miguelito

Greetings

I posted a while back and got good advice about my suddenly no spark
Audi that several here rightly suggested was due to stagnant cam
syndrome!

I stumbled around taking things apart, but as I did I cleaned things up
and developed some idea of order of assembly/disassembly. I dinked
around trying to get the front pulley bolt out but didn't try too hard
because by then I knew I could rent tools as well as purchase parts from
Blau.

Which I did. I missed the first delivery (next day--Saturday!) and had
to wait til Tuesday to start. I did not have a clue as to how to use the
tools! So I got on the phone with Keith at Blau and he described their
use and It started to fall into place. Reassembly seemed pretty
straightforward. I had it running in no time. Took me a couple of
minutes to realize I had it running OUT of time. I think the crank got
turned in placing and removing the crank lock. Also when I initially
found TDC (this was early in disassembly) I was a little cloudy on the
exact alignment between the timing reference on the motor and the pulley
mark. Luckily I didn't hurt anything, and I almost enjoyed taking it
back apart to make the correction. It started right up and sounded good
so I finished up putting grille and trim back on. It looked like it
leaked a little oil but I tried to convince myself it was mainly solvent
from cleaning off the front of the motor (it had been leaking oil for a
long time).

Because of my work schedule and my tool return deadline, I figured I
should get the tools in the mail the next day. The day after that I
drove 16 miles to work, parked, and a while later came out to find a big
puddle of oil under the car. At the end of the day, though, there was
plenty on the dipstick, so I added a bit that I had in the trunk and
drove home carefully. Next morning there really wasn't all that much
leakage so I drove it again. Yeah it's definitely leaking. Next day it's
like it's pouring out of a jug.

Soo, I call Blau and let's just say it's a little early to rerent the
tools; I would have to file for special consideration. I felt like an
idiot. For some stupid reason I thought the seal was only supposed to be
seated to flush with the housing.

Yesterday I had to do something so I hacksawed and ground on a piece of
angle iron I had laying around for the past 10 years until I had a ring
gear chock that worked! Now I have a tool forever! So I put to good use
my new-found expertise at disassembly and soon had the pulley off.
Unfortunately, though I looked all over the place, I couldn't find
anything just the right (tubular) size to tap in the seal so ultimately
I resorted to gently punching around millimeter by millimeter. I took a
250 mile trip last night and it leaked a very tiny amount (half dozen
small drops) and it does seem like it's slowed down more today. Hell
maybe someday I'll get a new seal, find the right size pvc to drive it
in and do a redo. Says Mr. SmartyPants.

Today I finally bled the brakes. I had just replaced a rear caliper,
rotors and pads when the timing belt went. Also, just for giggles I
replaced some vacuum hoses. My god! The brakes have never been this good
and and it's never run this smooth. Since I'd already leaked out half my
oil I did a change as I put everything back together yesterday. I've
always run Mobil 1 10w-40 but I decided to go with Castrol 10w-30 and a
bottle of STP. Sweeet!

Now on to the front struts and ball joints.

