Jimmy's Garage

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

On Today’s Fifth Episode:

The red B7 S4 avant from before was in for some work.

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He had a power steering fluid leak. It was leaking from the power steering line that always leaks by the bottom of the coolant tank and the ABS module. That line goes from the rank and pinion to the cooler pipe. It is exposed to a bunch of heat since it is sandwiched right next to the engine, just above the exhaust manifold, and below the coolant tank and hard metal coolant line. Needless to say I have had to replace a bunch of these lines.

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There are two sections of the car that I have to access to replace that line.

The first section of the car is behind the driver’s front wheel and suspension to disconnect the line from the rack and pinion. I had already unbolted the tie rod from the wheel bearing housing/knuckle and taken off the black plastic cover before I took the below pictures. Normally I would have removed the front suspension shock and spring but since this car has air suspension that looked like more work that I didn’t want to bother with so I just gritted my teeth and made things work. There are two lines that connect to the rack and pinion so of course since this is an Audi, it has to be the harder to reach line that has to be replaced. Thus I had to disconnect the closer line that is coaled up for no real reason and then shove it out of the way to get room for the line that I actually need to replace, thanks Audi.

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The second section of the car is behind the driver’s side headlight. Since this is a B7 it requires a lot more work to get the headlight out then a B6 like mine. The B7 cars require removing the front bumper and then the headlight can come out. The power steering line that leaks, snakes down behind the driver’s side headlight along the frame rail to the metal cooler line. It really does look like a bundle of snakes with all the different coolant and power steering lines that are in that section of the car and of course there is very little room to see anything. At the metal cooler line a simple screw clamp held the rubber end of the line on so I just undid it.

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After all that I could pull the power steering line out through the opening by the rack and pinion. The line was leaking by the bulged out section right about in the middle.

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I got the new line into place. Instead of routing the line in its normal location under the hard metal coolant line I route the new power steering line under the ABS module brackets and reconnect everything.

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The car also had a torn front right inner CV boot. That was a easy fix in comparison.

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JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

Oh man that sounds cool. Please get a picture of it if you can.

I really don’t like how Audi went cheap on the steel RS5 brakes. That is a big heavy car that needs to be able to slow down. If anything they should have spent money in that area. I guess that they really expected people to buy the ceramics.

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

On Today’s Sixth Episode:

Had a C6 S6 V10 come in for a carbon clean and some maintenance. I consult for a few of the local shops and this was a client’s car of theirs that they wanted me to work on.

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Before I get started with the repair I thought that I should point out something. This is a pretty cool car with the Audi Exclusive interior that is black and red. Don’t see that too often.

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The first thing that I had to do for the repairs was lower the fuel pressure. So just like every other FSI Audi I pulled the fuse for the electric fuel pump that is in the tank and cranked the engine until it died. However the fuel pump fuse on this car is not in the normal position of on the driver’s side of the dash between the driver’s door and the dash. Instead it is on the passenger’s side of the dash behind a cover between the dash and the passenger’s door. Audi loves to hide things and change stuff for no real good reason from model to model.

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Next when I have a bigger car like a C6 or C7 A/S6 or A/S/RS7 or any A/S8 on the lift I like to charge the battery. The bigger cars have a battery monitoring system and there are so many computers in those cars for the different options that they will act funny if the battery is ever so slightly low on voltage. Most of the time it is better to hook up the battery charger/maintainer to the jump points that are under the hood. This car actually had the sticker in the trunk that showed to do that as well. There was a spare body nut by the battery monitoring computer in this car that could have been used to hook up a charger but I am lazy and I didn’t want it rain in the trunk while I was working on the car. The D3 A/S8s have like a metal rod that sticks out by the battery monitoring system to hook up the negative lead of a charger to so that the amperage throughput is measured by the computer. Amperage throughput is simply how many amps have been passed through the battery and the electrical system. That is how the battery monitoring system determines if the battery needs to be replaced or not. It is actually a pretty cool system if you understand how it works. Or it bores the hell out of you and you would rather be imagining kittens doing something stupid in a cat video on youtube. Lets see how many people comment on that.

