Zeldoz's - £1000 Imola S3 - Build Thread!

Zeldoz

Zeldoz

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Hello!

Bought myself my first Audi chassis last weekend.

An Audi S3 - Imola yellow (I believe that's the code)

Mileage - 159k (Allegedly on a lower mile APY engine, however nothing in the logbook/history to prove this)

I paid £1000 for her, which in my eyes was a good steal. Needs TLC on a few bits here and there. But, overall the car drives lovely.

Required work:
  • Replace coolant temperature sensor
  • Replace original broken Audi stereo
  • Replace oil dipstick tube
  • Overdue on servicing - Need to service engine/haldex.
  • Back wheels drag on slow speed turns, unplug fuse 31 and no dragging. So I'll service the haldex, and see if that benefits, if not. I'll replace with a used item.
  • LCD display is goosed in clocks. (Needs repairing by a company)
  • 2x new wings (rust urghh!)
  • Drivers door has surface rust around the blades (Replace or repair undecided yet)
There all the main issues i have come accross from driving it all week. The only other thing to complain about is economy. Its god awful. But i didn't expect much! The previous daily was a 2.0 180bhp Peugeot 206cc (I somehow inherited it, and it stuck for 6 months...)

Current modifications;
- N249 (I believe that's the name, has been deleted)
- Full Samco hose kit
- Awfully fitted boost gauge in one of the central vents
- Stage 1 Map (I THINK) - Car boosts around 16-18 PSI and pulls like a train in any gear.
- Forge 007 dump-valve
- Team Dynamics alloys
- Optional extra slightly lower suspension. (No idea what it is)

The Audi is my daily workhorse which everyone i know frowns upon as its the type of car, people would love to own to modify. My weekend, and "toy" is my beloved Nissan S14a (Silvia) which is my drift and show car that i use for shows etc. Although, im still yet to get to any due to having £3,000 spent on rebuilding the sills, floor plans and rear due to rot.

Picture purely for whoring purposes;


So, the plan for the S3 is to tidy up the wings/door. Have a lick of paint on either quarter to eliminate the bubbling surface rust, service her. and enjoy the comfort and heated seats on a day-to-day basis.
















Any input, suggestions and feedback welcomed!

Thanks
 
Nice, i have a soft spot for silvias. And if you can do a lot of the work yourself in the s3 then you've probably picked yourself up a bit of a bargain there
 
Lavis89 said:
Nice, i have a soft spot for silvias. And if you can do a lot of the work yourself in the s3 then you've probably picked yourself up a bit of a bargain there
Click to expand...

Thanks, i hope so too. Just want it to remain reliable, as these can be a massive pitta for throwing away money.

Any ideas on where to get replacement wings?!
 
Search for s3s being broken on ebay, usually quite a few being ripped apart. Got to make sure you get the right ones though, facelift in 2001 (pre facelift has separate headlights and indicator lenses, facelift it's a single piece lense) so yours would be pre facelift
 
Looks good mate, I would suggest getting rid of the Forge DV and get an OEM one, if you do a search on here there is alot of info about it.

Cluster repair has been mentioned alot as well, there is a place in Leicester that does it at a very good price.

Oh and welcome to the family :)
 
Oh and welcome to the family :)[/QUOTE]
Lavis89 said:
Search for s3s being broken on ebay, usually quite a few being ripped apart. Got to make sure you get the right ones though, facelift in 2001 (pre facelift has separate headlights and indicator lenses, facelift it's a single piece lense) so yours would be pre facelift
Click to expand...

Ok, didn't know that. They're definitely separate as you mentioned. I'll have a longer gander at eBay over the weekend, to find some. Im not overly bothered at the minute as money is abit tight until payday. But, if a bargain crops up, who can say no?

Nilz said:
Looks good mate, I would suggest getting rid of the Forge DV and get an OEM one, if you do a search on here there is alot of info about it.

Cluster repair has been mentioned alot as well, there is a place in Leicester that does it at a very good price.
Click to expand...

Do you know the place that repairs them with the good rep?

Ok, whats up with the forge DV? Is it the one which can cause over-reving on gear changes that iv read online?
 
The Forge dv needs servicing yearly to replace all the seals etc, the cost of a service kit is almost the same as a new oem dv so might as well just buy a new one of them every year
 
Lavis89 said:
The Forge dv needs servicing yearly to replace all the seals etc, the cost of a service kit is almost the same as a new oem dv so might as well just buy a new one of them every year
Click to expand...

