Audi area

2007 Audi S3

2007-11-22T16:27:00.001-08:00

Dynamism, sportiness and sophistication – the Audi A3 holds an outstanding position in the premium compact class. Now its top-of-the-range version is ready to go, the new Audi S3 boasting 195 kW (265 bhp) and quattro permanent four-wheel drive.

With its sparkling performance it pursues the ideal of pure driving pleasure coupled simultaneously with excellent everyday practicality – like all Audi S models.

The S3 redefines the standards of its class – at the level of a sports car. The sprint to 100 km/h is accomplished in 5.7 seconds, and acceleration is only halted on reaching 250 km/h. Aggressively hard-hitting, free-revving and with a sonorous acoustic profile, the powerful two-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder unit with FSI petrol direct injection proves to be a smooth, high-performance engine.

This power is transmitted by the six-speed gearbox and quattro permanent four-wheel drive to large alloy wheels with an 18-inch diameter. The new S sports suspension system on the S3 enables an extremely sporty driving style combined with the ultimate in comfort. This sporty compact model responds actively to steering movements, exhibits precise and safe handling characteristics and, thanks to quattro technology, enables maximum acceleration out of bends.

The dynamic potential of this three-door sports car is obvious at first glance. The single-frame grille sports chrome trim, the front skirt has a spoiler with large air-intakes and the side sills have been restyled. There is a contrasting platinum grey diffuser built into the rear skirt, along with two S-style oval chrome tailpipes. Aluminium-look door mirrors and a body-colour roof spoiler give added impact to the visual statement.

Interior: Sporty atmosphere

The interior conveys an atmosphere of sportiness, with materials of the highest quality and painstaking craftsmanship. The elements that dominate the styling are the sports seats with prominent side sections, the black headlining, also available in silver, and the instrument cluster with its special dials and needles.

The pedals, gear knob and air vents are in aluminium look, the inlays are in Piano finish black, or alternatively Aluminium or Fine grain birch wood grey. The red and silver S3 emblem is to be found on the leather sports steering wheel, in the instrument cluster, on the gear knob and on the door sill trims. The seats are upholstered in a combination of cloth and leather or, as an option, in Alcantara/leather or completely in leather. The two-tone leather seats are decorated with stitching in the same colour as their centre section.

TFSI in its most powerful form

The power plant of the S3 delivers all that is expected of a powerful sports engine, and does it supremely well. The 2.0 TFSI, which combines direct injection and turbocharger technology, delivers 195 kW (265 bhp) at 6,000 rpm. And at just 2,500 rpm it already musters up an impressive 350 Nm of torque – this pulling power remains constant up to 5,000 rpm. In the combined driving cycle the 2.0 TFSI displays another welcome character trait, consuming just
9.1 litres of fuel over 100 km – further proof of the forward-looking efficiency of TFSI technology developed by Audi.

Compared with the A3, this engine is an advanced version which has undergone fundamental changes. The new turbocharger with its enlarged turbine and compressor rotor generates 1.2 bar of boost pressure – an unusually high figure. A modified intercooler significantly lowers the temperature of the compressed air, thus increasing the air mass necessary for combustion.

Pistons with stronger pins and strengthened connecting rods with new bearings transmit the powerful forces to the crankshaft. The cylinder block has been stiffened up and the head is made of a new, highly heat-resistant alloy.

The exhaust camshaft timing has been adjusted to accommodate the increased power output. High-pressure injectors with an enlarged cross-section squirt the fuel straight into the combustion chamber.

Despite all this progressive engineering, the high-performance turbo weighs in at just 152 kilos, which is less than comparable power plants from direct competitors, and this has a positive effect on the axle load distribution. The compact dimensions of the 2.0 TFSI make it suitable for transverse installation, which brings benefits in terms of the S3’s interior space and luggage capacity.

To go with its sporty nature and firm handling, the new Audi S3 has a six-speed, close-ratio manual gearbox. Gearshift travel has been reduced for the S3, enabling even sportier and more precise gear changes. As is the case for all
Audi S models, the new S3 drives all four wheels by means of quattro permanent four-wheel drive. An electronically controlled multi-plate clutch, positioned at the rear for the benefit of weight balance, distributes the torque as needed – delivering plenty of grip and maximum driving safety. All the components in the drive train have been strengthened to cope with the high level of engine torque

Handling: Lightning-fast reactions

In terms of handling, the Audi S3 exhibits all the qualities of a high-performance sports car; it responds immediately to steering movements and achieves high cornering speeds. The innately sophisticated suspension of the
A3 – with subframes front and rear, triangulated lower wishbones at the front and four-link suspension at the rear – has been further refined.

Springs and shock absorbers are stiffer, and the body sits 25 mm lower than an A3 with standard suspension. Aluminium pivot bearings and wishbones reduce the weight of the front suspension. Stiffer suspension mounts and a sportier characteristic for the electro-mechanical steering convey even greater dynamism and precision. 18-inch alloy wheels and 225/40 tyres ensure firm adhesion to the road surface. A 17-inch brake system with sports brake pads ensure maximum deceleration; the black painted callipers bear S3 emblems.

The extras also include a leather steering wheel with flat-bottomed rim and – in the quattro GmbH range – folding bucket seats. In the infotainment area, Audi is presenting a new generation of audio systems. The premium package is rounded off by universal interfaces for mobile phone and iPod, plus a sound system from Bose. Standard equipment includes deluxe automatic air conditioning, a driver information system with a new lap-timer function, and an anti-theft alarm. Front fog lights and xenon plus headlights with daytime running lights underline the impressive price/performance ratio. The basic price of the 265 bhp Audi S3 in Germany is EUR 35,150.

2008 Audi RS6 Avant

2007-11-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

Outstanding top performance and maximum dynamism combined with excellent suitability for everyday use are the impressive features of the new Audi RS 6 Avant, which will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the IAA 2007 in Frankfurt.

A newly developed V10 engine with FSI direct injection and twin turbochargers, permanent quattro four-wheel drive and sports suspension with Dynamic Ride Control DRC set the standard for high-performance vehicles in the luxury class. 580 hp and a maximum torque of 479 ft.-lbs. add up to an unforgettable performance experience. At the same time, the new Audi RS 6 Avant offers a high standard of travel comfort – on long journeys, too.

The Audi RS models from quattro GmbH are the ultimate in sportiness, complemented by powerful and elegant design, exclusive equipment and perfect quality. It has also meanwhile become a good tradition that their sports performance is combined with the high utility value of an Avant: the very first Audi RS2, which appeared in 1993, was only built as an Avant model. Although the unique Audi RS driving sensation can now be experienced in saloon, Avant and Cabriolet models – as is the case with the current RS 4 – customers especially appreciate the combination of dynamism and versatility that an Avant offers.

The new Audi RS 6 will therefore only be available as an Avant to start with, with the unrivalled combination of 580 bhp and a maximum 1,660 litres of luggage space.

The new leader in the performance category

The Audi RS 6 redefines the term “high performance” in the business class. With its 580 hp, it is the most powerful model in the current Audi range and – with the exception of pure racing cars like the Le Mans-winning Audi R10 TDI – the most potent Audi of all time. But not only that: it is also clearly superior to all competitors in the top performance category.

The ten-cylinder V-configuration engine in the RS 6 is based on the V10 powerplants of the Audi S6 and Audi S8, but has been redeveloped in practically every respect to attain the significantly higher level of performance. The twin turbochargers ensure an impressively constant stream of power over the entire engine speed range: the mighty peak torque of 479 ft.-lbs. is available across the entire range from 1,500 to 6,250 rpm; maximum output is available between 6,250 and 6,700 rpm.

The road performance of a super sports car

This powerplant enables the Audi RS 6 Avant to achieve the road performance of a high-performance sports car. It requires just 4.6 seconds for the sprint from a standing start to 62 mph, and reaches the 125 mph mark in a mere 14.9 seconds. Only when the needle touches 155 mph is the propulsive power electronically governed. The power-to-weight ratio, too, matches that of a first-rate sports car: after all, with a vehicle weight of 4,464 pounds – including the dynamic and sure-footed quattro four-wheel drive – every horsepower of the RS 6 Avant has to propel just 7.7 pounds.

The ten-cylinder concept provides the ideal basis for a high-performance unit of this caliber. The V10 is unusually compact with an overall length of 26 inches and is very light with a total weight of 613 pounds. TFSI technology from Audi, the combination of direct injection and turbocharging, ensures efficient power output, based on extensive experience in the field of motor sport: the R8 racing car, a pioneer of TFSI technology, captured a series of victories for the brand with the four rings at Le Mans.

Racing technology for high efficiency

FSI direct injection delivers precisely metered amounts of fuel into the combustion chambers at a pressure of up to 120 bar. This permits a compression ratio of 10.5:1, which is very high for a turbo engine. Remarkably efficient combustion is the result. The engine is thus content with a standard consumption of 13.9 litres – a very good figure in view of the potential offered.

A further feature adopted from racing technology is the dry-sump lubrication system used on the V10. By virtue of the elaborate design of the oil pump module and oil tank, reliable lubrication of all engine components and both turbochargers is guaranteed, even with constant lateral acceleration of 1.2 g.

Thanks to FSI technology and the optimised design of the turbocharger and air ducts, the ten-cylinder unit is extremely responsive and converts minimum movements of the throttle into dynamic acceleration. Yet the twin turbo is by no means a rough-and-ready sports engine: it runs smoothly and with refinement, as is typical of a ten-cylinder unit. When accelerating, of course, its dual-branch exhaust system with two oval tailpipes produces that sonorous sporty, throaty sound – an essential feature of a high-performance automobile. Those who wish to enhance this daily delight for the ears even further may opt for the alternative sports exhaust system.

tiptronic with exceptionally short shift times

The six-speed tiptronic is the perfect complement to the self-confident, powerful character of the RS 6. Its hydraulics and control system have been optimised to achieve exceptionally short shift times; the ratios have been adapted accordingly. It goes without saying that the new RS 6 transmits its tremendous power to the road via quattro permanent four-wheel drive. The latest generation not only provides substantially more driving safety and stability than a vehicle with rear-wheel drive, it also underscores the distinctly dynamic character of the RS 6.

In its basic setting, the centre differential distributes 40 percent of the power to the front and 60 percent to the rear wheels – this slightly rear-biased setup produces particularly dynamic handling characteristics.

Suspension for performance and comfort

The suspension of the Audi RS 6 has been consistently designed for maximum dynamic performance along with good travelling comfort – on long journeys, too. Shock absorber and spring settings as well as the entire elastokinematics of the four-link front suspension and the trapezoidal-link rear suspension have been adapted to the new level of performance. The characteristics of the servotronic speed-dependent power assistance have also been retuned. The steering is consequently very sensitive and delivers optimum feedback from the road.

All in all, in terms of driving feel the RS 6 combines the precision and cornering ability of a sports car with the relaxed straight-line stability of a comfortable cruiser. The standard Dynamic Ride Control DRC, familiar from the current RS 4 and consistently enhanced, plays a major role here. This system reduces pitching and rolling movements about the longitudinal and transverse axis of the vehicle in a particularly ingenious way – entirely without the aid of electronics and solely according to the laws of fluid dynamics.

An individual driving feel

With Dynamic Ride Control the shock absorbers are connected diagonally with each other via two oil lines and two control valves. Body movement – e.g. rolling when cornering at high speed on an uneven road surface – produces flows of oil, which generate additional damping force. As a result, the RS 6 boasts even more directional control through bends and reacts with substantially more precision to the steering inputs of the driver.

Dynamic Ride Control on the new RS 6 can be supplemented if desired with optional three-stage damping. This allows the driver to select the handling characteristics according to his/her personal preferences or chosen route. In the comfort setting, the sports suspension plus provides remarkable ride comfort, in the dynamic program it adjusts superbly to an enthusiastic driving style and in the sport mode it delivers maximum driving precision.

The sporty setting of the electronic stabilisation program ESP is an ideal match here: the point of intervention is very late, permitting a high degree of driving enjoyment whilst fully maintaining driving safety. Alternatively, the ESP may be completely deactivated.

Ceramic brakes for the exceptional athlete

An athlete of such exceptional calibre as the Audi RS 6 naturally requires an outstanding brake system. The standard 19-inch steel discs have been designed for maximum load. They consist of an aluminium brake-disc chamber and a cast friction ring, both connected with each other in a floating arrangement via metal pins. This design increases thermal stability and reduces weight.

Optionally, in conjunction with 20-inch wheels, a ceramic brake system is available: it boasts discs with an impressive diameter of 16.5 inches at the front and 14.0 inches at the rear, which endure the most extreme thermal loads with ease and have a very long operating life. Equally impressive are the tire sizes: the standard 19-inch wheels with the new 10-spoke design are shod with size 255/40 R 19 tires; the optional 20-inch wheels are fitted with 275/35 R 20 tires.

Self-assured appearance with functional features

Its independent design lends the Audi RS 6 a striking and self-assured look – without any hint of aggression. In fact, the clear front-end design with the remodelled bumper and accentuated apertures evidently follows function: the high-performance powerplant requires a considerable amount of air to breathe as well as for cooling. The fact that it belongs to the RS family is emphasised by the matt aluminium-look single-frame grille featuring a highly polished black guard in a diamond design.

The headlights on the Audi RS 6 are miniature works of art in high-tech terms: to create space in the front apron for additional air flow, the halogen fog lights have been integrated alongside the bi-xenon headlights, optionally with adaptive light, the cornering light function. The LED daytime running lights strip adds a distinctive touch: ten LEDs at the lower edge of each headlight unit lend the Audi RS 6 a striking appearance, by day or night. A flat cover at the top of the headlights sharpens the “look” of the business/sports car. The taillights, too, largely employ LED technology.

Striking design derived from the “Ur-quattro”

The rear of the Audi RS 6 is characterised by the oval exhaust tailpipes and the diffuser-look apron. A roof spoiler completes the aerodynamic fine-tuning of this high-performance vehicle. The side outline is distinguished by wide, flared wheel arches. Like the engine compartment lid, the front wings are made of aluminium in order to reduce weight. They accommodate the mighty wheels of the new Audi RS 6, yet are also reminiscent of a milestone in automotive history: the flat tops of the wheel arches with their clear edges were counted among the design elements of the Audi quattro – the pioneer of permanent four-wheel drive from the year 1980. A metallic/pearl effect paint finish is standard; new colors Sepang Blue, Monza Silver and Monterrey Green are exclusively reserved for the RS 6.

Elegant and exclusive interior

The interior of the new RS 6 offers an impressive synthesis of sporty elegance and exclusiveness. The extremely high standard of craftsmanship typical for Audi is complemented by an equally sporty and elegant combination of top-class materials. Carbon fibre, aluminium, leather and Alcantara create an ambience that is unique even in the world of high-performance cars.

The main control element is and remains the steering wheel: on the RS 6 the customer can choose between the multifunction sports steering wheel with a 3-spoke design and the particularly distinctive flat-bottomed RS sports steering wheel, likewise with multifunction controls and shift paddles for the transmission. The cockpit in the typical RS design additionally features a boost pressure gauge. Displays for boost pressure, oil temperature and lap timer can be called up via the driver information system.

The inlays are made of carbon fibre and edged in aluminium, the cockpit trim gleams with its piano black finish. Additional highlights in the interior are provided by the aluminium-colored keys of the MMI terminal on the centre console, the milled-finish door handles and the aluminium-look sports pedals. The highly contoured sports seats are covered in a combination of leather and Alcantara with an embossed RS 6 emblem or optionally wrapped completely in Silk Nappa or Valcona leather.

Extensive equipment, individual options

This high-performance vehicle naturally deserves an appropriate level of standard equipment. In addition to design and technical elements specific to the RS 6, this includes the audio system with powerful Bose Surround Sound, heated seats at the front and rear, a tire pressure monitoring system and Audi parking system plus. Together with the wide range of high-tech options for the Audi A6 series, every RS 6 can be perfectly matched to the driver’s individual wishes. The Audi RS 6 is consequently a sporty business car with great versatility, making it suitable for a variety of leisure activities, too.

2008 Audi A8

2007-11-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

The Audi A8 not only offers the sportiest performance of any luxury-class saloon, it also stands out as a model of efficiency. A particularly outstanding example is the new A8 2.8 FSI: superlative performance and excellent comfort make it a joy to drive. But at the same time, with a standard fuel consumption of 8.3 l/100 km, its CO2 emissions of 199 g/km are the lowest in its class.

The new A8 model series features major advancements across the range, which includes the top models Audi A8 W12 and Audi S8, and offers a new driving feel whilst building on traditional strengths. An even more precise driving feel, even better ride and acoustic comfort, and subtle refinements to the exterior and interior serve to strengthen the special status of Audi's flagship model.

Unique character – consistently enhanced

To achieve this, many aspects have been refined in the unique blend of sportiness, elegance, supreme control and sophistication that forms the Audi A8 character. For instance, the more direct steering and re-engineered running gear have produced even more exact handling. Overall travelling comfort has also been enhanced by the modified adaptive air suspension and extensive improvements to noise insulation. These make the Audi A8 one of the world's quietest and most comfortable saloon cars.

The new assistance systems Audi lane assist and Audi side assist promise to make life easier for the driver and considerably enhance safety, especially on long journeys. Their tasks are to alert the driver if the car begins to drift out of its lane and to warn of vehicles in the adjacent lane.

Luxurious, sporty motoring with low fuel consumption

The 2.8 FSI impressively demonstrates how well the Audi A8 combines luxurious, sporty motoring with high efficiency and low fuel consumption. Its efficiency nevertheless comes with exciting performance, as the new high-tech V6 engine produces 154 kW / 210 bhp and delivers its maximum torque of 280 newton metres over the broad rev band of 3,000 to 5,000 rpm. With acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in just 8.0 seconds and a maximum speed of 238 km/h, the Audi A8 2.8 FSI is an effortlessly powerful performer.

High-tech engine with lightweight design concept

Thanks to its state-of-the-art engine and an exceptionally low vehicle weight of only 1,690 kilograms, the A8 2.8 FSI has a standard fuel consumption of just 8.3 litres per 100 kilometres. That is equivalent to CO2 emissions of 199 grams per kilometre – the lowest value of any luxury-class car. Here the dual benefits of low vehicle weight – thanks to lightweight aluminium design based on Audi Space Frame technology – and low wind resistance make themselves felt, in both excellent performance and equally good fuel economy.

The new six-cylinder engine demonstrates "Vorsprung durch Technik" with FSI petrol direct injection and the innovative Audi valvelift system. This new technology adjusts the valve lift, varying it between two levels. The Audi valvelift system uses sliding cam units mounted on the intake camshaft, which are moved by an electronic control mechanism. Depending on the engine power demand, the valves are opened wide or less wide as determined by the position of the cam units.

The advantage: the required quantity of fresh charge can be very efficiently controlled via the valve opening. Most of the time, the throttle valve remains fully open, thus substantially reducing throttle loss. In combination with a series of additional measures to reduce friction on numerous components, the Audi valvelift system reduces fuel consumption by ten percent.

High power transmission comfort with athletic qualities

The new A8 2.8 FSI is equipped with front wheel drive and the multitronic continuously variable automatic transmission. The multitronic not only offers unmatched power transmission comfort with fully jolt-free acceleration, its tall overall gear ratios make for very fuel-efficient motoring. Nevertheless, the seven fixed ratios available in manual mode reveal its thoroughly athletic qualities.

In Germany the Audi A8 2.8 FSI with its extensive standard equipment costs from 61,900 euros incl. VAT.

Consistently enhanced

The A8 impressively embodies the progressiveness of the Audi brand: its extremely rigid lightweight body based on the Audi Space Frame principle, the powerful FSI and TDI engines, quattro permanent four-wheel drive and the highly acclaimed MMI operating system are a few of the elements that demonstrate Audi's impressive "Vorsprung durch Technik" in the luxury class.

The character of the Audi A8 is formed by a synthesis of dynamic and agile performance and exceptionally refined ride and acoustic comfort. While setting new standards with its agility and steering precision, the A8 displays handling with definite sports car qualities. Even long journeys are both relaxing and pleasurable.

To underscore the unique character of this luxury saloon, Audi has further enhanced the two major strengths of the A8. The rack-and-pinion steering with variable steering ratio and servotronic speed-dependent power assistance has been optimised and engineered for a more direct feel. The dampers, supports and tuning of the adaptive air suspension have been revised. As a result, the A8 shows an even more spontaneous response to steering input, tightly follows winding country roads and effortlessly maintains a smooth straight line at high speeds.

Air suspension with even more sensitive comfort

Gains in performance and handling are matched by those in ride comfort: the standard-specification adaptive air suspension is now even more sensitive in responding to fine bumps. The electronically controlled variable dampers are now fitted with new seals to reduce friction. These are combined with new valves that have optimised characteristic curves, and the entire hydraulics have also been retuned. The A8 absorbs expansion joint grooves with supple ease and without even the hint of a vibration. With the addition of an insulation package to reduce rolling noise and road noise, the luxury saloon from Audi offers outstanding comfort.

Exemplary soundproofing

Even the complete acoustics of the A8 have been optimised with the use of innovative materials – after all, Audi approaches noise insulation as a component of its intelligent lightweight construction. The result: without gaining weight, the Audi A8 achieves the lowest rolling, road and ambient noise levels in its class. Being one of the quietest cars in the world is an important element of the relaxing long-distance comfort that is a hallmark of the Audi A8.

Assistance systems bring comfort and safety

Drivers of the Audi A8 can rely on the support of the most up-to-date assistance systems. They serve to enhance comfort and combat driver fatigue on long journeys, thus making an important contribution to safety. The new Audi side assist in the A8 makes use of intelligent radar technology.

The system is especially designed for lane-changing manoeuvres and warns the driver of dangerous situations: whenever there is another vehicle in the critical zone, a yellow LED display in the exterior mirror housing lights up and remains on.

If the driver of the A8 activates the indicator to change lane even though the warning display is lit up, the LEDs become brighter and flash more quickly at shorter intervals. This signal is almost impossible to miss as the peripheral vision of the human eye is extremely sensitive to changes in contrast.

Audi lane assist warns the driver to prevent an unintentional departure from the lane. A small camera positioned above the interior mirror on the windscreen observes the road ahead of the car and a high-speed computer detects the lane marking lines. If the driver moves towards one of these lines without indicating, Audi lane assist makes the driver aware of this by a vibration in the steering wheel.

Still a step ahead in the luxury class

The clear and progressive design idiom of the Audi A8 stands out for its timeless quality. The exterior design has thus only been accentuated at carefully chosen points – from the modified single-frame grille and new exterior mirrors with integrated turn signals to the new wheel designs and LED tail lights with their innovative night design. To complete the range, the A8 is available in new paint finishes and with sophisticated aluminium trim inserts plus new interior colour schemes and inlays.

The Audi A8 thus resolutely continues its progress on the road to success. With sales of over 100,000 vehicles so far, the current model has already exceeded the total sales volume of its predecessor. And it is continuing to make gains year by year in a market segment that has remained flat overall. How come? Because the A8 steadily attracts customers from other brands with its clear character, while at the same time product loyalty and repurchase rates among A8 drivers are above average.

Audi A8 Control Arm Replacement

2007-11-20T21:03:00.000-08:00

Background
This procedure outlines the replacement of the front control arms. They are commonly referred to as “control arms” although Audi has specific names for each one (see below). There are a total of eight arms, four on each side comprised of two “uppers” and two “lowers”.

The Audi translation below will help if you are ordering parts from the dealer or need to search in the Bentley manual.

Guide Link = lower curved arm
Track Control Link = lower straight arm
Upper Rear Link = upper round/straight arm
Upper Front Link = upper curved arm

Let's talk strategy. While it is possible to replace arms individually, it doesn't always make sense from a labor standpoint. In theory, some of the arms hold up better than others. Isolating a particular arm for replacement though is tricky. Once you read through the procedure, you'll understand why audipages recommends replacing all eight as a “set” and changing the sway bar links and tie rod ends at the same time. This approach minimizes the amount of labor and will make your front-end feel like new.

Why replace the arms at all? Telltale symptoms are, squeaking, rattling, groaning over bumps, knocking and alignment issues. If you have the original arms and are over 70,000 miles, consider replacement if you are experiencing any of the symptoms above.

It is imperative that you get an alignment done after performing this procedure. The nature of the Quattro system disguises what normally makes a 2 wheel drive car feel out of line. In other words, just because the steering is not pulling to one side doesn't mean the alignment isn't out of spec.

Changing all of the arms, swaybar links and tie rod ends is easily a $2,000 plus job at the dealer. This particular procedure has one of the highest payback in terms of savings. This is a time consuming job but not overly complicated.

Before Performing the Job
Before beginning this project, it is very important that you spray penetrating oil (PB Blaster) onto the pinch bolt shown below, preferably over several days. If this bolt cannot be removed it has to be drilled out which will add hours to this procedure.

While you are waiting for parts to arrive, keep soaking it everyday. If you plan on changing the tie rod ends, soak those bolts/nuts as well.

Spray the areas shown and tie rod end threads if planning on changing them.

Prior to ripping everything apart, see if the bolt can be partially removed as shown above. If not, you have to determine whether you want to forge ahead with this project. There is no way to remove the upper arms with the bolt in place, so you have to figure out a way to remove it or take it somewhere to have it done.

This is a showstopper if you can't get past this point…..

Time: 7-8 hours if first time and bolt is not frozen Parts: Control arm “kit” which usually contains 8 arms, sway bar links, tie rod ends, hardware. I have had good luck getting the Meyle kit from blauparts.com which has all of the hardware all the hardware (with exceptions below) for around $500.

Tools and Materials Required

Usual assortment of wrenches and sockets. An impact gun is a huge help as there are lots of nuts and bolts to be removed.

Alignment tool (looks like a tapered center punch)

PB Blaster

Circlip pliers

Pickle fork

Circlip pliers

Anti-seize

Bungee cords

Torque wrench

Optional - Upper pinch bolts (typically not included with kits that contain hardware)

Lower curved arm bolts (these get cut, must have and not included in kits)

Closed end wrench, 16mm on one end, 18mm on the other. Sears has them and you'll use it a lot for this job

Additional 16mm and 18mm wrenches. Make sure you have one of each AND the wrench above. Sockets won't fit in a lot of places so you'll be using two at a time of the same size.

Procedure
This procedure details replacing all eight control arms, tie rod ends and sway bar links. Refer to the relevant section if you are only doing a partial replacement. I recommend doing one side at a time for two reasons:

It leaves one side intact for reference

Enables you to finish a side and be able to move the car. The operative word being "move", not drive J

1a) Determine status of pinch bolt described at the top of this procedure. If removable, continue. If not, stop here before proceeding.

1b) Jack up one corner of the car. Leave the jack in place and put a jack stand underneath as a backup. The car will be in the position for many hours so makes sure that it's absolutely stable. Remove the wheel.

2) Remove the belly pan and set aside.

3) Remove the (2) 13mm sway bar bolts on each side.

4) Disconnect the sway bar links from the lower, straight control arms on each side (16mm). You should now be able to remove the sway bar and put it aside.

WARNING
Have a jack underneath to support the entire wheel housing. Once you start removing the arms, the only thing supporting all of the weight becomes the axle and tie rod assembly, which you don't want to do !

5) Remove the bolt that connects the bottom of the strut to the straight arm. The strut will stay connected to the car from up above.

