Installing my Relentless V3 Manifold and Dp

AFDanHef

AFDanHef

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I'm installing my Relentless V3 manifold and downpipe this weekend!! I will post pics and a little review when I'm done. Any tips or pointers from anyone? I'm sure the dp won't be a problem but what is the best way to get at the manifold? From the top or bottom? What all do I have to remove to get to the manifold? Thanks in advance!
 
Take as many as you can. Mines due to arrive tomorrow or Monday sir.
 
Best to check the search option mate, this has been covered hundreds of times so u'll be able to get as many tips and guides etc as you will need there. :thumbsup:
 
s3clarke said:
Best to check the search option mate, this has been covered hundreds of times so u'll be able to get as many tips and guides etc as you will need there. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Will do ... I was in a hurry and thought I might throw a quick thread out. I'll do the proper search tonight. :thumbsup:
 
The easiest way to do the job is to remove the head. Luckily I was rebuilding my entire engine and had it all out on a stand. Those who have said they've managed to change the manifold with the head on have said its not a nice job. So you might want to consider it.
 
Westy said:
The easiest way to do the job is to remove the head. Luckily I was rebuilding my entire engine and had it all out on a stand. Those who have said they've managed to change the manifold with the head on have said its not a nice job. So you might want to consider it.
Click to expand...

After reading around I seriously am thinking about it!! Although ... lol the only thing ABOUT removing the head is that then I would be tempted to go ahead and replace the rods and port the head and get the turbo rebuilt ... maybe go with a hybrid and etc etc etc >>>>> .... AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! :jump: :sos: LOL OMG!! When will the spending ever END!?!?! I just wanted this to be a nice straight forward weekend project .... why can't things ever be that way!?!? LOL!! :banghead:

What extra stuff would I need if I were to take the head off? If I'm going to replace the head gasket I might as well get a bad *** one. What is a good head gasket for a BAM engine and would it benefit from getting a thicker head gasket?? (lower compression a little?) Maybe ARP head bolts too?? I had the timing belt and water pump changed about 15k miles ago. Do you think I should change the belt again while I have it off? Do you have to drain all the oil and coolant? I guess she could go for an oil and coolant change anyway.
Also, I don't know if I'm very comfortable with taking the timing belt off ... I would have to do a lot of research to make sure I put it all back together correctly and not screw anything up. hmmmm Youtube!! :sos:
 
AFDanHef said:
After reading around I seriously am thinking about it!! Although ... lol the only thing ABOUT removing the head is that then I would be tempted to go ahead and replace the rods and port the head and get the turbo rebuilt ... maybe go with a hybrid and etc etc etc >>>>> .... AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! :jump: :sos: LOL OMG!! When will the spending ever END!?!?! I just wanted this to be a nice straight forward weekend project .... why can't things ever be that way!?!? LOL!! :banghead:

What extra stuff would I need if I were to take the head off? If I'm going to replace the head gasket I might as well get a bad *** one. What is a good head gasket for a BAM engine and would it benefit from getting a thicker head gasket?? (lower compression a little?) Maybe ARP head bolts too?? I had the timing belt and water pump changed about 15k miles ago. Do you think I should change the belt again while I have it off? Do you have to drain all the oil and coolant? I guess she could go for an oil and coolant change anyway.
Also, I don't know if I'm very comfortable with taking the timing belt off ... I would have to do a lot of research to make sure I put it all back together correctly and not screw anything up. hmmmm Youtube!! :sos:
Click to expand...

Man .... after going back and actually reading this post ... I sound like such a GIRL!! :blownose::whip: LOL DAMMIT!! Just get over it and go do it already!! lol
 
You have just described everything I went through last year. I got IE rifle drilled rods, a refurbished AEB head, all new belts gaskets, pumps, clutch and flywheel, the full works. I've done everything except change the turbo. I don't think I'd have bothered fitting the manifold if I wasnt prepared to do the rest!
 