Ah, i see! Well. i'll pick-up a standard re-circ valve as soon as possible.

I serviced the whole car this weekend.

  • Engine Oil
  • Oil Filter
  • New Dipstick tube
  • New Temperature sensor

Car feels better for it, engine is even quieter than before. Puurs lovely!

Still having an issue with the temperature sensor. Seems to stay on 0'c for a good 10 minutes driving before deciding to come into life. Any ideas? It was an eBay £5 special. But, its behaving the same as the one i pulled out. So it leads me to believe theres more too it?

Any ideas?
 
Cool, hope you get it sorted mate :)
 
anthony89 said:
I would consider a genuine cts. Does the tempature reach 90? New thermostat would probably help too
Click to expand...

Temperature cold start. Won't move, roughly 5/10 mins or 3-4 miles later it'll start moving up.

Will get to 90'c slowly and sit there quite happily for the rest of the time I'm driving. The odd occasion it'll lower below 90 slightly. Which I presume is the stat opening/closing.

Is there a guide anyone can link on changing the thermostat. As I still need to do a coolant flush this weekend to complete the service.

It's starting to annoy me now! Same again tonight driving home from work.
 
Do a search, theres quite a few posts about it. It is down next to the alternator. Slackening of the alternator fixings so it can pivots forward helps with access.
 
anthony89 said:
Do a search, theres quite a few posts about it. It is down next to the alternator. Slackening of the alternator fixings so it can pivots forward helps with access.
Click to expand...

Ok i'll have a search, thanks.
 
It will take about 10-15mins to reach 90, however once its there, it should stay there and not fluctuate, if it does, its probably the thermostat that needs replacing.
 
10-15mins is a little long - on both my old Leon and current LCR the coolant temp gauge reads 90 degrees after a couple of minutes/miles of steady driving. If yours takes up to 15 minutes then I'd definitely check the stat/gauge are working correctly, unless you live in a particularly cold environment.
 
Rainbird said:
10-15mins is a little long - on both my old Leon and current LCR the coolant temp gauge reads 90 degrees after a couple of minutes/miles of steady driving. If yours takes up to 15 minutes then I'd definitely check the stat/gauge are working correctly, unless you live in a particularly cold environment.
Click to expand...

South Coast. Lovely and warm at the minute.

Its definately a gauge/sensor/wiring issue.

Second sensor and same results. Will be flushing coolant + changing stat as soon as i get a few hours this weekend hopefully.
 
audi upgrades
Yeah - I'm also on the South Coast and up to (coolant) temp in no time. Coolant flush is a nice quick and easy one - have done mine half a dozen times in the past few weeks for assorted reasons.

That said, my girlfriend's Golf has a very slow gauge so I need to do much the same and get that sorted really. She doesn't seem to notice but it does my head in! :keule:
 
Rainbird said:
Yeah - I'm also on the South Coast and up to (coolant) temp in no time. Coolant flush is a nice quick and easy one - have done mine half a dozen times in the past few weeks for assorted reasons.

That said, my girlfriend's Golf has a very slow gauge so I need to do much the same and get that sorted really. She doesn't seem to notice but it does my head in! :keule:
Click to expand...

Iv been watching it lately. As long as im in the car for 10+ minutes it will begin to rise, once at 90'c it sits there until i turn the engine off.

Returning to the warm S3 will allow the temperature gauage to work immediately again.

So i THINK i have narrowed it down to cold start, generally it takes a good 10 minutes to get a reading from the sensor>cluster.

A coolant + thermostat + thermostat housing change will be done end of month now, as my Nissan welding bill just increased!

Also, can anyone help me identify if my car is BOSE fully amplified or half? I have a Concert CD player as standard which is broken, and i want to swap this for a single-din.
 
Sounds good, hope you get it sorted. As a reference, I watched mine this morning and the gauge was up to temp after less than 2 miles. Obviously the oil temp will be a little behind.
 
audi upgrades
Rainbird said:
Sounds good, hope you get it sorted. As a reference, I watched mine this morning and the gauge was up to temp after less than 2 miles. Obviously the oil temp will be a little behind.
Click to expand...
Yeah after 2 minutes id expect to see movement at least nothing on mine! - Thanks for the reference mate.
 
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