New to the stable...

[09SCiduA]

I picked up a 2004 Avant in standard trim with 117k miles in June 2022. Had good maintenance records with recent "big" stuff done, like TB, WP, and vacuum lines. Came from OH/IL and has been in MT for 3 years...there is a LOT of corrosion underneath but it's a fun car. Has a tune but I don't know yet which one...hits 16.5psi and has the 034 550cc injectors.

Has an interesting home made exhaust but it'll do for now.

My boy helping me clean the boot...

[09SCiduA]

After looking at the rear, I noticed it was dropped lower on the driver's side rear...I than noticed the rear springs were broken... replaced the rear shocks and springs, replaced the fuel filter and threw on some BNIB headlights in place of the faded older ones...I also threw on some Laminex on the face of the headlights to keep them clear for longer....I hope! WAAAAY better headlights and they throw light much better! Lastly I threw on a Thor Aluminum skid plate...I'm impressed with how well this covers the important bits! With snow and ice always on my drive to work, I figured the addiotnal cost over the OE belly pan would be a well-worth it upgrade! I also threw on a B6 S4 rear sway as the standard trim version looked more akin to a fuel line then a suspension component...this VASTLY improved the feel of the car paired with the new rear suspension bits!

[09SCiduA]

Lastly, I finally was able to update the front suspension bit...man, this was no joke...the car sat in the air for like 4 weeks with me trying to pop the control arms out of the knuckle...after much help and time, I swapped out the front hubs, threw in new upper controls and replaced the worn out struts and springs with new.

She drives like a dream now! So much fun especially in the snow! Ha!

I then repaired a door wiring harness that lost the controls of the window and door locks...that was a bit of a bear as well but only took a few days of cussing and beer drinking to knock out.

I did just get a code the other day P0301 Misfire on Cylinder 1...I took the engine cover off and saw that the cylinder 1 coil was MUCH newer than the others and so I bought an ECS kit to use the 2.0 coils with their standoff adapter plate...with that and a new injector harness, I am hoping it will be ready for more driving sooner then later!

[EuroxS4]

Welcome!!! She looks great. I love avant's especially 1.8T quattro manual ones. She looks great for her age. Like a fine wine. Great cars,easy to fix and solid in the snow.

I see a 90 coupe. Also great little cars.

[Alberto23]

Man the B6 avants look so damn good. How was the Thor Skid Plate install? I was looking at the ECS Tuning one but read some not so great reviews and decided to skip on that.

[09SCiduA]

Thanks @EuroxS4! Yes sir, it is a great car! I popped in a new coil and was able to get it happy! I'll throw the injector repair harness on with the ECS stage 2 coil kit in the next couple weeks, but for now, I'm looking forward to the show this later weekend to roll around in!

The Coupe is in incredible condition and tight as can be! No leaks or any issues with it! Fun car tho the anemic 7A and the heavy arse of the Coupe makes it slow! Haha I've thrown on some better QA1 suspension, upgraded to B5 calipers and hubs and have a 3b with a Wagner EM and a ported and polished RS2 IM to throw in it...along with all the wiring et Al...looking forward to continue working on that project!

[09SCiduA]

Thank you @Alberto23! Yeah, when I saw it on CL and rolled up on it, I just offered what he was asking and he was super surprised I did so...haha it drives great with whatever tune is on it and I can't stop smiling while rowing thru the gears! I did a bunch of research on the skid plates and Thor had the best reviews and boy I'm glad I went with it! Super easy install, tho I have a 2-post lift, and it was nearly twice as thick as my truck's! Ha! I would HIGHLY recommend the Thor setup! Every bolt hole lines up and it tucks up into the front wheel wells like OE...with it installed, I have VERY little worry of snow, slush, mud or anything other then deer collisions...if you need any additional photos or anything lemme know!

[Alberto23]

Thank you @Alberto23! Yeah, when I saw it on CL and rolled up on it, I just offered what he was asking and he was super surprised I did so...haha it drives great with whatever tune is on it and I can't stop smiling while rowing thru the gears! I did a bunch of research on the skid plates and Thor had the best reviews and boy I'm glad I went with it! Super easy install, tho I have a 2-post lift, and it was nearly twice as thick as my truck's! Ha! I would HIGHLY recommend the Thor setup! Every bolt hole lines up and it tucks up into the front wheel wells like OE...with it installed, I have VERY little worry of snow, slush, mud or anything other then deer collisions...if you need any additional photos or anything lemme know!