6) Remove the nut/bolt that connects the lower straight arm to the frame. Once removed, take a rubber mallet and knock it down so that it is only connected by the ball joint end.

7) Under the hood, remove the plastic cover so you can access the two rubber plugs the cover the strut nuts. There are (2) 13mm nuts that need to be removed with a deep socket. Put your hand on the strut while removing because that's all that is holding the strut in place.

Optional method: you can leave the strut in place and remove it along with the sub-frame. It makes it a little heavier and obviously a little bigger to maneuver out but there is room. The advantage to doing it this way is that the strut nuts are much easier to access when on the ground.

Once the two nuts are removed, the whole strut assembly can be removed and set aside. While not covered here, this is a perfect time to change your struts if needed.

8) Remove the balljoint end of the lower straight arm by removing the nut on the bottom and use a pickle fork to get it out. Another method is to loosen the nut so that it's even with the top of the threads and use a hammer to drive it out. This gives you a bigger area to hit with the hammer.

BOTH methods are destructive so only use when replacing the arm with a new one.

Status Check: At this point, the swaybar, strut assembly and lower straight-arm should be removed.

Note: I have changed the order of this procedure after doing it a bunch of times. I think it's easier to swap out the upper arms first before removing the lower curved arm. The only reason is that it helps keep the strut housing supported a little more.

9) The two upper arms are pretty easy because you actually remove the whole “sub - frame” which they connect to. Also, the hardware is a little more protected and therefore rust is not an issue.

Upper Sub Frame Nut Locations

Under the hood, there are five 18mm nuts that need to be removed (see pic below). They are what hold the sub frame to the body of the car. Remove the two black covers so you can access all of them (you should already have at least one off already to remove the strut bolts). At least one on the passenger side is obstructed by a hose, so hunt around a little.

You can see the relative positions in the picture below and the Bentley diagram above. The Bentley pic is almost looking straight down at the strut tower.

Remove all five nuts.

Remove upper pinch bolt and disconnect upper arms from housing. Have bungee cords handy because the whole wheel bearing housing will want to flop around. The upper arms are what keep it in place.

Remove the nut & bolt inside the wheel well that hold the add'l brace shown in the pic below.

At this point, the whole sub frame will drop down and out (a little wiggling required). Move it onto the floor or bench to swap the arms.

Upper Sub Frame Removed

Depending on the year, you might have an add'l brace shown above - it is not “required” to be reinstalled according to the Bentley. If you do not reinstall, put the bolt and 18mm nut in the hole where the brace was located as shown above.

10) The straight arm has a circlip, which needs to be removed first. The circlip is put in at the factory to help during production. It is not required for reinstallation but I put it back on anyway. Reinsert the special bolt for the straight arm and the clip will hold it in place until you get the sub frame reinstalled.

NOTE: Both arms have a metal spacer with a taper on one side where the bolts go through the sub frame. They might fall out when the sub frame and/or arm is removed. No big deal - the taper faces downward. Just make sure that they are there when you reassemble. If one or more of the spacers are “missing” look up into the hole and it might be stuck inside.

11) The upper curved arm removal and reassembly is pretty straightforward. The only thing you need to be aware of is the position of the arm in the sub frame before tightening the nut. This is important because if the arm is in the wrong position it will stress the bushing prematurely. Once it's in position, torque to 37 lbs + ј turn BEFORE you install the sub frame (you won't have access to the nut otherwise).

Dimension “a” should equal 97mm (+/- 2mm) or 3.81”

At this point, the straight arm will be fairly loose in the sub frame only being held by the circlip and the curved arm will be locked in position. Time to reinstall the sub frame.

STOP: Make sure the tapered spacers have been reinstalled and that the curved arm has been torqued to spec.

12) Reinstall sub frame. Torque 5 nuts to 74 lbs.

13) Connect the upper arms to the wheel bearing housing by reinserting the pinch bolt. Use anti-seize in case you need to do this again. Tighten to 37 lbs.

14) Reinstall strut assembly, torque 13m nuts to 15 lbs. Pop rubber grommets over holes and reinstall plastic covers. You're done under the hood for this side.

15) Reinstall lower straight-arm on the ball joint end first and hand tighten the nut. Lift up the arm into position so that you can reattach to the frame and also to the strut. This will take a little trial and error to get everything lined up so the bolts go through. The tapered alignment tool is a big help here.

I would re-use the factory nut with the large washer. If your kit came with a lock nut, it's too small and will torque down on the insert inside the wheel bearing which can slide out - Hand tighten for now.

Did you lose the orientation of the bolts? That's why you do one side at a time!

Ok, now that the uppers arms are swapped out and the lower straight arm is removed and installed, it's time to tackle the lower curved arm.

16) The curved arm is a little tricky because the nut is inaccessible without loosening the sub frame and prying it down to allow clearance for removal. Someone came up with the idea of reversing the new bolt, which eliminates this step.

In order to do that, you have to cut the old bolt off. There are many ways to do this - body saw, grinder, dremel tool, and sawzall. The bolt is extremely hard and will take a little time to get all the way through. Trust me, even if it takes you 15 minutes a side, cutting the old bolt is a much better option all around.

I bought an expensive air body saw for this job and it just doesn't have enough torque for this kind of cutting. A cutoff wheel on a grinder is the quickest but access is a little harder. Although bulky, a sawzall with a good metal blade works well. Cut roughly 1/3, rotate, and repeat until you're all the way through.

Tip: You can gain more access by loosening the fender liner and peeling it back out of the way. Remove three 10mm plastic bolts (one on the bottom and two inside the wheel well) and remove and the Philips screw on the side. Pull the liner off of the three metal studs and use a bungee cord to hold it out of the way.

Due to sub frame interference, the curved control arm bolt won't come out and it is easiest to cut with a die grinder and cut off wheel.

Lower curved control arm bolt cut for removal.

17) At this point, you can reinstall the new lower arm. Installation is the opposite of removal with the exception of inserting the new bolt in the opposite direction. Where you saw the nut previously would now be the bolt head. Working the bolt through the hole in the frame is a little tricky but you'll get it.

Install the ball joint end the opposite of removal. I would re-use the factory nut with the large washer - same issue as the straight arm.

· Tighten both ends basically hand tight. All final torque settings will be done on the ground.

18) Reinstall sway bar links to the lower straight arm. Don't connect the sway bar end just yet until you complete the other side. Torque to 52 lbs.

Everything should be back together now. It cannot be stressed enough that you have to put the car back on the ground, bounce it up and down a few times and begin torquing all of the loose nuts/bolts. It's tedious but necessary to do it this way so you get the maximum life out of the new arms. Refer to the torque specs below.

The only thing left to complete one side is the tie rod end. They are pretty straightforward but like the pinch bolt, seized hardware could be your biggest obstacle.

Tie Rod End Replacement

Use an 18mm wrench on the tie rod end to lock it in place while using a 22mm wrench to loosen the nut on the threaded shaft. Once it's loose, leave it in place for now.

Remove the 13mm bolt on top of the tie rod. This one should come out very easily.

Remove the nut on the horizontal bolt. Tap out the bolt with a hammer. These tend to get frozen too so use anti-seize on the new one.

You should be able to disconnect the tie rod from the housing with a couple of taps downward with a hammer.

Now, either take a measurement, or count the threads so you can get the new end installed reasonably close.

With the nut backed off, start unscrewing the end from the threaded shaft. Keep going, it might take quite a few turns.

Installation is the reverse of removal, refer to torque specs below.

Tips:

If the horizontal rod bolt doesn't go through it's because the tie rod is keyed in the wrong place. Put a 10mm hex socket on top (where the 13mm bolt goes) and turn it so that it lines up. You should be able to see clearly through the hole. If not, turn it until you can.

If the rubber boot starts to bind up when doing the step above, use a small pick and run it around the inside of the boot so it will flex back into position.

Repeat the process for the other side.

Torque List
Some of these are for reference; you can't fit a torque wrench on every fastener.

Upper sub frame nuts - 74 lbs (same for vertical brace if applicable to your year and you decide to reinstall it).

Tie rod - top bolt (7nm or x inch pounds = not tight at all)

Horizontal pinch bolt – tie rod end - 37lbs

Upper short/curved arm nut - 37 lbs + 1/4 turn

Lower straight and curved arms (ball joint end) - 92lbs

Curved arm (bolt you cut) - 66lbs

Shock bolt - 66lbs

Lower straight arm - 66lbs

Upper control arm pinch bolt – 37lbs

Sway bar links:

- link to arm 52lbs
- link to swaybar 66lbs

Strut nuts - 15lbs

Wheel - 89lbs

Audi A8 Audi A8 Transmission Output Flange Seal Replacement

2007-11-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

Symptoms of Seal Replacement
The transmission output seal is the seal that seals between the rotating output flange (which is bolted to the drive shaft) and the distributor gear chamber. This distributor gear is filled with gear lube, it has the gears that drive the the transmission output flange and the final drive - front, on the forward bottom side of the transmission.

The seal that rides on the output flange can leak gear lube across it. Once it drips out, it falls on the left side catalytic converter. This produces a nasty gear lube oil smell when it burns off. It is most noticeable during hot weather after shutting the car down. If you smell gear lube burning (it has a very distinct smell), this is most likely your problem.

If you get under your car, you'll be able to see burned oil on the left hand catalytic converter. That will confirm your problem.

Parts Needed

018 409 399 B Seal (about $20)

1 litre of gear lube (use only Audi product)

(6) Output flange to drive shaft bolts (or you can reuse if you'd like, I replaced mine)

(4) 8 x 40 mm high grade bolts

(4) 8 mm high grade nuts

(8) 8 mm washers

The 4 nuts, bolts and washers are to be used on the left hand side exhaust flange. The old hardware will be rusted and in need of replacement. I also purchased the exhaust donut which sits between the two flanges on the left hand exhaust, but it is most likely not needed. I did not use the replacement, the part is manufactured from steel, so it doesn't wear out.

Special Tools Required

T40 torx (3/8" socket drive)

T45 torx (3/8" socket drive)

8 mm (3/8" socket drive)

6 mm (3/8" socket drive)

Rubber mallet

3/8" metric socket set with extensions

12 mm, 13 mm combination wrenches

Procedure
If you don't have a lift, or access to a lift, you can complete this procedure, but it will be much more difficult. Find somebody with a lift to help you out!

Paul Waterloo's A8 on the way up to perform the job. If you don't have a lift, you'll need to put the jack up on four jack stands so you'll have clearance to drop the exhaust and fill the distributor gear.

Put the car up on a lift or jack the car up and place on four jack stands.

Pull the exhaust system from converters to tail pipes as an assembly. Disconnect at crossover immediately behind catalytic converters.

Using penetrating oil, spray all four nuts. Loosen nuts about 5 or 6 turns, but don't remove from bolts. Make sure you loose all four nuts, the pipes will seperate where they want to. Use smooth, even, torque on the nuts so they break loose, then let them stand for a minute or so before unscrewing them. This will prevent excessive heat build up in the bolt causing it to break.

Loosen all four nuts, this allows the exhaust to come off any of the four pipes when removing the exhaust.

Once all four nuts are loosened, open the clamps with a large screwdriver. With help of a friend, drop the exhaust by removing towards the rear. It is held up by four rubber hangers, it's best to spray with a soap solution and they just pop off with via hand pressure if you push up on the exhaust. If you are doing this on jack stands, place a jack under the exhaust and support it.

Pulling exhaust towards the back of the car, the exhaust pipes should pull out and move it out of the way.

The exhaust hangers just pop off with a little force. It's easiest to remove/install them by pushing up on the exhaust and sliding them off. Lubricate them with some soap solution for best results.

Remove the four left hand exhaust flange bolts. On the 97's it was a 13mm bolt head and a 12 mm nut, on the 98 it was 13 mm on both sides. If they strip, you can cut them with a sawsall. Use penetrating oil on the threads. The exhaust donut will fall out when they are removed. Move the cat off to the side and rest on something suitable so the O2 sensor does not have to be removed.

Left hand catalytic converter removed. What a nice design lift to do this job on! Rest it out of the way so the O2 sensor wire does not have to be removed.

Remove three heat shields, with the most forward one shown in the picture below first. They overlap forward to back. So when removing, remove the forward shield first. When installing, install the rear shield first. They are held in place with 13 mm nuts over studs, just bend them over the studs.

Remove heat shields (3) forward to back, install back shield to front. Note all the burnt oil on the bottom of the shaft output shield.

Remove the alloy front CV joint splash shield shown in the picture above. It is a Torx 45. Use a long extension to get to the two screws. Loosen one side, then loosen the other side, then remove the bolts, this will prevent movement of the shield protecting it from breaking during removal.

Loosen the driveshaft to output flange bolts, using a 6 mm hex on a 3/8" socket. If the wheels are in the air, use the parking brake to hold the drive train still.

Removing driveshaft to output flange bolts. Use the parking brake to hold the drive train in place if the wheels are in the air. The forward end of the drive shaft is actually a CV joint.

Gently tap the CV joint (forward end of drive shaft) with a rubber mallet to unseat it. Take care not to damage the flange gasket.

Remove the shield just aft of the drive shaft center bearing. Remove the center bearing shaft support, noting position of mounting and very carefully remove the drive shaft rearward. Support it with a piece of wire to the forward right exhaust hangers so it doesn't get damaged. It is carbon fiber and must be handled carefully. Keep exposed CV joints and flanges absolutely clean. Cover them with plastic bags if they will be left open for an extended amount of time. Do not wipe off the CV joint grease.

Remove shield and center support bearing. The center support bearing location should be noted prior to removal. You should be able to see the washer marks after removing it. Support it with a piece of wire to the forward right exhaust hangers so it doesn't get damaged.

Remove the final output flange using a Torx 40 socket. To hold the flange still while removing it, install two flange bolts and use a large screwdriver to hold the flange still. Before removing the flange, make sure you have an oil catch pan below, about 5 oz of gear lube will dribble out.

Use two bolts to hold output flange with a screwdriver when removing Torx bolt.

Pry out the seal using a screwdriver, take care not to score housing. Just bang on the screwdriver handle with your hand, using the housing as a fulcrum point.

Transmission output shaft seal after removing output flange. Make sure an oil catch pan is in place.

Remove the seal with a screwdriver.

Install the new seal flush to the housing. Tap in with a small hammer and seat with a large socket (1.5" or something suitable). Lube the inside diameter of the seal with a small amount of gear lube after it is installed.

Inspect drive flange. Polish seal surface with 1000 grit sandpaper or 0000 steel wool. Clean well. Reinstall flange and install center retaining bolt. Use lock tite on threads.

Clean the seal running area with 1000 grit sandpaper or
0000 steel wool to remove burnished area.

Remove the gear lube fill plug on the right hand side of the distributor gear with a 8 mm hex wrench. Open the gear lube bottle, it has a long nipple built in. Put the nipple in the distributor gear and fill the cavity until oil starts coming out, probably about 8 oz or less. Put the fill plug back in place and torque.

The Audi gear lube bottle has a built in nipple,
just squeeze the bottle and fill the distributor gear cavity.

Installation is reverse of removal. Torque the Torx bolt holding the output flange to 18 lb-ft of torque. Use new output shaft to drive shaft bolts. If using the old bolts, use loctite on them. Torque to 45-50 lb-ft.

Mount the rear support bearing in the same place as where it was removed.

When hanging the exhaust, first mount the left hand catalytic converter, and hand tighten the four flange nuts/bolts using new hardware. Then hang and mount the exhaust before tightening anything. After everything is in place, tighten all exhaust bolts. Use soap solution on hangers. Start car and ensure there are no exhaust leaks.

Audi A8 Audi A8 F125 Transmission Switch Replacement

2007-11-20T21:01:00.002-08:00

Problem
The F125 switch is a multi-function, multi-wafer electrical switch mounted on the side of the transmission. It is in the following circuits: gear selection through the TCU, cruise control, back up light, mirror dipping circuit and maybe more. This procedure was developed because the transmission was going into "limp home mode" on occassion. The fault code showed that it was a problem with the F125 switch. It can corrode over time or get soaked with oil.

Time
There was plenty of trial and error since I do not have a Bentley, but I have worked on cars throughout my life and I was able to figure it out. I started pulling tools and jacking the car up @ 4:30pm and was done putting tools away @ 12:30am. I did have take a few brakes and had some dinner during this time. Working with my step by step procedure it should take no more than 5 hours total.

Parts Required
The part is about $300 and can be bought from www.ecstuning.com.

Tools Required

A= 16mm socket
B= 6mm hex head socket
C= 8mm hex head socket
D= 3/8 universal
E= vise grips to hold G (ground down torx)
F= 1/4 socket to hold G (ground down torx)
G= ground down torx (in open end wrench)
H= 1/4 open end wrench
I= 16mm open end wrench
J= extensions
K= 3/8 craftsman ratchet
L= 3/8 snap-on ratchet
M= pry bar
N= regular screw driver
O= pick

Procedure
Ok, so after I cleaned all of the oil out of the connector. I noticed a lot of corrosion on the contacts within the plugs.

Old F125 switch, notice the corrosion on the contacts.

New F125 switch.

I plugged in the new F125 switch and tried it using a screwdriver to turn the switch, while my assistant sat in the drivers seat and told me what I was doing. The old unit did not work after I cleaned it very well, and the new unit worked 100%.

For bolt torque, please refer to your Bentley, or ask someone with a Bentley.

1) I did this on the ground, jacking the car up. The F125 switch is on the driver side of the car, so make sure to jack up that side.

2) Place jack stands at the rear and front locations.

3) Take off front wheel. This will make access to the areas much easier.

4) Turn the wheel to the left which will help with access as well.

5) Remove the CV joint shield:

There are three 6mm hex head bolts. Using the 6mm hex head socket (tool B) remove them. The left and right ones are very easy, but use a long extension (tool J). The top most one is slightly blocked so I used a universal joint (tool D) at the bolt location which worked perfectly.

Remove shield. Access to the transmission support bracket will now be easier from the wheel well now.

6) Support the drivers side of the transmission with a small jack.

7) Remove the 16mm nut that holds the transmission mount to the transmission bracket:

This is a tight fit. I removed it with a (tool I) 16mm open end wrench, 1/6 of a turn at a time. Turn it as far as possible, then flip the open end over to change its angle, turn is again. Repeat over and over.

Once it is loose you can turn it with your fingers. Remove the washer under the nut you just removed. The transmission mount stays here for now.

8) Removing the transmission bracket:

There are three 8mm hex head bolts on the bracket but before we get to removing the transmission bracket, I want to let you know the top most bolt is a huge PITA. It is very far up, and it can barely see it. This requires patience, but is completely possible.

Top one:

With just the 8mm hex head socket (tool C) in hand, I reached up and placed it into the bolt. Then I stuck my shorter craftsman 3/8 drive ratchet (tool K) on it. The motion to remove it is pretty easy, just pull it down to loosen it. Once it gets loose you can unscrew it with your fingers.

**This is harder to put back in and tighten than it is to remove. Be very careful when reinstalling it because if you drop the bolt, or the socket, you have to remove the bracket to find it (it always fell onto the top of the F125 behind the transmission bracket). I recommend when putting the bracket back in, do the top most bolt FIRST, so if you drop it, you do not have a lot of work to remove it to find the socket (I dropped the socket twice). Also, when putting it back in, screw in the top most bolt with your fingers as far as possible. Then stick the 8mm hex socket into the bolt, and turn it in further with your fingers. This will save time when reinstalling. BE CAREFUL NOT TO DROP IT. **

Right and left:

These are simple. Remove the left one with the same 8mm hex head socket (tool C)on your long extension (tool J). Note the left one is longer than the others. The right most hex bolt is right above the transmission mounts threaded shaft.

Once all three are removed the bracket will be loose, push it UP and out of the way.

There is a way to place it so it will be out of the way, so you can remove the transmission mount easily during the next step.

9) Remove transmission mount:

Below the transmission mount there are two 16mm bolts you need to remove.

Once both are removed (using either tool A or tool I), and if the transmission bracket is out of the way, you can angle the transmission mount down and out of the car.

10) Remove the Transmission bracket:

Now that the transmission mount is removed, the transmission bracket will come out through the same place.

11) Remove the F125 switch:

There are two small torx bolts holding the switch against the transmission. Each bolt has a bracket to keep the wiring for the F125 away from the exhaust, NOTE the way they face before you remove them.

Front most torx:
The front most one is easy, just remove with torx (tool G with tools H, or F or E). I am unsure of this size, only because I ground it down past the size written on the torx to work on the rear torx. Sorry:O

The rear most one:
This is very close to the exhaust.

I chose to grind down the correct size torx instead of removing the exhaust header. I spent 2 minutes on the grinder, much easier than taking the exhaust off.

Removing it from here is easy (tool G with tools H, or F or E), but you might swear a few times. I also used a pry bar to give me a little more room to work on this by moving the exhaust over a little.

** When reinstalling the new F125 switch, be SURE TO NOT DAMAGE THE NEW SWITCH BY FORCING THE NEW ONE ONTO THE TRANSMISSION SHAFT!!! ALIGN IT BEFORE, AND TAKE YOUR TIME.**

12) Unplug the f125 and remove from car. I used a screw driver and pick to get the plugs apart (tools N and O).

All of the parts I removed to access the F125 switch:

Installation is reverse of removal. Pay attention to step 8 for helpful hints when reinstalling.

Audi A8 Transmission Removal and Replacement

2007-11-20T21:01:00.001-08:00

Preface
If you decide to go crazy and remove your transmission by yourself, you might want read this. I don't have a step-by-step procedure, but if I remember correctly, this should be close. Please don't break anything, but if you do, don't blame me! ;-)

Note from editor: Thanks very much to Gabor (tozoM8) for providing this procedure! Please look at the other sections of automatic transmission on audipages.com, it has a lot of supporting procedures.

Procedure
First roll at least one window down.

Disconnect the battery. Have your code number for your radio handy.

If you will have your car on the lift during the whole removal and replacement, you don't have to secure the engine from the top.

If you have to take the car off of the lift (waiting for the rebuilt transmission, torque converter or any other reason), you will have to support the engine form the top. I've made a simple engine support tool. Remember, your aluminum fenders are not strong enough to hold the engine with a general transmission support tool. You need one that supports the engine by sitting on the struts.

Remove the two plastic covers on the passenger's side (one by the ECU and one by the air box).

Remove the two covers by the driver's side (one by the coolant reservoir and one by the brake master cylinder).

Remove the plastic intake hose (between the air box and the TB). Reach down behind the engine on both sides and disconnect the 2 upper O2 sensors. It is a black, flat plastic connector with 3 wires.

Disconnect the two rear O2 sensors which are located under the front seats, under the carpet.

Now your car is ready to be lifted in the air. Loosen the front wheel lug nuts.

Raise the car at least 20” off the ground.

Take the two front wheels off.

Raise the car up, so you can walk under it comfortably.

Drain the transmission fluid. (11)

Remove the belly pan if your car has one.

Remove the exhaust system. Start with the O2 sensor cables. Pull the rubber plugs and pull down the cables from the cabin. Loosen the 4 bolts in the exhaust clamps. (13)

Remove the rear part of the exhaust system.

Remove the catalic converter bolts (12).

There is a biscuit between the two flanges. Remove bolt (14).

Remove the two heat shields that protects the drive shaft. Remove the heat shield, that protects the rear transmission output flange (18).

Remove the 6 bolts that holds the drive shaft to the output flange (19). Put a rag over the drive shaft CV joint, it is greasy.

Disconnect the output speed sensor. It is located on the rear of passenger's side on the transmission.

Put a support under the engine by the oil pan.

Put another support under the center differential housing (20).

Put the third support under the sub frame.

Disconnect the front lower control arm from the sub frame (1). Remove the sway bar bolt (2).

Leave the rear control arm on the sub frame, disconnect it by the wheel by popping the ball joint at the lower shock assembly connection.

Remove (9) 4 bolts, (10) 6 bolts, mark the plate to the body with a sharpie.

Remove (28) 4 bolts, that hold the front engine supports to the sub frame.

Remove (15) 4 big bolts, that hold the sub frame to the car.

Remove sub frame, the rear control arms and the sway bar stays with the sub frame.

Remove the bolts from the inner CV joints. (4) 6 bolts on each side.

Remove the heat shield from the transmission above the axles. (5) 3 bolts on each side.

Remove the exhaust down pipe on both sides (29). You will need a 13mm socket with a looooong extension. When you have the transmission out you will have great access to the rear cam seals, cooler hoses and the famous center cowl drains.

Disconnect (6) wheel speed sensor, (7) engine speed sensor, (27) transmission cable, (26) F125 switch.

Remove the transmission mounts on both sides. 3 bolts each side.

Pop the shifter cable off of the transmission shifter lever, behind the F125 switch. Remove the 2 bolts, that holds the cable to the transmission.

On the driver's side, disconnect the transmission cooler lines from the transmission.

Remove the engine support on the passenger's side (17).

Remove the 2 bolts, that holds the (+) cable (18).

Disconnect the cable from the starter.

Remove the starter. (16) and one bolt from the transmission side.

With a long pry bar, carefully turn the flex plate (pushing upwards) until you see the torque converter bolt. (24) Remove it and turn the flex plate 120degrees, then one more time 120 degrees.

Put a transmission jack under the transmission and secure it. The transmission is 350lbs, so make sure that it will not fall on your toe. That would hurt!

Remove the stand from under the center differential housing.

Remove the transmission bolts around the bell housing. I think there are 9 bolts, 2 or 3 of them are on the front from the engine.

Start to lower the transmission jack. You might have to wiggle it a little, but it will come off from the engine.

Carefully lower the transmission jack. If you have a pre-facelift, watch for the transmission breather hose. It comes from the back of the transmission and goes up right behind the throttle body.

That's it, you've got the transmission out. Now you can rebuild it or replace it with a rebuilt unit.

Don't forget to send your torque converter out for a rebuild.

When you have your newly rebuilt transmission on the transmission jack, install the torque converter on the transmission.

Lubricate the TC shaft, put it on the main shaft, hold it by the pilot shaft and start to turn it.

This is very important, it has to go on the transmission all the way. 3 clicks. The first 2 clicks are the transmission shafts.

The last click is the TC shaft engaging with the transmission pump. I have to say it again. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! If the pump is not engaged and you try to pull the transmission to the engine with the bell housing bolts, the TC will crush the transmission pump.

Installation is opposite of removal.

Audi A8 Tiptronic Shifter Removal

2007-11-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

There are several reasons why you might want to remove the shifter and surrounding wood trim in an A8. Possibilities include:

Removal of the wood trim to polish and remove scratches. This area usually takes the most abuse from items getting placed on top of it.

Removal of the aluminum shifter trim for polishing.

Repairing /replacing LED backlighting for the shift indicator lights.

As part of doing a Tiptronic upgrade on a 1997 US bound A8.

Cleaning of the rubber “tractor” shift guide. If your shifter is getting harder to move through the gears, cleaning might help. In my case, this was necessary due to a spilled drink, but I'm sure they all get a gunk build up over time.

The main objective of this procedure is to show you how to get the shifter assembly apart so that you can do any of the above. I'll share some of the polishing techniques that I used in my project as well.

Time
Varies widely depending on what you do. Figure 45 minutes or so to get it opened up.

Tools Required

“T” handle 6mm hex works best although an Allen wrench would work too

Trim removal tools

Procedure
You can find the instructions on how to remove and reinstall the side panels here. If you have a facelift car, you'll need a 5mm allen wrench to remove the switch under the gas pedal.

