Goodbye Vauxhall (sort of), well hello Audi S3

[Harvey]

It’s that time of year where I get boring and practical with the S3 becoming an A3 and appropriately badged genuine rubber mats going in to protect the interior over the Winter months.

I’ve been stockpiling S3 service spares with 2x 850ml Haldex oil tubs (Febi part no.101172) along with 2x sets of Haldex fill/drain bolts and 3x Haldex pump seal kits. I got a buy 2x get 1x free on the pump seal kits as they sent me 3x by mistake having ordered 2x

 

[Harvey]

Yearly vehicle health check, MOT in other words, due for the Astra mk3 V6 a few weeks ago so I used by local favourite indy.

In it goes but alas my quality control skills weren’t up to scratch.

It failed on a r/h split ball joint boot which I had probably caused when I swapped the shocks earlier this year, sob sob boo hoo.

I also got an advisory on the l/h ball joint boot as it had started to deteriorate so me being me obviously took the decision to replace both sides.

Luckily, I’d got a pair of brand spanking new Febi ball joints part no. 05170 sitting on my shelf just in case as you never know get out of jail fit and forget spares, winning!

I suppose I could have sourced new rubber boots but I know Febi quality so ground off the rivets and bolted on the newbies.

It’s now got a fresh MOT pass having only covered 402 miles this year but it was an enjoyable experience with huge smiles per mile. I’ve SORNed it and the Winter hibernation has begun having driven it back from the MOT re-check on fumes thanks to the current fuel crisis and lack of V-Power in my area.

 

[Harvey]

Zoomed over to Cadwell Park last Sunday to spectate at the Javelin Sprint Series instead of our usual Donington Park BTCC pilgrimage. It’s sub 2 hours to Cadwell and I got to drive the S3 which is a rare occurrence these days, thoroughly enjoyed my time behind the wheel.

Had a mooch around the paddock before a wonder around Cadwells lovely spectator areas.

Rare Scooby P1.

Climbing frame anyone?

Ford Cortina with a rumbling V8!

Not for me and no idea what model as I’m not a Ferrari fan but this appeared in the spectator parking. When it comes to super car’s I’m Lambo/R8

A few on circuit action shots, not bad from a phone so rather impressed with the quality and my precision.

No idea what make or model this was but it made the wife and I chuckle, weird mushroom thing about 100mm (4 inch) in height!

Oh dear another front left meets the wall. It got gaffa taped up and they went back out.

The sun was out for most of the day and made the circuit really pop.

This Lotus Exige was my favourite, well prepped and well driven.

Even had a few sports/race machines there.

A few other random snaps.

An acquaintance I know through rallycross was competing in his gorgeous Mini (blue) but his mates Mini (red) was less than happy with low oil pressure, eek.

 

[Harvey]

Received a call to arms for the 4th emergency service so popped round my mates to assist with his Nova front wheels bearing change. First job remove the quick release front bumper held on with R-clips.

Next up tag team each side to remove the hubs.

We them hammered out the wheel hub flange and blobbed weld on the inside of the outer bearing case. Once cooled it shrinks, thus making the removal much easier with a light tap and out it pops.

The part that made me laugh was the fact the hubs have been machined to take an Audi 80/Audi 90/Golf mk2/Golf mk3 wheel bearing so deep down it’s a VAGhall

New bearings and hub flange press fitted.

All done with just wheel alignment left to sort. Nice easy and enjoyable tinker time on the faffy Nova.

 

[K96]

You must a good freind to have !

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

 

[The Cardinal]

Lovely write-ups and pics. Thanks for sharing.

I’m envious of a proper garage / off road space.

 

[Harvey]

Visited Mallory Park a couple of weeks ago for some wonderful Classic Touring Car racing featuring pre ’66, pre’83, pre ’93 and pre ’03 in addition to saloons, thunder saloon, classics, a few other odd ball vehicles. BARC events are so entertaining and immense value for money if you like your racing keep an eye on their website here.

A couple of colleagues were there in the pre ’93 class with a Mk2 & mk3 Astra. The morning qualifying and racing were very wet.

Cleared up after lunch so it got fast and frantic out there.

The ex-Plato ’97 Vectra Super Touring 2000 spec was defo my favourite of the day.

Supercharged Jags sounded amazing screeeeeching along.

This is what happens when it goes wrong coming out of Gerrards, the poor Lotus Cortina will be an expensive fix after a front right barrier hit.

