Finally started to sortout the car...
- Thread starter northpole
- Start date
if you do no need for pictures... so you can sell the fronts if someone asks, I'll take the backs but put them away for me, at the moment I need to fill up the mod budget again. But will be a month or so before I can collect them.
Also could you be so kind as to recolour the bottom bench? if you do we can negotiate the price... i forgot the rear bench was 2-tone i want it all in black. no if's or maybe's about that... that is so once i get to yours I can put it straiht in... means i'll pull mine out before coming down.... will be wy beter for me and easier since it means the lot will be done on my way back no messing about on another day. Don't need help with it just some space next to your driveway 
you did look at the latest photo didnt youAlso could you be so kind as to recolour the bottom bench? if you do we can negotiate the price... i forgot the rear bench was 2-tone i want it all in black. no if's or maybe's about that... that is so once i get to yours I can put it straiht in... means i'll pull mine out before coming down.... will be wy beter for me and easier since it means the lot will be done on my way back no messing about on another day. Don't need help with it just some space next to your driveway
The bench and front seats all the same colour now
lol i wasn't sure and messed up... yeah wll take that rear bench no questions about that... but as i said i need to top up the mod kitty as i kinda went in hard this month buying service parts and fixing the last little things... talking about the last little things, the parking sensors arrived just now and they needed to be painted ( got the cheap ons without the paint) and have just painted those... but planning on replacing them tomorrow... the car is in full sun and to be faitr it's to hot to be messing about removing a bumper. But perfect for watching paint dry lol...
Well blow me down and call me silly... but why did they make it that hard to remove the rear bumper? Oke I started late and just finished but what an annoying job it is to line it up. Replacing the pdc sensors was easy, putting the bumper back on though... yeah I know I worked alone so it's more hassle to get it right.
Anyway no more fault codes so I'm happy.
Next will be a service but not today... I'm actually tired and thirsty. Yeah the car is always in the sun and there is no shade anywhere near... plus being me since I removed almost everything in the back the lot got a good hoovering and a wipe down. So I prolonged the job being OCD... but it's done.
Anyway no more fault codes so I'm happy.
Next will be a service but not today... I'm actually tired and thirsty. Yeah the car is always in the sun and there is no shade anywhere near... plus being me since I removed almost everything in the back the lot got a good hoovering and a wipe down. So I prolonged the job being OCD... but it's done.
Yesterday, instead of doing a service i sorted out the little scrape the rear bumper had since i bought it... probably happened when one of the previous owners had the PDC sensors not working and he got used to it making that noise to warn him he needs to stop. Needs a flatten and a polish but overall it looks way better(doesn't need to be perfect, it's a daily not a show car)... talking about that PDC i really think the speaker isn't loud enough... and in the avant the placement of the speaker is all the way in the back. Will have to go out with the laptop and do a VCDS session and adapt it... ( i always seem to find something that needs attention) Oww and unplugging the module and leaving it without power for 12 hours etc just sets it to the same loudness so i think it's set to the a medium volume... possibly because in the sedan/saloon the speaker is in the dash but in the avant it's all the way in the back under the load cover support on the NS...
I always seem to find something to adjust or change.
I always seem to find something to adjust or change.
Yes all done I did all the above...didn't take pictures as I couldn't be bothered... that said vcds module 76 than choose 10 adaption, on the next screen go to channel 1 ,Channel 1's first number is 4 highest setting is 6... I set it to that put it in reverse and... it is louder but nothing to be excited about. At least I will hear it now when I'm reversing with the audio at moderate levels (read not loud at all).
But it's been a good day for messing around with the car.
But it's been a good day for messing around with the car.
So after letting the paint fully cure for more than 48 hours i went out and flattened the paint back, i used t-cut original to do this, followed by black polish wax.. all done by hand no mopping machine in sight ( couldn't be bothered to take it out) all is done to a mirror shine so it's almost invisible... will be perfect after a ceramic coating but i ran out of the stuff... I'll order some in and redo the complete car... it should make it look fresher than it does now.
Thermostat ordered and on it's way... I found that the economy dropped... did some digging and found the thermostat to be the culprit... already hate the job just by looking at it's location. But that's how it is...
Theocratic replacement done, new G12+ coolant. And she runs like a dream...
