Time for some love

[dan101smith]

It's finally time to give the S4 some love.

So I've ordered:

4x ContiSport5
2x rear shocks and bump stops
2x rear number plate lights
1x RS4 rear ARB

The wheels will get a refurb before the tyres go on. Also got a pair of track rod ends to go on, and then once everything else is fitted it'll get a 4WA.

I'm also going to get the shift linkage looked at - it seems out of alignment (has been since I bought the car) so there may be a worn/bent part in the linkage somewhere.

I'm not sure if they'll need to drop the 'box to look at the linkage - if so, it'd make sense to get the clutch and fly done at the same time...

First job is to get it through the MOT on Saturday, though!

[dan101smith]

Well, since you've all asked, here's where I've got to.

MOT last weekend started with a fail, on two points:

1. Rear middle seatbelt
2. OSR indicator not orange enough

The seatbelt was because the buckle was the wrong side of the plastic knob on the webbing, so although you could pull the belt out, you couldn't plug it in. 3 seconds with a screwdriver and sorted.

The orange coating had worn off the bulb, probably because of the amount of water in the cluster. A replacement bulb was fitted, and a pass was issued. When I got home I fitted the replacement cluster I've had in the garage for about six months...

Today involved picking the wheels up from being refurbished, with the new ContiSportContact 5s fitted, so they've gone on and the winters are off.

Also swapped out the two rear shock absorbers, including bump stops and boots. One of the bump stops had clearly seen better days:



Shocks were pretty tired too:



Very straightforward job to do, the only bit that took some time was getting the old top mounts off - in the end a puller sorted it.

Next up was the rear ARB and droplinks. Having read about how the RS4 ARB makes a difference, I thought it worth a try. It's a bit fiddly to be honest, as there's a few bolts that you're going for blind, but it probably took about an hour, including ducking indoors to get out of a hailstorm! You'll need to drop the exhaust backboxes a bit to get wiggle room to get the old one out/new one in, but otherwise again a pretty straightforward job.

Finally, my 2010 sat nav discs came through from eBay this morning, so that went in and did its software update. Not been far enough to see if the maps are any different, but I'm sure it'll work a treat.

So, next job is the front rod ends and a four wheel alignment, and then we're away and rocking.

Oh, and I suspect I'm going to end up completely rebuilding the front suspension soon now. The rear feels so much better for the refresh that it'd be silly not to do the other end too....

I'll leave you on a pic:

[dan101smith]

I'll answer the barrage of questions later, but the update is that since doing the rear shocks and ARB, the rear of the car has felt so much better - no more crashing over bumps, just decent damping and good body control.

But it has shown the front needs some attention, so today I've ordered 6 of the 8 control arms plus a pair of shocks, bump stops and boots.

I've already got track rod ends and front ARB links ready to go on, so that'll all get done in one hit and then I'll take it for a 4WA.

I've also ordered a replacement undertray for the passenger side, as the one on there has broken most of its mount points.

The final part of the order was for the cover for the jack in the spare wheel well - it's currently missing, and it's bugging me.

Onwards/upwards.

[Batfinnk]

Where did you order the front shocks from? I may need some for my B7 soon and can't find them anywhere apart from an Audi stealer which I would like to avoid if possible.

[dan101smith]

The dealer.

Both shocks, bump stops and boots was £235 after discount.

I looked around but couldn't find any elsewhere. TPS could be worth a shout, but they never bothered replying to me.