Back in S3 number 4!

Still cracking on with bits and bobs.

If you read back through my thread you will see me mention that my drivers door never sat very well, plus the latching wasn't good. When I took the frame out to do the window, everything went back together nice and straight which was fantastic, all that was left was for me to reset my striker back to the central position and now my door sits nice, and, the handle operation is silky smooth :D

I got myself a set of replicas centers for the wheels, the original ones looked terrible so these have done a nice job of tidying the wheels up, all four wheels have also had a couple of coats of wax.

Went to a wet Cars and Coffee yesterday morning but the car got a clean before hand, when the sun appeared in the afternoon, snapped a few pictures.

Upcoming jobs are, cooling fans, cam cover gasket and roof aerial. Plenty to keep me busy!

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Not had too much happening with the S3 the last few months, just fixing a few bits.

Had an ABS sensor fault, was a bit of a faff to change it and on the first attempt it didn't sit far enough in the hole so the fault remained, on the second attempt I sorted it and the light went out. I'd initially booked it in to my local indy to be diagnosed so I used the slot to get the oil leak investigated, coming from the cam chain tensioner, going in next week to have that done.

I took it to ATS for an air con re-gas when we had the hot weather in July but the system detected a leak so that is something i'll get resolved next year.

Half way through the last wash the heaven opened, due another one this week but the weather doesn't look much better than this!

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Thought I would give another update...

Went to the indy to have the cam chain gasket changed, when the chap started looking at it, he discovered a breather off the TIP was all crunched up on itself, replaced it and so far, fingers crossed it has stopped the oil leak! Cost me half the price of the cam chain gasket so can't complain about that!

Car recently had it's pre winter wax, the last couple of years are certainly starting to show on the front wings however so I think that is something I will prioritise for next year before they get past the point of no return...

Still looks shiny though :)

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MOT is due next month and I recalled when I changed the ABS sensor in the summer that I thought the rear pads could do with being replaced - obviously I waited until a nice cold November morning to do this!

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Sunday was quite a nice day so it got a well needed clean :)

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Fingers crossed for the MOT in a couple of weeks!
 
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Following on the previous post prior to the MOT, its been a busy few weeks trying to get this sorted.

The car failed on a worn top mount and emissions were way over the limit. Long story short it appears to have thrown an EGT error in the days prior to the MOT as a few weeks early I had scanned it and it was fine, it didn't bring up the EML so it went in there with me unaware of the fault. Fixed it with a replacement PCB, all took a lot longer than I wanted though due to postal strikes, Christmas bank holiday's etc. You can read the thread regarding that issue here.

So, fixed that issues, back in for an MOT and sailed through.

Two days / 10 miles later it throws an oil pressure warning at 5pm on Friday afternoon. Luckily I was able to get it booked into my friends garage a week later but that was another week off the road waiting for that so at this point I hadn't really used it for a month :(

Good news is I got it back on Friday, new pickup and pressure sensor and so far, it has been fine.

Before all this hassle started I bought some Bi-Xenon lights for it, I got around to fitting them yesterday and used them for the first time in the dark this morning, a vast improvement over the original Xenons!

IMG 20230115 134856


When I was fitting them I found the locating bracket on the inner side has snapped on the passenger side and the rear spacer had seen better days so I have ordered the parts from Audi this morning (thanks @creweaudiparts ).

Hopefully I can return to some trouble free motoring now :)
 
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Ian W said:
Following on the previous post prior to the MOT, its been a busy few weeks trying to get this sorted.

The car failed on a worn top mount and emissions were way over the limit. Long story short it appears to have thrown an EGT error in the days prior to the MOT as a few weeks early I had scanned it and it was fine, it didn't bring up the EML so it went in there with me unaware of the fault. Fixed it with a replacement PCB, all took a lot longer than I wanted though due to postal strikes, Christmas bank holiday's etc. You can read the thread regarding that issue here.

So, fixed that issues, back in for an MOT and sailed through.

Two days / 10 miles later it throws an oil pressure warning at 5pm on Friday afternoon. Luckily I was able to get it booked into my friends garage a week later but that was another week off the road waiting for that so at this point I hadn't really used it for a month :(

Good news is I got it back on Friday, new pickup and pressure sensor and so far, it has been fine.

Before all this hassle started I bought some Bi-Xenon lights for it, I got around to fitting them yesterday and used them for the first time in the dark this morning, a vast improvement over the original Xenons!

View attachment 263116

When I was fitting them I found the locating bracket on the inner side has snapped on the passenger side and the rear spacer had seen better days so I have ordered the parts from Audi this morning (thanks @creweaudiparts ).

Hopefully I can return to some trouble free motoring now :)
Click to expand...
Hi.
If you still have a link to where you bought the bi-xenon lights could you please post it here?
Regards
Steve.
 
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txosbi said:
Hi.
If you still have a link to where you bought the bi-xenon lights could you please post it here?
Regards
Steve.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,

I bought them from a chap on the S3 Facebook group, George Seamons, he has made sets for quite a few of us S3 owners.

If you're not on Facebook, drop me a PM and I will ask him for some contact details for you.
 