Remove both the driver and passenger floor mats AND the sound insulation underneath. The sound insulation is the same shape as the floor mat only it's much thicker and heavier.

On the driver's side, remove the two plastic inserts in the knee bolster below the steering wheel. They pop right out and will expose 6mm hex screws. Remove those screws and the whole piece will tilt down out of the way. Carefully prop it against the floor. You don't really need to remove it entirely for this project. Don't break the OBD harness, it will still be attached. Pictures and detailed description can be found here.

On the passenger side, look for a rectangular Velcro section on the transmission hump carpeting. It's around ankle height on the left side as you are sitting in the seat. Pull that back, remove the small plastic cover (pry off with a screwdriver) and remove the Philips screw.

In order to get the shifter assembly apart, you now need to remove the side panels to expose 6mm hex screws. Two of them secure the wood trim and two secure the aluminum shifter piece. Pull the side panels down and out on both the driver and passenger sides. They have tabs that catch behind the center console.

Once the side panels are out of the way (get them out of the car), look on each side, behind where the side panels were installed, for the 6mm hex screws and remove them. If you are taking out BOTH the shifter and wood trim, remove all four.

What is being shown in this picture are the tabs that are attached to the wood trim. Some of you have been successful in just “prying” this piece out. PLEASE check and see if the 6mm screws are installed (and remove them) before you try and pry it out. Otherwise, you will break it for sure and something tells me this isn't a $10 part J

Once the screws are removed, you can pry up on the wood trim and remove it. There will be some friction from the rubber gasket but it will come straight up and out.

If you have removed the screws for the aluminum shifter, it will pull straight up as well but will NOT come out until you do two more things. Depending on what you're doing, this might be far enough do get what you need done. If you want to completely remove it, go to the step below.

Completely Removing the Shifter
If you are at this step, the wood trim has been removed and the aluminum shifter should be loose but still connected. If you want to remove it completely, do the following.

Disconnect the two wiring harnesses on the left hand side. You'll probably need to cut the zip ties that hold the connectors in place.

Remove the shifter. This can be a little tricky but let me explain. Just below the leather part of the shift knob, there is an aluminum collar that you need to loosen. Carefully wedge a screwdriver between the bottom of the leather and the top of the collar and press down. It's pretty tight but mine came off right away. I don't think you can “pull” it down with your hands so I came up with the screwdriver method. It goes without saying to do this carefully in case the screwdriver slips. I did it in one shot so hopefully it's no big deal.

Once that's done, pull the shift button OUT and pull UP to remove the shifter. Just to clarify, the shift selector button is the one you push in with your thumb before selecting the gear. Note when reinstalling: you will need to use a pair of needle nose pliers to “grab” the shift button in order to pull it back out so you can reinstall it.

At this point the disassembly is complete and you can access pretty much everything related to the center console and shifter. Assembly is the reverse for all steps.

A couple of notes that might be helpful:

I used a combination of wet sanding and 3 grits of polish on the wood trim. If yours is in pretty good shape you might be able to just polish or use Meguairs scratch remover. This is probably trial and error until you are happy with the results. The clearcoat looks pretty thick so there's a lot of material to work with. Reinstalling with the 6mm screws is optional. The rubber surround holds it tightly in place. This also means you'll be able to pop it right back out without all of the disassembly the next time.

If you're polishing the aluminum trim, I would recommend removing the shift indicator buttons by peeling off the white tape and pushing them out. You will also need to remove the white plastic piece on the back by prying out the four circle clips that hold it on. If you got this far, you won't get stumped with these details. At this point, you be left with just a machined piece of aluminum. I started with 240 grit sandpaper (deep scratches), 320, 400, 500 and then #00, #000, #0000 steel wool. There's either an anodized coating or clearcoat that you will need to get through before you hit the aluminum. I think any of the grits of sandpaper will get through this pretty fast. I did mine in more of a brushed aluminum look by making the #000 steel wool the last step. If you want to get back to a highly polished finish, you will need to do some buffing too. I replaced these screws but you will notice that this piece is keyed when you reinstall it. You could probably get away without these too, which would eliminate most of this procedure if you wanted to this again.

The rubber “tractor” looking piece has a pretty tight tolerance and needs to be clean in order to work smoothly. While you have everything opened up, clean it well and use some armor all so that it's slippery. I had to do a more extensive cleaning on the plastic guides as it kept getting stuck. Unfortunately, you can't really “test” it until the shifter is reassembled. It needs to be held down in order to work correctly.

Audi A8 Retrofitting Tiptronic Controls to a 97 A8

2007-11-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

1997 U.S. bound A8's did not come with Tiptronic transmission controls. They were suppose to come with them, but due to EPA fuel standards, the 1997 model year did not come to the states with Tiptronic.

Owning a 97 A8, I really wanted to have Tiptronic after I purchased my car. Thinking that it was almost impossible, I had researched putting a six speed manual transmission in the car from Europe. While studying all the wiring diagrams, it was determined that the wiring diagrams for the 97, 98 and 99 were all the same. They all showed the tiptronic controls in the schematics. So I researched the project and determined that the transmission control unit (TCU) was already wired for the tiptronic controls.

The following article is a step-by-step procedure to retrofit tiptronic controls to a 1997 A8. This is not a difficult task, but it's not easy. This article gives you all the information that you will need. However, if you don't know how to read a schematic or don't understand how electricity works, there is a possibility of doing something wrong. If attempting to do this upgrade, please study this procedure in detail multiple times before attempting.

Special Tools Required

Pro-Fit hook tool set (qty 2 180 degree tools)

Pro-Fit dash trim removal tool

Soldering iron, solder, heat shrink tubing (or a crimping tool and the correct lugs)

Parts Required

Complete Tiptronic shifter from a 1998 or 1999 parts car

RJ-45 computer network cable

Used tiptronic shifter. This should cost about $150 - $250 from a parts recycler.

Running the RJ-45 Cable
Three wires will need to be run from the transmission control unit which is located in the electronics box under the hood to the tiptronic shifter in the console. To accomplish this, a RJ-45 computer network cable is run. It has eight conductors, only three will be used.

The cable will be passed through the firewall to the electronics box from the passenger compartment. This is accomplished by fishing a hanger from the electronics box to passenger compartment, attaching the RJ-45 cable to it and pulling it through.

First remove the passenger side floor mat and carpet. You won't have to remove the console side panel until you are ready to install the new shifter assembly. Remove the four screws on the relay panel cover. This is the pressboard plate on the forward section of the passenger footwell.

Open the hood of the car and open the electronics box. The electronic box has phillips head screws holding it in place. There is one screw under screen, this screw can be removed by popping the plastic piece out of the screen right above it to gain access to the screw.

Electronics box cover removed. Remove 10 mm nut holding silver box
just to the right of the 214 relay to allow working room.

It is best to have two people to run the wire. Cut a coat hanger to be used as a fish. Ensure you remove the any sharp edges from the coat hanger to prevent damage to installed wiring. Remove the 10 mm nut holding the silver box to the right of the 214 relay seen in the picture above. Unbolt the support plate that has the stud on it for more working room, you'll need it.

Using a lubricant such as diluted dishwashing liquid or hand cleaner, lubricate the hanger. Insert the hanger into the location shown below in the back of the box. Be very careful and slide it along the installed wiring harness into the passenger compartment. This is where a second person is helpful. Make sure each person has a flashlight or drop light. The hanger will come out at the top of the relay panel. You'll have to peel the trim back to see it come through.

Insert the hanger through the wiring harness in the back of the box.

Hanger will come through at the top of the relay panel. You'll have to push the trim back to see it come through the installed wiring harness. Be extremely careful when pushing the hanger through.

Once it has been pulled through, attach the RJ-45 cable to it by securely taping it up. Lubricate the RJ-45 cable with hand cleaner or other type solution and have one person pull from the electronics box and the other should feed it from the passenger compartment. Pull it through to the electronics box. You will need no more than 12" of cable.

Attache the RJ-45 cable securely to the hanger and lubricate
before pulling through to the electronics box.

Pull the RJ-45 cable through into the electronics box

Connecting the RJ-45 Cable in the Electronics Box
Three wires will need to be cut in the electronics box and soldered to three conductors in the RJ-45 cable.

The three wires control:

Ground connection to switch into tiptronic

Ground connection to upshift while in tiptronic

Ground connection to downshift while in tiptronic

The following diagram shows these three ground paths. When the shifter is moved over into tip, the switch labeled "engage" moves over and grounds the path from the TCU to ground, energizing tiptronic. When the operator moves the shifter to upshift or downshift, it grounds that leg of the circuit from the TCU to ground, causing the shift.

These three wires are terminated in the electronics box at two 10 pin connectors, T10b (10-Pin Connector, yellow, connector station electronic box plenum chamber) and T10 (10-Pin Connector, blue, connector station electronic box plenum chamber).

If you look at the wiring diagram, the wires on T10b (yellow connector) position 6 is br/ro (brown/red) and position 7 is ge/bl (yellow/blue), and the other wire is located on T10 (blue connector) position 5 is ge/gn (yellow/green).

Pull the yellow and blue connectors. Find positions 6 and 7 on the yellow connector and make sure you have the correct wires above. You will notice that on the other side of the connector there is no terminal in these positions, the wires are terminated at this connector. Snip the wires close to the connector so you'll have the longest wire possible to work with.

Do the same thing for position 5 on the blue connector.

Disconnect the blue and yellow connectors and find the correct wires to cut.

EDITORS NOTE: I soldered the wires together, another alternative method is to crimp the wires together. However, if doing this, the proper crimper and lugs must be used. These wires are very small and require the correct size lugs and crimping tool for a reliable joint.

Once the wires are cut, reconnect the yellow and blue connectors. Strip the wires back in preparation for soldering them to the RJ-45 cable. Strip the RJ-45 cable back and strip three conductors. If you'd like to follow the wiring diagrams I did, strip the solid green, blue and orange wires of the RJ-45 cable.

Slide a piece of heat shrink tubing over one of the wires and connect the other wire to it. Solder the two wires together and heat shrink the tubing. Repeat for all three wires. Connect as follows:

- Yellow/Blue wire to Solid Green on RJ-45

- Brown/Black wire to Solid Blue on RJ-45

- Yellow/Green wire to Solid Orange on RJ-45

Three tip wires cut and ready to be soldered.

Three tip wires soldered and heat shrunk.

Once these wires are all soldered and the heat shrink tubing is shrunk, tape the wire up with electrical tape. Reconnect all the relay panels and put the silver box back in place. Tie wrap the RJ-45 cable in place. Do not place stress on the soldered connections, relieve the stress on these connections by tie wrapping around them.

Tip wires connected, taped and secured.

The work in the electronics box is now complete. Put the cover back on the box. Ensure the gasket on the cover is properly seated.

Wiring the New Shifter
Once I pulled the console and removed the old shifter, I discovered that the shifter assembly wire connector and wire colors are different on the 97 non tiptronic shifter and the 98 tiptronic shifter.

I decided to determine which wires are needed to connect the 97 electrical connector to the 98 tiptronic wires. These wires would be cut and the 97 electrical connector spliced in. The 3 new wires will be connected seperately to the RJ-45 cable.

If you are not comfortable with reading the Bently wiring diagrams and performing this to your car, STOP NOW! I found that the wiring diagrams and the actual shifters didn't match. After studying it for a while, I figured out what everything is and matched it up. The following table is what worked for me. I cannot guarantee that your used shifter will match the one that I did.

*Tiptronic Wire Connections for 1997 to 1998 Electrical Connectors*
*Wire Function*	1998 Shifter Wires	1997 Wire Connector Wires
Shift Lock Solenoid	Black/Yellow	Gray
Shift Lock Solenoid	Red/Yellow	Green
Tip Backlight	Grey/Blue	Black
Ground	Double Brown	Double Blue
Tip Selector Light	Double Grey/Green	Purple
Tip Shift	Yellow/Blue	Green (RJ-45 Cable)
Tip Engage	Brown/Black	Blue (RJ-45 Cable)
Tip Shift	Yellow/Green	Orange (RJ-45 Cable)

1998 Tiptronic shifter with electrical connector shown in bottom right of picture. This electrical connector is different than the 1997 non tiptronic shifter. It will be cut off and the 1997 electrical connector spliced on.

1998 Tiptronic shifter with electrical connector cut off. Cut it right at the connector so the wires are the longest. Notice the electrical connector in the bottom left of the picture.

Cut the electrical connector off the 1998 tiptronic shifter. Cut it as close to the electrical connector so the wires will be as long as possible. Pull the electrical tape off that wraps the wires. Verify that your shifter assembly has the same color wires as in the table above. If so, you can proceed, if not, you'll need to create a new table by tracing the wires.

Cut the electrical connector off the 1997 non tiptronic shifter, cut the wires as close as possible to the shifter to make the wires as long as possible.

Strip the wires and connect per the table above. Prior to connecting the wires, ensure the heat shrink tubing is on the wire. After connecting the wire, solder it and move the heat shrink tubing over it and shrink it in place. Perform the first 5 wires, leave the 3 tiptronic wires alone for right now. Tape up the wiring with electrical tape in a similiar fashion to the factory taping.

1998 tiptronic shifter with 1997 electrical connector attached. Note that the three tiptronic wires are not connected at this time, they will be connected to the RJ-45 cable later.

Reinstall the shifter to the car. Attach the shifter cable and shift lock cable. They shouldn't require any adjustment.

Mount the shifter back into the transmission tunnel. Be careful not to push the transmission cable gromet out of place! If so, you'll be sucking fumes after you shut down the car. Just make sure you look at where the cable passes through the transmission tunnel prior to installation. Make sure the gromet stays in place.

After the shifter is in place mechanically, you will need to make up the 3 tiptronic wires to the RJ-45 cable. If you use the wire configuration in the electronics box that was outlined above, connect the wires as in the table above. If you didn't use the same wiring method that I used in the electronics box instructions above, determine which wires need to be connected.

1998 Tiptronic shifter installed. Electrical connector is made up under foam, RJ-45 cable is wired (soldered and heat shrunk) to the three tiptronic wires. A nice upgrade to this installation would be an electrical connector for the RJ-45 cable wires.

Now that the tiptronic shifter is installed and wired up, it's time to test it. Start the car, with your foot on the brake, shift into drive, ensure the shifter shifts and the dash lights are correct. Move the shifter into tiptronic and ensure the dash lights change to tiptronic mode. If so, your transmission appears to be working correctly! Run the shifter through all the standard gears. It won't shift out of first gear in tiptronic unless the car is moving.

The dash should shift to 54321 when the shifter is placed in tiptronic.

Reassembly the console assembly and take the car for a test drive!

Audi A8 ZF Remanufactured Transmissions

2007-11-20T20:55:00.002-08:00

ZF Vernon Hills Facility
If you are an A8 (or other type Audi) owner with the misfortune of a transmission that went bad and need a replacement, this article can help you out to get a quality rebuilt transmission at a reasonable price. This article is based on a personal visit to the ZF facility in May, 2003.

The manufacturer of the transmission, ZF Industries, has started an aftermarket remanufacturing program. This includes the 4 speed models found in the 92-94 100's, 95-97 A6 and V8 models. Five speed automatics include all transmission found in the A4's, A6's and A8's.

Click here to see a complete listing of ZF remanufactured transmissions (170K PDF file).

The remanufacturing is being performed at the ZF facility in Vernon Hills, Illinois. It's about 40 minutes Northwest of Chicago. This facility previously built new transmissions and did some remanufacuturing, but it is now solely dedicated to remanufacturing. Besides the Audi transmissions, ZF rebuilds BMW and other make transmissions at the Vernon Hills facility.

ZF is Supporting the Aftermarket
This is a new program for ZF, started in June 2003. Why is ZF now getting into this market? Because ZF feels this is the best way to service the market. To date (May 2003) most of the transmissions supplied to customers as rebuilt units are supplied through Audi's dealer network. They actually get rebuilt units from ZF in Germany. They are shipped overseas and then go through a distribution channel to the dealers. There are multiple mark ups, transportation costs, plus the core has to go back overseas. This leads to high prices.

ZF is also aware that many of these Audi's and VW's (they will be doing the Passat transmissions too, same as the A4 transmissions) are out of warranty now and there will be a greater need for a more economical repair method.

ZF will distribute the transmissions through key distributors and they will resell to transmission shops. In other words, you will only deal with your transmission shop. ZF will have rebuilt transmissions in stock and ready to be drop shipped to your transmission shop. The core goes back and it is rebuilt.

ZF has a test stand (input power and inertia loading) to test all transmissions. It has three loading devices, one for each axle plus one for the rear output shaft that would couple to the drive shaft. It is a required piece of test equipment to ensure a proper repair is completed.

The facility is extremely clean and organized. It has a HUGE amount of spare parts ready to go into transmissions, and some really neat ways to house them.

Audi A8 Automatic Transmission Noises and Troubleshooting

2007-11-20T20:55:00.001-08:00

Symptoms of Noise
Two problems have been reported by A8 owners regarding their transmission.

One is a high pitched squeal, normally heard right after start up, and it can go away within 2-10 seconds, but sometimes it doesn't go away. If it does not go away, it usually gets barely audible once the transmission is at normal operating temperature.

If you have experienced this high pitched squeal from the transmission (it's usually very hard to determine if it's coming from the transmission, it almost sounds like a high pitched metallic noise), HAVE YOUR TRANSMISSION OIL AND FILTER CHANGED IMMEDIATELY! Do not drive the car any further than you have to. This could save you a huge expense.

Do not use anything but transmission oil from the Audi dealer. Part numbers for the oil, filter and pan gasket for a 1997 are as follows. Make sure you verify your car's year with the dealer for the correct parts, the transmission changed after 1997, and during 1997, three versions were supplied.

01L-325-429-A Filter

01L-325-443 Drain plug gasket o-ring

01L-321-371 Pan Gasket

G-052-162-A2 ATF Fluid (6-7 quarts required)

Here is the kit you will need. Buy it from Wendy Hager by emailing her. She use to be a parts manager at an Audi dealer, now on her own. Very knowledgeable person!

She sells it for $23.95 plus shipping for the filter, pan gasket and drain plug o-ring. Dealer list price (what I paid when I had it done): $80.64.

Here is the procedure to change the fluid and filter on the A8. The pan does not have to be dropped if you follow the procedure and get the right tools.

Symptoms of Thump
Prior to the transmission squealing, you will most likely notice a change in the transmission operation. This can happen for months before the noise.

The transmission produces a "thump" in the drive train, normally most noticeable on flat ground when at very low throttle positions in 5th gear (around 65 MPH). Once the driver lifts off the gas for traffic, the engine RPM's lower approximately 500-1000 RPM, followed by an increase in RPM, causing the transmission to "thump" the drive train.

Essentially, the torque converter is dropping out of lock out, then picking up again. It will continue to do this two or three times if the gas is not pressed after lifting.

If your car starts experiencing this, have the transmission serviced as above IMMEDIATELY!

The following is a very informative post from Dommi3 of Audiworld. He had all of the above symptoms and thought he had to have his transmission replaced. Please read carefully. Have the service completed if you have any of the symptoms.

NOTE:
The follow is regarding a 1997 A8. In 1997, Audi supplied cars with three separate transmissions. The type of transmission can be determined by the date code of the car:

7/96-11/96 DPZ

11/96-2/97 DSM

3/97-1998 DTE

This transmission was of the DSM type.

Dommi3's Problems and Solutions
Today I picked up my car after getting a major transmission flush using the factory Audi mineral based transmission fluid and changing the transmission filter, pan gasket and O-ring. I was very close to having to replace the transmission or should I say junk the car. Instead, doing a good transmission flush and filter replacement using the proper fluid does seem to have at least temporarily, solved my problem. I'm grateful for that. Here's what I learned.

I feel the people that know these transmissions best are the few companies I spoke with (thanks to your responses) that rebuild the ZF transmission piece by piece. That is something that Audi does not do. Hands down, those companies are in agreement that the transmission on these vehicles take one type of fluid and one type only. It's very easy to hear a different story from the fluid manufacturers themselves. Swepco will tell you that their 714 fluid is as good or has even better properties and will easily work in your transmission and do it no harm. In many ZF transmissions that's quite possibly the case however the A8 transmission, is very unique and even very few authorized ZF Transmission rebuilders don't and won't get near them because of their unique design and characteristics.

I say no way don't do it!!!

I saw and heard what had happened only 3K miles after I had my system flushed and replaced with the Swepco 714 fluid, also quite an expensive fluid. Red Line apparently also makes a product that is compliant with the A8 transmission needs and specs. I personally would be really afraid to use it. The transmission is too damn expensive of an item to take a chance in my opinion and believe me, I'm all for saving a buck.

Next is the other important information I got from the ZF A8 transmission rebuilders and that is; although Audi makes the claim that it is a life time fluid, the rebuilders say they highly disagree with that idea of any fluid being life time fluid. They highly recommend at 50K mile intervals to drop the pan and replace the filter and the fluid even though it is very expensive fluid. They both agreed that doing this, it will prolong the life of this apparently bullet proof transmission. I will be following that program from now on religiously. One of the rebuilders for A8 Transmissions said by accident he discovered that the Audi mineral based fluid is in fact exactly the same product as the Esso product # LT 71141. Unfortunately, I think it's possible it's even more scarce than the Audi Fluid and even quite possibly more expensive. Audi right now is selling the fluid retail for approximately $14 per qt. Not cheap but in my opinion after what I just went through, well worth it.

Also, I found anyone that is authorized as a ZF transmission rebuilder for the Audi A8 transmission were willing to sell me what ever part I needed such as the pump if that was in fact my problem part. That part sold for approximately $250. Audi will not do that, they won't sell you just that part. Needless to say $250 beats the hell out of $7500 for a new transmission, that is your only option by having Audi trying to solve it. Unfortunately if it is the pump, it's just as labor intensive to get that one part replaced as replacing the entire transmission so labor won't be cheap. Both Audi ZF rebuilders made the claim that there are countless transmissions that have been replaced unnecessarily on these cars because of dirty filters causing further issues.

I hope this information comes in handy.

If anyone hears that transmission pump making a hydraulic squeal on cold starts, bring it in immediately and get this service, you'll more than likely save yourself somewhere between $9-11K replacing your transmission. Even if you don't hear that squeal, and have 50K miles or more on the car, I think it's an excellent idea to have the above mentioned service done, it can't hurt.

Once again, thanks to all of you for all of your input, the information you gave me on this forum helped immensely. Thanks!! Thanks!!! Thanks!!! I'm smiling again thanks to you.

Audi A8 SuperSprint Exhaust Upgrade

2007-11-20T20:53:00.001-08:00

Overview
Paul Waterloo installed a SuperSprint cat back exhaust on his 1997 A8 quattro. The exhaust was bought second hand and was originally installed on a S8.

The cost for a new SuperSprint exhaust is approximately $1,500.00.

Sound
The SuperSprint exhaust has a very nice sound to it, the car exhaust note is something compared to a Mustang GT in stock form. It's not too loud, and not so quiet that you can't hear it. It is audible from outside and inside the car. If not accelerating while traveling on the highway, it is hardly noticeable if at all. It does not resonant at any RPM. It is most throaty from idle to 3,000 RPM.

Installation
The exhaust required slight modification during installation. It was brought to a muffler shop. A few of the hangers required to be cut and moved approximately 1", but original exhaust rubber hangers were used.

The OEM exhaust was cut on the front end in order to reuse the cross over pipe and extend the OEM exhaust to meet the SuperSprint pipes. The SuperSprint exhaust mounts approximately 18" aft of the OEM cross over pipe. The cross over pipe sits up high under the car, so fabricating a replacement with extenders to meet the SuperSprint pipes would not be easy.

Total cost for installation was $100.00 and took about an hour.

SuperSprint Cat Back Exhaust for the A8/S8

It sure has a nice fit and finish, the tail pipes are perfect!

Forward muffler, the hangers required to be cut and welded slightly to fit correctly.

The OEM exhaust was cut here so the cross over could be used.
That's Chicago road salt on the bottom of the car/exhaust.

Exhaust seven months after installation.

Audi A8 '97-'99 A8 Clear Corner and Side Marker Lights

2007-11-20T20:52:00.003-08:00

If you'd like to change the look of your A8 to more of a european look, replacing the US corner and side marker lights with Euro style is a great looking and easy to do upgrade. Total cost is about $130 with corner markers, side markers and new light bulbs for each.

1997 US Spec A8 with Clear Corner and Side Markers

Jump to Installation Instructions

Replacing the corner and side markers is easy! First thing you'll have to do is to get the corner markers. I purchased mine from a distributor in Germany. They were about 90 euros plus shipping. I regularly purchase items from them, if you'd like a set, please email me and I will order a set for you next time I place an order. It will be $95 with shipping to your location if in the US.

Here are the new corner markers. The ones that I have are manufactured by Bosch, who is the manufacturer of the OEM marker that was taken off the car.

You can get the clear side markers on ebay for about $25-30 with shipping. Do a search for "A4 Clear" and you'll find them. The ones on ebay are not Bosch units.

Here are the clear corner markers with the original orange side markers:

Clear corner marker with OEM orange side marker. I do not like this look.

Clear side marker installed with clear corner marker. This looks good!

Here is Richard Eberle's silver '98 A8 with 19" BBS wheels and chrome mirror caps. He also has a H&R coilover kit on his car. The following are before and after pictures. The pictures don't do the clear corner and side markers justice, they look awesome on Richard's silver A8!

Before Installation

Orange OEM side and corner markers, dirty wheels.

After Installation:

Installation Instructions

Corner Markers

Items needed:

Pair of 1157 White Bulbs (optional)
Long flat blade screwdriver
Flashlight

Headlights DO NOT have to be removed to take the corner marker out. Open the hood and look at the corner marker from inside the engine compartment using a flashlight. Look for the corner marker clip shown in the picture below. Using a long straight screwdriver, force this clip out the socket as shown below.

NOTE: The corner marker is removed from the headlight assembly in the picture below for ease of illustration.

This is the only capture device for the corner marker. Using both hands on the outside of the car, push/pull the marker out of the headlight assembly. It can be difficult to break the corner marker loose because of the rubber gasket that is between the headlight and corner marker & corner marker and fender. Once these seals break, it slides right out.

Remove the light bulb plug from the old corner marker. Change the light bulb to the dual filament white 1157 light bulb if you choose. The OEM light bulb is a yellow bulb, I like the look of the white corner lights. With xenons, the white corner lights almost look yellow.

Installation is reverse of removal. Make sure you line up the male plastic stabs on the corner markers with the correct female part on the fender and headlight bucket. Ensure that gasket between the headlight and corner marker is properly seated before fully inserting the corner marker.

Once it's installed, use the long screwdriver to push the clip back into the socket. This secures the corner marker in place. Installation takes approximately 5-15 minutes per side.

Side Markers

Items needed:

Pair of XXX (will be posted soon) Yellow Bulbs
Long flat blade screwdriver wrapped with electrical tape

Make sure you have the new yellow side marker bulbs before you start this procedure. The OEM bulbs with the orange lenses markers are white bulbs. Unless you want to keep the side markers white while flashing, you want to get the orange bulbs first. You don't want to take these out more than once.

