OOOO-A3

Brake Rotors and Pads

2009-03-01T00:10:00.018-05:00

I decided to wait a couple of days after I did the brake lines, fluid and speedbleeders before replacing the mechanical parts of the braking system - pads and rotors - in order for any leaks to show up. I was glad to see that there were no fluid leaks or other issues as I revisited each wheel for the next round of parts.

Both the front and rear rotors had a distinct lip on the edge showing how much the rotor surface had worn down over the last 55,000 miles. I decided to replace the rotors with original-equipment parts, and upgrade the pads to Hawk HPS (high-performance street compound).

This article isn't going to be a complete step-by-step "HowTo" for brake replacement, because there are already several good sets of instructions. The best one is this posting by 'Meat' on the GolfMkV Forums. His photos and descriptions are top-notch, so instead of repeating it all I'll just offer some comments where my experience differed from the instructions:

I only used the grease packets included with the Hawk pads

Rear brakes, step 2 - scroll down this page to see the thin 15mm wrench I used to hold the caliper guide bolts.

Rear brakes, step 4 - I could not fit the ratchet handle with the 14mm triple-square bit to the side on the A3 as shown in his photos. I had to have the ratchet handle pointing straight down. If the car is on a lift, this would be much easier.

Front brakes, step 2 - I used a 7mm hex bit on a ratchet handle. I don't see how an allen wrench/hex key would have worked for me.

The the right inner front pad also has a wire for the wear sensor, which is not used on our cars (only the left side). You can cut that wire off when you install that pad. Once I got everything installed, I followed the bedding-in procedures on the Hawk packaging.

Front:

I ordered all the rotors from World Impex, which is the cheapest place to get genuine Audi/VW parts.

The pads came from TireRack, which is also where I got the Goodridge stainless-steel lines.

Front (outer) pad, the old worn one is on the left, the new Hawk HPS pad is on the right.

Same front pads, showing 55,000 miles of wear on the left, new on the right.

New rotor installed, new pads installed...

The caliper completely reassembled....

Ready to put the wheel back on! (Right Front)

Rear:

The rear rotors are solid, not vented like the fronts.

Unlike the front pads which are different inner/outer on each side, all four rear pads are identical (inner/outer, left/right).

The instructions I found before starting the job said that a thin 15mm wrench/spanner would be needed to remove the rear caliper guide bolts. I picked this one up from a bike shop, and it worked perfectly. It was a good thing that I did, since the other 15mm one that I already had was too thick to fit where it needed to go.

Rear pads, with the worn original one on the right and the new Hawk HPS pad on the left. The Hawk pads have a vent groove that was not present on the originals. Incidentally, the original pads were all made by Ferrodo.

New rear pad on the left, worn original on the right...

All installed and ready for the wheel to go back on! (Right Rear)

Conclusion:

Fresh rotors, the new brake lines, and the Hawk HPS pads are an excellent combination. It is a really, really significant improvement over both the worn stock setup and over how it felt when brand new. Less brake dust, no noise, and excellent stopping power. From 45 MPH on dry pavement, if I brake hard, ABS will kick in to prevent lockup. The pedal is firm and the whole system is now very confidence-inspiring. I highly recommend this combination to anyone looking for replacements (or an upgrade without going to a big-brake kit).

Thanks to Brandon D. for letting me borrow the 14mm triple-square bit!

Brake Lines and SpeedBleeders

2009-02-25T23:30:00.004-05:00

Several months ago I purchased all the necessary parts for brake maintenance and mild upgrade, but for several reasons (mostly cold weather, and lack of a necessary tool) I've been putting off getting them installed. I decided that 55,000 miles was a good time to get the project moving, so I broke it down into two parts. The first part is the replacement of the 4 original flex lines with braided stainless-steel lines, replacement of the bleeder nipples on the calipers with 'SpeedBleeders', and flushing the system with new fluid, as described here. The second part is replacing the pads and rotors, described in a separate article.

Brake systems work on hydraulic pressure. The lines that carry the fluid from the master cylinder up front to each of the wheels are rigid metal for most of their length. However, they have to have some flexible part at each wheel to account for up-and-down suspension movement and steering. These flexible segments are typically made of reinforced rubber. With most stock rubber lines, some 'ballooning' of the line occurs when you press the pedal, which reduces the force transmitted to the brakes. If you had flexible lines that would resist 'ballooning', more of the pedal force will be transmitted to the brakes. This is usually accomplished by installing brake lines that have a braided stainless-steel jacket that prevents ballooning. The best quality (and DOT/TuV-approved) lines have a plastic or kevlar coating over the stainless-steel braid to protect the braid against chafing.

I have installed braided stainless-steel lines on several cars. On some cars they had a very noticeable effect, on others (including the A3) the stock lines are pretty strong to begin with, so the improvement is smaller, but still worth it.

The brake line kit I chose was the Goodridge part number 30007. It comes with 2 front lines, 2 rear lines, and new banjo-bolts and washers for the front lines.

Any time you loosen a brake line you introduce air into the system which will need to be bled out. Bleeding is usually a 2-person job - one person to pump & hold the pedal while the other one opens and closes the bleeder on the caliper. Since there is only one of me, I needed a way to bleed the brakes solo. I decided to replace the bleeder nipples with SpeedBleeders, which have an internal checkvalve. You can open one a couple of turns, then go pump the pedal to force air and fluid out of that line/caliper without worrying about sucking any air back in. When tightened down they seal just like the standard ones.

The thread size needed for the A3 (and VW Mk5 GTI/GLI/Jetta/Rabbit) is M10 x 1.0. While you can order them online direct from the manufacturer, they are also available cheaper at PepBoys auto parts under the 'HELP!' brand name, item number 12706. You'll need 2 packs, for a total of 4 bleeder nipples (1 per caliper).

And of course you'll need appropriate brake fluid.

Installing the new Goodridge stainless-steel brake lines was not too difficult, only tedious. I did one wheel at a time. After removing the wheel, the first thing I did was to replace the bleeder nipple with a SpeedBleeder. Then I removed the (two on the front / one on the rear) spring clip(s) securing the flex line, and unbolted one end at a time making sure to catch all brake fluid in an appropriate container. When installing the new lines, you have to be careful not to twist them. They have a dashed marking caled a 'torque line' that helps you visually see that you haven't twisted the line as you position it.

The front line uses a banjo-bolt to attach to the caliper. New bolts and copper washers (1 inner and 1 outer washer per banjo bolt) are provided - do not reuse the originals.

Once the new line was installed, I bled the air out of that caliper and pumped quite a bit of fluid through to completely flush that circuit before moving on to the next wheel.

New front brake line:

SpeedBleeder and banjo-bolt on the front caliper:

Front midpoint clip (shorter rear lines do not have this):

Front attachment of flex line to hard line:

Shorter rear lines:

The ends of the flex lines are made to fit into the brackets on the rear to secure the line and prevent it from twisting. The lines were not a compatible shape with the brackets on the car - I've contacted Goodridge to see if this was just an oversight on the kit that I got. I solved it by using a Dremel with a high-speed cutting wheel to cut notches in the rear brackets to accommodate the new lines.