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Getting to the engine. Audi really shoehorned that 5.2 liter V10 into this car. I thought that my V8 was a tight fit in my B6 S4 but this is a whole different category of how the hell are we going to fit this in there. By the way on a side note, these low revving 5.2 liter V10s are really held back from the factory in a lot of ways. There are a bunch of performance mods that are coming out for these things and it is really impressive with what they are doing for performance. It still is a big heavy boat but with the right maintenance and mods these V10 C6 S6s and D3 S8s will scream!

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Had to raise the car up and get it on jack stands to be able to do what I needed. So I raised the lift and took off the stupidly big belly pan. This car was missing the smaller rear portion of the belly pan that usually sticks to the larger front portion. Kind of made life easier. In the middle picture you guys can see that there is no room on the bottom of the engine either. However there is so much room behind the front bumper and under the passenger’s side headlight that a small child/midget could fit in there.

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Had to remove the front wheels to get access to the front bumper nuts that it is required to go through the fender liner for. I personally like the wheels painted black like that and the brake caliper color is okay but why would you put a S-line logo on the brake calipers of a S6 is beyond me.

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After I got the side nuts for the front bumper I had to remove the plastic cover over the top of the front bumper to get access to more bolts that hold the bumper on. Then the bumper was removed.

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Next up I had to remove the front crash bar, headlights, and a bunch of bolts/nuts to be able to loosen up the core support. That way I could move it into service position and actually get some room to work on the front of the engine.

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Now that I had room to work on the engine it was time to remove the intake hoses, top of the engine air boxes, and the upper intake manifold with the two throttle bodies. After that I could disconnect the countless electrical connectors for various things, multiple ground wire connections, and multiple hoses for different things. Followed by removing a few metal fuel hard lines, both high pressure fuel pumps, the oil separator / PCV valve, and finally I could remove the huge lower portion of the intake manifold. Probably forgot some stuff that had to be disconnected or removed in there but you guys get the idea.

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JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

On Today’s Sixth Episode Continued:

Before I get to the carbon buildup pictures I want to discuss the lower intake manifold a bit first. These lower intake manifolds have issues. First the flapper motor on the front with two metal linkage rods that controls the side intake manifold flap fails. The car will throw fault codes for the side intake manifold flaps range/performance most of the time and turn on the check engine light. There is a revised/updated part that solves that issue. Then the variable runner length intake manifold flaps inside will fail and fall apart. Currently the only way to fix that is to buy a new intake manifold that ranges between $1,600 to $2,000 depending on where you get it from and I don’t think that the part number has changed so it will likely fail over time again. That problem sucks because it is so expensive to fix for a while and the engine needs that variable runner length feature because it helps with more low end torque to get these boats moving. Along with the other issues then the carbon buildup inside the intake manifold (largely from the oil separator / PCV valve) tends to gunk everything up and cause stuff to not work correctly. In the third picture down you guys can see how nasty the bottom of the side intake manifold flaps got with carbon buildup. I tried to get this owner to buy a bunch of things (like a new oil separator / PCV valve, lower intake manifold, intake manifold spacers, service the fuel injectors, etc) while I was in there but they didn’t do it. Kind of a shame because it would have saved him money in the long run and really helped make this great car last longer.

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Anyways I will get off my soapbox and get back to the carbony goodness. This car had like just over 50K miles and the carbon buildup was decently bad.

I am so glad that I switched to this different style of walnut blasting because it makes jobs like this so much easier and cleaner. The intake ports and valves came out really clean!

Cleaned up the port dividers and reinstalled them. Then got the new intake manifold gaskets into place.

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While I was working on the engine, the shop had painted the intake manifold, and then brought it back for me to reinstall. Buttoned everything back up and took it for a spin. There was a noticeable difference in the performance.

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vtgt · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

Looking good jimmy. Surprised the guy would Cheap out. I love the exclusive interior. I almost bought a d3 s8 owned by an Audi exec with a similar exclusive interior, it sold in hours to a finance guy at Audi of Tysons

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

Thanks. After talking with the shop I kind of figured that the owner wasn’t going to do everything. The interior is rare. I haven’t seen one like that in person in a while. The D3 S8s are great cars too, too bad that you missed out on the S8.

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

On Today’s Seventh Episode:

A friend’s R8 V10 was in for the 15K service and a brake fluid flush.

