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

[Cactus Avant]

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

I changed all my front control arms out with ones from FCP Euro. Ive had them in for almost a year now, and they have been great so far. Once I put them in, it tightened up the steering a lot. Its maintenance thats almost like doing a mod lol

[19birel]

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

Yeah, the've been installed for almost 3k miles now, since refreshing the front end with those parts the cars has felt much tighter and I have had no issues with them. Would definitely recommend.

Only think that wasn't as good as expected was the steering rack boot, the OEM ones feel kinda rubbery and the aftermarket ones I got are plastic. They still function as intended though so no big deal I guess

EDIT: In other news i drove the car again today, 1 & 2nd sound like a box of marbles, 5th whines quite loudly, 3rd is the only one that really works 100%. Just going to have my dad come up here with a uhaul trailer after I'm done with finals so we can tow it home, not worth risking the gearbox completely crapping the bed halfway through my trip

[19birel]

Well here is a long overdue update

So I trailered the car back from Rochester to Pittsburgh and began hunting for a new gearbox. I searched high and low and found nothing under $400 until I got a message from a guy from the local VAG FB group saying that he had one from a 2.8 litre car for $250 with ~160k miles (my car had around 158k). So down to West Virginia I went to pick it up, and here it was.

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

after a quick clean
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Got the car jacked up and ready to go! (there are actual jack stands there, the cinderblocks were just a backup should any of them fail)
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Now I didn't take a ton of pics of this process, but in short, it sucked. This should really be done with a lift, and addition to that, bolts that were so stripped I had to find someone with a welder to attach a breaker bar to them, finding more broken stuff, and working full-time, and taking a summer class, the project took way longer than I would've liked. One of the big things that I had to do in addition to the gearbox was replace the power steering rack as some poking around proved that it's leaky-ness was the cause of my mysterious smoking issues this past winter. With the gearbox out, this project was WAY easier.

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

the new rack
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

My 99.5 had the Koyo rack, but some cars apparently came with a ZF rack. What makes this a little confusing is that both racks are actually manufactured by ZF, just one has some component on it made by Koyo and the way the lines run to it are different. I called the dealership to confirm the part # via the vin before purchasing the rack, but if your car is older than 1999.5 than it will be too old for them to decode the vin (I had them search the vin of a MY99 car at my local pnp to see if I could just get that, but they couldn't tell me what was in it)

After that was sorted I wrapped up the transmission swap! At this time I also elected to purchase and install some new MTC transmission mounts as a bolt had snapped off in one of the originals (the shop that did the clutch for the PO must've done it). They're OEM spec, and for $24 for the set, certainly worth the money.
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr
gearbox in the car

Propshaft in place
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

at some point during all this I also decided to paint my grill gloss black

Disassembly
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

After a few coats
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After clear
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I also decided to polish up my rings and surrounding trim while everything was apart, hear is a before and after of the trim

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Then I reassembled everything
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

And then mounted it all up
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

did my lower grills matte black as they looked super faced, had a little overspray on them, and didn't match my freshly painted grill all that well

before
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

during
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installed
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and just like that Adéline the A4 was ready to hit the road again!

my two Germans
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

and a couple from a brief offroad adventure in the A4
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

So in conclusion, the car runs fantastic now. The 2.8 gearing is really nice, you have to feed it more throttle off the line, but once your moving the longer keeps help keep you in the power band longer, with a tune I think it'd be perfect. In typical 19birel fashion I got the car together just days before I left to school, this time in North Dakota. Having only put 225miles on the car in the 4 days since I got it back on the road, I decided it was best to just leave it home and have my dad drive it occasionally to make sure everything is mint and just take my VW to school instead. On the upside, she'll be waiting for me when I fly home for Christmas

Oh, and if anyone is wondering why I didn't do the transmission fluid, I have a bunch of Redline MT90 sitting in my garage, I just didn't have the time to throw it in, but I will once I start putting serious miles on the car again.

[Davdraco1]

The last two gear boxes I've bought cost me 100$ each.

[19birel]

The last two gear boxes I've bought cost me 100$ each.

