How to Save a Life- 19birel's attempt at reviving an A4

[19birel]

So the dealer got the car tracking straight, they didn't adjust the camber the first time (the entire reason I brought them the car to begin with) but they took care of it without charging any extra and even washed the car so i can't complain.

After getting it back I decided to take care of my nasty oil leak. Rather than order another valve cover gasket from ECS I just grabbed one from AutoZone since I was short on time.
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

New gasket installed
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Surprisingly this one felt like it was much higher quality than what I got from ECS, and I didn't have to fight it to stay on like I did with the other one. I buttoned everything back up, and the next morning there wasn't a drop of oil under the car so I'd say that fixed it.

Today I finished up the armrest, it doesn't look very good to be honest so I'll have my mum help me re-do it this time around as she's pretty good at this sort of thing.

Here's some pics of it "finished" but it'll get re-done
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Yesterday however, the car was dropped off with the painter, I'll call him Tuesday to see how things are going as the time frame is pretty tight. Also, I need to get some longer wheel bolts, I wasn't sure if the stock ones would be fine or not, but on the service report from the dealership they mentioned that there wasn't much thread going into the actual hub, so I'll be ordering some 35mm bolts from BFI this coming week.

[19birel]

So I got the car back the other day and it looks great! Feels good to finally be able to daily drive the A4! Here is a sneak peek of how she looks with painted bumpers and trunk haha, this afternoon I'm going to snap some better ones with my DSLR hopefully.

IMG_7008 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

IMG_7007 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr
Had the painter debadge the rear

Anyways after I got it back, my painter gave me some left over paint incase I wanted to touch up some chips on the doors and hood (I didn't have him paint those) I took care of the drivers side door but my camera had trouble picking it up so I didn't take pics.

Then I replaced my wheel bolts. When I got the car aligned, the Audi dealer said mine were too short and there was a danger of them backing out, upon further inspection, I noticed that my wheels are extended by 15mm past the face that normally would mate with the wheel hub (basically it's like the wheels have 15mm spacers built in) so 35mm anti corrosion bolts were ordered from ECS and installed.

a4 (1 of 1)-5 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

One of my interior dome lights was dead so I ordered a pair of new ones from ECS, I think it was ~$3 for the pair
a4 (1 of 1) by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-2 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-3 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

This pic better illustrates the warmer color they have, I purchased aftermarket sylvania ones, but they look the same as OEM
a4 (1 of 1)-4 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Installed my armrest that will hopefully get redone this week
a4 (1 of 1)-6 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

This little cover for the cupholder had fallen off so I got some epoxy out and now it won't be going anywhere
a4 (1 of 1)-8 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Lastly, I installed all of my OEM Audi center caps, but I only had 3 so I took one of my blanks and sprayed it with some grey paint I had laying around. This is just temporary until I get another OEM center cap
a4 (1 of 1)-7 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Today I'll be detailing the interior and seeing about adjusting my headlights as I currently can't drive at night without my fog lights on. I also have a pair of 2-way rear deck speakers I may look into installing. My A6 blindspot glass does not fit, so I'll have to buy some A4 glass at some point.

That's it for now, stay tuned!

[PringlesInVic]

Looks great! Congrats on being able to Daily Drive it.

[IbisB8.5S4]

looks good man, can't wait to see the finished result.

[19birel]

Looks great! Congrats on being able to Daily Drive it.

looks good man, can't wait to see the finished result.

Thanks guys! I'll try and get some pics up today as yesterday was a little busy. Im so happy I can finally just sit back and enjoy driving it a little bit!

[19birel]

Finally got to do a photoshoot today! She's come a long way!

a4 (1 of 1)-9 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-10 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-11 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-13 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-12 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-15 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-14 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

a4 (1 of 1)-16 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

[DasShane]

Great job on putting it all back together. Looks good man. I love it when people actually finish their projects and reading the whole thread is worth it.

[CarlWeasly]

Looks great birel!! Makes me want my hood silver even more haha

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

[Tow3rs]

Did putting those wheels on throw off your speedo? Looks great man. I plan on doing alot to mine this summer

[19birel]

Great job on putting it all back together. Looks good man. I love it when people actually finish their projects and reading the whole thread is worth it.

Thanks man, glad you've enjoyed the build!