Wrap a long thin blad flat screwdriver with electrical tape to prevent scratching your paint. The side marker is pushed forward from the rear on both sides to release it. Using the screwdriver, push the middle of the aft side of the side marker forward. This compresses the little tab on the front side of the marker (look at the new one, you can see how it works) and allows the back to pop out. You'll have to push quite hard on the marker to get it out. Using the screwdriver, pry it out slightly. It will then pop out. Be gentle!

Remove the bulb assembly, change the bulb if changing to yellow bulbs, plug it into the new clear corner marker. Install in fender, it only goes in one way. Installation takes approximately 5-15 minutes per side.

Audi A8 Adding angel eyes/painting inside of headlights

2007-11-20T20:52:00.001-08:00

First off, I wouldn't try this if you are not knowledgable to cars and wireing, but also you dont have to be an expert tech. If your asking yourself can you do this, you probably can't or might have big trouble , ALSO I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONIBLE IF YOU MESS UP YOUR CAR/HEADLIGHTS OR GET A TRAFFIC TICKET.

2nd off...be smart...disconnect your battery

PARTS: -2 cold cathodes 80mm (angel eyes)
-wire (to power the angel eyes)[i used speaker wire]
-expoxy (holds angel eyes)
-dremmel (to cut open the headlight)
-silicone (to re-seal the head light)
-10mm or 12mm i forgot and socket w/extension (to get headlights out)
-switch (to turn on and off)
-and patience (cause it sucks)

*if painting backround* (do not paint the reflective parts or you will not be able to see at night)
painters tape
primer
black HI-temp paint
and TIME

The actual angel eye is a cold cathode for a computer fan, i got mine off ebay cheap for like 7 bucks shipped each. I would order an extra 2 cause youll prolly break/sit on your first one, like me. :-( All the other parts i got from AUTOZONE...get in the zone.

Start off by takeing out the 3 10mm/12mm bolts out holding in the headlight, then disconnect all the wireing in the back of the headlight. Take out the headlight and pull off the rubber part on top of the headlight.

Now the scary part.... Start dremmeling very carfully and slowly on the the inner part (where you wont see it when the hood is shut/under the rubber part) all the way around the headlight trying not to hit the chrome part. It will melt so use a flat head to open it up, but make sure not to use too much force or you will crack the cover.

Take off the plastic cover and wire the cathode to the back of the headlight(crack above the HID light). Then epoxy the angel eye in around the projector light (i would test the cathode first). Then clean up the melted parts where you were dremmeling to get a better seal and silicone the hell out of it, let it dry and silicone it again. Look over it slowly under a bright light and make sure you dont see any holes were moisture can enter. Otherwise condensation will get inside and it will look like hell.

Then hook up the little box that comes with the cathode kit as close as possible to the cathode or it will not work. Then run a power wire to the box from the battery and add a toggle switch in the cabin where ever you want, then ground the other side of the cathode and your done...

I also painted my backround black and if you also want to, you want to tape off the reflective parts really well and sand with wet dry 1000 grit then prime then paint 2 coats of HI-TEMP black paint...then give plenty of time to dry...

I left out some details but they are all common sense with some expericence of working on cars, and if you need a step by step write up then you shouldnt be doing this project. It took me the whole weekend cause i didnt rush, let the paint, epoxy, silicone dry completely. BE PATIENT

Then stand back and enjoy.

- A special thanks to xburbx for the info and tips

And post pics when your done i'd love to see them, thanks.

Audi A8 Brake Bleeding

2007-11-20T20:51:00.002-08:00

If you haven't ever change out your brake fluid, now's the time. If your car is over three years old, you plan to keep it for at least two years, or if you track your car, you need to change the brake fluid regularly.

If brake fluid is not changed out, it absorbs moisture and creates corrosion products in the brake fluid system. If you track your car or overheat your brakes, the fluid will boil and change the physical properties of the fluid, which can lead to a soft brake pedal.

Brake fluid from a 1998 A8 changed out in 2005.
The fluid on the right was in the system for about 6 months.

Tools and Supplies Required

Pressure bleeder

1 liter of brake fluid

Container to catch fluid

11mm flare wrench

Shop towels for clean up

Procedure
There are many ways to bleed brakes including the two person method of using the brake pedal, vacuum bleeder and others. This is a method that works well for me and can be completed when alone. It requires a pressure bleeder to pressurize the system.

When I bleed the system, I like to change all the brake fluid. I would normally do this when changing pads, but I complete it before changing the pads and after the new pads are installed, adjust the final fluid level to the "max" line on the reservoir.

In order to flush the reservoir, I start at the front left wheel because it has the shortest run of brake line going to it, therefore, lowest pressure drop. This helps speed up the flow of the old fluid while changing it out.

Jack up and remove front wheel. Hook up the pressure bleeder to the reservoir, DO NOT add fluid at this time. Remove dust cover from bleeder nipple. Attach a drain line to the bleeder nipple and prepare catch container.

Pressurize the bleeder to approximately 10 PSI. Using an 11mm flare wrench, crack the bleeder nipple approximately 1/2-1 turn and the fluid will flow to the catch container.

Watch the fluid in the reservoir, and close the bleeder nipple when it reaches the tapered part of the lower reservoir.

Pump the pressure bleeder to approximately 10 PSI when bleeding.

An 11mm flare wrench is absolutely necessary.
You will strip the bleed nipple if you use a standard wrench.

Brake bleeding set up on back brakes.

Remove the pressure bleeder from the master cylinder. Using new brake fluid, fill the reservoir to the "max" mark. Install the pressure bleeder again and bleed the reservoir down to the top of the tapered section. Closer the bleeder valve on the caliper.

At this point, you should have changed out all the fluid in the reservoir and the front left line. You should have about 10-12 ounces of brake fluid in your catch container.

Now repeat the processes for the other wheels. It really doesn't matter which wheel you do first or last. You have to bleed enough fluid on each wheel to change out the entire volume of the brake line. This is not much, about 4 ounces each. Watch your catch container and monitor fluid level to see when you catch 4 ounces.

After each wheel is complete, take the pressure bleeder off and add more fluid to ensure the master cylinder doesn't empty.

I use ATE Gold and Blue fluid, they are the same fluid, but different colors. If you have Gold installed, you bleed the system until it changes to Blue and then you know you have all the fluid.

ATE Gold and Blue, they are the same fluid, but different colors.

Once you are done bleeding the system, adjust the master cylinder to the desired level. If you have brand new pads, the level should be at the "max" line. This allows the brake pads to go to minimum thickness and still not bring the master cylinder level to below "min".

Audi A8 Shorting the Front Brake Pad Sensor Warning Light to Ground

2007-11-20T20:51:00.001-08:00

If you want to get rid of the brake pad warning light once and for all, follow this procedure. It will no longer work when the brake pads trip the sensor. If you'd like to keep this function, use this procedure to troubleshoot it.

The brake warning light circuit is normally shorted to ground from the instrument cluster through the pads. When a brake pad sensor has an open circuit (or the connections go bad at the plugs due to age), it opens the ground path and trips the pad warning light.

To prevent this from happening, you will pull the instrument cluster and short the wire to another ground wire at the cluster.

WARNING
There are two procedures, one for a pre facelift car (97-99 US bound cars, up to 98 model year rest of the world) and one for the facelift cars (00-03 US bound cars, 99-02 rest of the world). Follow the wiring diagram for your car.

Procedure
Pull the instrument cluster as shown here. Note that there are different connectors for the pre facelift and facelift cars.

Pre Facelift Cars
If you have a facelift car, follow the wiring diagram below, but use similar wiring connection techniques as shown below.

You will ground out pin 25 of the red connector, bypassing the whole ground circuit through the pads once and for all.

Pin 25 of the red connector is brown/black, cut it and add a jumper so it can reach the black connector.

You can use an insulation displacement connector to the brown wire of the black connector, but I ended up cutting the brown wire, adding a small jumper, heat shrinking it, then looping the brown wire around and connecting it to the short and long jumper, then heat shrinking everything. That's just my protocol, you or your mechanic will probably do it differently.

Facelift Cars
For the facelift cars, it will be slightly easier. The brake pad warning light is located on pin 17 of the Blue 32 pin connector. Also located on the 32 pin connector is ground, which can be found on pin 32 of the Blue 32 pin connector. You could easily use an insulation displacement connector to connect the two.

Remove the instrument cluster and pull back the black insulation tape. To ensure you have the proper wires, you can slide the pink plastic end off the connector, then remove the blue cover. It will be very easy to trace the wires then.

Cut the brown/black wire located on pin 17. Attach the instrument cluster side to the brown wire located on pin 32 either with an insulation displacement connector or via a soldering method outlined above.

Once that is complete, insulate everything and reinstall. Ensure you have the connectors very tight, if the cluster doesn't light up properly after installation or the car won't start due to the immobilizer, you'll need to remake the connections.

Audi A8 Troubleshooting the Front Brake Pad Sensor Warning Light

2007-11-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

The brake pad warning light is designed to come on when the front brakes wear down to about 25% left on the pads. It is triggered by an insert in the pads that has two wires attached. The wiring and pad is part of a ground loop that starts at the instrument cluster, goes through both brake pads and to ground. Once this path is broken, the brake pad warning light comes on.

If you want to remove this function from your car and never see this light again, follow this procedure.

Single caliper piston and inboard brake pad with brake pad
wear sensor integrated into the pad.

When installing new pads with built in brake pad wear sensors, just hook them back up when performing the brake job and you'll be on your way!

However, many aftermarket brake pad sets do not have the sensors installed. Therefore, the old sensors must be cut off the old pads, the wire insulation stripped, the wires twisted together, wrap them in electrical tape, fold them over and tie wrap the whole thing up. Then plug it into the car side harness. This maintains continuity in the circuit, which will prevent the brake pad wear sensor light from coming on.

Brake sensor wiring cut off old pad, shorted out, taped up and tie wrapped in place. This will maintain circuit continuity so the brake pad warning light won't come on.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Bipes.

In the case that this was done, but the light still comes on, it needs to be troubleshot. The following outlines how to troubleshoot the bad connection. Remember, the circuit should be a short circuit. The brake pad warning light comes on when the circuit opens.

Troubleshooting the Brake Pad Warning Light
The brake pad warning light circuit is a ground path loop. When this ground path is interrupted (open circuited, like turning a light switch off), the brake pad warning light (K32 in image) comes on.

Brake pad wear sensor circuit. Schematic shown is for 97-99 model years.

The brake pad wear circuit starts from the back of the instrument cluster (pin 25 on red 26 pin connector), through the firewall somewhere, to T3g, pin 1 (3 pin connector back left of engine compartment) to N13, which is the brake pad wear indicator, left. It then goes back to T3g, pin 2 and over to T3h, pin 2 to N12, the right brake pad wear indicator. Then back through T3h, pin 1 which is then connected to chassis ground at point 83. 83 is ground connection 1, in right front wiring harness.

Follow that path, it goes from the sensing circuit which is at 12 VDC to ground at point 83 which is chassis ground. When this circuit is interrupted, the light comes on. Easy? Yes, it really is.

The wiring is most likely all in place and in good shape. The problem most likely lies in the plug in connector at the brake pads. Do the following first:

Unplug the connector and on the side with the shorted wires (that use to be attached to the pads) take a resistance reading across the two pins. This should be less than 1 ohm resistance. If greater than 1 ohm, remove the tape and remake the connection. Ensure it is less than 1 ohm.

Clean the pin and socket connections on each side of the connector. This is most likely where your problem is. Use contact cleaner from Radio Shack with a small brush.

Make up the connection, start the car with your foot on the brake, then put it in gear and check for the light (will only light up with the car in gear). If it went away, you've found your bad connection. If not, take resistance readings to ground as outlined below.

Ensure you clean the contacts of the sensor connector on both male and female side. This is most likely the problem. Follow directions above. Resistance readings across the two shown contacts should be less than 1 ohm. If not, remake connections.

So how to troubleshoot? Pretty easy. Find three pin connectors T3g and T3h in the engine compartment. I believe this connector is down at the bottom front of engine compartment, forward of the wheels on each side. The belly pan would have to be removed first.

Perform a continuity check from the brake pad side of pin 1 on T3g to the brake pad side of T3h pin 1. You disconnect these connectors, hook up a multimeter on the resistance range, and you should have 1 ohm or less for continuity.

But if your brake pad wear light is on, it will probably be an open circuit (greater than 2000 ohms, most likely infinity).

Measure the continuity across each of the brake pad wear indicators as shown in the image. One will most likely be shorted (continuity) and the other will be open circuited. Find the one that is open circuited and repair as required by shorting the brake pad wear sensor wires. You probably put on aftermarket pads that didn't have them and now the old ones need to be cut and twisted together to create the ground path.

If these circuits tested good, then take a resistance reading from the ground side of T3h pin 1 to a known ground location. You should have continuity (short circuit). If not, troubleshoot and repair wiring.

If that tests good, pull the instrument cluster and check continuity from T26 pin 25 to T3g pin 1. There should be continuity. If not, repair wiring.

Want to skip all these tests at first? Find T3g pin 1, and connect the instrument cluster side to ground with a jumper wire. Turn the car on, did the brake pad warning light go off? If so, you know the problem is down stream. You could reconnect it and do the same from T3h pin 2. If the light is still off, you know the problem is down stream of that point.

Audi A8 Replacing Front Pads HP-2 Dual Piston Calipers - Aluminum

2007-11-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

Replacement of the the front rotors on the HP-2 pads is very easy. This procedure does not cover the replacement of the rotors. The following procedure describes the A8 face lift (some 2000, 2001-2003 US specification) dual piston design.

If the front brake pads are worn down, the rears are probably not far behind. Check them while doing the fronts. The rears DO NOT have wear sensors. When the brake pad backing plate comes in contact with the rotor and metal to metal contact is heard, you will know it's time to do the rears! Here is the procedure for the rear pads.

NOTE: This procedure does not cover bleeding of the brakes, which is recommended every time you change pads on your car.

Tools Required

Small and large flat screwdrivers

Brake cleaner and rags

Procedure
Take lug nut caps off and loosen lug nuts. Jack the car up and put front end up on jack stands. Raising the entire front end makes the job much simpler and safer. Remove wheel.

The HP-2 Twin Piston Aluminum Caliper

Remove the brake wear sensor electrical connection. It's a 90 degree turn to disengage.

Remove spring by depressing with a pair of pliers. Remove the top and bottom, then hinge the spring out of the way towards inboard.

NOTE: Because the new pads are much thicker than the old pads, the pistons will need to be pushed back into the caliper fully. Prior to doing this, check your brake fluid level. If it is high, it could overflow. You will need to remove brake fluid, if necessary. This is normally accomplished by bleeding the brakes. Brake fluid should be bleed every two years. audipages.com recommends that you bleed it every time you change the pads.

Using two flat blade screwdrivers, push the pistons back into the caliper. You will need to apply pressure to both pistons at the same time to prevent one piston from pushing the other one out.

After the pistons are pushed in, the outboard pads will fall out. Pull the inner pads out and disengage the pad wear sensor wiring from the caliper.

If Pads Will Not Drop Out Due to Rust
This seems to be caused by rust building up on the edge of the pad backplate. This causes the pad to be completely stuck and only by working the pad around with a pair of pliers or vice grips is it possible to remove it. You may have to use a flat blade screwdriver to start the old pad moving at all.

It is then necessary to remove any corrosion from the pad location area inside the pad housing before fitting the new pads. Then apply some anti-sieze compound or similar before fitting the new pads to prevent recurrence.

Using brake cleaner, spray the caliper and pad contact area. Using compressed air, blow everything out. Wipe up with rags.

Install new inner pads. The pads have two pins that sit inside the piston hole, and one cutout on the bottom that engages a tab on the bottom of the caliper. Insert the new pads, seating them with a mallet into the tab at the bottom.

Insert outer pads. They sit skewed in the caliper. The pad pin engages the caliper guide slot. At the bottom of the slot, there is a hole that the pin rests in. The pads might not fit into the slot between the caliper and the rotor, if this is the case, use a screwdriver to push the piston back into the caliper a little more until there is adequate clearance. Nothing has to be forced.

After the pads are correctly inserted, install the spring. Route the pad wear sensor wire correctly and reconnect.

Press the brake pedal a few times to take the slop out of the brake pedal. This is pushing the pistons back out to its required position. This will also lower brake fluid reservoir level. Install wheel, torque lugs to 88 lb-ft of torque.

Repeat for second side, checking brake fluid level. Adjustments should be made by bleeding the system or adding fluid.

When complete, test drive your car around the block slowly. Take it easy on the brakes for the first couple of days or per manufacturer's instructions. The pads will require seating and braking won't be back to 100% for a few days.

Audi A8 Replacing Front Pads and Rotors

2007-11-20T20:48:00.002-08:00

Replacement of front rotors and pads is an easy task, even if you've never done it before. Consider replacing both if your rotors have 50,000 miles or more on them. This will prevent you from having to do the job again anytime soon. Plus, you don't have to get the rotors turned, which can be a real hassle if it is not done correctly or you don't have two vehicles.

If the front brake pads are worn down, the rears are probably not far behind. Check them while doing the fronts. The rears DO NOT have wear sensors. When the brake pad backing plate comes in contact with the rotor and metal to metal contact is heard, you will know it's time to do the rears!

The following procedure shows the 1997 to 1999 US specification single piston design. However, the 2000 and later dual piston and four piston S8 deisgn would follow the same basic procedure.

Special Tools Required

7mm hex head tool, best to get one that will accept a 3/8" drive socket

Large "C" clamp to push the piston back in the caliper

Brake caliper lube

Metric sockets, including a 17 and 18 mm

Brake cleaner and rags

Brake Components
The following pictures are from Johnvey.com and the Bently manual. They identify the major brake components. The picture below denotes the "caliper bracket" it is refered to in this procedure as a "carrier bracket".

Figure 1

Procedure
Take lug nut caps off and loosen lug nuts. Jack the car up and put front end up on jack stands. Raising the entire front end makes the job much simpler and safer. Remove wheel.

A8 Front Brake Assembly. Note where jack stand is located in upper left of picture.

Using a pair of pliers or screwdriver, remove the retaining spring (Figure 1, Item 9).

Remove the brake wear sensor electrical connection. It's a 90 degree turn to disengage.

Locate the two 7mm hex screw sockets in the back of the brake caliper (Figure 1, Item 2). Each has a plastic cap on it that has to be removed by prying it off with a flathead screwdriver. Unscrew the two hex screws.

Removing caliper screws. If you don't have a swiveling head 3/8" drive, this is a perfect excuse to buy one. You'll never understand why you didn't buy it sooner.

Close up of caliper screw removed. Note brake carrier bolt to the left. This will be removed if removing or replacing the rotor, if only doing the pads, the brake carrier does not have to be removed.

Remove the brake caliper from the caliper bracket. If the caliper seems to be stuck on, try grabbing the caliper and pulling it towards you, with a little force. That should retract the piston enough to loosen its grip on the rotor and allow you to remove the caliper.

When removing the caliper, tie it up with wire to relieve the stress on the brake line or rest it on the suspension arm. Don't let it hang from the brake line!

Remove the brake carrier bolts (2). This can be a little tricky to get adequate torque on the bolt to break it loose, so a cheater is made up using a large socket and a 3/8" extension. The swivel head rachet comes in handy to clear the body when using the cheater.

Remove the rotor. If it is rusted to the hub assembly, hit it with a rubber mallet on the top and bottom face (where the brake pads contact it) until it brakes loose.

Because the new pads are much thicker than the old pads, the piston will need to be pushed back into the caliper fully. Prior to doing this, check your brake fluid level. If it is high, it could overflow. You will need to remove brake fluid, if necessary. However, just watch it while pushing the piston back into the caliper. Use a "C" clamp and the old pad as a backing plate

Using a large "C" clamp and the old brake pad, push the piston back into the caliper. Go slow and pause while pushing the piston back in, this will allow it to self align into the cylinder..

Clean all components thourghly with brake cleaner and rags.

Installation of New Components
Prior to performing installation, take a break and wash your hands! Remove all grease from them. After grease is used in the following steps, wash them again, this will prevent grease contamination of the rotor pads and rotor surface. If you bought new rotors, clean the rotor off of all protective material and paint.

Evan Waterloo, using his Dad's DA sander to clean and scuff the surface of the rotors.

Prior to installing the new rotor, take some grease or caliper lube and put it on the hub where the rotor comes in contact. This will prevent the rotor from rusting to the hub assembly.

Install new rotor.

Install carrier bracket, torque to 92 lb-ft.

Lube the guide pins (Figure 1, Item 3) with brake caliper lube. The OEM Audi brake pads are marked with direction of rotation, ensure the correct pad is used for each side! Insert the inner pad into the caliper assembly.

If using OEM pads, they are marked for direction, ensure that the pad is situated for the correct direction!

Place the outer pad in the carrier assembly, and drop the caliper assembly down on it. If it doesn't want to fit on, you might not of pushed the piston all the way in. If this is the case, go back and push it all the way in.

Insert the two 7mm hex head screws. Ensure you start each one before tightening down. Cap the screws with the plastic caps. Hook up brake wear sensors, they are a 90 degree turn to install.

Insert the spring clip back into the caliper. Putting it back in is harder than getting it out. Make sure that it's completely seated.

Completed front brake job, look how clean everything is!

Sit in the car and slowly depress the brake pedal until it firms up. This is pushing the piston back out to its required position. Repeat other side. When complete, test drive your car around the block slowly. Take it easy on the brakes for the first couple of days or per manufacturer's instructions.

Audi A8 ABS Troubleshooting

2007-11-20T20:48:00.001-08:00

Symptoms of Fault in the ABS System
The ABS system seems to have two common faults. The first is the ABS engaging when light braking is applied and the speed of the car is reduced from about 5 MPH down to a dead stop. There is a pulsating ABS brake and the car is very uneasy to stop.

The second symptom is the ABS light coming on shortly after the car is started, usually after turning the front wheel the first or second time. The ABS light in this case stays on (which indicates it is disabled).

How to Fix
The first symptom is a dirty ABS sensor. Just pull the sensor out and clean it.

The second symptom is an open circuit in the ABS sensor wire. Either a entire new ABS sensor and connecting wire is required (about $250+ at the dealer for the part), or you can perform a simple electrical repair if you have a few skills and tools for less than $20.

Cleaning a Dirty ABS Sensor
If your car experiences the ABS kicking in at low speeds when slowing down, it is most likely a dirty ABS sensor. The ABS sensor measures the speed of the wheel by looking at a toothed ring on the axle via electro magnetic coupling. If the sensor gets dirty, it loses its resolution and the ABS computer gets confused.

To clean the ABS sensor, just loosen the lug nuts, jack the car up, remove the wheel and you can find the ABS sensor. On the front wheels it's on the forward side of the hub.

Remove by pulling gently by hand, it's just a slight press fit. Once removed, clean with brake cleaner and a clean rag or paper towel. Insert it back into the sensor location until it firmly stops.

Front ABS sensor, just pull out by hand. Photo courtesy of EscapA8.

Dirty ABS sensor. Just wipe clean with brake cleaner and rag. Insert back into holder.

The rears are the same way, there is only one electrical connector going to the hub, that is the ABS sensor. Follow it and you'll see the sensor.

This should stop the ABS from activating when slowing to a stop.

Repairing an Open Circuit in the ABS Sensor
If your car has the ABS light trip shortly after getting into the car and starting it, especially after turning the wheel a few times, it is most likely an intermittent open circuit in the ABS wire.

This open circuit is between the frame of the car and the wheel hub, where the wire gets stressed over and over. The wiring cracks inside and when the wheel is turned, the circuit is open circuited, and the ABS system disables itself (tripping the ABS light).

The easiest way to figure out which side it is on is with VAG-COM. Start the car, trip the ABS light by turning the wheel side to side, then pull the fault code. It will stated something of the sort "Right front ABS sensor, open or short to plus". Or it will say left front, either way, you will know which side is your problem.

If you don't have VAG-COM, just remove one wheel and try moving the wire around. If it trips, you know you have the correct side. If it doesn't, go to the other side and see if you can get it to trip.

Take that wheel off, and remove the wire from strut and frame mount to reduce stress on it. Start the car and hopefully the ABS light will be off. Then move the wire around and make sure it trips the ABS light. This will verify that you have the correct side and location.

Now that the fault has been located, you'll need:

Two conductors (wires) for the repair

Heat shrink tubing

Solder

Soldering iron

Heat gun or heat source

I ended up using some two conductor wire already in a protective sheath. This was left over from a hands free car kit. Any two STRANDED conductors would do (do NOT use single conductor) . The following is the way I did the repair, it could be done multiple other ways including using crimped connections. Do what is best for you.

Step 1
Cut the wire roughly where shown in the picture above (between light blue arrows). This is the area where the fault is and must be replaced. CAREFULLY strip back the wiring insulation on both the ABS sensor and the body wiring harness side. Don't cut the conductors inside the wire, just strip back the outside insulation.

Place the strut mounts (rubber pieces that fit on the frame and the strut) on the new conductor before you start.

Step 2
Place a large piece of heat shrink around the outer of the two wires, this will cover the whole joint when done. Place two smaller pieces of heat shrink on each individual wire. Working on your work bench, solder the ABS side conductors. Heat shrink the two small wires and large piece over the whole joint.

Step 3
Repeat the same process on the frame/car side of the wire. Be patient and do it correctly.

Reinstall the wire into the mounts. Start car and verify the fault has cleared. It's that simple!

Audi A8 BIRA System 6 Brake Upgrade for the A8

2007-11-20T20:47:00.002-08:00

BIRA - What is it?
BIRA (braking improvement research association) is a group of individuals committed to designing quality braking systems for Audis. This organization was formed in an effort to design an alternative braking system for the 1991 200q, which came from the factory with the "UFO" style rotors. Porsche boxster monobloc calipers and A8 rotors were fitted to these cars. That was system 1. Since then, there have been six designs. The design shown here is "System 6" designed for the Audi A8.

BIRA is an organization, their web site can be found at www.bira.org. If you would like to upgrade your A8 to this system, you must be a member of the organization. Once you are a member, you have access to a very knowledgeable group of people in the BIRA Yahoo Group. It is closed to non members. If you interested in this upgrade, it's worth the one time $20 membership fee to learn more about it!

System Components
This system consists of the following:

Porsche 996 Twin Turbo Monobloc Calipers

Porsche 993 Twin Turbo Rotors

Brake Pads for the Calipers

Stainless Steel Brake Lines

Custom Built Caliper Mounting Brackets and Nuts

Custom Built Aluminum Rotor Hats

BIRA supplies the custom built caliper mounting brackets and rotor hats. The buyer of these components is responsible for procurement and installation of all other components. Installation is very easy, it's no more difficult than a front rotor/pad replacement. It's a lot more fun too!

Mom, look what's for dinner! Porsche 996 TT calipers and 993 TT rotors. The steel rotor hat that is supplied with the rotor is removed and replaced with the BIRA supplied custom built aluminum rotor hat.

BIRA supplied custom built caliper mounting brackets and aluminum rotor hats. These components are of very high quality!

Porsche Components
Porsche 996 TT calipers and 993 TT rotors are utilized for the system. The 996 TT caliper is a monbloc design, meaning that it is a one piece caliper. Many other aftermarket brake upgrade designs utilize two or three piece calipers. The advantage of the one piece design is less flexing under severe pressure.

Porsche 996 TT Monobloc Caliper

The 993 TT rotors are 332mm x 32 mm. They come drilled from the factory. The rotor is two pieces, one is the actual rotor itself, which is bolted to the hat in the middle of the rotor. The factory steel hat is discarded and a BIRA supplied aluminum hat is used. This new hat sets up the proper rotor offset and bolt pattern (5x112).

