Hello Again,

I ran into another issue after the coolant thing. I cannot figure out for the life of me how to get this sensor off (pic). I have removed every other sensor on the car, but I cannot figure this one out. There are two parts to the sensor. The bigger part (circled in red in the pic) and the smaller part (circled in green in the pic). I got the smaller part figured out but I'm having issues with the bigger part. If you know how to remove it, could you please advise me.

Also, if you have ever done the head and valve cover gaskets on your Audi, could you give me some pointers/advice. I've got the Bentley Manual....but even that can be a little tricky at spots.

Thank you

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, once I get this guy hopping again, I will try to post a DIY article on the head and valve cover gasket with some nice pics and instructions.

[IMG]local://upfiles/33420/EF0DDFD822234BD9A2AEDBB88D8642FD.jpg[/IMG]

 

no picture

 

Thanks for catching that. I edited my first post and the pics up Hmmm....this pic looks so peaceful as to what my car looks like now....lol. It's a mess and I have everything tapped up and labbeled with blue tape to make sure I don't forget to put/connect something back when it is all said and done

 

Any suggestions anyone?

 

Valve covers are fairly easy and very straightforward. Only thing you'll need to do really is beat a dent into the heatshield on the driver's side, down low, so that the lower part of the VC can clear it (and so you can get a ratchet down there). Besides that, it's just a matter of maneuvering them out. The new gaskets aren't a tight fit into the grooves on the head though - they've got about an extra inch of length overall, so make sure they're seated in the groove before and during reinstallation of the VCs. Also, while they're out, clean the hell out of them - get inside where the breather hose attaches and blow out any sludge in there (there will be a decent amount). And paint them while you're at it - it's a good idea and makes a nice difference in the appearance. Here's mine from yesterday:

 

Or just remove the airbox.

 

Driver's side heatshield is the one I was concerned with. On the passenger side, I only had to fold back the small corner of the one heatshield down there to clear the bottom rear VC bolt.

 

Oh, okay, yeah, I guess I could have read that. Duh. Although I'm not sure what you're talking about, driver's side was a piece of cake for me...it was the other that required some wrangling.

 

Driver's side was easier for me too than the passenger side was. Someone told me it was the other way around for them (maybe it was hiwords). Only snag I ran into (besides breaking the lines I mentioned in my post yesterday) was dropping a 1/4" swivel with a 10mm socket down into the engine bay and having it land on the undershroud. Hiwords was there by then and he was able to reach in there and grab it out without needing to jack up the car or drop the shield so that was cool. But yeah, the passenger side had me swearing due to the hard-mounted fuel feed lines, and I wasn't about to pop the rail loose to move them and in the process most likely damage the injector seat O-rings. Long as you're fluent in cursing, it's a straightforward job.

 

Oh, and yeah I did need a win - the VCs were one, but my axles are really bad and I'm gonna get another win tomorrow by fixing the CVs and getting a few months' more life out of the axles at the very least