Here are some tips for others:
Instead of removing the intake, I took the shortcut... remove alternator, loosen pipes connectors and lever it out...no one tells you about the metal middle pipe, that is bolted on with a size 10. That pipe goes in all the way... don't waste time to remove it... yes remove the 2 other pipes but just remove the bolt on that middle metal.pipe... than turn the housing 180 degrees after you've pulled it past the alternator bracket... and pull out pops the darn thing it took me 4 hours to loose my cool and just jank the thermostat housing out. Wished I did that 2 hours into the job.
Anyway once out the new one goes into it's spot in reversal of removal... while turning it the middle pipe will snap into it's spot, the top pipe will.go on without a.problem as does the sensor connector now.fpr.the bottom pipe with it's circlip.....after gently trying.g to wiggle.it on it didn't want to go all the way in... take note: I forced it in with a long breaker bar, when my brain started to feel like it was cooking and I lost my cool with it... I just put my hand between the intake amd the pipe with the flat bit of the handle of the breaker bar pushing against the pipe. Leverage towards the thermostat and it snapped in place in 3 seconds.
After that it was putting everything back in reversal of removal. Fill up with new coolant (g12+ or g13)
Ps don't forget to remove the intake flap vacuum system as if you don't you won't be able to pull out the alternator.
If everyrhing went how it does normally on cars that have been taken care off, than this is a 2 hour job at max. It took me 9 hours... 10 with putting my tools away amd cleaning the spilled coolant off the parkinglot.
If you remove the intake as per elsawin's instructions you need to replace all the injecror seals and all the intake seals, reprime the high-pressure fuel rail, remove the PCV and remove the dipstick in addition to removal of the intake itself with all it ancillaries. That takes over 4 hours but you'll be able to have full access to the thermostat and it's pipes.
Long story short if I'd have to do it again it'll go way faster.
Right I'm off to bed man need rest... I didn't even eat today just drank loads of non alcoholic beverages.
Here are some tips for others:
Instead of removing the intake, I took the shortcut... remove alternator, loosen pipes connectors and lever it out...no one tells you about the metal middle pipe, that is bolted on with a size 10. That pipe goes in all the way... don't waste time to remove it... yes remove the 2 other pipes but just remove the bolt on that middle metal.pipe... than turn the housing 180 degrees after you've pulled it past the alternator bracket... and pull out pops the darn thing it took me 4 hours to loose my cool and just jank the thermostat housing out. Wished I did that 2 hours into the job.
Anyway once out the new one goes into it's spot in reversal of removal... while turning it the middle pipe will snap into it's spot, the top pipe will.go on without a.problem as does the sensor connector now.fpr.the bottom pipe with it's circlip.....after gently trying.g to wiggle.it on it didn't want to go all the way in... take note: I forced it in with a long breaker bar, when my brain started to feel like it was cooking and I lost my cool with it... I just put my hand between the intake amd the pipe with the flat bit of the handle of the breaker bar pushing against the pipe. Leverage towards the thermostat and it snapped in place in 3 seconds.
After that it was putting everything back in reversal of removal. Fill up with new coolant (g12+ or g13)
Ps don't forget to remove the intake flap vacuum system as if you don't you won't be able to pull out the alternator.
If everyrhing went how it does normally on cars that have been taken care off, than this is a 2 hour job at max. It took me 9 hours... 10 with putting my tools away amd cleaning the spilled coolant off the parkinglot.
If you remove the intake as per elsawin's instructions you need to replace all the injecror seals and all the intake seals, reprime the high-pressure fuel rail, remove the PCV and remove the dipstick in addition to removal of the intake itself with all it ancillaries. That takes over 4 hours but you'll be able to have full access to the thermostat and it's pipes.
Long story short if I'd have to do it again it'll go way faster.
Right I'm off to bed man need rest... I didn't even eat today just drank loads of non alcoholic beverages.
But so very satisfying knowing you did it yourself, it's done properly and you don't need to worry about it now ever again. Well done that man.
Well yeah and for my luck the top radiator pipe (the one with the bleed pipe back to the reservior) decided to snap on the bleed nipple... Nice one not... but the material is brittle, so I ordered a new top radiator pipe.