Coils & Plugs at 50,000 Miles

2008-11-25T07:00:00.005-05:00

As part of my 50,000-mile service last month, I replaced the plugs and coils again. The last replacement was at 25,000 miles (instructions).

The coils are one revision newer - the last ones I installed were the "C" part number, these are 07K 905 715 D.

One of these things is not like the other.... (the coils):
1 - 2 - 3 - 4

The coil I pulled from cylinder 4 had a lot of corrosion near the sparkplug end:

The NGK BKR7EIX plugs with 25,000 miles of usage:

Plug 1

Plug 2

Plug 3

Plug 4

Notice the corrosion around the back of Plug 4, corresponding to the corrosion on the coilpack:

When I posted pictures of these in the 2.0T forum, I was accused of negligently getting water in the plug recess due to pressure-washing the engine. The fact is that I have never pressure-washed the top of the valve cover, nor caused any water to get around the coils that would cause this.

Looking at each of of the plug recesses, you can see some degree of corrosion around the top of 1, 2 and 3, but significant corrosion down in 4. I'm going to keep an eye on the new coil in the No. 4 spot to see if it starts developing corrosion, too. This is probably just a cosmetic problem, since it didn't make it past the threads of the plug nor did it interfere with the functioning of the coil.

The plugs were purchased from an eBay vendor for $37.00, and the coils were obtained from World Impex.

As I experienced before, installing the new plugs and coils had an immediate improvement in idle smoothness. After nearly 2000 miles of driving on the new parts, the idle is still smoother than it was prior to the change.

Group 48 Battery

2008-11-25T07:00:00.003-05:00

Last week was pretty cold. When I left work on Friday evening, I tried to start the car and it turned over once.... paused...... lights dim.... then turned over again and caught. I hoped the battery wasn't really dying, but I tried it Saturday morning after it sat overnight and the same thing happened, then again while I was out running errands. OK, time to replace the battery. This one had lasted 3 years and 50,000 miles, which is OK for an original battery. The one in my old GTI died completely after only 6 months. I replaced it with an Optima Red Top, which lasted the next 6 years.

Car batteries are referred to by their "group" number, which denotes the dimensions (length, width, height), terminal type, and terminal orientation (left/right). Here is a table that shows the measurements for different battery groups.

The battery that comes in the A3 from the factory is a Group 47 size. It has recessed terminal posts, and reversed terminals (viewing the long side when the terminals are closest to you, positive is on the right and negative is on the left). It has a heat-insulating blanket around it that must be re-used.

If you want a little better performance, you can install a Group 48 battery. The only difference between the Group 47 and Group 48 is the length, and the larger one will just barely fit in the A3's battery box. The original battery is only 480CA/280CCA capacity.

I wanted to put in an Optima battery, but they don't specifically make a Group 47/48 style. (I later learned that an Optima 75/35 can be made to fit.) Batteries are sold under several brand names which are all made by Johnson Controls. "Interstate", "Duralast" and "BOSCH" are three of those brands.

I chose a BOSCH Group 48 battery that cost $90.00.

It has a 850CA/690CCA capacity, 36-month free replacement & 96-month pro-rated replacement warranty, and came with a roadside assistance card for free jumpstarts for the first 36 months.

Remove the top cover from the battery box. Completely remove the battery hold-down bolt/plate with a 13mm tool.

Remove the battery cables, loosening the connectors with a 10mm tool. ALWAYS LOOSEN & REMOVE THE NEGATIVE SIDE FIRST! Also, INSTALL and TIGHTEN the NEGATIVE side LAST! I have 3rd-degree burn scars from doing it wrong years ago.

When you pull out the old battery, the insulating blanket will come with it. Slide the blanket off the battery. If you're installing a Group 47 battery, you can just slide it onto the new one. If you're installing a Group 48 battery, you'll need to look for the tab where the blanket is attached to itself, and undo it. It will wrap around a Group 48 battery, but with no overlap, so it's a little harder to get it back into the battery box if you're doing this by yourself. It does fit, though.

Re-attach the cables (see note above) and the hold-down, making sure it's actually holding the battery down securely.

Jack Pads

2008-11-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

Here's a little enhancement that I've been meaning to do for a while. These inexpensive rubber pieces provide a good place to raise the car using a hydraulic floor jack, or a 4-point lift (like when having tires installed, for example).

Each pad is composed of two pieces. You position them together, then use a jack to press them into the correct points on the underside of the car. They lock together and lock into place on the car.

Back in 2005 "SwiftA4" posted instructions for doing this on the A3 Forum. The instructions and pictures are excellent, so I'm just going to link to them here. Part numbers are included. (If for some reason that thread on the forum becomes unavailable, I have a copy saved that I can post here.)

In addition to the 4 pad assemblies, I also got a special metal disk from ECS Tuning that fits into the pad when using a hydraulic floor jack. This gives a very stable lifting point. The disk has a bump on the top that fits into the bottom of the jack pad to keep it from sliding.

October 2008 Photos

2008-10-19T23:11:00.007-04:00

Time for some Fall photos...

Freshly detailed with Klasse (All-In-One & Sealer Glaze), Photos taken with a Canon G9, RAW, ISO 80.

Fumoto Oil Drain Valve

2008-10-11T10:07:00.014-04:00

The 2006 A3s like mine came with 45,000 miles of 'free' maintenance, including oil changes. That meant dealer-provided changes at 5k, 15k, 25k, 35k and 45k miles since Audi's maintenance schedule calls for a 10,000-mile oil-change interval (OCI). I wanted to maintain a 5000-mile OCI on my car, so I did the intermediate ones at 10k, 20k, 30k and 40k myself. As of 50,000 miles, I'll be doing them all myself from now on. Oil changes on this engine are a real pain, mostly because of the filter. The drain plug is annoying like all drain plugs are, and there's a very easy way to solve that.

From the very beginning I wanted to do a Fumoto valve but kept putting off ordering one. When I was going to do an oil change on my own I'd think about it, then decide to do it "next time". 10,000 miles later, I'd do the same thing....

Fumoto valves are great. They are well-made out of brass with a ball-valve mechanism, and they lock closed with a spring and a notch in the valve body. If you do your own oil changes I can only think of ONE reason not to use one, and that would be if your drain plug was vertical into the bottom of the oil pan, which would make the Fumoto valve stick down too low under the car. Fortunately, VW/Audi drain plugs are completely horizontal so there are no clearance issues at all.

The Fumoto valves come in two styles - one has a flat end where the oil drains, the other has a nipple where you could optionally stick a hose. I only use the latter style so I can make sure there is NO spillage of oil. Again, since the oil drain location is horizontal, there are no clearance issues with having the slightly longer valve.

