Thoughts on AMS findings regarding divorcing coolant

[infinkc]

As far as bleeding the system, i would look into getting an Airlift. They make 2 models, the 550500 which runs about $85 on amazon, and the 550000 which is $123. ECS started selling the schwaben one 003466SCH01 for $75.

I have the 550000 and i have to say its one of the best investments in tools ive made.

What it does is suck out all the air in the coolant system, then you place the tube into a bucket of coolant and flip the lever, it then sucks all the coolant back into the car to replace the air. This completely bleeds out the system as all the air pockets are replaced with fluid. It will take you about 1 minute to completely fill up the cooling system.

Thanks. Good to know. I’ll probably invest in one since I really need it for the B5 too…

What is the big difference between the two airlift models, and what type of attachment does it use from the air compressor?

it has a 1/4" pipe connection, so you put whatever fitting your compressor uses. The difference between the 2 airllift units is one is plastic, one is metal.

The schwaben unit looks really nice, and for the price its better than the airlift.

I bought it when i had my b5, and it bleed the heater core no problem, which is usually the pain.

What i would actually do, and was similar to what i did with my b8 when i had the charger off, do drain all the coolant like what the AMS instructions say to do, just get a coolant pliers, and squeeze the hose going down from the reservoir. This will leave the coolant in the radiator loop. Just undo the hoses for the excahnger and let that out. If using the air bleeder, it will just suck out the air from the system, it will just fill only that part back up(you remove the coolant pliers).

[infinkc]

augh hate i cant edit my posts *don’t instead of do

[Maddog]

Think I’m going to try and tackle this either this Saturday if everything comes in tomorrow, or next Friday/Saturday.

I was going through the install instructions riddle and it looked like a lot of work. How mechanically inclined would you say you are?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you are asking me, I would say slightly above average on cars, and maybe more than that on other things… I have done lots of suspension, brakes, now the supercharger pulley, etc. I feel pretty comfortable doing anything up to tearing apart an engine/trans/diff, but I am not a mechanic by any means. I haven’t done something specifically like this, but it seems pretty strait forward except bleeding the system, and only because it is a little different than most coolant systems with the S/C. I am pulling the engine on my B5 and replacing turbos right now, and I feel fairly confident doing that.

I worked in the semiconductor industry for the past 13 years doing a lot of hands-on work with robotics and automation equipment, and would say I was way above average there (I was “the” technical expert at our company, and literally troubleshoot and dealt with every major problem we had for the past 10 years).

I would say if you are comfortable with the instructions, and all the tools required, it seems like a pretty easy install. Maybe a 6/10 (on the same scale mentioned earlier where removing the bumper was 3/10). At the same time, I would not be opposed to having someone do it if I didn’t have a lot of time. I don’t have a job, so I have a lot of spare to time to slowing work through something like this, and other cars I can drive, etc.

As far as bleeding the system, i would look into getting an Airlift. They make 2 models, the 550500 which runs about $85 on amazon, and the 550000 which is $123. ECS started selling the schwaben one 003466SCH01 for $75.

I have the 550000 and i have to say its one of the best investments in tools ive made.

What it does is suck out all the air in the coolant system, then you place the tube into a bucket of coolant and flip the lever, it then sucks all the coolant back into the car to replace the air. This completely bleeds out the system as all the air pockets are replaced with fluid. It will take you about 1 minute to completely fill up the cooling system.

Man, I borrowed a buddies unit (no clue version, it was a bluepoint), and I couldn’t of done it without that on my porsche. There are exactly 9.27 miles of coolant lines on the porsche as they run dual radiators up front but pump everything from the back of the car. What a bitch!

You do have to be careful with older cars though as the suction can damage already weak hoses. . . ask me how I know lol (multiple times).

[Shadycrew31]

I never used that tool, or any tool…

Just did what I’ve always done to “burp” the system. Run the engine with the coolant cap off until all the air bubbles come up and the tstat has opened.

No idea what type of issues are supposed to arise from not bleeding the system but I haven’t seen anything yet.

[will13k7]

For those who use their S4 as a daily driver, having an annoying pump sound go on right after you unlock your car while you load up your friends, family, coworkers, and/or groceries, doesn’t bother you at all? ???

What about when your washing your car or messing with it in the garage? No doubt that would annoy me after a couple of weeks. This is why I didn’t want APR’s V1 CPS too.

If this was just my fun weekend car, yeah, it won’t bother me, but not my DD. It probably wouldn’t have bothered me when I was in my teens and twenties either, but I prefer to do without that type of annoying noise now.

[sakimano]

For those who use their S4 as a daily driver, having an annoying pump sound go on right after you unlock your car while you load up your friends, family, coworkers, and/or groceries, doesn’t bother you at all? ???

What about when your washing your car or messing with it in the garage? No doubt that would annoy me after a couple of weeks. This is why I didn’t want APR’s V1 CPS too.

If this was just my fun weekend car, yeah, it won’t bother me, but not my DD. It probably wouldn’t have bothered me when I was in my teens and twenties either, but I prefer to do without that type of annoying noise now.

Dude the engine and high pitched exhaust noise will drown that into oblivion.

Only if it were a Tesla, you’d have a legit beef.

As it is before the engine starts the unlock prompts the fuel pump which makes a whirring noise… And the throttle body starts it’s high pitched whine.

This is nothing.

[will13k7]

Dude the engine and high pitched exhaust noise will drown that into oblivion.

Only if it were a Tesla, you’d have a legit beef.

As it is before the engine starts the unlock prompts the fuel pump which makes a whirring noise… And the throttle body starts it’s high pitched whine.

This is nothing.