Unluckily for me I had to go through eBay to get it from parts in motion quicker than if I would order it from their website... (go figure) now have to wait for it to be delivered. But as soon as that arrives... I'll be fitting it. As right now it ****** coolant out when the pressure gets to much (read drive 30 mph or more)
I won't be using the car for long trips. Until it is fixed.
Another tip: once your car reaches 18 years old.. start getting new coolant hoses and put them away.... especially the short ones if they have never been replaced they'll fuse to the metal connectors... plastic t-pieces will be showing their age as i found out the hard way, the slightest movement will crack it and after that it'll just snap off. And thinking back to my previous old daily hack (vectra c), i should've bought that top radiator hose anyway the moment i bought the car... as that one had the same setup and did the exact same when i replaced the clutch.
I got confirmation the pipe will be delivered tomorrow so I'll be replacing it than. Just one more day of the car sitting there doing no miles (don't mind it to be honest)
I got confirmation the pipe will be delivered tomorrow so I'll be replacing it than. Just one more day of the car sitting there doing no miles (don't mind it to be honest)
Pipe came and fitted it went quite smoothly. But I flushed the radiator, since the 2 day old coolant (had to drop it since I had to replace the top radiator pipe) had some grit in it and wasn't clear but murky...one off the previous owners put in Radwell or something like that... I flushed the lot out... waited for the water to be clear and refilled the cooling system with fresh new G12+.
Car drives so much smoother and more refined now I actually noticed it driving it for 0.8 miles. No other not just the new thermostat, but a accumulation of all the things fixed. One that would have escaped me if I didn't have to take part of the intake apart was the variable intake vacuum rod was broken... I fixed that problem and you can tell and feel how much.more responsive and smooth the engine is now.
Anyway it took a bit longer than I anticipated but the reward is a car that drives and feels like an upper-class audi.
Car drives so much smoother and more refined now I actually noticed it driving it for 0.8 miles. No other not just the new thermostat, but a accumulation of all the things fixed. One that would have escaped me if I didn't have to take part of the intake apart was the variable intake vacuum rod was broken... I fixed that problem and you can tell and feel how much.more responsive and smooth the engine is now.
Anyway it took a bit longer than I anticipated but the reward is a car that drives and feels like an upper-class audi.
I re-applied a ceramic coating to the car's bodywork... but this time i settled for the cheap chinese MR-Fix 9H coating... basically i couldn't tell the difference with the more expensive stuff from Gyeon that i applied before and to be fair to the cheap Chinese product, it applies the same way comes in the almost the same amount as the gyeon but costs 1/10th of the price for 35ml ( 5ml more per bottle) so bought doube the amount for a tenner... thinking that if one coat isn't good enough i'll do it again in a weeks time.... well i really don't think i need to, as said it applies the same way, feels the same and hs the ame hydroscopic quality as the more expensive Gyeon product i used before ( i simply ran out and didn't want that outlay again as last time i got it at half price, plus had a discount ontop of that so got it really cheap... full price yeah no thank you...
Car looks good and coating is hardening as i type this...
Car looks good and coating is hardening as i type this...
Hi,
You should have watched this video first, but we'll done for doing the job.
View: https://youtu.be/b3jiQjfWgW4?si=OppKgpRvGPY7mCGl
Ahhh, after watching this I remember doing this on my Golf GTI Mk5 and I did it as above and just bent the offending pipe out of the way instead of removing it too. Still bl@@dy fiddly though.
Why? Mine isn't a 2.0 tfsi so it wouldn't help, stuff is similar but different.
It just means I have to find most out myself or look at stuff that isn't 100% the same engine wise... so I usually endup doing the learning while working out another route from the official way, especially when the official way states to remove the fuel rail, complete intake and a few other bits that have f-all to do with the part that needs replacing.
In this case I found out the hard way that the shortcut works but it requires a heavy hand doing it that way. I was trying to not break stuff.
Got it done though. Luckily I have access to the electronic workshop manual so I can lookup how it should be done and than compare to see if I can do it without removing certain parts that require more work and new seals etc.. stuff that I don't want to spend money on if it's possible. Especially if they are functioning just fine.
O.k Sorry I didn't know its not a TFSI.
Your right about manuals, when I changed my oil filter housing it states remove the thermostat housing to drain the coolant??
