Jimmy's Garage

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:56pm

Thanks man!

Here is a tease of what I have been working on recently.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/20160704_102538_zpso9rdbfmc.jpeg

vtgt · December 8, 2019, 5:56pm

What a tease!!! Wait that looks like my car minus the engine Placement

Maddog · December 8, 2019, 5:56pm

Big time tease Jimmy. Hope it’s getting some JHM love!

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:57pm

I actually have been bugging Jake about that for a while. Unfortunately Fast Intentions has not yet confirmed fitment of the exhaust for a V10 with the S-tronic transmission.

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

The last real update was in the beginning of April so I am way overdue for updating this thread. Well I now have some spare time while on vacation so here goes.

On Today’s First Episode:

A RS4 was in for some maintenance and modifications.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2021_zpspzsk1j86.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2022_zpswshga9ss.jpg

To start off with he wanted to get piggies installed so that the engine run cooler and last longer.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2023_zpsl7ih3jmd.jpg

The RS4s are interesting in that all the electrical connectors for the four oxygen sensors on the passenger side of the transmission. I can’t tell you guys how many RS4s that I have seen where someone had plugged the oxygen sensors in wrong so that ECUs were confused because it was reading the wrong bank. That is why I always mark the oxygen sensors to make sure that they come out and go back in correctly.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2029_zpsrieeqkhd.jpg

Then I actually got both OEM downpipes off without breaking a single stud. That was amazing because usually one of the six studs always breaks on a RS4!

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2030_zpsavlotsxz.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2032_zpsevevxk6a.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2031_zpsm1c3upkk.jpg

While the downpipes were off and before I installed the piggies, it was the perfect time to replace the transmission mount.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2034_zps5dg2ao8i.jpg

Here are the piggies compared to the OEM downpipes. Then a picture of the piggies and new transmission mount installed.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2033_zpskst1zhip.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2105_zps8xwvxphr.jpg

Second item on the list was to loosen the front end up to service position, remove the intake manifold, and get ready for a carbon clean put this time I did two things differently then before.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2036_zpsnegwobwz.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2035_zps4m9pgxkx.jpg

The first change was to remove the FSI fuel injectors to send them out to be rebuilt and flow matched by a company that specializes in that procedure. The company that we used for this was Race City Injector and they don’t charge very much at all. I highly recommend either doing this rebuild/flow match service or replacing the fuel injectors with any carbon clean now. Too many cars have still had issues with misfires after carbon cleans that a good sized portion of the Audi community has realized that it doesn’t matter if it is a 2.0T, V6, V8, V10, or whatever. The gunk from the carbon is going to get into the injectors and not allow them to spray the pattern correctly, stick open or closed at times, and/or just cause weird issues.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2045_zpsgud1ufol.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2059_zpsgepyyz7s.jpg

Before I get to the second change, lets take a look at the carbon buildup. This car had just less than 40K miles. Keep that in mind!

This is the second change that I made. Before I was using a media blaster tool that was meant for being used inside a blast cabinet. That tool would spray walnut shells all over the place and I wasted a lot of material. So I got the master BMW walnut shell blasting tool kit and adapted it to work for Audis. The kit comes with four different BMW special tool adaptors. There is an adaptor for the N54 engine, another for the N55 engine, and then two for the different diesel engines. Next is the media blaster that comes with the kit. Finally I got a huge vacuum from Home Depot to be able to suck out the walnut shells and carbon.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2053_zpsl89zrbqb.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2065_zpsneivogqb.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2066_zps3zb2x6ot.jpg

The BMW specialty tools don’t exactly fit Audi engine intake ports perfectly. First the Audi ports are wider than the BMW special tool because of the intake port divider for the tumble/turbulence flaps. To solve that problem I cut the side tabs of a spare intake port divider that I had off so that I could put them into each port to fill the voids in the side that are not blocked by the special tool. Second the fuel injectors and fuel rail are really close to the intake port so the tool wouldn’t sit flush against the port without some coaxing from a hand grinder. Third, the adaptor that I decided to use was originally the one for the N54 BMW engine so there was a portion of the adaptor that went into the port that blocked the top sides of the port from being cleaned by the walnut shells. After blasting I had to go back with some metal brushes and some chemicals like carb cleaner or brake cleaner to clean the top sides of the ports.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2049_zps1ifu3fbs.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2050_zpsypauubby.jpg

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http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2063_zpswtx4teey.jpg

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

This is what the engine looks like when I am blasting.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2062_zpsims8vesj.jpg

After one pass at blasting this is what the first cylinder looked like. Pretty good for a first pass if you ask me. I know that the picture is a little blurry.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2061_zpsijqfyu8a.jpg

The intake ports and valves came out looking really good after blasting. They did need a little bit of final clean up/touch up with some brushes and chemicals after blasting but it is a definite improvement!

