reapersA6

Alright, so the time has finally come. My clutch slips in all 6 gears, I have to crawl around town because acceleration is a non-existent thing of the past.

I made the plunge and purchased the Kevlar Stage 2+ kit from the guys at vast, and bought a Fidanza LWFW with the replacable friction liner. Both should be here (fingers crossed) by mid week. Coincidentally I get Wednesdays off. I also purchased the Bentley Manual for our cars, and have the compressor, tools, and jack stands ready in the garage.

Now my question is this. Who here has installed their own clutch and FW here? Can anybody give me real world experience and advice? It is going to be incredible weather all week here with a 10% chance of rain in the mid 80's. I have my bike to get to work and intend on taking my time.

I will be taking out my factory DP's for the clutch anyways, so I figured I would build some piggies while I am in there. I also bought a snub mount, and Vogtland coil-overs to go on as well. As you can see, this is going to be a very big under-taking with alot of changes happening at once.

My biggest concern are the parts and the tools. Are there any Audi specific tools I will need? (aside from the 12 point star tools) Will I need anything expensive that I haven't included in my budgeting? Somebody lend me a hand with what I'm going to do and let me know how much beer and band-aids to buy before hand!

PICS can be taken at request,... I will likely snap a few for myself anyways, although it's always a bitch to stop for a pic when your hands are soaked in oil and you are lying under a car that is 18 inches off the ground.

Anybody out there have the Vogtlands on their 2.7t's?

ctlaw74

I am like you, busy and too eager to tackle projects for pride. Sure you could do it, but a one + day project will turn into a two week project by Murphy's Law. Just happens. I did the same thing when I replaced my axles. Took me a week to do one side, car was hung up in the garage, (had other transpo) but after it was done, I decided to take it into the shop and have the other side completed by my mechanic. They charged my $225.00 to do the toehr side and it was done in an afternoon. hindsight is twenty twenty. Also, my job got hung up on the ever hated pinch bolt. Always have some easy outs ready when you do it yourself. Also a BFH.

Good luck and God speed.

myfirstimport

forget that.

audikillsbmw

Not if you pull the trans instead..

Nappy

make sure you adjust the SAC and make sure you install a new needle bearing in the flywheel (if it doesn't have one already).

Chaddy

...it's heavier than it looks!

As Nappy mentioned, the SAC is critical and is NOT guaranteed to come set in the right position, regardless of what Bentley says about new pressure plates.

jasaab

I did my stage 3 at the same time (k04 turbo,injetors etc.) I removed my whole engine. Many say that getting tranny out is not so bad, but trying to align on jack stand is a real challenge.
No real special tools needed.

Flint'sA6

I also heard it's much easier working under a lift, given the size/weight of the tranny.

Harbor Freight sells a decent tranny jack for ~$125.

I was going to attempt it myself, and even bought that HF tranny jack. I'd done the clutch on my 87 Jetta and I've done every other repair/maintenance item on this car, so why not this? When I couldn't find a detailed DIY (even from endless searches on the S4 forum) I decided it was a job reserved for the pro's and opted to have Mike at VAST do it for me. I still think I could have pulled it off, but it probably wouldn't have been without problems, and I didn't have a week to mess around.

BTW, VAST's kevlar clutch RS4 PP combo is very nice--almost stock feel, just a bit stiffer. I had my OEM flywheel resurfaced, so I can't speak to how your LWFW will impact performance.

Good luck!

reapersA6

See I work at an Audi dealership. I could easily pay a tech to do all the work for me. It would be done by professionals, and probably at a rate that isn't too shabby either,... but I want to do the piggies while it is up on the stands, and I like getting into my own car. I want to see how everything works under there, and I want to know that it was my own handywork that got it all working. I actually just finished modifying the clutch on my race bike, and that was an experience. I'm hoping that things will go smoothly by following the Bentley, but I am prepared if it all doesn't go to plan. I have plenty of vehicles available to me, and the learning process, and ultimately the pride of the job is what matters to me.

Now I have one more question: since the DP's will be coming off for modification, what should I be checking out as far as the turbo goes for wear and tear? Play around the shaft, impeller blade damage, oil in and around the impeller and compressor housing,... what? This is my first turbo car, I've always been an NA or Supercharged guy previously. Thanks again guys.

P.S. Anybody in the New England Area that wants to share in the fun digging into a car, busting some knuckles, and imbibing on whatever beer looks good at the store can feel free to swing by for the fun!

Chaddy

...is pretty much it - obvious physical damage and/or wet with oil. There is a little bit of play in the shafts even on new journal-bearing turbos.

Just keep in mind that odds are good you will have to replace the turbos at some point, the stock K03s are known to have insufficient oil passages.