You can do this by removing the lower radiator pipe, not sure why the job was written this way, maybe for dealers to make money.
it's because the oilfilter housing has a heat exchanger built in... it's just one of those things... mine has it too and it states the same in the manual... as i stated mine is a 2.0 fsi without the turbo an EA113 engine... it's the same generation and most things are the same... but slight differences can be a headscratcher if you don't have access to the electronic manuals....
I'm also quite sure i could just replace the head and add the rest of a 2.0 TFSI on it and it'll be just fine.... but that is something for when the engine gives up... and in that case i'll probably just buy a 2.0 tfsi... since engine swaps are still a problem for most insurers.
I'm also quite sure i could just replace the head and add the rest of a 2.0 TFSI on it and it'll be just fine.... but that is something for when the engine gives up... and in that case i'll probably just buy a 2.0 tfsi... since engine swaps are still a problem for most insurers.
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Right so remember I f-ed up the tread of the balljoint on the bottom rear suspension arm? Well I bought just the one arm to replace it... my tread repair last a few months but it started knocking just at the beginning of this month. Had a hardtime tracking down a seller at a normal price but eventually one popped up.
I also ordered new wiper blades as the ones on the front screen started to be noisy. Fine for a cheap run about of no significant brand... but not for an Audi. So I replaced them and am happy I did. It's just one of those things that annoyed me but always forgot to buy. They are fitted already. Just need to run around a few more times today before I can put the suspension arm on. But it will be done today.
I also ordered new wiper blades as the ones on the front screen started to be noisy. Fine for a cheap run about of no significant brand... but not for an Audi. So I replaced them and am happy I did. It's just one of those things that annoyed me but always forgot to buy. They are fitted already. Just need to run around a few more times today before I can put the suspension arm on. But it will be done today.
fitted the new suspension arm, went smooth and did in just over an hour including taking out and putting away the tools. love it when stuff goes as expected.
A few moths ago i had a little fender bender.... so had to replace the drivers side front wing and the headlight lens and housing broke... no other damage and could still drive the car without to much of a problem after i taped up the headlight and pulled a few dents out the wing... I searched facebook marketplace for someone breaking a b7 in the right colour for a few days and than i ran into one nt to far from me that had the drivers side wing in a decent enough condition and in the right colour and with it being the same year it matched my paint 100%.. I bought a replacement headlight of the scrappy and spend half a day to joey-mod and orange indicator lens delete it... (yeah waiting for paint to dry that's why it took so long). Anyway once that was dry I put it back together and went to pull the dented wing off the car... well it took a while to have the panel gaps perfect moved it about a few times than once i was happy I put the headlight and the bumper back on... than even though the colour was right, i had to polish the panel and ceramic coat it since I had done that to my car a few weeks prior to the fender bender... all done and the car looks like it just came out of the showroom...
Than yesterday i replaced the brake pads all round as i noticed that the dfront pads where kinda low... Looked at the rears and found them to match the fronts so wanted it done ASAP... normally i order Ferodo sport pads but since i wanted to do it when it was dry I decided to get Brembo sport pads from GSF carparts (they where the cheapest). I got them fitted them and repainted all the calipers as they were in need of a top up... due to the colour not being as bright as it should be. So took my time and finished it off without any problem whatsoever.
Than yesterday i replaced the brake pads all round as i noticed that the dfront pads where kinda low... Looked at the rears and found them to match the fronts so wanted it done ASAP... normally i order Ferodo sport pads but since i wanted to do it when it was dry I decided to get Brembo sport pads from GSF carparts (they where the cheapest). I got them fitted them and repainted all the calipers as they were in need of a top up... due to the colour not being as bright as it should be. So took my time and finished it off without any problem whatsoever.