You must've gotten lucky haha, the going rate at most VAG parts yards is ~$400 for a used 5-speed. Hardly anyone was parting cars at the time so I had to take what I could get. It shifts really smooth so I won't complain.

[Davdraco1]

The second box had the shifter still connected so I could try out all the gears before I bought.

[Believer]

Doesn't ND have some really cold winters? I had issues with very difficult shifting and grinding in New Jersey late fall/winters with MT90.

[19birel]

Doesn't ND have some really cold winters? I had issues with very difficult shifting and grinding in New Jersey late fall/winters with MT90.

Yeah, this will get be my first winter here but it is supposed to get super cold. Is there another fluid you'd recommend? I can always put the MT90 in my VW which is due for a fluid change, and then get something else for the A4.

[Believer]

Yeah, this will get be my first winter here but it is supposed to get super cold. Is there another fluid you'd recommend? I can always put the MT90 in my VW which is due for a fluid change, and then get something else for the A4.

I always recommend OE based on how it has performed in my gear boxes. Fuchs Titan Sintopoid 75w90 is apparently a direct replacement for OE fluid also.

[19birel]

I always recommend OE based on how it has performed in my gear boxes. Fuchs Titan Sintopoid 75w90 is apparently a direct replacement for OE fluid also.

Okay, I'll probably just stick to OE then. Thanks!


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EDIT: I also forgot to mention in my update that the new rack vastly improved the steering, feels much more direct and precise, just the way it should be!

[down_n_dapper]

You must've gotten lucky haha, the going rate at most VAG parts yards is ~$400 for a used 5-speed. Hardly anyone was parting cars at the time so I had to take what I could get. It shifts really smooth so I won't complain.

You got a good deal man, I searched high and low in Aus land and found a 2.8 trans for $600 lol good to see you're taking care of buisness!

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[19birel]

You got a good deal man, I searched high and low in Aus land and found a 2.8 trans for $600 lol good to see you're taking care of buisness!

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Yeah, like I said I can't complain too much, $600 would have been crazy! Now hopefully my car decides to be reliable so I can throw some mods at it:)

BTW I was just reading your thread, congrats on the Avant!

[CarlWeasly]

Nice to see you still around man! Good work as always

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[19birel]

Nice to see you still around man! Good work as always

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Thanks man!


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[Das Ponto]

Just flipped through it all, that is quite the revival! Nice work man!

[b6Hate4]

Brb, stealing the gloss grill paint idea!

Seriously though, that looks tits.

[19birel]

Just flipped through it all, that is quite the revival! Nice work man!

Thanks man! It's been a fun project so far, still more to come!

Brb, stealing the gloss grill paint idea!

Seriously though, that looks tits.

Thanks Zach! It's a subtle change but I think it makes the front end look a little more modern, glad I was finally able to get around to painting it up.

While you have your grill apart I'd recommend polishing the chrome too, mine shined up with almost no effort and the difference was huge

[b6Hate4]

Thanks man! It's been a fun project so far, still more to come!


Thanks Zach! It's a subtle change but I think it makes the front end look a little more modern, glad I was finally able to get around to painting it up.

While you have your grill apart I'd recommend polishing the chrome too, mine shined up with almost no effort and the difference was huge

A GTRS elim would make this car freaking perfect. A daily, reliable, OEM+ looking proven 350hp

[19birel]

A GTRS elim would make this car freaking perfect. A daily, reliable, OEM+ looking proven 350hp

That would be a riot, I'd love an extra 200bhp over stock. I'd at least need rods for that though, right?

[b6Hate4]

That would be a riot, I'd love an extra 200bhp over stock. I'd at least need rods for that though, right?

No rods needed. There is no torque spike like k0x framed turbos, power comes on much smoother, and its only 350 at the crank, not wheel.

[19birel]

No rods needed. There is no torque spike like k0x framed turbos, power comes on much smoother, and its only 350 at the crank, not wheel.

Oh wow, that's pretty enticing then. How much do setups like that usually go for? $2.5k?


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[b6Hate4]

Oh wow, that's pretty enticing then. How much do setups like that usually go for? $2.5k?