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Since the engine is in the back and there is a bunch more ground clearance in the back of the car, I decided to back the R8 onto the lift. This is where it got interesting. The R8 is so wide that with the mirrors out it just barely clears the cables for the lift by an inch and a half on each side. Then under the car there is a half inch of fudge room to be able to get jack stands under the car. So it took three attempts to get the car on the lift to the point that I was happy with it. It is honestly easier to get a Lamborghini on the lift then it is to get the R8 on the lift. The below pictures are from my first attempt to get the R8 on the lift. You guys can see that the right rear tire was partially off the lift and the left rear tire was a bit too far towards the middle of the lift.

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The engine compartment looks great with all the carbon fiber covers.

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Under that middle carbon fiber cover there is the oil filler cap and closer to the engine is the engine oil filter. Since the engine was still warm I unscrewed the engine oil filter and left it loosely in place so that the oil would drain down.

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Quickly lifted the lift and car up so that I could get under it and remove the lower covers. There are two small scoops towards the rear bumper that have to come off. When I took those off a bunch of rocks and road gunk came falling out. Then I could remove the big metal cover from the bottom of the car. There are only like 50 something bolts/screws that hold those three covers on and they all come off and go back on with air tools. With the big metal cover off then the transmission and a little more of the engine is visible.

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Still moving quickly, I started pulling the drain plugs for the engine. Did anybody notice that I typed “drain plugs”? That is because there are multiple engine oil drain plugs for this engine since it has a dry sump oil system. To get the most oil of the engine then the engine oil needs to be drained while it is still hot or warm.

Drain plug #1. It is the small 5 mm bolt.

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Drain plug #2.

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Drain plug #3.

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Drain plug #4. Before I pull this drain plug I move that small section of wiring out of the way.

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While the 8.3 quarts of engine oil were draining out, I had time to poke around and look at the bottom of the car. This V10 has the newer S-tronic transmission that is fantastic! Why I bring that up is to mention that at 35K miles the transmission fluid and filter have to be changed and it looks like a fairly easy procedure. It is cool that the factory put heat shielding around the transmission filter as well.

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After the engine oil was done draining I put the drain plugs back in, changed the engine oil filter, and put in seven quarts of engine oil. It was a good time to start the engine and let it idle while I reset the service light. This engine can’t have the full eight some quarts put in at first because of the procedure for the dry sump oil system so Audi says to only put in seven quarts at first and then let the engine idle while the oil heats up. Just like every other Audi my vagcom will reset the service light and don’t mind the cracked screen of my laptop because it still works. By the time that I reset the service light the engine oil had reached operating temperature and then I could top off the last like 1.3 quarts of engine oil to get the level about 3/4 of the way up the dipstick. They actually tell the techs in the factory Audi R8 class that the engine oil should not be filled all the way up on the dipstick because that is too much so I only fill the oil to 3/4 of the way up the dipstick.

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Moving on, the weather was looking kind of rainy so I wanted to flush the brake fluid while I still could. Opened up the front trunk/bonnet and of course Audi hides the brake fluid tank. It is located under big cover that is between the storage space and the windshield. Well to get that big cover off then all the other covers, the windshield wipers and arms, and the front trunk/bonnet shocks have to come off - yay. After I removed everything I put the shocks back on to hold the front trunk/bonnet up. Since the R8 is an extremely fast car that needs to be able to stop, my buddy wanted to go with really high temperature brake fluid. Thus the only option was the Torque 700 brake fluid.

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JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

On Today’s Seventh Episode Continued:

Now I have to get to the really annoying part of the 15K service on a R8, replacing the pollen/cabin air filters. The R8 uses a HVAC system that is very similar to the C6 chassis A/S6s in the type, size, and number of filters along with where they are located. There are two really long cabin air filters that are stacked one on top of the other. They are located in the middle lower part of the dash as close as Audi could get it to the bulkhead of the car. The service opening is below the glove box on the passenger side. Unfortunately this R8, like every R8 that I have ever seen, has the B&O sound system. That means that the B&O subwoofer gets in the way. You guys will see what I mean once you scroll down to see the pictures.

To start off with here is the lower right side of the dash before I started taking everything apart.

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First step is to remove the side cover between the side of the dash and the passenger’s door along with as may screws as possible. The second step is to remove that panel just to the right of the glove box as well.

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Third step is to remove as many screws as possible from the panel under the glove box, inside the glove box, and under a panel inside the glove box so that the glove box and be lowered down.

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Fourth step after lowering the glove box down is to disconnect all the electrical connectors from the glove box and then remove the glove box from the car.

