Goodbye Vauxhall (sort of), well hello Audi S3

[Harvey]

The other week as part of the biannual AC check on the S3 I popped to see the chaps at StayKool in Derby as I was hearing a whooshing noise when I started the car which I knew is the expansion valve and usually means low AC gas. The system had less than half what it should and they extracted 190g and found a leaky condenser at the connections.

I left rather sad knowing what a mission I had ahead of me and after sourcing a replacement brand new Febi condenser part no.197654 I dived in having never had to remove the S3 front bumper previously.

It was the lower condenser connection that was leaking which became obvious once it was undone.

New AC seals were fitted which I had in stock and you can see the leak wasn’t caused by the seals but corrosion within the condenser fitting itself which StayKool had advised would be the case.

Not wanting to drop the whole rad pack I opted for complete front-end strip as it’s the only way to replace the condenser without dropping coolant as I was in this deep a few more bolts didn’t hurt.

I finished the rebuild and manged to grab a late Sunday booking back at StayKool who checked and confirmed there were no leaks holding vacuum and filled the S3 to the full 460g. What a job I wasn’t planning on doing but it’s just a big Lego kit so not exactly rocket science.

 

[Harvey]

The VXR8 had a good 2025 with no major issues and plenty of shows/meets attended but I did have a few jobs lined up for when it entered Winter hibernation. Ever since I bought the car I noticed an oil weep/misting from the lower dipstick tube where it’s a push fit into the sump with o-ring seal and bolted fixing to the head at the top. I mitigated this in 2024 with a microfibre sweatband to stop the oil blowing under the sump.

Earlier this year I had a eureka moment and realised due to having tubular performance headers installed the dipstick tube was tight against cylinder no.8 exhaust in two places where it feeds round from the top to the bottom and with thermal expansion it was lifting the tube out the lower fitting enough to cause small oil weep. After a head scratching session I used a temporary spacer on the dipstick tube top fixing that allowed clearance by a mm or so to the exhaust. A few months later I checked and this year’s sweatband was dry (see previous pic) so issue resolved.

I set about a permanent fix so made a 7.5mm alloy spacer to replace my temporary test stainless nut. The spacer was bonded onto the dipstick fitting using sump sealer and painted satin black for that authentic OE look while also fitting a slightly longer bolt. I’m now hoping that’s the end of the annoying oil weep saga which was blowing under the sump.

 

[northpole]

sometimes on has to use their brain to sortout problems... well done it looks oem and none would be the wiser... maybe something to let VXR owners community know, as it seems to me that you won't be the only one that experienced this exact problem... As I know most vauxhall/holden owners just accept oil weeping from things like that, it's the american way lol something that wasn't a problem when Vauxhall/Holden were 100% German owned.

 

[Harvey]

Earlier this year the oil pressure gauge in the VXR8 started doing strange things and not reading correctly or returning to zero when the ignition was powered off. From my research the oil pressure sensor is usually to blame but this wasn’t the symptoms I saw and had a feeling it was the gauge circuit board/driver so contacted Walkinshaw who offered me a refurb/repair for these gauges but it was all three or nothing and they would have to go to Australia.

I got the gauges removed and on route to a holiday popped to Walkinshaw to drop them off in person for service/repair.

When I removed the gauge pod I found this bit of foam and a potentiometer, had no idea what it was for but more poking and it was related to the centre aftermarket dash speaker. Needless to say I tidied it up and hid it under the dashboard for a neater appearance and stop anyone else wondering what it was.

A month later after a long trip around the globe my gauges were returned to me so built up the gauge pod and refitted.

I’m happy to report that all gauges working as expected with the oil pressure better than before it broke and whizzing up to 5 bar when you blip the throttle.

 

[Harvey]

Having replaced the VXR8 main auxiliary tensioner and greased up the idler pulley last year I thought it only prudent to check both AC belt pullies as they have been on the car since new in 2007. I got them removed as the AC compressor runs its own separate belt.

Metal one rh is used for the belt auto tensioner and the plastic lh is the idler.

I gave each a shake and you could hear the bearings freely moving and carefully popped the dust/weather seals off and sure enough they wasn’t much lube inside so happy I checked them in time before any lasting damage was dome.