I fitted my relentless mani without taking the head off, mines a quattro and i left the turbo bolted to the DP, i must say its not a nice job, but its no different to doing a clutch, if you get stressed easy or dont have a good aray of tools dont start the job

the DP is a walk in the park, drop the subframe and rack pinch bolt and the dog bone on the gear box end, drop it down, the DP comes out easy dude :) if you have a Fwd car, take the DP off and then fit the mani, then refit the DP its not to bad, although i found for the 3 bolts from mani to turbo a nice thin spanner made life so easy, Snap-on make the perfect spanner, its so slim it fits easy
 
Sorry bud just going to jump in on this one as it may give you a heads up to, I have my lump out on a stand and I offered this v3 mani up to the head today just to take a pic and the 1st runner from the gear box side is against the heat shield that the charge pipe carrier is on and it's still 5mm off the face of the head. So what I'm asking is has everyone had to dent the shield for the v3 mani to fit or is mine wrong?
 
S3Zek said:
Sorry bud just going to jump in on this one as it may give you a heads up to, I have my lump out on a stand and I offered this v3 mani up to the head today just to take a pic and the 1st runner from the gear box side is against the heat shield that the charge pipe carrier is on and it's still 5mm off the face of the head. So what I'm asking is has everyone had to dent the shield for the v3 mani to fit or is mine wrong?
Click to expand...
What it needs is the Header flatting off on the high points... alot of them are like this..

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-forum-8l-chassis/169493-head-turbo-mani-dry-build.html
 
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audi upgrades
phil miller said:
I fitted my relentless mani without taking the head off, mines a quattro and i left the turbo bolted to the DP, i must say its not a nice job, but its no different to doing a clutch, if you get stressed easy or dont have a good aray of tools dont start the job

the DP is a walk in the park, drop the subframe and rack pinch bolt and the dog bone on the gear box end, drop it down, the DP comes out easy dude :) if you have a Fwd car, take the DP off and then fit the mani, then refit the DP its not to bad, although i found for the 3 bolts from mani to turbo a nice thin spanner made life so easy, Snap-on make the perfect spanner, its so slim it fits easy
Click to expand...

Thanks bro this actually makes me feel a little more at ease. I do have a good amount of patience as long as it is possible to do and I have a lift and a ton of tools at my disposal. So you did everything from underneath? I thought it might be easier to get to the manifold bolts from up top after removing the strut tower bar and charge pipe? Are the turbo oil and coolant lines a pain in the ***?

As far as the fitment S3Zek, I will let you know if I have trouble with it. I plan on posting pics on here and a little review after I'm done with the instal.
 
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Nice one cheers Dave, yeah I had seen that it needed a bit grinding off the top but at least I know I can just hammer the s**t out of the shield.
 
AFDanHef said:
Thanks bro this actually makes me feel a little more at ease. I do have a good amount of patience as long as it is possible to do and I have a lift and a ton of tools at my disposal. So you did everything from underneath? I thought it might be easier to get to the manifold bolts from up top after removing the strut tower bar and charge pipe? Are the turbo oil and coolant lines a pain in the ***?

As far as the fitment S3Zek, I will let you know if I have trouble with it. I plan on posting pics on here and a little review after I'm done with the instal.
Click to expand...

I will fit it on the head tomo bud so I will let you know how I get on to lol
 
AFDanHef said:
Thanks bro this actually makes me feel a little more at ease. I do have a good amount of patience as long as it is possible to do and I have a lift and a ton of tools at my disposal. So you did everything from underneath? I thought it might be easier to get to the manifold bolts from up top after removing the strut tower bar and charge pipe? Are the turbo oil and coolant lines a pain in the ***?

As far as the fitment S3Zek, I will let you know if I have trouble with it. I plan on posting pics on here and a little review after I'm done with the instal.
Click to expand...

I done almost everything from underneath dude, to get the new mani in (and because id left my turbo bolted up) i put a jack under the sump on a block of wood, i then undone the o/s engine mount, then let the jack down, by doing this the engine lowers and moves forward allowing you to get the mani in place, remember to catch nuts 2 and 7 first as they are tight to the runners :) S3Dave or Prawn are good to ask for info as they both helped me out before i fitted mine :)
 
S3Zek said:
I will fit it on the head tomo bud so I will let you know how I get on to lol
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I took mine off my head today (burnt valve so head is off) on the bench its a 5min job, but will show how tight 2 of the nuts are to get at
 
I'm reading on facebook that it is highly suggested to buy studs to go between the turbo and mani instead of reuse the old bolts because they won't fit or are a huge pain in the ***. What did you use Phil?

