donromani

So I popped the hood and snapped this one before I started:



Then I took a 5 minute break to treat the girlfriend to some efficient german sex....got done with 3 minutes to spare and started wrenching. The hardest part as always was getting that motherfudging bumper off.



And so thereafter, the first casualty. The t-connection on the hoses coming from the overflow reservoir snaps in two places. The plastic bits are still stuck in the hoses - will deal with this later, but for now I curse the crappy brittle plastic.



Stuff starts piling up. And before you ask, yes that is a pressure washer back there against the wall. Super for cleaning vinyl siding.



Various assorted goodies. Ebay hoses, ASP spacers, 034 tranny and engine mounts, the APR snub mount and the replacement door handle:



Old and new coolant overflow reservoirs. Guess which one is which? WRONG! You suck.



Just for ***** and giggles, here my ebay (cxracing) upgraded intercoolers. It's probably time to go with a FMIC, but I ran out of funds this time around so I will be reusing these.



And the last one for today, right before quitting time. 90% of the various hoses and wires have been disconnected. Most of the extraneous engine components have been removed. Slated for tomm: removing axles, exhaust, and separating from the trans. I also need to get a crane to lift her out.





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I have a few questions for you guys who have done the swap, especially the ones with RS6 turbos:

1. Am I correct in assuming the front part of the car (the carrier with the radiators and all that on it) can't be fully removed without letting of the AC coolant? Did you guys just leave this on for the whole job, just kind of dangling there?

2. RS6 guys: the new flanges for the DP, do these have to be welded on the existing flanges or do I have the shop cut off the stock flanges and then weld the new ones in their place?

jibberjive

Welcome to my biggest nightmare of the engine pull, dealing with the never ending coolant spillage everywhere. Don't take your time to clean it up perfectly, cause it WILL happen again (wait until you pull the front clip off, or when you tilt the block to pull the engine, or when you disconnect the heater hoses by the firewall, or when you... It happens over and again, and I got worried about trying to crank on some of the harder bolts while my feet were in the slippery coolant.

BTW, I was never able to find the "drain" either, so I pulled the coolant temp sensor IIRC (or maybe I'm getting it confused with my B6 when I just changed the timing belt.)

jibberjive

The carrier can be pulled completely off without discharging the AC. To do so you have to put the AC condenser and compressor somewhere. Here's what I did with mine



And since the car was on the lift that would be going up and down, I found a way to stick a 2 x 4 between the lift rails that supported the compressor. Worked out kinda neat. Or if you don't want to deal with it, you can just disconnect the compressor and recharge it yourself after with the cans. I've heard it's not too terrible.



I didn't ever have the flanges installed, but I was under the definite impression that you cut the flanges off and have the RS6 ones welded in their place.

Also, when taking the front axles off, don't forget to first break the huge axle bolt with your wheels on on the ground.

I'm liking the progress!

fastestaudiwagon

please stop asking the flop master( jibbygayjivver ) for advise. he can only point you in the wrong direction. it seems like you are having a wonderfull time building your car, which is cool, but please take your time with your car and do it right the first time so that you won't have to take it apart to fix or replace something that you over looked. good luck and i hope that you encounter minimal obstacles while bulding your future super toy.

shawnoc2003

+1 on removing the front carrier without draining the AC pump. I had to remove the oil filter mount/cooler (large nut over the oil filter threads) to get the compressor out. The hoses are long enough to get it over to the passenger side and you cant tie strap it out of the way.

The body shop told me that if I did drain the system when my condenser was hit in an accident, I'd have to vacuum it out while filling it in order to remove any moisture. Could have been pulling my leg, but the insurance was paying so I figured it wasn't worth wrenching on it.

jibberjive

LOL you're like the obsessive ex-girlfriend that won't stop following me around. I didn't know I meant that much to you.

complacentsee

That T fitting broke on my car as I pulled back into my driveway last night. Scared the **** out of me. So much for my clean engine bay....

Replaced it with a 3way 3/8" t fitting from home depot.

complacentsee

And, didn't you watch the video "guide"???

thejulex

AC 101, you have to evacuate air and moisture before filling with gas if you completely discharged you system. Otherwise it will play havoc with performance and longevity.

complacentsee

for sure, must be evacuated and hold said vacuum for 24 hours or something typically.