I packed both with LM2 multipurpose high temp grease before seating the seals correctly into place.

Bolted them back on and torqued both fittings to 58Nm and pleased to say all was good after a test as the belt and pullies run continually being driven off the main crank pulley, no nasty noises and smooth running.

 

[ChickenDipper]

The final fluid job I’ve not been looking forward to as it’s a faffy jobbie but the DSG box was still calling my name as my final fluid swap victim. The Mechatronic, main drain bung & overflow pipe were removed along with the (Audi say non serviceable) filter.

I drained out 4.7L not including what was soaked into the filter & the spillage when the Mechatronic oil exited at a higher rate than anticipated which resulted in some liquid escaping the clutches of the oil drain tub.

I’m pleased to say you can get to the DSG filter & swap it without the need to remove the battery, airbox or intake pipework. I must have baby sized medium hands as I didn’t at all struggle. New filter vs oil & in it goes. Spec states a torque of 50Nm for the filter but it’s plastic so I did the same as the engine oil filter at 25Nm as it undid with ease.

Now the faffy fun begins as the DSG it bottom filled using gravity so I bought a very cheap copy but excellent quality VAS6262-1 tool & made my own pipework for filling.

I’d already purchased the required 6L of DQ381 (OGC) spec oil so already had it in stock along with a new overflow pipe.

I popped in the Mechatronic drain bung & torqued to spec at 10Nm+45degrees. The overflow pipe was fully installed to the stop but not over tightened at 3Nm so next to nothing, it should screw in easily. Then rigged up my DSG oil insertion tool which resulted in me screwing a funnel to my fencing & away I went pouring in 1L at a time at a steady pace.

I then started the car & let it idle & as per the procedure with foot on brake went through P>R>N>D/S counting to 3 in each before going back to P. Next was a long wait to reach 35C to 45C which are the DSG oil temps to set the level. It was cold under my car port, check the ambient temp in the pic, so it took ages to reach 35C but the hotter it got the quicker it went up. It took over 30mins so I had time to contemplate if I had bought all required Christmas presents & wondering which flavour Haribos I hasn’t yet tried.

As soon as it reached the minimum temp I whipped off the VAS6262-1 tool expecting to have oil drip but having only added 5L at this point nothing came out, nothing at all. Reason was I had only added 5L on purpose as I’d read it only took 4.6L to fill but this would have been for the older 6 speed DSG. At this point I turned off the car, reattached the VAS6262-1 & topped up to the required 6L. Then started the car again & went through the prescribed procedure of foot brake, shifter, checked the temp & this time when I remove the VAS6262-1 & unscrewed the overflow pipe two turns to set the exact level it dribbled out 650ml so the total DSG oil fill for my DQ381 (0GC) 7 speed wet clutch box with a filter change was 5.35L. To complet eht oil change after setting the fluid level the overflow pipe was fully seated and hand tight to 3Nm before the main DSG drain bung was installed with a new seal and tightened to 45Nm.

I’ve still got a few jobs left on the S3 so there's more the follow soon as it’s still in hover mode but really happy with what I’ve achieved so far as I’m now getting to know it intimately.

After all my oil changing of late I popped to my local tip today to recycle 25L of used premium oil which must have a retail value of £350+ when new, eek

Hi Harvey,

Brilliant write up!
I am about to do the exact same oil changes/servicing on my S3 8V FL and will be using it for reference for sure! I have managed to put together a list of the bolts/plugs required.
Am I right in thinking the front and rear diffs use the exact same plugs?

Would you mind checking I have this all correct, seem to be finding conflicting info on the front diff/transfer box plugs, it would really be appreciated

	Torque Setting	Size	Part No
Engine Oil Filter	25nm	32mm Socket
Haldex
Haldex Pump Bolts	9.5nm	10mm socket
Haldex Filter/Gauze Bolts	N/A	T10 Torx
Haldex Drain Plug	32nm	10mm Hex	N 910 827 01
Haldex Fill Plug	15nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Seals			0CQ 598 305
Rear Diff
Drain Plug	19nm	10mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Fill Plug	19nm	10mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Transfer/Bezel Box
Drain Plug	15nm	??	??
Fill Plug	15nm	??	??
Gearbox
Main Drain Plug	45nm	14mm Hex	N 909 654 01
Inner Drain Plug / Snorkel	3nm	8mm Hex	0GC 321 363
Mechantronic Drain Plug	10nm + 45deg	6mm Hex	N 013 813 1
Mechantronic Drain Plug Washer			N 013 813 2
Filter	25nm	32mm Socket	0GC 325 183 A

