B5 S4 Downpipe removal

[Tarmac]

I was told by an Audi mechanic, "to remove the down-pipes on a b5 s4 6 speed manual you have to in part or in some degree move the engine forward". I've never heard of this & I don't think this guy is well informed. Has anyone ever encountered this exprinance with the removal of the b5 S4 DP's before?

[mholme]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...%28For-6spd%29

[Jman25]

yeah you can do it without moving anything other than the the heat shields. It is a pain in the ass big time and it will take a while to remove them but it can be done without moving the engine.

[Tarmac]

cheers, thanks for that but I have seen this before

[Mooseimage]

Engine movement is not required. It's just a PITA to get to the nuts. Or sometimes they're just rusted/seized on there real good, like mine was.

[mholme]

I don't even think the manual makes mention of moving the engine for exhaust work. It's not that bad once you get the heat shields off. Plenty of room to work them off. You might have to drop the rear subframe bolts, but other than that, it's not a bad job..once you've done it..

[rmv6]

i've done it twice now, first time i simply removed the cv covers and then jimmied the heat shields around. took me about 12 hrs to remove and install. second time we were pulled the tranny for other work. that made it very easy with no driveshafts or anything in the way and the heatshields came out of the bottom nicely. it really helps having another person to help with the top bolts on each of the downpipes (one person to hold the wrench/socket, and one person to wrench on it from the top...remove the coolant reservoir

[Tarmac]

i've done it twice now, first time i simply removed the cv covers and then jimmied the heat shields around. took me about 12 hrs to remove and install. second time we were pulled the tranny for other work. that made it very easy with no driveshafts or anything in the way and the heatshields came out of the bottom nicely. it really helps having another person to help with the top bolts on each of the downpipes (one person to hold the wrench/socket, and one person to wrench on it from the top...remove the coolant reservoir

cheers guys thanks for that!

I'm wondering, before I fit the DP's if I should first wait till I'm ready to fit a stage 3 clutch. Which will be in the near future, soon as I make my mind up what clutch to go with.
(VAST, 034 Spec or South Bend). It's a hard one!!!

So how much time u think will it take with the tranny out (for the first time). With the tranny out is it really hard getting to that last bolt from the top?
Usually with the tranny IN dose the heat-shields come out from the top or bottom? (I'm guessing from the top)

[Slow4]

yeah you can do it without moving anything other than the the heat shields. It is a pain in the ass big time and it will take a while to remove them but it can be done without moving the engine.

TRUTH!
15+ hours for me.

Be sure to have ALL the necessary tools too and extra neosporin ointments on standby; its murder on your hands.

[The_Jerbel]

If you drop the rear of the subframe, the DP removal and re-install is much easier.

b5 s4 biturbo,

You'd be much better off to do the DP's when you've already got the trans out of the car. I personally just pull the engine and trans together when I want to do a clutch job, and the dp's come out of the car at the same time, making it a cinch to replace them at that time.

[Tarmac]

If you drop the rear of the subframe, the DP removal and re-install is much easier.

b5 s4 biturbo,

You'd be much better off to do the DP's when you've already got the trans out of the car. I personally just pull the engine and trans together when I want to do a clutch job, and the dp's come out of the car at the same time, making it a cinch to replace them at that time.

Sorry I'm not a 100% on this subject, don't you have to remove the DP's first before you can remove the tranny?

[The_Jerbel]

Yeah, I just meant that you'd be better off to do them at the same time, since the dp's have to come off when you do your clutch job, anyways.

[Tarmac]

Yeah, I just meant that you'd be better off to do them at the same time, since the dp's have to come off when you do your clutch job, anyways.

That sounds like some really good advice, do it all at once and save on time.

But, dose any one have a photo from the top view of the DP's with the heat shields off. I researched the threads but couldn't find any pics with the heat shields off. I want to see how much of a squeeze it is to get to that last bolt on the DP's from the top

[Tarmac]

If you drop the rear of the subframe, the DP removal and re-install is much easier.

b5 s4 biturbo,

You'd be much better off to do the DP's when you've already got the trans out of the car. I personally just pull the engine and trans together when I want to do a clutch job, and the dp's come out of the car at the same time, making it a cinch to replace them at that time.

Haha "pull the engine and trans together" that sounds great but I'm not as mechanically inclined as you maybe but hey,,, that would be nice. In Australia, it's really expensive to pay a mechanic to pull the engine and trans, around $3500

[The_Jerbel]

That sounds like some really good advice, do it all at once and save on time.

But, dose any one have a photo from the top view of the DP's with the heat shields off. I researched the threads but couldn't find any pics with the heat shields off. I want to see how much of a squeeze it is to get to that last bolt on the DP's from the top

It's tight, but definitely do-able once you've got the Y-pipe, MAF housing, etc. out of the way.

[mholme]

Loosen the heat shields ad push them back as far as they will go. I've never bothered with completely removing the shields until starting to work the down pipes off.

[The_Jerbel]

Loosen the heat shields ad push them back as far as they will go. I've never bothered with completely removing the shields until starting to work the down pipes off.

