Sponsored by HUMAN Speakers Tools and Tricks RETURN

Warning!: When it says "I" and "me" in these tips, it's not me, as in Huw. These are a series of saved and edited posts to the audifans.com mailing list, sharing a few interesting workarounds, part numbers and ideas.

Oxygen Sensor, Generic
Rear Caliper Springs
Exhaust manifold gasket orientation
Stainless exhaust manifold studs
Cleaning off pin stripes
"w" Crimper
CIS adjustment hole plug
Motor Flushing / Cleaning
Ur-Quattro door stickers
Plastic radiator shroud
"Tommy bar" tire mount aid
Door hinge & latch lubrication
Making things black again
Leak repair
Fuel line adapters
Driveshaft Bearings


1: 4-wire Universal O2 Sensor. I got this one at the local FLAPS for $45: Bosch 13275

BTW-the 4-wire is a good upgrade to the 3-wire, the difference is that the 4th-wire is an additional ground to the chassis, the 3-wires rely on a ground through the sensor body into the exh. manifold (or whatever they are threaded in), the 4th wire ensures that corrosion never diminishes the ground on the sensor body.

2: Bosch part #13019, it also has 0 258 003 019 009 on the box. It is for an '86 Ford mustang 5.0 its ~$40.

3: Bosch p/n 13913 at Advance Auto, $37.99, bought on 7-5-99. Ask for it by that number. They _can_ look it up that way. I think it showed an 89 Ford Taurus or something.


You must get sick of answering this one, could you please forward me the part #s for the Granada Handbrake Springs. I promise not to lose them again this time.

6141147 & 6141148

There has also been a suggestion that the springs for the Merkur Scorpio are correct for this application.


I'm installing my exhaust manifold on my I-5 engine. The exhaust manifold gaskets have a metal side and a fiber side. Which side goes against the engine? Does it matter?

Metal side towards the cylinder head. Sometimes the #1 & #2 exhaust gaskets need to be trimmed a tad so that the intake gasket will seat properly. BTDT on both engines I've built.


For Huw and others out there who like stainless steel hardware, and dislike the normal breakage of Audi/VW EM Studs, Autotech is now offering stainless steel exhaust manifold studs. Price on their website was $36.95 for a set of 10.


The thing I got is called the Smart Eraser Pad, made by the Astro Pneumatic Tool Company. I found this link, it is about 1/2 the price as I paid for it...

It literally is a big round eraser that you can connect to your drill. The pad spins around and easily removed my pin stripes, it does leave some residue but that is easily removed with some buffing.


any sources for a similar compound crimper that will also crimp the insulation clamp for the uninsulated terminal connectors typically used on vag harnesses?

I think what you want is a Technitool catalog. They have several tools that are appropriate for the crimps used on Audi connectors. The crimp anvil should look like a "W" on one side (or somewhat like a lower-case omega.)


049 133 777 B: CO adjustment plug with a long wire loop handle.

A few weeks ago [an audifan] inquired about the Audi part # for the CO adjustment plug & found out that it's NLA from Audi, they will give you a small aluminum plug. [He] was looking for the plug with a long wire attatched to a small round piece of rubber & got it through Porsche. The part # is 911.110.934.00.


1: I recently bought an'86 with 63k New Mexico miles and took the car temporarily off the road for some "catch-up" maintenance. I used the Gunk motor flush, and after 5 minutes, the old oil came out black as tar. My new oil is 10-40 semisyn spiked w/a qtof Redline to preclude dry-start damage - this is transitional, leading to 15-50 Mobil 1 tri after 1000 mi. With your mileage and leak problems, you might want to try a different approach - conventional oil w/ moly additive. Blaufergnugen sells this + the hi-tack grease

2: There's also Mopar Combustion Chamber cleaner. It removed huge chunks of carbon from the combustion chamber on my 200q20v. I soaked each cylinder with the stuff for hours, then cranked it with the spark plugs out and a rag folded over on top of each plug hole(20v's, its hard to do the process, because the fluid can't splash out of those deep spark plug holes; 10v's are far easier to treat)

The fluid that splashed up along the sides of the plug holes and hit the rag was FULL of little clumps of carbon buildup. I was blown away.

Search around on the 'net for a good hour or two and read up on how to use the stuff before you go and buy some and dump it in. Among other things, you'll generate enormous amounts of white smoke, and the cleaner(when injected with the engine running, as is suggested for an initial treatment), makes the engine run VERY rich and could cause your catalytic converters to go AWOL(probably one of the reasons the can says to do it with the engine warm to the touch, NOT hot.)