Ian W said:
Hi Steve,

I bought them from a chap on the S3 Facebook group, George Seamons, he has made sets for quite a few of us S3 owners.

If you're not on Facebook, drop me a PM and I will ask him for some contact details for you.
Click to expand...
Hi Ian.
If you can let me know the fb group I'll join it.
Thanks.
Steve.
 
txosbi said:
Hi Ian.
If you can let me know the fb group I'll join it.
Thanks.
Steve.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,
It's S3 8L Owners Chat / Sales / Wanted.

If you search in the group for George Seamons you will find plenty of posts.

Hope that helps.
 
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Couple more jobs on the S3 this weekend, very much related to previous jobs...

It has been making a strange noise when coming off the drive since I changed the top mount on the drivers side a couple of weeks ago, one look under the car explained that, I'd fitted the top spring plate upside down, oops! Silly mistake but easily fixed.

I received my new parts from @creweaudiparts so I was able to get my passenger side headlight sat in the correct position and full secured.

Finally, fitted a new arial base, won't give me signal sadly as the connection is wrong (ebay special) but if nothing else it looks a lot better and shouldn't leak like the last one. Radio signal hasn't worked since I have owned the car so i'm actually no worse off, i'll look for a better replacement at some point...

Car is in full winter mode and filthy now, due in for 4 wheel alignment tomorrow as I had disturbed the setup when I removed the passenger side shaft to do the CV boot, though it is still driving perfectly fine so we'll see...

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Car went in for the alignment back in January, all good apart from the hub that I had disturbed when I did the shaft so probably didn't need doing but at least I know it is all correct anyway.

Got tired of resetting the EML error related to the post CAT lambda as I have the sports cat, bought a £12 spacer off eBay to move the sensor further out and it seems to have done that job, well happy with that!

Noticed last week that one of my high beams had failed on my new lights, stripped the front bumper off, light off, checked it all out, all seemed fine, then found out they are in individual fuses and low and behold, it had blown, new fuse popped and all sorted! Nice waste of an hour on a cold Sunday morning :tearsofjoy:

Car still looking good when cleaned though I can see a few superficial marks that I will attempt to get out with the DA when spring arrives. Hoping that in 2024 I will get some bodywork issues sorted as the wings and A pillar are starting to be a concern...

All clean a few weeks ago...

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Very much considering getting rid of the splitter as well, was never a big fan of them anyway but kept it as it came on the car, think I will try without - I can always refit.
 
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Ian W said:
Couple more jobs on the S3 this weekend, very much related to previous jobs...

It has been making a strange noise when coming off the drive since I changed the top mount on the drivers side a couple of weeks ago, one look under the car explained that, I'd fitted the top spring plate upside down, oops! Silly mistake but easily fixed.

I received my new parts from @creweaudiparts so I was able to get my passenger side headlight sat in the correct position and full secured.

Finally, fitted a new arial base, won't give me signal sadly as the connection is wrong (ebay special) but if nothing else it looks a lot better and shouldn't leak like the last one. Radio signal hasn't worked since I have owned the car so i'm actually no worse off, i'll look for a better replacement at some point...

Car is in full winter mode and filthy now, due in for 4 wheel alignment tomorrow as I had disturbed the setup when I removed the passenger side shaft to do the CV boot, though it is still driving perfectly fine so we'll see...

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Ian does crew have new ariel bases? Car is looking good BTW.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
 
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Car was absolutely filthy after driving to work in the snow yesterday, don't like leaving all the salty rubbish on it so it got a quick wash this morning and the underneath got a blasting with the hose.

IMG 20230311 125123


Also fitted a new set of plugs to try and resolve an issue with not firing on the first turn of the key but no better so I guess it's something else...

Looking forward to spring so I can give it a deep clean and fresh coat of wax. Leather needs a clean and condition as well now.
 
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I recently got a arieal and base from my local audi. Was £49 and they had to order it in and that took a good 2 months. I had actually forgotten about it until they phoned to say it had arrived lol.
 
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Cleaned the car this weekend and removed the splitter, never really liked them with an extra lip on the front but just left it as it came on the car but decided it had to go.

Much prefer it now.

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Snapped arriving at a local Cars n Coffee yesterday morning.

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Few updates for the old money pit :)

After firing up getting progressively worse since January and then suffering a few boost issues I fitted a Sytec fuel pump which cured the issue, starts first turn of the key again now and boost is smooth as anything, forgot what it was like for it to come on boost and the front to lift! Bit of a messy job but easy enough, only issue I encountered where the plastic pipes being extremely fragile after being submerged in the tank for 20 years, couple of hours and it was all sorted.

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Recently took a trip to see Chris 'S3 Breaker' and picked up a set of decent wings and a nice rust free drivers door, planning on some paintwork in 2024 and my wings have taken a rapid hit with the rust so second hand replacements are the the only option sadly.

Popped to a classic car show at Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire on Sunday, wasn't a bad show and it was a nice excuse to give the S3 a decent clean.

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Clutch pedal went sloppy a couple of weeks ago, finally got it in to an Indy this week and the slave cylinder has gone, FML.

Is it a really bad design or am I just incredibly unluckly?

