Unicorn Rescue! - My B6 Avant Ultrasport

[eljay]

Hello Audizine! I'm happy to be a part of this fantastic community and allow me to present to you my Avant.

I have always wanted a manual A4 Avant and after selling my 2000 Golf 1.8T I came across this unicorn: 2005 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro Avant with a 6-speed manual and Ultrasport package. Since my wife fell in love with the car, we went to get it and drove it home 2000 kms.

Here are the details at the time I bought it:
- GTRS Eliminator kit
- High-flow exhaust manifold
- 3" TT MAF and 034 TIP
- 034 Motorsports 3" to 2.5 " turbo inlet pipe and vacuum hoses
- 630cc Siemens injectors
- Eurodyne Maestro tune
- Custom 3" stainless steel exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers/tips
- Koni FSD shocks with Eibach springs
- Forge Splitter DV
- Podi boost gauge

While it was owned by an enthusiast or two, it needed some care being at 269,000 kms.

My previous wrenching skills amounted to oil changes and some interior bits swapping. Owning a older Audi is like jumping from Grade 3 math to a second year math class at Harvard! OK, not quite, but we all know that one of the paths to financial ruin is to by a cheap German car. This one wasn't dirt cheap, but an OK deal for the collection of parts it has.
My main reason for starting this thread is to get a group hug and motivation every now and then when stuff breaks and I start whining about wanting to burn, sell or part out the car. :) It certainly helps that my wife loves it, refuses to drive automatics (she says she does not know how to drive one!) and recently told me to stop thinking about selling it and just fix the damn car, so she can drive it. So, she's a keeper - the wife that is, and the car too. :)

On to the stuff that happened over the last 20 months of ownership.

THREAD INDEX
Aug 2015 - Purchased the car and drove it home.


The inhabitable portion of the Avant received a good cleaning to bring it up to my standards.

2015 - Lots of maintenance items with some highlights with potentially useful info:
- dipstick replacement

2016
- new fog lights
- timing belt service
- rear wiper fix, rear view camera pre-wired, and LED license plate lights installed
- B7 brake upgrade
- new E-code headlights
- new Valeo SMFW clutch kit
- new exhaust from turbo back (034 HFC, 2.5" DP, Borla)
- S4 cluster swapped in

2017
- exhaust manifold replacement
- A/C system overhaul
- Front wheel bearing replacement
- Recaro seats!
- Recaros installed, B7 console, aftermarket stereo, backup camera
- VFIZ, rear "quattro" puddle lights
- LED logo puddle lights
- Tie rods, control arms, wheel bearing, CV boot, DIY front-end alignment

2018
- hood replacement
- CCA pads and gasket, valve cover gasket, intake cam seal, painted valve cover, rear coolant flange
- Injector cups and o-rings, throttle body cleaning and gasket, intake manifold gasket
- Air filter, cabin filter, oil/filter change, coolant flush

[eljay]

Interior cleaning...

BEFORE






What I'm not showing you are coins, pends, stuck on gum (still smelled nice!), paper clips and other objects one would find in a typical daily used car that has been cleaned only in the regions typically in the field of view of the occupants.

Stage 1 involved a good wipe down and scrub of all surfaces and vacuuming of the carpets.
Then I have applied some 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water on those salt carpet stains. Let them soak in a bit. No need to scrub as you don't want the salt pushed further down into the carpet, but just dissolve it enough to lift it with a vacuum cleaner. Speaking of that... say hello to my little friend! The Little Green Machine. A mean little guy that makes your old carpets look new again!


Yes, that is the dirty water in the tank on the right and that's just half the car done.

I don't have a good picture of the "after" carpet, but this was 90% there to give you an idea. There used to be a salt stain in that spot:



I didn't have the time to remove the front seats to get under the seat rails, but got all the stuff out around them with a toothbrush.

Stage 2 was all about the seats and leather surfaces!
Shiny = dirty, bad
Matte, supple = clean, good

I gave them a good Leatherique hand massage. The ending was happy... for the seats, that is.
Left the car outside in a steamy hot weather all day to let Leatherique work its wonders. It's an awesome product! When you do this, do not plan to drive the car for a bit for obvious reasons! However, if you want, just put a plastic garbage bag over the seats, so you can move the car if needed. In fact, putting plastic over the leather helps the Leatherique Rejuvenator oil to lift the dirt from the leather pores.






