Well the wheels finally came in and I immediately slapped some tires on them and bolted them on the car. What do you think?

newbraidsbig by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Then I took it out to the lake for Memorial Day.
photo2 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

photo by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr


In case you're curious the wheels are BRAID Serie 6 R 3 piece, 15x8 with 225/50-15 Kumho tires.

 

wheels look good bro

 

Grp b?

 

GRP B = Group B = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_B

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AySSy3J8Yvc

 

Sorry chaps, it's been a while since I have had chance to update this thread. I'd like to think that since putting the BRAID wheels on the car our sales have gone through the roof and I have just been too busy fulfilling orders to post. Well, that's only half the case, I've also been kept busy keeping cars on the road. None of my four cars, including this one, have been behaving themselves so far this summer but at least it gives me plenty to write about here. So what's been going on? Well:

The first hiccup of the season became apparant when the car became hard to start. I'd noticed lately I'd had to turn the key a little more "aggresively" sometimes but then it became impossible to get the car to turn over at all. Thankfully it did this at the shop and not 1000 miles from home. It was clear contact was not being made in the ignition switch and all kinds of horrors about getting a new one and taking apart the steering column went through my mind. As it turned out it was surprisingly simple to sort out on both fronts. First off, my local O'rielly's had the switch on the shelf. God knows why but bless their little Irish souls non the less. Now, to put it in. I approached with trepidation but needn't have. AllData give pretty explicit instructions.

Remove the steering wheel, column shround and indicator stalks. Then pry off the spring washer that holds on the spring and you are left with this:
igswitch3 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Then you remove that pinch bolt and the ignition switch housing slides up the column and lands on your bench:
igswitch1 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Just remove that small phillips head screw to relaese the switch and pop in the new one. Needless to say, assembly is the reverse of disassembly but getting the spring wash in place was a little tricky. I used a 19mm impact socket and a hammer to drive it home. You don't need a lot of force, probably because you are supossed to use a new washer but once the steering wheel is back on it can't go anywhere.

Job done. Car's good for the summer but maybe I should just change the oil first. How hard could it be?

So I put the car on lift and look where the oil filter should be and bloody hell, there's two of the buggers! I was so stunned I forgot to take a picture! So off to the store to find a second filter. Apparently it's for the turbo. Why ddin't you guys tell me about this? Well, just before taking off I decide to have a look around under there and WTF is that all over my nice new BRAID wheel?

IMG_0317 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr
CV grease. That's what.
IMG_0318 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Oh man. Ah well. new axle, 20 minutes of a job. How hard could it be. Well, I couldn't find an axle but I did find a CV boot. No, not at O'rielly's this time but my friends at Auto Europe hooked me up with one from Worldpac. Not OE but something appropriately German. They even slapped it on for me once I got the axle out which was a bit of a trial due to the lack of space to maneuver it around.

Undo these at the tranny end
IMG_0321 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Take of the brakes and axle nut
IMG_0320 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

then realize there's not enough room for the axle to slide out of the wheel bearing.
IMG_0323 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Have a cup of tea and then get creative with the jack.
IMG_0324 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Voila. Off to Auto Europe with you.
cv1 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Strip the old boot. Remove the C clip and hit it with a BFH, gently of course.
cv3 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Put on new boot. Run back to shop. Forget to take photo. Installation was the reverse and simple but being in there did inspire me to take on refurbishing the front suspension. So went on a quest for upper strut mounts, anti roll bar bushings, lower ball joints and even some strut inserts.

Drove the car home that night to celebrate. Look, it even made it. But there is a reason it is on the street and not up the driveway.
re by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

More on that later. I need a rest.

 

So, to continue the saga, the reason the car was sitting on the street instead of in my driveway was that I couldn't get reverse, nor, for that matter, 1st or 2nd! It was allright when I left the shop but by the time I was nearing home, about 20 minutes, 1st became 3rd and I kept stalling at the lights 'cause it don't like to set off in 3rd. Shift lever was feeling a bit woolie too.

I nursed it back to my shop the next day, got it on the lift and found the shifter bushing, #27 in the picture below, had distintergrated. This must have hapenned gradually over a number of years and I guess, with the elevated temperatures lately, it just crossed the threshold of being able to move the selector shaft enough to find the outermost gears. Once I fix this it should feel like a short shifter compared with the long throw that I thought was normal.

shift linkage 2 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

The bushing is, of course, no longer available but I found out that 034 Motorsport are making them and I also picked up an OE one from a guy on ebay UK along with some other goodies (see below). Now I have a lifetime's supply.



Apparantly, the short rod, #35 often fails and they are NLA too. Mine seems fine thankfully. The ball on the top of #33 can come loose too but again, mine seems good. It was a little tight in there above the tranny and after finding water in my basement last night I said "Sod this" and booked it in at Auto Europe. As much as I like to work on my cars I just don't have time to tackle this fiddly job with all the other stuff crumbling around me right now. Thank god my Jeep's fixed; and the Subaru moves under its own power too now, sort of.