If your oil pan has a protrusion (like on the 2.0T engine) or if the drain plug is completely recessed, you'll need to get one of their spacers to make the valve fit. A spacer is definitely needed on the 2.0T.

The valve with the correct threads (14mm - 1.5) and the nipple on the drain end is the F106N:

The adapter that is needed for it to fit is the ADP-106 (same threads as above, it just spaces it out from the oilpan):

The valve and the adapter as shipped, 2 separate pieces with soft crush washers:

A 19mm spanner fits the valve body for installation. Be careful to not overtighten! See the instructions on their website before installing. The spacer needs, I think, a 22mm tool. I forgot to note what size it was, but it's definitely larger than the 19mm that fits the valve:

Here are the valve and spacer assembled. The valve is closed. Note the valve lever is to the side, held into the locking notch by the spring:

To open the valve, you lift the lever out of the notch and rotate it forward:

Installation is trivial - Remove your drain plug to change your oil, let all of the oil drain, wipe the threads on the oil pan clean, and install the spacer & valve as if they were your drain plug. Finger-tighten, then 1/4-turn with the respective tools. You NEVER have to remove it, and it's completely painless to drop and replace the oil.

You can see the protruding part of the oil pan above the drain location that makes the spacer necessary.

Now if someone would just invent an oil-filter relocation kit so we can have the filter easily accessible from the top, instead of having to remove that plastic cover underneath every time....

CruiseCam Camera Mount

2008-10-10T23:59:00.004-04:00

Earlier this year I got a CruiseCam mount for in-car photos. It works in any car with 2 exposed posts on the headrests (which excludes Volvos, or highback seats like the RX-8).

I had started to make a similar one with some aluminium square tube, but at the point where I tried to find a good, cheap adjustable camera mount for my project I finally admitted that it was actually cheaper & better to just buy the actual CruiseCam. This thing is very well designed and built. It attaches securely, is super easy to install/position/remove, and the camera mounting platform stays adjusted where you want it without vibrating out of place. It includes a safety strap if you feel the need to use it - I didn't, and removed it.

There's a heavy rubber guard that you have to slide out of the way to tighten down your camera, then slide it back into place for vibration dampening. My only complaint is that since the mounting platform is slightly textured metal, it could scratch the underside of my camera if I weren't careful. I solved that problem by putting a strip of masking tape (3M Blue Painter's Tape) on the mount.

On the A3, the front headrests always have a little bit of the posts exposed. In fact, it's just enough that the CruiseCam never touches the upholstery of the headrest at all, nor the seat since the plastic headrest fittings on the seat act as spacers. Absolutely no risk of damage to the car at all.

The slots in the back of the mount allow for whatever spacing your headrest posts have, and allow the mount to positioned side-to-side easily. You can also turn it around so the mount is on the right side of the passenger headrest, slide the seat back (and/or tilt the backrest slightly), open the right rear window, and adjust the mount so the camera is sticking out the side window. I would definitely use the safety strap if I did that! Of course, the mount also fits on the rear seat headrests if you want to mount it there (for example, for rearward-facing photos).

For some examples of it in use, see my first autocross article. All of the in-car shots were from my Canon G9 mounted on the CruiseCam.

First Autocross

2008-07-26T19:12:00.008-04:00

Today I ran in an autocross put on by the Delaware chapter of the PCA and a local Scion club. It was the first time I'd autocrossed in years, and so of course my first time in the A3.

I did four runs total. Each run was three laps, exiting the (relatively small) course at the end of the third lap. For the first three runs I left the traction/stability control (ESP) 'on'. I turned it off for the 4th run, which is the only one not captured on video. It makes a HUGE difference in how the car handles; whether I consider it better or not for autocrossing is yet to be determined.... I need to run a course a lot more both with it enabled and disabled before deciding. Out of 3 laps with and 1 lap without, I was definitely faster with it enabled than on the one without, but that's not enough data to draw any conclusions. The back end breaks loose pretty easily with ESP disabled.

In the videos below, when you see the camera vibrate rapidly along with a chattering noise, that's the ESP kicking it. It's a little more dramatic than what the video conveys.

What I can conclude:

I need more practice. I'd do this every weekend if possible.

Swaybars are now high on the list of things to do.

Here are the videos of the first three runs. My originals are really good quality, but of course YouTube compresses everything down to fuzzyness, so click the 'watch in high quality' link under the video on each YouTube page.

First run (in-car camera): (59.799 including 2 sec. penalty)

Second Run (in-car camera): (55.439)

Third Run (spectator view): (55.646)

Here are some photos from today:

If you're on an iPhone and can't see the slideshow above, click here.

Cousins....

2008-07-07T21:52:00.003-04:00

This weekend I visited some friends. One of them has a new 4-door GTI 2.0T, also in white - pretty much my car's cousin. Being parked across the street from each other made for a neat photo...

ProClip and Interface Cable

2008-06-21T21:00:00.015-04:00

I've always kept my phone in the armrest console, so I ran a power cable into it. The iPod lives in the glovebox, connected to the DICE interface. I like having things neatly out-of-the-way, but planning for a 3rd-generation iPhone, I'm going to want things set up a bit differently.

There are two parts to the ProClip system - the base that attaches to the car, and the holder for your specific device. In the case of the A3 there are three different base mounts. One attaches beside the head unit, and mimics the European Audi phone mount. One attaches to an air vent, and blocks airflow. The third type is the only one that I actually like for the A3: it attaches to the bar on the right side of the console. I got mine from a former A3 owner who traded up to a Subaru. The device holder he had was useless to me, so I ordered a new one (more on that below).

Here is the base mount:

This particular type of clip comes with double-sided tape to help hold it in place. The pre-owned clip that I got had the gummy residue still in it, and I didn't want to use adhesive anyway, so I set about modding it, starting by cleaning the old sticky stuff off with Goo-Gone.

I wanted it to stay in place, not scuff/damage the console where it was attached, and be easy to put on/take off. I had a piece of suede-finish leather that I had gotten from a craft store for another project...

...so I trimmed a piece to fit exactly in the U-shaped portion of the clip with no gaps:

I then glued it into the clip using 1-minute epoxy. (That stuff is amazing, but I really recommend doing this with the 3-minute epoxy instead so it doesn't set up so insanely fast.) I don't have a picture of it after I glued the leather in; it looks like this, only adhered tightly into the corners and all the way around.

I ordered a new device holder from ProClip. The Adjustable Holder with Tilt Swivel - Item 875214 which will hold the iPhone with or without a 'skin' or case. It will also hold my old iPod with it's heavy-duty rubber skin.

That takes care of the mount, but my DICE connector is still in the glovebox...

A 6-foot Dock Extender Cable from CableJive will take care of that. It's the only male-female iPod Dock Connector cable extension that I have found, and it is a very high-quality product.

I wanted to run the extension from glovebox to the console, so I could either keep the iPod in the glovebox, or use the extension for the iPod (or whatever) in the ProClip. It turned out to be easier than I expected.