After the nice steamy spa treatment, take your well-massaged Audi and apply the Leatherique Pristine Clean cleaner. You can spray this stuff anywhere as it's good for the entire interior and does nice job on the plastics too. OK, don't spray the carpet and windows, but the rest is fine and encouraged. Then simply wipe it off the seats and buff them with another clean microfiber cloth.

Then the clean-up happened and the results would speak for themselves, but because of the crappy camera, one may wonder what the hell is the difference. Well, there IS a difference, I'm telling ya!! Just believe me, 'K?!










Yes, the S-Line badge is worn and needs replacement, but it's clean! :D

The End of Chapter 1.

[eljay]

CHAPTER 2 - Maintenance begins (there's no ending to this, so don't search for one!)
September 2015
Replaced all front control arms, engine mounts, rear sway bar links, alignment done, and replaced the ruptured center muffler, air and cabin filters.

December 2015
Changed oil with Shell Rotella T6 5w40 with a larger Mann W940/25 filter. Pulled up on the diptstick and guess who came along for the ride?!! This guy:


The replacement wasn't too bad with a tip from the legendary old guy: get yourself a small aquarium cleaning brush and slowly insert it into the dipschtick tube.


Once you have done that, go and fight and curse at the little bitch-to-get-off collar that is stuck at the bottom. Once you snap it off (I lightly tapped a large flathead screwdriver angled from the bottom up), it will disintegrate into million pieces that will fall into the tube and into your oil pan. But, you don't need to worry because you have cleverly followed the tip with the aquarium brush! Once you clean up the area, slowly lift up on the brush and watch all the pieces that would have otherwise dropped into your oil pan, come out with the brush. Brilliant!



The offending article and the little helper:


And we're back in business!



Rear coolant flange was leaking, so I replaced it along with CTS and coolant reservoir. My back hurt like crazy after laying on top of the engine and fiddling behind the block with the flange bolts. Fun!

[eljay]

January 2016
New BKR7E spark plugs installed and leakdown test performed with great results for this mileage:
Cyl 1: 3%
Cyl 2: 2%
Cyl 3: 2%
Cyl 4: 2%

March 2016
Replaced both fog lights since the lenses were a bit aged.


I kept the old ones to perhaps do a projector conversion later.

Replaced broken hood release handle in the footwell.

[eljay]

May 2016
The timing belt didn't look too good:


Attempted and successfully completed my first timing belt service! Besides the complete timing belt kit items, I also replaced the valve cover and CCA gaskets.




Loved the car more after that!

[eljay]

June 2016
I decided to address the non-functioning rear wiper.
Those hatch trim clips are just horrible! My rear wiper was not working at all, so I took the hatch apart and took the wiper motor apart. It was not bad actually, but still the shaft had seized. After cleaning everything and lubricating, I put it back together and it turned freely!

In the process, I broke off the rear wiper arm as that was stuck to the wiper motor shaft. A good excuse for the rear aero wiper conversion. However, when I tested the wiper, no washer fluid came out of the wiper motor. Instead it came out from the rear passenger D pillar! SOB! I traced the problem to this rubber boot:



I knew that it going to be fun, but I didn't realize that with wires there, it will be a freakin' nightmare trying not to damage those and fix the hose.



I picked up OEM washer hose repair connectors, which happen to be the most expensive piece of Chinese plastic I've bought so far: $37 for them!

Much better and no leaks!


And we're back in business with a nice new aero wiper that actually works and sprays.


And while I had the hatch apart I told myself that I will never ever want to take it apart, so I bought a reverse camera and installed it and ran the wiring to behind the driver's side hatch panel. Whenever I get a stereo that can actually display it, I will run the wires to the front. So, now it's pre-wired. Oh, and since my license plate lights were nasty and stopped working, I picked up a set of LED license plate lights. Nice, clean, and bright.

[eljay]

July 2016
My brakes were not so great, so I picked up a set of B7 brakes, had them blasted and powdercoated black. Then I completely rebuild the calipers, installed new seals, hardware etc. bled the brakes.

I've never even changed a brake pad in my life, so this was another successful first!





Some more detailed before/after shots of the brake upgrade:





And with new Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus 235/40ZR18 installed on summer wheels!


And wash and wax after the brake surgery:

[eljay]

September 2016
Replaced N75 and wow, I never knew what the car should feel like. Smooth boost!


And lighting upgrade...
New headlight harness connector


And ecodes with new H1 bi-xenon kit and stealth indicator bulbs.
Let there be light!!

[eljay]

October 2016
The clutch failed, so I had it towed to a shop as I couldn't afford the downtime of trying the replacement on my own. :(
It was time:


Valeo SMFW conversion kit went in.

