"DP's with tip" A.K.A. Maybe I should just take a sledgehammer to the FUC*ING P.O.S.

[SurferD]

Well my foray into changing the DP's is proving quite a job. It's been 2 days now (after work) and neither is out yet. I have been following the posted instructions and Bentley. Most all tutorials are for a 6-speed though with a lot more clearance. Those damn heat shields are the work of a demented German engineer. I have had to bash them with a metal rod and large hammer just to get to the flange bolts which by themselves are terribly hard to reach. I will persist but this better be worth it. I have a used set of Millteks I'm putting in.

[Blue_S4]

good luck...i did mine with engine out.

[SurferD]

I'm thinking that's the way to go.

[RolledMySTi]

Sounds like me when I work on just about everything.

[b5s4tt]

pain in the ass job. we took out the bolts with like 4 feet of extensions on the sockets, heatshields out as well. i cant remember if we took the axle bolts off it was a long time ago

[PSYC0TIC ONE]

one of the reasons i never did DP's on my B5, its a MASSIVE pain... along with just about everything else short of an oil change... good luck man, i'm sure someone here will be able to walk you through everything

[The_Jerbel]

There are two ways to do dp's on tip cars that are the easiest.
1. Pull the engine
2. Remove the half shafts, remove the CV axle heat shields, drop the subframe a little bit. You should be able to reach the flanges from underneath after doing that.

[Sleeeper X]

good luck...i did mine with engine out.

lol, same here

[SurferD]

I did drop the tranny and remove the CV guards. I was very pleased to find a few of the CV bolts rusted and stripped. I had to drill them out!

[wheel366]

I had mine done in CT at ICS. There was no way I was going to even attempt the job. Even they had trouble doing it. What I find funny is that when I went to pick it up, there was a Meineke business card in my car along with a blank voided check. My guess is that ICS didn't do the work and took it to Mieneke, at least for some welding. I remember saying that their welder called out sick a day or two.

[wheel366]

Well my foray into changing the DP's is proving quite a job. It's been 2 days now (after work) and neither is out yet. I have been following the posted instructions and Bentley. Most all tutorials are for a 6-speed though with a lot more clearance. Those damn heat shields are the work of a demented German engineer. I have had to bash them with a metal rod and large hammer just to get to the flange bolts which by themselves are terribly hard to reach. I will persist but this better be worth it. I have a used set of Millteks I'm putting in.

I can tell you that the car felt so much better after the downpipes. Although, I did have the intercoolers installed too. It felt as though the boost kept on coming, plus my mileage went way up for highway driving! I would say about 100 - 150 miles a take if all highway and no traffic.

[The_Jerbel]

I did drop the tranny and remove the CV guards. I was very pleased to find a few of the CV bolts rusted and stripped. I had to drill them out!

For future reference, spray some PBblaster in the bolt holes (to clean out any crap that may prevent the 12pt tool from fully seating) and tap the 12pt tool into the bolt with a hammer before attempting to turn the bolt. Also, if you ever strip one out, use a vise grips and turn it out that way. I've stripped a couple in my time, and never had to drill them out. Always just used a vice grips, and then used a new bolt when re-assembling.

[SurferD]

I had mine done in CT at ICS. There was no way I was going to even attempt the job. Even they had trouble doing it. What I find funny is that when I went to pick it up, there was a Meineke business card in my car along with a blank voided check. My guess is that ICS didn't do the work and took it to Mieneke, at least for some welding. I remember saying that their welder called out sick a day or two.

Wow I'm surprised at that. Brian (if he's still there) and ICS usually do good work. Welding, what welding?

[SurferD]

For future reference, spray some PBblaster in the bolt holes (to clean out any crap that may prevent the 12pt tool from fully seating) and tap the 12pt tool into the bolt with a hammer before attempting to turn the bolt. Also, if you ever strip one out, use a vise grips and turn it out that way. I've stripped a couple in my time, and never had to drill them out. Always just used a vice grips, and then used a new bolt when re-assembling.

I got them all out. The driver side only had one attached and the passenger side had the stripped ones. Seems the heat generated by the drill loosened the rust. They came out intact except for the hole in the middle. They are so deep in that vise grips wouldn't have fit. I don't know why they use Allens and not regular hex heads. Maybe they look cooler in the factory.

[SurferD]

I can tell you that the car felt so much better after the downpipes. Although, I did have the intercoolers installed too. It felt as though the boost kept on coming, plus my mileage went way up for highway driving! I would say about 100 - 150 miles a take if all highway and no traffic.

I have a new set of AWE IC's in the garage just waiting. I also have a new RS4 oil cooler. So when it is finally back together I should notice an improvement. BTW, what stage will I be, 2.5? IC's, DP's, cat back, AWE air intake APR 93 ECM. This whole stage thing confuses me.

[GramCracker]

Wow I'm surprised at that. Brian (if he's still there) and ICS usually do good work. Welding, what welding?

Brian was fired. George now does the Audi stuff.