I pulled the cubby out of the glovebox:

Some mods need to be done here. I decided to re-think how I routed the dock cable, and relocate it to the left cubby so it would be near the new extension cable. On the back of the cubby there's this clip that needs to be opened up:

Here you can see the opening that I cut using a hacksaw blade.

I drilled the remaining portion of the tab so I could use zip-ties if necessary for strain relief, but that turned out to not be necessary for me.

I also had to drill another 5/8" hole for the DICE cable, and used another rubber grommet to protect that cable from chafing. The female (jack) end of the extension cable went through the rectangular opening.

I fed the cable male (plug) end first through the opening and down towards the console:

...where you can slip your fingers under the edge and feel for it, then pull it out:

Loosening this 8mm bolt on the underside of the glovebox makes that part easier:

Next, pull up on the trim ring around the shift boot. It is held down by a spring clip at each corner.

Tuck the cable up under the side of the console, poke the plug up by the shifter, and pull it through as shown here:

Now remove the two Torx T-30 screws holding down the front of the ashtray assembly. These also hold two of the spring clips, so don't drop anything. Carefully lift so you can unplug the light connector, then slide the ashtray assembly completely out.

With the ashtray out of the way, I repositioned the cable so it comes up through the opening shown here (this is what it looks like with the ashtray assembly removed):

(If you still have the little insert in the ashtray, go ahead and remove it now.)

A hole has to be cut in the bottom of the ashtray for the dock connector plug to fit through. I somehow neglected to get good pictures of the process... I cut the rectangle out using a Dremel on slow speed with a cut-off wheel, then dressed the edges of the opening with a file to remove any sharpness that could chafe the wire. The rectangle is cut as far right as possible in the bottom.

So much for getting the cable into the ashtray from the bottom, now we have to get it out the top. Looking at the edge of the ashtray you can see there's a gap under the lid when it's closed, but you can't just run the cable there since the lid needs that much space for the 'push-to-open' function. So, we'll have to do some cutting.

You can't run the cable to the front because it would interfere with the trim around the shift boot, so we'll have to go to the side.

Remove this piece of rubber:

I used a flat file to cut this notch and 'soften' the edges, then wet-sanded the cut edges with 600-grit sandpaper.

A corresponding notch was made in the lid, but only in the plastic. It would work better if aluminium trim were notched also, but leaving the aluminium undisturbed is a compromise in favour of aesthetics.

The rubber piece that was removed earlier was re-installed, completing the ashtray modification.

The cable can be fed up through the rectangle in the bottom of the ashtray, and the assembly can be reinstalled and bolted down. Don't forget to plug the light in:

There is plenty of space under the console for the cable to drop into when not in use. Due to the natural alignment of the structure underneath, the plug cannot fall through the rectangle you cut in the ashtray.

On the glovebox end, the cubby can now be snapped back into place. You can either plug the iPod into the DICE connector and keep it in the cubby in the glovebox, or you can plug the connector into the extension cable as shown here:

The next piece of the puzzle is a CableJive Charge Converter. The older iPods and 1st-generation iPhone use one set of pins in the dock connector to charge via 12volts, and another set of pins to charge via 5volts. For various reasons (heat, component size, etc.) Apple has eliminated the 12volt charging circuit from newer iPod and iPhone models. Since my DICE interface provides the high-current charging circuit, it will not power or charge newer devices. The simple solution to that is the Charge Converter from CableJive. I can plug it in-line between the DICE plug and the extension cable, so any iPod/iPhone plugged into the extension will be perfectly happy:

The Charge Converter also has a mini-USB output on the side, so it can charge or power another USB device as well. Just an added bonus feature.

Here's the finished product. I have a little piece of leather that I cut to fit the ashtray to keep coins from rattling - that's what you see under where the plug is laying. I can feed the cable down into the console, close the ashtray, and it's completely invisible:

...or I can position the cable through the notches and close the lid:

It all comes together - cable, clip and iPod:

And since sexy things always look better naked, here's the iPod without the Speck case. The 5th-gen 30Gig iPod doesn't fit very tightly since the adjustable holder was designed for an iPhone with a case/skin, but it works.

(In case anyone is wondering, the song playing on the iPod is the version of "Modern Love" by The Last Town Chorus.)

Expect an update to this article mid-2009.

OpenSky Heat-Reflective Sunshades

2008-06-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

The 'OpenSky' double sunroof is one of the things I really like about the A3. But since Audi decided to use perforated instead of solid/opaque sunshades, they do cause the interior to get really hot when parked in the summer sun. It's not just the light passing through the glass that heats up the car, but the dark glass itself becomes hot and radiates heat in even if you move the car into the shade.

Here's a quick and easy solution: Make a set of heat-reflective mylar sunshades.

First thing you will need is a roll of Reflectix insulation. You can find it at Lowes for about $20.00 for the 16"-wide roll, or you can order it on-line if you can't find it locally. The Reflectix is available in a few widths. Lowes had 16" and 48" rolls. I chose the 16" one since it was adequate for this project.

Reflectix is basically bubble-wrap with a layer of mylar film on each side. That makes it pretty fragile, and you'll see this as soon as you go to unroll it. The end is taped down, and since the tape messes up the mylar, you'll wind up wasting the first go-round of the roll. Cut that part off after the point where it was taped, and use it for patterns, experimenting, etc.

Making the shade for the front roof panel is easy. The 16" width of the roll is just about right for the narrow dimension, so you just have to measure and cut a piece 30" long. You may find that you'll need to trim it down to 29.5", so this gives you a little extra to work with.

Place your new reflective shade against the sunroof glass, and carefully close the roller shade under it. Make sure you don't get it caught in the roller shade tracks, and don't snag the back/corners of with the roller shade.

Now, make another one for the rear. This time you should cut it to 29.5" long to start with, and maybe trim it down slightly if necessary. You will also need to trim a strip off the long edge. Measure and mark 13" on both short edges, and use a straightedge & sharpie to mark your cutline. Cut it with scissors, and you should have a 29.5" x 13" shade.

Install it in the rear the same way as you did in the front.

I don't like to drive around with the shades in (I really, really hate not having the light and 'openness' of a sunroof), but I've used them when parking outside at work in 97degF direct sun, and they work great! More so than the rest of the headliner, actually. After the car has been parked in the sun I can feel heat radiating through the headliner, but none at all under where the reflective shades are. It makes the car effectively sunroof-less as far as light & heat are concerned.

Now I want to use the rest of the roll to make shades for the side and back glass, but I have to figure out how to hold them in place. (Velcro dots on the black windowframes would be almost invisible, but I'm not sure I want to do that).

New Axle Boot and Alignment

2008-04-06T20:23:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago I noticed a burning grease/tar smell when I pulled in the garage but couldn't place where it was coming from. The next weekend after that I did a front<-->rear tyre rotation, and when I pulled off the left front wheel there were several blobs of grease inside the rim. I felt around and got a handful of grease since it was all over the back side of the brake caliper and line. I immediately suspected a torn axle/CV boot, but without ramps to get up under the car for closer inspection I couldn't find the exact spot. It had to be the outer one due to the location of the grease that it slung around.

