The V8 Owners Forum -

Audi have a special tool.

Basically a bar that bolts to the three holes on the spindle, the arm then bolts somewhere to the front of the engine. Then massive spanner with extended arm cracks the big nut off!

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I have a dead blow mallet which shifts them easily - but not tried on an Audi.

That clutch/flywheel looks pretty heavy! Surely you can just like up a switch/remove the fuse of the ABS system when you want, and keep the MOT man happy.

Update 17th October 2012:

As I can't determine if this engine has had a timing belt replacement, I decided to play it safe, and order a replacement.

When replacing a timing belt, everything that the belt rotates against MUST be replaced too. In the case of the Audi S8 4,2 V8, this means;

01) Timing belt.
02) Idler.
03) Tensioner.
04) Water pump.

If the rest of the belt's rotating assembly isn't replaced, you might as well leave the old belt in place, and tempt fate. A seized water pump or other rotating assembly will shred a new belt in a very short time.

I'm also taking the liberty of replacing the thermostat too.

A bust timing belt on most engines means extensive damage, at the very least, the cylinder head/s will have to come off, to replace bent valves. If the engine was operating closer to the rpm limit under load, then it's possible for the valves to smash holes in the pistons.

While I'm doing the timing belt job, I've got to find a way to get rid of the aircon compressor, which will mean re-routing the drive belt (possibly a shorter belt) with a system of idler pulleys. I could leave the aircon compressor in place to avoid re-engineering the belt and pulleys, but if I'm not retaining aircon in the car, why carry an extra 13 - 17 kilos of dead weight?

#JusticeforAluu4

topcatcustom wrote:That clutch/flywheel looks pretty heavy! Surely you can just like up a switch/remove the fuse of the ABS system when you want, and keep the MOT man happy.

Removing the fuse from the ABS will certainly disable ABS, and revert to stock brakes. But the extra weight will still be there, which was my primary reason for wanting to lose it.

Yeah, the flywheel's no light-weight, but well suited to the big V8. I like the low-down torque, and the tractability. A light-weight, snatchy unit wouldn't suit me at all.

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Update 19th October 2012:

My Audi S8 timing belt kit turned up today. This kit consists of:

*Timing belt.
*Tensioner.
*Idlers.
*Water pump and gasket.

I ordered the thermostat later than the delivery cut-off time, so that won't be with me until tomorrow morning. I'll be installing the water pump and crank pulley with new bolts.



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Update 19th October 2012:

My thermostat turned up this morning, so I decided to carry out my timing belt replacement, along with all associated tensioner and idlers.

I started just after midday, and completed the work 18:40 hours. Now replacing a timing belt with the engine out of the car may seem easy, (no car front to strip down for access) but it's a massive pain in the posterior. The crankshaft bolt is torqued to 245 Nm. Normally with the engine in the car, there are several ways to prevent the engine from turning, when trying to undo this bolt - putting the car in 3rd gear, with the hand brake firmly applied, locking the flywheel to the transmission through the holes provided etc.

In the end, I went further than I planned - I installed the flywheel, and was able to lock it in place by inserting a long bar through one of the holes.

I replaced the thermostat as a precautionary measure, the timing belt was pretty worn, and wouldn't have lasted long. The water pump was fine, though I replaced it regardless. As is typical with most modern cars, the impellar is plastic, and a known weak point. The replacement has a steel impellar, so all good. Both idlers and the tensioner were also replaced, and I was then able to refit the newly painted timing belt covers.

Since the flywheel was installed, I decided to fit the clutch, and the 01E 6-speed manual gearbox. Man, that thing's heavy! It tips the scales at 78 kilos, so heavier than the average full-grown male human.

Normally, I would wait to pull the 2,6 V6 and 01A 5-speed manual gearbox from the Audi A4 quattro, so I can used the engine-to-transmission bolts, but I can't really be arsed. So I've looked on eBay, and ordered all the bolts I need. They should be with me sometime next week. So right now, the transmission's in place, but not bolted to the V8.

Pictures of progress so far:

Thermostat location, with old thermostat in place:



With old thermostat removed:



Old versus new thermostat:



Flywheel fitted:



Followed by clutch:



Front of engine with freshly-painted timing belt covers:



And 4,2 V8 engine mated to 01E 6-speed manual gearbox:







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Update 29th October 2012:

I have now assembled my remote oil filter / cooler assembly. So will be running both coolant and air-cooled oil coolers. My external air cooler matrix turned up today. So all I'll need to tie the lot together, will be my stainless steel braided lines. Orientation is important, so no point getting custom lines made, until the distance between the oil filter / cooler assembly is known.