[SurferD]

Brian was fired. George now does the Audi stuff.

Fired? Shi* he was a great source of knowledge.

[wheel366]

Brian was fired. George now does the Audi stuff.

Fired? I thought him and George co owned the company. Interesting...

[wheel366]

Wow I'm surprised at that. Brian (if he's still there) and ICS usually do good work. Welding, what welding?

I have no problem with the work what-so-ever. It just took longer than I thought and after seeing the card and check it made me believe that someone else did the work or at least part of it however I have no facts other than those two items. Brian said something about the exhaust being to long and they had to trim it then weld it to make sure there were no leaks.

[The_Jerbel]

I have a new set of AWE IC's in the garage just waiting. I also have a new RS4 oil cooler. So when it is finally back together I should notice an improvement. BTW, what stage will I be, 2.5? IC's, DP's, cat back, AWE air intake APR 93 ECM. This whole stage thing confuses me.

2+

[SurferD]

OK today I made massive progress. I was able to get the forward O2 sensor from the passenger side and the last flange nut. I had to drop the subframe then was able to just get the DP out. I swear that shield has a mind of it's own but it came out too. I had to cut the wire to the rear O2 sensor because it was so rusted and the corners rounded off. Here's another question. Should I replace all the sensors while they are out? Do they come in a harness? Also how important is is to replace the shield? I could cut it in half and re use the forward section over the turbo.

[KryptoniK01]

If they are rusted and worn like that I would replace them while you have the DP's out. No sense going to all that trouble to find out you have to do it again a few months from now. Vast sells the o2 sensors and they do come with the wire harness - unfortunately they aren't cheap.

http://vastperformance.com/shop/prod...products_id=69

[SurferD]

If they are rusted and worn like that I would replace them while you have the DP's out. No sense going to all that trouble to find out you have to do it again a few months from now. Vast sells the o2 sensors and they do come with the wire harness - unfortunately they aren't cheap.

http://vastperformance.com/shop/prod...products_id=69

Oh damn you're right buku $$$. I ordered both sets. I don't want to ever have to do this again. Until I sell it that is. Shield doesn't have rust but it's smashed up. I can bend it back. Not sure about the driver side yet. Are they really necessary? Will half length shields work?

[Reich]

I can imagine the pain. Our tranny is fu....g big.

[The_Jerbel]

The heat shields aren't necessary, but are definitely a good idea. I'm not a big fan of wires and other crap touching the dp's and melting through. I imagine the front half of the HS will be sufficient.

[SurferD]

OK I had some time today and tackled the left side DP. I had already gotten the lower and outer nuts off. It was fairly easy because the frame isn't as big as the right side. OK this can't be that hard since the tip and sub frame are already dropped a bit. The heat shield proved a bear to get out of the way, again. I couldn't just smash this one out of the way. I spent about 3 hours in the hot sun and many scrapes on my hands/arms using aviation snips(all 3 types) cutting the shield out of the way. I hate these F'ing things! Damn German engineers. I guess I can't reuse this one. OK there are the flange nuts! Another 1.5 hours of scraping/chafing my arms through that little opening. Damn those things are on tight. I had to use a pipe on the end of the 17mm wrench to get them free. Of course they were hard to get off all the way to the end of the threads. Little by little the came off while dropping the wrench about a hundred times. I had to stop for the day. My new O2 sensors and gaskets should be here too tomorrow so I can start the installation.

[SurferD]

Got it all back together finally. I only lost 2 parts, the clip for the washer hose under the front bumper and one of the DP nuts. Not bad. I reconnected the battery and waited 5 seconds in key position 2 like the manual says. I went to start it and it just turns over. WTH? The CEL is blinking. Anyone have suggestions?

[The_Jerbel]

Did you remember to plug the crank position sensor back in?

[SurferD]

Did you remember to plug the crank position sensor back in?

Where is that plug located?

[S!Lver_S4]

I had mine done in CT at ICS. There was no way I was going to even attempt the job. Even they had trouble doing it. What I find funny is that when I went to pick it up, there was a Meineke business card in my car along with a blank voided check. My guess is that ICS didn't do the work and took it to Mieneke, at least for some welding. I remember saying that their welder called out sick a day or two.

How much $??

[SurferD]

How much $??

Get ready and bend over!
I would easily charge someone 800-1k for that job.

[The_Jerbel]

On the driver's side/top of the tranny housing. It's close to the output drive flange.

[SurferD]

On the driver's side/top of the tranny housing. It's close to the output drive flange.

I didn't take that apart but I will check. Anything else I should look at?

[NYSTGIII]

Get ready and bend over!
I would easily charge someone 800-1k for that job.

$6-650

[SurferD]

Great news, I got it started! I checked all connections that were opened during the operation and they were all good. Tried again and it just cranked. OK I thought what about the immobilizer thing on the ECM? I installed my APR tuned ECM which the immobilizer was deleted and it fired up on the first try!
I'm putting it back together again and taking it for a spin
Now the question is how do I reset this ECM?