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Fifth step for me is to removing the AC vent that is right in the way of my face to see farther down into the lower dash. It is one simple Philips screw that holds it on so I like to make life easier and remove it.

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Sixth step is to remove the floor mat to be able to fold down the carpet section that goes over the fuse panel and then remove the cover that goes around the fuse panel.

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Seventh step is to unbolt the fuse panel and lay it down on the carpet out of the way.

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Eighth step is to remove the B&O subwoofer. It should have just pulled out because normally it just pushes into place and kind of just sits there as a pressure fit. Well Audi did a change for the 2014 model year and decided to bolt the B&O subwoofer to the bulkhead. Well they didn’t tell anybody about this change so even my R8 buddy at the dealership didn’t know about it and was like well figure it out then let me know - thanks. Do you guys remember all the covers, wipers and arms, and shocks that had to come off to get to the brake fluid tank? I had already put them back on and thus they had to come off to get to the two nuts that hold the subwoofer to the bulkhead. Once I took those two nuts off then the subwoofer just fell out of place so that I could move it out of the way. Audi must have been trying to address a rattle noise concern or something because I can’t think of any reason why they would do this otherwise.

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Ninth step is the pull that big wiring harness back with one hand while I remove the cover over the service opening for the pollen filters.

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Finally the tenth step is actually removing the pollen filters.

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The old pollen filters were pretty nasty. The old ones are on the left and the new ones are on the right.

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Replaced the pollen filters, put everything back together, finished up a few small things for the service work, and took the car for a test drive to double check everything. The test drive afterwards is the best part even though I had by my count seven people take pictures of the car while driving it on my short test drive path.

vtgt · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

Delicious jimmy, I assume you are lucky enough to drive it around

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

Yeah I drive it around. It is pretty quick and the S-tronic transmission is so much better than the older R-tronic transmission. I really can’t step into it much or else I am so far above the speed limit that I would be hauled off in handcuffs without too much thought. For a while I have been pushing my buddy to take it to the dragstrip to see what it would run. Haven’t tried it but I have to assume that it has launch control. He doesn’t seem all that interested though.

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

On Today’s Eighth Episode:

A friend’s B8 S4 was back in to replace the engine mounts. His car had noticeable vibrations at idle.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2478_zpsmzopgkux.jpg

Before I get too far into discussing this repair I would like to mention a Public Service Announcement or PSA. Audi decided to combine the wiring for the engine mounts and the low side fuel pump into the same circuit for some of the B8 cars. This car is not a good example of this but I had a shop that I consult for that did have a good example. They had a B8 A4 towed in for a cranks but does not start issue. There was no fuel getting to the fuel rail. They scanned the engine fault codes to find three fault codes. The codes were engine mounts short to ground and electrical malfunction in circuit along with low side fuel pump electrical malfunction in circuit. I told them to replace both engine mounts and the low side fuel pump. Their customer didn’t want to spend that much money so they just replaced the low side fuel pump and then the next morning the same problem showed up of the engine cranked and then wouldn’t start. The second time that the car was towed into the shop they replaced both the engine mounts and the low side fuel pump. That fixed the problem completely.

Anyways back to the repair. At least with the 3.0T that is in the B8 S4 there is a decent amount of room around the engine compartment.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2479_zpswixcutg0.jpg

So I got the car jacked up onto stands. Then removed both of the belly pans.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2480_zps0kebapv7.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2481_zpstf6qas6l.jpg

Once the belly pans were taken off then there was the telltale signs of damaged engine mounts. Those signs are purplish fluid marks around the side of the engine mounts and the subframe. This car had a lot of purplish fluid around the passenger’s side engine mount.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2482_zps6atpugbf.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2483_zpsq7xc4fzs.jpg

To get started with I needed to get to the main engine mount to upper engine mount bracket bolts. That means the front wheels and fender liners have to come off. This owner painted his wheels black and they look great in my opinion. Then the fender liners come out and finally the three main big bolts for the engine mounts are visible. Don’t know how well you guys can see the numbers on the side of the subframe but I like how Audi labeled the holes for the 16 mm bolts that go through the subframe, engine mounts, and into the brackets. They are marked 4, 6, or 8 for the different cylinder count engines since Audi used the same subframe for most all the different engines that were used in the B8 cars.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2484_zpsyludozvq.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2485_zpsmbnztmhz.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2487_zpsnkrusryn.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2486_zpsdfhp6naj.jpg

