Maestro. That would allow me to run stock/stage 1/stage 2, download K04 tunes or even do a custom tune. If I don't go that route I'm not sure which tune I'll use. Its my understanding that the K04 will work fine without a specific K04 tune, it flows better than a K03 but not enough to run lean. I live at a high elevation, 8500ft, so I was wanting to run a K03 tune on the KO4, thinking that it will operate more efficiently. If I request too much boost from a K03 at elevation it will start to operate outside of its efficiency range and create more heat.

Sun Jul 29, 2018 7:17 am

Smart idea. I’m also at high elevation (7000 ft) and kinda wished I had gone straight to a k04 rather than chipping the k03. You may want to consider a water/air intercooler if you go beyond the stock boost of 12. It’ll get hot fast on passes. Also even with a stock boost level, I’d switch out the plugs to one step cooler. The stock plugs Stephan gives out will quickly see heat related changes pushing the extra weight of the van, and cooler ones will run smoother and keep your temps down. Also you might want to heat shield your wiring harness or better yet get a nice HD one from 034 Motorsports. Here’s my experience https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8769787&highlight=#8769787
Cheers!

Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:23 am

I'll look into some cooler plugs, didn't think about that. I recently ordered a new ignition wiring harness, its the kind that splices in and has a plug. I started looking at mine closer and it had lots of cracks/exposed wire.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts/vw-audi-mk4-...45ecs01kt/

I'm thinking that I'll definitely need an air/water intercooler and doing one now would probably make the most sense and be easier, however I've been throwing so much money at this whole swap I haven't ordered all the components yet. I am concerned with high IAT's on long climbs and also wondering how much power you will lose when the boost/timing gets dialed back. Thanks for the link.

Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:39 am

I would do the air over water from the get-go. Before I had mine dialed in passes were miserable. Would start out strong, but then quickly overheat and get IATs in the 180s. IIRC, the ECU will dial back the boost to 5 once it hits 160/170. Pretty easy to do on CO passes in the summer.

Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:39 am

Bill,
Thanks for the pics you sent. After looking at all of those and some more ETKA diagrams it appears that several of the hoses in question connect to the Vacuum chamber that is mounted on top of the valve cover. The chamber connects to some hard lines that run across the rear of the engine.

Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:43 am

Pcforno, where did you end up mounting the radiator in your setup?

Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:14 am

I have a gowesty skid plate in place of the spare tire carrier. Stephan modified it for me by water-jetting slots to allow air through, then welded some mounting tabs so it sits back a tad (3inches or so) from the skid plate so it won’t get smashed on trails. You could easily replicate it with a plasma cutter and welder, or have it fabbed locally. It did ok at first, but I built some air baffles out of thin bent aluminum to direct all the airflow that makes it through the slots to the radiator. Now it is pretty awesome. I’ve also got two spal puller fans mounted behind that work in stages based on water temp for when it gets too hot. With all this, I’ve rarely recorded IATs above 150 even pulling 65-70 up passes in the summer. I can send some pics of the setup if you like. I mounted the intercooler in the passenger D pillar in place of the air/air so it also gets a bit of fresh air.

Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:23 am

If you could send some pics that would be nice. I also have the GW skid plate and originally wanted to mount the heat exchanger/radiator to the skid. I was worried that the heat from the main radiator would blow down onto the skid but it doesn't appear to be an issue. I thought about cutting an opening with some sturdy stainless steel type mesh to protect the radiator from rocks/debris but having slots cut sounds like it would be more protective if I did actually bump a rock with the skid.

Sun Jul 29, 2018 12:20 pm

I was worried about the same thing; I just made sure the radiator hoses were wrapped and held up as far to the chassis as possible so they didn’t dangle into the heat exchanger.
Here’s some shots, you can see the aluminum cowels and the mounting points. I’m very glad I had the heat exchanger mounted back off the skid plate - as you can see there’s some dents there. Also making enough slots is kinda a compromise thing - you don’t want the skid plate so weak with slots that it’ll bend or break when you hit something

Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:35 pm

Nice, I like that setup. I was trying to avoid mounting it in front of the lower grill for aesthetics. I saw another install where it was mounted in front of the radiator behind both grills. I plan on reinstalling my A/C at some point so that wouldn't work with the condenser. I'll have to look into somewhere that could cut some openings in the skid plate for me.

Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:36 pm

An additional advantage is using a gigantic radiator in the location. The grille area isn’t that large

Sun Jul 29, 2018 3:36 pm

Pcforno wrote: I have a gowesty skid plate in place of the spare tire carrier. Stephan modified it for me by water-jetting slots to allow air through, then welded some mounting tabs so it sits back a tad (3inches or so) from the skid plate so it won’t get smashed on trails. You could easily replicate it with a plasma cutter and welder, or have it fabbed locally. It did ok at first, but I built some air baffles out of thin bent aluminum to direct all the airflow that makes it through the slots to the radiator. Now it is pretty awesome. I’ve also got two spal puller fans mounted behind that work in stages based on water temp for when it gets too hot. With all this, I’ve rarely recorded IATs above 150 even pulling 65-70 up passes in the summer. I can send some pics of the setup if you like. I mounted the intercooler in the passenger D pillar in place of the air/air so it also gets a bit of fresh air.

Yes! Please share. I have been terribly disappointed with my IATs especially in warm weather with the air to air. As high as 225. I spoke with Stephan about it and he said that even with the water to air that I’d still see higher temps and a slower recharge. I’ve been disappointed that when I need boost most, I don’t have it. The location of the air to air in the stock SAH setup does not get enough cool air in my opinion. Most of my traveling is heavily loaded in the Sierras

Sun Jul 29, 2018 3:43 pm

See above. Let me know if you want more info about the pump, intercooler, etc.
After a lot of tinkering I’m very happy even with a chipped k03 that pulls 15 psi up passes. Haven’t had a heat related problem in some time