Went to the dealer, described what I'd found, and they confirmed it after putting the car on the rack and inspecting it. BUT.... they didn't have the part in stock and would have to order it. For some reason, this no longer surprises me.

When the boot came in they got me scheduled and in/out reasonably (shuttle ride to/from work that day). They did not, however, do an alignment. I decided that it would be a good idea.

This weekend I took it to NTB for alignment and balancing. The balancing took care of the minor vibration at highway speeds - one front and one rear wheel were slightly out of balance. The alignment was a mixed bag:

The toe-in on the left was out-of-spec, which is what I expected from the remove/replace of the left outer axle boot. They took care of that with no problem. Caster and camber on the right are out-of-spec, and they did NOT adjust those. The tech at NTB said that their manual indicated that subframe bolts could be loosened to adjust the caster & camber, but they were expressly forbidden by NTB from doing that. He suggested that I take it 'elsewhere'. Didn't stop NTB from charging me full price for the alignment, though.

I don't notice any pulling or drift, nor excessive treadwear. For all I know, this is how it came from the factory.

(Sorry for the cameraphone photo - I didn't have my real camera with me.)

PCV Replacement and Eurojet Valve

2008-03-15T22:00:00.008-04:00

This thread in the 2.0T FSI Engine Forum on VWVortex gives good background information and diagrams relating to the PCV/Crankcase Breather system on the 2.0T FSI engine. The part numbers and description of the various revisions of the valve (current as of early 2008) are illustrated in this thread.

I've been running the Eurojet Racing checkvalve that protects the PCV system for a few months, but decided that I wanted to make sure all PCV components were in top condition. I decided to replace the rear PCV tube with the one that has an integrated checkvalve, and replace the front PCV component with the one that still has 2 internal checkvalves (a non-standard combination of parts). The Eurojet valve would then contribute to protecting the new components, and would give a total of 4 checkvalves in the system.

The parts I installed are:

06F 129 101 F New breather ('PCV') valve
06F 103 215 A New pipe with checkvalve
06F 103 483 E Gasket
06F 145 757 F Gasket

This is the new rear pipe with the integrated checkvalve (06F 103 215 A):

Remove the engine cover/airbox.

To remove the two bolts that hold the pipe to the turbo inlet you will need a 5mm hex bit, universal joint, short extension and compact ratchet handle. The lower bolt is easy to get to, the upper one is a pain. There is a metal gasket between the pipe flange and the turbo, and a heatshield on top of the flange that you will need to carefully move from behind the oil line. (If you drop the bolts, they will mostly likely not fall all the way through to the ground - they will land on a chassis crossmember. That crossmember has little compartments on top, and reaching them to retrieve a dropped bold requires some contortion. I speak from experience, you have been warned.)

You will also need to remove the one-time-use clamp that joins the pipe to the rubber hose segment.

This is the heatshield that will be removed:

This is how the heatshield orients on the pipe. This is important for when you install the new one.

This is the metal gasket, note the locating tab on the upper part of the flange:

The 'gasket' has little tabs that catch on the bolt threads, so putting the bolts in a few turns helps hold the whole assembly together for reinstallation:

This shows where the pipe flange bolts to the turbo inlet. See the flexible silver heatshielding on the oil line running from the head down to the turbo? You will need to tuck the metal heatshield (pictured above) behind this line without pinching the silver fabric.

Rear pipe finally installed. I used a stainless-steel screw clamp instead of one of the original-style clamps. Don't tighten it too much, you don't want to damage the pipe and the checkvalve at that end.

The front PCV component is easily removed with 4 screws (T-25 torx head) and 2 snap-on pipes. The new one (06F 129 101 F) is a direct replacement, very straightforward. Before installation, however, I attached the Eurojet checkvalve to it since it requires quite a bit of twisting and effort to get it into the very tight silicon tubing. Lubricating the ends of the tubing helps it go on.

Old (revision C) on the left, new (06F 129 101 F) on the right:

Old:

New (06F 129 101 F):

Old:

New (06F 129 101 F):

The Eurojet PCV checkvalve assembly:

The hoses on the Eurojet valve are lined to protect against damage from oil residue. Be careful not to damage the ends of this lining when you install the hoses, since fragments of the lining can and will jam the valve.

This is an exploded view of the valve, and illustrates the orientation of the valve when installed. The upper part in this photo attaches to the PCV valve, and the lower part in the photo attaches to the intake manifold:

Another view showing the rubber valve seat:

The piston in the valve had some rough barbs when I first got it. Before installation I smoothed them out with some 1000-grit sandpaper. The piston seems to be fairly soft brass so it smoothed out easily.

This is how the whole thing looks when installed.

In order to make the valve fit under the stock engine cover, I unscrewed the mounting peg that the engine cover snaps onto nearest the valve. Unscrewing it about halfway seems to be just enough. I'll probably add a nut to lock the peg in place and prevent it from further loosening, but this little bit of elevation does the trick perfectly.

Edit: November 2008 - I've removed the EuroJet valve and replaced the PCV system with a solution from BSH. I'll post an article about it soon, and update this one.

The hose on my EuroJet valve cracked. EuroJet sent me a replacement assembly.

Intake Cover Retention

2008-03-15T21:45:00.006-04:00

Like my earlier article about adding a retaining tie to the rear tow hook cover, this is a simple bit of prevention to save potential headaches and damage later.

As described in this thread in the 2.0T FSI Engine Forum on VWVortex, a piece can pop off the air intake and damage the cooling fans. Drilling two quick holes and adding a zip-tie prevents this from ever happening.

How To Remove the Engine Cover / Stock Airbox

2008-01-07T23:51:00.002-05:00

Procedure:

Unplug the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor.

Undo the spring clips and pull out the turbo inlet connector.

Remove the two T-25 screws on the air snorkle as shown below.

Remove the engine cover by pulling up HARD where indicated by the green circles in the photo below.

DO NOT APPLY ANY FORCE where indicated by the red diamonds in the photo below.

If it's cold weather, make sure the engine is warm so that the rubber grommets warm up and are flexible enough to come off. Cold, brittle plastic and stiff grommets will lead to a broken airbox/cover even if you otherwise do everything correctly.

Pull up on the rear driver's corner (near the battery box) first, then the rear corner where the MAF sensor is, then the fronts.

First Dyno Results

2007-10-13T21:08:00.000-04:00

Back in July I got together with Mark at AutoSpeed to test their first attempt at software for the 2.0T FSI engine. We flashed the car, and did some preliminary logging using both VAG-COM and their own software, but they were in the process of moving their shop to a new location and we weren't able to actually dyno it and fine-tune the software. I didn't post anything about it online since everyone's first response would be to ask "where are the numbers?". Today, finally, I have some numbers.