Porsche 993 TT rotor with BIRA installed hat (left) and Porsche factory hat (right). The BIRA hat establishes the correct rotor offset and bolt pattern.

The stock A8 rotors for the U.S. bound 1997-1999 model years are 312 x 25 mm. The Porsche rotor is 332 x 32 mm. This rotor is considerably thicker and has a larger outside diameter (O.D.). The rotor is not so large that the system won't work with 17" factory wheels, it will. Another great design feature of this system.

996 TT rotor with BIRA hat installed and the stock 1997-1999 A8 Audi factory rotor. One great design feature of the BIRA system is that it will fit under the A8 factory wheels. This is especially helpful if you use the stock 17" wheels for winter wheels.

Custom Brackets
The calipers require custom brackets to mount the Porsche calipers to the A8. The caliper mounting configuration is different from the stock A8 mounting configuration. The stock A8 caliper bolts mount axially relative to the car axle. The Porsche calipers mount radially relative to the car axle. Therefore, an adaptor bracket is required to mount the Porsche caliper.

BIRA uses a machined steel bracket with welded studs. Welded studs were chosen to ensure that the nut that holds the caliper secure will have a full thread engagement. If bolts were used in a threaded insert in the bracket, BIRA did not feel that there would be adequate design margin for the amount of thread engagement.

BIRA caliper mounting bracket. This is required to allow the Porsche caliper mounting configuration. Note how it bolts to the A8 hub carrier with the stock caliper mounting bolts.

Porsche caliper mounted on custom BIRA bracket with new stainless steel brake line.

Stainless steel brake line replaces stock hard pipe/rubber line. Notice the stock brake pad sensors shorted out and tied up to prevent the brake pad warning light from coming on.

BIRA System 6 with Pagid Orange pads installed. These pads are high temperature pads for track use. Paul Waterloo uses stock 996 TT Porsche brake pads for street use with no squealing.

Cost of the System
This system is one of the most cost-effective, high end brake systems available for the A8. Approximate costs:

BIRA custom built brackets and hats - $800 (if a group buy is available, they can be $100 or so cheaper)

Porsche 996 TT calipers - $850.00

Porsche 993 TT rotors (pair) - $300.00

Porsche front pads - $185.00

Stainless steel brake lines - $50

Track pads front and rear (optional) - $400.00

Therefore, the total cost is about $2,185.00 without track pads, add another $400.00 for a set of track pads which are needed if you plan on tracking your car (why wouldn't you with these brakes?).

This system is so awesome, you can out brake almost any other car on the track with it and Pagid orange pads front and rear. No overheating, no pedal fade, just great braking! If you want to track your car, this is a great upgrade!

Audi A8 Painting Stock Calipers

2007-11-20T20:47:00.001-08:00

Painting Stock Calipers

Things You Will Need: Caliper Paint Kit (or Paint, Brake Cleaner, and Bushes), Masking Tape, Wire brush and/or Sandpaper, Rag, Jack and Jack stands, Socket Wrench, Decal (if desired)

Mod Time: 3 hours

Difficulty (1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult): 1 – Very easy, takes a bit of time but straight forward.

Step 1 – Preparation
Loosen the bolts off and proceed to jack up every corner of the car.

Once the car is off the ground, remove all four rims.

In order for the paint to last, you must thoroughly clean the calipers.

Spray the calipers with the cleaner, allowing it to air dry. Use the wire brush and sandpaper to clean off the rust.

Then respray the calipers with the cleaner and wipe them down with a rag.

Using the masking tape, cover all areas you do not plan on painting. It is important to cover all rubber parts and the brake bleeder screw.

Step 2 – Painting
Stir the paint real well. Brush on thin coats.

Wait 10-15 minutes before applying subsequent coats.

Repeat this process until you have consistent coverage and are happy with the look.

Step 3 – Waiting
The paint requires a curing time, and this will vary by what you use. Check the can for specific information.

Move onto the next caliper as the one you just completed dries.

Once you have painted all four calipers, you can remove the masking tape.

Step 4 – Decals (If Desired)
Some like to place a decal on the caliper to give that special look.

Once the paint is dry, line up the decal and place it on the freshly painted caliper.

You may want to coat the edges in clear coating to help hold it on, but this is not necessary. Covering the whole sticker may cause damage to it, so be careful.

Step 5 – Waiting
You can now replace the rims and lower the car.

Make sure you re-torque the bolts to their proper specifications.

Be careful when replacing the rims to not hit the calipers. The paint has not fully cured so it may be fragile.

Stand back and enjoy the new look, no longer will you see rusted calipers behind your rims. When cleaning your ride make sure to spray and wipe them down to maintain that high-gloss finish.

Audi A8 Armrest Upgrade to '00 and Newer Style

2007-11-20T20:45:00.004-08:00

New '00 and later armrest installed on a 1999 A8. Looks great and is really comfortable!

Has your older style armrest broke at the center bracket for armrest? The pot metal in the leather arms can break over time and you might be stuck going to the dealer to buy a very expensive new leather arm.

Or you can do what Martin Stary did to his 1999 A8, by changing it out to the 2000 and newer style. These large armrests can be found on German Ebay. Martin paid $175.00 including shipping from Germany.

The newer large units can be mounted in place of the older style armrests. The following explains how to retrofit the new armrest.

Remove the Old Armrest
First, move both front seats all the way up. Pop the cover off the armrest stainless post (item 7 in diagram), by using a flat screwdriver on the forward side of the stainless post. The cover pops right off and the bolt will be exposed that holds it to the center console (item 8).

Using a flat head screwdriver, pop the cover off
the armrest stainless post, Item 7 above.

This exposes the allen head screw holding in the armrest. Unscrew it completely and remove.

The leather armrest pieces pull out on each side of the armrest post.

Then the stainless post must be removed (item 10 in the diagram above). The stainless post is a tapered fit onto the main assembly (item 13 in the diagram above). The key word here is TAPERED FIT.

To break the taper loose, you will need to strike it with plenty of force using a lightweight rubber mallet on each side. It must be struck a couple of times with the rubber mallet on the left side, then a couple of times on the right side, then the left side, etc. It will start to break loose, once it breaks loose, you can lift it right off the main assembly shaft. When you see it move, it will be loose. If it is not struck with a rubber mallet on the side to break the taper fit, you'll never remove it trying to pull it straight up.

Taper fit of post to main assembly. Each piece is slightly tapered. This allows the post to lock onto main assembly, providing support for the armrest. The taper fit must be broke before they separate. This is accomplished by using a rubber mallet and striking it on the left and right.

Here's a picture of the '00 and newer armrest from German Ebay, note that it has the stainless post already installed. The stainless post and rubber grommet are different for the new armrest. The new armrest will have wiring in it for a phone and a light for the left hand compartment. The phone wiring was removed and the light wiring was tucked down in the center console during installation in case Martin ever wanted to hook it up.

New Armrest from German Ebay. The wiring harness was removed.
The phone cradle was not removed.

The following is the diagram for the '00 and later armrest. There are slight differences. One is the bolt length, a shorter bolt is required. A new hex head bolt was put in place of the allen head. The stainless post foot print is slightly larger, therefore, the rubber grommet is different. A new rubber grommet will be needed, which should be included with the armrest.

2000 and later large armrest diagram.

New armrest with comparison of old style stainless post to new style. The bottom as shown in this picture is the front side of the post. The fit is exactly the same, but the footprint is slightly different because of wiring harnesses in the newer style. One of the two wiring harnesses was removed. The one removed was for the phone, shown on the left in the picture above.

A new, shorter, bolt will be needed. It's a metric thread and can be found at the local ACE Hardware store in the metric bolt drawer section. The size that is required is: 8 x 1.25 x 80 (diameter x pitch x length). You MUST get a allen head or phillips head screw if you do not take the side panels off. If all you can find is a bolt, then the side panels will have to come off to get a socket in place to tighten the bolt.

If using a bolt (versus allen head of phillips head), the inner leather covered side panels of the arm rest must be removed. Open the armrest, exposing the inside compartment. Using a flat head screwdriver, pop the inner leather panel off. There are three "pop in" fastners holding it on. Be Gentle! This is required to get adequate clearance on the inside of the unit to put the stainless steel cover back on.

If using a allen head or phillips head screw, DO NOT remove the side panels, it's not required. Remove the inner leather covered side panels of the armrest on each side prior to bolting it down. There are three "pop in" fastners holding it in. Be gentle when removing.

Once both of the two inner covers are off, then slide the new style grommet around the base and wiring. Set it down on the base and screw the new shorter bolt in. Before tightening it all the way, ensure the rubber grommet is aligned. Tighten it up, but do not over tighten! 25 lb-ft of torque should be more than enough to set the taper fit. The taper fit is actually what supports it and holds it in place.

View of new armrest installed from the passenger front seat. The stainless cover has not yet been installed. Note a hex head screw was used instead of an allen head screw. A new, shorter screw is required. There is adequate clearance to use a standard socket on the hex head screw if the side panels are removed. The wiring harness for the left hand side compartment light was routed into the center console in case it is ever hooked up.

Install the stainless cover on the post. Replace the inner leather covered side panels. The new style is very comfortable on the arm and has a ton of storage space!

New '00 and later armrest installed on a 1999 A8. Looks great and is really comfortable!

Audi A8 Winter Floor Mats

2007-11-20T20:45:00.003-08:00

Winter floor mats are available for the A8. The mats shown below are "euro style". They do not have any markings on them, i.e. Audi or A8, but they are very nice.

They are approximately $100 for a set of four from your local Audi dealer. Always ask for a discount, they will usually give you ten percent off. These hold a lot of snow/water and attach to the existing front mounts. Rears have a velcro type surface to stay put. They are highly recommended!

Part numbers for the mats are as follows:

Front 4D1 061 501B 041

Rear 4D0 061 511 041

If you have an A8L, they will also fit nicely.

A8 Winter Driver's Euro Mat

A8 Winter Passenger's Euro Mat

A8 Winter Back Seat Euro Mat

Also shown are the regular floor mats, they are a deep ribbed channel design with model number logo. I do not believe these are availble for the A8, only for the A4, S4 and A6.

A4 (B6) Winter Mats

Audi A8 Audi A8 Front and Rear Door Trim Removal

2007-11-20T20:45:00.001-08:00

Note 1: You MUST HAVE a nylon trim stick to do this. I expect that if you try to get by with a screwdriver, you will booger something up.

Note 2: The Bentley CD misses about half the fasteners needed to remove the trim. If you're reading the manual, and looking at this, that's why they're so different.

Pry off the wood trim with a nylon trim stick. This will reveal 3 large Phillips head screws that are a major part of what holds the trim to the door. These screws are not mentioned by Bentley. See pictures below of 97 door panel which has push connectors versus screws.

Pry off the lower door handle cover with a trim stick. This will reveal 2 screws that, when removed, allow removal of the upper door handle cover. Beneath that are two larger screws that attach the door handle to the door.

You'll need to lock the door, so you can work the top of the door trim over the pop-up. To the left of the arrow, there's a little Phillips screw in the door end at the trim that you'll need to remove.

There are a zillion plastic pop-ons around the lower perimeter of the door. Start at one end with the trim stick, and pop off the trim panel.

Once you get the trim panel loose, there's a cute little mechanism connecting the door handle to the door locks. Lots of small parts. Examine carefully before you remove. You may not need to, for what you're doing.

Rear Door Panel Removal
A lot of these procedures are applicable to the above front door procedure.

Here are the tools you will need, it also includes an 8mm socket if you want to totally remove the panel.

Remove wood trim with trim stick, start at one side and move to the other. Pop each nipple one at a time, be gentle.

Back of wood piece.

The wood trim inserts into the two outer pieces shown here, the 97 A8 had this "push connectors", you have to push the pin through with an awl and recover the pin later. Or have new ones on hand. On later cars, they were large Phillips head screws.

Remove the trim piece around the lower door handle cover, be careful. It's difficult to get this piece inserted back in correctly, you might need to tap it with a rubber mallet and either use a rag or you'll have a big scuff mark.

Remove the two Phillips head screws.

Remove the 10mm? or 8mm? screw also.

Remove front and rear Phillips head screws at top of panel.

Remove wood/window switch insert, disconnect wires if you are going to remove the door panel.

You'll have to disconnect the cable going to the door linkage, here is a picture for reference. The cable ferrule fits into the black piece. It will probably fall out when you remove the cable so keep an eye out for it.

Installation is opposite of removal, you can get replacement parts at the dealer.

Audi A8 Fixing the Lower Left Dash Rattle

2007-11-20T20:43:00.001-08:00

I've had a bad dash rattle that comes from the lower left part of the dash. Steve Wiseman from Audiworld stated he had the same rattle and that it was from a bracket coming in contact with the panel below the steering wheel. It's an extremely simple fix, about 30 minutes.

You can check if you have this rattle by putting your left knee up against the lower left dash panel while going over a bump. If your rattle disappears, this is most likely your fix.

The only tools you'll need is a small metric allen wrench and a plastic pry tool (or screwdriver wrapped with electrical tape).

First, remove the lower trim piece. This is accomplished by pulling the small black trim from below the steering wheel (it's the lower 180 degrees of the steering wheel) by just prying it out. It has two clips holding it on. It should just pop off.

Remove the lower dash panel. Using a plastic pry tool, pop off the two covers on the panel, one to the left of the steering wheel, and the smaller one to the right of the steering wheel. The lower dash panel is attached by 5 allen head screws. Two to the left of the steering wheel, one to the right, and one at each lower corner of the panel which screw in vertically.

The lower dash panel is removed by removing the two covers of the panel, one to the left and one to the right of the steering wheel. This exposes the screws that hold it in place. There are also two vertical screws at the bottom corners of the panel.

Remove the right side cover to expose the screw on the right hand side.

Once the five allen head screws are removed, the panel just drops out. The top right screw on my car was difficult to remove, so I just loosened it.

The following is exposed.

Here's the culprit. From the factory, the lower section has a rubber piece on it, but the vertical portion above it comes in contact with the back of the lower dash panel.

All that is required to stop the rattle is to tape the vertical portion of the bracket behind the dash panel. Add about 7 turns of tape to it as shown in the following picture.

Fix in place. Add about 7 turns of tape on the vertical section.

Put the panel back in place and insert the screws. Remember, just get them all started before tightening any of them up.

Your dash rattle should be fixed! If you have H&R suspension installed on your A8, you'll be really happy because it rattled a lot before with that relatively rough ride.

Audi A8 Audi A8 Broken Armrest Solution

2007-11-20T20:42:00.002-08:00

Since my driver side armrest broke and the dealer wanted hundreds of dollars for a new one I decided to upgrade to captains chairs style armrest. I never liked the center tree style armrest position on the A8 and I always preferred captain chair style armrests. My all-time favorite car the BMW 735i had this style armrest and I loved it. I was able to do this using just $25.00 in parts and I was able to use my old broken armrests in the process.

You will use the passenger arm rest for the driver seat and the drivers arm rest for the passenger seat.

The armrest remains functional and adjustable.

Parts Required (available at Home Depot/Lowes)

(2) 22mm 1/2 drive sockets, chrome finish

(2) 4 inch long 5/16 bolts, and lock nuts

(2) 1 inch long 1/4 bolts and lock nuts

(1) piece of 1/4 square steal stock, comes in 3 ft length, you only use about 2 inches

(1) piece of 2 inch wide 3/16 flat steal stock, comes in 3 ft length, you only use about 8 inches

Various washers

Tools Required

Jig Saw with metal cutting blade

Arc Welder, borrow one or have a shop weld it for you

Various drill bits and wrenches

Sharp razor blade

Drill but Drill press is recommended

Small metal file

Clamp and vise

Procedure
Remove seat back by removing leather back insert and two Phillips screws at the bottom.

Cut 3/4 of an inch of the square stock.

Drill 1/2 inch hole in one end of the 5/16 metal stock t, square it off using the Jug saw and file so it will accept the square stock.

Weld the inset to the stock, grind and file smooth.

Using a grinder, grind off the chrome finish on the portion of the bottom of the socket that will be welded. Position, clamp and weld.

Remove zippered leather and dust cover, drill hole through armrest to accept 4 inch bolt. There is already a void that will accept a drill bit, you just need to drill through about 1/2 inch of aluminum so the bolt will pass through. The void is covered with a black plastic cap that easily prys off. Test fit with the bolt.

Un welded socket shown for illustration.

Lift up the leather flap and enlarge existing hole to accept 5/16 inch bolt that goes through arm rest into seat frame.

Test fit and drill hole for top 1/4 bolt which stabilized the arm and prevents spinning. Use various washers to ensure flush and steady fitment. Welded socket to arm is shown. I'm a messy welder.

Armrest position is on the seat so it moves with you. It's positioned back enough so it doesn't get in the way and is full adjustable up and down.

Unfinished view from back. Cut small X in the leather and position socket through, DO not make the cut too big, start small, leather will stretch over the socket. Test fit, position as needed and re-assemble the seat.

Audi A8 Installing Dash Rings In the A8/S8

2007-11-20T20:42:00.001-08:00

General
The dash rings are a nice touch to the A8/S8 dash. They can be procured from a few seperate sources, but these rings from www.tach-performance.de are some of the best looking. A few dollars more, but worth it.

Visit their "About Me" Ebay Page

Visit their Ebay Store

If you would like a set, www.tach-performance.de will ship worldwide and will communicate in English or German. Email tach-performance.de with a request for dash rings. The cost is $75.00 U.S. plus $16.00 U.S. shipping via airmail for U.S. customers.

tach-performance.de will take payment via PayPal. PayPal ID is: elke@cup-sport.de

Dash rings are available in polished, non polished or titanium finish.
The rings shown in this procedure are polished.

Installation

Before Picture with no Dash Rings
Taking out the dash cluster is pretty straightforward, just move the steering wheel all the way towards you and lower it as far as possible.

Remove the covers as shown above.

Loosen hex bolts

Now carefully pull the cluster towards you.

There are three cable connectors on the back, one on the right, two on the left. They are held in place by a clamp, you have to open this (they are hinged on one side) before you can pull out the connectors. Pretty self explanatory when you see it. They are color-coded, so don't worry, it's virtually impossible to mix them up later on. You might have to cut some tie-wraps on the wiring harnesses if the dash has never been removed before.

Out of the car, ready for the operation...

The back. The torx screwdrivers indicate the two torx #8 screws you need to remove.

The white arrows indicate the clips you need to loosen. There's a couple more at the bottom, so an extra hand is useful.

Pay attention to the clear plastic bit, indicated by the red arrow; it will fall out when you take the cluster apart! Put this part of the instrument cluster in a safe place, you won't need this for now.

The rings. Note the sloped back, and the rim for the glue.

The front. These things are very well crafted.

Put them in place. You need to squeeze the big ones a bit to get them through, but no worries, they get right back in shape. Tape them firmly in place so you have your hands free for the glueing. Note the tissue, to prevent any accidents (glue, scratches). Obviously I covered the whole screen.

The arrows indicate the rim where the glue goes.

Mighty Bison Power, must be good then, eh?

I found it very practical to use a toothpick to apply the glue. Just dip it in the glue, and let it slide into the rim. Easy enough, but you do need steady hand. (Therefore not recommended on the day after the night before).

Let it dry for a bit (dependent on the glue you use). When the glue is dry, remove the tape and glue the parts that were covered by it. (You don't want to chance a rattle or the rings coming off after you reinstalled the dash so make sure they are firmly fixated.)

When that's dry, reassemble the cluster. (mind the plastic bit and the two torx screws).

Audi A8 '97-'99 A8 Clear Corner and Side Marker Lights

2007-11-20T20:41:00.001-08:00

Pair of 1157 White Bulbs (optional)
Long flat blade screwdriver
Flashlight

Pair of XXX (will be posted soon) Yellow Bulbs
Long flat blade screwdriver wrapped with electrical tape

Audi A8 Debadging Your Car

2007-11-20T20:40:00.002-08:00

Thanks to Tim Jones of PerformanceIX.com for this article. Even though it is done on a BMW, the process is the same for all cars. The Audi A8 Looks great without badges. Some even like to remove the rings.

Tools Needed:

3M Adhesive Remover

Hair dryer

Dental floss or fishing line

Soft terry cloth

Prewax cleaner or clay to remove residue

Car Wax

Estimated Time: 15-20 minutes

	Wash the areas around the badges you want to remove; if the car needs a wash this is a good time to do the whole car.
	This step can be skipped if you are doing this on a hot day. Heat up badge with a hair dryer. Test the amount of heat you are putting on the paint with your hand, you do not want to over heat the paint. When removing lettering or numbering work on one character at a time. Heat for ten to fifteen seconds checking the heat the entire time.
	Spray 3M adhesive remover on badge, hold a cloth below the badge to keep the adhesive remover from dripping. Editor's note: I did not use 3M adhesive remover when I removed them from my A8 on a summer day.
	Heat again for another five to ten seconds, again checking the heat.
	Using the dental floss start to cut the badges off. Pull the dental floss away from the car so that it is rubbing on the badge and not the car. If there is much resistance to the dental floss cutting the adhesive reheat and reapply 3M adhesive remover. Having a friend hold the badge helps so they do not go flying off.
	With the badge off you now have to deal with the leftover adhesive. Carefully try to peal off the corner, if there is much resistance, reapply heat and 3M adhesive remover. Slowly peal the adhesive off; hopefully it will come off in one piece. Be careful not to scratch the paint by using your fingernails to "dig" at the adhesive.
	With the badge and adhesive off move onto the next character or badge.
	Use a wet wash mitt or towel to clean the dirt that you could not get before, when clean dry the area. Use prewax cleaner or clay to fully remove the dirt residue. 3M adhesive remover also removes wax, if your car needs a wax this might be a good time to do the car, otherwise just wax the areas you were working on. Notice how much easier it is to wax that area with out a badge in the way.
	Stand back and admire.

Audi A8 Front End Removal

2007-11-20T20:40:00.001-08:00

If you are going to be doing a timing belt replacement, oil cooler removal and installation or any other front end work, it's easiest to remove the front end.

Tools Required
1 Large bucket to catch the engine coolant
1 Small bucket to catch the windshield washer fluid
10 mm allen wrench to remove bumper bolts
6 mm allen wrench
Metric sockets
Screwdrivers

Procedure
Jack the front end of the car up, place on jack stands. Remove the belly pan by removing fasteners and plastic pan.

Remove both lower outer grill pieces by prying out with a screwdriver.

Place bucket under passenger side of bumper. Loosen hose clamp on passenger side lower grill. Disconnect hose and the windshield washer fluid will drain out. Open the fill cap to vent the system.

Pop out the small pin holding the alternator ventilation duct to the bumper with a screwdriver and pull it free (right next to the windshield washer fluid connection).

Pop out the inner fender (both sides) at the forward part of the wheel well where it tucks in behind the bumper. Just get it started by prying out, and then work it out to the top of the bumper. You should be able to do this with your hands (wear mechanics gloves).

Unbolt the bumper using the 10mm allen head wrench or socket end, do both sides. You can see them if you lay on your back, they are vertically mounted into the bumper.

Remove both bumper bolts with 10mm allen head wrench.

Pull the bumper forward, it comes out like a drawer in a dresser.

Drain the coolant. This is accomplished by placing a large (5 gallon) bucket under the rear of the radiator and opening the petcock on the side shown in the picture below. Open the coolant expansion tank fill to vent the system.

Bumper removed, drain the radiator next.

Remove the engine plastic and other interference. See pictures below for details.

Remove radiator hose support.

Remove upper radiator hose from engine. DO NOT DISCONNECT SMALL HOSE AT TOP OF UPPER RADIATOR HOSE! If you do, you will most likely break it. Just remove the upper radiator hose from the block (2 places) and from the radiator. Place the hose on top of the engine with the small radiator hose in the middle attached.

Remove the lower radiator hose from the block. No need to disconnect it from the radiator, it will act as a stand pipe and prevent coolant from leaking all over. However, you'll need to snake it around the torque support when pulling the front end.

Disconnect Electrical Connections
Disconnect the following connections (you may have to cut some tie wraps on the driver's side below the headlight):

Headlight connectors (push metal piece to disconnect and pull)

Ambient temperature sensor in front of radiator (push metal piece to disconnect and pull)

A/C connector just in front of LH bumper shock absorber (push metal piece to disconnect and pull)

Radiator electrical connector just above lower radiator hose (it just pulls off, try prying a little with a screwdriver)

Corner marker lights (wait until you pull the front end and just turn them and remove)

Disconnect Hood Latch Cable
There is no need to unbolt the hood latch cable, just pry it out using the picture below.

Remove Driver Side Headlight
Remove the trim below the headlights by unscrewing the small phillips head screw on the inboard side of the headlight (both sides). Pull the trim out towards front.

Remove driver's side headlight by unscrewing the four phillips head screws in the picture below. When reinstalling, tighten the top two first, then the bottom two. The corner marker will come with it, no need to disconnect.

Unbolt Radiator Support
Prior to unbolting the front bumper shock absorbers, MARK THE OUTLINE WITH A PERMANENT MARKER! This will give you a good idea where the front end should sit when it goes back on.

Unbolt the radiator support by removing the two 6mm hex heads in the fender. Pop the plastic piece above them and you'll have access to them. Remove the bolts from the fender otherwise it will get caught up on them when pulling it out.

Remove the six bolts from the bumper shock absorber mounts, remove bumper shock absorbers. To clear the driver's side absorber, turn 90 degrees or so to get past the electrical connector.

Note the permanent marker markings outside of the
bumper absorber to show where it was prior to removal.

Place a dolly or other suitable support under the front end. Using a mechanics dolly works well with a piece of wood on it. Pull the front end out, and wiggle it so the passenger side comes out further than the driver's side. The headlight frame will just clear the driver's side fender.

Installation Notes
When installing the radiator assembly, snake the lower hose back around the torque support to get it in place.

Once lifted back in place, start the hex head fender bolts to hold it in place. Tighten these two bolts after tightening the bumper shock absorber bolts.

The radiator support must be jacked up to get it back properly lined up. To do this, use a jack and a piece of wood under the radiator, slightly support it, get all six bumper shock absorber bolts started, jack it up (look at the markings you made as a guide), and then tighten the bolts down. Jack it up as high as possible without putting too much stress on it. If you do not do this, it will sit too low and the bumper won't clear it.

Tighten the upper headlight screws before the lower headlight screws, this will pull it into place. Use the old markings as a guide.

Installation is reverse of removal.

Audi A8 euro blindspot mirrors: Installation, Fitment, thoughts, experience (you know the drill)

2007-11-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I've seen these advertised on several group buys etc...so I thought, "what the heck, I'll give them a shot”. I apologize in advance for the dirty picture of my mirror.

The highlights:
- Very easy DIY installation. You can handle each side in 45 minutes (tops)
- Fairly inexpensive...unless you have auto-dimming mirrors (see below)
- I only installed the drivers' side mirror. After a month of use, I plan on buying the passenger side.

Bottom-line: Has made a noticeable difference when navigating in traffic (most of my driving is on the highway). These will probably make a bigger difference if you drive a lot in the city.