And while waiting for the parts, I installed the S4 cluster I had acquired earlier.

Before


After


At the same time, I replaced the exhaust setup from the PO and installed 034 HFC, 2.5" downpipe and Borla exhaust.

[eljay]

May 2017
Noticed that one of the bolts on the exhaust manifold is missing!


It was snapped off in the turbo.
So, I had to learn how to remove the turbo, but since I noticed a crack in the manifold, I went searching for a replacement piece. I do not want to ever fight with a high-flow manifold again, so I went with an OEM replacement.

Managed to snap one stud off in the head:


But bolt extractor kit solved this issue without any damage:


And here's the star of the show...
The reason I removed it was due to this crack at the top:


And this is what I found at the bottom of the collector:






Gave the turbo a good cleaning and was happy to see that the turbo is in great shape! It's been on this car for ~90k kms.

[ThewhippetsS5]

Holy moly you're thorough. Congrats on the unicorn!!

Sent from my SM-G925V using Audizine mobile app

[blew-dub]

Nice Job so far!

Keep up the good work.

[MagnaFlow]

Hi Eljay, congratulations on the new ride! It looks like you've done some quality work/maintenance on it so far. We're excited to see what other things you have in store for it!

[eljay]

Holy moly you're thorough. Congrats on the unicorn!!

Sent from my SM-G925V using Audizine mobile app

Thank you!
Being thorough also means that everything takes me forever. No corners cut and irrational sums of money spent.

Nice Job so far!

Keep up the good work.

Thanks!

Hi Eljay, congratulations on the new ride! It looks like you've done some quality work/maintenance on it so far. We're excited to see what other things you have in store for it!

Thank you sir!

I hope one day I will be able to stop fixing it and install some fun stuff I have sitting on the shelf.

[eljay]

June 2017
Last August, A/C stopped working and I found that the rubber isolators from the A/C compressor pulley fell out indicating a seized compressor.
With a little motivation from the onset of humid weather, I finally got around to address that. And after another weekend at the Audi Wrench Club , shiny things were installed with a complete A/C overhaul:
- new A/C compressor, condenser, dryer, orifice tube, gaskets
- new accessory belt tensioner







As well, I used the opportunity of bumper being off to install a mint rust-free fender:

Before:


After:


Only several hundred more pieces to go before the whole car is replaced.

[Turbavanttro]

Awesome to see this kind of dedication to a B6 USP. Beautiful work eljay!

[ians]

Wow! nice unicorn! and nice job to restore it into prestige condition! Would love if MT b8 avant available for us! My wife is also refuse to drive AT too so she refuse to drive the avant at all! But I know actually, she still not into the style of a wagon, she is still a sport coupe person.

[CARTEL]

Awesome resurrection thread! Almost makes me want another silver B6 avant... almost ;)

[eljay]

Thank you everyone!

I am on the hunt for a mint silver passenger side fender since it has the lip rust starting and, unfortunately, both front doors have a small bubble at the bottom. Found several good examples, but all of them are too far from me and shipping kills any deal.
Perhaps it's time to learn how to paint. I attempted to fix a rust spot on the rear quarter last year. The good part is that I managed to stop the rust. The bad part is that the "paint" job on that spot is just comical and it's not just due to the mismatched rattle can that I bought from a local parts shop. So, that will need to be redone.

On top of that, I'm having crazy crazy thoughts of picking up a 2.7T and swapping it in and learn a whole new set of skills.
But as you can see after doing TB, clutch, gaskets, mounts and exhaust on this car, I would have to redo all of that (read: spend $$$) on 2.7T and that just takes the cost into intergallactic territory unless I can recoup some of it by selling this engine with its performance bits. But I doubt I'd get much for this setup.

So there, something to start the day. :)

[BeerBrent]

Wow! Nice work! Cool to see all the progress. Looks great!

[AudiOx71]

Bravo! Love to see all the practical work being done to restore it.

[AvantNoir]

Love it. We're in similar worlds.

[eljay]

Thank you again for the kind words.

Today, I replaced a broken coolant bleeder screw. Thankfully, it went smoothly.
My driver's side headlight stopped working a few days ago, so I pulled the headlights tonight to swap the bulbs and confirmed that my driver's side ballast failed. :( Just can't catch a break in my 15k of ownership miles.

[eljay]

I've found "Audis4parts.com" (Tucson, AZ) to be a good resource.
Adam is great to work with.

Disclaimer: I've no affiliation with them. Just passing on positive feedback.

