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66K views 934 replies 80 participants last post by  LT1M21Stingray 
#1 · (Edited)
TO DO LIST:


  • [*] New Starter install
    [*] Repair rear seat-heater plug
    [*] Upholster bottom of seats
    [*] Re-upholster wheel well to black
    [*] Undo the modded cluster
    [*] install undertray
    [*] Install new air box
    [*] Determine what the random wire is in the door

    [*]Metal diverter valve (PSH PSH PSHHHHH)
  • right hatch light is out
  • windshield wiper hoses+wiring
    [*]mfts sensor plug wiring
    [*]fuel system clean+flush
    [*]only one speaker functions (front passenger)
    [*]034 Fuel battery relay install
    [*]wheel well repair + install
    [*]sound deadening in rear (wheel well and floor)
  • stromung exhaust
  • complete bushing replacement on everything
  • ceramic+powder coating of turbo+downpipe
  • wiring cleanup + heat shielding
  • wheels (ENKEI RPF1 looks like it is the ticket)
  • Possibly an IR to RF conversion
    [*]Clean and repaint intercooler (not black enough)
  • patch hole in passenger side fender -- possibly find replacements
  • find and bolt on an injector cover
    [*]relocate/shield the LS2 coils
  • find a rubber boot for hatch wiring
    [*]fix all temperature/pressure gauges
    [*]replace clock with boost gauge (in cluster) - booooo this sucks
    [*]re-mount ECU (it's not bolted in)
  • Windshield replacement
  • register the car
  • drive car


So I am finally delving into the project car realm. I'm not too scared of things breaking, more concerned with buying a 1995 Audi in general. SoldOverSticker was a complete gentleman and went and looked at the car for me and I decided to pull the trigger. I know 2Bennet is the go-to for parts for these things, and the guy I am buying it from is heavily involved in the California racing scene so it's got all kinds of goodies coming with it.

Any of you ever own a URS6/4? Teach me about them. Enjoy the ride.




 
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#496 ·
Hadn't considered putting anything on there. From what I have heard, the stock gaskets are extremely nice. In fact, stock pretty much everything in these motors is way overbuilt and high quality due to the homologation reasons. The question I have if it IS a bent valve is what to replace it with. Will it cause any issues if I get an aftermarket "oem" replacement? If it is just 4 valves in the end then I will spring for a nicer Supertech valve or something anyways, which are about $20 each.
 
#498 ·
104848
104849

104850
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So there's your problem.


I've ordered a bunch of things. I'm still curious about getting new valve springs though. It's not like I am pumping a massive amount of power but I also worry these are just so worn out. The only replacements are like $500.

I've asked for a quote from a local shop that seems quite good.

For reference, here's a list of the stuff I have so far. Recommend anything else? I am contemplating ARP main studs. The head studs seem to be in good shape.
104854



FYI yellow means in-cart, green means ordered.

Also, there was a spider in the block. Very likely the bad juju that caused this.
 

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#503 ·
Yes.
For reference, here's a list of the stuff I have so far. Recommend anything else? I am contemplating ARP main studs. The head studs seem to be in good shape.
View attachment 104854


FYI yellow means in-cart, green means ordered.

Also, there was a spider in the block. Very likely the bad juju that caused this.

In terms of your list, it's fine if you wanna use that metal thermostat but the OEM ones last 20+ years. The big things you are missing are:

Billet T Flange Coolant connector:

Billet Coolant Flange (back of block)

Crank Lock Tool (order here it's 60-70 cheaper than everywhere else)

AAN Oil Vent Gasket, afaik this is the only place to get this gasket:

1.8T/2.0T coil harness kit:
* although maybe what you have now is fine

Also.... check the head for cracks, AAN heads are notorious for cracking near the valve seats. I got off lucky, no cracks.

Baby steps, and I'm sure whenever you buy a non-op project car in the future you will do a compression test first lol
 
#507 ·
Everything is already ordered, including a bunch from EFIExpress. There are a few things here and there to add. The car already has ARP headbolts and the rods come with ARP headbolts.

Yes, it ran and drove. No, it was not healthy. It would overheat within 30 seconds or so as water did not flow. The passages are in terrible shape and there were clogs throughout the system. The heater core was dead and needed replaced. The cam wheel's keyway was broken off as well. I do not know if the two valves were bent by me or not. It is entirely possible. Either way, it is a good thing that happened because this engine would have died within miles regardless. The coolant passage situation is too dire.
 
#515 · (Edited)
Met up with an awesome guy from the West side named Mark and he showed me his c4 a bit and we chatted about the car. Turns out he knew of the car I bought and almost bought it himself! I guess the seller didn't think it'd make the drive he wanted to do. Imagine that!

Anyways, I picked up some stock coils from him. I don't need them anymore I don't think, but I still wanted to honor the deal. Also it comes with the coil cover which I needed as well as mine is all hacked up (due to my grinder skills).

He also convinced me I need Vems when he pulled out and launched it. Glorious.
 
#541 ·
Oil filter housing getting prepped for blasting. This one was a tossup but since I am going this far I may as well do everything I can. Once again, this was thoroughly cleaned out afterwards. The worst thing that could happen is having a bunch of sand stuck in there. It will receive a full Chem Dip bath as well and then another full clean and acetone bath before coating.













And finally, here are the results of some of the other things I sandblasted after they were cleaned off. This was actually phase one of the sandblasting as you will see in a future post.



You can see a mix of all the pipes and other little auxiliary pieces of the engine. Up next: Cerakoting, v2!
 
#542 ·
Update: Driveshaft things

Before I start I want to just say that the driveshaft is not broken. Well, the unit itself isn't. The carrier bearing is broken and the whole thing is covered in rust. I treated it and painted over it but that was before I had higher standards.
I started off with removing the stock carrier bearing. I accidentally cut just a tin bit into the bearing but it will be fine. It doesn't actually spin on that side, it will be "gabbed" by the new carrier bearing.