Description (I pulled this from another website): Why these mirrors aren't available outside of Europe, we may never know. The Blindspot Mirror Glass adds safety and security to your vehicle, allowing you to see objects both near, far, and in areas that are normally easy to miss. While basically normal by all appearances, these European Blindspot Mirrors are curved (aspherical) at the outermost edges, allowing for greater range of view.

Fitment for Models/Years: C5 A6/S6/RS6/allroad MY1998-2004
(FYI - the mirror glass from a B5 A4 (MY1999.5-2001) and B5 S4 (MY2000-2002) is the same glass/part used in the C5 A6.)
- C5 A6 MY1998-1999 (those with the smaller passenger/right side mirror. For this car, I am not sure if someone offers a blind spot mirror for the smaller exterior mirror. You might need to install an exterior mirror housing from a newer C5 A6. Sorry, other than that…I can‼sup>TMt help you there (hint: search the forum for any details from those that have done it in the past).
- C5 A6 / S6 / RS6 MY1999.5-2004 (V6 and V8 models all have the same exterior mirrors)
- C5 allroad MY2001-2005 (V6 and V8 models all have the same exterior mirrors. I believe that only www.Vagparts.com offer the allroad versions)

Part numbers (via vagparts.com) for C5 A6/S6/RS6 (1998-2004) FYI - I used the part#'s that they gave me for the B5 A4 1999-2001 as they share the common part; also a part# starting in 4B0-XXX-XXX might work).
Auto-dimming, heated version
- Left/drivers' side: part#8D0-857-535H
- Right/passenger side: part#8D0-857-536H

NONE auto-dimming, heated version
- Left/drivers' side: part# 8D0-857-535E
- Right/passenger side: part# 8D0-857-536E

Part numbers for C5 allroad MY2001-2005 (via vagparts.com)
Auto-dimming, heated version
- Left/drivers' side: part# 4Z7-857-535A
- Right/passenger side: part# 4Z7-857-536J

NONE auto-dimming, heated version
- Left/drivers' side: part# 4Z7-857-535B
- Right/passenger side: part# 4Z7-857-536D

C6 A6 from 2005 - ?:
C6 A6 MY2005+ ? I believe the B6 A4/S4 (and possibly the D3 A8) share the same size/shape exterior mirrors...but I'm not positive (I posted the question on the C6 A6 forum a month ago…and I didn't get a response). In this scenario, you could add the euro blind spot mirrors as they are listed on www.Vagparts.com (both auto-dim and non auto-dim) under the parts section for the B6 A4/S4 (MY2002-2004).

Part numbers (via vagparts.com) for C6 A6 (and possibly S6/RS6…when available):
Auto-dimming, heated version
- Left/drivers' side: part# 8E0-857-535H
- Right/passenger side: part# 8E0-857-536H

NONE auto-dimming, heated version
- Left/drivers' side: part# 8E0-857-535E
- Right/passenger side: part# 8E0-857-536E

What if I have exterior auto-dimming mirrors?:
Chances are, most of the C5 A6 owners have the convenience package with interior/exterior auto-dimming mirrors. I've noticed that the auto-dim blind spot mirrors are ridiculously expensive (Ouch! $500+ for a pair). Incidentally, the dealer charges $200/each for a replacement auto-dimming mirror (non euro blind spot).

Based on my research via the Bentley schematics, the three (two exterior and one interior) auto-dimming mirrors all work in concert together to adjust the dimming of all three. You might ask, "how do you know this?"...well my 2001 A6 didn't have the convenience package...and I REALLY wanted the interior auto-dimming mirror. Well, back in June 2002, Achtuning was running a Group Buy for the interior auto-dimming compass mirror for $200. What a bargain! (If you search on achtuning.com you will see the compass mirror listed for $250..but it is backordered). I then consulted the schematics in my Bentley manual and spent some time on the phone with the Audi parts department to figure out what parts I needed and how to hook it up. If anyone would like to add an interior auto-dimming mirror (and/or compass version) to their A6...just drop me an email (teddybgame@hotmail.com). I can send you the parts info for the wires/connectors etc. See also this great article by Joshua (Compass Mirror Tech Article)

Behind the exterior mirrors you will find a separate wiring harness (two wires - see link/pix)
that connect to the perimeter black membrane of the mirror. FYI - this black membrane is auto-dimming sensor.

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to just disconnect those wires and install none auto-dimming [euro blind spot mirrors]. Of course, all C5 A6's have heated mirrors, so these are all heated as well.

Thoughts after 1 month of use (based only on drivers' side):
This mirror has already saved my a$$ twice while driving on the Mass Pike (Boston area). If you drive with these mirrors....then drive another car (i.e. your spouse's car), it will be a bit disorienting. I've grown accustomed to that added visibility...but when I go to drive my wife's 2005 Pacifica....I need to take some time to adjust. Of course, you could always just buy euro blind spot mirrors for both cars. Problem: solved! On the flipside, if someone (i.e. your spouse) else drives your car, then he/she will need to adjust to this convex lens as well...because it takes a little while to adjust to them.

Related posts (for those savvy enough to use the "search" function):
related post
related post
related post
related post

Installation fitment post

Source:
(Dear Forum Moderators: Before you decide to delete this post...please keep in mind that I only listed sources that are advertisers on Audiworld)
- Achtuning (AW advertiser): Not sure...as I could only find the version for the TT on their website.

- Stratmosphere (AW advertiser):
Stratmosphere

- EP Importers: http://www.epimporters.com/products/description.php?II=93

- VAG parts - they offer the allroad and the C5 A6 version (located under the 1999-2001 B5 A4 grouping) - (www.vagparts.com) Enter Online Shop/Product Overview/Audi etc. www.vagparts.com
https://sslrelay.com/s74326199.oneandoneshop.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=1542419c21857c3/shopdata/index.shopscript

- ECS Tuning:
http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/pagebuild_v2.cgi?make=Audi&engine=2.7T&model=B5%20S4&submodel=Avant&category=Exterior

- Pure Motorsport
http://www.pure-motorsport.com/products/category.php/CA=562/PA=1

Links to helpful installation information (very easy job):
Installation post
Installation post

I hope this was useful for you. I tried to cover every possible question that the forum (nooB's and veterans) could ask of me.

Standard Disclaimer: I am not associated with any of the companies that sell/import these mirrors. You assume all responsibility for any damage or unsatisfactory result obtained by following this modification. Please read it all beforehand, just to make sure you understand the implications of this modification and how it will impact your driving ability.

- Ted (Go Celtics!!)

http://www.stratmosphere.com/audi_mirrors_and_housings1.htm

TeddyBGame
- C5 Avant - "the Beast" (Ha!!)
- 2005 Chrysler Pacifica Touring (Nav, Sirius, Bluetooth, Xenon, TPMS, ParkSense, DVD Changer - basically loaded)
- 2003 Vespa ET2 (modified exhaust and carb -- so I can max out at 45MPH)
- John Deere Gator (4x2) for the boy

As of November 2006:

Accessory Add-ons:
(Definition: An item that provides a specific function - in a cyclical nature - and can be removed very..very easily.)
1) OEM winter floor mats
2) OEM rubber trunk mat and cargo net
3) VW Touareg cigarette lighter flashlight
4) Thule roof bars with Evolution 1200 roof box

Upgrades:
(Definition: A [bolt-on/bolt-off] item that enhances the appearance, performance or misc function of your car.)
1) OEM front/rear Euro black Recaro Seats (from a Euro 2003 S6 Avant)
http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/618112.phtml
2) OEM HID/Xenon (complete) housings (car never came with the Xenon option from the factory)
3) OEM Euro front/rear (avant) beam-style wiper blades/arms (available via www.vagparts.com)
4) OEM B6 S4 Interior auto-dimming black mirror with compass and on/off button
5) OEM Euro blindspot exterior mirrors
6) OEM S6/4.2 exterior lower door trim
7) OEM S4/S6/S8 aluminum mirror housings
8) OEM Euro rear license plate panel from 2002+ facelift avant (slight MODification to US plate required)
9) ?
10) OEM Euro RNS-E DVD Navigation system with MP3, SAT control and TV input
11) Dietz 1417 A/V input to RNS-E
12) Blaupunkt ME3 DVD/CD/MP3/TV Tuner with aftermarket amplified TV antenna in windshield
13) OEM Sirius tuner (special version to work with RNS-E)
14) OEM Phatnoise Phatbox MP3 player (trunk mounted) with custom interface cable to allow Sirius tuner and Phatbox to work together -- cool!!
15) ?
16) BBS RC 17x8 ET35 with Michelin Pilot Sports (summer tires)
17) 2002+ Rear bumper with valance openings for Magnaflow 3" exhaust tips
18) OEM submarine fin roof antenna for SAT / GPS / Cellphone (GSM)
19) OEM Euro gunmetal black avant roof rails
20) 2002+ Climate control faceplate to match faceplate color of RNS-E
21) Walnut wood trim near hazard button (above RNS-E) to match rest of interior wood scheme
22) OEM Euro Avant door panels with integrated sunshades (imported from Germany to match the black leather in my Euro Recaro interior)
23) OEM Euro blacked out front grille (no chrome perimeter)
24) OEM gunmetal black lower rear hatch strip (specific part# for avant vs. sedan)
25) OEM RS6 gunmetal black interior door latches; no need to add any RS6 badges in my car (Thanks Nelson!!!)
26) OEM Euro four spoke walnut wood and black leather (special order via Audi GmbH) multi-function wheel with tip buttons and OEM phone (BT) control
27) Upgraded "618" MF/Tip control module

Coming soon:
- rear mounted removable 7" LCD panel

MODifications:
(Definition: Any permenant change to a part or component of your car that you cannot reverse)
1) Tray under armrest to add aux. cigarette lighter
2) OEM avant CD changer bracket MODified (to fit two large CD changers etc) - now I just use it for Phatbox, OEM SAT tuner and OEM BT module.
3) Exhaust tips MODified to add Magna Flow (#35163) 3" dual walled tip
4) Factory wiring behind Sym I to simplify installation/removal of RNS-E
5) MODified glovebox to support fitment of Blaupunkt ME3 (a biatch to install!!)
6) MODified headlight switch bezel for fitment of GALA switch for "video-in-motion" for playing Blaupunkt ME3 through RNSE
7) MODified stock exhaust and had magnaflow 3" tips welded on (see above)
8) MODified rear Euro license plate surround to house 2nd rear foglight (2001 model only came with one from the factory); US license plate needed to be MODified a bit to fit inside the narrow Euro opening.

Audi A8 Remote programming with VAG

2007-11-20T20:37:00.001-08:00

Disclaimer - I am not repsonsable for any damages that may occur from this procedure. I am simply showing you what worked for me because the ross-tech web site did NOT work for me and didn't work a ton of other people. So here it goes...

Have you received a new remote that you want to program to your car but find out that THIS (http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/car...-matching.html) didn't help you out much?

Remote Matching

For this procedure, you must have
1) VAG COM
2) A laser cut key (just one is "needed")
3) Up to 4 compatable remotes to program

Procedure for matching remote controls to most VW & Audi vehicles:

Under "Select Control Module"

"Select"

"46 - Cent. Conv." or "35 - Cent. Locking" (depending on year and make/model)

"Adaptation - 10"

First enter channel "00" as this will set all settings back to factory.

Enter channel "01" (Again "21 depending on make/model).

"Read"

This is supposed to display the number of currently stored remotes in "Stored Value". But a lot of people actually get 0. Like I did...

According to ross-tech, this is what you must do next which is the part that messes everyone up - "Enter your total number of keys up to a maximum of 4 (including any existing keys) in 'New Value.'" Do not do that. Instead, for your first remote just put in a one.

"Test"

Verify that the number in "Test Value" is the one you entered.

Now this is another place that ross-tech tells you to do something that doesn't work... They tell you to hit the "Save" button, but what are you saving? Absolutly nothing!! Notice up at the top it should say something along the lines of "Key Adaptation." If it says this, you have 15 seconds to push the unlock button on your remote (hold for two seconds) or until it says "Key learned." NOW is where you hit save.

"Save"

It should now ask if you are sure you want to save. Of course you do.

The procedure also says right about now that the car will give you some kind of sign that the remote was learned such as a (lights flash, horn beep, etc.) but as long as the VAGCOM said "learned" it will be fine.

But for remote number two pretty much follow the same above for number one. Now you actually have to put in 2 for test value, 3 in test value for the third and 4 for the fourth. I hope this makes scence. It seems like it will overwrite the last remote but it does not...

Also, here is some helpful info for your programming... In order to find if your remote works with your car and you can use it, go to "Measuring Block" 006 - Go! and look at field 2... There should be four bits in this field (all 0000)... Hit a button on your remote, one of the bits should now change to a 1 depending on the button you hit! I don't know what measuring block it will be for the other cars... This procedure works 100% on my 2000 Audi TT and 2001 Audi A4. Will be testing others soon!!

Audi A8 Replacing the A8 Power Steering Rack

2007-11-20T20:36:00.001-08:00

Updated 2004-02-25

Power steering fluid leaking from boot!
Notice brown color. Possible contamination.

If you have any leak of power steering fluid from your steering rack boots (the rubber accordion cone sticking into the upper part of the front wheel wells on most A-series Audi's), chances are an internal seal in the steering rack assembly has gone bad and the fluid is collecting in the boot. Once the boot fills with fluid, it seeps past the boot ties near the tie rod ends or it gushes out as the boots compress when the car is turning. Power steering fluid for the A8's are normally green, although if contaminated (major cause of leaks), they can take any color.

There are a couple ways to confirm. One, is to try loosening the boot clamps and push the boot inwards, towards the rack assembly to compress the volume of the boot and power steering fluid should gush out. Another, is to watch the boot while another person starts the car, and while in park, turns the steering wheel lock to lock. The higher pressure of a running pump with the steering wheel at one extreme, as well as the resulting boot compression, should make the leak more apparent. If you are mistaken and the boots are dry, you can re-clamp the boots with plastic ties.

Although hard-core mechanics can take out the steering rack and repair the rack themselves, it is far more common to replace the steering rack unit with a new or remanufactured rack. Like any essential part in your car, be wary of racks for sale that have been simply repaired. They usually only fix the specific problem point and do not address the possible failure of other seals, gaskets, or worn parts in the assembly.

I'd recommend going for a remanufactured rack to save some money. A new rack from the Audi dealer costs over $1200, and a remanufactured one can be had for up to 1/4 of that price, not including core deposit. You may find that racks come in a "long rack" and "short rack" variety. The "short rack" for the A8 usually has only the steering rack itself with the boots covering the included inner tie rods. Some offer "long racks", however, that also include a steering damper and a Servotronic module already bolted on, which may benefit from replacement and would otherwise have to be transferred from the old rack.

An additional thought is to replace the tie rod ends, if you've not already done so in the last 50-60k miles, since they wear out over time. They are relatively inexpensive and you'll already be paying for a steering alignment after this procedure, so might as well replace the tie rods, too.

What do I need?

The following is the procedure for replacing the steering rack on a '99 Audi A8 4.2, though the rack is the same from model years '97-'99, and the procedure should be the similar, if not the same.

The procedure should take 4-8 hours, though I believe the recommended billing time was 8 hours. Due to the difficult access to some of the bolts, it will take some elbow grease and patience. Not really for the timid. I would strongly recommend having another person to assist, and at least one of you should have a long, skinny arm to sacrifice.

Here are some of the tools you'll need, based on what I've used. The measurements in parenthesis are the approximate conversions of the ones I've used -- they may or may not work. Heck, they may even be rare and difficult to find, like the 16mm combination wrench:

Type	Metric	SAE
-----------	-----------	-----------
Allen	(5mm)	7/32"
Allen	4mm	(5/32")
Allen	8mm	(5/16")
Allen	(13mm)	1/2"

Hex	8mm	(5/16")
Hex	10mm	(3/8")
Hex	(13mm)	1/2"
Hex	(16mm)	5/8"
Hex	18mm	(23/32")
Hex	19mm	(3/4")
Hex	22mm	(7/8")
Hex	23mm	(29/32")

Replacement parts:

Replacement rack:	new or remanufactured
Steering fluid:	Pentosin 11s / Audi PS (2 liters)
Servotronic module:	o-rings, strainer
19mm Banjo bolt seal:	aluminum seal(x2)
22mm Banjo bolt seal:	aluminum seal(x2)
Steering assembly:	self-locking nut
Tie-rod end:	self-locking nut(x2)

Misc:

Hose clamps (VAG 3094 or other clamping device), plastic bag to catch flushed fluid, 5-gallon pail to catch fluid, some lock-tite, optional centering screw (VAG 1907)

Overall Diagram:

Deceivingly simple, yes? Maybe if the rest of the car wasn't built, yet.**

The three support bolts. Love them. Hate them.**

Procedure:

1. Disconnect steering u-joint.

With car off, twist steering wheel until it locks as close to horizontal as possible.

You can either cut away the flap above the brake pedal (kind extreme) on the underside of the steering link or move it enough out of the way to give you good access. For access, remove driver side lower trim and diagnostics port (use flat-head screwdriver to release the 3 locking tabs from front face of trim), twist left trim bracket out of way (only need to unscrew 2 closest bolts, leave far 3rd bolt in place to act as an axis), pull air duct slightly forward until it hits the bracket you just moved. Laying in the driver side foot well looking up, you should be able to get a good peep at the steering column u-joint.

Pull out plastic trim pieces by hand: below steering wheel and strips on either side of wheel.	Unscrew and remove the trim pieces. Disconnect diagnostics port.
Unscrew 2 of 3 bolts on metal trim support.	Unscrew and pull air duct forward.
Should reveal the steering assembly u-joint. (Shown here, already disconnected.)	Note, despite lack of nut in diagram, the nut really does exist.**

The u-joint bolt head has a cam device that won't let it be loosened by the turning the bolt head; you have to loosen the mechanism by turning the bolt. Even after loosening the bolt past the cam device, I noticed it was easier to hold the bolt head still with the key and use a wrench to turn the nut all the way out. Mostly because the bolt head was a big-ass Torx, which I didn't have.

After loosening and removing bolts, the joint can be pulled apart. However, try not to move the steering column more than necessary to move the linkage out of the way. Just a shade inwards towards the steering wheel and down towards the floor should give enough clearance to continue. Too far inwards and you could disengage the gears inside steering assembly, which is bad, very bad -- can you say new steering assembly?

Lower trim	Allen	4mm	(5/32")
Trim bracket	Hex	8mm?	(5/16")
Duct	Allen	4mm	(5/32")
U-joint Bolt	Torx	Big-ass
... or	Allen	(13mm)	1/2"
U-joint Nut	Hex	(16mm)	5/8"

2. Pull rubber seal around the rack's rotary valve forward into the driver compartment.

Pull out rubber seal.

Having an assistant push the seal from the driver's side wheel well helps greatly.

3. Clamp hoses connected to power steering fluid reservoir.

Clamp both hoses coming from reservoir.

Use Audi's official hose clamps (VAG 3094) or fashion one yourself. For example, small C-clamps without any sharp contact edges. Or vice grips with the jaws duct taped to cover the sharp edges.

4. Lift car.

Both sides if on blocks. Lift a little towards the car rear from the existing rubber reinforced lift points by the wheel well, so you can put the blocks on lift points. Be wary of brake lines (and suspension fluid lines, if applicable) near the lift points.

5. Remove both wheels.

Not completely necessary, but makes life MUCH easier. And you'll need all the ease you can get.

I noticed cold weather makes the plastic lug caps brittle. Why plastic lug caps instead of solid bolt heads?

6. Disconnect both tie rod ends.

Disconnect tie rod end from wheel bearing housing.
(Shown with vertical alignment bolt already removed.)

You can disconnect it from the wheel bearing housing or twist it out of the rack's tie rod.

I think disconnecting it from the bearing housing makes things easier as it is one less thing to maneuver around when removing the rack. Note that both bolts need to be completely removed for the tie rod to be removed. Sometimes you can simply pull down on the tie rod and it will slip out. If it's a bit more stubborn and you need to hammer the tie rod down, don't hit the round rubber dust boots. Instead, use a tie-rod separator (pickle fork) or hammer at the larger diameter stem, just in front of the threads. It shouldn't take more that a couple light whacks.

Vertical bolt	Hex	(13mm)	1/2"
Horizontal bolt	Hex	(16mm)	5/8"

7. Remove heat shield on passenger side.

Remove aluminum heat shield.

The pop-in inner attachment point on the steering damper is a pain to "pop" off, so it may be easier to first unbolt then slide outwards towards you until it slides off of the larger diameter piston housing onto the smaller diameter piston shaft.

Shield Bolts

Hex

10mm

(3/8")

8. Remove foam insulating panel at inside rear of driver's side wheel well, around the rack's rotary valve.

Remove foam insulating panel.**

Probably not necessary, but considering the tiny margin of space to pull the rack later, it's very recommended. Be careful when pulling, the foam can rip.

The large circle disc-like nuts on the upper screws normally require a special tool, but they're not on tight. Just twist them with fingers and friction, or use a flat blade screwdriver.

Plastic Nuts

Hex

8mm?

(5/16"?)

9. Disconnect high pressure fluid lines from rack by removing both banjo bolts.

Remove bolts 1 and 2.
Make sure you also remove seals, 2 for each bolt.**

For easier clean-up, place an old sponge just below the bolts prior to loosening to catch falling fluid from rotary valve.

You can also remove hose bracket just behind the strut spring to let the hoses hang out of the way from the small opening allotted to the rack.

Feed bolt	Hex	19mm	(3/4")
Return bolt	Hex	22mm	(7/8")

10. Loosen first rack support bolt to the car front, drivers side of the rack and pinion.

Tight, but accessible first rack support bolt. Loosen.

Small space, but easiest to remove. Use fine-tooth rachet. May want to keep it in to make third bolt removal easier.

Support Bolt

Allen

8mm

(5/16")

11. Loosen second rack support bolt.

Put my hand where???

The easiest place I've found to this horrid bolt was to go in from the top of the engine compartment. Remove the intake air duct between the air cleaner and the throttle valve. I call this new opening into the dark unknown: Satan's ***hole. It is full of sharp teeth and is hungry for your arm! Actually, it has one tooth, but it's vicious, I tell you -- it's one of the electrical connectors. I guess one COULD file the plastic corner down a bit. But that's no fun.

Insert hand past wrist to mid-forearm into the hole, curl wrist around so hand bends toward rear of car, and grope for the support bolt around the passenger side rear of the hole. Insert homo-erotic joke here.

Once the bolt location is established, insert a rachet wrench with proper hex bit with hand into hole. It will be hard to hold the wrench against gravity's pull and to twist the wrench at the same time, so an assistant is recommended.

Teasingly in-accessible second rack support bolt from assistant's view.

Assistant can watch through passenger wheel well and direct hand. Also, assistant can reach in and secure the rachet head onto the bolt as you (try to) turn the rachet handle from the engine compartment hole. Feel the pain. Embrace the pain. Know Satan's ***hole.

Support Bolt

Allen

8mm

(5/16")

12. Remove third rack support bolt.

Look up along the outer edge of that black suspension subframe.

Easiest approach I've found is to creep under the driver's side wheel well and look along the edge of the subframe closest to the wheel well, up through the side of the engine block. You'll need a u-joint rachet adapter (we taped it a couple times for stiffer resistance) and at least a foot long extension to get at this bolt. Viewed from the driver's side wheel well, it's basically on the far side of the rotary valve, close to the rack shaft. Check the steering rack support bolt diagram at the beginning of this procedure list for the position. The bolt hole also plainly visible on the picture of the Servotronic valve module later in this procedure list.

Again, assistant can watch through the driver's side wheel well just behind the banjo bolts, help direct, and offer kind words of encouragement or bitter cynicism.

Support Bolt

Allen

8mm

(5/16")

13. Remove the previously loosened second rack support bolt.

14. Remove the previously loosened first rack support bolt.

15. Partially slide out rack.

Partially removed rack to expose the Servotronic module.

Slide out rack past the rotary valve, until you have decent access to the Servotronic module without extending the attached module cable too much.

When trying to get the rotary valve past the wheel well frame, twist the rack counter-clockwise and align the pinion butt with the little "bite" taken out of the frame on the lower car-front side of the opening. Might take a little jiggling, as the steering damper likes to catch on inner frame elements.

Watch that you don't catch on cables and hoses.

16. Remove or Disconnect the Servotronic module.

The rear of the rotary valve and the Servotronic module.

If your replacement rack already has a Servotronic module connected, don't worry about removing the module and just disconnect the module cable. To do this, you'll have to remove the driver's side inner plastic wheel well liner (rear) to access the cable connection. Follow the existing cable from the Servotronic module to find the connector and disconnect.

To replace the module, start at the face of the module. There are four screws, two are Torx and two are Allen. Remove ONLY the Allen ones. Mine were on TIGHT and I ended up stripping the tiny Allen hole, so I had to hack-saw a line into the bolt head and then used a standard flat-head screw socket. Pull module out.

Module Bolt

Allen

2.5mm

7/64"

17. Slide out rack all the way.

Watch that you don't catch on cables and hoses.

18. Transfer the old steering damper to the new rack.

Steering damper, parts 14-18.***

If your replacement rack already has a steering damper... well then, aren't we special... skip to next step.

Otherwise, you'll have to transfer the old steering damper on your broken rack to the replacement rack. Try not to twist the steering damper (#17) piston shaft while loosening the piston end nut (#14). Instead, turn the piston end nut while holding the washer nut (#16) still. The rubber washers and washer nut (both #16 in the diagram) are both almost black, but look closely: the nut is there. Note which end of the steering damper faces towards the rack shaft before unbolting (#18) it to transfer to the new rack.

Piston End Bolt	Hex	(13mm)	1/2"
Bushing Bolt	Hex	23mm	(29/32")
Housing Bolt	Hex	(16mm)	5/8"

19. Center the new rack using the centering hole and centering bolt.

I didn't have the special centering screw (VAG 1907), so I just watched through the centering hole for the "divot" on the rack shaft and then noted the length of the boot (the boot clamp to inner tie rod end on driver's side) and position of the u-joint steering stem at the centered state. There is a "cut-out" on the stem that allows a bolt to hold the u-joint, which should be pointing straight up when rack is centered.

Or find another way to center the replacement steering rack after it is put in (see in later step).

Then transferred over the old screw plug (with lock-tite) from the old rack.

Screw Plug

Allen

(5mm)

7/32"

20. Slide in new rack part way to re-attach Servotronic module.

Try not to pull or push on the tie rods while putting in new rack.

If your replacement rack already has a Servotronic module connected, reconnect the cable to the connector and replace the wheel well liner. It might be a good idea to duct tape the cable to the wheel well to minimize cable vibration (noise).

If you need to transfer the old Servotronic module to the replacement rack, now is a good time to replace Servotronic's fluid strainer and o-rings. The o-rings go directly on the nipple and the strainer just goes into the receiving hole. I confess I only changed the strainer -- my new rack happened to come with one.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

21. Slide in new rack all the way.

Try not to pull or push on the tie rods. The steering damper likes to catch on inner frame elements. May have to jiggle or lift it past them. Much easier with two people.