Looks great birel!! Makes me want my hood silver even more haha

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Thanks man! Once you get paint on that hood yours will be looking great haha

Did putting those wheels on throw off your speedo? Looks great man. I plan on doing alot to mine this summer

Nope, as far as I can tell my speedo is just as accurate. Thanks, I plan on doing more in the summer too, taking care of a few details.


Sent from my slouch beanie using Tapatalk

[PringlesInVic]

Looks great! Makes me really want get new wheels and drop the Daisy's.

[19birel]

Looks great! Makes me really want get new wheels and drop the Daisy's.

Thanks! The wheels really transformed the look of the car IMO. I love the aggressive stance and I think they make it look a little more modern too, everyone is always surprised when I tell them it's a 1999 haha


Sent from my slouch beanie using Tapatalk

[19birel]

Well my driver's side heated seat stopped working, I haven't used it since before I detailed my interior the other day so I think I pressed my knee down on the seat while cleaning and busted a wire in the heating element as my passenger side still works and the fuse didn't blow. I looked it up and it seems like a straight forward fix, but if anyone has any tips for making the process go smoother etc. please let me know!

[19birel]

Here are a couple pics from when I messed with my seat, I was only able to get the bolsters to heat, but honestly that's enough to keep me sane haha. First I fixed the obvious breaks in the wiring/ where the sheathing was peeling.
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Mocked everything up in the car to test, and got the bolsters heating
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Dug up all the other wiring, to check for breaks and none were found, so I ended up using some fabric medical style tape to re-secure the wires and put it back together
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

I'm not sure why the rest of the seat doesn't heat, and as I got it working well enough to live with I'm just going to leave it alone and maybe keep my eyes peeled for S4 seats haha. For now I'm just happy they work at all.

[19birel]

So one feature I really wanted to have in the A4 is Sat Nav. Having to drive to and from ROC for school and driving around ROC, I decided that having to use my phone to get everywhere was a little impractical. While I'd like to eventually get an RNS-E, I wanted an inexpensive sat nav solution that wasn't sitting in my ash tray or suction cupped to my windshield.

That's where this comes in, my parents old Garmin they quit using and gave me.
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr
It's older so the maps may be a little out of date, but if I find myself using it frequently enough I'll upgrade it this summer if I can't get hold of an RNS-E or aftermarket nav headunit

first task was mounting it, here is the back of the windshield mount after the suction cup part has been removed.
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

I traced that circle on a clear piece of plastic, cut it out, and glued it on with some epoxy
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

next I attached some velcro to it, and then to the corresponding place on my belt-line trim where I wanted to mount it
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Next part is the wiring, first I cut the end of the Garmin charger that plugs into the 12v power outlet in the car. It's one sheathed wire wrapped by a bare wire, the sheathed wire is your positive, the bare one is your ground; to make things easier I twisted my ground wire together so it wasn't a bunch of thin strands.
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Crimped the positive wire into this add a fuse from pep boys
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Added my fuses and connected it to the fuse for the interior lights (can't remember fuse # off the top of my head)
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

All hooked up, the ground wire is wrapped around a bolt for the fuse box
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

GPS connected and fuse cover back on
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Unfortunately I haven't gotten to use it because while I was doing the wiring, the GPS, not connected to anything, randomly started beeping and then wouldn't turn back on. Given that it the boot screen was really messed and it took forever to get a satellite signal, I'm not entirely surprised that it died, just annoyed that it happened 3/4 of the way through my install. I ordered another one though, used for $23 off Amazon, so I'll update you guys when that arrives tomorrow.

Other than that I still haven't had the chance to jack the car up and check the mounts, the last couple time I drove it, it didn't make that "thunk" I mentioned in my other thread so I'm pretty sure it's fluid at this point. I'll get that done tomorrow though and let you guys know as well.

[audinutt]

A lot of GPS use 5 volts. This the micro usb standard. If you wired it straight to 12 volts it's cooked. Hopefully I catch you before you damage the replacement you purchased.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[19birel]

A lot of GPS use 5 volts. This the micro usb standard. If you wired it straight to 12 volts it's cooked. Hopefully I catch you before you damage the replacement you purchased.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

I think that's what I've done, the first GPS was never plugged in as it died prematurely, but it looks like you just saved me from killing the replacement, thanks! Now I just have to figure out how to step down the voltage.