 

[Harvey]

@ChickenDipper you are correct and the rear diff and front bevel box use the exact same fill/drain plugs but different torques as you have listed and it's also a 5mm hex and not a 10mm. I'm just pulling the parts/fluid together for my second diffs and DSG service later this year, nothing like planning early. Incidentally N 902 818 02 can be sourced as a Febi part no.101020 and no.101021 click me. I'm glad my writeup has proven useful.

Rear Diff
Drain Plug	19nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Fill Plug	19nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Transfer/Bezel Box
Drain Plug	15nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Fill Plug	15nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02

 

[ChickenDipper]

@ChickenDipper you are correct and the rear diff and front bevel box use the exact same fill/drain plugs but different torques as you have listed and it's also a 5mm hex and not a 10mm. I'm just pulling the parts/fluid together for my second diffs and DSG service later this year, nothing like planning early. Incidentally N 902 818 02 can be sourced as a Febi part no.101020 and no.101021 click me. I'm glad my writeup has proven useful.

Rear Diff
Drain Plug	19nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Fill Plug	19nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Transfer/Bezel Box
Drain Plug	15nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02
Fill Plug	15nm	5mm Hex	N 902 818 02

Thank you ive updated to 5mm hex and I actually went for the Febi plugs/bolts.
Hoping to have everything arrive this week ready for some fun on the weekend, wish me luck and thanks again!

 

[Harvey]

Another VXR8 common issues is the multi earth point on the front righthand chassis leg below the ABS unit. You can get random ECU and ESP alerts flagged with ESP turning itself off then on as well as lambda errors. I’ve had a few of these errors flagged in my ownership so set about sorting the earth.

It’s buried down here.

It still has the original ring terminal fitting for the six loom earths and as you can see the wiring doesn’t look great.

I chopped the fitting off to expose the copper wiring having gone black due to damp ingress.

Then cut back the cable sheathing further and used white vinegar to reverse the oxidation and emery paper to clean the wiring.

It was a tight struggle but I managed to crimp a new ring terminal and coated everything with proper silicone grease to help expel water ingress.

Refitted and smeared more silicone grease on. I’ll continue to monitor for further random errors but hopefully this’ll sort it and futureproof things.

 

[Harvey]

The trusty Touareg had a suspect battery as I have had to charge it via the engine bay posts a couple of times over Winter and I’ve always said any doubts just change it instead of guessing. Yes, I’ve had it tested professionally and all seemed good but modern cars can be picky when it comes to battery voltage/charging so best to just buy a new one I say as it is 5 years old so done well fitted to a Touareg which has lots and lots of voltage hungry modules.

I opted for a Yuasa YXB5020 which is exactly the same as the Halfords supplied Yuasa HSB020 but way cheaper elsewhere even with my Halfords Trade discount. It’s a chunky 12v 110Ah 950A leisure battery that is installed under the passenger seat of all places. After unbolting the seat you tilt it backwards to give you access. Most other brand batteries of this size only offer 900A or 920A so that’s why I spent a bit more on the meaty Yuasa 950A.

Previous owner had fitted a Yuasa HSB020 back in 2021.

I eventually won and out it came, old top and new bottom.

Stuck the replacement in and connected the breather pipe and main clamp at 10Nm and corner clamp at 9Nm.

Battery terminals are 6Nm and then I popped the battery cover on and bolted the seat down to 50Nm for the floor bolts.

Now the fun bit most folk don’t do, coding the battery so using my VCDS into module 19-CAN Gateway then Adaptions and searched for ‘batt’ to find the settings.

The only change that was required is to the serial number so incremented the last numeric digit by 1. This tells the vehicle it has a new battery installed and alters the charging characteristics, loads online about this for VAGs so go Googling if you’re interested.

