A quick update: a few nights ago my new alternator arrived and I installed it. No more charging problems! With everything working I was finally able to take her out for a spin around the block. The car had moved under its own power since the engine swap, but this was the first time I had really driven it. I'm hoping to get some video footage to post up - watch this space!

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I took a trip to Autozone this weekend, and it turns out that all 3 alternators are actually bad. Go figure. A new one is on its way. On a related note, I had tried taking one of the alternators to Pep Boys to have it tested - it took them 10 minutes to discover that they didn't have the right adapter to go from their machine to the exciter wire terminal. So if you want your A3 alternator tested, don't waste your time at Pep Boys.

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The major remaining issue with the high compression engine swap is the battery charging circuit. I've tried 3 different alternators so far, and all produce no output. The testing procedures in the Bentley manual lead to all 3 alternators being bad... but I just have a hard time believing that. What I need to do is take the alternators to an Autozone (free alternator testing!) so that I can be 100% certain. The wiring is so darn simple with these things, that I'm basically stumped.

On a more positive note, the motor runs great with the Techtonics 268 camshaft and the ignition timing close to correct. Some of you may be wondering why I chose the TT 268 over the 270. The 270 has better idle characteristics (close to stock, actually) and fantastic power gains. The 268 does have a little more lift, but I chose it mostly for it's large valve overlap period. It is also ground with an offset to favor top-end power. The larger valve overlap should really favor high compression applications like mine. Had I kept the factory compression ratio, then I would have chosen the 270.

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So, a little more than a week and a half ago, I started the high compression ABA engine for the first time. Since I half expected the engine to explode, I consider this a minor success. Ignition timing issues, alternator issues, and a clearance problem with the adjustable cam pulley kept me from running the engine for more than a couple of minutes.

Here are a couple of shots of the new engine, installed, and in a ready-to-run state:



And here is a close up view of the clearance problem with the Autotech adjustable cam gear - note the back surface of the gear, where it has "machined" itself against the edge of the valve cover.


I e-mailed Autotech to see if they had any advice as to whether I should shim the gear, or clearance the valve cover. I was leaning toward shimming the gear, since the timing belt was running just a hair over the outside edge of the gear. I never heard back from Autotech, but in the meantime I ordered a Techtonics 268 camshaft to install at the same time I addressed the cam gear issue. What I ended up finding was that the Techtonics camshaft was just a tiny bit longer than the stock camshaft I had been using, and so the cam gear sat that much further away from the valve cover, which eliminated the clearance problem. The new cam is now completely installed, and at the same time I addressed the ignition issue I was having. One of the pins on the ABA distributor body wasn't completely removed (it was sheared off) and that was limiting the amount of adjustment I could make to the ignition timing ... I couldn't get it advanced enough to run right before that pin got in the way.

So, I'm looking forward to starting it up with better ignition timing, and with the more aggressive camshaft in place.

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I've been meaning to put up a quick post about this for a while now. I've mentioned it before, but the ABA swap into our Mk2 Golf is using a complete serpentine belt setup, completely eliminating the original v-belt. The serpentine setup is far easier when it comes to maintenance, and much less prone to slipping in wet conditions. For my application, this conversion was particularly easy, since I'm not using A/C or power steering. This leaves only the alternator and water pump that need to be driven by the serpentine belt. The alternator is easy - it can be used exactly as on an A3. The water pump is a little tricky, because even 4 cylinder A3s have a v-belt to drive the water pump and power steering pump. I used a fairly common trick, which is to bolt a VR6 water pump pulley onto my water pump. The VR6 water pumps are driven from the back side of a serpentine belt, so the pulley is smooth. If you use this pulley on a 4 cylinder water pump, then you must drive it from the ribbed side of the serpentine belt - otherwise the water pump will be turning in the wrong direction. This method works just fine, and you can even get the VR6 pulleys brand new from the dealer as well as most of the online parts stores (that is, if you can't find one in a junkyard). Next, you'll need to figure out what length belt to use. For my application, I'm driving the A3 alternator, water pump with VR6 pulley, and using the non-AC alternator bracket with automatic spring tensioner. The length of belt I ended up using was 41 inch. I believe that 40.5 inch might have been a slightly better fit, but 40 inch was definitely too small. Find a local auto parts store with helpful people behind the counter, and they'll be happy to help you get your hands on the different belt sizes.

Here are a couple of pictures showing the new serpentine belt setup. It is a much cleaner looking configuration than the factory A2 layout.

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Last weekend, the high compression ABA motor became officially installed - the transmission is bolted to it, and the rear engine mount is connected. With the crankshaft serpentine belt pulley removed from the timing belt pulley, there was enough room to maneuver the engine so that it would mate up to the transmission. Here she is, finally home:


While working on the cooling system, I ran into a little bit of a problem. The Mk2 Golf coolant hose which runs from the front side of the cylinder head down to the water pump did not really fit any more. Two things that the original engine block did not have were the auto tensioner for the serpentine belt (since it didn't have a serpentine belt at all) and the assembly for routing crank case vapors. The coolant hose was really blocked by both of those until I trimmed about a half inch off the end of it. That allowed it fit, albeit snugly, between the serp tensioner and the lower crank case vent. Most people doing this sort of ABA block swap would be using a blockoff plate for the crank case vent (like the one Techtonics sells), and that would save you from this coolant hose problem. Instead of using the blockoff plate, I used the original plastic vent and simply plugged it using a modified coolant flange plug and o-ring. Here is a picture, showing the coolant hose wedged snugly between the vent and the serpentine belt tensioner:

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