Changing the oil is a must after treatment, a good deal of fluid seeps down into the crank when you fill each cylinder with the fluid.

Oh...one final note. If you can rotate the crank so that you can get each piston to TDC let it soak, move the engine to the next piston's TDC, spray the stuff in, let it soak etc, you'll hit the top of the combustion chamber, and not just the piston head. I just used a long screwdriver to figure out which piston was closest to TDC, treated that one, then turned the engine over with the starter, tested again, etc.

Lastly, you'll probably trash the spark plugs in the engine. Have a new set handy.

Some folks let the stuff sit overnight; I found that a few hours was more than enough to free up quite a bit of garbage.


Part #'s from stickers on Ur-Quattro...
857 853 443 01C: Door rings
857 853 687 01C: Audi script left side trunk lid
857 853 737 01C: Quattro script right side lid
(Change the 01C to 97A for silver)


Hey, through quite an odd set of circumstances I found a plastic lower radiator shroud (the one which replaces the fiber board OEM unit) for the QTC and 4kQ and probably Coupe GT applications. This is the same part that I had reported having installed on my QTC, but could not get a part number for. The great thing was that the part was new enough to still have the Audi Part Number tag attached! I don't know if the part is still available or how much it costs, but the number is:

857 121 329B


Lining up the bolts holes with the rotor holes and wheel bolt holes is quite simple if you just use the gadget supplied with the car tool kit. The small threaded plastic piece will screw into the holes. The wheel then will then slide over the plastic piece and will align automatically with the bolt holes. Nothing to it.

The tool is called a "Tommy Bar". Part number 893 012 223


Door is binding:

You need to use an oil that will flow into the hinge. Grease just sits on the surface. I use "Fluid Film", a wicking, moisture-displacing oil that is also a rust inhibitor. Check out the hinges - they may be worn out and need replacing if they haven't been lubed properly.

OR

I prefer a dry lube for my locks and handles (krytox, marketed as Team Mclube and available at boating supply stores), and this works well on sunroof tracks, too. For the cables, you might want to try Lock-ease. The graphite will help over the long haul.

OR

Wurth HHS 2000 is truly awesom lubricant! I had never seen anything like it until I started working at a Porsche repair shop... We use it for door hinges, hood release, doorhandles, windows regulators, etc... From memory it is a high temperature/low temp lube that bonds does not gum/gunk up.... Works awesome! Actually all Wurth products are excellent... Highly recommended...


The best black trim restorer I think is Black Chrome because:

1. It's cheaper than the expensive hoity-toity catalog stuff.

2. It's thick like paint, so you literally paint on a "coat" as thick as you want--the older & grayer, the thicker you need. Did wonders on my lt. grey bumpers n' trim on my '87 5kcstq.

I thought it would just look shiny and black for a few minutes, but after 3 mos. looked good. (I need to touch up about every 3 mos it seems)

OR

Forever black. Some kind of dye in a shoe polish type applicator bottle. About $10

The stuff I've found and used is called "Forever Black". It's a 2 part system, including a cleaner/degreaser and the black dye in a convienent shoe polish type applicator. Can be purchased at varuous places online. This has lasted the longest with least fading of the various projects I've tried. I did a 5ktq 1.5 years ago, and the trim still looks like new.

OR

I have used Groits black bumper restorer and it has worked great. I put on 2 applications within a month and it has stayed black ever since. Going on a year and a half.

OR

I had a WHITE rear bumper on the newly aquired 4kq... well.. I tried some stuff I had luck with before call Blackjack... hah....... they turned grayish... after a few weeks when the silicone was gone.. I decide to grap a piece of scotchbrite.. gently buffed the bumper and the black started to come out... it almost looked like it was a layer of oxidation on there.. after buffing I applied meguire's tire gel... (which doesn't attract dirt or so it says) now it looks black as can be.... lightly scuffed the front bumper (not as bad) and the side pieces... all are BLACK now :)

OR

(re: black grille finish)
You should really try stove wax, a black silicone wax that resists the sun, salt, washoff, and heat (!), good for rustproofing suspension and powertrain,...and it won't peel with aging. I use the stuff on everything from the engine block of my 4kcsq to the black anodized toerails of Beagle II, my Ranger 20 sailboat.

OR

Old trick. Use Kiwi liquid shoe polish, better known as "Scuff Magic" in black. Put on 2-3 coats. It will give it a nice BLACK look with just a touch of gloss (like how it looks with a little Armor All). It does NOT rub off. I put on 2-3 coats to begin with, now I just do one per year to keep up. It's MUCH cheaper than Forever Black and as far as I can tell it's the same thing...


