The Project Pad

Yup, it's a satin silver coloured ceramic coating.

Thanks guys, might not seem like much but the props go a long way for motivation. Crank pulley arrived and final block clean up is finished. Head goes on tomorrow morning and then the reinstall will finally commence.

Lots of time has passed, with lots of hiccups along the way. Still, some progress has been made and it won't be too long before I'm rolling again.

My brother drove up to help with the head and whatever else we could get to but unfortunately he was sucked into my vortex of doom. We spent (read: wasted) most of a day trying to find a deep 14mm 12pt socket for the ARP head studs. After a trip to Canadian Tire, Home Depot, and an hour rifling through loose sockets in bins at sketchy pawn shop came up short, we went to Sears only to find that they had nothing. Then he figured out it was a 1/2" size... go figure! Made in USA = SAE! haha. So off to another Sears location, of course way across town, and we were in business. The head went on nice and easy.





Later I tried to snug the valve cover on tight and f'd up big by setting the torque wrench to 11ft/# instead of 11Nm. OOPS!! :slap: Ended up yielding a bolt and stripping two bolt holes. Nothing a helicoil kit couldn't fix, and with a little BTDT (been there done that) advice from a B5S4 friend, I was catching some traction again.

Wasn't until I went to fit the main timing belt cover ahead of reinstalling the new TB kit that I realized I completely forgot about it during the head install. So because I dropped the ball none of the other covers (3 total) will fit unless I remove the head, and I'm completely disinterested in doing so. Principally because I'll need more ARP thread dope and don't feel like chasing my tail any more unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. So, I'm going to rock out with no covers, hot rod steez... :cool:

All the timing belt components went on smooth, only snag there is the belt appears loose (two people mentioned as much) even though it's well within the Bentley manual spec of a 180* twist between the water pump and tensioner roller. Once the motor's back in the car I'll inspect further, as I have yet to torque the crank bolt down with the *edit: 258#/ft required. (*edit: finally did, new tq-wrench I bought just for this job only went up to 250#... So I asked two mechanical engineers at work independently and each said eight lbs is no cause for concern.







Moving along after putting in the new rear main seal, the next task was to install the clutch and flywheel before reinstalling the motor. Wouldn't you know it, the fancy ARP FW bolts I bought at twice the price won't fit. It's not that they don't, because they do... until you go to fit in the 8th and final one. No matter which hole you leave for last or how loose you install all eight before snugging them down, the final bolt gets held up on the raised shoulder. What sucks is that I spent a couple hours chasing the threads in the crank snout before realizing it was a clearance issue and not trapped debris.






After a phone call to 034 the best they could suggest was to use a drill to notch the final flywheel bolt hole ever so slightly & gain the clearance. Far too ghetto for this guy. So with any luck my parts guy can source new OEM bolts before I fly out for work.

My friend Mike was kind enough to lend me his clutch alignment tool, but he'd lent it out already. Just so happens that guy is building a 3L 2860R b5s4 in his garage... some very serious car pr0n going on, and just blocks from my place! Since his friend needed the tool back right away, I was under the gun to perform; figure my first clutch, fw & pp install in under 45 minutes is fairly respectable?

The next night my dad and I flanged up the motor in the car and just have a few more trans bolts and some work to do with the mounts before I can pull the engine hoist and drop the car on its wheels. I'd like to have that accomplished before I fly out this Sunday afternoon.

any thoughts about the harmonic balancer? what does it do? mine looks like shit but i am not sure how to replace it and would like to better understand it before i buy a replacement

SPecs for the timing belt is a ***90 degree*** twist of the belt, not 180!

mhorsfield wrote:any thoughts about the harmonic balancer? what does it do? mine looks like shit but i am not sure how to replace it and would like to better understand it before i buy a replacement

It's an external way to balance the crank/pistons/rods and clutch and flywheel, which in and of themselves are balanced to a close but not exact tolerance from the factory. Replacing it will make your engine run smoother and ultimately last longer especially if you rev high a lot.

I got mine thru 034 for about $200, and while you're in there do the crank pulley cog behind it for a hundred bucks.

20v90q wrote:SPecs for the timing belt is a ***90 degree*** twist of the belt, not 180!

