Forge cooler bolts

[Skid-136]

Has anyone fitted their new oil cooler bolts yet? If so has it stopped the vibration noise? Recieved mine through the post this morn and they look just the same as the ones that are on it already,if anyone who has these could take a pic of there's and post it here so I can compare to mine it would be much appreciated.

[Youngben]

Has anyone fitted their new oil cooler bolts yet? If so has it stopped the vibration noise? Recieved mine through the post this morn and they look just the same as the ones that are on it already,if anyone who has these could take a pic of there's and post it here so I can compare to mine it would be much appreciated.

Celldamage had his fitted on Monday so he should be able to let us know if they have sorted the issue. They are slightly smaller in length. We are still open minded about this being the problem and would say hold back for a solution before paying labour to have work carried out for something that may not sort the problem. Even with the screws shorter there is still metal to metal contact at the mounting point so we still have a very open mind that this will fix the harmonics though the body.

[Skid-136]

Cheers Ben,thought I'd been sent the wrong ones cos they look so similar. Yeh metal to metal is never a good idea,I thought they would have changed the blocks for plastic or rubber ones rather than just change the length of the bolts slightly but if it works then happy days.

[CellDamage]

I actually managed to lose the shorter bolts Forge sent me somehow, was sure I put them in the boot but can't find them anywhere :\

Anyway, when my car was in on Monday the guys at The Phirm shortened the original bolts by a few mm and also fitted some ever so slightly thicker washers. Has stopped the lower mount bolts bottoming out and seems to have stopped the noise.

[Youngben]

Good to know. Thanks for the update. Looks like the bumper will be coming back off then!

[Iain_S4]

When you say vibration noise, what did it sound like? Was it a low resonant whirring type noise? I just finished fitting my Forge oil cooler last night and need the car back on the road but concerned at this noise.

Which bolts are the ones in question? I only bought the kit on Tuesday so would hope that it would have up to date parts if changes have been made. I wasn't able to strip the cotton reels as Forge call them from the old oil cooler so the lower bracket has bolts and a plastic spacer at the moment until I can get some new ones. Given the price of the kit its a shame it relies on you being able to salvage these old parts during removal of the old cooler. A wiser more experienced head might have had spare ones sourced in advance.

I had a few other niggling issues with the fitting and the parts that are a bit disappointing on the kit - given the price. Forge reputation etc. I'll maybe try and follow up with

However on a positive, a huge thank you to Revolution Motorstore (http://www.revolution247.com), Keith in particular for being very helpful and quickly sorting me out with this kit earlier in the week. Ordered on Tuesday and delivered on Wednesday.

[CellDamage]

When you say vibration noise, what did it sound like? Was it a low resonant whirring type noise? I just finished fitting my Forge oil cooler last night and need the car back on the road but concerned at this noise.

Yep, it's a low pitched sound, see here http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... se#p645867

Which bolts are the ones in question? I only bought the kit on Tuesday so would hope that it would have up to date parts if changes have been made. I wasn't able to strip the cotton reels as Forge call them from the old oil cooler so the lower bracket has bolts and a plastic spacer at the moment until I can get some new ones. Given the price of the kit its a shame it relies on you being able to salvage these old parts during removal of the old cooler. A wiser more experienced head might have had spare ones sourced in advance.

There's 8 bolts in total on the lower mounts if I remember correctly, 4 on each side. If you're unsure if the kit came with the revised bolts drop Chris Lloyd an email (chris@forgemotorsport.co.uk).

I had a few other niggling issues with the fitting and the parts that are a bit disappointing on the kit - given the price. Forge reputation etc. I'll maybe try and follow up with

What were you disappointed with?

[Iain_S4]

Ok, Mine is no where near as bad as the link to the Mazda. Will maybe try and take a video and see if it comes across clearly. I had seen some other posts and assumed from those that it was the 8 bolts that hold attach the oil cooler to the bracket via the mounting blocks. Mine all seemed to make up tight and I didn't think bottomed out but I am questioning that now and will have to check.

I need to get hold of some replacement "cotton reels" that go between the bottom bracket and the old oil cooler bracket on the car. I couldn't reuse these so at the moment it has a bolt and fairly hard plastic spacer. However, I think its unlikely these are the cause.

cotton reel = bonded rubber bush in Audi speak.

I was going to drop an email to Forge and looked out their email but have been a too busy today.

The niggles I had were

1) One of the holes in one of the mounting blocks was not properly threaded (could not get a bolt in) and had to be re-threaded. I'm glad a recent purchase was a set of re-threading taps.

2) The instructions say T25 and T30 screwdrivers. I have various T30 Torx drivers and a short T30 socket but what is really needed is a socket with a long T30 extension. I struggled to remove the bolts from the engine to get the old hoses off The screwdrivers were too long to get into the space and the short socket will not go on as there is no clearance. I got one bolt out but had to leave the other until the following day rather than risk damaging it. Once I had a socket with a long T30 extension it was a doddle. It's been on the wish list but is now about to get purchased.

3) The sandwich plate was assembled on the hoses the wrong way round so the lipped profile that centres it in the hole in the slam panel is on the outside and not doing any good. By this point the hoses are assembled on the oil cooler and the cooler mounted in place so taking the hoses off and feeding through from the engine side just to get that plate to centre was too much hassle.

4) I could not get the cotton reels off the old oil cooler to re-use them - there is no way to grip the cotton reel as Forge call them to break the nut loose. Its not surprising given that they have been on there for years and are a bit rusty. It is disappointing that for the price the kit needs you to reuse these small parts when in my view it is unlikely you will be able to.

5) The P-clamps that hold the hose to the lower bracket - the holes in the bracket are positioned such that the hose is hard up against the back of the power steering cooler - Why? Next time I have the bumper off I may drill 2 new holes in the bracket to move the hose back a bit.

6) I'm not sure I can level this at the kit as I'm maybe missing some trick in how to do it easily - I'm no master mechanic. Step 29 states "Using the two M6 hex heads removed in section 17 that held your fan controller bracket in position, attach your new assembly and tighten using a 10mm spanner" Sounds really simple except my forearm and hands are not the size of a 5 year old. Just trying to get the bolts into the holes was a pain and then trying to get a spanner onto them!!! As above I left it and came back the next night armed with a couple of ratchet spanners which helped a lot but still an awkward c*** of a job. Ok, so I was probably doing it wrong but I'm interested to know the easy way to do it. . . if there is one.

7) Almost forgot. The oil hose clamp looked like it had an allen bolt but a 4mm key was too small and a 5mm too big. I made it up by jamming a T30 into it. I say looked like an allen bolt but looking back at the instructions now its maybe me being a fud as they show a Torx driver being used. I think I tried the T25 in it and it was too small and the T30 certainly didn't fit correctly. Guess what I'm taking a second look at when I get a chance.