Well, it’s finally here. After waiting for a couple of years and cringing in fear every time I started up the car and got the 2-3 second chain rattle, I’m finally doing this job. I’m also dealing with a plugged exhaust of some sort. Probably not pre-cats since I’ve already done the piggies job. Probably not the cat-back, since it didn’t have any more power on a test drive with the cat-back detached.
This job is not being performed by me alone. I’m providing the muscle(what little there is of it), but so many kind and giving people have helped me prepare and get to this point. Special mention to justincredible, who is doing his best to help me understand the Tiptronic part of the job. Also, a huge thank you to badger, who not only has the exact same car as me, but he’s a helluva stand up guy. He came to my rescue today when I got stumped with one of the cooler lines for the Tiptronic. I also want to acknowledge Joey Cuccaro for providing a very detailed engine pull DIY. I don’t know what Joey’s status is these days in the community, but I am grateful to him for making that DIY.
So, on with the show…
Here’s a shot of my humble little unfinished garage. It’s small, but it works. Unfortunately, I bought the house before I decided to become a DIY’er. Once my wife and son get out of college I can think about building my dream garage. Until then, I’m stuck with this. Anyway, 2-ton engine hoist on the left, custom engine stand on the right, using two height adjustable saw horses with 1000 lb capacity, each.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72144446/20150613_165624.jpg
Everything went well until I discovered these two extra cooling lines that lead from the Tiptronic transmission to the radiator. Since Joey’s DIY is for a manual transmission, there was nothing to go on. I popped off the top line with little fuss, but on the bottom line, only the smaller 19mm nut on the line broke free and spun. But, while rotating it and holding the other nut with a 22mm wrench, the line started to twist. So instead of continuing to twist it, I sent an email to badger, who found a pic somewhere showing that the 22mm nut should rotate, too. Equipped with this knowledge(thanks, badger!) I applied some PB Blaster and proceeded to remove the cat-back.
I then came back and was able to break the 22mm nut free and remove the line, and thus the radiator.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72144446/20150614_145547.jpg
Here’s where I left off for the day. Cat-back is off, both axle bolts are loosened(thank you 36" long galvanized pipe and breaker bar!), and the radiator is off. I’m pretty happy with the progress today. I work slower than the average DIY’er, but I’m ok with that.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72144446/Timing%20components%20job/20150614_164314.jpg