I double checked the Ah and brand but left them as they were both fine. As long as the serial number is changed and Ah match the newly installed battery that’s the key parts done when coding.

 

[northpole]

funny how things like that are a need to know for the power hungry modules, but all good to know where the battery is hidden as i've been looking at the touaregs myself as they are a bit cheaper than the Q7's but offer the same specs and engines or let me put it in better wording, the engines i'm willing to deal with lol

 

[Harvey]

Bit of a later start to the season with the VXR8 due to me getting a nasty virus which lingered but all good now so out it came in May. Rolling into June I did some pre-MOT checks and noted the front exhaust rubbers I replaced were showing signs of surface cracking. I bought them cheap from a local garage and they were obviously older stock so lesson learnt.

I was working on the wife’s new Summer toy and noted the front exhaust mounts would be perfect for what the VXR8 needed. After cross referencing part numbers I opted for a pair of Fischer Automotive part no.773-909 which fit various Toyota models.

They fitted perfectly and seem strong but I did add extra support post fitting with my usual huge just in case zipties so they didn’t overly stretch.

As it had been two years since the last brake fluid change I cracked on with that but have to do one side at a time due to my drive width and the size of the VXR8.

All the brake reservoir fluid got sucked out and replaced then I tried my one-way single person bleeder but didn’t like it when it fell apart so used my able assistance being the wife.

With the brake fluid sorted I moved onto the clutch fluid which is easy as it’s got a remote bleed kit installed so you do it all from the engine by.

Then mid-June I headed over to MWP in Chester for its tick box service (oil+filter) to keep the full-service history and yet another clean MOT pass with no advisories hurrah.

First show of the year for the VXR8 was over in Lincoln at Grimsthorpe Castle last Sunday. Fantastic day with some lovely motors of all ages in attendance, we’ll definitely be returning again next year.

 

[Harvey]

With the sale of the wife’s Astra V6 earlier this year we were going to pop the money into savings but having a space on the drive would never do so we opted to spend even more and the wife is now the proud owner of a GR Yaris (official name not to be confused with the Yaris GR) and yes it’s a Circuit Pack variant with the optional pearl white paint and yes it’s an AWD GR4 or GR-FOUR or whatever you want to call the thing. Registered new January 2022 and when we bought it had a whopping 1,627 miles on with full dealer service history having just had the major four year service completed. The only modification thus far is the Rallyflapz ShortieZ to protect from stone chips which I know were installed with care as I fitted them click me in March 2023 as the previous owner was my Father-in-Law who had the car for three years and only covered 1,100 miles adding to the 500 miles when he bought it. It wasn’t a planned purchase but he wasn’t using it so we went for it.

It’s a fun ikle thing but was lacking noise from the OE exhaust so as soon as it was with us I cracked on and fitted the Whifbitz system I had already purchased opting to go balls out with the centre res delete pipe for maximum acoustics, you get both resonated and non-resonated in the same kit. It’s a fantastic exhaust with all stainless clamps and bolts, lovely welding and way cheaper than other brands, I'm glad I took the punt as it comes highly recommended by me. The noise isn’t too loud and it doesn’t drone but gives it the missing sound it should have had when new as it is a homologation special after all, it was purchased simply for more noise.

It fills the gap nicely and looks OE as I chose the plain tips option giving a tad more grumble from the boosted 3-cylinder sewing machine up front.

The final mod is the all-important rear view mirror riser. These can be what I class as overly expensive from the main UK based suppliers so I opted to take a chance with an AliExpress purchase (search for ‘GR Yaris mirror riser’) at less than a third of the price and it fits and works perfectly.

Standard the mirror does cover a good portion of the screen.

This wedge lifts the mirror upwards and take minutes to fit.

As you can see it tucks the mirror upwards around 20mm so gives much better driver vision.

With that lot sorted we attended our first show last month at Uttoxeter and it was great to get it out and stretch its wee legs. You’ll also notice the last pic in my above post as we had both the GR4 plus VXR8 at the Grimsthorpe Castle show last Sunday.

 

[Harvey]

I’m a bit late to the party but the latest 2026/2027 maps were released a couple of months ago so got round to sorting the S3 yesterday.