So i've been wanting OEM sport pedals for my car but since it's an automatic i only have the 2 pedals... and i want it with a matching oem footrest... anybody tried the pedals for the B8 model as the only ones for the B7 oem that are available aren't for the automatic (only OEM rs4 pedals for manual cars, I checked the parts catalogue) but i want it with a matching footrest. So anybody that is running the pedals from a B8 automatic or another model that slot straight in (thinking about the mk1 Q7 etc) please let me know.
well I see i haven't udated this one i a while car was fine but just after the new year i noticed the car was very smokey... it was white smoke and i contributed it at first as a leak in the rear exhaustbox. i left it dor a few days but it was getting worse... so i thought let's do this now and sort it out... welded the holes covered the repair in exhaust paste and exhaust tape to make sure it wasn't leaking. started the car and after 10 minutes of running the white smoke was gone... turned the car off and thought nothing of it until i went shopping 5 days later... while reversing i noticed a big white smoke cloud coming out the back... left the car sitting stationary for about 5 minute and it didn't clear... weird... let's investigate... pulled the oil cap... no traces of mayonaise... not a lot but traces....
kept my eye on it the next 2 days... tried those headgasket sealant things, steel seal didn't work, followed the instuctions to the letter biut no change. tried 1 bottle of k-seal... made a bit of a difference during one drive it actually cleared and stayed away.. for all but 1 day next morning it was back, so i tried another bottle of k-seal same result as before. Plus it's MOT is only a few days away so i could do without this headache.... meaning time to order the headgasket kit and replace it... so started the job and if it wasnt for the stupid headbolts and a few parts breaking because of their age and them being made from plastic, i would have been done already. but for my luck getting the parts was a nightmare, I just recieved the dipstick tube 7 days after i started the darn job, and i'm still waiting for the pipe that feeds the PCV valve from the top of the oil filter cradle to the valve itself. With my car having the 2.0 5 valve FSI engine it has this wierd setup that looks like a bottle in the bottom and the whoe thing is made from ABS plastic... and they are known to snap right ontop where the abs pipe part bends and at the valve itself...
In the meantime i finished replacing the headgasket, and all the seals that come with it, head skimmed 0.01mm, and torqued back up, exhaust side completely reassembled just waiting for the parts to finish of the intake side, so I can build the engine back up.
kept my eye on it the next 2 days... tried those headgasket sealant things, steel seal didn't work, followed the instuctions to the letter biut no change. tried 1 bottle of k-seal... made a bit of a difference during one drive it actually cleared and stayed away.. for all but 1 day next morning it was back, so i tried another bottle of k-seal same result as before. Plus it's MOT is only a few days away so i could do without this headache.... meaning time to order the headgasket kit and replace it... so started the job and if it wasnt for the stupid headbolts and a few parts breaking because of their age and them being made from plastic, i would have been done already. but for my luck getting the parts was a nightmare, I just recieved the dipstick tube 7 days after i started the darn job, and i'm still waiting for the pipe that feeds the PCV valve from the top of the oil filter cradle to the valve itself. With my car having the 2.0 5 valve FSI engine it has this wierd setup that looks like a bottle in the bottom and the whoe thing is made from ABS plastic... and they are known to snap right ontop where the abs pipe part bends and at the valve itself...
In the meantime i finished replacing the headgasket, and all the seals that come with it, head skimmed 0.01mm, and torqued back up, exhaust side completely reassembled just waiting for the parts to finish of the intake side, so I can build the engine back up.
I got all the parts a few weeks ago and sorted the car out... you'd think that would be it... well no still smoking...with one difference, no more coolant and oil mixing... thought let's talk to a n engine refurbisher... when i cleaned the head i removed some black rings ontop of the cylinders... they were sooty marks, i shouldv'e left them there according to him. but he said chuck in some stop smoke to see if it helps... i did smoke went down... than i thought about it... i didn;t clean the PCV valve... let's pull it off and clean it... sprayed some brake cleaner in it and a valve fell out... aha fully open pcv valve = smoke! right ordered a new one took 2 weeks but got it and put it on... smoke is still there but the car ran like crap for 2 minutes than it adjusted and the smoke is almost gone... well ithink i'm still having condesation in the exhaust as i can see water dripping out...soon it'll be fine...
problem solved in my book... car runs better than when i bought it now and seems to have more power and idles smoother. I might just get a 2.0T as getting parts for them is easier...
problem solved in my book... car runs better than when i bought it now and seems to have more power and idles smoother. I might just get a 2.0T as getting parts for them is easier...
