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I purchased the Imola knowing it had blown turbos and potentially a hurt motor and unfortunately, the gamble didn't pay off as well as it could have .
I was hoping the turbos were blown / I could keep the existing and original motor, but now it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to keep it highly upgraded.
Not discouraged at the slightest .. the car no matter what needed a motor pull but I will need to have a motor shipped to me from a dismantler - I know a few good ones in Arizona that sell similar / lower mileage motors at guaranteed compression with all accessories minus the harness for around $1000 shipped to my door.
Would there be any funkiness putting an engine from an automatic car into a manual car? If I remember correctly people had to do a bunch of ECU work on the 2G CL/TLs when manual swapping.
Would there be any funkiness putting an engine from an automatic car into a manual car? If I remember correctly people had to do a bunch of ECU work on the 2G CL/TLs when manual swapping.
Fortunately, motors are identical except for the secondary air injection ports on the cylinder heads that's used on automatic transmissions. I think there's some OEM parts I can remove from manual heads to plug it, but they surely make block off plates.
Started the disassembly process today - waiting on a kitty pool for pressure washing the bay / engine and a better coolant & oil jugs so I can pull the front core support:
Sent payment for a motor a few weeks back which should be here this week - on a pallet and ready to go:
Slowly building a parts list - for sure will need some seals, timing belt kit, RS4 clutch & new flywheel, and a rear wheel bearing.
Been driving the other S4 a lot lately .. recently did about 300 miles of driving in the last few weeks.
Camping with the family a few weekends back - My youngest isn't sleeping well so we were driving back and forth / taking shifts away from the campsite so most of us could get some rest
Motor arrived last night - I've yet to examine it but it looks well packed and dirty .
First things first - I need to pull the valve covers & examine the cams and drop the old oil - It came out of a running an driving car but, I'd like to make sure the oil is not full of sparkles and the cams look good - once confirmed, I will start ordering the refresh parts:
Left: How it starts
Right: How it ends
Spent a few more hours on disassembly - most top side stuff is complete - harness is pretty much undone, front clip is off, fluids are drained.
Next is AC compressor removal, driveshaft, axles, motor & transmission mounts, clutch slave line and she'll be out.
I got my kitty pool & simple green - I plan on giving this thing a very thorough pressure washing in hopes I will make it look like my other S4 back in 2018
I just love letting them know that you're putting in the work and their previous project lives on.
you're an inspiration to a lot of people and you probably don't even realize it.
This makes me installing a limited slip in the Charger look like a complete noob. I love seeing these in-progress photos! Can't wait to see the yellow one all cleaned up.
This makes me installing a limited slip in the Charger look like a complete noob. I love seeing these in-progress photos! Can't wait to see the yellow one all cleaned up.
Much appreciate that man - I am no means a pro (I haven't broken an engine apart, or anything like that) but, once you have worked with a platform this long the concern isn't whether if I'm capable of doing a motor swap, but it's the time commitment.
This car is going to eat at my time but I know I can get it done - my theory is, if the car is factory ... it'll be much easier to troubleshoot.
I took @rockstar143 's advice and hit up the previous owner on the paperwork - I didn't get a reply right away but to my surprise they eventually got back to me.
TLDR:
They were happy the car went to me
Apparently, I was in a bidding war with a part out company in Arizona ... which ironically is where I got my motor from - small world.
Said he regretted selling it every day
His kids were bummed when he got rid of it since that was their childhood car
He wanted to teach them how to drive stick in it
He's going to follow me on Instagram (if you guys are interested, I'm posting it under my car profile @underqualifiedgarage) and keep up with the progress on his old car.
To add a cherry on top, he's sending me a 2nd key.
One thing is for sure, I love cars with stories ... and this one is full of them so far haha.
Just need axle bolts, trans mounts, exhaust, and driveshaft.
I should have it out by Sunday.
A lot of this is coming back to me .. I didn’t realize I’d say this but, I genuinely enjoy working on this alone - there’s no second guessing where tools are, I can move at my own pace / clean as I go. I’m labeling each Ziplock baggy for any hardware I’m pulling.
OCD dreaming.
Extra help is nice but It’s absolutely lovely being meticulous / slow.
When it comes to pulling engines, the extra help is actually really appreciated .
I had a friend come by and give me a hand - wasn’t my quickest motor pull but, no stripped bolts / nothing broken / nothing missing and all hardware is organized.
Cant complain - tear down will of the old motor / inspection of the new will start this week.
- Level 3 timing belt kit - includes valvecover gaskets, cam seals, thermostat, belt, tensioners, etc (the works)
- LUK RS4 OEM clutch w/ brand new LUK flywheel
- SAI Block off plates for the new motor
- Flywheel bolts
Still need:
- Engine oil
- Power steering
- Brake fluid
- G13 coolant / distilled water
- Spark plugs
- Outer CV axle boot / rebuild for driverside.
Will most likely need to order:
- Rear main seal
- Auxiliary water pump or delete kit
- Cam pullers for timing service
Big things I'd like to complete this week:
- Examine & inspect new motor - pull wrapping, pull valve covers & inspect cams - hopefully the rear main seal isn't leaking because I hate doing these
- Unbox kiddy pool and start pressure washing the engine bay / subframe
- Start pulling Stage 3 parts off of old drivetrain - start posting go fast parts for sale
- Remove & pressure wash transmission from old engine - prep it for new motor.
Love following the cleanup and build of another one of these. If you are pressure washing the bay would a steam cleaner also probably be of help to get everything off. I know you could probably make the trans and engine look close to new with one. Crazy what you can get off with those things.
Love following the cleanup and build of another one of these. If you are pressure washing the bay would a steam cleaner also probably be of help to get everything off. I know you could probably make the trans and engine look close to new with one. Crazy what you can get off with those things.
I haven’t purchased a steam cleaner … but; I know what I’m looking at later
This is something I could see myself using A LOT during builds .. maybe not so much to day to day.
Cant' say I'm not intrigued, though.
We use them all the time at work to clean off small parts. They work well to get very light grease and gunk off (think jewelry) but if it's heavily coated then a normal US cleaner won't touch it. For context, the parts that we use the cleaners on are manufactured in a clean room lol and that's the level of crap they get off. I don't think it'll work great for automotive stuff, you're better off with chemical or steam cleaners for that.
steam is awesome for sure...that with a sacrificial microfiber gets a LOT of shit off without making a big mess or wetting everything...good call @CCColtsicehockey
this is the one i have but holy hell has the price gone up! I think I bought it off a coworker barely used for 40...
We use them all the time at work to clean off small parts. They work well to get very light grease and gunk off (think jewelry) but if it's heavily coated then a normal US cleaner won't touch it. For context, the parts that we use the cleaners on are manufactured in a clean room lol and that's the level of crap they get off. I don't think it'll work great for automotive stuff, you're better off with chemical or steam cleaners for that.
Gotcha - thanks for the feedback - I've seen a buddy of mine use them for hardware / other small bits who does quite a bit of wrenching and seems to have good success .. wasn't sure about larger / more oil caked stuff.
I do have plenty of simple green, brushes, and a decent pressure washer - looks like that's the best recipe.