22. Attach and tighten (lock-tite) first support bolt.

Assistant holding up rack makes it easier.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

23. Attach and tighten (lock-tite) second support bolt.

Assistant holding up rack makes it easier. Also, assistant could hold the rachet head on the bolt through the wheel well, while you swing the handle through Satan's ***hole.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

24. Attach and tighten (lock-tite) third support bolt.

Get it on the same way you got it off, from under the car. To make it easier to keep the bolt on the hex driver, tape the bolt head to the driver head enough that the bolt will stay on for the trip, but not so much it will not come off with a good pull.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

25. Re-tighten support bolts in the same order.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

26. Flush power steering pump of old fluid.

Put return high pressure hose end (with J-shaped connection, not the coiled one) in bucket. Open fluid reservoir cap and release hose clamp from power steering fluid reservoir's lower return hose. This should slowly empty out the reservoir and return hoses of the old fluid into the bucket. Re-clamp return hose connected to the reservoir when finished.

Fill reservoir with fluid. Put plastic bag over coiled high pressure hose end where it was disconnected from the rack to contain the high pressure fluid spew. Remove clamp from upper reservoir hose feeding power steering pump. Place bucket around plastic bag. Poke hole in bottom of plastic bag to drain sprayed fluid into bucket. Have assistant start car and turn off car after 1 second of run time. Repeat fill/purge until you've ejected about a liter of fluid. Re-clamp same upper hose from reservoir feeding power steering pump.

Even though the hoses aren't connected to the rack and this procedure could probably be done before putting the new rack in, I waited until after getting the new rack in to purge, because I wasn't certain what starting the car with a disconnected Servotronic module would do to the module, or the diagnostic computer. Figured starting the car with a connected module would be better.

27. Re-attach high pressure lines.

Use new aluminum seals on both sides of both banjo bolts. Note that the part number for both lines may be the same, but the banjo bolts and seals are of DIFFERENT size. So, make sure the parts guy gives you 2 seals of each size.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

28. Re-attach foam barrier on driver's side.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

29. Re-attach heat shield on passenger side.

Bolt first and then just reach in and "pop" the other end onto the steering damper piston housing.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

30. Push rubber seal back around the rack's rotary valve showing through the driver's foot compartment.

Verify good positioning by looking through driver's side wheel well and adjust around neck of rotary valve if necessary.

31. Verify centered steering rack and re-attach steering assembly's u-joint.

There are a couple ways to verify that the steering rack is centered.

The factory recommend way is with the special Audi centering screw (VAG 1907), which now has to be removed and replaced with the screw plug. As hard as it was to get to the support bolts, if you chose to go this route, I can only offer two words: good luck.

Or measure boot distance and compare to prior notes to approximate center steering position and check rack's u-joint connecting stem. The "cut-out" on the stem should be pointing up when rack is dead-straight. Use wrench to gently turn stem into proper position to mate with u-joint, since steering wheel never seems to lock in dead-straight position. Might be easier if steering lock is disengaged?

Or use a wrench or pliers to gently turn the rack's u-joint connecting stem from lock to lock, counting the number of revolutions. Reverse away from one of the lock positions half the total revolutions and you should be centered.

Or use your own method.

As you attach the u-joint bolt, note that because of the cam device in the u-joint bolt head, you'll have to take special steps in tightening:

Insert bolt into u-joint and push in fully. Rotate so that the cam engages the flange.
Thread nut fully onto the bolt and tighten until just barely snug.
Rotate the BOLT head to tighten the flange using the cam device, while keeping nut still.
Fully tighten the nut without allowing the bolt to turn.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

32. Tape-marker position of tie-rod position bolt on old rack and transfer to new rack.

Try to be as accurate as possible, but don't sweat it too much -- you're going to have to get an alignment, regardless.

Tie rod end nut	Hex	22mm	(7/8")
Tie rod nut	Hex	18mm	(23/32")

33. Re-attach tie rod to wheel bearing housing.

The tie rod end stem that slips UPWARDS into the clamp of the wheel bearing housing has a "cut-out" portion. Align the cut-out portion of the stem so that it faces the horizontal bolt hole; it will be difficult to put the horizontal bolt in without this properly aligned. This is also a safety feature so that the tie rod will not slip out should the bolt loosen.

Replace the self-locking nut. Notice that the horizontal bolt head has only one straight edge. Align this properly with the straight edge beveled into the back of the wheel bearing housing. Best to simply align the bolt head and press against the housing, the beveled edge will help the bolt remain still while you thread the self-locking nut.

(See above for bolt/nut specs.)

34. Clean.

Learn to appreciate brake cleaner. WD-40 works well, too. But don't use it on surfaces that rely on friction, like bolt threads, tie rod stems, and the brake system.

Clean and dry areas around pump, rack, and hoses to make leaks easier to spot.

35. Bleed steering system of air and check for leaks.

The Bentley repair manual recommends the following procedure to bleed the power steering system:

Check hydraulic oil level and top off if necessary.
Raise vehicle until front wheels are free.
Start engine briefly. (max. 2 seconds) The pump must not draw in any air, the steering wheel must not [be] moved under any circumstances. Waiting time between individual engine starts approx. 30 sec.
Check hydraulic oil level and top off if necessary.
Repeat [above] procedure until the oil level remains constant.
Turn steering wheel from lock to lock 10 times with engine switched off.
Check hydraulic oil level and top off if necessary.
Start engine.
Turn steering wheel from lock to lock 10 times.
Check hydraulic oil level and top off if necessary. Any remaining air in the steering system will dissipate when driving over the next 10-20 km (6-12 miles).

36. Re-attach wheels.

Don't forget the plastic lug caps.

37. Lower car.

38. Check again for leaks.

Check the power steering system:

Start engine.
Turn steering wheel from lock to lock 10 times.
Check hydraulic oil level and top off if necessary.
Check all hoses, pump, and rack for leaks.

39. Test drive and check for leaks.

Nothing high-performance, mind you. Your wheel alignment is most likely way outta whack and will compromise your ability to take sharp turns at high speed. Not to mention tread wear. Just drive around the block. Listen for additional odd noises. Feel for any additional odd vibrations.

40. Get alignment.

Dealer charges about $150-170, depending on his mood. A respected mechanic once told me that Audi's (and other import luxury cars) have a complex alignment procedure that also requires tools that your local JiffyLube won't have. JiffyLube can set your steering wheel to point straight as your tires point straight, but there is more involved. Not sure what the "more involved" means, exactly... but I've been going to the dealer for the alignment, anyway.

41. Shower. Sleep.

Great job! Have some beer. Admire how the gashes on your arms burn in the shower. Nothing a little more beer can't fix, eh?

Audi A8 Flushing the Power Steering Hydraulic System

2007-11-20T20:35:00.002-08:00

If you have an A8 (additional notes for a C5 A6 at the bottom of the procedure) that is at least five years old or plan to keep it for a while, it's a good idea to replace the power steering hydraulic fluid. The good news: it's relatively easy. Do it every 60,000-75,000 miles and the pump and rack have a chance of lasting longer.

Tools and Materials Required

2 Liters of hydraulic fluid, part number G 002 000 (about $20/liter)

(2) 1" hose clamp for power steering hydraulic lines

Small bucket for draining fluid

Needle nose pliers and screwdriver

Golf tee

Brake cleaner, rags and compressed air

Procedure
Remove the hydraulic reservoir by lifting it out of its cradle. The supply line comes from the transmission cooler in the radiator, it is the lower, smaller hose. The return line to the pump is the higher, larger line.

Wipe down the reservoir. Remove the factory clamp on the return line by prying it with some needle nose pliers. Place a bucket under the reservoir, take off line and drain reservoir into bucket.

Drain reservoir after removing lower, supply line.

Remove the filter from the reservoir. Clean it to remove any foreign material. I used brake cleaner over the bucket that I used to drain the fluid into. I then sprayed it with compressed air to clean and dry it.

Flushing the System
One the reservoir is empty and the filter cleaned, place a golf tee in the supply line of the reservoir. This will allow you to fill the reservoir with fresh fluid and not have it leak out.

Fill the reservoir with fresh hydraulic fluid. It will take the entire liter of fluid. Place the supply line into the empty container and ensure it won't tip over.

IMPORTANT: Do not run the car for more than 4 seconds in the following step so that the reservoir will not go dry.

Start the engine and count 4 seconds. Turn off the engine. This pumps clean fluid from the reservoir to the pump, through the system. The old fluid is collected in the empty container. 4 seconds of engine operation will pump about 2/3 liter through the system.

Empty the collection bottle. Place supply line back in it.

Fill the reservoir again. Start the engine and run for 4 seconds. Secure engine. If you pour some of the fluid out of the collection bottle, you will see that it is clean. This completes the flush.

NOTE: If you run the car more than 4 seconds each time, you could consume more than 2 liters of fluid. If this happens and the second run through the system produced clean fluid in the collection bottle, use it to top off the system.

When complete, install the supply line with a new hose clamp, replace the return line with a hose clamp if you'd like. If it's leaking, please do.

Place the reservoir back into the cradle and top the fluid just below "full" because the fluid is ambient temperature and will expand as it heats up to normal operating temperature.

Notes on Doing a C5 A6 from Jon Cole:
On the '01 A6 you have to unbolt the reservoir from the side of the engine compartment, no big deal at all. The bottom of the reservoir rests in a padded press fitting, you have to lift it out firmly but gently.

The supply side line seems much shorter than on the A8, too short to get up and into an empty bottle, so I put a piece of extension hose on it (not sure of size, I use it for my shop vac and coolant (but it's clean). One advantage was that the clear extension hose looped up high enough before going into the bottle that I could see what was pumping into it, both as to amount and color.

You also have to remove a plastic housing that holds about 5-6 electrical connectors, I moved it up out of the way and held it there with a velcro strap around it to support it, and reinstalled it.

The reservoir on the A6 holds less than the A8, apparently; refilling the reservoir uses maybe 1/3 to less than 1/2 liter. So I cranked for only 1-2 seconds at a time rather than 4 - that emptied the reservoir.

Upon refilling I let it bleed some air out (you could see slow bubbling and a tap or 3 with a screwdriver helped it along) before doing the next pump sequence. Did about 4 2 second pumps and that pumped about 1.5 liters, at which point it was running nice & green. A 1" hose clamp will work on the supply line but a smaller one fits better.

Audi A8 Fuel Line Leak Repair

2007-11-20T20:35:00.001-08:00

Overview
The 97-99 A8 is prone to two types of fuel leaks, one coming from the high pressure fuel line under the hood, and the other at the gas tank sending unit seal in the trunk. This procedure covers the high pressure fuel line under the hood. It is normally noticed during the cold winter months. The fitting leaks when very cold and fuel leaks out. It creates a smell of fuel in the passenger compartment. Once the fuel line heats up a small amount (such as after the car is turned off in the winter and the engine heat causes it to increase in temperature), it usually seals up.

Disclaimer
Fuel leaks and lines are serious business. This procedure is for a repair of the line versus replacement of the entire fuel line system. The fuel lines (which are all together as a kit) from the dealer is about $800 for the parts. Then it has to be installed from the engine compartment back to the fuel tank. This procedure repairs the leak, costs about $10.00 and takes about an hour.

Audipages.com takes no responsibility for this repair! Use it at your own risk.

Supplies Required

17 mm open ended wrench

14 mm open ended wrench

Accetone or equivalent

80 grit sandpaper

Fuel resistant epoxy kit

Supplies required for repair. Make sure that the epoxy kit is fuel resistant.

Procedure
The fuel hose leaks on the high pressure side at one of the fittings. The fuel hoses are sold as one piece from the dealer, which include the supply, return and one other hose attached. It is a one piece kit that runs from the engine to the gas tank.

High pressure fuel line leak location. When it leaks, it just drips out. The fitting breaks down the pressure, so the leak is actually very low pressure.

Fuel line components.

Remove the low pressure fuel line from the fuel regulator. This is required to get proper access to the high pressure line.

Relieve the residual fuel pressure in the fuel line by cracking the high pressure line fittings. This is accomplished by using the 17 and 14 mm wrenches. Place a paper towel under the fuel line to capture the fuel that will drip.

Remove low pressure line, relieve high pressure line fuel pressure.

Remove the high pressure line, and clean with accetone. Using the 80 grit sandpaper, prep the surface by scuffing it with the sandpaper. Scuff the pipe and the fuel line fitting. After scuffing is complete, clean thoroughly with accetone.

Loosely attach the high pressure fuel line. Ensure that the angle on the line is correct for the engine plastic cover and that the low pressure line will not interfere.

Using the epoxy, place it on the fuel line. Perform this step in accordance with the instructions on the epoxy package. Let it cure in accordance with the instructions, preferably overnight. After the epoxy is cured, tighten the high pressure fittings and reinstall the low pressure line. Start the car and ensure there are no leaks. Reinstall engine plastic covers.

Audi A8 Coolant Expansion Tank Replacement

2007-11-20T20:34:00.001-08:00

Overview
The following procedure is to be used on the A8 4.2 32 Valve (ABZ) motor. This engine was found on the 1997 to 1999 U.S. bound A8's. This procedure can also be used for the 3.7 V8 engines. Much of this procedure is applicable to other 4.2 motors as well. Please consult the Bently manual when using this procedure.

Determining Replacment
If you have the leak pattern shown below, or your tank looks like the one below, it's time to replace it. While you are at it, replace the bleeder O-rings.

Tank leak pattern

Tank return hose fitting cracks

Bleeder screw leaks

Standard Tools Required

15 mm 12-point socket (must be 12-point), 1/4 or 3/8 drive, with a 3-inch extension, coupled with a and screwdriver-type handle.

Number 2 Phillips screwdriver

Number 2 Flat-tip screwdriver

Pliers or Channel-Locks, etc. (Something to remove the pinch camps)

Allen wrench to remove plastic engine covers

Jack and jackstands, or lift

3/8" ID hose, approx 1.5 - 2 feet long

Extremely clean 5 gallon bucket.

Parts Required

Coolant expansion tank ($100.00 from dealer)

2ea O rings from Hardware store, from the plumbing dept, size: 7/16 X 1/4 X 3/32 (#78 o ring)

replacment hose clamps for pinch clamp

Removal Procedure:

Raise the car on the driver's front, high enough to fit the 5 gallon bucket underneath, and support with jackstands.

Remove the plastic pan under the engine using the flat-tipped screwdriver.

Pop off the grill in the driver's front bumper.

Remove the expansion tank cap, place drain hose on radiator drain, place other end into 5 Gal bucket, and open petcock valve.

Using the 15mm socket, carefully remove the 2 bleeder screws, located on the driver's side firewall.

Disconnect the top hose from the expansion tank.

As the fluid drains, remove all three plastic engine covers, unscrew the expansion tank mounting screws, and remove the plastic cover that is currently holding the top expansion tank hose.

Lift the tank slightly and tilt to allow full drainage.

Re-route the top hose from on top of the intake manifold, to route along the front of the engine. This also allows for more room for non-standard clamps when replacing the oile breather hose.

Old hose route

New hose route

Disconnect the coolant level sensor lead, located on the bottom of the expansion tank.

Make certain that the coolant is sufficiently drained, and disconnect the bottom hose.

Remove the tank.

Installation Procedure:

Connect bottom hose to new tank.

Connect the coolant level lead to coolant level sensor.

Mount tank and plastic hose cover. Remember, the hose is no longer is routed through this cover. Also reinstall the plastic engine covers.

Connect the top hose.
It should now look something like this:

Close Radiator petcock valve, but leave grill piece off for now.

Remove old O rings from each of the bleeder screws. Replace with the #78 O rings. This will be a very tight fit, but they will go on.

Carefully screw bleeder screws back in, but leave the O ring portion exposed. This is to allow air to escape while refilling

Using a clean funnel, (I made one from a plastic milk jug), refill with drained radiator fluid. Audi recommends changing the fluid. However, if your fluid is still in good condition, (no discoloration), and you used a clean drain hose on the radiator, and used a clean bucket, I see no reason to purchase new.

Check for leaks.

Tighen down bleeder screws.

Reinstall expansion tank cap.

Start & run the engine up to operating temperature.

Check for leaks.

Turn off engine, wait 5 - 10 minutes, and repeat steps 7 through 13 until fluid reaches proper level, but make sure to relieve pressure via the expansion tank cap.

Reinstall grill piece.

Audi A8 Fan Removal and Installation

2007-11-20T20:33:00.000-08:00

Tools Required:

Long shaft flat blade small screwdriver
Pliers
10 mm opened ended wrench
Large adjustable wrench

Replacement Parts Needed:

4D0807300 Body Pin 1 ea

Removal:
The mechanically driven fan must be removed first. It is driven by a viscous coupler that can go bad causing the engine to run hot (above the first notch on the left side of the temperature gauge).

Remove the two bolts holding the passenger side fan shroud onto the radiator.

Using a 10mm wrench on one of the four fan pulley bolts to hold the fan still, loosen the large nut holding the fan onto the pulley (big Crescent works great). NOTE- THIS IS LEFT-HAND THREADED- DO NOT TURN TO THE LEFT TO LOOSEN! DAMAGE MAY RESULT!

Once completely loosened, remove the fan and shroud as an assembly by lifting straight up. The lower portion of the shroud is held in place by clips that are disengaged by lifting the shroud straight up.

The electric fan removal is a little trickier. First, remove the body pin holding the fan in place- it is located on the fan shroud towards the center of the engine and lower (it would appear at 8:00 if you look at the fan from the front of the car). Use a long flat-blade screwdriver to break the pin- there is no way to remove without breaking it.

Electric Fan Pin Location and Pin Removed
This Pin Must be Replaced

Once the pin has been removed, the electric fan and shroud can be removed as a single unit by carefully lifting up on the small tab located at the 3:00 position (viewed from front of car) on the fan shroud and rotating the entire assembly clockwise (viewed from front of car- the top of the fan shroud moves towards the driver's side of the car) approximately 5 degrees. Then the assembly can be pulled out of the radiator shroud towards the back of the engine. Several zip-tie electrical cable tie downs must be removed in order to set the fan assembly off to the driver's side of the engine compartment. These are reusable, and can be loosened by pressing down on a small tab while pushing on the end of the tie.

Installation is reverse of removal, using a new pin to locate the fan assembly. If you don't have a replacement pin on hand, use some zip ties to hold the fan assembly locked in the counter clockwise position (viewed from front of car) until a replacement pin can be procured.

Audi A8 Oil Cooler Removal and Reinstall

2007-11-20T20:32:00.001-08:00

Overview
The following procedure is to be used on the A8 4.2 32 Valve (ABZ) motor. This engine was found on the 1997 to 1999 U.S. bound A8's. This procedure might also be used for the 3.7 V8 engines, and may be applicable to other 4.2 motors as well.

Please consult the Bently manual before using this procedure.

Determining if You Need this Procedure
The oil cooler has a plastic pipe with o-rings that carries coolant into the oil cooler, as well as a special "figure 8" oil seal to carry oil in & out of the cooler. The plastic pipe, o-rings, and oil seal degrade over time and begin to leak. Symptoms of a leak are an unexplainable coolant leak (normally resulting in a low coolant warning on the dash) or a small oil leak normally noticed when taking the plastic belly pan off during an oil change. It leaks a small amount of oil, but it can appear to seem like a lot. A small amount of oil looks like a large problem when leaking.

This leak can be found of the front quarter of the engine on the passenger side.

Approximate parts cost: $90.00, including oil filter kit & oil.
Approximate time needed: 7 hours or less.
Approximate money saved doing it yourself: $1,000.00 US. (Including oil change.)

Oil Cooler and Filter Exploded View. Engine block shown upside down with oil filter pointing up. Item 23 is the plastic coolant pipe that will be replaced along with 22, 24 and 25. The third o-ring that is replaced is circled in red, the Bently manual does not number it.

*Information Required*

Your Radio security code. You can obtain this from a dealer, or you can borrow/purchase the radio removal tools. If you do not have your radio security code, you will need to obtain it for your radio to work again.

A printed copy of Ti Kan's Audi Radio Page, includes Delta, Concert and Symphony programming guides.

Tools Required
(Also required are the tools listed on the Coolant Expansion Tank Replacement page.)

Standard 3/8" drive short socket set, 3/8" to 13/16".

Metric 3/8" drive short socket set, 8mm to 17mm.

Metric 3/8" drive Allen set, 4mm to 10mm.

3/8" drive universal drive adapter. (Crucial)

3/8" drive breaker bar.

3/8" drive ratchet.

3/8" drive (or 1/2" drive, with adaptor), 0 - 50 ft/lbs torque wrench.

3/8" drive 3" extension.

3/8" drive 9" extension.

Small 2" by 3" mirror. (Crucial)

10mm open end wrench.

Torx bit, #25, approx 1 inch long. (Crucial)

Number 2 Phillips screwdriver

Number 2 Flat-tip screwdriver

Floor Jack and jackstands, or lift .

Bottle Jack. (Extremely helpful)

Approx 12" long of 1" ID Conduit pipe.
(same pipe used as a cheater for tranny service.)

3/8" ID hose, approx 1.5 - 2 feet long

Extremely clean 5 gallon bucket.

Gallon milk jug, rinsed out, with the bottom cut off. (funnel)

Oil drain pan, large enough to hold 8 quarts.

Access to a VAG-COM, or VAG 1551 tool. You can try Steve Hall's VAG Locator

8 - pack Guinness, for after.

Optional Tools

Parts Required

Oil Filter kit

8 quarts oil.

3 each O rings, part #077-121-437.

1 each oil seal/gasket, part #077-117-411-A.

1 plastic coolant pipe, part #077-115-441.

1 gallon G12 coolant. You can also buy this at a VW dealer.

1 can brake cleaner.

1 roll paper towels.

Procedure:

Drain coolant.

The first part required is to drain the coolant out of the engine. For this,
follow steps 1 - 5 outlined in Coolant Expansion Tank Replacement.

Additionally, remove the expansion tank fill cap.

After you have done this, drain the coolant out of the oil cooler via the 10mm bolt. If you use a peice of duct tape to act as a 'chute', you can drain it into the same bucket, without it collecting contaminants.

Oil Cooler Coolant Drain

Remove air filter box.

After removing the top of the filter box and associated intake hoses, you will see 2 mounting studs holding the filter box. Remove the nuts. These are the only fasteners holding it.

Filter Box Mounting Studs

Using the flat-tip screw driver, press underneath each clip of the plastic air intake hold down cover to release it.

Air Intake Hold Down

Next, wiggle out both plastic pipes from the rest of the hold down, and remove the filter box.

Filter Box removed

Remove alternator/generator.
(This is why you need the radio code)

Open the trunk. On the passenger side, in the little compartment, remove the little divider by pulling gently but firmly up.

Pop up the floor of the compartment. It's velcroed on.

Use the 10mm wrench to disconnect the ground clamp. This is the clamp closest to the rear bumper.

Pull down on the serpentine belt, making sure it is pulled below the tab, and use the Torx #25 to keep the tension off by placing in this hole:

Serpentine belt tensioner hold main view

Serpentine belt tensioner hold detail view

Install a allen wrench or torx 25 bit to hold tensioner to remove belt.

Very carfully, slide the belt off the smooth pulley (not grooved) that is lowest and closest to the driver's side. (See red box above.) This will be the easiest pulley. Take care NOT to remove the whole belt.

Delicately slide the belt off the alternator. You can keep it out of the way, yet retain the belt routing by resting it on the bracket that is used for attaching the large under-engine plastic cover.

Where to rest the belt

Using the ratchet and 10mm socket, disconnect the main alternator lead.

Using the ratchet and 5/16" socket, disconnect the secondary alternator lead.

Using the breaker bar and a 5/8" (yes, not metric) short socket, break loose the 2 upper bolts that hold the alternator.

DO NOT BREAK LOOSE THE LOWER BOLT AT THIS TIME.

Alternator mounting points

Continue to use the breaker bar to loosen the 2 upper bolts. It is very tight clearance, but after very few turns, you will be able to unscrew them by hand. Unscrew them completely, and then turn one back in a full turn.

Using the ratchet and 13mm socket, break loose and remove the lower bolt.

Supporting the alternator with one hand, remove the last upper bolt.

If the alternator doesn't drop, swing it back and forth gently until it comes free.

Remove oil filter.

Position the oil drain pan under the oil filter.

Using the 10mm Allen drive, 3" extension and ratchet, break loose the large plug on the bottom of the oil filter. Once loose, remove the tools and unscrew by hand. Allow filter to drain completely.

Using the 10mm Socket, 3" extension and ratchet, break loose the retaining bolt in the bottom of the oil filter. Once loose, unscrew by hand.

Gently wiggle off the bottom of the oil filter housing, and the remove the filter itself. Allow to finish draining. Do not leave any parts or oil filter in drain pan.

After draining, move oil drain pan.

Remove Oil Cooler.
(The meat of the problem)

Using the breaker bar and ratchet, 3" extension, and 8mm Allen drive, remove these 2 engine mount bolts:

Engine mount bolts to remove

Using the bottle jack and the conduit pipe, lift the engine by placing the pipe on top of the Bottle Jack, and the other end so it supports the large washer of the engine torque support, making sure not to lift the whole car. The most the engine should go up is 3 inches. This allows just enough clearance to remove the 3 top bolts of the oil cooler.

Placement of the bottle jack & pipe

Peel back the boot on the oil pressure switch, and pull the clip off. You may or may not have the wire tied down with a zip-strip.

Using the 8mm Allen drive, 3" extension, universal drive adaptor, 9" extension and the breaker bar, you will remove the bolt #1. The best way I found was to put thee 8mm on the 3" extension, and then attach the universal drive to it. You will attach the 9" extension and breaker bar later.

Next, while laying under the car, pass this up through where the air filter box goes, over the large tube frame, and into your other hand. You can then manipulate it into bolt #1. It should stay there on it's own. Then you can stand up, gently attach the 9" extension and breaker bar into the end of the universal drive. After you break the bolt loose, you can easily switch to the ratchet.

Oil Cooler Bolt Locations (front view)

Oil Cooler Bolt Locations (side view)

After bolt #1 is removed, you can now remove bolts 2 & 3, and then under the car for bolts 4 & 5. As you remove bolts 4 & 5, you may have additional coolant leak out.

Lower the bottle jack in order to lower the engine. This will give you just enough room to get oil cooler out.

Gently wiggle the oil cooler free from the engine block. Keep in mind that there is another coolant pipe attached, as well as guide pins in bolt holes 1 & 5.

When it's free from the block, gently wiggle the oil cooler towards the front of the car, and at the same time, pull the front away from the engine block. This is done in order to free it from the rear coolant pipe.

Rear coolant pipe hole

Once it is free of the bolt hole pin guides and the rear coolant pipe, contiinue to remove from the compartment. The alternator/generator bracket area of the oil cooler will probably be the first to come free.

(Be Sure To Remember The Orientation When It Comes Out! You'll Be Putting It Back In!)

Generator Bracket Side View

After the Oil Cooler is removed, you will need to remove what's left of the plastic pipe from the engine block.

Broken Stub

(Photo courtesy of Doug Banning)

To remove the broken stub, find a bolt with threads that will lightly "screw into" the existing pipe still mounted on the oil cooler.

Oil Cooler Back Side

(Photo courtesy of Doug Banning)

Use the bolt to screw lightly into the broken stub still in the engine block, and wiggle it out.

At this point, place the oil drain pan under the engine oil pan, and using the 10mm Allen drive, removed the drain plug and drain the rest of the oil.

Remove the old oil cooler seals and pipe. Make certian to remove the seal from the rear coolant pipe.

Spray some brake cleaner on a folded wad of paper towels, and use it to clean the oil cooler and the rear coolant pipe.

While you are at it, inspect the Air Filter box, and clean if necessary.

After cleaning, install new seals & pipe.