Even had a BM Estate enjoying it in the pre ’93 class.

 

[Harvey]

Something I’ve been meaning to do for yonks with the S3 is to check the spark plug part number. I got cracking a few days ago and removed no.1 coil pack plus the plug using a magnet after unscrewing it all the way. It’s a 16mm deep thin wall socket to fit the plug which is an NGK brand made for VW AG.

I was surprised to find the part no.06K905601L with next to no info out there regarding this plug spec fitted only to the MY17-MY18 310PS S3 pre GPF/OPF unless it’s just a superseded 06K905601B. Like I said nothing out there to confirm this can't even find a cross reference on the NGK site.

Plug is looking healthy but there’s no way I’m leaving it the recommend 60K between changing them. My S3 has nearly reached 20K in just under 5 years so I’ll be looking to change them sooner rather than later.

All good where the plug locates, nice a clean in there.

Refitted the plug 30Nm and coil pack bolt 10Nm plus earth strap nut 10Nm. You know you have a fast car when individual coils have their own earth wires lol. Borg Warner coil pack no. 06J905110K for my own reference.

Should anyone ever question it the engine cover does have one grey rubber fixing front right with the other three being black, weird I know. Helpful tip, apply silicone grease to the rubbers on the cover as it makes it much easier to fit/remove should you ever have the need.

All done and still looking nice a clean under the hood.

 

[Harvey]

With the rear wiper blade on the S3 Sportback juddering occasionally it was time to replace it along with the fronts. I did my usual research and found the exact fit brand Bosch wipers www.boschwiperblades.com on my favourite auction site brand new for a bargain price.

The OE rear wiper had faded slightly and gone grey visually. Another thing to note is the exact fit Bosch rear A332H rubber blade for the Hatch + Sportback A3/S3/RS3 mk3 is actually 10mm shorter overall length which isn’t a concern for the amount it gets used.

The rear blade fitting on the Bosch does look a better design (top) than the OE (bottom).

Rear fitted and looking black again with a less bulky plastic end than the OE.

Front exact fit Bosch A864S with built-in moulded spoiler also replaced.

To top it off the glass got a dousing of Rain-X 2-in-1 glass cleaner and rain repellent, amazing stuff if you’ve never used it.

 

[Potterswheel]

I really miss the rear wiper on my first saloon

 

[Harvey]

After the truck canopy removal I assisted with the other month here it was painted and ready for fitting. The existing rollbar and roll-top had to be removed prior to installing the canopy.

We also removed the aftermarket bedliner as a genuine Ford liner had been purchased but wasn’t installed when these pics were taken.

With that lot removed the truck was looking a bit boring!

I then prepped the repainted canopy fitting the roof bars prior to flipping it upside down to fit fresh foam on the mating face where the canopy sits on the bedsides.

It was then lifted into place and bolted down.

At this stage we were on the home stretch after aligning the tailgate glass which took forever. I popped to get fresh brews leaving my mate to attach the gas struts and on my return was greeted with the immortal words “What’s the worse than can happen?”...gutted is an understatement

Neither of us could understand or figure out what went wrong as we initially fitted the glass with the struts in place and it was fine. We had removed the struts to make aligning the glass easier prior to refitting them. At this stage I left my mate to lick his wounds and consider his options. There was used glass available but no guarantee the same thing wouldn't happen so it went to Truckman HQ in Dudley to have them install brand new glass. Then back to mine for wiring in the canopy brake light, interior light and central locking, finally job all done.

 

[Harvey]

Popped the S3 to have the AC health checked today at Staykool who are based to the South of Derby. They come highly recommend and are a top professional homebased AC specialist I used earlier this year for other vehicles.

They have all the kit and and some.

The required pipework was connected and all remaining R1234yf spec gas was removed.

Scores on the doors was 350g sucked out which is great news to say it’s never knowingly been checked from new and should have 460g+/-15g total.

As the S3 has climate control we always have the AC on when the engine is running come Summer, Winter, rain or shine so had Cool-Shot additive popped into the system. Time will tell, or not, if it’s a worth while addition but from my research I thought I'd give it a try. The required fill quantity of 460g+/-15g was added and we were done.

In today’s other exciting news our S3 reached another milestone having covered 20,000 miles at 4 years 11 months old and yes I know it needs dusting!

 

[Harvey]

My Dad’s 2011 Meriva B 1.4 Turbo required it’s annual service so it was brought to VAGhall Towers for a fettle by yours truly.

