My very own update thread
#121
Whenever you change ride height you are technically supposed to get it realigned. Though it sounds like you'd only need a front-end alignment, which only involves adjusting the tie rod ends to keep your toe in check.
#122
I've decided to bring it by my shop on Monday and see what they have to say. They are an Audi/VW specific shop and have always been good to me, so we'll see.
Yesterday was the first time taking the car up to freeway speeds since I've been back and I've got a speed dependent humming/whirring coming from the right rear above 30mph. I'm thinking it's time for a new wheel bearing. I jacked up the car this morning and theres an audible grinding when free spinning the right rear wheel.
#123
So I've got a few updates.
It turns out my right rear wheel bearing needs to be replaced as I thought. Either this week or next week I'll be pulling the rear spindles out and having my shop press in some new bearings.
I removed my S4 front sway bar and replaced it with the stock A4 bar and I've been happy with the results so far. The car doesn't want to oversteer as bad as before, I'll need a few more months to make a final conclusion though. Speaking of changing back to old parts, I think I'll remove my N75J and put the stock one back in and compare results.
I finally finished getting my carbonio intake mounted so I'm no longer embarrassed to post pictures (it was just zip tied in place earlier.)
I'm long overdue to take a bunch of new high quality photos, but these will have to suffice for now.
It turns out my right rear wheel bearing needs to be replaced as I thought. Either this week or next week I'll be pulling the rear spindles out and having my shop press in some new bearings.
I removed my S4 front sway bar and replaced it with the stock A4 bar and I've been happy with the results so far. The car doesn't want to oversteer as bad as before, I'll need a few more months to make a final conclusion though. Speaking of changing back to old parts, I think I'll remove my N75J and put the stock one back in and compare results.
I finally finished getting my carbonio intake mounted so I'm no longer embarrassed to post pictures (it was just zip tied in place earlier.)
I'm long overdue to take a bunch of new high quality photos, but these will have to suffice for now.
#126
Thanks guys, I just looked at my old interior pictures, things have changed a little bit!
I've been putting in a ton of hours on the car recently, mostly cosmetic engine work.
After taking off the false firewall hood seals I cleaned and waxed all the exposed paint in the engine bay. Today I removed the turbo inlet/outlet, intercooler, and throttle body hoses and gave them all a good cleaning.
There was a decent amount of oil in the pipes (I'm pretty sure they had never been cleaned though) and a few sand sized pieces of metal.
I checked the turbo for shaft play and there is maybe 1mm, not too bad. The little metal pieces in the hoses has me a little worried though. Compressor blades all looked perfect..
This all started from wanting to replace my N75J valve with the OEM one to do some comparison. So far the OEM valve feels just slightly smoother, I think I like the J valve better... a little more fun.
This 11 mile road is a 10 minute drive away from my house and provides for a good test circuit. The first dark blue half has a nice mixture of short straightaways and tight corners, good to keep you on your toes and test the tires. The second half is quite a bit faster.
San Pablo Dam Rd to Shasta Rd & E Wildcat Canyon Rd, Berkeley, CA 94708 - Google Maps
Hopefully this week I can get to the rear wheel bearings...
I've been putting in a ton of hours on the car recently, mostly cosmetic engine work.
After taking off the false firewall hood seals I cleaned and waxed all the exposed paint in the engine bay. Today I removed the turbo inlet/outlet, intercooler, and throttle body hoses and gave them all a good cleaning.
There was a decent amount of oil in the pipes (I'm pretty sure they had never been cleaned though) and a few sand sized pieces of metal.
I checked the turbo for shaft play and there is maybe 1mm, not too bad. The little metal pieces in the hoses has me a little worried though. Compressor blades all looked perfect..
This all started from wanting to replace my N75J valve with the OEM one to do some comparison. So far the OEM valve feels just slightly smoother, I think I like the J valve better... a little more fun.
This 11 mile road is a 10 minute drive away from my house and provides for a good test circuit. The first dark blue half has a nice mixture of short straightaways and tight corners, good to keep you on your toes and test the tires. The second half is quite a bit faster.
San Pablo Dam Rd to Shasta Rd & E Wildcat Canyon Rd, Berkeley, CA 94708 - Google Maps
Hopefully this week I can get to the rear wheel bearings...
Last edited by BaseDrifter; 07-30-2012 at 06:12 AM.
#128
So that road I posted above resulted in this a couple weeks ago..
No big deal, but I was left with a coolant leak afterwards coming from the back of the head. I didn't think it could be the coolant flange since I had it replaced two years ago. After doing some poking it looked like the heater core inlet hose was cracked at the coolant flange connection.
It took about an hour to install the new hose but it didn't fix my leak. I was still losing half an expansion tank a half hour.
I ended up replacing the coolant flange again. When I went to remove the old flange I noticed one of the upper coolant pipe bolts was not even finger tight and was probably the cause of my leak.
Oh well. Problem is fixed and I can drive with confidence again. I also replaced my oil dipstick tube funnel as it was cracked and broken.
Still need to get my rear wheel bearings done.
No big deal, but I was left with a coolant leak afterwards coming from the back of the head. I didn't think it could be the coolant flange since I had it replaced two years ago. After doing some poking it looked like the heater core inlet hose was cracked at the coolant flange connection.
It took about an hour to install the new hose but it didn't fix my leak. I was still losing half an expansion tank a half hour.
I ended up replacing the coolant flange again. When I went to remove the old flange I noticed one of the upper coolant pipe bolts was not even finger tight and was probably the cause of my leak.
Oh well. Problem is fixed and I can drive with confidence again. I also replaced my oil dipstick tube funnel as it was cracked and broken.
Still need to get my rear wheel bearings done.
#129
Forgot to mention I removed my "race" N75 and put the stock one back in. Feels smoother, a bit better to drive around town, and not as peaky. Still trying to decide which valve I like better though, I'll probably put the newer valve back in and try that out again.
Oh, one more thing, I got a second set of red LED lights wired up under the front seats for the back. Looks much more balanced now.
Oh, one more thing, I got a second set of red LED lights wired up under the front seats for the back. Looks much more balanced now.