Agreed. There's no reason to remove them completely from the top.

[soccerplayer01]

use pb blaster and the adjustable open-ended wrenches. those made everything soo much easier. if you have questions about what wrenches you can pm me. i can do it in 7 hrs w/o a lift, on jack stands by myself. def a pita but dont mind it.

[lsc2g]

rachet flex head gear wrenches are your friend or you'll be nothing but swearing for some of those bolt angles

i just did my downpipes myself and its not terribly hard.. follow the guide on AZ here and its very well written and truthful i found.. i didn't touch the subframe for removal at all.. and i did it all on jackstands.. reinstall is so much easier as you know the angles,etc

have fun!

[The_Jerbel]

Yeah but you dropped the SF for the re-installation

BTW, I've done dp swaps using standard open/box-ended wrenches, no gears, no flex heads. It IS possible (and not that difficult, at that), but it's easier if you have all the nifty wrenches.

[lsc2g]

LOL ya jordan but in the end i don't think i needed too either way it does make it easier to drop the rear down at the end of the day ;)

not a hard job IMO just time consuming nuts and bolts..

[Tarmac]

use pb blaster and the adjustable open-ended wrenches. those made everything soo much easier. if you have questions about what wrenches you can pm me. i can do it in 7 hrs w/o a lift, on jack stands by myself. def a pita but dont mind it.

This is really good, you guys are building up my confidence to do the DP removal myself. At first I was feeling uneasy to do the job but if most of what you guys are talking about is scraped knuckles, time & a steady persistence, why not give it a go. Lets face it, if I get someone else to do the job it's going to cost me a small fortune.

I've got the jackstands but can you let me know exactly what tool I will need to remove the 02's & what wrenches & allen keys will I need?

[fixn2xlr8]

Dont pay anyone. My first time it took me 7 hours to get em off, and the new ones back on.

[highPSI-S4]

TRUTH!
15+ hours for me.

Be sure to have ALL the necessary tools too and extra neosporin ointments on standby; its murder on your hands.

That night was Epic john!!

[BertaMade]

I dropped the sub frame to get to mine ... All in all took about 6 hours to do .

[CELison]

I dropped the sub frame to get to mine ... All in all took about 6 hours to do .

son...this thread is 5 years old.

[s4biturb0]

son...this thread is 5 years old.

LMAO

[MacDaddy]

if its tiptronic you need to remove rear transmission mounts and allow the engine/tran to tilt down a bit, may also have to loosen snub mount bracket too (its been awhile since i did piggies)

other than that i just needed really long extensions, like 3-4'

[mikeb17]

Lmao at the people giving advice on a 5 year old thread. I think he probably figured it out by now.

[Zba]

But what if he didn't?!?!

Maybe the dude has been fucking with the goddam heat shields for five years!!

[SnyperBob]

if its tiptronic you need to remove rear transmission mounts and allow the engine/tran to tilt down a bit, may also have to loosen snub mount bracket too (its been awhile since i did piggies)

other than that i just needed really long extensions, like 3-4'

I've been wanting to do this on my Tip car, and having problems finding any info on it. Thanks for the 'Tips'. Sorry to beat a dead horse (this old thread)

[seanf86]

if its tiptronic you need to remove rear transmission mounts and allow the engine/tran to tilt down a bit, may also have to loosen snub mount bracket too (its been awhile since i did piggies)

other than that i just needed really long extensions, like 3-4'

I plan on attempting this in the future on my tip as well, so youre saying the side trans mounts that bolt to the subframe get removed? Did you remove the driveshaft?

[MacDaddy]

don't flame, i legit got a PM asking details on DP's on a tip, keep in mind i did this 6 years ago so i may forget a coupe things but this is the main of it....

-get the car up as high as you safely can, you will need the clearance for the back half of the DP's
-had to remove exhaust of course
-removed O2 sensors (so you can get heat shields off)
-removed heat shields, they were a real PITA, i may removed the bolts holding DP's onto the turbos to give me more fiddle room
-heat shields will need some bending/convincing
(side note, i did not re-install heat shields since i didn't have the immense heat of the pre-cats anymore, piggies)
-i used a long 3/8" extension (i think the 36" one with a swivel impact socket on the end) and an 1/2" impact with adapter to get the 4 bolts holding the DP's to the turbos off, use some penetrating oil too, soak it overnight if possible this was actually one of the easier steps
*fun part*
-loosen off the trans mounts (bolts, nuts, whatever they are)
-lift up trans
-remove mounts
-trans will now move down lower than its previous spot
-I may have loosened off the two rear subframe bolts, cant quite remember, (removing all 4 bolts will throw out your cars front camber and will require a wheel alignment)

with all that, i had just enough room to wiggle the stock downpipes out, but it was still a PITA.

[MacDaddy]

I plan on attempting this in the future on my tip as well, so youre saying the side trans mounts that bolt to the subframe get removed? Did you remove the driveshaft?

driveshaft stayed in

[SnyperBob]

Thank you for your insight! Your notes will come in handy when I go stage 2 in a month or two....