Thanks, however, I'm in Canada.
Thankfully, I'm already on good terms with my local Audi parts manager. :)

[Turbavanttro]

Awesome resurrection thread! Almost makes me want another silver B6 avant... almost ;)

The world would be a better place if you would embark on another B6 Avant build....

[eljay]

The world would be a better place if you would embark on another B6 Avant build....

+1

[ZERO FRAME GRAB]

Wow you are going to town on that thing. Great job!

[eljay]

Thank you very much.

And a picture to add to the gallery here:

[eljay]

Moved my pictures to imgur over the weekend. Good riddance Photobucket!!

[eljay]

I have successfully completed by first front wheel bearing replacement!
It started faintly humming in March and in the last month it was reaally making a loud noise, which helped confirm that the passenger side was the problem.

I followed this video for the removal.

Here's how it went:
I got the 5lb slide hammer as a free tool rental from Cdn Tire along with an axle puller.

First, I attempted to loosen the axle bolt with the wheels on the ground and snapped my extension in the 17mm allen bit!! SOB! So, that was it for that evening.
I went to buy a proper (longer 1/2" drive) breaker bar and a new allen bit socket set as I couldn't drill out the snapped extension from the first one. ~$100 later (those breaker bars and socket sets are not cheap!), I managed to break the axle bolt loose easily.
Lifted the car onto jackstands, proceeded to remove the speed sensor only to find that the PO or his mechanic snapped the head from the bolt holding it. I had to carefully pry it out of the hub, which took too much time and then spent more time getting the remainder of the bolt out and searching for a replacement bolt.

Then, I removed the brake caliper and rotor and loosened the wheel bearing bolts, but didn't remove them. I wanted to make sure I separate the hub from the bearing as I didn't want to do it on a press. So, I tried to assemble the axle puller, but it was about 2mm too big and wouldn't line up with the wheel bolt holes. After scratching my head for a bit and searching online, I realized that there is another puller size. So, I went back to the store to the correct side puller. Another couple of hours lost.

I then assembled the hammer and easily removed the wheel hub and confirmed that the wheel bearing was done since the fluid was leaking from it.
Then I removed the wheel bearing bolts from the rear. I didn't have to remove the axle at all, just moved the wheel left/right.

Now, instead of hammering or using chisel to pry out the wheel bearing housing from the knuckle, I realized that I could just use the slide hammer and axle puller to pull it out! With one tap, it was out!




I hope this tip helps someone as I didn't see it anywhere.

Spent a good hour cleaning up the knuckle and all the parts in the area and re-assembled. Went for a test drive and was rewarded with a nice and quiet ride!
Whenever, I need to do the other side, it will be much faster now that I have all the tools ready.

[eljay]

I removed things...



I found dirt



I cleaned it



Then spent the last 3 days wiring stuff.

More to come.

[eljay]

Soooo, last year, I bought some Recaros: black leather with silver Alcantara inserts and heated both front and rear seats with leg extension on the fronts. In pictures, they didn't look great, so I didn't expect a nice set ready for a swap. And I was right. Here was the driver's side upon arrival:



The bottom insert was torn and needed to be replaced. The easiest way would be to buy an OEM cover and simply swap it. However, OEM new cover is $741.25!. So, I decided to just get the fabric and have a professional replace just the insert for me as the leather bolsters were in very good shape, just dirty.
After many hours of research, I managed to confirm the OEM Alcantara fabric needed to swap and ordered it. While waiting for it, I started to disassemble the seat to get it ready for re-upholstering. I may put together a DIY at some point, but while it's not difficult, there are many steps, so who knows when I may get around to it.
In summary:
- remove storage tray
- remove side bottom trim on both sides
- remove seat back/disconnect wiring for seat back
- remove seat leg extension from bottom frame, if equipped
- unclip cover from the bottom frame
- unclip cover from retainers in foam padding channels
- remove cover
- remove padding from frame if needed

It took me a few hours, especially since I didn't want to break any plastic clips.


Upon removing the cover, I found this state of the affairs:


Yep, the seat heater wire to the leg extension was broken and the side bolster heating wires didn't look too great either at first sight. Multimeter confirmed an open circuit for the heating and when I connected the seat leg extension wire, it showed resistance again. So, at least I knew that the side bolster wiring was out of place, but intact.

Wire repaired and glued back under the heating element padding:


...and side bolster wires glued back where they belong:


Now, where were we...right, the ripped insert. But wait, what else do we have here?!