I had to crack the big 14 mm triple square bolts for the engine mount to upper engine mount brackets loose before loosening any of the other bolts and then I removed them. These bolts are usually on really tight so I had to extend the socket out really far to get some leverage with my two feet long 1/2 inch drive ratchet. At least I didn’t have to break out the expanding four feet long 3/4 inch drive ratchet to break those bolts loose because certain local shops have done major engine work and tightened those bolts with an impact gun so tight that I had to stand on the 3/4 inch drive ratchet to break the bolts loose. After the triple square bolts were removed I cracked the two side 16 mm bolts loose since I was there already but left them in place.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2488_zpsahr90bvx.jpg

Lowered the car down and put my engine support bar across the top of the engine compartment. There are two metal eyelets on the back of the supercharger that work great to hold the engine by. I lifted the engine as high up as I could with the wing nuts of the engine support bar. It is only going to go up a little bit but that little bit comes in very handy later on.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2495_zpsc1mft615.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2496_zpsgkv4lkdq.jpg

Lifted the car back up. Removed a bunch of stuff like the front sway bar, side subframe heat shields, front subframe to core support reinforcement bars, the Eurocode Alu Kreuz brace. Disconnected the power steering fluid lines from the rack and pinion and the ground wire from the side of the passenger side frame rail, unbolted the steering linkage from the rack and pinion, unplugged a lot of electrical connectors, and loosened the bolts/nuts that connect the lower control arms to the subframe. All of this work was to free up the subframe from the rest of the car so that it could be unbolted.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2489_zpsfvb9n5rb.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2497_zpsswo27l3c.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2492_zpsz1zqihxp.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2490_zpswrmqukxb.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2493_zps08nnpbu0.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2491_zps5osg6bsy.jpg

There are eight 18 mm bolts that hold the subframe to the body. There are two on each corner roughly.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2501_zpslig0wb9m.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2500_zpsqgoarh7o.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2503_zpsy3kosibx.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2502_zpslrfd22lf.jpg

At this point I locked the lift at a comfortable height for me to stand under it. The engine is hanging from the support bar on top of the engine compartment. Then I supported the subframe from the bottom with two single pole jacks. One on each side. The first picture below is one of my personal favorites.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2498_zpsjuawnj6p.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2499_zpsnejrwm1r.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2510_zpsvpb4wz7e.jpg

Pulled the eight 18 mm subframe bolts and slowly lowered the subframe down.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2504_zps7iowqgdp.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2511_zpsdncnwj22.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2512_zps80zcccye.jpg

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

On Today’s Eighth Episode Continued:

By lowering the subframe I was able to finally get access to the two 8 mm triple square bolts of the lower driver’s side engine mount bracket. Otherwise those bolts are stuck behind the OEM oil cooler.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2494_zpsrosqscis.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2506_zps9vupaihb.jpg

The B8 style engine mounts are very interesting in how they mount to the subframe and the engine. They are sandwiched between a plate and the subframe then the upper engine mount bracket sits in the dampening portion of the mount. Here are some pictures of the engine mount with the subframe lowered down but still in place.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2505_zpsavw5furq.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2509_zpsezavbtdx.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2508_zpslvvghqur.jpg

Got the old engine mounts out. Here is a comparison picture between the new 034 Motorsport engine mounts on the left and the old engine mounts on the right. The plates are behind the mounts.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2513_zpscjp8vsxy.jpg

The passenger side engine mount was pretty messed up to say the least. It was torn pretty good and the majority of the fluid had leaked out. The driver’s side engine mount had small cracks around the portion that connects the upper bracket to the middle like it was being compressed. That is pretty common since the engine spins clockwise. The passenger’s side mount usually tears in half and then the driver’s side mount gets smooched down.

Passenger’s side:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2514_zpsteoejbs4.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2516_zpsyoogcecv.jpg

Driver’s side:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2515_zps1srle48a.jpg

Here are some pictures of the space between the subframe and the engine with the engine mounts out.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2518_zpsdvcegdbe.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2521_zpsz4mezspl.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2520_zpsi5seuvgd.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2519_zpsme2pzgcu.jpg

I only took one picture of the new mounts in place because you can’t see much.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2522_zpsw8kcoydq.jpg

Put everything back together and drove the car. Now there are no vibrations at idle and the drivetrain feels much more solid. This was a pretty cool repair.