Today was NGP Racing's Dyno Day/Open House. I was one of the early ones to dyno, which was good because the line got long pretty soon after my run.

I was going to get some more pictures + a video clip of the dyno run, but my batteries died.... At least I got a few:

No line when it was my turn, but it got busy later.

Cooling off before the run...

They were so happy I was there, one dude started breakdancing.

Getting the lead hooked up.

Strapped down.

Ready to roll!

The results:
Best Torque: 253.7 lbs-ft; Best Power: 201.5 HP (4th gear pulls, ~65 degF)

I also got to meet several of the Deldubs crew there. It was great hanging out with you guys, and finally putting faces to the screennames!

Forge Short Shift Kit

2007-10-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

This is an easy, fun mod, and one that I'll enjoy every drive from now on.... If you have a manual transmission A3 (or GTI or GLI) you have got to get a short shifter! I'm sure some other brands are good as well, but I can definitely vouch for the Forge SSK for excellent quality and feel.

Not a lot of pictures this time.... for one thing, I was chasing the last bit of daylight. Also, after I pulled off the original shift linkage I was way too greasy to touch the camera.

There are two items that you need for the full kit - the main front-to-back shift linkage, and the side-to-side linkage.

Since the kit is made to fit several different VW/Audi models, it comes with various fittings for the shift cable attachment. There are a smaller pin, a larger (thicker) pin, and a ball attachment. You will need the larger/thicker pin and corresponding nut for both linkages for the A3; you can discard/store the rest.

About the nuts.... this was the only less-than-perfect part of the kit. The nuts have washers fixed to one side. You must assemble things with the washers towards the bracket. However, the washers prevented the nuts from threading on correctly at first. I had to 'chase' the threads by running the nuts on backwards, then turn them around and assemble them properly. My suggestion to Forge was to replace those with nylock nuts, and I received this response clarifying why these were used:

They are referred to as "all-metal prevailing torque lock nuts", and they apply tenstion to the threads in an almost identical manner to Nylok style nuts but they use the metal of the nut itself instead of a separate substrate which has the potential to wear.
[...]
Additionally, by using the prevailing torque nuts, when tightened to the proper torque specs. (25 nm) as listed in the instructions, there is virtually no chance of them coming loose over any amount of time. We have had versions of this product using the same type of hardware installed on numerous vehicles for well over a year with absolutely zero issues before we released them into the market.

Both parts of the linkage have slots that the pins fit into. The most 'out' or 'up' position on the respective slot is the same position as the stock pieces. The most 'in' or 'down' position on the slot is the shortest shifter movement. Trust me - just set it at the shortest position.

The white plastic 'slider' that joins the two linkage parts is more robust than the stock one, and wraps above and below the channel that it slides in (the stock one does not). This shows how the two pieces fit together.

Installation was a lot quicker than I've seen other people claim for short-shifters. The longest time was spent assembling the pins into the two parts of the linkage. It took a while because of the nut/washer issue that I mentioned above, and because when tightening the nut/pin it would 'walk' in the slot a bit. I wound up sticking something in the slot to block it and make sure that the pin stayed all the way at the shortest position as it was tightened. I was sure wanted it in that position so I used Loctite Threadlocker (BLUE) to make sure neither pin comes loose. At first I was concerned about what would happen if the nut loosened and the pin slipped in the slot, then I realised that it is totally a non-issue. First, when properly tightened there should be no loosening of the nuts at all (see above). However, if a nut did loosen enough for the pin to slip in the slot, it would just wind up slipping back to the stock position. You'd wind up with a bit of slop and a longer throw, but would never be stranded and unable to shift. I also inquired about the design choice of the infinitely-adjustable slot, and Forge's response was:

As for the adjustment, numerous other shifters on the market use multiple selectable pivot points in their offerings, which is all well and good, but many people find certain predetermined settings to not be to their liking, i.e. too much reduction or not enough. We decided to offer an infinitely adjustable mechanism to allows users to find a setting that best suits their individual needs.

Actually removing/reinstalling is soooo easy. I didn't even remove the engine cover/intake. Yes, you actually can reach in and do it. if you have an aftermarket intake, it will block the space you need to reach into, but the stock intake doesn't really. The worst part of swapping the linkage is removing the ring clips on the three pins. They pop off easily, but that's part of the problem - they'll go flying off and get lost somewhere. Luckily, the one that flew off on me bounced around and fell through to the ground under the car, so be careful popping them off.

Start by taking off the two clips that hold on the shift cable ends, and slide the cable ends off the pins. The 13mm nut on the linkage comes off easily with a socket, then I used the ratchet handle to pry up on the linkage to get it off the splined shaft. There is a third clip holding on the side-to-side linkage, then it slides out. NOTE: there are 2 plastic bushings (inner and outer) on the pin that mounts the side-to-side linkage. They have to be put in place for the new linkage.

I used one of the red grease packets included to lube all pins and the slider heavily. Installation is the reverse of removal. Here's the quick list of what to do:

Assemble the pins onto the new linkage

Remove 2 clips holding on cable ends, and slide off cable ends

Remove 13mm nut, and remove main linkage from splined transmission shaft

Remove clip holding on side-to-side linkage, and remove the linkage

Locate 2 plastic bushings, one may be stuck on the original side-to-side linkage pin, the other may be in the corresponding hole on the transmission

Lube all pins with red grease

Install 1 plastic bushing on side-to-side linkage, and reinsert it into the hole on the transmission

Insert other plastic bushing into other end of hole around that pin, and reinstall the ring clip

Mate up the 2 linkage pieces at the slider, and fit the new main linkage onto the splined shaft. It only goes on one way

Install and tighten the 13mm nut holding the linkage to the transmission

Put the cable ends on their respective pins, and install the clip on each

Put up your tools, degrease your hands, and go drive!

That's really all there is to it. Everything between 'assemble the pins' and 'clean up' should take you 20 minutes.

Fom casual observation of the linkage, it looks stock. It won't attract attention from a service tech looking at it, but anyone who drives the car would have to be an idiot not to notice.

The important question is "how does it feel?" It feels great! It's awesome - it actually feels like the RX-8, which is good: short, solid, more mechanical than stock, shiftable with wrist motion. I used to have a BMW 328i with a Z3 shift linkage, and this is just as short-throw but much smoother. This is absolutely how they all should feel right from the factory. No separate alignment/adjustment of the shift lever was needed or called for in the instructions, and every gear engages smoothly and without any excessive force. It's weird the first time you drive it because you think it's not going into gear, then you realise that it already is in gear, you're just used to the sloppy, long throws of the stock shifter.

Like I said at the start, if you have a 6MT, you NEED one of these. Don't settle for another brand of shift linkage that doesn't include entirely new side-to-side linkage. There's only one other brand I'd consider (Dieselgeek), but it removes the original cable ends, requires additional adjustment, and definitely does not look stock. I'm not saying that there's anything at all wrong with the DG one as a product, but for my preferences the Forge one was the best solution.