It got a scan using my Delphi kit and only had one code stored which I had seen earlier in the Summer. It relates to the rear high level centre brake light and can occur when there are low voltage issues as the CAN bus shuts items down to save power. I replaced the original vehicle battery last month but never cleared the codes, my bad.

With my Dad not using the car much of late I thought it best I gave the new battery a top up with my trusty Accumate Pro and soon all was healthy.

Next up was the air filter change including cleaning out any debris from the air box which was pretty clean inside.

I then ran the car up to temp and changed the oil and oil filter. The oil has only covered 1,750 miles for the year but still very dark so no matter what the mileage it’s always worth swapping it out for fresh in my humble opinion.

When serviced it had covered 38,565 miles in ten years so I popped a spark plug out of no.1 to check the condition and obtain the part number as they have never been changed. Looking good with no issues to date but I’ll be changing them at the next service for extra piece of mind. Super Posh OEM plugs are NKG Iridium

I always opt for active carbon pollen filters as they offer more filtering abilities and also help cut harmful polluting fumes outside the vehicle, they cost a few pennies more but worth it. Stock pollen filters are pure while but the active carbon look grey like this brand new replacement.

My final serving task was to wrestle with the dash as you have to strip half the car to replace the pollen filter. I can see why most people don’t bother but it’s not too bad having done it a couple of times on this car. Gently pull and if that doesn't work think happy thoughts and try again.

 

[Harvey]

It was time for the Amarok to get its AC serviced at the weekend after 4 years of never being checked from new with the last 2.5 years being in my ownership. Nothing wrong with it and working fine but I knew it required checking so off I went to my new favourite AC expert Staykool homebased in South Derby just off the A50 J3.

The required pipework was connected and all remaining R134a spec gas was removed.

It should have 600g in there but only 380g was recovered. It got promptly filled up to max and I was on my way in no time with the addition of Cool-Shot additive.

When I get the Amarok it had no wheel bolt covers due to VW cost cutting so I bough a cheap set of copy covers as genuine were silly money.

Fast forward to last week and my random searching revealed a set of genuine used as new covers cheap cheap so I swooped in and bought them.

That finishes it off nicely, it’s the little touches that do it for me

As it’s Black Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday sale time I bagged a bargain at my local Costco and bought another 5x 4L Castrol Edge 5W-30 LL at £15.58 per 4L tub. I can use this in both Amarok diesel oil spec VW 507.00 plus the S3 petrol oil spec VW 504.00. This is classed as a long life oil but I change engine oil annual regardless of mileage.

I now seem to have enough stock to keep me going a while. Can you ever be over prepared I wonder!

 

[Garrett 69]

The ex-Plato ’97 Vectra Super Touring 2000 spec was defo my favourite of the day.

A little before my time, Plato was in the Astra Coupe during my stint for TH Motorsport (sorry to hijack). A school friend of mine, Gareth Howell, also raced but with more success.

2001

2002

 

[Harvey]

Earlier this month the wife noted the Audi Connect license flagged it was due to expire in exactly 6 weeks on 20th December. If you squint the picture is perfectly clear

I was fortunate enough to get one last free Audi Connect renewal last year see here so this is the first time having to pay. The wife and I find it useful for real-time traffic info and mainly just because we love the satellite overlay so decided to lash the cash. I logged into myAudi to be greeted with this so clicked the Renew licence button.

This took me to Functions on demand where it was showing my expiry date of 20th December 2021.

In my case I had the option of a monthly payment of £11.50 or annual of £115, I opted for annual to save pennies.

I followed the prompts and soon after my bank account was lighter by £115.

Checked the S3 MMI later that evening and it had already updated the license expiry as well as myAudi Function on demand showing 20th December 2022.

Long live the satellite overlay I say, it won’t last forever but I can hope it does.

 

[Harvey]

It was that nervous time of year as both the S3 and Amarok had their MOTs over the last couple of weeks at my friendly indy garage based opposite Ikea Nottingham Betta Fit Auto Centre. If your VAG or any brand vehicle require work give them a try as they come highly recommend. No, I don’t work there I just like to endorse companies who are good at what they do best.

S3 passed

As did the Amarok

With the weather turning nasty the S3 had the screen wash fluid topped up. Being rather OCD I decided to keep using OE coloured washer fluid instead of switching to pink stuff that I use in my other cars.