miguelito

TonyJ

miguelito wrote:
> Greetings
>
> I posted a while back and got good advice about my suddenly no spark
> Audi that several here rightly suggested was due to stagnant cam
> syndrome!
>
> I stumbled around taking things apart, but as I did I cleaned things up
> and developed some idea of order of assembly/disassembly. I dinked
> around trying to get the front pulley bolt out but didn't try too hard
> because by then I knew I could rent tools as well as purchase parts from
> Blau.
>
> Which I did. I missed the first delivery (next day--Saturday!) and had
> to wait til Tuesday to start. I did not have a clue as to how to use the
> tools! So I got on the phone with Keith at Blau and he described their
> use and It started to fall into place. Reassembly seemed pretty
> straightforward. I had it running in no time. Took me a couple of
> minutes to realize I had it running OUT of time. I think the crank got
> turned in placing and removing the crank lock. Also when I initially
> found TDC (this was early in disassembly) I was a little cloudy on the
> exact alignment between the timing reference on the motor and the pulley
> mark. Luckily I didn't hurt anything, and I almost enjoyed taking it
> back apart to make the correction. It started right up and sounded good
> so I finished up putting grille and trim back on. It looked like it
> leaked a little oil but I tried to convince myself it was mainly solvent
> from cleaning off the front of the motor (it had been leaking oil for a
> long time).
>
> Because of my work schedule and my tool return deadline, I figured I
> should get the tools in the mail the next day. The day after that I
> drove 16 miles to work, parked, and a while later came out to find a big
> puddle of oil under the car. At the end of the day, though, there was
> plenty on the dipstick, so I added a bit that I had in the trunk and
> drove home carefully. Next morning there really wasn't all that much
> leakage so I drove it again. Yeah it's definitely leaking. Next day it's
> like it's pouring out of a jug.
>
> Soo, I call Blau and let's just say it's a little early to rerent the
> tools; I would have to file for special consideration. I felt like an
> idiot. For some stupid reason I thought the seal was only supposed to be
> seated to flush with the housing.
>
> Yesterday I had to do something so I hacksawed and ground on a piece of
> angle iron I had laying around for the past 10 years until I had a ring
> gear chock that worked! Now I have a tool forever! So I put to good use
> my new-found expertise at disassembly and soon had the pulley off.
> Unfortunately, though I looked all over the place, I couldn't find
> anything just the right (tubular) size to tap in the seal so ultimately
> I resorted to gently punching around millimeter by millimeter. I took a
> 250 mile trip last night and it leaked a very tiny amount (half dozen
> small drops) and it does seem like it's slowed down more today. Hell
> maybe someday I'll get a new seal, find the right size pvc to drive it
> in and do a redo. Says Mr. SmartyPants.
>
> Today I finally bled the brakes. I had just replaced a rear caliper,
> rotors and pads when the timing belt went. Also, just for giggles I
> replaced some vacuum hoses. My god! The brakes have never been this good
> and and it's never run this smooth. Since I'd already leaked out half my
> oil I did a change as I put everything back together yesterday. I've
> always run Mobil 1 10w-40 but I decided to go with Castrol 10w-30 and a
> bottle of STP. Sweeet!
>
> Now on to the front struts and ball joints.
>
> miguelito
>
You are having just too much fun

Good to hear that you got it sorted out and now can claim a true Audi
experience. It is a bit daunting at first and then it all seems to make
sense. Now you are in control.

Hint on the front struts. Support the car on stands both sides at the
same time so that the front sway bar is unloaded will make things
easier. Also, remember to use a BIG breaker bar to loosen the axle nuts
before you lift it off the ground.

miguelito

In article <r4OdnRxx7bniS0jVnZ2dnUVZ_h6dnZ2d@posted.visi>,
TonyJ <"tonyjnospam at nospam visi.com"> wrote:

> Hint on the front struts. Support the car on stands both sides at the
> same time so that the front sway bar is unloaded will make things
> easier. Also, remember to use a BIG breaker bar to loosen the axle nuts
> before you lift it off the ground.

10-4

I did the struts, ball joints, tie-rod ends, and control arm bushings
front and rear a few years back, and I had to drop the front struts
again last fall to deal with loose preloaders (coil retainers) and a
broken upper strut bearing. So they come apart pretty easily now. I've
been driving around with a broken sway bar link from last pothole
season. I have to figure out where to come up with one of those, and I'm
also hoping to find a set of rubber dampers (donuts) for the links.

TonyJ

miguelito wrote:
> In article <r4OdnRxx7bniS0jVnZ2dnUVZ_h6dnZ2d@posted.visi>,
> TonyJ <"tonyjnospam at nospam visi.com"> wrote:
>
>
>> Hint on the front struts. Support the car on stands both sides at the
>> same time so that the front sway bar is unloaded will make things
>> easier. Also, remember to use a BIG breaker bar to loosen the axle nuts
>> before you lift it off the ground.
>>
>
> 10-4
>
> I did the struts, ball joints, tie-rod ends, and control arm bushings
> front and rear a few years back, and I had to drop the front struts
> again last fall to deal with loose preloaders (coil retainers) and a
> broken upper strut bearing. So they come apart pretty easily now. I've
> been driving around with a broken sway bar link from last pothole
> season. I have to figure out where to come up with one of those, and I'm
> also hoping to find a set of rubber dampers (donuts) for the links.
>
Blau should be able to help you with those too.

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