The Project Pad

CBerg wrote:Good to know you're around! No, that avant belongs to NWB5. He has one brother in town with a tornado red URS4 and another brother in town with a brilliant black 200 20v sedan

I will keep my eyes peeled for those cars, dont think I've seen them. Im near ferndale so out there most of the time now.
Keep a look out for a nogaro S4 with a euro rear bumper, or a Black 1990 Coupe if I can get it running soon. Digging into the wiring hard these next 5 days.
Congrats on finding a rare car!! Avants FTW

Oh man, avant? Were you at breakfast for the Leavenworth drive this last year/at the Leavenworth drive? The 4 of us were there.. Also thanks and good luck with the coupe! I'd like to see both those cars around. We all live in town near the hospital.

CBerg wrote:Oh man, avant? Were you at breakfast for the Leavenworth drive this last year/at the Leavenworth drive? The 4 of us were there.. Also thanks and good luck with the coupe! I'd like to see both those cars around. We all live in town near the hospital.

Mine is a sedan, but I like avants alot! Had a black s4 avant for a long time. A good friend of mine has a Nogaro blue avant (Chris) and I know he went on that drive, not sure if he was at breakfast or not. If anyone does a GTG in bham i will try and let you know, would be nice to meet some enthusiasts.

It must of been him then. Thanks, sounds good.

CBerg wrote:Wanted to share the info I got back from AoA this morning. Super awesome knowing the production numbers.
http://i.imgur.com/5bGK5Gu.jpg

Woot!

Also...much inbox

Just finished installing my boost gauge. On my test drive it got foggy immediately, I might try replacing my moisture trap, but I also think I have boost leaks. Gauge fluttering at 18-20 psi and my idle has been too low since I bought it. The boost leaks could potentially be how the moisture is getting in too, Bellingham is very humid. Checked the ISV for the low idle issues and it's good, but haven't tried cleaning it out. Also will be tightening my wastegate spring tomorrow. Also one of my coolant temp sensors is bad but that's a prior issue. I'm going to call the company and see if they'll send me a new gauge, because moisture shouldn't be getting into my gauge face regardless...

Which line did you tap into for your boost gauge? Could be a bad FPR throwing gasoline through there. That could also contribute to your idle issues.

Right into the line coming out of the ecu. I emailed the company I got the gauge from and they said the fogging is normal because the gauges are purposely vented to allow them to breathe. They said if it doesn't clear up eventually to send it in. I'm going to get a new moisture trap today and test for leaks today or tomorrow.

The line that goes to the ECU is T'd and also goes to the FPR. Just something to think about.

Good point.. Thanks!!! Fogging issues do seem to have cleared up on their own though so there's one thing. Still have the boost leaks and idle to worry about. Here's a not-so-good photo w/glare

Put the s4 wheels on, I like them but not being able to do the suspension right now is bumming me out. I plan on doing suspension and exhaust by January. I have to fix up my VR6 wagon and sell it so that might be a bit of a set back. Also, started replacing my valve cover gasket yesterday but ran out of time so I'm finishing it today. Painting the valve cover, and the clear corners came in the mail! Found this little guy dangling off the throttle body, I think it's a connecting rod for the cruise control but I've never actual tried using the cruise control. I'll see if I can re-connect it today. Anyone have any experience with that? Also, any tips for getting the valve cover off once everything's disconnected? It's pretty stuck on there.

Update: got it off, broke my timing belt cover in the process. So I'll be buying one of those. I think I'll be in the market for a new turbo in the next year just because better turbo and mines whiny. Any recommendations on whether or not to use rtv when placing the new gasket?

I think clean surfaces is the best way to go. I'm having no problems so far using that method. Crazy too, my timing cover broke off exactly in the same spot

88a5tq wrote:I think clean surfaces is the best way to go. I'm having no problems so far using that method. Crazy too, my timing cover broke off exactly in the same spot

Thanks! Where did you find a new cover? I wasn't able to reconnect that cruise control rod. It looks like there's supposed to be a little plastic piece for it to snap into that is just missing on my car.

I would recommend rtv. Do you want to do it again? . I know lots of people have done it without rtv only to find a slight leak. It is mostly due to over tightening but still. IMO take the extra 5 minutes.

Here's a good VC gasket sealing writeup http://forums.quattroworld.com/s4s6/msgs/189580.phtml I used Ultra Gray vs Blue RTV but that's a debate like what oil to run ;-)

AFA the TB cover, used may be your only OEM option. EFI Express sells a CF version but they do not list one for the 3b specifically (I'm pretty sure the manufacture, Carbondesign, makes one).

Where ya diving with short sleeves?

Thank you both for the tips! I used rtv because I had it and hadn't seen any posts on here yet about it so I went for it but I was pretty modest with it. Here's a night time photo of my boost gauge I just installed and the before and after for my valve cover.

Where ya diving with short sleeves?

That was in Mexico. Up here you need a dry suit or a thick wetsuit. I alternate, but in the winter dry suit for sure. Sooo cold

CBerg wrote:

Where ya diving with short sleeves?

That was in Mexico. Up here you need a dry suit or a thick wetsuit. I alternate, but in the winter dry suit for sure. Sooo cold

Nice, I figured it was not WA! Aside from the Blue Hole in NM, I've only dove in Baja and the Caribbean (short flights from Denver). I've heard the diving up in WA is cool though.

The VC looks great, now chase down those boost leaks!

Nice, I figured it was not WA! Aside from the Blue Hole in NM, I've only dove in Baja and the Caribbean (short flights from Denver). I've heard the diving up in WA is cool though.

The VC looks great, now chase down those boost leaks!

That sounds like a blast. The only warm water I've been in was Cabo then Ecuador, the rest has been up here in Washington. Sites between Bellingham and Seattle and the San Juans, maybe Canada soon.

Thanks! I know, pesky boost leaks. I'll see what I can find tomorrow.

Couldn't pinpoint the leak/leaks. Checked the areas it sounded like air was coming from, but didn't find anything wrong... Might have to do a visual test. Tightened the wastegate spring and now instead of fluttering at 18-20 psi it's fluttering at 22-23 psi. Idle is still low... Cleaned out the ISV but it really wasn't dirty.

Did you make a pressure tester for it? How were you listening for leaks? If it is small enough that you aren't hearing it, it probably isn't enough to cause a problem at idle/normal operation.

Yeah, get some PVC caps and tap them for an air compressor line to pressure test. You can also spray around lines with either/starter fluid with the engine running, when the idle jumps there is a leak. The PVC caps are better for finding leaks which appear under boost.

pressure tested, I could definitely hear something in a general area but all the hoses I took off looked fine... Maybe I'll try that other method with starter fluid, ran out of time to keep searching yesterday.

chaloux wrote:I would recommend rtv. Do you want to do it again? . I know lots of people have done it without rtv only to find a slight leak. It is mostly due to over tightening but still. IMO take the extra 5 minutes.

Now, I'm not particularly shy about eating me words. In fact it's a nice break from PBJ's when the cost of ownership drags me face first through the gutter... I'm needing to redo my VC gasket . What I thought was a leaking head gasket (which I had to hastily do outdoors - long story) actually turned out to be my VC leaking after a re-torque of my head studs. Take it from me people... don't take it (too much advice) from me! Use RTV! !

Also I like using parentheses to get my messages across