By now, the oil should be done draining. Wipe off the drain hole, install a new crush washer (from the oil filter kit) onto the drain plug, and install the drain plug. Torque to 26ft lbs. (35 Nm).

Wiggle the oil cooler back into its space, reversing the way you removed it. Make certain to wiggle it onto the rear coolant pipe.

Use the mirror and light source to double-check alignment.

Once everything is aligned, insert bolts 4 & 5 and loosely finger tighten.

Oil Cooler Bolt Locations (front view)

Once again, lift the engine using the bottle jack.

Install bolts 2 & 3 by placing the bolt onto the 8mm Allen with 3" extension, and using this to insert and screw in finger tight.

Using a paper towel, place it between the 8mm Allen drive and bolt head #1. Force the allen head through the paaper towel into the allen head opening in bolt #1. This will keep the bolt on the allen drive.

Repeat step E- 4 to insert and finger tight bolt #1.

Continue to tighten the bolts in a circular pattern, a little at a time, until you can see both mounting surfaces meet. You may need to repeat step E-4 1 - 2 more times to insure proper surface contact.

Torque bolt #1 to Torque to 18 ft lbs. (25 Nm). Follow the pattern, torqueing bolts 2 & 3, and then 4 & 5.

Lower the engine via bottle jack, but do not remove bottle jack yet.

Install the 2 engine mount bolts, torqueing them to 37 ft lbs. (50 Nm). If needed use the bottle jack to very slightly raise the engine for alignment.

Install new oil filter. Torque retaining bolt to 18 ft lbs. (25 Nm)

Install a new crush washer (from the oil filter kit) onto the drain plug, and install the drain plug. Torque to 37 ft lbs. (50 Nm).

Reinstall alternator/generator. Torque upper bolts to 33 ft lbs. (45 Nm), and the lower bolt to 15 ft lbs. (20 Nm). Torque large electric connection nut to 12 ft lbs. (16 Nm), and the smaller to 3 ft lbs. (4 Nm

Install serpentine belt, reversing the process in step C-4 and 5 .

Install air filter box and air intake pipes.

Using the gallon milk jug as a funnel to refill the expansion tank (slowly) with the saved coolant. Pay attention to the bleeder screws, and tighten them down when they start to leak.

After pouring about a gallon in, check under oil cooler for leaks.

Continue coolant refill, periodically checking for leaks under oil cooler.

Replace expansion tank cap.

Refill engine with the 8 quarts of oil, if engine code is ABZ or AEW, and 7.5 quarts if it's AKB, AYZ or AUX.

Start car, and check for leaks.

If no leaks, install lower plastic pan under engine.

Reconnect battery.

Drive car up to operating temperature.

Top off coolant as needed,

Recode radio. (If needed).

Set front windows back to express-up as detailed in owner's manual.

Crack a Guinness or three. (I had 4! -or more...)

Audi A8 Timing Belt Replacement

2007-11-20T20:31:00.002-08:00

Overview
The following procedure is to be used on the A8 4.2 32 Valve (ABZ) motor. This engine was found on the 1997 to 1999 U.S. bound A8's. This procedure can also be used for the 3.7 V8 engines. Much of this procedure is applicable to the 2000 and newer 4.2 40 valve (XXX) motor. However, the cam locking devices are different. Please consult the Bently manual when using this procedure.

Click here for a PDF version of this procedure, easiest to print out and use a checklist when performing this job (2.3 Mb). You can right click on it and choose "save target as" and download it to your computer.

Standard Tools Required

Set of open-end wrenches (10mm, 12mm, and 13mm most commonly)

Set of socket-drive allen wrenches (4mm, 5mm, and 6mm most commonly)

Set of deep-well 3/8" drive socket wrenches (10mm, 12mm, and 13mm most commonly)

Set of normal depth 3/8" drive socket wrenches (10mm, 12mm, and 13mm most commonly)

Set of normal depth 1/2" drive socket wrenches (10mm, 12mm, and 13mm most commonly)

Set of deep-well 3/8" drive socket wrenches (10mm, 12mm, and 13mm most commonly)

Set of socket drive Torx bits, (#30 most commonly)

Screwdrivers, both slotted and Phillips drive, various sizes and lengths

3/8" and 1/2" drive socket wrenches, fine ratchet on the 3/8" drive helps a lot

Special Tools Required

AS4394 Camshaft sprocket holding tool

3197 Harmonic balancer pulley holder

3341 Camshaft Locating fixtures

2079 Harmonic balancer pulley wrench

Matra V159 tensioner

You can rent these tools from audipages.com, click here to find out more.

Nomenclature
When a position is referred to “Right Side”, this means the passenger side of the vehicle. “Left side” is therefore the driver's side of the vehicle (Left-hand drive models).

General Note
Whenever a part is removed from the engine, all corresponding attachment hardware should be kept with it for easy reinstallation. Clean all parts before installing back onto the engine.

Remove the Front End
The following procedure does not show the front end removed. It was done with the front end installed. This procedure is much easier if the front end is removed. It will save a significant amount of time and a few knuckles. Follow this procedure for front end removal first, then pick up this procedure and continue forward.

Removing the front end for this procedure can save a significant amount of time and a few knuckles. Follow this link for the procedure.

Replace the Oil Cooler O-Rings and Plastic Pipe
Sooner or later the oil cooler o-rings and plastic connecting pipe will harden and go bad resulting in an oil leak or coolant leak at the right front of the block. With the front end removed and the right side timing belt cover off, it takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to change the oil cooler o-rings and plastic pipe. Parts are about $30. Remove the front end, the right side timing belt cover, and follow this procedure. It is significantly easier with the front end removed. You won't need all of the tools laid out in the procedure, just a few of them.

Remove Covers
Remove the air intake breather tubes (2) from the front of the engine compartment to the air box. The cover at the front of the engine is clipped in place- simply lift it straight up and it will come free.

Remove the air duct that runs from the air box to the throttle body. Loosen the two hose clamps (one on each end) and carefully loosen the rubber from the attach points.

Remove the three plastic engine beauty covers. Start with the two outer pieces (held in place with two allen head bolts each). Then remove the center cover (held in place by four allen head bolts).

After removal of the covers, you should see this
(replace the oil filler cap so junk doesn't fall in!)

Drain Radiator
Remove the noise insulation panel under the engine (large plastic cover). Place a bucket under the car that can hold 3 gallons. Connect a short length of tubing to the radiator drain (labeled "K" in the picture below). Remove the oval-shaped bumper cover from the driver's side front bumper (pry out with small flat-blade screwdriver- the slot for the screwdriver is towards the center of the car). Remove the overflow reservoir cap.

Open the two high-point bleed ports at the driver's side rear of the engine compartment. Disconnect the auxiliary water circulation pump electrical connector.

Open the blue stopcock several turns and drain the radiator. If you are changing the radiator fluid at the same time, then remove the two lower (engine mounted) drain plugs. Use low pressure air to blow out the radiator through the overflow canister's fill port.

Remove Radiator Hoses
Once the radiator has been drained, remove the two water hoses from the front of the engine. Remove the plastic bracket attached to the passenger side timing belt cover that holds the two hoses in place.

On the upper hose, loosen the hose clamps and CAREFULLY break the hose free from its mounting points. The upper hose is connected to the engine in two places and the radiator in one place. Completely remove this hose.

After the removal of the upper hose, a second hose becomes visible. Loosen the hose clamp on this hose where it attaches to the engine and carefully remove from the engine. Simply swing this hose out of the way to the passenger side of the engine- no need to disconnect at the other end.

Remove the Two Cooling Fans
Remove the two bolts holding the passenger side fan shroud onto the radiator.

Using a 10mm wrench on one of the three fan pulley bolts to hold the fan still, loosen the large nut holding the fan onto the pulley (big Crescent works great). NOTE- THIS IS LEFT-HAND THREADED- DO NOT TURN TO THE LEFT TO LOOSEN! DAMAGE MAY RESULT!

Once completely loosened, remove the fan and shroud as an assembly by lifting straight up. (The lower portion of the shroud is held in place by clips that are disengaged by lifting the shroud straight up.)

The electric fan removal is a little trickier. First, remove the body pin holding the fan in place- it is located on the fan shroud towards the center of the engine and lower (it would appear at 8:00 if you look at the fan from the front of the car). Use a long flat-blade screwdriver to break the pin- there is no way to remove without breaking it. See photo.

Once the pin has been removed, the electric fan and shroud can be removed as a single unit by carefully lifting up on the small tab located at the 3:00 position (viewed from front of car) on the fan shroud and rotating the entire assembly clockwise (viewed from front of car- the top of the fan shroud moves towards the driver's side of the car) approximately 5 degrees. Then the assembly can be pulled out of the radiator shroud towards the back of the engine. Several zip-tie electrical cable tie downs must be removed in order to set the fan assembly off to the driver's side of the engine compartment. These are reusable, and can be loosened by pressing down on a small tab while pushing on the end of the tie.

Remove Serpentine Belt, Fan Pulley and Timing Belt Cover
Using a permanent marker, mark the serpentine belt's direction of rotation (I use clockwise for consistency) so that it can be reinstalled in the same orientation. If replacing the belt, this is not necessary. Remove the serpentine belt by pulling up on the tensioner stud (counter clockwise rotation viewed from the front of the engine) using a 13mm deep socket and 3/8” drive, with the drive handle towards the center of the engine. By pulling up on the tensioner, it should loosen the belt, and you should be able to easily remove the belt from the myriad pullies it involves. In the photo below, the serpentine belt has been removed in order to see the tensioner bolt.

Remove the fan pulley from the front of the passenger side timing belt cover by removing the three bolts holding it to the bearing assembly.

Remove the driver's side timing belt cover by removing the two large hex-head shoulder nuts from the face of the cover. You may need to gently tap the cover with a rubber mallet to loosen it for removal.

Using special tools 3197 and 2079, loosen (do NOT remove yet) the large bolt at the center of the harmonic balancer. The engine must be rotated such that the holding tool engages the harmonic balancer AND fits in the grooves in the passenger side timing belt cover casting (see the photo below). Use a Ѕ” drive breaker bar with the special tool to loosen this VERY tight bolt. Loosen approximately 1 turn until it loosens.

Remove the left and right rear cam covers- located at the rear of each cylinder head.

Remove the driver's side camshaft position sensor cover using a 6mm hex wrench. An electrical connector bracket is removed with the assembly.

Remove the position sensor (1 bolt in center). Under the position sensor is another cover that needs to be removed- remove that cover too (2 bolts on outside radius).

Remove the passenger side camshaft cover (there are two on the passenger side- the one you need to remove is the outboard/lower one).

Using WD-40 as a solvent, thoroughly clean the cam covers by removing the flat o-ring seals and removing all contamination and varnish from the face and groove of the cover. A brass brush may be needed to remove the varnish. Replace the seals with new 026103085D seals and place the covers in a clean bag.

Using WD-40 on a rag, clean the face of the heads where the cam covers mate. Remove all varnish/contamination from the flat mating surfaces. Inspect with a mirror to be sure the area is VERY clean. (This is where almost all A8s leak oil- it is very important to clean these surfaces and install new seals to prevent/stop oil leaks.)

Rotate engine to 0° Top Dead Center (TDC) using special tool 3197.

Install the two cam holding fixtures (3341) on the back side of the engine. If they don't fit, rotate engine one revolution back to TDC and try to reinstall the 3341s. The engine crankshaft may need to be jiggled slightly for the tools to engage, but NOT MUCH. NOTE- The deeper of the two 3341 holding fixtures goes on the driver's side camshaft, the shallower one on the passenger side.

WARNING

Make SURE BOTH cam tools are both fully engaged and held in place with at least two bolts apiece before proceeding!

Remove the bolt holding the front engine damper (torque damper) to the right front timing belt cover.

Remove the 5 bolts and one flanged nut holding the right side timing belt cover onto the engine. MAKE SURE TO NOTE WHERE THE LONG AND SHORT BOLTS GO. Two of the bolts can only be accessed by rotating the serpentine belt tensioner up out of the way. (This is where a friend comes in handy.) Once the 5 bolts have been removed, remove the TB cover. This may take a few taps with a rubber mallet or dead-blow hammer to loosen.

This is what you should see.

Remove the center bolt and the 4 smaller bolts holding the harmonic balancer on and remove the harmonic balancer.

Using special tool AS4394 Camshaft sprocket holding tool to prevent the camshaft sprockets from trying to turn (do NOT rely on the camshaft locating tools to hold the engine!!), remove the two bolts from the camshaft sprockets.

Using a plastic dead-blow mallet, tap the cam sprockets off of their tapered shafts. This will also loosen the timing belt. NOTE THAT THERE ARE NO LOCATING KEYS ON THE SHAFT/SPROCKET- SIMPLY A TAPERED FIT!! After the sprockets are removed, this is what you will see:

Remove the old timing belt from the rest of the sprockets and discard.

Remove the timing belt tensioner/pulley assembly. Replace the damper (077109246B, Timing Belt Damper) and tensioner pulley (077109243A, Tensioner pulley). Do not re-install onto engine yet.

Remove and replace both idler pulleys (077109244A, Idler pulley, 2 places). The center eccentric from the lower idler pulley must be removed from the old pulley and installed into the new one. Torque the upper idler pulley center nut to 18 lb-ft. DO NOT TIGHTEN THE NUT ON THE LOWER PULLEY WITH THE ECCENTRIC YET!

Remove the old water pump. There are 9 Torx drive bolts holding it in. You may need to tap the water pump with a mallet/piece of wood to dislodge it from the block.

Remove ALL of the old water pump gasket material form the block using WD-40 and a brass brush. Clean the WD-40 off the gasket surface using IPA (rubbing alcohol) once all the gasket material has been removed.

Get new water pump for installation (077121004H, Water Pump). There should be a gasket already installed on the pump, if not install gasket (078121043A, Water pump gasket) to pump using gasket sealer.

Install new water pump onto the block. Thread all 9 bolts into the water pump FINGER TIGHT. Using a torque wrench, torque all 9 bolts to 20 lb-in USING THE TORQUE PATTERN INDICATED BELOW!) once all 9 bolts have been torqued to 20 lb-in, torque them to 89 lb-in using the SAME TORQUE PATTERN!

Remove the thermostat housing (2 bolts) and the old thermostat. Note the orientation of the old thermostat (vent valve facing UP). Clean both thermostat housing and block surfaces and remove all traces of old gasket material. Install the new thermostat vent valve facing UP.

Reinstall the thermostat housing with a new gasket. Torque the bolts snug (no torque value can be found for these bolts).

Reinstall the timing belt tensioner/damper assembly. Torque the lever arm bolt, tensioner pulley, and the end of the damper to 18 lb-ft.

LOOSELY install the two camshaft sprockets onto the tapered shafts. MAKE SURE THE DIRECTION OF THE TAPER ON THE SPROCKET MATCHES THE TAPER ON THE SHAFT. Tighten the center bolts until approximately 1 turn remains before coming in contact with the sprocket. Note that there are no keyways on the shaft, so rotational orientation is not important.

Time to install the new Timing Belt! Using two small Allen wrenches and a screwdriver, move the eccentric inside the tensioner pulley so that the belt tension is minimized. Get the new TB (077109119E, Timing Belt) and install into the engine per the routing diagram below. Since the TB is new, direction of travel is not important.

Install the harmonic balancer onto the crankshaft using the four smaller bolts MAKE SURE THAT THE TDC MARK ON THE BALANCER IS ROTATED TOWARDS THE METAL POINTER!! - torque the 4 bolts to 18 lb-ft. Install a new lightly oiled center bolt (905 428 01) and the old washer. Tighten the center bolt hand tight using the 3197 Harmonic balancer pulley holder and 2079 Harmonic balancer pulley wrench.

Verify that the crankshaft is still at TDC (0 degrees). If the crank has moved during the procedure, move it back into position. Your engine should look like this now:

Timing belt tensioning. Using two allen wrenches in the tensioner eccentric holes, a screwdriver, and a socket wrench (see photo below), rotate the tensioner eccentric until the length of the damper is within the tolerances shown in the photo below. Use a pair of 6” dial calipers to determine this measurement, and pay close attention to the locations that are used to make the measurement. As soon as the damper length is correct, tighten the center bolt of the tensioner eccentric and lock the adjustment in place. Re-verify the damper length to make sure it didn't change during the tightening of the bolt (it probably did). Re-adjust as necessary. Torque the eccentric tensioner center bolt to 18 lb-ft. Re-check the damper length again, just to be sure.

Tighten the two bolts holding the camshaft sprockets on finger tight. Using the AS4394 Camshaft sprocket holding tool to react the torque, torque the sprocket bolts to 41 lb-ft. Your new timing belt should now look like this:

Remove the two 3341 Camshaft Locating fixtures from the back of the engine.

Install the driver's side camshaft cover with new flat o-ring seal (026103085D). Tighten the two bolts to 15 lb-ft.

Install the camshaft position sensor onto the end of the driver's side camshaft. Verify that the metal tine in the position sensor engages the hole in the camshaft. Tighten position sensor center bolt tight.

Install the driver's side cam position sensor cover- remember to attach the electrical connector support bracket. Torque bolts to 15 lb-ft. Plug the sensor electrical connector into the receptacle.

Install the passenger's side camshaft cover with new flat o-ring seal (026103085D)- remember to attach the electrical connector support bracket. Tighten the two bolts to 15 lb-ft.

Using the 3197 Harmonic balancer pulley holder to turn the engine, rotate the engine through at least two full revolutions, back to TDC. Verify that all items appear to be rotating smoothly, there are no noises or binding, and the TB tracks properly on all pulleys/sprockets.

NOTE

Clean all parts thoroughly inside and out before reinstalling them

Install the passenger side TB cover onto the block using the 5 bolts and one shoulder nut. Install all 6 fasteners loosely before tightening any of them- take care to get the correct bolts into the correct holes (different lengths)!. Align the TB cover so that the arm on the cover is as close to touching the engine torque damper as possible, and the black rubber gasket aligns with the outline on the block. Tighten the 5 bolts to 33 lb-ft, and the shoulder nut to 89 lb-in.

Install the torque damper bolt into the torque damper and torque to 33 lb-ft.

Install the driver's side TB cover onto the block using the two shoulder nuts. Align the cover with the outline on the block and torque the two nuts to 89 lb-in.

Using the 3197 Harmonic balancer pulley holder (engaged into the passenger side timing belt cover slot) and 2079 Harmonic balancer pulley wrench, torque the harmonic balancer center bolt to 258 lb-ft. A cheater bar is highly recommended!!! The engine may need to be rotated to get the 3197 engaged in both the harmonic balancer and the TB cover. Your engine should now look like this:

Install the fan pulley onto the front of the passenger side timing belt cover using the three grade 8.8 bolts. Torque to 18 lb-ft.

Install the serpentine belt. NOTE which direction the belt was traveling when you removed it and replace in the same orientation! Route the belt per the diagram below, except do not try to put it over the tensioning pulley yet.

Using a 13mm deep socket and 3/8” drive, with the drive handle towards the center of the engine, pull up on the tensioner until you can slip the belt over the tensioner pulley. Release the pressure on the tensioner and check that the serpentine belt is properly aligned on all 6 pulleys.

Reinstall the fan/clutch and shroud assembly as one piece. The fan must be put into the shroud and the fan/shroud combination lowered down into the front of the engine as a nested pair. Using a 10mm wrench on one of the three fan pulley bolts to hold the fan still, tighten the large nut on the fan onto the pulley (big Crescent works great). NOTE- THIS IS LEFT-HAND THREADED- DO NOT TURN TO THE RIGHT TO TIGHTEN! Once the fan nut is snug, slip the fan shroud down into the slots at the bottom of the radiator. Fasten the top of the shroud to the radiator with the two bolts removed earlier. Tighten snug.

Install the electric fan onto the radiator by lowering it down into the three slotted holes it came from. Rotate the fan approximately 5 degrees counter-clockwise (viewed from front of car- the top of the fan shroud moves towards the passenger's side of the car) until it snaps into place. Install a new body pin (4D0807300) into the hole located at the 8:00 position (as viewed from the front of the car). Press it in all the way.

Reconnect the fan electrical cable to the back face of the radiator using the nylon zip-ties the factory installed, or if the factory items broke during removal, replace with new zip ties. Verify that there is no way for the electrical cable to come in contact with any of the rotating/moving engine or fan parts.

Reinstall the lower (1 connect point) and then the upper (3 connect points) radiator hoses on the front of the engine. Tighten the hose clamps snug, but do NOT over tighten!

Reinstall the plastic radiator hose holder to the front of the passenger side TB cover using the cap nut. Tighten snug.

Using a large flat-blade screwdriver, close the radiator drain valve (blue) at the bottom of the radiator behind the front lower grille. Reinstall the two coolant low-point drain plugs into the bottom of the engine if they were removed earlier. (Leave the high-point bleed plugs off.) Add 5 liters of G001200 Red Pentosin (if the coolant was completely drained, otherwise add a 50/50 mixture) coolant to the coolant reservoir and inspect all ports for signs of leakage.

Add demineralized water until coolant exits the high point bleed ports. Install both high point bleed plugs and tighten snug. Connect the auxiliary water circulation pump electrical connector (just behind the two high point bleed ports).

Reinstall the oval cover in the cutout in the lower driver's side bumper (where the coolant drain valve is accessed).

Reinstall the 3 engine beauty covers, starting with the center cover. Tighten all 8 bolts snug.

Reinstall the air duct that runs from the air box to the throttle body. Tighten the two hose clamps (one on each end) snug.

Reinstall the air intake breather tubes (2) from the front of the engine compartment to the air box. The cover at the front of the engine is clipped in place- simply push it straight down into the slots.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! Verify that the coolant level in the coolant reservoir is still within acceptable limits. Install the coolant reservoir cap if not already installed. START THE ENGINE- BE READY TO IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF THE IGNITION IF ANYTHING SOUNDS EVEN SLIGHTLY WRONG!

If all has gone well, the engine should run smoothly and evenly. Allow the engine to get up to operating temperature and turn ON the heater. Make sure that hot air is coming out of the air vents, and allow it to run for a minute.

Shut OFF the engine, and re-check the coolant level in the coolant reservoir. If low, carefully remove the reservoir cap and add demineralized water until the proper level is reached. Reinstall the reservoir cap.

GO OUT AND ENJOY YOUR A8!

Come home, clean up the mess, and take the old chemicals to a recycling facility.

Audi A8 Brake Bleeding

2007-11-20T20:31:00.001-08:00

Pressure bleeder

1 liter of brake fluid

Container to catch fluid

11mm flare wrench

Shop towels for clean up

Audi A8 Replacing Rear Pads and Rotors

2007-11-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

Replacement of rear rotors and pads is an easy task, even if you've never done it before. Consider replacing both if your rotors have 50,000 miles or more on them. This will prevent you from having to do the job again anytime soon. Plus, you don't have to get the rotors turned, which can be a real hassle if it is not done correctly or you don't have two vehicles.

If the rear brake pads are worn down, the fronts are probably not far behind. Check them while doing the rears. The rears DO NOT have wear sensors. When the brake pad backing plate comes in contact with the rotor and metal to metal contact is heard, you will know it's time to do the rears!

All A8's and S8's had the same rear brakes. This procedure is applicable to all models.

Special Tools Required

8 mm Allen wrench to fit to a 3/8" rachet drive (only needed if replacing rotors)

Large C-clamp to push the piston back in the caliper

Channel locks or Harbor Freight tool to push the piston back in the caliper

Metric sockets

15 mm open ended wrench

Caliper lube

Brake cleaner and rags

Brake Components
The following picture is from the Bently manual. It identifies the major brake components.

Figure 1

Procedure
Take lug nut caps off and loosen lug nuts. Jack the car up and put the rear end up on jack stands. Raising the entire rear end makes the job much simpler and safer. Remove wheel.

A8 Rear Brake Assembly.

Using a 15 mm open ended wrench, hold the nut shown in the picture below (part of Item 3, Figure 1). Using a 13 mm socket or wrench, loosen the bolt just inboard of it (Figure 1, item 1). Repeat for second bolt assembly.

Use a 15 mm open end wrench to hold the nut from spinning while loosening the bolt just inboard of it. The top bolt has already been unscrewed.

Remove caliper assembly by lifting it up and off. Have wire ready to tie it up or rest it on the suspension arm. Do not allow it to hang from the brake line!

If removing rotors to replace them or to have them turned, remove the two carrier retaining bolts (Figure 1, Item 4) using an 8mm allen head socket. Remove carrier.

Rear caliper and rotor removed. Piston has not been pushed back in cylinder yet.

There are several ways to get the piston back in the caliper. It must be screwed in using a clockwise motion with pressure on the piston. This can be accomplished by using a large C-clamp and channel lock pliers or by buying the caliper tool set for disc brakes from Harbor Freight Tool Company. This tool not only provides the pushing force, but also screws the piston back in at the same time.

Caliper tool set from Harbor Freight Tools.
Part number 40732. This makes the job really easy!

Using the Harbor Freight tool is the easiest way to get the piston back into the caliper. You won't damage the piston boot with this tool. It pushes and turns the piston back in.

Using a large C-clamp, place slight pressure on the piston.

With pressure on the piston from the C-clamp, use channel locks and screw the piston in using a clockwise motion. Ensure the piston rubber boot is not caught up in the channel locks. This can cause it to tear and then you will need a new caliper sooner or later due to piston becoming contaminated.

Turn the piston in about 1/2 turn, then readjust the C-clamp to apply pressure again. Each time the piston is screwed in, the C-clamp must be tightened. It's a real pain to do. With the Harbor Freight tool, it's a breeze. If you plan on doing the rears more than once, it would be a good investment. If using the C-clamp method, make sure you have at least a 6" C-clamp.

Piston screwed all the way into cylinder. Ensure you screw it all the way in otherwise there will not be enough clearance to get the caliper over the new pads.

Clean all brake components with brake cleaner and rags. Pull the small boot off the caliper assembly (Figure 1, Item 6). Lube the assembly with caliper lube. This allows the brake caliper to float better due to braking forces and brake pad wear.

Installation of New Components
Prior to performing installation, take a break and wash your hands! Remove all grease from them. If you bought new rotors, clean the rotor off of all protective material and paint. Wash your hands again and ensure they are clean before reassembling.

Evan Waterloo, using his Dad's DA sander to clean and
scuff the surface of the rotors (front rotor shown).

Prior to installing the new rotor, take some grease or caliper lube and put it on the hub where the rotor comes in contact. This will prevent the rotor from rusting to the hub assembly.

OEM pads. The OEM pads come with new bolts.

Install new rotor.

Install carrier bracket using 8 mm allen head bolts. If using OEM pads, remove backing sticker and place both pads in carrier assembly.

Pads placed in carrier assembly prior to installing caliper.

Install the caliper on the carrier assembly. When doing this, ensure both pad springs are properly seated and the guide pins are pushed in and out of the way. Start the bolt (Figure 1, Item 1) on the top first (don't tighten it, just get a few turns on it) and then compress the springs by pushing down on the caliper and starting the bottom bolt.

Tighten both bolts down, torque to 35 Nm. Always replace bolts with new, OEM pads come with new bolts.

Completed rear brake job. Cleaning all the components
prior to installation is an important step!

Audi A8 CV Replacing Front Pads HP-2 Dual Piston Calipers - Aluminum

2007-11-20T20:24:00.001-08:00

Small and large flat screwdrivers

Brake cleaner and rags