You can get away with it for much cheaper than that. You need

-HFC/Downpipe
-Turbo
-Injectors
-Tune
-piping kit
-Treadstone core

Thats it. Source everything you can used, and non essential items on Ebay and you could get it done for like $1500

[19birel]

You can get away with it for much cheaper than that. You need

-HFC/Downpipe
-Turbo
-Injectors
-Tune
-piping kit
-Treadstone core

Thats it. Source everything you can used, and non essential items on Ebay and you could get it done for like $1500

That's not too bad, at all. Once I get the rest of the car to a point where I'm satisfied with it, I'll have to look into going that direction.


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[RENOxDECEPTION]

how did you polish the chrome and rings? looks awesome!

[19birel]

how did you polish the chrome and rings? looks awesome!

Thanks! Just used a microfiber and some Meguiars Ultimate Compound, I don't have to work it too hard either, all the tarnishing came off with fairly little effort.

Here's a link to it on amazon though you can buy it at Walmart or Autozone too https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G172...imate+compound

[19birel]

Figured I'd post a little update since the old girl just passed 160k the other day. I've been driving the car whenever I come home for break and so far it hasn't missed a beat, however there are some little things that still need attended to so I'll outline some of the maintenance items that are in this car's near future.

-exhaust, it's really rusted and it started to leak a little bit and when I have the climate control on I can smell it a little when stationary. Time for a custom setup!

-Throw out bearing could've/should've changed this when I had the transmission out but I forgot. I'll either find a lift to borrow, or if I work at the dealership again this summer, just pay to have it done. (may or may not upgrade the clutch this time around too)

-Rear control arm bushings & sway bar bushings, they're all worn out, but good news is that it's a cheap fix and the car should feel much tighter once it's done

-Coilpacks, there is still a slight hesitation noticeable mostly when it's cold, plugs are new, I think the coils are going.

-headlights, projectors are dirty and light output is pretty poor, I'll split the lights and clean them, maybe even upgrade the projector lenses instead.

That's the main stuff that currently ails the car, there are a few cosmetic things and some interior work to be done, but I'll worry about that once these mechanical repairs get knocked out. I also got some upgrade Meyle HD RSB end-links that'll get installed in a few months time when I start tackling all this maintenance.

I've also taken a bunch of pictures of it lately, so I'll leave those here as well.

Audi Sewickley (1 of 1) by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Audi Sewickley (1 of 1)-4 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

A4 fog shoot (1 of 1) by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

A4 fog shoot (1 of 1)-5 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

A4 fog shoot (1 of 1)-4 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

A4 fog shoot (1 of 1)-6 by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

And lastly I made a little review of my B5 haha


She's far from perfect, but she's getting close to how I want her. Can't wait till I'm out of school for the summer to start working on the car again!

[b6Hate4]

Looking good.

[b6Hate4]

If you're going to upgrade and don't mind a touch of chatter I would suggest the Valeo SMFW kit, it's cheap as chips and can hold Frankenturbo power just fine.

[19birel]

If you're going to upgrade and don't mind a touch of chatter I would suggest the Valeo SMFW kit, it's cheap as chips and can hold Frankenturbo power just fine.

I'll look into that for sure, if I do a clutch upgrade, a standard K04 or a FT would likely be my goal so that sounds like it could definitely work. IDK how I feel about dealing with chatter though, I haven't been in a car with a SMFW for reference, but if it's not too annoying I would be willing to make the move, I'm just hesitant to give up any refinement haha.

[Turbo_B5]

no chatter with valeo smfw here. on my 01a4 k03 and k04 and 97a4 k03. clutch has about 70k kms on it now, i beat the fuck out of it on a daily basis.

[b6Hate4]

I'll look into that for sure, if I do a clutch upgrade, a standard K04 or a FT would likely be my goal so that sounds like it could definitely work. IDK how I feel about dealing with chatter though, I haven't been in a car with a SMFW for reference, but if it's not too annoying I would be willing to make the move, I'm just hesitant to give up any refinement haha.

When I had a SMFW the only time I'd say it was annoying would be at idle with the AC on. But refinement? I swear you're 40 years old.

