Barry's 2001 B5 S4 Build Thread

[R490]

Great work! Looking amazing.

[q20v]

Great work! Looking amazing.

Thanks!

So not a lot has happened with the car this past week. I've been focused on sorting out the powder coating booth and oven so that when I tear into the engine I can refinish everything properly. Good news is that the booth is essentially done and the oven is all wired. I just have to finish up my 240v outlet / connection to the panel in the basement for the oven. Probable another hour of work there.

I'm hoping to get the 240v wiring done this weekend and get back in the garage to finish detailing the engine bay.

An FCP mother load of parts came in, though. I tried my best to mess them up by ordering as many orings as possible, in different quantities, and piles of OEM parts, and the only mistake they made was sending me 2 coolant hoses instead of 1. I couldn't imagine the carnage if I had ordered all that from ECS!



The double quantity hose is in the bottom right of this picture (not in a bag):




For the AWE DTS, I picked up both rubber / poly mounts to try. I'm generally adverse to poly in the driveline but I'll give it a go and see how I like it. FWIW I don't intend to run poly engine / tranny mounts, so the poly DTS mount might help pick up any slack.


I still have lots more to order but will do that once I dig into the engine a bit further. I only placed this order to take advantage of the 10% off sale near Black Friday a few weeks ago. The AWE DTS I procured from a local-ish shop (parkautomotorsports.com). Still waiting on my coilovers and 034 rear sway bar.

[SoundEfx]

I want to be like you when I grow up. Amazing man, just amazing.

[q20v]

I want to be like you when I grow up. Amazing man, just amazing.

haha thanks. Stay in school and don't do drugs... or something like that. It's a fun project for sure, I can't wait to get into the engine part of it.

[q20v]

My 034 rear anti sway bar and reinforcing brackets arrived today, very exciting. I'm going to try and pull the rear diff / subframe soon so that I can get the subframes out to powder coating. I know it can sometimes take a while so I don't want to wait too long.

Today I finally finished all the wiring for the powder coating oven in the basement. A couple tiny loose ends to finish but it's good to have that complete. I'll post some pictures of the setup soon.

I also took advantage of some warmer weather and cleaned the transmission in the driveway. The plan was to paint it all but I don't know if I got it clean enough. I'll definitely paint the steel centre section since it's rusty, but the bell housing / centre diff section I'll just leave alone.

[q20v]

More carnage last night! Ripped the rear subframe out and somewhat stripped it down. I'll hose it off today since it'll be warm out and after I remove the bushings from both subframes, I'll bring them to the powder coater. Unfortunately my area announced a covid lockdown so that might delay things on that front.

I also put a couple coats of paint down in on the rust spots of the engine bay, and a couple coats of black on the back end of the tranny (after a lot of scrubbing grease off).











Subframe out! Not that bad of a job, really. I pulled it with the diff / control arms / axles still installed, then pulled that apart on the garage floor.







For brake lines, a while back I had made a crow-foot-type tool, 11mm, because I was in a pinch and couldn't get to the store. I also find typical crowfoot wrenches can be a tad loose, and for soft brake fittings that are completely seized they can still slip sometimes. This tool I made fits nice and tight over the fitting, usually needs to be gently tapped on with a small hammer or nearest piece of metal (usually the latter). It's ugly but I haven't met a brake fitting it can't break loose.

To make it, I used both ends of a deep 11mm socket and welded them together, side by side. After I slit the hex portion for the brake line, I squished it slightly in a vice to tighten the fit over a fitting. Then I welded a reinforcing piece to prevent it from splaying when torque is applied. Again, nothing pretty or fancy, but one of the most functional tools in my box.





For example, these fittings don't appear to have ever been disassembled, and they popped loose like nothing.



I had picked up a silicone plug kit for my powder coating operation but found them incredibly useful for capping brake lines!




Today I'll pull the subframe / rear diff / wheel well liners out to the driveway to degrease and clean. I think it's supposed to be about 5 degrees out which is crazy for this time of year. I also think these are the final big pieces that need to be cleaned in the driveway, everything else can be done inside (smaller items). I've been very fortunate to have these little winter weather breaks for cleaning stuff outside.

Once those big pieces are clean, I'll jump onto cleaning the wheel wells and maybe some of the underbody. There is a bit of surface rust near the rear subframe mounting positions so I'll clean and paint all that. I'm really just trying to get all the tedious dirty work out of the way before tearing into the engine.