Forge Diverter Valve

2007-09-26T00:33:00.000-04:00

One more issue resolved.

At first I was planning on one of the ATP adapters with recirculating valve plumbed into an ATP intake. Then Eurocode came out with a package of the ATP adapter with a fake GReddy valve (or a real one at extra charge). I was unimpressed with Eurocode's marketing of the bundle, and after people tried it and problems became known, I was unimpressed with the technical aspect of it as well.

In looking for a better solution I contacted Forge, and was told that they were working on a solution that would be a fresh design, would have some manner of maintaining computer control over the valve, and would be a robust piston valve with NO rubber diaphragm to fail. Based on their reputation for quality piston-type valves, I decided to wait and see what they came up with. A few people (including me) knew what they were working on, and the design changed a little bit as time went on.

Development of the valve took quite a while, but the end result is a really slick valve that will *not* fail (unlike the clunky stock valve with its gossamer hymen of a diaphragm), works off of pressure & vacuum, and has a clever external solenoid valve arrangement to maintain computer control over what is essentially a mechanical valve. As an added bonus, the vacuum line tap has fittings to accommodate a boost gauge and another device in addition to the valve. Forge's designation for this part is FMFSITV.

I wanted to get one as soon as it was released, but I put it off until I was sure how my A/C compressor issues were going to be resolved. When I finally ordered it, it was on backorder for a few weeks. I was really anxious to get it since my stock valve had seen better days.

The contents of the package:

The 3-port vacuum tap. You can see that there are three nipples provided - the largest-diameter one is used for the diverter valve, the smallest-diameter one would be for a boost gauge, and the third one would be for some other device, if needed. If you're just installing the valve, the small threaded plugs shown are used in place of the other two nipples. When making up that assembly, you definitely need to use Locktite Threadlocker (BLUE) to make sure everything stays together (Locktite BLUE is removable, RED is permanent, don't use RED unless you mean it):

In the upper left of the picture is the solenoid valve that controls the vacuum/pressure acting on the actual diverter valve. The thicker black tubing to the left is the used to make up the vacuum tap assembly:

The vacuum tap with the correct nipple + 2 plugs installed:

The valve itself:

It's made up of several pieces - the main valve body, the screw-off cap (ring+top), the piston, and the internal spring, coated internally with a red high-temperature lube.

They provided more than enough silicone vacuum tubing for the install:

Up on ramps, ready to start...

The original diverter valve on the turbo, viewed from below:

Turbo with diverter valve removed, seen from below. There are three bolts on the valve, don't remove the similar one on the oil line bracket just below it:

Always looking for a better way to do things, I decided not to mount the solenoid valve directly to the diverter valve. Forge claims it can be mounted anywhere within reach of the wiring harness that would plug into it, so I relocated it up to where it would be farther away from water, debris, etc. The two lengths of tubing shown attached to the base and cap fittings of the valve are 18" and 22" respectively:

I zip-tied the solenoid to the wiring chase near the ABS controller. It's more protected, easier to keep an eye on, and farther away from the heat of the turbo than if it were bolted to the diverter valve. The two tubes shown above go down to the diverter valve, and then the longer run of tubing goes to the vacuum source.

Here's the vacuum tap installed. It's very subtle when done right, very stock looking, and will be convenient to add a boost gauge later:

The valve installed on the turbo (sorry for the blurry picture, it's not the easiest spot to get a camera into):

When I removed my valve, it completely fell apart as I pulled it away from the turbo. I mean, the piston, the diaphragm, the spring, the pin, the plastic ring.... WIth the new valve in place, it's like a whole different car. MUCH more power, less lurching off the line and during shifts (of course, the dogbone insert helps with that, too). This has been another good mod for me, and highly recommended for anyone with a 2.0T FSI engine.

Subsequent to installing the valve, I asked Forge what maintenance needed to be performed on the valve, and at what intervals. Forge's response:

Valve maintenance is not necessarily a requirement though it can be done at whatever interval you choose based on various factors.

We have a test valve installed on a 1.8T Audi TT 225 in the UK which has been installed and operating for over the last 5 years without having ever been serviced once. It holds vacuum and pressure perfectly fine just as if it were brand new.

With that in mind, however, as dust, dirt or other debris may periodically enter the system, and possibly contaminate the grease inside the valve, depending upon your geographic location and/or other driving conditions, we would recommend at least checking the valve every so often, at least once a year or so, and clean and regrease it if you feel it's needed on your particular car.

We build the valves with Mobil1 fully synthetic bearing grease, however, any other brand of fully synthetic grease should suffice. We do not recommend the use of lithium grease as it can be corrosive to the o-rings inside the valve, nor do we condone using any sort of motor oil, spray lubricants or anything else aside from a fully synthetic bearing grease. The comment on the [motor] oil [is] directly meant to discourage anyone who thinks that motor oil is a "cure-all" lubricant when it is not even remotely suitable for lubricating a component like our valve [instead of the Mobil1 fully synthetic bearing grease].

(Edited for clarity - Len)

(Thanks to local Deldubs member '92rado2.8' for the use of his ramps!)

ECS Dogbone Mount Insert Installed

2007-09-25T23:33:00.000-04:00

This particular part is available from several vendors. I preferred the one from ECS. because they include a new stretch bolt, where some of the other vendors don't. More on that below.

Unlike some of my other installations, I'm not going to do a step-by-step with pictures description of installing this part. The reason is that excellent documentation already exists from ECS (PDF). I'll just add some personal observations.

First, this thing is a lot larger than I had imagined it from pictures. I imagined it being about 3/4 as big as it actually is.

Second, it's a lot squishier than I anticipated. I thought it would be pretty much rigid, and was really surprised when I found how flexible it is. I thought, "you've *got* to be kidding - how can you push this in?" I'm not used to pushing things into a tight opening that aren't pretty rigid, no matter how much lube is involved.

With the car raised I removed the original bolt in the 'dogbone' mount. The original bolt takes a 21mm socket, and came loose much easier than I thought it should. I lubed up the insert, and lined it up on the rubber bushing. It started in pretty easily, then no amount of arm force would budge it. Time for Plan B.

Plan B was a hydraulic bottle jack. I set it against the edge of the insert and jacked it enough to push the insert in a few milimetres, then backed it off, repositioned and repeated. This worked great, and working in small increments got the whole insert firmly seated into the bushing.

The small washer goes INSIDE the hole in the insert, then the larger disk on top of it. The bolt supplied requires a 22mm socket.

If you're not familiar with stretch bolts, the idea is that the bolt is designed where the threads pull the bolt down and stretch the neck so that the head of the bolt applies extra tension against the fastening surface. It takes advantage of the tensile properties of the bolt, but at the same time it inherently weakens the bolt. Therefore, a stretch bolt must not be tightened more than spec, and must never be re-used.