[19birel]

no chatter with valeo smfw here. on my 01a4 k03 and k04 and 97a4 k03. clutch has about 70k kms on it now, i beat the fuck out of it on a daily basis.

Good to hear, I'll definitely keep that setup in mind then.

When I had a SMFW the only time I'd say it was annoying would be at idle with the AC on. But refinement? I swear you're 40 years old.

Haha I suppose my car modding priorities are slightly abnormal for the average 19 y/o. For me refinement>performance, especially for this car in particular as it's supposed to be a daily, gotta find that balance between the two!

[b6Hate4]

I still don't understand how you drive that car so #slammed and #dapper

[4A Play]

I'm in pa and have a euro trunk and Valeo xenon one piece headlights........

[19birel]

I'm in pa and have a euro trunk and Valeo xenon one piece headlights........

Even from Allentown, shipping for a Eurotrunk would probably be insane.

How much are you looking to get for the headlights though? I may be interested...

[19birel]

So today I took care of something that has bothered me since I started driving the car last winter, the awful headlights. After some digging I found that the poor light output was a likely a result of dirty projectors. Now my original plan was to bake the headlights in the oven and remove the plastic outer lenses so I could have easy access to the front of the projector, and remove the amber reflector which I planned to paint matte silver and reinstall. However, you have to do a lot of prying to remove the lenses and it was evident the headlight would be damaged if I continued. Worse still, I couldn't remove the projector completely because the halogen headlights don't have the little opening the xenons have at the bottom where the ballast sits. As a result I just unscrewed the projectors, and slid my and threw the opening for the high beam to clean the front of the projectors with a micro fiber and some glass cleaner. I reinstalled the projector and used a q-tip taped to a pen and some glass cleaner to clean the inside of the projector. Here are some pics.

Before
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

During (top is sorta clean, bottom is still dirty)
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

After
Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Most of the dirt was on the inside of the projector, it'll be interesting to get these back on the car and see the improvement; I retained the original bulbs so I would have a direct comparison. here are the cleaning "tools" I used for the inside haha

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Only issue is that I still have these ugly amber reflectors, the plan is to order some matte silver vinyl to cover it them from the outside. Not ideal, but if it doesn't look nice, I can always just peel it off.

Next on the agenda is probably fixing my sagging interior door cards, and then an oil change in the next few weeks. I used Castrol Syntec Edge last time, any reccomendations for a better oil? I've had no issues with Castrol, but figured I'd spend a little extra if I can find better quality. I was considering Luqui Moly Leichtlauf High Tech or Motul 8100 X-Cess.

[xdewaynex]

Putting any color vinyl on the headlight housing is going to look awful. Might as well just remove the amber reflector if you dont like it. I had a modified set on my A4, but it got kind of old and the amber reflector doesnt look too bad next to the yellow paint.

[19birel]

Putting any color vinyl on the headlight housing is going to look awful. Might as well just remove the amber reflector if you dont like it. I had a modified set on my A4, but it got kind of old and the amber reflector doesnt look too bad next to the yellow paint.

I've seen a couple B8 guys do it with black vinyl (their headlights are black) and it looked okay, I'm on the fence about the silver, but it's easily reversible so nothing to loose really. The only thing I hate more than the amber reflector is the gap it leave when it's removed; If the vinyl looks bad I'll live with the amber, it just sticks out a ton since the car is silver and I can't justify buying e-codes just to ditch those reflectors.

[b6Hate4]

I've seen a couple B8 guys do it with black vinyl (their headlights are black) and it looked okay, I'm on the fence about the silver, but it's easily reversible so nothing to loose really. The only thing I hate more than the amber reflector is the gap it leave when it's removed; If the vinyl looks bad I'll live with the amber, it just sticks out a ton since the car is silver and I can't justify buying e-codes just to ditch those reflectors.

It doesn't look all that great in person on the b8

[xdewaynex]

Yea that was another reason why I ditched the modded ones because of the holes left by the tabs on the reflector. Buy the ecodes and sell your stock ones, at least you may get half of your money back.