New owner of 2003 RS6 C5 Saloon

[simonpoulton]

Regarding the washer jets - it can be easy to get the pipe trapped between the bumper and crash bar / strut on bumper replacement. Did that once and had a mild panic! I used some compressed air to check they would pop up OK when the bumper is off (don't go mad on the PSI)

[Mɐʇʇ]

I was confused enough by this that I've had to go and reinstall elsawin. And there absolutely is no mention of it, you are right.
So am unable to explain how I even know about the other bleed vent. I must have found another guide that gives instructions on how to do it without the vacuum rig, I dunno.

I'd better check that. I was following the bleed guide on Elsawin, not mentioned there.

[Capt Ric]

Re the DRC - I think you will need to get it serviced by someone who has the equipment and knows what to do. I think it involves removing 'old' fluid then replenishing and presurising correctly.
Grizz at unit 20 looks after mine, but perhaps ypu can find a more local solution.

[Mɐʇʇ]

There is a how to somewhere on making your own rig, too

[IchBautAuto]

Re headlight washer jets, mine only work when the headlights are turned on.

I hear people talk about bleeding the coolant system but I never have. I use a vacuum filler and it works so well that you just fill it and thats it finished.

[norwichphoto]

Got a pair of A6 Allroad wiper arms from Ebay for £ 25. A few chips here and there, so stripped and repainted them. Just fitted to car with a fresh pair of Valeo wiper blades.

[Shoppinit]

Nice. It’s amazing how much more modern the car looks with allroad wiper arms.

[norwichphoto]

Shuffled the cars around at work, so I've got the 4 poster ramp for the weekend. Going to do an oil change and fuel filter change, and look at the DRC pipework to check for leaks.

Oil filter seems to be awkwardly placed... :fun:

[Shoppinit]

Oil filter isn’t too bad from underneath.

[norwichphoto]

Oil filter done. Not so easy - over tightened by an Audi service person. Fuel filter changed but the plastic clamp for the fuel filter was broken so have to devise a repair

Rear wishbones scrubbed and Dinitrolled and ready for painting.

Noticed a small leak from the rear transfer case where prop shaft attaches.

[Mɐʇʇ]

I’ve got about 4 different oil filter tools for all the different nuances of whatever I can get to fit to get the filter off without having to stab it with a screwdriver.

[norwichphoto]

Put a coat of black hammerite (smooth) onto rear wishbones to smarten them up and help keep corossion at bay.

A closer look underneath reveals a split front LH CV boot and I've found a weep of hydraulic fluid from somewhere near the fuel pump. By following the pipes back from the front damper I think its a DRC pipe...

Dropped lift to floor level and put oil in the engine, just in case on of my colleages decides they need the lift tomorrow.

[norwichphoto]

Decisions to be made.

Option 1 - keep DRC - drop exhaust, fuel tanks and rear subframe buy enough to get access to pipework and remake pipework (assuming that the flares are standard type of flares and can make in house). Take to local Audi dealer for recharging. Also assumes that the rear valves are working and the flexible sections are also OK. Whilst I have bought new DRC dampers, I can keep them for future use or resell them on for a slight loss.

Whilst I can work on the car myself for free evenings and weekends, this is probably more than a one person job, and I wouldn't want to take up workshop space for longer than necessary. Unit20 are the opposite side of the country to me.

Option 2. Koni conversion.
Thanks to work I get 30% off Koni list prices, so £ 400 plus VAT for a full set of S6 spec Konis.

Option 3. Bilstein P9
£ 1400.

Fitting I can do myself.

Whilst I'd quite like to keep the DRC intact, there are so many unknowns and potential costs that I'm starting to veer towards options 2 or 3. I've not driven the car so I've no preconceptions of what it should be like.

[Mɐʇʇ]

We'll all have different opinions.

When I bought mine, the DRC was shot so I went with the Koni conversion to keep OEM springs
But with your car being such low mileage, there's an argument to keep it very very original and to rebuild the DRC. (Have you seen the thread with a DRC recharge rig on it?)
Can Audi actually recharge it correctly now?

[Shoppinit]

The Audi dealer would be completely lost. They will almost certainly get it wrong and then you've got a fight on your hands when your car is jacked up at the rear and bouncing around like a ping-pong ball in a Thai bar.

"That's how it's supposed to be, sir."

The PSS9 are pretty good but there's not much travel before you hit the bump stops if you want anything like stock ride height.

Don't know about the Konis. Never rode in one with them fitted.

If I were in your situation I would put the DRC back to how it's supposed to be and keep the car as standard as possible. There is nothing particularly complicated about the DRC system and I would make the tools (or buy it) to recharge. There's a guide in the FAQ IIRC.