[R490]

Wow! You've definitely got one of the cleanest cars on here. Degreasing easily tops my least favorite car things

Cool work on that socket.

[AudiAR01]

They make tools just like that. They come in super handy when doing the turbo bolts. I bought a set. Nvr thought about making my own. Awesome idea. Capture%2B_2020-12-24-12-10-38.jpg

2003 A6 2.7T 6spd Stage 1+ (motor pulled for stage 3+ upgrades)

2001 Allroad TIP Stage 1
2006 A3 2.0T 6spd Stage 1

[ReggieNoble]

Why not just use a line wrench? Its always worked flawless for me

Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk

[q20v]

Thanks for the tips on the wrenches, guys.

Wow! You've definitely got one of the cleanest cars on here. Degreasing easily tops my least favorite car things

Cool work on that socket.

Thanks! Same here on the degreasing front, not fun but it's nice to see the clean parts underneath.

[xdewaynex]

Your car is pretty stripped down like I have my A4 at the moment. I dropped the rear subframe with everything connected and thought it was a bit sketchy. Ive had everything powder coated black with 034 billet subframe bushings, Powerflex and Verkline control arm bushings, Apikol rear diff carrier bushings. A lot of degreasing and cleaning still ahead for me before install.

[S4 John]

Looks amazing and great work! Very satisfying to clean everything and have it all powder coated.

[booneylander]

For those of you interested in following this build, we've got a video up now. Pulled the motor out of his car and gone through some of his plans for the car:

[q20v]

Today I finally started putting together the bottom end of the replacement block. Again, I'm using Maxxspeeding rods only because I bought them a while ago when the plan was larger turbos, which may happen down the road. Everything else is OEM.

I had a couple helpers do most of the dirty work, I kinda just floated around giving guidance and checking things. We pretty much followed the Bentley and plastigauged the main / rod bearings (of the two installed). No hiccups, everything is in spec fortunately. We only got 2 pistons installed before calling it a day. I'll finish the other 4 this weekend.

[S4James]

So, we gonna see this at M&M this spring?

[zipdoa]

Are upgraded rods all that is necessary if you're looking to max out k04's? I love the idea of maximizing boost onset and peak torque.

[q20v]

So, we gonna see this at M&M this spring?

You’re in Ottawa too? The only car gathering I’ve been to in recent years is the Best Buy in Kanata last summer. But I don’t think that lasted very long. I’m really hoping to have it all back together by the spring, if I do I’ll be out and about this summer for sure.

Are upgraded rods all that is necessary if you're looking to max out k04's? I love the idea of maximizing boost onset and peak torque.

As far as I know stock rods are fine for K04 level of power. Only reason I’m using upgraded rods is I was planning on larger turbos at the time and they were cheap (the rods).

[S4James]

Yeah i was at the BBM thing a few times while it lasted, a few of us started going to the trainyards starbucks after that, so far we have avoided the riff-raff.

Ive got the silver S4 with the rpf1s.. Cant miss me.

[q20v]

Awesome, I’ll keep my eye out for you!

So I just noticed I installed some rods backwards. Hadn’t realized there is a thin / thick side on the big end. Fortunately I’ve only installed the first two so I only have one to remove from the block.

[S4James]

I'm just across the strandherd bridge from you. I recognize the barhaven costco. Surprised I have not seen you or your project make the rounds in any of the local FB groups. You might remember me from such old fashioned things like redliners, or midnight runs (before it got taken over by people who dont race)

[q20v]

I'm just across the strandherd bridge from you. I recognize the barhaven costco. Surprised I have not seen you or your project make the rounds in any of the local FB groups. You might remember me from such old fashioned things like redliners, or midnight runs (before it got taken over by people who dont race)

You don't sound very far at all, I'm in Stonebridge near Prince of Wales. I don't post on Facebook much. I've been into Audi's since 1999 but it was a 1990 Audi 90 back then (was on Motorgeek a lot). I'm fairly new to the B5S4 scene.