Edit: if I can find the remains of the charger I hacked up for this, I can use the circuit board in that which is designed to step the 12volts from the cigarette lighter down to the 5volts for the GPS.

[19birel]

Is it just me, or are my headlights abnormally dim? OEM projector halogens.

Without fog lights on


With fog lights on (how I usually have to drive)


These are dimmer than even my Golf's headlights, is this normal for a B5? If not, any guesses? If the bulbs were bad id assume they wouldn't work at all, unsure what to do other than maybe upgrade to HIDs....


Sent from my slouch beanie using Tapatalk

[nemick]

The stock halogens truly suck. I got so tired of mine that I recently swapped in some old original HID units. Your's actually look brighter than mine did

[CarlWeasly]

Can confirm, my stock beams have a dismally low light output. That's why I really want hid's

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

[Turbo_B5]

@op

Can confirm, my stock beams have a dismally low light output. That's why I really want hid's

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

It doesn't get much better with HIDs. Just skip them and do a bi-xenon retrofit.

[19birel]

The stock halogens truly suck. I got so tired of mine that I recently swapped in some old original HID units. Your's actually look brighter than mine did

Can confirm, my stock beams have a dismally low light output. That's why I really want hid's

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Wow, I thought mine were defective or something. I mean my golf doesn't even have projectors or fogs and the light output is noticeably better, heck I remember one night when my dad was following me in his B8 with lighting package, and I could actually see his lights projecting wider than the throw of mine and just as far ahead, and he was at least 2-3 lengths behind me...

On the bright side at least I don't have some pesky electrical issue to sort out haha.

@op



It doesn't get much better with HIDs. Just skip them and do a bi-xenon retrofit.

Really? Is the halogen housing just designed poorly or something? I thought lots of people were doing the HID installs...

[Turbo_B5]

Wow, I thought mine were defective or something. I mean my gold doesn't even have projectors or fogs and the light output is noticeably better, heck I remember one night when my dad was following me in his B8 with lighting package, and I could actually see his lights projecting wider than the throw of mine and just as far ahead, and he was at least 2-3 lengths behind me...

On the bright side at least I don't have some pesky electrical issue to sort out haha.


Really? Is the halogen housing just designed poorly or something? I thought lots of people were doing the HID installs...

I really wish I just skiped wasting the $100+ dollars I paid for HIDs and bought some Morimoto Mini H1 Bi-xenon Projectors.

[CarlWeasly]

@op



It doesn't get much better with HIDs. Just skip them and do a bi-xenon retrofit.

that sucks, good to know though. thanks king

[Turbo_B5]

that sucks, good to know though. thanks king

Welcome. The light output is sooo much better with these. I bet its only better in person. Can't wait to do a retrofit.

[19birel]

I really wish I just skiped wasting the $100+ dollars I paid for HIDs and bought some Morimoto Mini H1 Bi-xenon Projectors.

Oh I thought you mean getting OEM Xenons, I'll definitely look into some Morimotos then, thanks for the info and videos!

[19birel]

Shot a video of the B5!

[19birel]

So not much has really happened to the car as of late, but the other weekend I did take it down to Watkins Glen for opening weekend. Had a blast, but boiled the brake fluid pretty early on, so I'll have to flush that in a month or so when I go home haha. Anyways, here are some pics of the trip up there and at the track.

Audiwatrip (1 of 1)-2 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Audiwatrip (1 of 1) by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Audiwatrip (1 of 1)-3 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

20160416_WGI_GR15_7246 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

And here's a quick video clip


In other new the power steering issue only gets more confusing, I have not leaked fluid in over 2k miles, but the pump continues to whine. Before I mess with the rack at all, I'm changing the pump to see if that solves my peculiar issues. I have also been having issues with my fresh paint, it got really hazy, so I took it back to the guy who painted it and he polished it which appeared to fix it. Nows it's beginning to come back again, he said he'd repaint it if need be, so I'm not too worried, it's just not ideal is all.

Just about another month or so of school, and then I can tear back into this thing, finish the maintenance, and start doing some more mods

[AudiSport12]

Regarding the halogen output, a combination of the headlight housing lens and the projector lens getting dirty is what causes them to suck. Also, the halogen bulbs will dim over time. If you're looking for a reasonable upgrade and want clear corners, I would look at Depo brand housings on Ebay and throw a HID kit in them.