Thanks for the feedback. Might have to buy one then

[Audi4kq]

Something about Audi wagons...add to that a turbo, 6spd and Quattro and you really can't go wrong. Look'n good AudiCS90!

[09SCiduA]

Thanks Audi4kq!

[09SCiduA]

At 119,000 moles, I swapped spark plugs with some NGK BKR7IEX 2667s. Cylinder 1 looked a little darker than the rest so we'll see how it goes. I also threw on the ECS 2.0 coil adapter plate and hold-downs. Runs great and feels like there's more pep. I will complete the updated coil harness sometime soon.

[09SCiduA]

Oh yeah, the photos...

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[BumblebVR6]

At 119,000 moles, I swapped spark plugs with some NGK BKR7IEX 2667s. Cylinder 1 looked a little darker than the rest so we'll see how it goes. I also threw on the ECS 2.0 coil adapter plate and hold-downs. Runs great and feels like there's more pep. I will complete the updated coil harness sometime soon.

I'd highly recommend this complete one when you replace it vs. the sectional one ECS tuning sells.

[09SCiduA]

Interesting, looks to be decent quality but nothing worse than fixing what you see and having to do it all over again at likely a worse time...I assume you recommend OE, but what others would you consider? I appreciate the headsup!!

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[kwilson]

Get the coil pack harness from USP Motorsports. The ECS one has issues with the connector. I initially did the ECS one on my son's car, then had to rip it out and do the USP one because misfires kept popping up due to the crappy connector.

[Audi4kq]

I used the ECS on mine and it seems to work fine. I agree the connector is sub par as are the thin terminals, but it shouldn't be an issue unless you're disconnecting and reconnecting it a lot..but that's not what it was intended to do. Having the correct barrel crimp tool makes all the difference here.

[09SCiduA]

Since I have the ECS harness, I'll use it and have a valid replacement option for if the repair harness fails. Thanks for the feedback and vendor options. Audi4kq is right in regards to the right tools for the job; the right crimp tool is a game changer!!

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[kwilson]

Since I have the ECS harness, I'll use it and have a valid replacement option for if the repair harness fails. Thanks for the feedback and vendor options. Audi4kq is right in regards to the right tools for the job; the right crimp tool is a game changer!!

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

If you like doing the job twice, go ahead. And yes, I bought the correct crimper. The part just sucks. It uses the same pins for different sized wires.

[Audi4kq]

It uses the same pins for different sized wires.

Actually it doesn't. There are four smaller gauge terminals for the four smaller gauge wires...same with the weather isolating donuts that slide on the wire before the terminal. It's very very subtle, but if you squint you can see the difference.

Do it once, do it right!

[kwilson]

Mine came with all the same size pins. I agree, do it once, do it right with wiring back to the ECU.

[SideMirror]

FYI the USP coil pack harness is ok quality uses steel braided wire, plastic electric tape, and insulation. All is a lower conductive and heat rating not used by OEM. IMO Making up you own harness with TXL copper wire and engine bay rated wire covering is better way to go...

If you want more info LMK glad to help

Sent from my motorola one zoom using Audizine Forum mobile app

[Kevin C]

Get the coil pack harness from USP Motorsports. The ECS one has issues with the connector. I initially did the ECS one on my son's car, then had to rip it out and do the USP one because misfires kept popping up due to the crappy connector.

If the connector that ECS uses is the one that I think it is I can understand why it could be an issue since the contact selection looks limited. I like the concept of being able to swap in just a new coil pack harness but I would consider using a Molex MX150L series The Molex line also has a range of terminal that cover from 18-22 AWG and 14-16 AWG. To add to that you can get them with gold plating rated for 100 insertion cycles. I know that I want to do this on the injector side. The downside to Molex is the dedicated crimpers are expensive.

Being able to swap a mini harness to match the injectors seems much better than using injector adaptors or permanently modifying the harness.

I know that less than optimal terminals can be crimped successfully, but there is a greater risk of not getting a good result and its hard to tell unless you pull test. I'm probably going to build my own. If I was going to use the ECS one I would upgrade the large connector.