Nice progress!!!
You have to add a full pic of the engine bay...post work.
Good job

 

Car's running great, idles smoothly and is quiet mechanically. Can't beat the Quattro and Blizzaks up here. Waiting for the 2 new O2 sensors and wrench, seaching for the engine top cover fuel rail-based mounting brackets (I'm convinced they're around here somewhere!!!) and then going to replace a couple of burnt out dashboard lights. Say anybody ever done an R&R on the gear indicator panel on the dash? That sucker's NEVER worked. . .Thinking about pulling it and sending it off to Module Masters, which I've heard about but never worked with. And I'm still holding out for any ideas on how to tighten up those blasted seatbelt retractors! Slammed the driver's belt in the door yesterday. . . Pics to follow. . .

 

Look in the DIY section of Audiworld.. theres an article about replacing the little gear indicator lights with some from Radio Shack... Something I need to do as well.

 

Living at 8,000' and therefore surrounded by nature and. . .animals, I awoke at 0400 hours this morning (Yikes! ) with an inspiration/idea about those blasted missing Engine Top Cover:Fuel Rail Mounting Brackets. I dont know about the rest of you out there, but my own cognitive dissonance kept me reviewing in my mind a possible solution and was increasingly convinced that they were around here somewhere. Well, you've all heard of the "Rat Pack," that band of Las Vegas Entertainers (Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, etc.) right? Well that name is derived from Pack Rat!!!! We got 'em up here and, to be more precise, we've got one in our garage attic residing for the winter. They're amazing little fellas, collect just all kinds of stuff from one's house for their nests, are a bit sloppy in their home building and tend to leave a trail of debris all pointing to their home/nest. Discovered one up there about 1 month ago and decided to leave it alone until the spring when I'll trap him and relocate him elsewhere. They're pretty harmless other than making a mess of things as they rummage through my junk for his junk!!!! So, I awake at this very, very early hour with the idea that maybe, just maybe, I'll find those two brackets in his collection and . . .sure enough, there they are! Take a look at the two pics of the Crime Scene!!!!! He's not gonna be happy with my retaking of those brackets, but I'm sure we'll negotiate some kind of settlement. Amazing animals. . .I had those brackets on my makeshift workbench, the hood and trunk of our '74 BMW 2002tii. They were with ALL the other parts and pieces for the job including scores of screws, nuts and bolts and he never touched anything else except those TWO brackets, nabbed them and took them one by one up the stairs and into the attic!!!! Glad it's ended this way and just had to share this hillarious end to the missing brackets.



Pack Rat
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright
pack rat rodent of the genus Neotoma, of North and Central America, noted for its habit of collecting bright, shiny objects and leaving other objects, such as nuts or pebbles, in their place; also called trade rat or wood rat. Most common in the southern and western parts of the United States, but found as far south as Nicaragua, the pack rat stores the objects it collects to decorate its nest. The rodent may reach a length of 18 in. (45.7 cm) including tail, has soft brown fur, and resembles a squirrel with large ears. It eats nuts, berries, seeds, twigs, and roots. Its nest is a large stick structure built in a sheltered area. The desert species adorns its nest with bits of cactus, turning it into an impenetrable fortress. A litter is born after a gestation period of 33 to 39 days and contains from two to six young. Pack rats are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, family Cricetidae.
...

 

HA! Now thats funny

 

Well, as much as a hobby car is ever complete, at least in the engine compartment, here's some pics from me and my parnter the Pack Rat. Running great and I'm off on a 240 mile trip with it in the morning.

Am not hearing from anyone on the seatbelt retractor service so I'm guessing I'll provide some input when I tackle the job. Going to wait for much warmer weather because the basic formula for doing that kind of job is: COLD + PLASTIC = BAD! I know the B pilar panels need to pop off and don't want to break them. . .

In closing for the moment, I'm acutely aware that I could NEVER have successfully and expiditiously done this top-end job without the wise help of all of you on this Forum. Thanks to all and I'll be back. . .

 

Well now, that looks much better

As for the seatbelts, no clue. My drivers side was really slow to retract when I first got the car, but does it reasonably fast now.. My guess is a good cleaning/lube is in order.

Have fun on your trip and good luck!

 

Hey to all my Audi buddies! Car's running great and I've purchased a code reader and downloaded the VAG-COM shareware software, successfully removed the "Check Engine" warning light after replacing the O2 sensors. Wondering if anyone knows how to remove the SI warning light on the odometer display with this software? Can't seem to find the protocol for doing it. . .Loving this car, once again, in the middle of winter and sure glad I'm not under the hood now!

 

So I went up to the attic yesterday and happened to go through the Pack Rat's "kit." Found 5 of the suspected 6 plastic clip-on spark plug wire retainers that attach to the fuel rails! Got 'em installed today and have also determined that the VAG-COM shareware does NOT allow for the SIR reset. That'll cost me $99.00 for the license, which I may do. It'd likely cost that much to take it to someone. . . May just live with the start-up flashing prompt, "In-2" 'cause I haven't decided if it's worth the $99.00. . .

 

I leave mine.. Doesnt bother me.

Do you have the 409.1 ross-tech?