Learn to wrench

[DonnieD]

Hey everyone,

I just registered but I've been reading these forums for a few months now. I currently own a B5 A4 2.8 but I am ready to move on to an S. The only thing is, I really want to learn how to wrench. I was thinking of buying the repair manual provided by bentley. Is that a waste of money? I dont wont to go to schooling for this and I, unfortunately, don't have any real car enthusiasts friends. Any suggestions at all? How did all of you learn? I'd love to just start working on my A4 but have no idea how to start.

<--- hopefully me in the near future

[SilverSurferS4]

Well yea a bentley is the best way to start, its pretty much the bible for our cars.. it tells you how to do certain jobs on the car and shows you diagrams and stuff.. also you may wanna go ahead and buy a good set of tools (metric), jack stands, a hydraulic jack, etc etc... your picking a pretty expensive car to wrench on with the s4 when you get one.. so if you may break parts here and there... and they probably wont be cheap..
so i suggest that you start doing little things like general maintenance, oil changes, air filter, etc etc... then you can move on to spark plugs and other misc stuff...
i think its great that you wanna learn, and also they have some good DIY guides on this forum, so search around... im sure you can do anything, if you put your mind to it, also make some local friends on this board with a4's or s4's and im sure if they are free they would give you advice or a helping hand...

[DonnieD]

Thanks for the advice Silver, I'm happy to hear that the Bently repair manual is useful. I wasn't sure if it was just all text and filled with terms I didn't know. I make sure to buy that and then I'll go from there. Anybody in in the Northbay of Cali want to be my audi buddy? ;)

[exorcet]

yeah best thing to do, like SilverSurfer said, is start with general maintenance items - oil change, change air filter, change cabin filter, maybe spark plugs if it's time. Basically top-of-the-motor bolt on stuff.

Best advice I can give is always use the right tool for the job. Don't try to use an SAE socket on a metric bolt head just because 'it seems close enough', etc. Like anything, you'll get better and more comfortable the more you do it. Use the Bentley coupled with write-ups from forums and if any part seems weird or you don't understand, just ask before diving in. Or dive in and figure it out as you go - that's fun too.

[DonnieD]

Yeah, I guess my biggest obstacle is actually diving in. I feel like there's so much to learn it's almost overwhelming. I plan on buying a real beater Honda Civic when I get my S. In case I really screw something up :)

[01 S4]

what a car to pick to learn to wrench
get a older jeep there good to learn lots about wrenching

get the bentley and a vag com and have some fun like silver said start small have fun

[ThirdStrike]

Any suggestions at all? How did all of you learn? I'd love to just start working on my A4 but have no idea how to start.

<--- hopefully me in the near future

steps to wrenching on a vag
1. get another vag(a daily driver/beater)
2. get a ton of metric tools
3. go find your chi so you can have the patience of a ninja
4. start taking shit apart

ps. bentley manual, etka, vag-com, an experienced vag mechanic, aw, and az have all been great help for me

[matte]

im in the same boat as you DonnieD, except im lackin on the money to start doing anything big to my car now. hopefully a good summer job will change that. like previously stated these cars get expensive, and breakin shit is a big worry of mine. good luck though and im in the bay if you need some completely useless noob around to help haha. good luck, and expect a lil

[Jayco88]

Same story here, just started wrenching myself a few months ago.

things got expensive pretty quickly with this car, so I decided to perform all the maintenance and mods myself. It's hard at first because every do-it-yourself assumes you know the basics of auto mechanics, or that you understand the slang and whatnot. (when I started I couldn't tell you the difference between a maf sensor and a piggie pipe).

But it's all here in AZ, just gotta be patient and learn what you read from the archives. Believe me when I say that you're gonna lose sleep reading through the threads.

I'm still learning but if you ever need any help let me know, I'm in the Fremont area here at the bay.

... just did the snub mount install today... hurray for me!

[HotSauce]

Find a local forum (For me, MNAudi) and work with others on little projects, and learn. Post up offerings to other people, asking for help in project X in return for some beer and a good dinner, most will happily oblige.

Beyond that, read, read, read.

[Paulyworld1432]

or you could be like me and dive headfirst into a stage 3 install :) which will be done on thursday! once my damn finals are over.

But in all honesty, it takes alot of reading, and common sense. I think doing the motor pull will help me with everything else that may go wrong with the car as I now have a better understanding of how things work. Bentley is a must, other than that just dont be stupid ;)

[W1CK3D]

Yikes, been there done this. As everyone says the more you read the better off you are. Before I got the S I hadn't even changed the oil on a car before, and now I've done most if not all of the repairs to her, everything from the basic to a TB job.

Take it slow, read the writeups and pray to god you don't break anything. It's really not as bad as you think, and don't worry. With the S you'll get plenty of wrenching time to speed up your progress

Also, the AW has some great tech articles, don't forget to read over there as well. I like the forum and the guys here better, but they have quite a bit more info then is available on the 'zine.

Happy

[Paulyworld1432]

^ where do you live in chicago?

[RolledMySTi]

If you need an Audi buddy I live in Los Gatos and would be glad to help. I have done valve cover gaskets, timing belts and other fun projects on my S4. Hit me up if you ever need help.

[W1CK3D]

I'm in the north suburbs, just easier to say Chicago haha. I'm in Libertyville to be exact, what about you Pauly? You in the city proper?

[Bimmer2Audi]

Print out all the write-ups you can before you begin a job, and find a buddy. Make sure you have all the correct (metric) tools, and ask questions.

[Paulyworld1432]

for school i'm downtown, but i am in Lake Zurich for summer so I don't have to pay rent :)

Just finishing up a stage 3 install at my house in LZ currently! can't wait to get it back on the road

[JMTx86]

This is not a good car to learn on, but I got faith.

[b5s4tt]

go buy the craftsman toolchest for like $199, if you don't have tools already. look at harborfreight.com as well. buy tools when you can afford them or need them. soon you will have quite a collection. i went to school for autobody and had alot of "old timers" show me whats works there and at other shops. try to get in with some of your more mechanically sound friends and just watch.

[Rajan147]

Craigslist up some tools, people are always getting rid of compressors, jack stands and other stuff for cheap. Air tools help speed pretty much any job.

Maintenance is a great way to start, as you build your confidence try a few harder things. And hell by then JHM motorsport may have a engine pull video :)

[AB18]

I just learned by tearing things apart. I broke alot of stuff, and ended and cost a good amount extra on some stuff, but hey, i learned how do it. My first big project with as turbo swap on my 1.8t, and all the supporting mods,didn't go aswell as planned, but it got done.

[SoEvoL]

learning to wrench is fun, i worked on my hondas growing up, really moderate to do most stuff 80%, rest of the 20% were spent kicking, cussing and throwing things. after some college i decided i wanted to learn more in depth automotive so i took nti(nascar tech) and the ford program. i learned so much when i went there, going to the audi academy in az in a week or so here. i just also started changing out cats, that upper bolt is a pain in the ass lol, i got everything loosened but the 2 upper bolts =(

[KryptoniK01]

Another good way to learn is to pick up a cheap used engine for a couple hundred bux (little 4cyl honda or something) and just tear it down to bare bones then put it all back together using a haynes manual or similar. It will give you a good overall understanding of the way an engine works. Once its all back together you'll have experience with items like seals and gaskets, being able to set the timing properly, adjusting valves and almost anything else you may come across in regards to an engine... minus the turbos :) Plus, if you find one with a messed up head gasket or something along those lines you'll prob get all your money back once you fix it up and sell the motor.

The rest is blood sweat and tears!