The rear auto wipe when put in reverse was getting annoying for various reasons and no MMI menu option to turn it on/off in the S3. After researching and finding very conflicting info I finally found what I wanted and coded it off permanently. This is in Module 09 under Adaptions named IDE02711-ENG114946-Rear wiper-Komfortwischen Heck (Komfortwischen Heck = Comfort wiping rear). Active mean on for auto wipe so to turn off you code it to not active, if only it was a selectable MMI menu option like on other VAGs my genuine and trusty VCDS HEX-V2 saves the day yet again

 

[Potterswheel]

Great news, I put mine in for its MOT a couple of weeks ago at short notice and it flew through. Phew!!
I use Decosol Excel screen wash AD25, its also a nice O.E. blue, good for -25°C (hope we never see that!) it cleans the screen squeaky clean - and smells great. You can't get it easily any more, so mail order is the best way to go, Its classed as a hazardous material to post, so postage can be expensive if you don't spread the cost across a few 500ml bottles (each will make up to 25 ltr, I do a bulk buy with a mate, buying 5 results in a cost of under £4.00 per 500ml bottle. A great buy for its performance.

 

[Harvey]

It was time to service the big truck last weekend so first thing was to swap the pollen filter. I opted for a Mann FreciousPlus all singing all dancing filter as they looked to be the best on the market.

Easy 30 second job on the Amarok with just two 5.5mm screws to remove and some leaf debris to vacuum up.

Old one out.

New one in. Note the yellow colour of the FreciousPlus pollen filter with the other side looking exactly like an active carbon version.

Next up swap the wheels front to back on both sides to equalise the annual tyre wear.

Left side was easy but due to my drive angle the righthand side wheels required assistance from a lump of wood and a rubber mallet due to hub corrosion caused by damp sitting there. Wire brushed hubs and applied copper grease to stop this happening again.

I then squeezed the truck under my carport where it’s perfectly level so I could drain the engine oil.

Engine cover removed, looks boring and messy without it. New oil filter going in and funnel ready to accept 8.5L of Castrol Edge 5W-30 LL 507.00 spec. It should be 8.0L to fill but as I found out last year this doesn’t take the oil level to max on the dip stick and actually requires an addition 0.5L to get the oil level perfect.

This name be chuckle as it’s a VW with Audi logo on the oil filter housing. One big happy VAG family, hugs all round everyone but no kissing due to facemasks being a necessity!

Left the oil draining while I had lunch and then cracked on cleaning out the air filter housing. It was nice and clean anyway and required little effort.

I don’t even need to jack up the truck to drain the roughly 4,500 mile old oil, just enough room for me to slip under there.

After my tinkering was complete I used my VCDS to perform a service reset and job done for another year. The Amarok has an oil quality sensor that takes around 300 miles to calculate the oil service interval that’s why you see ---ml / ---days.

Last boring but necessary job was to clean out my oil drain pan, being OCD I can’t leave it dirty as that’ll never do. All sparkly ready for its next dirty job being the S3

 

[Jcbmally]

Lol, you’ll have all the equality peeps on your case

 

[Harvey]

You’ll have all the equality peeps on your case

Agreed, this is much more appropriate best of both worlds!

 

[Harvey]

Epic update time as the S3 turns 5 years old this coming Sunday so it’s been treated to a super pamper annual service session by yours truly, deep breather & here goes…

First off Happy Christmas everyone, a rather festive in the air shot after levelling the S3 on axle stands so I could get cracking with the jobs. The jacks are just being stored under the car so don’t panic it’s perfectly safe hovering under the carport.

Dropping the old engine oil.

Old engine oil filter out & new one going in.

I really don’t like these new-fangled plastic sump bungs as they don't feel secure when fitted!

Popped a new sump bung in then filled with the good stuff Castrol Edge 5W-30 LL being 504.00 spec for the petrol. I drained exactly 5.7L out which means it hasn't used any oil between annual services, winning.

After adding the new oil & starting the engine then letting it settle, I noted it damp at the drain bung even after cleaning the area post fitting. I had a selection of new bungs both after market & OE then noted the after market had a slightly small o-ring & you guessed it, I had fitted an aftermarket bug which wasn’t sealing. So another drain & I fitted an OE bung which hasn’t leaked after popping the fresh oil back in. Correct sized o-ring now bought for the aftermarket bungs being 12mmID/3mmCS/18mmOD. Lesson learnt, triple check things & don’t just assume. OE left & aftermarket right, spot the difference grr.