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after the engine malarky there was one thing i knew wasn't right the reverse rake: actually the car should sit level so it must be shot rear shocks.... i replaced them yesterday. I went for the oem s-line shocks, because i really love the ride qaulity they provide. So out came the oem ones... well they are done for. I pushed them in and it took both sides 4 minutes to extend without anything blocking them... put them in the boxes the new ones came in and closed the boxes to see if they would be strong enough to push them out.. nope didn't happen... i cleaned the wheel liners while i was at the job and got rid of all the pile ups of sand behind them... once that was done i put the new shocks on and put the lot back. The car now sits level, i haven't driven it yet but i'm quite sure it will feel a lot stiffer now that the rear shocks are actually working.
PS if you buy the oem-s-line shocks just buy the complete set. It's cheaper that way. (i just put the front shocks away for if and when they are needed)
I also replaced the s-line welcome projectors in the front as i had one that liked to actup... they sell in pairs and i just replaced both front ones (bought them of aliexpress for just under 5 pounds). these were done a few weeks ago. but i didn't mention it.
PS if you buy the oem-s-line shocks just buy the complete set. It's cheaper that way. (i just put the front shocks away for if and when they are needed)
I also replaced the s-line welcome projectors in the front as i had one that liked to actup... they sell in pairs and i just replaced both front ones (bought them of aliexpress for just under 5 pounds). these were done a few weeks ago. but i didn't mention it.
and back to the suspemsion now that the lot is settled i noticed it's dumping on the OS rear... this is 100% the springs so i ordered new rear OEM s-line springs they'll show up somewhere next week and once they do i'll fit them asap. Because now that i've noticed it it bugs me more than I thought it would. A few days ago i decided to give the calipers a new coat of signal red. they now look a lot better.
still looking for automatic sport pedals with a matching footrest by the way... can't seem to find the b7 model in automatic version, only for the b8 models and with those the footrest needs to be modified, not what i'm after.
Daid some digging and just maybe found a solution that is kinda oem+ ...but needs a bit more looking into but basically i found that i could just go for the pedals from one of the sister brands including the footrest... it's just a compare the market oem catalogue vs what is on the car... but i think i have found a few options that won't break the bank and will feel good on the pedals and lift the overall look and feel inside the car. as soon as i found a few matches i'll post them up as i'm quite sure i'm not the only one that looks around and goes... why doesn't the lot match. and when it does match why is it so expensive? ( not talking b8 models here but b6/b7 automatic only as we all know the complete footrest & pedals for manual cars are easy enough to find and not so expensive plus they match)
Instead of changing the rear springs I ended up doing some paint corrections on the car yesterday... half of the ns rear quarter panel ended up being resprayed. Yeah the paint was that bad on that part I decided enough was enough and the quotes I got from bodysuits made me chuckle, they really thought they'd drain my wallet... yeah not I can diy with rattle cans and the end result will be like it was done professionally. I still have to flatten the clearcoat and polish the painted area but the reflection is almost perfect already. Meaning after a quick flattening and polish the job will be done.
The springs will be postponed to later this week, as i have a few engagements that can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
The springs will be postponed to later this week, as i have a few engagements that can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
Good weather today, so I went to replace the rear springs... only did the OS as that was the one that seemed to be weak, old one... I pulled it out and co.ared it with the new one. It was an inch shorter than the new one. It was the oem spring fitted when the car left the factory. The NS spring is still good and seems to have been replaced. But I'll change it another day either this week or coming week.
Car does sit level and isn't bouncy at all. Looks way better.
Car does sit level and isn't bouncy at all. Looks way better.
so went out this morning and did a quick check on what parts i wanted to add to the car... forgot all about the CC and since my car has the dreaded steering module S (only for bare steeringwheels) I just now ordered the complete module Q that only lacks the option of steeringwheel heating... now i'll just replace the lot activae the CC and cchane the settings for the flappy paddle steeringwheel and buttons and all should be able to be commanded from the sterringwheel... looking forward to using the flappy pedals as much as i look forward into using the full options on the FIS display. Because with the basic stuff i got right now, although the fis supports it, the stupid basic setup that is on the car is annoying... so much for a full on S-line (the word basic comes to mind, but with it being an early S-line it kinda makes sense it's missing stuff, although i do suspect one of the previous owners selling parts off than adding some of the basic parts, point in case the CC code is on the sticker but not in the car)