Yes!! You're absolutely right, I feel like a dumbass for such an easy typo.

I'll adjust the tension at the water pump to take out the excess slack while retaining a taught 90* twist.

i can't find the harmonic balancer on their site... could you link me?

i did find the crank pulley cog... http://www.034motorsport.com/engine-com ... 13332.html

I called Christian directly and he pulled through with the hook up.

He will want to know if you have V-belts or serpentine.

Home stretch.

Unfortunately some last minute parts didn't arrive in time so she won't fire up for another two weeks when I return from work. That's okay, I've been sprinting to get her where she sits and when I get home there isn't too much left to do other than plug in the last couple things and fill with fluids before she breathes once more.


Here's a list I've compiled, on the left is what needs doing. On the right is what will all be finished from this "project" that started with a steering rack swap.


Oh so looking forward to the 034 EFI upgrade... *pants_tent


On the left are stripped wires, the brass fitting is stuck in the block so that'll need to be repaired upon removal.


Need to sort out exactly what goes where here:


Other than that she's oh so close... I can almost taste the exhaust fumes.

"While I'm in there" is one of the reasons why so much has been replaced on my 200tq, and it hasn't moved. If you have to pull so much stuff out of the way to get to something, you might as well replace it for peace of mind.

i want to remove my engine and everything else so i can properly clean the engine bay... just want to be able to justify it a little more and to replace the steering rack would be a great perk :stupid:

Jiggle_Billy wrote:"While I'm in there" is one of the reasons why so much has been replaced on my 200tq, and it hasn't moved. If you have to pull so much stuff out of the way to get to something, you might as well replace it for peace of mind.

Sometimes. There is a point where you just need to fix whats wrong. and test again.

moar boost fixes everything

She lives!

Except the oil pressure is buried in the right hand side of the gauge, past 5 bar, waaaaaay too high. Slight amount of oil weeping around the oil pump. Idle is laboured.

That is all.

did you use new main studs?

No, just ARP headstuds, torqued to mfr spec.

From S2forum.com:

You have the oilsender wires backwards

That did it, problem solved!

All that's left is to change the oil and filter, bolt up the exhaust and downpipe, attach the horn and bumper, then fix the headlight tabs and reinstall them. Voila


So, basically on to the next phase... 5x112 hubs!!

And you need to post some pics

Well, she runs.

I went and locked the hood shut, but took her out for a spin anyways. Going to need to unstuck the hood & put the front latch release on, then she should be good to go. Plus the bumper and fender liners will need to be reattached.

She misfires from 4000rpm-5000rpm, but pulls real strong above 5k. Idle is nice, doesn't seem to wander about like it used to, yet, will have to watch over time before I give a verdict on the 034 7A Injector upgrade. I think the dizzy needs to be fine tuned for proper timing.

Fixed the headlight tabs, will likely replace a lower tab on the passenger side headlight soon as well. The eBay.de replacement kit I got worked out well.

After I deal with the dizzy and bumper, I'll go for another rip to gas up & wash the car, then go home and change the filter & plugs, and swap the oil over to synthetic. Maybe even run some Seafoam through the gas and crankcase first.

Definitely needs an alignment... I'll try for an alignment at the dealer Monday before I fly out to work again in the afternoon.

That is all.

Hood is fixed. Misfire solved, speed sender in bell housing was incorrectly installed (gap). Didn't adjust the dizzy.

Needs more coolant. Headlights need to be aimed. Power steering belt appears to be too tight as there's a new noise from that area... going to swap out for the old (new-ish) one that's known to be the right size. So of course the power steering is the first belt on the crank pulley. Fun times.

Close. Very close. Good to drive her again and hear the noise she makes.






Dealing with hub swap details now. Apparently the hat offset is too shallow on b6 vs. b5 rears, so I may have to source rear hubs before I can install. Fronts (UrS4) will go to machine shop when I can send the rotors to be re-drilled, minimize downtime. Then I can install my winter tires before the weather turns nasty.

Here we go again...




Took a little work to figure out the order of operations. First try we tried to keep the spindle on the car but it ended up being more work to remove the hub then to separate the hub from the bearing and race. Second try we removed the spindle with the hub and put it into a press and used a hammer and torch to separate the race and bearing from the hub. Worked much easier.