That high pitched throttle body noise is just for a brief moment, if it was continuous, yeah, it would bother me.

Doesn’t this pump run until some timeout kicks in to put the car back to sleep. If you were not planning to start the engine, but maybe clean or quickly grab something from your car in the garage, that pump would probably run for a couple of minutes, every time you open your car do something with it.

When the cars running, yeah, no worries there, I won’t hear it.

Sounds like it won’t bother you at all, everyone different, so no worries. I can’t be the only one who things that it would be annoying when the engine is off? Maybe I am? Thats ok, I’ll still have the APRv2 CPS option.

[sakimano]

It definitely won’t bother me. I have a b7 rs4

Ask ams… Audi batteries are notoriously shit. I wouldn’t want it running too long

[dblearon]

For those who use their S4 as a daily driver, having an annoying pump sound go on right after you unlock your car while you load up your friends, family, coworkers, and/or groceries, doesn’t bother you at all? ???

What about when your washing your car or messing with it in the garage? No doubt that would annoy me after a couple of weeks. This is why I didn’t want APR’s V1 CPS too.

If this was just my fun weekend car, yeah, it won’t bother me, but not my DD. It probably wouldn’t have bothered me when I was in my teens and twenties either, but I prefer to do without that type of annoying noise now.

Dude the engine and high pitched exhaust noise will drown that into oblivion.

Only if it were a Tesla, you’d have a legit beef.

As it is before the engine starts the unlock prompts the fuel pump which makes a whirring noise… And the throttle body starts it’s high pitched whine.

This is nothing.

+1

I will say I was a little bothered at first, but now I don’t even notice it. Its just like all the other clicks and pings you hear when unlocking (as you can in my videos) after a bit you don’t notice.

A week and a half in and I don’t notice it at all, and inside the cabin you have to be overly actively listening for it to hear it, when the car is on…no chance.

Its not that big of a deal after a week or so, just becomes normal. I had my bosses boss ask what the sound was, told him race car parts and he laughed… I definitely don’t think its something you base your buying decision on, but thats MO

[will13k7]

I will say I was a little bothered at first, but now I don’t even notice it. Its just like all the other clicks and pings you hear when unlocking (as you can in my videos) after a bit you don’t notice.

Cool, glad its working out for you! I just wish it only ran when the engine was on, if it did, I would be very tempted to get the AMS kit, the fit and finish looks great! Those welds!

[infinkc]

I will say I was a little bothered at first, but now I don’t even notice it. Its just like all the other clicks and pings you hear when unlocking (as you can in my videos) after a bit you don’t notice.

Cool, glad its working out for you! I just wish it only ran when the engine was on, if it did, I would be very tempted to get the AMS kit, the fit and finish looks great! Those welds!

If say it’s a good thing you hear it when you unlock your door, tells you the pump is still working. If you then notice it making no noise you know something is bad.

[drob23]

I already hear the car making noises when opening the door in a garage. Assuming it’s the fuel pump priming or maybe the stock coolant pump?

[will13k7]

If say it’s a good thing you hear it when you unlock your door, tells you the pump is still working.

A glass half full type of person, I like that ;D

I already hear the car making noises when opening the door in a garage.

Me too, it does a quick wake up sequence, and then quiets down. From the video posted earlier, it looks like the pump continues to run, so I’m assuming it will run until the car goes back in sleep mode? I could be wrong, but if it really ran for multiple minutes at a time when the engine is off, every time the car is woken up, its a deal breaker for me, but that’s just me, it won’t bother everyone. If all the kits had a pump and did the same thing, I might just live with it, but we have options, which is great!

[sakimano]

I don’t think it runs for multiple minutes

the video you watched was in a garage, closed, so any sound is accentuated. You can hear him breathing lol. You can also see that it’s the ‘coming home/going away’ thing that turns on accessory lights and starts the pump as well. I belivee you can code that in VAGCOM to be around 10 seconds up to a minute. So I’m reasonably sure if you change that code, it will change how long it’s on.

Again, it’s not minutes. It’s seconds.

Finally, just sit back and watch the first 10 guys get theirs. See if anyone gripes about the pump noise/battery drain etc. There’s no rush…you have intercooling. This is just aiming to improve cooling under harsh driving conditions. It’s not like you need it…so just wait 2 months then decide.

[dblearon]

Those were my flip flops not heavy breathing haha.

Yes it can be codes via vag to lengthen or shorten. From clicking unlock to stopping on it’s own it’s 20 seconds. If I click lock it’s around 10

[cory_can]

This is as good as any thread…does anyone have any experience with coolant additives and the realistic impact on lowering engine temps?

[dblearon]

@cory, not that I have ever seen.

Filled up with some gt260 100oct and a little bit of E85 today, going to try to make some logs tonight if I can find a proper road, errrr racetrack.

[Jones2012s4]

This is as good as any thread…does anyone have any experience with coolant additives and the realistic impact on lowering engine temps?

I used water wetter, caused a brown film to build up in my coolant bottle, flushed my coolant and refilled with Audi VW coolant and noticed a 4-5 degree average drop on my P3 gauge in daily driving.

Water Wetter fail, maybe I did it wrong.

[cory_can]

This is as good as any thread…does anyone have any experience with coolant additives and the realistic impact on lowering engine temps?

I used water wetter, caused a brown film to build up in my coolant bottle, flushed my coolant and refilled with Audi VW coolant and noticed a 4-5 degree average drop on my P3 gauge in daily driving.

Water Wetter fail, maybe I did it wrong.

Interesting, I thought that particular product was the safest option.

[steve0827]

My kit comes in on Monday…looking forward to trying to get it all installed.