This blasting method uses a lot of material but that isn’t a bad thing because I can reuse the walnut shells after I sift the carbon out of it. Have to admit that the end of the adaptor gets pretty ugly! Then it doesn’t take long to fill up that 16 gallon vacuum with walnut shells and carbon.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2064_zpsbvjz8gsb.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2075_zps2bzr7ild.jpg

With the rebuilt fuel injectors installed and the carbon buildup cleaned out it was almost time to install the intake manifold. Before I did that though I installed the oil separator/PCV valve heater bypass kit along with intake manifold spacers. These are such great cheap mods that they should be installed on all RS4s.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2076_zps0wppvuxp.jpg

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http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2080_zps2gfl0mgh.jpg

While the front end was loosened up it was a good time to replace the torque mount. This torque mount was actually in pretty good condition with only light cracking around the outside edge of the rubber near the metal cup on the bottom. Most RS4 torque mounts are torn in half but since this car had such low mileage and was never really abused then it was still in decent shape. A new torque mount is cheap too so it was worth replacing.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2083_zps8vhaorwu.jpg

I had noticed a washer fluid leak while the car was on the lift too. It appeared to be leaking from around the washer fluid level sensor. So I replaced the grommet and put sealant around the grommet to prevent any future leaks.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2054_zpslgde9cnq.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2056_zpstqvsitdg.jpg

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http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2057_zps1wrnncgv.jpg

Replaced all eight spark plugs and the engine air filter while the engine was still easy to access everything.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2088_zpszcpmpedk.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2078_zpsnj9wo5dp.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2082_zps41xumija.jpg

Changed a lot of fluids and filters. Like the engine oil and filter, brake fluid, transmission fluid, rear differential fluid and fuel filter.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2106_zpsov9jgqex.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2084_zps2knweazg.jpg

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http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2104_zpsvfreywbt.jpg

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

In addition to already replacing the transmission mount and the torque mount, I also replaced the engine mounts and the rear differential mount. We really wanted to stiffen up the drivetrain. Pretty sure that I have posted about the wrenches that I have for the B5/6/7 engine mounts but they are cool enough to keep posting pictures of. The engine mounts came with resistors to avoid the check engine light and fault codes.

The final step was to replace the rear sway bar and end links with some better 034 Motorsport parts.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2087_zpsssrppza0.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2091_zpsdkpodbn3.jpg

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http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2093_zpsrzb2hoq4.jpg

Well that was the first episode of many to come. Stay tuned for some more very interesting repairs, modifications, and other cool things.

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

On Today’s Second Episode:

My buddy’s RS5 came in for a worn brake pads light. On a side note, I really like this car. It is awesome with the NA high revving 4.2 V8 and the S-tronic transmission.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2113_zpsclt0b6ai.jpg

The RS5s have the wave/flower lily style brake rotors with the typical RS eight piston Brembo front brake calipers that use four brake pads per caliper.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2114_zpsjhoivbmm.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2118_zpsrf3gsbv2.jpg

After taking a quick look at the brakes I was like oh shit, the pads are metal to metal against the rotors.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2117_zps36jtk1fj.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2120_zps5xq3fbfw.jpg

Audi also cheaped out with the steel brake rotors for the RS5s. They use directional brake rotors but they use two left side rotors instead of one left side and one right side. That means that the internal vents of the right/passenger side brake rotor are going the wrong way so that brake rotor doesn’t get cooling air flow like it should. I believe that the optional ($6,600 option from the factory) ceramic brakes go the correct way on both sides.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2119_zpssyfwsfw1.jpg