Going to try and put the rear end back together tomorrow. After that work to get the fronts disassembled and send everything up front to the machine shop at once. I kind of like the idea of providing the old part to ensure there's no miscommunication... "make this (new part) fit the same (as this old one does). Thanks." Luckily I have faith in my machine shop, as they're reputed to be the go-to shop for all the high-end dealers in the area, including Audi.



In other news, car runs well. Feels like the mounts, injectors and crank pulley smoothed out the car really well. The synthetic oil (Shell Rotella T) gets up to temp really fast, where as before it took foreeeeeeeevvvvvveeerrrrrr to even register. Not having the auxiliary radiator gets the coolant warmed up quick too... but no heat! Brrrr! Only above 4k rpm is there heat and even then at full blast it doesn't flow much. I think there's air trapped in the coolant system somewhere, likely at the high point going through the firewall. Hopefully it's not my heater core, that's a job I don't want to tackle just yet (have plans for that area that just need to come together first) if at all possible.

First of all... the end is near! Or the beginning is at hand... however you look at it, I'll be back on the road soon!

SRSLY!

Paid for a year's worth of insurance and two-years of registration.

Current hang-ups are brake line and hub spacer related. Fix those hiccups and get an alignment and I'm on the road again!

Legally!

Cliff Notes precede an illustrated walk-through of the headaches (read: time wasters :frustrated:) encountered along the way.

Front:
-- Porsche BoxsterS calipers (Brembo 4 piston), pins filed down 1mm as per 90quattrocoupe's DIY
-- 034/Apikol RS2 caliper bracket, + spacer machined to fit
-- S/S lines (034 no-fit "kit" to be returned, will source custom through local shop)
-- Euro A/S8 rotors (323x30mm), spun down inside to clear control arm, and spacer machined to fit behind rotor on hub
-- UrS4 hubs with new bearings, machined to fit
-- Need 5mm hub spacer to fit 235/45-17 rubber (225 max without spacer)
-- Installed front upper strut mounts... while I'm in there...

Rear:
-- B5A4q rear hubs, with new bearings
-- New lower ball joints, while I'm in there...
-- B5S4 rear rotors/pads, calipers & caliper brackets... e-brake cable bracket notched to fit
-- New custom s/s brake lines to be fabbed by local shop, OEM are at least 2" too short




If I would have used the entire B6 rear hubs and brakes assembly with new bearings I would have been okay.

B6 rear caliper & bracket:


Some machining is required on the inside shoulder of the rear B6 hub but it would have been cheapest overall. (Because I had them sitting there.) Since I didn't know if they'd match up or not I went the online DIY route.

However, I misinterpreted what I read and encountered a few surprises.

First, a lower rear ball joint boot was torn and required replacement. So I had my parts-guy order a pair, and the distributor sent fronts. Long story short, took almost two weeks to get the right ones and I get stiffed for the 4-day shipping I paid $40 extra for. And the rears are $6/ea more expensive each to boot. Not a big deal, as there was other tasks to be done.

Next, I thought that I could just re-drill the rear rotors to fit B6A4 rear calipers/brackets. Or even use the B6 rotors too.


No. :( The hat-offset (=B5) was all wrong.


So.

My friend Mike sourced a set of B5S4 rotors and pads for just $40 from a local with a monster 3L S4.

Lots more heat-sinking meat on these rotors...



B5S4 rear (left) vs. B6A4 front (right):


Next I asked an acquaintance with an A6 if he had any rear calipers and brackets laying around. Turned out he had some (rear B5S4) calipers sans brackets which he gave me for free. Thanks, Stefan! :thanks: Too bad they need a full rebuild and a re-tap on one bleeder screw. Those will get refurb'd later and serve as spares, just in case.





ECS wanted $180/bracket, $270/caliper + shipping & duty. Shokan wanted $180/caliper+bracket with a $35 core-charge. FTL.

So I phoned/surfed local at euro-wreckers ($75, but only one caliper), and eurodrivers.ca to no avail... then genuineaudiparts, audifans, and AZ, Motorgeek, and finally the object of last resort... vwvortex classifieds. Where I promptly found a set for $100 plus shipping, and another for $180-shipped. I used the former deal for leverage on the latter. Expedited international shipping at $80, for a cost of $180 delivered. Deal.