Just before Christmas Borla exhausts went on a small sale, so I picked one up from Park Auto Motorsports. My Plan A was Billy Boat but it was considerably more expensive going that route. One of the disadvantages of being in Canada during this covid crisis is US shipments have to come straight to my house (we can't drive across the border), and I get hit with a decent brokerage fee (on a $1K product value it can be $1-150). That's on top of taxes and expensive shipping. My normal procurement route for US products is to ship to Ogdensburg NY where I can drive down and collect myself. I still pay taxes but no other fees, and shipping within the US is usually very cheap. Anyway, the Billy Bay was pushing $1k US (like $1300+ CND) before shipping, tax and brokerage, and I got the Borla for $1.1k CDN ($860 US) including shipping and tax (no brokerage, ordered from Canadian supplier).

Pics!

[S4James]

good sounding setups, likely wont get any attention from constable james (prick) casey. Im just a stones throw over in riverside south. Once I get my old FB account fully purged and rebuilt (long story). Ill reach out and see how many mutual freinds we have. Im sure its plenty, and we have probably already met before. Its a small scene after all.

Yeah brokerage fees are depressing, however i have noted that they have gotten a bit better than it was 20 years ago when UPS would flat out rape you, especially on smaller items

[q20v]

From what I gather reading online the Borla is the more subdued of the bunch, which is fine by me since an over powering exhaust note on partial throttle drives me nuts. It's always fun at first but gets old quick (for me anyway). The goal with this car has always been a more refined and OEM approach rather than the 'because race car' movement, which I know is counter trend with most builds these days but I've done the race car approach in the past and it's out of my system.

Ya I wouldn't be surprised if we know a bunch of the same people. Definitely look me up once your account is sorted!

[q20v]

Hey guys,

I made a quick youtube video of the engine going together. Nothing fancy or too detailed, just for fun. Check it out:

[S4James]

amazing how little there really is to it in the end...

[PwrWgn]

Nice I've had a Borla 3" system for years and been very pleased! Gets nice and angry on WOT but can be reasonably quiet if you want it to.

[q20v]

amazing how little there really is to it in the end...

Ya no kidding. The mains were easy to check too, just drop the crank, add a little strip of plastigauge on each journal, torque down the main caps, remove the main caps and check. Lube everything and re-assemble. The rest will take a bit longer considering everything needs to be cleaned / painted / powder coated.

Nice I've had a Borla 3" system for years and been very pleased! Gets nice and angry on WOT but can be reasonably quiet if you want it to.

That's good to hear, exactly what I was looking for!

[S4James]

.

Ya I wouldn't be surprised if we know a bunch of the same people. Definitely look me up once your account is sorted!

Already found ya. ;)

[q20v]

Hey guys,

I posted another video to our YouTube channel, check it out. In it I cover the parts for the build and generally just chat about the car a bit. Much more to come!

[S4 John]

Hey guys,

I posted another video to our YouTube channel, check it out. In it I cover the parts for the build and generally just chat about the car a bit. Much more to come!

Great video! Your build is super clean with amazing parts. I can't wait to see it all finished.

[Shahek]

great vids man...interested in a Borla exhaust myself can't wait to see how you like it

[q20v]

Appreciate the feedback guys! I'm excited for the end result as well but have been making a point to enjoy the journey. If that means it's not rolling out first thing in the spring than that's cool with me... but it better not be too long after the nice weather shows up haha

[Sunocodrinker]

Which catch-can are you going with?

[AudiAR01]

Appreciate the feedback guys! I'm excited for the end result as well but have been making a point to enjoy the journey. If that means it's not rolling out first thing in the spring than that's cool with me... but it better not be too long after the nice weather shows up haha

I seen in your vids that you went with maxpeeding rods. Make sure you weight match them. And also balance them as close as possible to match the ends. If you do it yourself. It's best to have them end matched within 0.05 if possible. They aren't the best rod out there. But for the price, they're good for plenty of power. More than capable of handling stage 3++ power. Biggest thing is having them end balanced to match each other, and weight matched for total weight. They make a machine that measures the weight of each end it holds the rod on one end. And holds it horizontally. So you know how heavy each end is. Then you match them by grinding material off. To match your lightest rod. Bc your crank isn't forged. And having them off will cause excess vibration on the crank. Theres a really good rod balancing video on YouTube I can post it you'd like, if you're doing it yourself. But I wouldn't just throw them in the block without checking them. Just to be safe. Hate to do all that work to a motor and spin a bearing or mess the crank over a few hours of work that could save you.