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

On Today’s Ninth Episode:

The white B8 S5 was back in for replacing the tie rods and brakes.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2523_zpsxl13r4u4.jpg

The B8 style tie rods are so much easier to get to than the older B5/6/7 tie rods since Audi moved the steering rack and pinion to a lower point. The steering rack and pinion is now on the bottom of the subframe rather than bolted to the bottom of the cowl area and thus sandwiched between the engine/transmission and the cowl area. I sprayed the tie rods and jam nuts with penetrating oil because they tend to get stuck together over time and don’t want to come apart.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2524_zpsd4hvdv3f.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2525_zpszu3an2ro.jpg

Luckily the jam nuts did decide to come loose easily. Then I could loosen the ball joint end of the outer tie rods to knock them free from the wheel bearing housing/steering knuckle. Once the outer tie rods were free to come out I counted turns as I turned the outer tie rods off the inner tie rods and wrote that number of turns down for later. That way when I installed the new outer tie rods I could count turns to get the toe alignment as close as possible.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2528_zpsioqlmgl2.jpg

This is what the inner tie rod looks like with the outer tie rod taken off.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2532_zpsy35zhkiz.jpg

Took the jam nut, spring clip, and the dust boot off the inner tie rods.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2529_zps9ewbzwz6.jpg

That exposed the inner tie rods.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2530_zps3zltrpkq.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2531_zpscsfqnc6d.jpg

To loosen the inner tie rods I use the Audi special tool 38 mm crows foot. Then they just spin out by hand.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2533_zps6jmy36lz.jpg

Here are some comparison pictures between the old and new tie rods.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2534_zpsjoebjqkn.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2535_zpspc3wfk2s.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2536_zpsrxxtsuzx.jpg

After getting the tie rods replaced I moved to replacing the brakes. Started with the front brake pads and rotors.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2537_zpsng9mufjd.jpg

Then I moved to the rear brakes. The B8 cars have the electronic rear parking brake so I had to go into the parking brake control module with my vagcom and retract the brake calipers a little bit. Then I could get the calipers off and change the rear brake pads and rotors. After rear brake pads and rotors were changed then there is a procedure to reset the parking brake feature.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2538_zps2tk4uj29.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2539_zpsbtrat20w.jpg

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

On Today’s Tenth Episode:

My friend’s RS5 was back in for the 35K service.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2540_zpsuxfdxdid.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2541_zpsynhwal5j.jpg

Got it jacked up onto stands and pulled off all four wheels and tires. This was to check the brakes because I replaced the front brake pads and rotors like four thousand miles before this. The front brakes looked great like they should. However the rear brake pads are close to being worn enough to turn on the worn brake pads warning light. Also with every oil change and service I rotate the wheels and tires on this car to try to prolong the tire life or it will eat through tires pretty fast.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2542_zpshtlhc5yv.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2543_zpsnsdjbzys.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2544_zpsxoahf4gp.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2545_zpsj5ri22h8.jpg

Moving to the back bottom of the car. The RS5s and RS7s require the rear sport differential ATF and gear oil to be changed at the 35K service and then every 40K miles thereafter. The other cars with a rear sports diff don’t have an interval for the fluids to be changed so I guess that Audi assumes that RS owners are actually going to push their cars on a track and overheat the fluid. It is nice how Audi put blue paint on the drain and fill plugs along with they labeled which fluid goes in which hole. It says ATF for the ATF/Transfer Box oil and then has a weird symbol for the gear oil. I used the Transfer Box oil from Audi but Redline GL5 75W-90 works well for the gear oil section of the rear diff.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2547_zps7ianfhhe.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2551_zps4wzeazmb.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2548_zpsr8mjl0vz.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2549_zpscflbheox.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2560_zpsyrko23g2.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2561_zpsajz5iujr.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2562_zps4qdn865r.jpg

Moving to the front bottom of the car. The big metal belly pan has to come off. I joke with this guy that all his cars have covers with 40-50 screws that have to come off to do anything. Also need to take off the smaller more rearward belly pan and then the Eurocode Alu Kreuz had to come off to get access to the S-tronic transmission.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2550_zpsgpvg8bdq.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2552_zpsnq5ix97r.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2553_zpsb35ujbxg.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2554_zpsexcm7kaz.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2555_zpsckywx21j.jpg

The RS5s require that the transmission fluid be changed first at 15K miles and then every 20K miles after that. In addition to the transmission fluid being changed at this 35K service, the RS5 also needs the transmission cooling filter to be changed. There is an additional filter/strainer inside the transmission too. The transmission fluid gets drained out this bottom hole. There is a fill plug on the left side of the transmission. The cooling filter is externally on the left side of the transmission. I had to drop the transmission oil pan to get access to the filter/strainer inside the transmission.

