My very own update thread by BaseDrifter

4 minute(s) of a 155 minute read

After hearing praise from a couple of members here, I went ahead and purchased the eBay B&M replica shifter. And boy am I glad I did. First impressions with it installed are good. Not only are the throws crisper and shorter, most of the slop has been cleaned up as well.

I was glad I had the B&M instructions though, would've been a real hassle otherwise. I ran into a couple hiccups with the install. I ended up removing the center console and dash to make it easier to work in that area. While I had the center console out I replaced the two flimsy pop-up cupholders, one was broken and the previous owner gave me a new one to install.

I also reinstalled my Forge 007 since I've ruled out the DV being the cause of my boost problems.

Anyone in the bay area have vagcom and would be able to scan for codes? I may just end up purchasing a legit ross-tech cable.

2-11-2012

Wow. Its been a long long time since I updated my own update thread.

I'm currently living in Prague for a study abroad program. I've been here for about 4 months now and will be returning to San Francisco at the end of May or June. I'm studying for two semesters at the University of Economics, Prague or Vysoká Škola Ekonomická V Praze.

I still have my A4 and its being driven once a week or so by my dad. Words can't describe how much I miss driving though. This is the longest I've gone without driving since I got my license.

As far as updates to the car: I solved my boost problem first of all. When I installed my 007 DV I also installed one of the shims in it. I made the foolish mistake of installing it at the top of the DV...blocking the vacuum port and throwing me into limp mode. As soon as I moved the shim to the correct position I was back to full boost with no problems.

I did end up purchasing an ebay vagcom cable and have been using VCDS Lite. I had a misfire problem that I was able to track down to bad coil packs. I replaced all 4 coilpacks, installed a new battery, and switched to full synthetic Redline oil (can't remember the exact weight offhand.) I've started replacing all the vacuum lines as well, but still have some work to do.

In the process of changing my rear differential fluid, the fill plug stripped itself round. After ordering a new fill plug and lots of pounding, I got the old plug out and the fluid changed. The transaxle fluid was also replaced with Redline synthetic at the same time.

I modified my R8 oil cap so that it sits straight now and is no longer crooked. Just a small fix, but it was something that had always bugged me. I also trimmed the carbon fiber Carbonio intake cover so that it sits flush with the firewall (it was getting hung up on the hard fuel lines) and can actually be used. I have to mock up a new mounting solution though, right now its just zip tied in place.

No additional progress has been made on polishing the intake manifold, that will resume when I get back from europe.

Before leaving for Prague I picked up a set of S4 sway bars which proved to be a fantastic upgrade for $100. Oh! How could I forget...I got a new set of tires. I can't remember exactly what they are (its been a little while), but they are 225/55/R16 I believe.

For the interior I got my GPS hardwired in, got my new shift boot, cleaned up the wiring for my shift ****, installed and wired up the facelift vent housings, installed a 3 spoke sport steering wheel, and picked up a set of the now discontinued pedal covers with "A4" in the Audi font on them.

I think that about covers everything that has happened to the car since my last update.

I can post some pictures from Prague or my travels if anyone is interested. I spent a month by myself in January backpacking and couch surfing, heading south/east.

Prague - Munich - Innsbruck - Verona - Venice - Trieste - Rijeka - Zagreb - Plitvice - Zadar - Split - Sarajevo - Zagreb - and back to Prague.