I installed a brand new air filter in June when I had the car mapped click me so cleaned it up by bashing it on my workbench & also cleaned out the accumulated bits & pieces from the air box.

As the engine undertray was off I couldn’t help myself so got frisky with it, now doesn’t that look better.

On a side note the engine oil cap is still holding tight with the posh uprated seals click for details & no oil vapour was present after 4,000 miles in use.

Now I know this will surprise some of you but I’ve never had to top-up my coolant & it’s only a matter of time before the planets align & it bites me hard. This is my coolant level on a cold engine still with the silica bag in the header tank & no leaks from the thermostat housing. It’s a ticking time bomb for sure but no point poking it until I need to.

 

[Harvey]

Audi say the oil in the front & rear diffs isn’t a service item but I disagree as it’s an easy job to change the fluid so here goes. I bought the relevant fluids earlier this year & opted for Febi stuff, the same brand but different oil which I’ve used in the Haldex. New genuine fill & drain bungs were also purchased a while ago.

Rear diff having the drain bung removed after the fill bung was removed. I got 900ml out & subsequently pumped in 950ml so it was slightly under filled at factory, more cost cutting I presume lol. Read diff bung torques are both 19Nm.

New rear diff fluid going in.

Front diff was a little more awkward but fortunately with the wheel removed much easier to access from the wheel well area using long wobble extensions. I drained off 650ml & added 650ml before tightening both bungs to 15Nm. The procedure states to start the car, foot on brake and pop it into gear then turn off and recheck level so that's what I did.

Fluids half done I then dug out VCDS & performed an SRI Reset. Before, with service due imminently.

SRI Reset performed & no you can’t simply reset from your MMI as this only resets your oil service & not your inspection service.

Back to more fluid change & I found my new Haldex pump seals & bungs as well as the oil, again I’ve used Febi’s finest.

Haldex fill & drain bungs removed before the 3,500 mile old oil was dropped. I changed it back in April this year along with the brake fluid but to keep everything inline as I had the parts have decided to do again as it’s such a critical item & such low cost DIYing it. I got a total of 700ml out including pump removal & drain.

I was surprised with the amount of bits on the pump gauze & in the drained fluid with so few miles covered between fluid change. Just goes to show it’s key to keep on top of these things to don’t cut corners Haldex Gen 5 owners.

The pump housing was lovely & clean in there & this was before I wiped it out. Also gave the gauze a good dousing of brake cleaner until it sparkled prior to refitting. For completeness the Haldex pump bolts are torqued to 10Nm on refitting.

With a new Haldex drain bolt fitted to 32Nm I pumped in 550ml before it began oozing out so popped the old fill bung in, started the car & performed a VCDS Basic Setting for the Haldex pump to cycle the fresh oil & learn new things. Turned the car off & then added a further 150ml of Haldex oil & a new fill bung tightened to 15Nm.

 

[Harvey]

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

 

[Mr Freeze]

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

I need to have my haldex serviced 23k on the clock and never been done

 

[Jcbmally]

Always great work @Harvey

 

[Harvey]

I need to have my haldex serviced 23k on the clock and never been done

I'm scared for you, get it serviced ASAP

 

[Mr Freeze]

I'm scared for you, get it serviced ASAP

I will try and find a decent garage to get it done in the Manchester area in the new year

 

[Harvey]

To finish off the S3 fettle & service the pollen filter required replacing & once again I opted for a Mann FreciousPlus to keep all those nasties out.

I opened the glovebox & removed this cover panel with a firm tug.

Then using my plastic trim tools gently prised open the top three fixings so I could wiggle the old filter out before reversing the procedure to refit the panels.

I was surprised to find the original filter was actually a Mann FreciousPlus.

The engine tray was clipped & screwed into place after double checking there were no leaks from the DSG & front diff after the fluid change, all was found to be dry.

The tailpipe trims got yet another Autosol polish…again.

Noted this on the fuel tank cover, one big happy VAG family. You see it's not just a posh Audi when you have VW, Seat & Skoda badges in your car

The calipers, disks & arch liners weren’t too bad but could still benefit from a wipe over.

Brushed the arch liners prior to wiping over with a soapy water mix & also cleaned the painted disc bells & calipers.

I’ve always used this location for the front axle stands & jack up using the twin post ramp points leaving their plastic covers in place. There’s no right or wrong way for jacking, all down to how you want to do it but will say it helps having a long reach low access jack plus a standard jack.

Checked all the tyre tread depths & because I rotate them annual it’s keeping the wear equal on all four wheels.

