So I've also completed a clutch replacement on my B8.5 (2016) A5. I was able to do the entire job alone, without any assistance from anyone at all. Maybe I need some new friends or something. But seriously, with a mid-rise lift in my garage and a decent low profile transmission jack, I had no problem pulling it out or putting it back in. You just need to take your time and carefully position the transmission to get it out or back into place. That said, there are a couple of things different with the B8.5 cars, but those differences are minor.
First thing that comes to mind is the electric power steering. You'll see three separate electrical connectors on the electric power steering rack. Make sure you unfasten the large connector and push it up and out of your way. If you try to drop the transmission with that connector in place, you can easily break it.
Second thing different with the B8.5 cars is the coolant lines (supply & return) going into the gearbox. These two lines must be disconnected and drained before you can drop the transmission. You'll drain off about 1/2 gallon of coolant when you disconnect those two hoses, so have something to catch it unless you want to make a big mess like I did. You'll also need to disconnect the metal bracket above those two hoses that attaches to the transmission. Also, DO NOT open your coolant expansion tank with those hoses disconnected or you'll drain another 1/2 gallon onto the floor. Trust me, I made a mess twice.
When you're finished with your clutch job and you're refilling the coolant that drained out, apparently the B8.5 cars no longer have the bleed hole that was located under the heater core inlet hose (found under the plastic cowl panel) on the B8 cars. My car sort of self bled the cooling system through the expansion tank. It took some time, but it did purge all the air eventually.
And for all the B8 & B8.5 cars, you do not need to remove the starter or even unplug the connector on the starter to drop the transmission. Just unbolt the steel bottom bolt, then the aluminum upper bolt (be sure not to lose the spacer that will fall out as soon as you remove the bolt) and reach around front to pull the starter forward about an inch and you'll have no problem dropping the transmission like that. The starter on these cars seems to be a pain to replace since it's basically encased by the motor mount. Doesn't look like a fun job at all...
I'm pretty anal about doing things right and I torqued almost every single bolt to factory specs. But it's pretty much impossible to get a torque wrench on all of the bolts. The drive plate bolts require a special torque wrench or at least a special adapter for a torque wrench to be able to torque them to spec. So for those, I had to use my calibrated right arm instead. Same with some of the upper bell housing bolts. I could barely get a regular ratchet/socket on some of them, much less a torque wrench. And speaking of the aluminum bell housing bolts, the factory service manual says that you can re-use those bolts one time before you need to replace them. So you're supposed to stamp an "x" into the heads of those bolts so that the next time they are pulled out, it will be known that they've already been used twice. I'm sure lots of guys re-use them over and over again, but like I said, I'm pretty anal about doing everything by the book.
I ended up going with a SouthBend Stage II Daily clutch. I was amazed how it felt EXACTLY like the OEM clutch. Same pedal pressure, same engagement point, everything. By driving the car, you'd never know it wasn't the factory original clutch. I've been driving around for a couple of weeks so far and I'm really happy with the SouthBend clutch. The kit I got includes a dual-mass flywheel (like OEM, but Sachs branded) and a non-adjusting pressure plate (unlike the OEM self adjusting pressure plate) The SouthBend part number is K70614F-HD-O for the A4 or A5 cars.
Originally Posted by isesoteric
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