It is important to discuss the parts for this S-tronic transmission part of the 35K service. The fluid is expensive and the transmission takes seven bottles. The OEM Audi fluid is between $28-36 per liter depending on where you buy it and the Redline Dual Clutch Transmission/DCT fluid is like $18 per quart so that is a no-brainer. The transmission cooling filter is just over $11 for the OEM filter and the MTM aftermarket filter is slightly more expensive at just over $12. The additional OEM filter/strainer inside the transmission ranges from $77-95 depending on where you buy it. Finally the transmission oil pan gasket is like $41. So this is the most expensive part of the 35K service by far. I did a side by side of the cooling filter to show how nasty it was. From now on we are going to be changing that cooling filter every 20K miles when we change the fluid because it is so cheap and easy to replace. My buddy said that the car drove so much better after this service that he couldn’t believe the difference! Before there were multiple clunking noises along with the gear changes were not as smooth as they could be. After doing this service all the noises were gone and the gear changes were sooooo much smoother and quicker.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2571_zpsoq9mi8x8.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2570_zpsxtzcllr3.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2566_zpsaxkbhsx7.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2567_zps7dj9fwee.jpg

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:59pm

On Today’s Tenth Episode Continued:

Moving on towards the front of the car. Both engine air filters have to be replaced at the 15K service and then every 20K miles after that. Well the OEM Audi engine air filters are just under $60 each so that adds to an already expensive service. The good news is that K&N has released engine air filters for the RS5 that not only are $10 cheaper each but then they can be cleaned and reoiled every 20K miles for a lot cheaper. The old engine air filters were pretty dirty. These K&N air filters drop right into place and fit perfectly in the air boxes. Also the RS5 uses a single Siemens ECU that runs a speed density system so there are no mass air flow sensors that could get messed up from the oil that is used on the K&N engine air filters.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2572_zpsspenxopi.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2573_zpswktx989l.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2574_zpsdizy7peo.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2575_zpsujuryivu.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2576_zps8uolrpno.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2577_zpsqbyelxxn.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2578_zpsshsvxqtl.jpg

Finally changed the pollen filter which is really easy just like the other B8/8.5 cars. The old filter was pretty dirty after 20K miles.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2579_zps32kv5ust.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2580_zps8oyowjfw.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2581_zpss3d28ald.jpg

Also did a few other things like change the engine oil and filter, lube the doors/seals/latches/etc, set tire pressure, reset the service light, etc service stuff. Most of that stuff I have already posted about before though so I thought that I should leave it out.

This concludes the repairs that I am going to post about so I am up to date now. Hope that you guys and girls have enjoyed reading this and look forward to me posting new episodes after I get back from my vacation.

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 6:08pm

It has been a while since I posted so here goes.

After I came back from my vacation, my S4 sat for a while. I noticed that the windows kept fogging up after it rained. My first thought was that the water drains were clogged. The cowl drain inserts have been gone since I got the car so that wasn’t the issue. I had been noticing water coming out of the space between the doors and the body after it rains for a little while. So I figured that I should start with the sunroof drains.

Since there was water coming out from the rear doors mostly I started with the rear sunroof drains. To get access to the bottom of the sunroof drains I jacked the rear of the car off the ground and took the rear wheels off.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2793_zps8sid3wzx.jpg

Next to come off was the rear fender liners. There are a ton of T25 Torx screws and one 13 mm bolt that holds the fender liners on.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2794_zpslpfyobfh.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2801_zpsoectllpe.jpg

This is what the inside of the rear wheel wells and the bottom of the rear sunroof drains look. Notice the water dripping from the ends of the rear sunroof drains. That is a good sign that I found the source of my problem.