All done and the Harman MIB2 is running v0450 (P450) 2026/2027 mid-year released map.

 

[Harvey]

Checked the VXR8 the other day and noticed a wet oil soaked heat sock on cylinder no.8 HT lead. My suspicions turned to the darn dipstick tube so out it came yet again as it was also weeping at the bottom so I needed plan C or was it D or E. Closer inspection and blowing through the tube with finger on one end I could hear air escaping from the bracket area, turns out one of the three spot welds had let go, presumably due to me manipulating the bracket to clear the headers and a few heat cycles later the weld let go spraying a mist of oil onto the HT lead. Good job I’m a bit fastidious with my checks. HT lead removed and doused with brake cleaner had it as new.

I popped down to a local exhaust specialist only a few miles from me who have helped me in the past and made me a few exhausts. I left the dipstick tube with them and they very neatly TIG welded it for free.

However, on double checking prior to fitting and blowing that bit harder there was still a teeny pinhole blow. As I didn’t have time to pop it back the Quiksteel came out and gooped it up as it was the smallest of air leaks. I also added an extra o-ring under the flange where the dipstick pushes into the sump then used my go-to sealer of choice Reinzosil and left it to set. A few hundred miles later and it’s all dry with clearance when hot to the header no longer causing lifting so hopefully that’s the end of the dipstick tube saga.

Checked the spare wheel, an actual full-size spare I hear you say. Pressure checked and looked good but added a couple of extra PSI for good measure so I can forget it for another year.

 

[Harvey]

While on hols earlier this year we popped into a well-known circuit for a bit of spectating and a mooch around the place. We also visited Goodwood House and had a tour with afternoon tea, what what and all that poshness.

On the last hols we were just about to leave and decided to swap driver, on closing the passenger door of the Touareg a smash was heard as the mirror glass unbonded itself and fell to the floor. When we arrived at our destination, I carefully removed what was left and got the part number 7P6857521D.

You don’t realise how much you use it until it’s not there so I popped to the local Halfords in Cromer and grabbed any mirror that would fit to see me though hols. Turns out it was a Corsa D/E fitment, staying try to the VAGhall name.

I ordered the correct convex fitment which was waiting for me on my return. I then removed the foam sticky for my preferer method.

When it was all cleaned up I used my favourite goop Reinzosil and stuck it on properly to never come off again also meaning the mirror heater would work correctly.

Left it to set with a bit of pressure applied and tested the heater continuity to ensure all was still good prior to final fitment.

 

[Harvey]

I realised I’ve not added any of my rally serving antics for a while so last Weekend I was at Fulbeck to the East of Newark being a single venue rough tarmac (concreate mainly) event. Double service with an Astra mk2 and Scooby.

It was going well until the first issue, a close encounter for sure. No biggie as the mirror just clips back on.

Then the Scooby kissed a hay bale and lost the rear light and fuel flap securing.

The rear light was found and returned so we fixed it up and got it working again.

On stage 4 the Astra head gasket popped to rally over for one crew.

On stage 7 the Scooby lost brakes on a long straight and ploughed full chat into a corn field, the pics don’t do it justice as the corn was absolutely everywhere and had shotblasted the headlights!

Braking issue traced to the lack of a front right outer pad which had left for pastures new. I had noticed they were getting very low but unfortunately new spares had been left at home by the driver so I wasn’t able to fit any, important lesson learnt here to bring all the spares!

So all in all not a very good rally for both crews on this outing.

 

[rum4mo]

There does seem to be a bit too much of this "mirror falling off" happening to mainly Audi owners, a friend had that happen to his A6 and his local friendly garage saved him a fortune by just sticking a plain glass on, then autumn-winter happened and he discovered that he had lost the mirror de-misting function on that side, very annoying for him. I gave him a few part numbers so that he could pick the version that best suited his wants/needs, but I think the price he got from Audi changed that plan!

 

[northpole]

he can use the part number to buy a pattern heated one... way cheaper than Audi sells them. And they are perfect replacements, convex etc. Found on eBay/Amazon/Aliexpress/Alibaba etc etc etc... even places like Autodoc, Carparts4Less and way more aftermarket pattern parts sellers that have their own websites can be of use to find a perfect pattern made replacement.