S3 number 1 - Slave went.
TT 225 - Slave went twice during my ownership.
Current S3 - slave gone.

I did replaced it all myself on the TT (twice) but I'm older with a family now so the idea of stripping the gearbox off on axle stands and the hours needed just doesn't appeal to me. That said, the cost of getting it done, along with a few other bits that they have found "that you might as well do while it's apart" is quite frankly eye watering with 2023 prices.
 
Ian W said:
Clutch pedal went sloppy a couple of weeks ago, finally got it in to an Indy this week and the slave cylinder has gone, FML.

Is it a really bad design or am I just incredibly unluckly?

S3 number 1 - Slave went.
TT 225 - Slave went twice during my ownership.
Current S3 - slave gone.

I did replaced it all myself on the TT (twice) but I'm older with a family now so the idea of stripping the gearbox off on axle stands and the hours needed just doesn't appeal to me. That said, the cost of getting it done, along with a few other bits that they have found "that you might as well do while it's apart" is quite frankly eye watering with 2023 prices.
Click to expand...
That is some bad luck Ian with the slaves!
Getting people to do anything is getting expensive these days, hourly rates are getting pretty outrageous.
 
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S3AMJ said:
That is some bad luck Ian with the slaves!
Getting people to do anything is getting expensive these days, hourly rates are getting pretty outrageous.
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You're not wrong mate, feels like you can't win, unless you are buying nearly new for a large monthly payment a huge bill feels like its always around the corner.

And as you say, labour rates are through the roof now.

I miss the days of being able to buy a 10 year old hot hatch for under 3k and being confident it was a good'un, if something did go, they where always pretty cheap to fix!

Hopefully I will the S3 back next week anyway, with a clutch as well :tearsofjoy:

Annoyingly it has taken a massive chunk out of my paintwork budget that I have been building up to get my new bits painted and a bit of corrosion sorted.
 
Car is back now, it took a good few weeks to get done but now it has a new clutch, flywheel, slave cylinder and prop donut.

Still not convinced the car is worth the money I have sunk into it but I'm trying to keep the faith...

Sadly it has developed a vibration when turning at motorway speeds that they have diagnosed as a damaged driveshaft, very odd for it to be an issue after the job and not before but I have bought a second hand drive shaft to fit, alignment is also well out - this is something I was very unhappy about as the garage offer alignment services but don't do it as part of the job but consider it acceptable to return it with the wheels pointing one way the steering wheel the other.

I'll be taking it to my usual alignment place when I have changed the driveshaft but that is another 100 quid.

Then hopefully I can have a few trouble free months and get it booked into the get some of the body work issues addressed.
 
Changed the NS driveshaft on Saturday, had no reservations about doing it as i've removed and refitted the short shaft many times in the 15 years of owning MK4 platform cars.

Removed the 6 bolts for the shaft, at this point normally, the shaft drops out, no, not this time, gentle pulling and nothing, still not moving, a bit more of a pull and the CV joint collapses and I am left with a driveshaft in my hand and half a CV stuck on the gearbox :sob: definitely a *** moment.

Luckily I was able to get a small chisel and a few taps from underneath separated it from the box and apart from having a shed load of grease left on the floor it was all good, new shaft fitted and so far, seems to be a lot better.

The offending driveshaft:

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Then it got a much needed clean later on
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Rear bumper has had a poor paint job in the past so thought I'd try and revive it. It's come up well and will do until the car sees paint next year.

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Thought I might as well tackle the tail pipes while I was in the area!

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Car passed the MOT today :D

Advisory for rear disks but other than that a clean bill of health! Much better than last year when it took a month to get a pass messing with emissions.

Roll on the summer and some paintwork all being well.
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Building up the energy to start doing the rounds at the local body shops to get some prices as the guy I have used for my cars for years has closed down.

Went to Cars and Coffee earlier this month and got papped coming out.

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After the recent snow and ice I wanted to give the S3 a good clean.

Friday is got a decent going over. Lifted it up and gave the underside a good blast with the jet wash.

Also fixed some of the underside trim in the wheel arch that had been poorly fitted following the clutch job in the summer.

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Not usually a fan of the red S3's but yours does look great . Decided to do treat mine to a similar clean . Paint cleaned , new clay bar and some some good polish and wax. Great therapy ;)

Sadly after replacing the windscreen i discovered a bit of the tin worm around the A pillars which will need dealing with. I am based in the midlands do you have a recommendation for a sympathetic ( and not too expensive ) workshop for some bodywork repairs ?
 
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spiker said:
Not usually a fan of the red S3's but yours does look great . Decided to do treat mine to a similar clean . Paint cleaned , new clay bar and some some good polish and wax. Great therapy ;)

Sadly after replacing the windscreen i discovered a bit of the tin worm around the A pillars which will need dealing with. I am based in the midlands do you have a recommendation for a sympathetic ( and not too expensive ) workshop for some bodywork repairs ?
Click to expand...

Mine is suffering from the same issue on one of the A pillars, I'v put it down to a poor windscreen replacement in its past.

A real shame as apart from that mine is very solid :(

Can't help with bodyshops, I am in the North West and don't know anywhere up here to take it either!
 
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