Passenger’s side:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2795_zps6lif3j19.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2797_zpsvrjhalwj.jpg

Driver’s side:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2806_zpsz4elctpn.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2802_zpsnmwd2wkf.jpg

Took a knife and cut the end of the sunroof drain off. That caused a lot of water to come out! I seriously think that I had a cup of water in both sides!

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2800_zpsetwu4ihp.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2798_zpsluh8ese4.jpg

This is what the sunroof drains look like with the ends cut off. I personally like to have a dime sized hole for water to drain through then a tiny hole that can get clogged easily.

Passenger’s side:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2799_zpsm9bhgpkn.jpg

Driver’s side:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2805_zps0fkkylmf.jpg

To make sure that the front sunroof drains were clear I had to take a few interior pieces out to make room to get to the upper end of the drain tube.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2807_zpsp2hr8zfe.jpg

Starting with removing the fold down vanity mirrors. There should be a small cover over the one Torx bolt that secures the base and once that bolt comes out then the mirror can be unclipped from the clip and pulled down and out enough to disconnect the electrical connector. Then set aside.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2824_zpsiehi6tj2.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2823_zpsi2bbpu5f.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2822_zpsrlmgwtiz.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2820_zpsotdlfkk0.jpg

Next the pull down/oh shit handles have to come off. There are two plastic tabs to pull down revealing two Torx screws. After those two Torx screws come out then the handles can come off and be set aside.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2821_zps36xudkdd.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2819_zps77rw8on5.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2818_zpsfx9vjgmy.jpg

Then there is an airbag emblem above the interior B pillar trim. The B pillar is between the front and rear doors. The little airbag emblem pops off to expose another Torx bolt that has to come out. Just a note for B8 and newer cars, Audi changed this to make it so that the airbag emblem just pops out a little bit to disengage the metal clip behind it. The B8 cars have similar problems over time too but Audi decided to make this different.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2817_zpsijjozxqd.jpg

The A pillar trim is fully unbolted at that point and only held in by metal clips. So it just pulls out to expose the side curtain airbags, front sunroof drain tube, and some wiring.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2815_zpswmheb0zj.jpg

Finally I had access to where the front sunroof drain tube connect to the sunroof frame. Looking up past the headliner there is the plastic coupler that pulls off the sunroof cartridge nipple. I opened the sunroof and used compressed air to blow air through the sunroof cartridge nipple and the top of the disconnected sunroof drain tube.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2814_zpsyudtjx5z.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2810_zpskf7qngg2.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2811_zpsot0qujgg.jpg

The bottom of the front sunroof drains comes out between the front doors and the frame.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2813_zps5otf8hsz.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2812_zps7prybxyo.jpg

My front sunroof drains were free and clear with no restrictions. The procedure for the front sunroof drains is the same on both sides so I only showed the driver’s side. If you really wanted to then you can take the C pillar and rear trim panels off to blow compressed air through the top of the rear sunroof drain tubes and the rear nipples of the sunroof cartridge but I was being lazy and didn’t find that necessary. It is a very similar procedure to take the C pillar trim panels off as the A pillar trim panels but the A pillar trim panels have to come off first to get the overlapping section off and there is a cross panel along the back of the headliner and the rear windshield that pops down by four metal clips.

Periodically I kept checking on my S4 after it rained to find that after opening up the rear sunroof drains and blowing compressed air through the front drains that my windows stopped fogging up. Plus now there is no more water between the rear doors and the body after it rains. I think that the water backs up far enough in the rear sunroof drain tubes to overflow down the side of the sunroof cartridge and go down the space between the door and the body.

Hope that this helps a lot of you guys and this is a common problem for a lot of Audis that I have had to deal with on B5/6/7/8 cars, A3s, A6s, A8s, and Q7s. The A3s and Q7s also have an issue with the glass roof separating from the body causing major water leaks that a body shop would have to fix.

justincredible · December 8, 2019, 6:08pm

Wow jimmy awesome update. This is something everyone should do but not much is ever talked about this. Great work

westwest888 · December 8, 2019, 6:12pm

Nice work on the fluid changes!

mad70sx · December 8, 2019, 6:27pm

“Graaah!!! I’m ZimbuTheMoron! - What have you ever done for the community Jimmy!? When are you going to post logs Jimmy!? Where is the empirical evidence Jimmy!? Why do keep ignoring me Jimmy!?”

;D Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Love this tread!

Mr.Wrong · December 8, 2019, 6:28pm

LOOOOOOOOOOL