Some stuff I dd take care of myself though:

I managed to get a gas strut for the trunk. Apparantly it needs two to support the weight of the trunk and that huge spolier and if you only have one like I had it will crash down on your bonce while you are deep in conversation with your spare tire. OUCH!. Couldn't find an OE one at a decent price so went with a Stabilus to match the other side. So much nicer than the stick I was using. Much more civilised.

I've been trying to track down a fuel smell for some time now. It was often there but seemed to be worse with the windows open and after taking some corners, particularly left handers. It was worse the more fuel was in the tank too, I think. Initially I suspected the long breather pipe that goes from roughly the middle of the tank to the filler neck. The original one was very soft so I thought it might be sweating if not actually leaking. I replaced it with a bit of basic hose temporarily and thought it made a bit of a difference but later realised that might have been wishful thinking. I may yet put the original hose back on.

ventpipe by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Later I discovered that the gas cap was getting wet with fuel after spirited drives so I replaced the fuel cap gasket with an OE one from the dealer. So far (not very far actually) so good. Fingers crossed. No picture; it's a round piece of rubber with a big hole in the middle. Use your imagination.

When I initially test drove the car the passenger side window stopped working. Well, not completely. It would just go down a couple of inches, make a horrible grinding noise and stop. Fortunately it decided to go back up so I bought the car anyway. So I finally got a chance to get inside the door motivated by the increasing temperatures and lack of air conditioning in the car. Door card came off easily once I located all the screws and clips (didn't braek any either )
doorcardoff by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

I was happy to find that the wire that pulls the window mechanism had come derailed from the bottom pulley and with a bit of effort I managed to get it back on there. It works now but does make some funny noises sometimes. The same noises the driver's side makes so I figured they are factory. Job done!
windowwire by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

While I was in there I took the opportunity to have a look at the door lock mechanism. The button was going up and down when I operated the driver's side lock but the key was doing nothing in the passenger side, not that one ever uses the key in that side. It did cross my mind that perhaps it was a design feature then I realised, why would they have a lock. Anyway, brain back in gear it soon became apparant that the little plastic ear on the back of the lock had become detached from its actuator rod. Two minutes and a skimmed knucle later it was back on and working as Audi intended all along. Look:
latch by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

While messing around in the cabin with the various ***** and switches I found out that my blower fan goes to ELEVEN. Well, it goes to four but that's amazing as the the panel only indicates 3. It works too; fan goes even faster! I can't for the life of me figure out why the switch goes to 4 while the panel only goes to 3. What were they drinking in Ingoldstat in the mid-eighties?
four by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

I put back the undertray that giudes air to the intercooler. It came with the car but not actually attched to it. I had to do a bit of rally-rigging with some zip ties as it's missing a couple of screw holes now.
undertray1 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Part of my ebay UK haul was a pair of new sun visor clips in more or less the original color. A snap to swap out but they totally transform the car. Handles as if on rails. OK, they hardly made any difference, even to the visors, but it feels good to have replaced more broken stuff.
visor1 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr
visor2 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

More UK parts: dash vents, middle and sides. Only my middle one was broken but it's good to have spares right?

Broken vent. All flippity floppoty:
ventbroken by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

New vent. All nice and together. You can see the tabs that hold it in place too....
vent2 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

....so I know where to stick my screw driver.
vent1 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Maybe I should just leave it like this:
vent3 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Nah!
vent5 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Man, that was a lot of venting.

In the category of interesting aside did you know, Wikipedia says "The Illuminati, a Bavarian secret society, was founded in Ingolstadt..." and my business is called Team Illuminata Motorsport. Coincidence? I'm saying nothing. Schtum!

Now, off to Auto Europe with you Stiggy (Hmm. I think I just named my car)

 

Just got the car back from Auto Europe and it now shifts beautifully

Thanks to Kenny who did a great job and worth every penny to let a professional fiddle with it this time. Here's what came out:
IMG_0493 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

26 year old German rubber. Yuk!

Kenny said the short rod #35 was OK but getting a little worn. I should start looking for one but they are NLA of course. Anyone have one or want to make me one?

shift linkage by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

When I went to pick the car up they had it parked next to a Corrado. Interesting comparison don't you think?

IMG_0491 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0492 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

The Corrado almost looks like a next generation quattro more than the one that actually followed it.

Now the shift libkage is sorted I've started thinking about a suspension rebuild. Have all the bushings bought but Kenny also gave me some NEW Bilsteins for the car. They are actually from a later car but might fit. Anyone know?

IMG_0494 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Also, it looks like my gas cap gasket has solved my fuel smell issues too

 

Am I missing something, literally?

I noticed my front grill was a bit loose along the bottom so had a fiddle with it. All the top clips are in place but I'm not sure what is supossed to hold it in place along the bottom. It seems like it might latch behind the bumper via some tabs but they don't reach high enough. There is evidence of one potential securing device roughly in the center but it may be broken. Can't believe that's athe only means of securing the grill so how do the 85 grills attach, anyone know or care to probe theres?