I replaced the worn out factory brake pads and rotors with ECStuning wave brake rotors and EBC Redstuff brake pads. The ECStuning brake rotors are directional and they have the rotors going the correct way for the left and right side. Cost wise it just doesn’t make sense to buy factory Audi parts for this since the OEM wave style brake rotors currently cost $575 each (was over $700 each when I did this work) and the ECStuning wave brake rotors cost $475 each. The pads are expensive too since OEM brake pads cost $495 and the EBC Redstuff pads cost $187.85. Along with the OEM pads are dusty as hell and the EBC Redstuff pads are ceramics so they dust less and the dust is a lighter color so it doesn’t show as well.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2121_zpsjigxs6hw.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2122_zps4shjualx.jpg

Additionally the RS5 does have some brake cooling that is cool. There are cooling vents/channels that direct air from the belly pan up to the front brake rotors. Then the dust shields behind the brake rotors have openings so that the air from under the car can better cool off the brake rotors.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2115_zpsjs5r3tz8.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2116_zpsmahcxmxw.jpg

Then some of the RS5 guys that heavily track their cars have been modifying the brake dust shields to put a fin on it to better direct more air at the brake rotors. http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/664938-RS-5-setup-for-track-use

http://i.imgur.com/JCL4Na4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/svY9YSw.jpg

PsYkHoTiK · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

I haven’t looked at AZ in a LOOOOONG time. I actually had something fabbed for my brakes (replaced dust shield and actually acts as a ‘scoop’).

Biggest issue with the stock rotors are this:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/24/yje4ybej.jpg

Rotors are not only directional in terms of the vanes, but also structurally as well.

(needless to say, I’m not a fan )

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

On Today’s Third Episode:

Had the white S5 from before in for some work. His car was throwing fault codes for the intake manifold flaps not working correctly. So I replaced the shitty factory rubber 90 vacuum elbows and hard plastic lines with high temperature silicone vacuum line. Also put zip-ties over the vacuum lines in certain sections to make sure that the line doesn’t move and come off from vibrations.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2153_zpswug09gy0.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2154_zpsgboqhlmr.jpg

While I was in there I noticed that the oil drain line from the oil separator/PCV valve had ripped too so I replaced it with generic power steering / ATF cooler line since that was the only type of line that was in stock and that I felt could handle being used in that application.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2155_zpsdcjsv2y2.jpg

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

On Today’s Fourth Episode:

A grey RS4 came by for a carbon clean.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2156_zpsmkwruov4.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2157_zpsdz7bkgff.jpg

It had just over like 90K miles and I personally think that it has never been cleaned. This was by far the worst carbon buildup that I have ever seen. Be prepared for the horror!

Even the port dividers were covered in carbon buildup and they had it layered up like really nasty frosting on a cake.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2204_zpsq3pl4azq.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2203_zpsezodasf9.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2205_zpstq21anql.jpg

Big difference in the cleaned ports.

Replaced the fuel injectors with the Hitachi fuel injectors from RockAuto.com. The B7 RS4s and the V8 R8s use the same part number fuel injectors and RockAuto.com sells the R8 fuel injectors for cheap. It was a good thing that we were replacing the injectors because two of them did not want to come out easily. I had to mangle them to get those two out.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2218_zpsy6pxfluk.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2217_zpstv5gvoh0.jpg

Replaced the oil separator / PCV valve.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2214_zpsxev36wge.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2230_zpsnzzmpdbe.jpg

Also replaced other parts but I didn’t get pictures of that.

JimmyBones · December 8, 2019, 5:58pm

On Today’s Fifth Episode:

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

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2261_zps7d7daape.jpg

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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2262_zps8vxgrm75.jpg

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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2264_zps1ziaqwwa.jpg

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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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2267_zpsu9yvvnq1.jpg

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http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2276_zpsdkozaarj.jpg

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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2277_zpsteduo4qf.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2278_zpsuc2nno8r.jpg

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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2282_zps4bywzykh.jpg

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

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2291_zpsffkxztae.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2292_zpsd17lwaew.jpg

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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2320_zpsuidpiucx.jpg

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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2324_zpsaa4n726o.jpg

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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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2325_zpsvra3169w.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2326_zpszujycgzz.jpg

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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.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/Jimmybones777/SAM_2330_zps0p8cqovs.jpg

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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