How much work was it to take the head off?
 
Also, my mani came with a 2mm thick copper gasket that I'm not seeing in any of these other pics online. The guy I bought mine from in the states really wanted me to post a review and pics of everything because he said I was one of the first to receive this new V3 manifold ... but it sounds like the v3 has been out for a little while. Do you think the big gasket is new and maybe a way of spacing the mani out so it doesn't hit the heat shield? Or did everyone's mani com with this gasket and I'm just not seeing it on the pics?
 
AFDanHef said:
I'm reading on facebook that it is highly suggested to buy studs to go between the turbo and mani instead of reuse the old bolts because they won't fit or are a huge pain in the ***. What did you use Phil?

How much work was it to take the head off?
Click to expand...

Ahh yes you need to buy 3 Ko3 turbo to Downpipe studs, these go in the turbo for the mani to turbo join, and 3 15mm nuts ( that worked perfect on Ron) they have to be exhaust locking type nuts tho, also another top tip is buy genuine gaskets for the mani to head, mani to turbo and turbo to DP

iirc head to mani gasket is like £7, mani to turbo is £3.80 and the DP one is less than 3 quid dude, worth it imho
 
These are the gaskets that came with my manifold and downpipe ... they seem pretty beefy and I haven't seen them in any other pictures. Is this what you have? Do you still think the OEM gaskets would be better? These are just stamped copper so they may not seal well but they are definitely think enough!!

IMG_0790 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

IMG_0791 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
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How much would a decent garage charge to fit a relentless manifold & dp?
 
OK I've read through every thread I can find on this now and I'm going to try to do this without removing the head. Mainly because I don't want to have to buy and replace all the stuff that would be required with the head. Anyway, I was wondering if there are any turbo rebuild kits out there? Since I will have my turbo off, is there any rebuild kit I can buy to freshen it up? Or are refurbed turbos only something that can be done buy a professional shop?

I'm going to be doing the mani and dp at the same time. Some people say to drop the subframe, dogbone, and steering pinch bolt. (I don't know what this pinch bolt is but I'm sure I will figure it out once I get under there)

phil miller said:
I done almost everything from underneath dude, to get the new mani in (and because id left my turbo bolted up) i put a jack under the sump on a block of wood, i then undone the o/s engine mount, then let the jack down, by doing this the engine lowers and moves forward allowing you to get the mani in place,
Click to expand...

Would it be better to do this instead of drop the subframe or both? Did you drop the engine like this because you were only changing the manifold and nothing else? Also, what is the "sump" that you lowered the engine by with a jack and a block of wood?

Finally, in what order did everyone put the parts back on? Would it be best to bolt the turbo to the manifold and then bolt the manifold to the engine? Or just everything one at a time .... mani to engine, turbo to mani, and dp to turbo?
 
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sorry dude, basiclly mines a quattro so my transfer box was in the way

yes i dropped the subframe and then took off the o/s mount, the sump/oil pan at the bottom of the engine, i had a jack with a bit of 4x2 wood to take the wieght of the engine, so i was then able to lower the the engine and move it around

My best advice would be to get the downpipe off and then get the mani off, fit the new mani then fit the downpipe, tbh, i looked through loads of info on fitting it before i started, its one of them jobs you just have to sink your teeth in to and keep going

One things for sure YOU CAN GET THE STANDARD DP OUT COMPLETE, they sell for good money on ebay, i was always told if you can get something out complete you can get the new one in aswell
 
I started on this tonight. I didn't get far as I only had a couple of hours before the shop closed. I sprayed PB blaster on all the nuts and bolts I could get to and got most of the bolts loose on the subframe but haven't dropped it yet. Working on it all day tomorrow ... and hopefully not but possibly Sunday as well.
 
Good stuff mate,

Get some pics up while your doing it. I need all the help I can get when its my turn.
 
WOW!! major turn of events!! I just found out that I will be leaving England in August!! .... Does anyone want to buy a brand new Relentless V3 manifold and DP?
 
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