My JHM Stage 1 Install with some twists

B6/7 S4/RS4
#21

Ok, so as mentioned previously, with the dryer relocation behind me I could put the rest of the stuff back together and next on the list was the JHM oil cooler lines. The quality of these part is just top notch and much beefier than the OEM pipes and fittings. Nothing wrong with my OEM ones but decided to replace whilst in there as preventative maintenance.


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02357_zpsq7zuww3k.jpg

Install is straight forward and the only important thing here is to install the supplied bigger rubber stand-off to allow proper clearance between the new line and the steering fluid cooler.

Larger Fitting

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02363_zpse0rxrakv.jpg

Perfect Gap

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02365_zpsxw6fmmoj.jpg

After the AC Dryer exercise this was a quick and easy job, here they are all fitted and torqued down.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02369_zpsfhwbbatp.jpg

So as mentioned at the start I didn’t want to cover the complete install all over again, quite a few of you have been there done got the T-shirt so I am leaving most of the general stuff out and try to just show the few things I did differently. If there is anything in particular regarding the general install someone would like to know or see let me know.

So with that said the next thing on the list that I thought I would do differently was the MAF extender. The extender is shipped as a pigtail with a female plug on the one side to plug into the MAF sensor after it’s been relocated into the newly supplied JHM MAF adapter. The other end of the tail is, well just flapping around and the idea is to splice that into the OEM MAF harness.

Pig Tail

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/MAF%20Extender_zpsha10oq8y.jpg

I am sure that works well but I didn’t want to have to deal with that again in the future and was looking for a proper plug to fit to the pigtail end. Searched far and wide and couldn’t find a plug that would work so set about making my own. Eventually found what I was looking for, a 2nd hand MAF sensor from a B6 which is an exact match to the RS4 MAF.

The Circled piece is what I was interested in

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02381_2_zpskanpvgcc.jpg

I then cut away the rest of the sensor bit by bit until I was left with just the plug section and the copper pins at the back which used to be connected to the now removed circuit board. Got my tester out to identify the pins at the back and soldered each corresponding wire from the supplied MAF extender to the correct pin on the modified plug. Ended up with something like this.

The RUDEPLUG ;D

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02385_zpsm2ot6ktw.jpg

So, the battle was halfway won but the war wasn’t over! Wrecked my head on how to turn that contraption into a durable, heat-resistant waterproof plug and came up with this. Decided to use the plastic Cap from a milk container to act as mold

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02388_zpsjt5rwrxu.jpg

Fitted like a glove.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02389_zps9cn8xq4p.jpg


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02390_zpsh6gbtwg3.jpg


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02391_zpslv5dyotp.jpg

Secured it with a Zip tie and poured some quick set resin into it

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02393_zpsark1eqq6.jpg

Left it for about an hour, removed the mold and this is what I ended up with. I was one happy camper, worked out great and was exactly what I was aiming for.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02395_zps8xp59occ.jpg

Could now plug it securely into the OEM MAF harness with no chance of that puppy coming loose whilst having fun.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02394_zpskuxtfnto.jpg

With that obstacle out of the way the MAF extender was plugged into its resting place in the engine bay and I turned my attention to check and secure all the clamps on the intake, booster and spider pipes. I was getting close and could see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak, just hope that light wasn’t a train coming my way.

#22

I’m stunned… Great craftsmanship and ingenuity, Hat’s off to you sir!

I was excited to follow this before, now I can’t wait for the next update! :joy:

#23

WOW RS4fan your a monster. WHAT A GREAT UPDATE AND UPDATES they just keep comming what great ideas on doing litttle things to keep this your own project. Its always intersting to see what great people can do with great parts and great imagination thanks for all the hardwork and updates I know it takes a while to post about all the work.

And again the car and your work looks great.

#24

Ok, so with the MAF extender harness sorted there wasn’t much left to do in the engine bay and the camel’s back was just about broken, time to tidy the last few things up and one such thing was the new oil cooler lines where they enter under the engine bay. Added a rubber sleeve and round rubber support from the old ac lines which fitted nicely over the new lines to cushion them against the bottom of the tensioner. Zip tied that together with the AC line and it should be good.


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02422_zpsrlczkage.jpg

With that done it was time to tidy up the engine bay, put all the rubbers etc back, and it was beginning to look like a complete engine bay again. Modified the intake snorkel, filled up the coolant, power steering and topped up the engine oil.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02447_zps83ru39vc.jpg

The time has arrived to think about flashing the car. Still had to get the bumper on but I wanted to be sure that the belt traced straight and stayed on and there were nothing else catching or rubbing anywhere. Didn’t want to go through the trouble to fit the bumper and then have to take it off again. The JHM browser and VPN software were straight forward and worked flawlessly. The whole process went down without any incidents and both ECU’s were flashed in about 30 minutes.

Successful Flash ;D

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02427_zpsg5k67xxa.jpg

Moment of truth, turned the ignition on, hit the starter button, fired up straight away and verything seemd to be fine. Got out checked the front and that pulley were running smooth and the belt was tracking straight as an arrow, no issues no problems, I was a happy camper. ;D The charger though were making some strange noises, or so I thought. Sounded like a loose bearing / gears chattering. Discovered though that with a bit of throttle the sound disappeared completely, only audible on idling and a quick not to Jake@JHM confirmed that it was normal. Good!!

Time to get that bumper on and take it for a spin, Hmmmm, forgot about that Fog light issue so need to take that out to get the bumper on, bummer, really don’t like that idea, not one bit to say the least :-
Bummer !!!