Some pictures to illustrate:

IMG_0518 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0519 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0520 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0521 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0522 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

 

I've been driving the car quite a bit recently, mostly aolng Woodward Avenue, the venue for the upcoming Dream Cruise. For those of you who are not familiar with this crazy event check out this web site. Basically, Woodward, which is a mile from my house, hosts the biggest car event on the planet next week and has been building up to this climax for the last couple of months. The street is the ultimate car guys hangout during the summer months. I spend way too much time here but the car is a big hit and it can't hurt business. I will skip the actual cruise itself as I'll be at a RallyCross but by then it is so far out of controll as to be not worth it. The preceeding week is the best IMHO with every conceivable type of car on display driving right by you. Here it is taking on two modern iterations of the theme:

IMG_0533 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

So as a result of all this hanging out on Woodward a few issues came to light. First of the car cut out as I was leaving a prime Woodward vantage spot last Friady. I popped the hood/bonnet and fiddled with the ignition equipment looking for anything obvious. The only thing I found out of place was the connector on the side of the distributor which had come loose. The screw holding it on would not thread back into the distrubutor body so I zip tied it in place in proper rally fashion. Car started right up and has been fine since.

IMG_0526 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr


I got it into the shop the next day but could not get the screw to tighten up. It seems as if the threads have stripped so we are sticking with the zip tie for now. I broke the bracket in the process too I have no idea what this connector is for or if it could have caused the engine to cut out like it did but it seems to run fine now.

I did notice the rotor arm seemed a little worse for wear when I looked at it so I cleaned it up with a bit of sand paper for now and ordered a new one for next week.

IMG_0528 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0527 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr


I also had some issues with the driver's window. It wouldn't go back up a few times. I had had this happen once before but disproved it later when it slid up nice and smooth but this time it definately needed some assistance. I've since figured out that it only does this if it's raining or I've jsut washed the car. Seems as if the guides are a little loose so the window can wobble in them and if it's wet stick. Are the guides adjustable or do you have to replace them? I did try to have a look in the door but failed at the first hurdle: I couldn't get the door handle off the door card! Oh, the screws came out OK but I couldn't figure out how to disconnect the wires from the power mirror switch in the handle. I couldn't even create enough slack to rotate and release the top mount so I could see the connector so was doing it blind. Any trcks here or can anyone tell me how it comes apart?


I also need to replace a breather shown below as it it perishing and looks about to fail. Of course it is no longer available new and the generic pipe I had in the shop was too small.

IMG_0529 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0530 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr


Why do I have two heated window switches? Neither of which seem to do anything anyway. The top one even feels broken as it does not flip on or off positively. Why two and what do they do? Are they readily available and easy to replace?

IMG_0531 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr



I found this relay on the floor under the driver's seat.
IMG_0534 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Anyone have any idea what it's for?

See you on Woodward this week?

 

Thanks to some tips from some helpful Audi owners I got into the door again yesterday. The switch does just pry out of the handle and is easy to unplug with the help of a screwdriver:

IMG_0547 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0548 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Then it was easy to get the door card off and find out what is causing my window to stick.

IMG_0550 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Here's one obvious issue. Two of the isolator studs that hold the motor to the door have sheared so the motor flops around under load. Can't be ideal.

IMG_0551 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0552 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Fortunately there was a threaded hole in the motor that lined up with the big hole that I assume was for a hand crank on lesser models. I used a big washer and secured it in place. I couldn't locate it where it wanted to be as it wouldn't clear the big aftermarker speaker that a previous owner added. maybe this is the cause of the shearing.

IMG_0553 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Hopefully that helps though the window still felt loose in its guides. To help I shoved some large cable ties behid the guides to push them out a bit and take up some of the slack. It work somewhat.

IMG_0554 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0555 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

I tried to replace my rotor arm but was supplied with the wrong part. Hole is too small.

IMG_0556 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

I did mange to find a self tapping screw to hold my hall sensor in place though. no more cable ties. Looks almost OE.

IMG_0557 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

I had a go at my over-abundance of heated rear window switches too. I loosened the bezel but it wouldn't come off without removing the steering wheel and indicator stalks. Fortunately I still had enough room to pry out the switches and blank and this is what I found taped up:

IMG_0558 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0560 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Looks like someone nearly had a fire. This might explain the two HRW switches and why one was iffy. The undamaged one wasn't connected to anything nor were there any extra wires back there so I suspect a prevoius owner bought a new switch to try to fix a non-funtioning HRW and just left them both in place when he found the melted mess. Im not sure if I'm going to deal with this one either.

IMG_0559 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

I am wondering if there is a short in the HRW wiring somewhere. I had a quick look in the under-hood fuse box but didn't find a relay for it.

IMG_0561 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

IMG_0562 by Team Illuminata Motorsport, on Flickr

Maybe one day when the dash is apart I'll splice in a new HRW connector for that newer switch.