JXB carrier bearing acquired. Expensive as can be, but well worth it. They even sent me some extra rubber strips to fill in the gap that the stock rubber would have filled in. While I was at it you can see I started cleaning some stuff up. I just did this using wire wheels. I think it actually did a decent job of removing a lot of the rust. That was until I purchased a pipe sander and made a real dent in it. Check it.









I will be applying some sort of treatment to this which is to be determined. Unfortunately the Cerakote I have will not adhere properly to a polished surface, however, there are some solutions that may. This was a pretty quick little project that remedied a lot of the rust concerns I had. I will also treat it with some spay-on rust converter before painting.
 
#543 ·
Update: Cerakote v2

This is the second attempt at applying Cerakote to parts on my Audi S6. The parts come in various shapes and sizes but I think I can handle it.
This time I went with something new. I wanted to try a "natural" look and test out a clear coat medium temp solution. The exact color is Clear Coat Aluminum, specifically intended to adhere to polished aluminum surfaces. Turns out it doesn't look great if you apply it to sandblasted iron. I think it'd look great on a car going for a natural look or "rat" look. The finish was smooth as butter and very stout. I really think I did a good job applying it this time.









Everything was sprayed at 25 PSI. You can see that there was a very slight tinge of color but it was predominantly just a clear coat that made the surface ceramic in nature.




As I said, I really wasn't too hyped on this. In the meanwhile I realized that the black and copper looked quite nice on the engine so why not do that to the whole thing? Well, sort of. Check out the next Cerakote post to see what I mean.
 
#546 ·
And yes, the alternator is included. I got it as torn down as possible before masking and blasting. Unfortunately I was not able to separate the coil and spinny thing all the way, so I had to mask it off instead. Not ideal, but it works fine. I will make extra sure to get rid of the sand in there.


















As you can see above, this is quite the process. It's really not difficult but I wanted to make sure I did not destroy the thing. Also note the label maker. Once again, it is important to keep things organized if possible.
 
#548 ·
Now some before and afters! This is the fun stuff. Also, no promises on having either before or after pics. Sometimes I just get in the zone and forget to take pictures.









Above you can see the normal parts I have covered as well as some new billet parts I got from EFI Express. They were anodized I believe, which I do not like. They also didn't match the color palette I am going for. The large rectangle piece is from Ultra Performance out of the UK. It's a replacement heat shield for the corrugated stock piece.
Finally, here is fuel rail. I was on the fence on doing this but I ended up happy with the result. I'm not sure if I am going to Cerakote it in the primary or secondary color yet. Also alternator.




There, ya happy now Smooremin?!
 
#563 ·
We're back at it painting various parts for the S6. When I said painting I really mean Cerakoting. We're doing C-148 Burnt Bronze and C-7600 Glacier Black. All parts were prepped first with sandblasting and then cleaned rigorously with acetone. Let's get to it!

Some cleanup first. It does look like there are some specs but I can assure you I went back over everything and cleaned it before spraying, then sprayed off with air.







First batch of Burnt Bronze. This is by far my best attempt at spraying Cerakote. I think the finish quality is due to the experience I've gained doing other coatings as well as the ability to see the coating as it goes on. One of the problems I had with Glacier Silver (the original coating) is that I could not see it go on very well, thus I had really bad runs. This time I had virtually no runs. It sprayed on very nicely.








 
#565 ·
First batch of Burnt Bronze. This is by far my best attempt at spraying Cerakote. I think the finish quality is due to the experience I've gained doing other coatings as well as the ability to see the coating as it goes on. One of the problems I had with Glacier Silver (the original coating) is that I could not see it go on very well, thus I had really bad runs. This time I had virtually no runs. It sprayed on very nicely.
The outlet of that coolant pipe looks terrible. Are you going to fill in the pits with JB Weld or anything like that?
 
#568 ·
Even MIG welding seems like a lot more effort for a likely inferior result than just using JB weld on something like that. Also, if you were going to weld it, the time to do it was probably before coating the part. Sure you can grind the surface before you start, but I'd be worried about the fumes from the remnants of the coating that will remain in the pits.
 
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#576 ·
Hot take here but I'm actually not a huge fan of silicone radiator hoses.
If your alignment is off or the surface finish is iffy on the neck theyre sitting on I've had issues with leaking after heat cycles. And of course you gotta use the nice overlapping lined clamps, but that's probably good practice anyway

That said, most of the really high end stuff with the different colored inner layer seems to grab hold better but I'm usually hesitant to use silicone if there's other options


Carry on! 😀
 
#609 ·
Well, I finally grabbed probably the biggest tool I could get when it comes to workshops. I've put it off for years because welding always seemed to be unattainable for a normal problem. After a bunch of research and running into one too many problems with my S6 that required welding something I did not have the expertise nor tools to weld, I picked one up.

The Primeweld 225x is incredibly well regarded in the welding community and an absolutely fantastic welder for the price. It does tig and stick with loads of different options. I picked it up as well as some accessories and a steel welding table. To my surprise it all came on the same day!









You can see the table is a reasonable size and came with a bunch of clamps that I can use right off the bat. The welder also fits perfectly between the bottom rails. I'll likely end up getting a plate for it to sit on just to protect the welder, but I was pleasantly surprised. Now all that is left is a bunch of acetone and a bottle of argon and I can start practicing! The welder kit also comes with a nice CK worldwide 40 degree bendable torch, some different cups, a foot pedal, and even a thumb switch.

The whole unit cam packaged very securely in very nice open-cell foam. The foam was so nice I ended up re-using it to house my cylinder head and block for the S6! Check out below to see it all together.

 
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