Of course... drama ensues and long story short I waited two weeks before asking WTF? He says 'no money, no calipers.' So I send a PayPal confirmation number, his excuse is he forgot to check his 'other' email. The brakes arrived in a week and change. :jerk:

Upon fit up, there are a couple issues. The e-brake cable bracket needs to be notched to allow for the thicker diameter OEM Cq cable.



And the OEM brake lines are too short. There are a couple options to deal: 1) bend & re-mount the OEM hard lines to maybe gain enough slack & re-use the OEM rubber lines, or 2) disassemble at the OEM hard line and have custom braided s/s lines made about 2.5" longer.

Custom lines it is. 8)


Meanwhile, as hangups would occur in the rear, the fronts were in full flight themselves.


Clearance, clearance, clearance! That's the number one issue up front.

The Apikol/034 machined RS2 caliper bracket (which is a very nice piece) needs a shim to clear the gap between the upright and caliper. They're made for Big Reds, 996TT calipers, not 993TT... and certainly not 996C4S/BoxsterS calipers. :( At this point I'm going to suggest that if you're going to do this mod, it's cheapest and easiest overall to have your machinist make this bracket for you out of steel (or aluminum should you be feeling spendy). You'll be bringing in a few parts for machine work anyways. Including the caliper bracket, for shims. Unless you cheap out and opt for stacking washers, which looks cheap.





Of course, the hubs themselves need machining to fit. I opted to use UrS4 hubs. To eliminate any confusion I supplied the original Cq hubs and told him to make the new ones fit the same. Worked like a charm.


Among the parts needing machining at the same time is the euro A/S8 323x30mm rotors. They'll need to have a couple mm's turned off the inside to clear the control arm. Next, a couple mm spacer in-between the hub and rotor is necessary to line up inside the caliper.


This is a good time to file down the pins in the calipers if not already finished. I do wonder a bit about the way the pad overhangs the lip on the rotor face. Maybe I'm paranoid.


Which is about the time it became apparent that the supposed brake line "kit" (the kind that's supposed to be spec'd out to be p'n'p) doesn't fit. So while I'm in there... might as well get all the brake lines made custom and send the kit back as I wait.


During all this time under the car, I did notice it looks pretty fresh underneath. :heart:


Since the strut housing is essentially hanging, this was an ideal time to finally fix the existing ones which are beyond worn out. Fragments come out, 034 Street Density upper strut mounts go in.

And then, the other thing (which I half expected) was my 235/45-R17 winter tyres *just* rub the control arm. Half expected because the max size I typically read of people installing is 225s... so that's not exactly a blindside. I was hoping the wheel's offset would compensate, but alas... no. Nuts.

After the hub spacers, brake lines and an alignment, as long as nothing else pops up... <3

She does look pretty good to my eyes, even for all the road grime on the wheels.

:woowoo: Looks good

Nice thread good write ups and lots of pics.

Id say you should turbo it but that header is far too pretty

mhorsfield wrote::woowoo: Looks good

JonathanL wrote:Nice thread good write ups and lots of pics.

Id say you should turbo it but that header is far too pretty

Thanks guys!

The ceramic coated header is a total tease but always reminds me why I'm socking away money to build this car in stages. Properly. The first time.

I've been plugging away, in between trade-school, holidays and boarding trips

With any luck, the brakes/hubs will be done soon enough and I'll be hoarding suspension & clutch parts... pre-turbo phase.




Had some custom brake lines made. Have to say; Edmonton Brake and Clutch are truly professional and the go-to guys (locally) when it comes to having high-pressure lines custom made in a hurry. If you're not cheap. :wink:






Work order included:
-- same fitting ends;
-- rear brake line: 2-1/2" longer
-- front caliper line (from "kit"): 2" shorter
-- front abs/caliper line: same length
-- (6) smoked grey hoses
-- (12) red collars
-- 6' braided s/s hose
-- (2) hrs labour

Best thing of all was this: I picked up the hoses, same day, for about the same price per hose (or better), for better quality product.

WIN, Win, win.





Spacers next. Then Alignment.

Here's hoping 5mm will clear the CA enough to get my alignment done and me back on the road!!!