Repairing leaks: I'm not a Marine Tex sales person. My first experience with is was with some boats I had in high school. You can actually patch a hole in the bottom and it will cure under water.

We then had an old Iron duke 4-cyl sea-water cooled engine leaking out a fissure crack which had developed on the side of the block. Drained block, Wire brushed, cleaned with acetone saturated rag, applied 1/4 inch patch of MT. No more leak - water skiing the next day.

I had used the auto wrap stuff you get from an automotive store(white bandage, you get it wet, wrap aand run. Stuff just didn't cut it.

I found they sold this black bandage - worked better, leaked eventually, but would get me though inspection. Find and fix your leaks, before inspection - if they don't find a leak they won't bother. If they see you did this - you are SOL.

When I discovered the cost of AUDI rear muffler assembly and didn't want to replace for the cracks which had developed, I tried using the above black bandage whch is a fiber glass bandage impregnated with? Marine Tex? but like without the catalyst, as the stuff cures with heat from the exahust. Well it worked!


Fuel lines: I used 3/8 stainless and #6 AN fittings, it took about a day to do both lines...

Yeah, they are really hard to find. I found some of the stuff I needed from martel brothers (http://www.martelbrothers.com). Check out the "Aeroquip" link on the left. They basically converted to .jpg or .gif the relevant pages of the Aeroquip catalog and manually indexed it. Crying out for PDF but what they did works ok..


1: BMW part # for 4kq carrier bearing: Drive shaft carrier bearing BMW #26-12-1-209-532(includes bearing, bracket, rubber)

2: I have found a source for the 4kq center driveshaft u-joint... Try calling Driveline Service in Portland, OR. (503) 289-2264. They have a joint made by GWB of Germany. P/N 287000600000. It is an exact fit AND it has the grease fitting on it. Price is a bit steep at $51 but it is an exact OE match.

3: The centre support bearing for a type-44 quattro: I stopped by a local M-B dealer and matched up the bearing and the rubber cap against the M-B parts. Below are the long awaited part numbers: Both parts are from a 240D or 300D, chassis # 123:
Bearing: 0039812325
Rubber cap: 1234101081

4: I recently purchased a center support bearing by Mercedes Benz P/n 123 410 10 81. This part is made by Weyle of Germany. There is a part number cast into the bearing support ring - Meyle 014 041 0045 The bearing is also an MB part made by Weyle of Germany P/N 014 098 0017.

I think both parts cost me about $50 . . . I dont have the bill to check against.

5: Now the bracket from MB isn't the same as the Audi bracket. But, it looks like that Audi bearing support is only welded in two spots to its bracket. It looks like it may be possible to grind off the welds. Then place the old bracket on top of the MB bracket (plenty of room and diameters are close), and tack weld it in two spots. Voila! Its done.

I'm not sure if the MB flanges will interfere with anything . . they may have to be ground off.

6: The support is NOT an exact match and does require modifications. I used the Audi strap and the new ring. It is made by Febi. It is attached to it's own strap by 7 spot welds and 2 tack welds on both ends. I ground off the tack welds and drilled out the spot welds. The pieces will separate pretty easily, but the Febi ring is a lighter gauge steel and will bend pretty easily. My welder did a great job joining them without melting the rubber. The u-joint is also available from AEC Products in Defiance, Ohio.

If the shaft is aligned properly and greased, there is almost no stress on this thing. If you are careful, you can remove the u-joint without damaging it. The AEC bearing is p/n 1677. 26mm cap dia. and 70mm cross. Center grease fitting. Save yourself some money and buy a good quality sealed ball bearing sized 30mm x 55 mm x 13mm.

More thoughts...

It has been on my car for about 1500-2000 miles now. No problems so far. My original u-joint is still in the car. It was VERY clean. It disassembled it and solvent washed the whole bit, then reassembled with Mobil syn. grease. My front and rear driveshaft CV's were also in excellent condition. New CV grease from some of the 15 Lobro kits I've accumulated. The seals here are rubber and only need to be cleaned and reglued. I used contact cement. IMPORTANT!! Make sure you index mark the CV's to the drive flanges front and rear! The flanges were very hard and I didn't get a "good" pin punch mark. I had to rotate the CV on the flange 3 times to stop the minor vibration this caused. Not such a big deal, just 3 more trips under the car than I wanted.