Matt Danger's B5 S4 Owner Log

Today was rear wheel bearing day. I almost stripped the axle bolt but managed to break it free by slipping a box end wrench over the 14mm socket. The rest of the suspension was a challenge, but with a hammer and an air chisel it came apart. I took the knuckle to my friend Darrel’s shop to use his press. I almost ruined the new bearing when I pressed the hub in without supporting the bearing from the bottom. Oops. It went back together very smoothly though.

After that I plumbed the meth up and installed the new coolant tank. Then realized I didn’t have enough G12

Got some new crush washers for free from Holtz Audi. I can’t tell where the oil leak on the turbos are coming from, so I just redid the crush washers for all the lines. While I had the motor out I torqued the transmission to motor bolts that I forgot before. I also heat wrapped the inlet pipes.

I put the motor back in last night (all alone) and hooked up everything underneath and most of the wiring. I also managed to get the ARD bipipes to fit. The fitment is still poor but I think they’ll work for now.

I installed the electric fan but still need to find a source to wire the switching wire.

Started to reconnect parts under the car and noticed a small bit of oil on each turbo hotside. Looks like the oil feeds might be leaking

I sucked it up and pulled the engine out. Much faster this time, 2 hours and 45 minutes! The core support was already off.

One hitch: The ARD/Vast bi-pipes don’t fit. The inlet radius (intercooler side) is too tight and points upwards. Shot an email to Prince @ Vast about it.

Tonight, with the help of my roommate and his dad, we reinstalled  the motor and transmission.

For the most part everything went smoothly. I installed the front axles while the motor and transmission were a few inches from their final mounting points.

It took a lot of brute force to the get the motor and transmission aligned. A long pry bar helped as did loosening the transmission mount bolts.

Tips when installing the slave cylinder:

• There’s a metal clip on it, remove it temporarily while you’re installing the slave so you have more room to hold on to it
• Grease the slave boot and the hole in the tranny so it goes in easier.
• Insert the slave into the hole as straight as you can (it won’t go in straight because of the shifter assembly being in the way). When it’s in just enough for the slave’s piston to hit the fork use your free hand to wiggle the piston/boot. You should feel it in the fork. This way you’ll KNOW that it’s seated correctly. You can then begin to compress the slave and let go of the piston
• It’ll take some strength to get the piston fully compressed, get a good angle for your hand.

Some other notes:

• I did not use new gaskets on the axles & drive shaft. They are a huge pain to get aligned correctly without ruining. I don’t think they’re totally necessary and was told by an Audi tech to not bother with them. If they leak I’ll deal with it in the future.

And it’s in:

Finally, I mounted the DPs and heat shields and went home.

Today I installed Bosch side fire spark plugs, Deka 60lb injectors, and 4 bar fuel pressure regulator. These all came in the Vast fueling kit. My roommate Ray showed up and helped me attach the motor back to the transmission. It was kind of a PITA but we took our time and kept rotating the crankshaft little by little until the tranny input shaft slipped into the clutch. I can’t imagine trying to do this when the engine in the car.

I’m waiting on a few crush washers that were missing from my fueling kit before I can install the K04s.

I cleaned the engine bay heat shields and also painted some more parts. I painted the Y-pipe again. I think it’s still going to look like shit though. I also pulled out my modded lower grills and painted them. They need to be re-sanded because you can see the imperfections through the paint. I suck at body work.

Today was another cleaning day. I pulled the valve covers and installed the new painted ones with new gaskets. I put a dab of sealer in each corner and in the gasket valley. In addition to the valve cover gaskets I also replaced the rear cam plugs. The only ones were leaking very badly.

I disassembeled a lot of the wiring and accessories on the motor and cleaned them. Coil packs, spider hose, f-hose, connectors, etc. I painted some random pieces too. I installed a new red F-hose and cleaned up oil feed lines.

The motor looks a lot prettier.

I replaced the rear main seal. It wasn’t too bad of an install, I hope it doesn’t leak.. After that I installed the resurfaced flywheel from Vast and the Southbend OFE stage 3 clutch & RS4 pressure plate. It felt good to finally install some new parts. I feel like I’m making forward progress.

Ordered a resurfaced flywheel & rear main seal from Prince @ Vast. $275 + $225 core. He keeps your CC on file so it’s easier to funnel your paycheck to them. Also ordered a bunch of random stuff from ECS for $260.

Then, tonight I went over to the shop and took a saw-z-all to my tranny mount.

After that I spent some time hacking off the old ABS sensor. What a pain! It was seized in the hub and no amount of pounding on it from the inside of the hub would break it free. I wish I had some chisels for my air chisel. Instead, I drilled several small holes around the top/side of the sensor and chipped away at it and pried it out. I also had to drill out and rethread the bolt hole that was seized.