Edit: great intro to your new vid. I showed my wife. She said that's she looks at me lol. Like I love new car parts more than her. So I told her well let me upgrade your "blower" to stage 3 then. She didn't laugh as much as I did. Lol

2003 A6 2.7T 6spd Stage 1+ (motor pulled for stage 3+ upgrades)

2001 Allroad TIP Stage 1
2006 A3 2.0T 6spd Stage 1

[q20v]

Which catch-can are you going with?

lol

I seen in your vids that you went with maxpeeding rods. Make sure you weight match them. And also balance them as close as possible to match the ends. If you do it yourself. It's best to have them end matched within 0.05 if possible. They aren't the best rod out there. But for the price, they're good for plenty of power. More than capable of handling stage 3++ power. Biggest thing is having them end balanced to match each other, and weight matched for total weight. They make a machine that measures the weight of each end it holds the rod on one end. And holds it horizontally. So you know how heavy each end is. Then you match them by grinding material off. To match your lightest rod. Bc your crank isn't forged. And having them off will cause excess vibration on the crank. Theres a really good rod balancing video on YouTube I can post it you'd like, if you're doing it yourself. But I wouldn't just throw them in the block without checking them. Just to be safe. Hate to do all that work to a motor and spin a bearing or mess the crank over a few hours of work that could save you.

Thanks for the info. I bought a kitchen scale and the resolution isn't the greatest (0.5g) and they all weighted in very close. I just watched this video (below), and read your message, and now I'm debating going back and checking the balance more closely. Gotta give this some thought...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tXbCqA2QHI

And glad you liked the intro I had a pile more jokes I was going to try and squeeze in but didn't want it to drag on.

[AudiAR01]

lol



Thanks for the info. I bought a kitchen scale and the resolution isn't the greatest (0.5g) and they all weighted in very close. I just watched this video (below), and read your message, and now I'm debating going back and checking the balance more closely. Gotta give this some thought...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tXbCqA2QHI

And glad you liked the intro I had a pile more jokes I was going to try and squeeze in but didn't want it to drag on.

That's the video I was gonna post for you. Just a bit of advice. Make sure you calibrate your scale before using it. And take multiple weights on each rod. And do like he does. And get an average weight. And remove weight like he said. That's how I did mine. But I also have an uncle that has a hotrod shop. So I had a con rod weight machine. Makes it so easy. You may be able to rent one. You can buy one from jegs for like 220 bucks if all else fails. But my maxpeeding rods were out a good bit. So if I was you. And you have th extra funds to buy a rod weight machine. I would. Just to be safe. Those rods balanced and weighted are good for 700+ chp. Not balanced and weighted right. You're lookn at big problems if they were out as much as mine. I actually had one rod that was 2.77g heavier than my lightest one. Which would've caused a several problem internally.

2003 A6 2.7T 6spd Stage 1+ (motor pulled for stage 3+ upgrades)

2001 Allroad TIP Stage 1
2006 A3 2.0T 6spd Stage 1

[q20v]

So I took the plunge and decided to pull it apart to do some more precision balancing on the rods / pistons. I ordered a finer resolution scale (0.1g) and will build a rod balancer. I have some stock rods kicking around and it will be interesting to see how they stack up, out of curiosity!

I checked out these videos which helped guide my decision to do this (along with discussions with AudiAR01):

Rods
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tXbCqA2QHI
Pistons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeYc56A7bJ0

Didn't take long to strip everything down, it's a good time to do it!

[S4James]

i used similar china h beam rods.. They definitely needed a balance job. Nothing catastrophic but well worth the peace of mind.

[SoundEfx]

Seeing that you're a professional B5 mechanic now, when can I ship you one out of my many 2.7 engines to rebuild?

[AudiAR01]

i used similar china h beam rods.. They definitely needed a balance job. Nothing catastrophic but well worth the peace of mind.

Yeah mine needed balanced as well. And it's definitely worth the piece of mind. And not balanced they will destroy the front and rear crank seals. The front not so bad to change. But th rear needing the tranny pulled sucks to do. As long as they're balanced, they will hold plenty of power.

2003 A6 2.7T 6spd Stage 1+ (motor pulled for stage 3+ upgrades)

2001 Allroad TIP Stage 1
2006 A3 2.0T 6spd Stage 1