#25

I am so jealous of your clean engine/bay/car/everything

#26

Thank you, much appreciated. It does help if the car is not a daily so you only have to drive it when conditions are perfect no rain etc. and we also don’t have the snow/ice and salty road problems which make a huge difference.

#27

Thanks, much appreciated!

#28

Thank you, sometimes it’s the small things that turns an average project into something great which I am hoping to achieve here. The kit is already a great piece I am just trying to live up to it and improve a on a few small things where I can. The beauty about this kit and doing it yourself is you have the opportunity to change a few things to your situation and liking, all it takes is lots of time and a bit of effort.

#29

Its all fantastic keep the updates coming great work. I think we are all in joying reading and following along.

#30

Ok, so as mentioned before I was ready to put that bumper on but then realized I had to pull that blower side fog light out which meant pulling both out. :-\
Looked at all the JHH instructions and other Stage 1 threads again and it was clear that the only way forward according to all was to pull the fog, get the knife out and start cutting that bumper away and put a lid on that opening. Nope, wasn’t quite ready to do that.

So went ahead and pulled the Fog light.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02405_zpsytxmvumq.jpg

Test fitted the bumper, marked there real estate the pulley required, pulled it off cut away the marked section put it aside for the time being and and transferred those cutouts onto the fog light assembly.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02406_zpsmwjwzieu.jpg

Stripped the fog light assembly to see what I have to work with. Not much but there were definitely some potential.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02397_zpslkrkbptw.jpg


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02399_zpswojr9ec4.jpg

Next I cut away the marked section of the outer rim at the back of the reflector. Went as far as I could go without messing up the fit of the outer waterproof rubber seal and did the same with the black housing. Now if you look at the housing and the position of the reflector when assembled there is enough space for it to sit deeper into the housing, closer to the lens. For that to be possible the slots on the housing needs to be cut deeper to allow the reflector to slide in deeper into the housing until it sits flush with the housing. If I am making no sense here, apologies, easy to rumble on about something when you have spend hours on it and one tend to forget that others might not have but I hope the next pic’s make better sense of it all.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02415_zps6n8rm4rv.jpg

Lastly I also moved the while fog assembly slightly forward to give me the last few millimeters I required. To make that possible I removed the black mounting bracket for the fog from the bumper, drilled two new holes for the two fog light tabs and also shaved the two molded guides from the trimmed piece and glued that back onto the modified bracket over the the two new tab holes. Damn, this must be so confusing to everyone, sorry :-[

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02410_zpswuirkhep.jpg

Next I shimmed the fog light mounting tabs at the front of the bumper with some washers to take up the space created between the tabs and the bumper by moving it forward.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02443_zpsgk0d3a3a.jpg

With that all done I wanted to be sure there were no slop or backward movement of the whole fog and plastic housing when going down the freeway and the following took care of that.

Stop Slop Fastener

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02435_zpszkvolign.jpg


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02436_zps4bfb4su1.jpg

With that all done it was assembly time and with the fog light grill back in place no-one would be able to tell. :wink:

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02430_zpsl9nigqsv.jpg

And Yes, it’s functional, light on with running pulley in the background ;D

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02459_zpscwlsbxgo.jpg

With that done and dusted all that remained was a spin around the block to make sure everything was good, checked and topped up all fluids again and then it was time to clean her up and started with the interior, boy how I missed this!

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC01757_zpsadq0yppp.jpg


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC01760_zpsuxki34cy.jpg

With the interior done it was bath-time! It’s good to have her back to together, I see good times ahead. ;D

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC02450_zps8eultkpg.jpg

In closing, I have done a few miles and then some spirited ones and thus far no problem. She is smooth and feels strong and most noticeable is how she just keep on making more power the higher the rev’s climb, just freakin awesome. It was truly and amazing journey and one I have no regrets about. Can’t wait for the weekend, some roads that need to be tamed. Oh, and by the way, that Fog light, well it’s still fogging, a real pain in the ass but worth the effort in my book given the end result.

Thank you to everyone that followed my thread, much appreciated and thank you for reading.

Now, if Jake decide to sell me that the 1+ I might just revive this thread, who knows ;D

#31

Dear god…

#32

yeah, seriously…annoying seeing those things. They’re so spacey!

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/JHM%20Stage%201/DSC01757_zpsadq0yppp.jpg

#33

Did you ever get a chance to sit in one? I remember height was your big concern. I need to stop playing hockey if I’m ever going to own a set…

#34

never did I don’t think. Why would you need to stop playing hockey? Couldn’t bear to chuck your bag in the backseat and thread your sticks through to the front? Ski sack will sort that.

#35

Love the seats

#36

Nah, my ass is too big to fit the lower bolsters comfortably.

OP, Sorry for the thread-jack. Did you re-do the back seat in the same pattern/style?

#37

No problem, yes I did, also did the gear lever boot. Pulled the steering wheel off today have that re-trimmed as well.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/RS4%202008/RSEATS_zpsfulcpyum.jpg


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r630/rudivn/RS4%202008/GKNOB_zpsmdemdvwz.jpg

#38

That interior is PURE SEX!!! Amazing ride. Awesome write up!

#39

They do sit a bit higher, I want to fab up some lower mounts to bring then down a bit, but there still comfortable in the position they are.

having a euro wheel would help as well as they are a bit smaller diameter, then the bigger comfort one.

#40

you have hockey ass? You must be good. Not many americans play/played enough for hockey ass.