[Nollywood]

Good work on your car so far.

I would say though, the location you've chosen to mount your Garmin is not the most practical. I might be wrong, and it may suit you to view it where it is, I know for sure that would suck for my driving position.

[19birel]

Regarding the halogen output, a combination of the headlight housing lens and the projector lens getting dirty is what causes them to suck. Also, the halogen bulbs will dim over time. If you're looking for a reasonable upgrade and want clear corners, I would look at Depo brand housings on Ebay and throw a HID kit in them.

I think I'll separate the lenses from the headlights housing and clean the projectors, delete the ambers, and install new bulbs to see if I can salvage what I have first. If that doens't work I'll either look into the Depo headlights as you mentioned or a xenon retrofit.

Good work on your car so far.

I would say though, the location you've chosen to mount your Garmin is not the most practical. I might be wrong, and it may suit you to view it where it is, I know for sure that would suck for my driving position.

Thanks!

And yeah, my Garmin placement is not ideal, but I mostly use it going to and from college as a reminder of what exits to take so it works alright where it is. This summer I'll be installing an aftermarket stereo at which point I'll relocate the Garmin to a better position since I'll already have the dash apart allowing me to rerun the wiring for the Garmin so I can place it in a better position.

[Cactus Avant]

Nice! I wish I could have made it up for opening weekend this year. Thats always a blast

[19birel]

So a bit of bad news, I lost 4th gear today... It goes in fine but makes a ton of grinding noises when it's in and the doesn't actually propel the car. I'm pretty certain this means the gear itself is ruined, but is there any possible way I could have a much simpler problem or am I right in thinking it's time to look for a new gearbox?

[Bordom]

So a bit of bad news, I lost 4th gear today... It goes in fine but makes a ton of grinding noises when it's in and the doesn't actually propel the car. I'm pretty certain this means the gear itself is ruined, but is there any possible way I could have a much simpler problem or am I right in thinking it's time to look for a new gearbox?

If it pops right out or by itself it's the synchro. You may have sheared fourth. God only knows how unless you launched it from there

Everything graciously mispelled by Android

[19birel]

If it pops right out or by itself it's the synchro. You may have sheared fourth. God only knows how unless you launched it from there

Everything graciously mispelled by Android

Doesn't pop out, goes in like normal and stays, just makes grinding noises and doesn't actually put any power down. I'm confused as to how 4th could've sheared too, I push the car sometimes but never beat on it so why fourth of all gears decided to go flusters me. My only guess is that the trans fluid has never been changed causing excessive wear, even still I would imagine that really old fluid would destroy a syncro before ruining the gear.

[Bordom]

Doesn't pop out, goes in like normal and stays, just makes grinding noises and doesn't actually put any power down. I'm confused as to how 4th could've sheared too, I push the car sometimes but never beat on it so why fourth of all gears decided to go flusters me. My only guess is that the trans fluid has never been changed causing excessive wear, even still I would imagine that really old fluid would destroy a syncro before ruining the gear.

It's one of those things. Like my second gear synchro. One little grind in fourth destroyed it lol. Trans can be found relatively inexpensive for the 5-spd

Everything graciously mispelled by Android

[19birel]

It's one of those things. Like my second gear synchro. One little grind in fourth destroyed it lol. Trans can be found relatively inexpensive for the 5-spd

Everything graciously mispelled by Android

Yeah, I think I know a few places where I should be able to get one for a reasonable price, I just hope my current one can get me back home from school next month haha, it makes a slight whining noise now in 5th, so I'm hoping I can get another 200+ miles out of it.

[Bordom]

Yeah, I think I know a few places where I should be able to get one for a reasonable price, I just hope my current one can get me back home from school next month haha, it makes a slight whining noise now in 5th, so I'm hoping I can get another 200+ miles out of it.

At least you'll be able to drive home in 3rd if it fails lol

Everything graciously mispelled by Android

[E-rAudi8sixty]

Screen Shot 2015-11-21 at 5.07.04 PM by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Parts ordered! First time buying from FCP Euro and I'm really liking their prices!

Where did you order your tie rod and other parts?

[E-rAudi8sixty]

Lol after replied I seen where you got them. Have you gotten a chance to put them in and check quality?really interested.thanks