Grreaaat... so, the side bolster frame/bracket weld to the bottom is broken! Obviously, one of the previous owners was just dropping into the seats, which explains the poor shape of foam padding and mangled side bolster wiring.
A quick visit to a local car shop and it was welded back together:


OK, back to the cover... again.
The upholsterer not only replaced the insert, but also added new padding for the side bolster! Everything looked great again for driver's seat bottom:




While I waited for the above, I turned my attention to the rest of the set. Attacked it with a vacuum cleaner, soft brushes, micro-fiber cloths, Leatherique for the leather and Sonax Alcantara cleaner for the inserts.
BEFORE






AFTER the initial cleaning




Now, they were worthy of my B6 Avant! Because these came from a sedan, I swapped the rear seat backs to retain my cargo cover mounts, which added even more time.

End of the Recaro preparation chapter. To see how they look, stay tuned for an upcoming post on the interior updates!

[sferraro]

Super work. Always loved the B6 Ultrasports. Excited to see how the seats look once installed.

[eljay]

Super work. Always loved the B6 Ultrasports. Excited to see how the seats look once installed.

Thank you!
An update is coming up shortly.

[eljay]

Let's start with the obvious: Recaro seats.
OMG!! For me, the best upgrades in any car are seats and headlights. These seats are incredible. I drove my cousin's 2015 S4 a few times and I find these seats much better and more supportive. We both agreed that the new B8.5 Recaro seats are probably built to suit the "wider" North American audience compared to 12 years ago.
The inserts keep you from sliding around, which is great in turns and pain when getting in and out of the car.








Before installing the fronts, I pre-wired the driver's seat for memroy mirror retrofit. Next, I pre-wired the rear seat heating controls. I just need to find a suitable plug to go under the rear bench. After doing this, I would highly recommend just buying the Kufatec harness. You can build your own, but it will be just as expensive and you will spend hours on it. I wanted to know how it works and in the process learned how to read electrical diagrams, so that was my motivation.

The above wiring went under my new B7 center console! I installed it along with the B7 parking brake assembly.


While I had the interior apart, I ran the backup camera wire to the front and installed a new Android 6.0 stereo. :)

I had to modify the included wiring harness for Bose and added a couple of line output converters before installing and everything works! I have yet to play with the unit, but the backup camera works well, radio reception is just 'OK', music plays well and there's a slight hiss when the volume is at 0. I may need to play with the LOC gain setting to reduce that. I hope that will take care of it. I welcome suggestions if you have experience with these units.

I then took the glove box out to fix one broken hinge and re-inforce the other:


Things left to do to complete my interior mods:
- install microphone for bluetooth calls into OEM location
- install dashcam
- reinstall glovebox
- finish wiring rear seat heating function
- install side memory and power-folding mirrors and memory switch to the driver's door

I'm very very happy with the interior now and can't wait to finish my list.

[KSEADUB]

Audizine needs a like button. Those seats are sharp! Keep up the great work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Axis]

Great job sir!

Curious to know where you found the artic white alcantara?

Also, B8/B8.5 seats arent Recaro but Magna. A Canadian company. Quality is nowhere close to the quality of Recaros. I've seen 6 y/o Magna seats with faded/ripped leather, I have 14 y/o Recaro's in my car which look great.

[jhoward]

Great job sir!

Curious to know where you found the artic white alcantara?

Also, B8/B8.5 seats arent Recaro but Magna. A Canadian company. Quality is nowhere close to the quality of Recaros. I've seen 6 y/o Magna seats with faded/ripped leather, I have 14 y/o Recaro's in my car which look great.

The older recaro seats are nothing short of amazing! Mine look almost new still and are like floating on a cloud of titties. This build is great! I love seeing another B6 getting rehabbed -


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[sean_entrust]

This is amazing! I had a 2004 6spd avant and it needed everything done and I just didn't have the time sadly. Glad to see you giving this car the love it deserves!


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[eljay]

Great job sir!

Curious to know where you found the artic white alcantara?

Also, B8/B8.5 seats arent Recaro but Magna. A Canadian company. Quality is nowhere close to the quality of Recaros. I've seen 6 y/o Magna seats with faded/ripped leather, I have 14 y/o Recaro's in my car which look great.

Ah, good to know. I also don't like how those new seats are curved in around the shoulder area. I feel pushed/hunched forward in them.

Regarding the Alcantara, I will look up my notes and post more details in the next couple of days. But the name is Light Silver Grey and it is the factory OEM match. Obviously, my seat bottom looks a little lighter, but I'm sure with some use, it will blend in.