I then setup my wheel polishing station & started rubbing vigorously with Autoglym SRP followed by AutoSmart Detailing Wax.

Happy with the results & just goes to show if you keep on top of the cleaning it doesn’t take much effort to get them gleaming.

 

[Harvey]

Happy Birthday , 5 years old today and still chugging along like a stealthy missile that it is. All the best and here’s to another 5 years of faithful usage . It’s now reached 20,246 miles and had all the servicing love it could handle over the last week.

 

[AudiRace]

Happy Birthday , 5 years old today and still chugging along like a stealthy missile that it is. All the best and here’s to another 5 years of faithful usage . It’s now reached 20,246 miles and had all the servicing love it could handle over the last week.

Oh dear you not using car much 5 years and only 20k od miles. that's like still new..
I have A3 2015 80k od miles passed purchased at 47k miles so I made 30k od within 2 years
Has zero issues too, because we maintain and looking after our cars I suppose..

 

[Jcbmally]

Happy Birthday , 5 years old today and still chugging along like a stealthy missile that it is. All the best and here’s to another 5 years of faithful usage . It’s now reached 20,246 miles and had all the servicing love it could handle over the last week.

Happy birthday S3

 

[Potterswheel]

Happy birthday S3 and happy xmas to all our readers

 

[Potterswheel]

Nice to see a clean under tray!!!!

 

[Alex.S3]

Love reading this thread, must be one of the best maintained S3s out there. Brilliant attention to detail!

 

[Harvey]

Love reading this thread, must be one of the best maintained S3s out there. Brilliant attention to detail!

Thanks for the feedback, I do enjoy my car fiddling

 

[Potterswheel]

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.

I knew I had photos somewhere, this is what I had to remove when I changed my DSG filter + oil last year.

 

[Harvey]

Santa was kind this year and delivered some festive car treats with Valet Pro brushes, thin wall 16mm spark plug socket and a Gecko smelly for when the current one runs out of puff.

I decided to mount the brushes and socket in my second home for easy access and no doubt they’ll all get used soon.

Regarding the recent servicing I’ve now got the correctly sized viton rubber o-rings for the S3 sump aftermarket drain bungs. New correct on right and incorrect left, both are 12mm ID but most importantly the new are 3mm CS so 18mm OD.

 

[Harvey]

As the Mallory Park Plumb Pudding Races were back again this Boxing Day the wife & I couldn’t say no having been attending for the past 15 or so years. The day has all sorts from sports, saloons/hatch and bikes with previous years having sidecars and mopeds.

It was foggy all day but made it feel rather atmospheric. The flame spitting Exige was a delight to behold.

The bikes came out and a few slid off as predicted but only hurt their prides luckily.

Then back to some saloon/hatch racing.

This racer was my hero as we saw him driving his 5.7L V8 Rover Vitesse home on the road when we were leaving, no trailer, no support vehicle, just him and his car.

VAG fans were catered for with an Audi TT, a lovely sounding VW Corrado VR6 plus or very quick Seat Toledo.

The Honda Civic took the swimming pool route as the grass was sodden with the overnight rain.

More from the saloon/hatch race.

Then sports cars before ending with more bikes. Great days racing and congrats to all who braved it on circuit, they are all winners in my eyes as it was tricky out there.

 

[rum4mo]

I bought the long version of spark plug socket, it has built in magnets so grabs the plugs and retains the new one - as you seem to have 16mm plugs "size" the Laser Tools 3682 is the one for that job. my B8 S4 and wife's 6C Polo both have that size of spark plug hex.

I'm an ex Cav GSI 4X4 2000 16V owner, I owned one from 1991 until 2000 when I replaced it with a VW Passat 4Motion, the Passat was okayish a bit floppy nothing as grounded as the Cav GSI 4X4, I only got a car that matched it when I replaced that VW Passat 4Motion with an 2011 S4 6MT in 2013. I was not a natural VX fan, but that Cav GSI 4X4 was different, I had lost patience in Ford so moved across to VX for my car, I left my wife with Fiesta 1.6Si until it was time to replace it and moved her across to a VW Polo 1.4 16V which only had 75PS, which disappointed her a lot, a horrible Skoda in VW clothes and a gutless greedy engine - all my fault, her next car a 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI 110PS SEL is a not better though all Polo/Ibiza/A1s still retain too much of their core parts from Skoda Fabia and so CZ metal and manufactured in CZ.