I will be using the heater core coolant feed at the rear of the engine, to take coolant to and from the water-cooled oil cooler, since I will not be plumbing in the heater core (the matrix will be removed).

I'll be ordering a couple more external matrixes - my 01E 6-speed manual has a built-in oil pump, and two oil feed and return pipes that normally go to an oil cooler, incorporated in the radiator. Since I won't be going that route, I'll need an extra matrix. My power steering also has a pretty basic cooler, adequate for normal driving, less than ideal for a big V8, and the associated heat in the engine bay. So that will also get its own matrix.

I'm toying with the idea of converting the car to LHD, though not decided yet, just considering...

Pictures of the assembled remote oil filter housing and coolant / air cooled oil cooler, and of course the external matrix:

Update 01st November 2012:

I have completed all that needs to be done, with the engine out of the car. The 4,2 32V S8 motor, is now married to the 01E 6-speed manual, and ready to be installed. Obviously, once the complete assembly is in place, I can make wooden engine mount mock-ups, then have them made out of 4mm thick steel.

Oil lines for the remote oil filter housing and coolers (both air and water cooled) will be made, as well as power steering and centre differential oil cooler lines. Secondary firewall will be removen, and battery will be relocated to the trunk, sharing space with the rear-mounted radiator.

Pictures of engine and tranny, ready to install:

Looking great fella, is there any way of making these engines just RWD? IF so what gearbox would work? Just out of interest!

chodjinn wrote:Looking great fella, is there any way of making these engines just RWD? IF so what gearbox would work? Just out of interest!

Yep - this engine can be run as RWD.

Volvo 740 2,4 TD gearbox bolts up. The inline 6 cylinder turbo diesel in the Volvo is actually a Volkswagen unit, which was based upon Audi's inline 5. Exactly the same, with an extra cylinder. Identical even down to the webbing, timing belt / water pump assembly, engine mounting bosses and aircon compressor mounting boss.

The Audi S8 motor shares the same bellhousing patter with the I5 and V6.

Nollywood wrote:

chodjinn wrote:Looking great fella, is there any way of making these engines just RWD? IF so what gearbox would work? Just out of interest!

Yep - this engine can be run as RWD.

Volvo 740 2,4 TD gearbox bolts up. The inline 6 cylinder turbo diesel in the Volvo is actually a Volkswagen unit, which was based upon Audi's inline 5. Exactly the same, with an extra cylinder. Identical even down to the webbing, timing belt / water pump assembly, engine mounting bosses and aircon compressor mounting boss.

The Audi S8 motor shares the same bellhousing patter with the I5 and V6.

That's awesome. Can the volvo boxes handle to V8 torque tho? I just checked on ebay and was surprised how cheap the audi V8s are.

^^^Not sure what the Volvo 2,4 I6 TD made, torque-wise, but I would imagine the M47 trans will cope just fine, as long as it's driven with respect.

Update 06th November 2012:

My cherry picker turned up this morning, I ordered it on Sunday the 4th. It's a 2-ton, 6-wheel version, with a maximum lift height of 2340mm. No automobile engine and trans combination weighs 2,000 kilos, so pretty good reserve SWL. It arrived disassembled, in two boxes, the whole hoist weighs in at 80 kilos!

The 2,6 V6 2 x SOHC 12V engine currently in the A4 has provisionally sold, the 5-speed manual is sold too, so right now, the car has cost me nothing, I've actually sold parts off her for more than I paid for the car, so it's all good.

Got an Audi RS6 wiring harness to get to grips with, so next week should see me pulling the engine and trans from my A4 quattro.

Cherry picker all assembled, and ready for work:



I'm going to purchase a load-leveller to use with this. Not really an essential item, it just makes working with an awkward load easier to level out for installation.

Nollywood wrote:^^^Not sure what the Volvo 2,4 I6 TD made, torque-wise, but I would imagine the M47 trans will cope just fine, as long as it's driven with respect.

Well, bear in mind an MGB weighs a lot less than either an S8 or a 740!

How's the wiring on one of these? Lots to mess around with?