The way a stretch bolt is tightened is with two separate steps: It's tightened to a specified torque value, and then 'angle torqued' for a specified amount. In the case of this bolt used in the insert, it is first tightened to 74 pounds-feet of torque, then it is rotated for an additional 90degrees (no more, no less) (expressed as 74 lbs-ft + 1/4 turn, or 74 lbs-ft + 90deg.) Tightening this bolt to 74 lbs-ft was easy enough with a torque wrench, but that last 90deg turn was a bitch. I wasn't taking any chances, so I coated the threads with LocTite Threadlocker (BLUE) before I assembled it.

Having installed the insert, I'm kicking myself for not having done it earlier. Seriously, it's the best $40 you can spend on the car. For anyone who claims that it increases any vibration, I have one question: "what are you, nuts?". This smoothed out everything quite noticeably. It idles smoother, and got rid of a lot of the lurching and generally crappy feel when starting off or shifting. When people say it improves the feel of shifts, it's not the actual 'shift' that feels any different, it's the clutch engagement *after* the shift that's improved. This is definitely $40-worth of value and improvement in feel. Now I'd like to do the full VF-Engineering engine mount kit, but I'm not sure that it has the same cost-benefit as just this insert alone.

I highly recommend this for anyone with a manual-transmission A3 (or GTI or GLI).

SETTLEMENT!

2007-09-25T22:59:00.000-04:00

I have a resolution to my failed A/C compressor saga. (previous articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Since my last post, it failed *again* on the 13th of August. Of course they couldn't get me in to deal with it for a week. Another failed compressor.

When I got the car back, I wasn't satisfied with how well it cooled. A few days later, it stopped cooling altogether. I don't mean inadequate cooling, I mean none at all. The low-pressure line from the compressor was ambient temperature, and not sweating. There were some green stains around the low-pressure fitting on the line so I took off the cap and saw BUBBLES OF DYE in the schraeder valve. I had an A/C gauge, so I checked the pressure and it was low.

I took the car in to the dealer, and my service writer wouldn't even talk to me. He immediately got the service manager. The service manager immediately went into CYA mode - first he tried to claim that there was nothing wrong with it, then said they'd 'check it out'. No loaner, they gave me a ride to work.

Later that day they picked me up and claimed that it was blowing 32degF at the vents (yeah, right). They had evacuated the system and recharged it from scratch. (In fact, it *has* been working nominally since that time.) He also denied there was any leak, but assured me they had 'verified' that the schraeder valve was tight. Just like before, ONLY the service manager would deal with me, and everyone else eyed me suspiciously while I was there. Hardly a welcoming customer service experience.

They also refused to cover the scratch and scuff on the rear bumper that *they* caused while it was in their care. Instead, the service manager helpfully suggested that I use their body shop when I pay for it out of pocket.

At about this time, my attorney contacted me and said that Audi had made a settlement offer. It was an absurdly low offer, and we countered with a much higher amount (the max my attorney said I could possibly get), and a request to extend the warranty to unlimited years/100k miles. Of course Audi didn't go for it, and countered with an offer midway between what they had started at and what we had countered with, plus warranty extension to 5 years/60,000 miles (up from the standard 4/50). The settlement also stipulates that I cannot sue Audi for *anything* else related to this car, and prevents me from suing the dealer either. I accepted the offer.

The cash amount is small. How small? Well, let's just say that after covering my payments for the time the car was out of service, paying to fix the bumper damage that the dealer caused, and paying insurance, there's about enough left for a bottle of water and a pack of mints. To me, the warranty extension is more important: if they keep screwing up the compressor repair, they'll keep paying to repair it for a longer period of time. Also, Audi had to pay my attorney's fees, so it's a decently symbolic pound of flesh.

Tow-hook Cover Retention

2007-07-15T20:30:00.002-04:00

I did this a while ago, but neglected to post it.

The rear tow-hook covers on the A3 tend to pop off randomly. Replacing them is expensive and a hassle since they come unpainted and have to be painted to match. It seems to happen more with the S-Line rear valence, but has been reported to happen with the standard valence as well. If only there was some way to keep it from getting lost....

Here's the panel I'm referring to. You press in at the bottom to pop it out of the bumper valence.

Here's the part number in case you need to order one (standard valence, not S-Line) 8P4 807 441:

Here's the panel open, and hey, what's this? Those holes are awfully convenient...

The universal fix-it part, a zip-tie, strategically applied...

One less thing to worry about. Just leave enough slack in the zip-tie to allow the panel to open and close normally.

Interestingly, the cover for the front one has an integrated retainer:

Mid-July Photos

2007-07-15T20:30:00.001-04:00

The St. Georges Bridge over the Delaware (D&C) canal...

St. Augustine Beach, with the Delaware River estuary in the background....

The Park Under the St. Georges Bridge...

There's a story behind this picture, but I'll tell it later...

Debadged Rear - Completely

2007-07-15T20:30:00.000-04:00

I did this mod a couple of weeks ago, but finally took pictures today.

The "2.0T" badge didn't make it home from the dealer. The "A3" badge got removed last December. I've been wanting to do the OOOO and finally decided to go for it. Every time I wash or wax the car it drove me nuts to have dirt/crud/wax in the crevices around the rings. After my recent A/C compressor saga I had no desire to be a rolling advertisement for Audi, and it's not important to me to show off what I drive. Actually, being really low-key would make it less of a target for jealous people.

I let it heat up in the sun for a while, used a thin piece of plastic to get it started and just peeled it off. The glue residue left behind got cleaned off with Goo-Gone. I then claybar'd the panel and worked it over with Meguiars No. 7 Show Car Glaze and No. 26 Yellow Wax.

The result is exactly what I wanted. Next step on the way to extreme debadging: blank centre caps for the wheels.

Cool again - Second New Compressor Installed

2007-07-03T09:54:00.000-04:00

Friday I got the call that the new (again) compressor had arrived. We agreed that Monday would be the best time to come in, since they wouldn't do it 'til then anyway.

Dropped the car off Monday (one week after the most recent compressor failure) at about 10:15. No loaner, they gave me a ride. Got a call at 14:25 that it was done, they sent the shuttle to pick me up.

They claim to have flushed the system but it is NOT listed on the work order, neither is a part number for a flush kit.

They did NOT replace the receiver/dryer cartridge again as they should have.

The compressor has a note "Vendor Code is DENSO", part number is 1K0 820 859 E. At least this clarifies that it is in fact the latest model compressor. If it fails again, it can only be due to improper installation.

They did not replace the belt even though it had been stressed/smoked by the compressor breakage.

So far it is blowing colder than it did the last time I picked it up with the first 'new' compressor. I don't have any confidence in it, though.

They replaced the engine cover mounting peg that they broke the last time, but did NOT resolve the scratched bumper yet. Lastly, there was black grease handprints on the front bumper by the right foglamp. Yeah, I said 'do not wash', but that doesn't mean "don't clean up your grease stains from working".