Koji's 2002 Audi A3 8L

[koji]

Introduction
So after searching around for a car to replace my Mk6 77TSI (most will remember it on VWG), I finally settled on this car. I was chasing something that was VAG, reliable, comfortable, mildly powerful, had reasonable fuel consumption and preferably owned by an enthusiast. I searched day in day out for two months or so until I bit the bullet on this and jumped on a plane down to Sydney to do an inspection/test drive/hand-over. My budget was $5000 so cars that met my requirements were extremely hard to come by, but patience was a virtue and I got this for under that so very pleased with it all. I will mention that the previous owner completed all the listed modifications, so all credit to him (Dave) for the work.

The Basics:

Car Specs:
- 2002 Audi A3 8L 1.8T
- Silver Metallic
- 6 Speed Manual
- AUM engine - Drive by wire KO3
- 5 Door

Factory Inclusions/Options:
- Audi 'Concert' Audio System
- Paint - Metallic
- Leather Seats
- Power everything

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Modifications Completed:

Engine:
- GIAC ECU Tune (Assuming 'Xplus')
- High flow exhaust manifold
- 3” Dump pipe & resonator delete
- N75J Valve from an Audi TT
- Upgraded turbo intake pipe
- Upgraded intercooler piping
- Dual port BOV
- Dogbone engine mount


Handling:
- H&R sport cup-kit (Shock/Sping combo)- Lowering: 55mm/40mm
- Whiteline front & rear sway bars
- Neuspeed front strut brace
- Polybush mounts
- Brakes Front - R32 334mm rotors, R32 calipers and R32 brake lines.
- Brakes Rear - R32 ventilated 256mm rotors and R32 calipers.
- Audi TT wheels - 18" x 7.5" et29 with Dunlop Direzza 225/40/18 tyres (not 100% sure on wheel spec)


Interior:
- S3 centre console - upgrade to piano black trim
- xCarlink - iPod and AUX input and Bluetooth phone/audio with microphone
- Small boost gauge


Exterior:
- Window tint - darkest legal
- OEM S3 rear bumper
- Exhaust tips to match rear (twin)
- Sideskirts colour-coded
- Votex front bar (?)


My thoughts on the car:
Exciting little hatch with good power. Coming from smaller engine cars I can only smile when I put my foot on the accelerator. The car handles great; I feel very 'connected' with the road, the front and rear sways with strut brace means it is very stiff/tight (i'm not the best with perfomance jargon sorry!). Brakes are huge (to me) and probably unnecessary for the power this car has, but they fill the 18"s out well and I barely need to touch the brakes to slow down/stop; and they look good too. The interior is very spacious and extremely comfortable; having driven it 950km's from Sydney to the Gold Coast, I was quite impressed with it.

Future plans for the car
- Wheels; I want something less 'full-faced'. I will stick with 18's but would be looking more around the 8.5" - 9" width
- Front bumper has some damage, I might look into an OEM (used) S3 bumper
- Head unit upgrade; I am new to Audi's and have done some research and people have put RNS-E systems into A3 8L and it looks much better and offers a great deal more functionality
- Performance-wise; I have no idea, suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated
- Coilovers will come in time too, I like to be able to adjust the height etc. and get it to sit just right
- Small things like LED interior lights and other comfort related parts
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Photos: (Taken by previous owner, will upload some soon)








Thanks for looking
Koji

[koji]

ALSO; I need some help finding the engine number on the engine itself! I am transferring rego and this is a must so anyone who knows where to locate it on the AUM engine - please let me know

[team_v]

Looks good.
Bit of a step up performance wise from the Golf.

I agree on the need for new wheels.

[14nce]

Looks good man!

I'll check where my engine number is, should be in the same place.

Performance mod wise you really aren't going to make any more power without a bigger turbo. Could do a FMIC but won't really make much difference on that turbo.

[koji]

Looks good man!

I'll check where my engine number is, should be in the same place.

Performance mod wise you really aren't going to make any more power without a bigger turbo. Could do a FMIC but won't really make much difference on that turbo.

Yeah if you could that would be sweet! Yeah I figured the car was at its performance max with the K03. I'm not too worried, its a daily after all that sits at 110km/h most of the time

[SoVeReIgN]

haha damn you guys I loved those wheels.

How did you go with the radiator/coolant?

[koji]

haha damn you guys I loved those wheels.

How did you go with the radiator/coolant?

Haha! The only reason is I don't want to hide the R32 brakes; they are too pretty. Man, still struggling with it, I've barely had anytime to look at it. I've checked the fuses and tried to 'burp' the coolant but I'm thinking its the either the fan control module/water pump or thermostat. Hoping it's not a exxy thing to fix

[koji]

Thought i'd post a little update on the car;

After having it for a month or so now, I am still loving the 'go' of the car and it handles really well with the upgraded suspension parts/sways.

A few things I have done (nothing special);
- Given it a thorough clean on the inside - I want to remove the seats and shampoo everything but finding the time to do so is hard.
- Tidied up the front mesh grills as they were a little out of whack and dented.
- Cleaned the engine bay up, only to have it get sprayed with coolant - Story below

I have encountered a few issues with the car in regards to the cooling system; symptoms are:
- Boiling coolant in the reservoir - I have 'burped' the car multiple times and still same thing - even replaced coolant cap on reservoir
- Fan does not come on at all when I am driving the car - even when there is boiling coolant and its 25+ degree day and a heap of driving. The only time the fans come on are 1) when I start the car and they run for 10 seconds 2) when the car has no coolant and is basically smoking hot.
- The coolant split Y pipe cracked and was slowly leaking coolant - I replaced this with a new one only to have it completely explode yesterday after driving for 20 minutes
- Air con does not work either

Last night I ordered a few things from ECS Tuning that may assist me in sorting my cooling system out, they are;
- Aluminium coolant split Y pipe to replace the failure prone plastic one. I can only assume the heat of the coolant is causing the plastic to become weak and eventually break
- Thermostat replacement kit which includes the pipe (thought it would be best as the car is at 212XXXkm's)
- New coolant temperature sensor with O'ring and clip
- Oil dipstick funnel to replace the current one as I've read it will most likely crack when taking apart the front assembly to reach the thermostat.

What I am thinking after doing a lot of research on these problems is that it could be one or more of the following;
- Faulty fan control fuse/relay/module - I do not know how to test all the plugs etc. so can't narrow that down right now
- Water pump failure?
- Thermostat stuck in closed position?
- Maybe the oil cooler? (I'm no mechanic but I did see this mentioned somewhere)

I know that my best bet would be to run a scan on the car but I can't drive the car anywhere until I sort the coolant pipe out...

I will also mention that the water pump/stat/timing belts/aircon re-gas where all done by the previous owner late 2013.

If anyone has any input/suggestions or even experienced these problems - feel free to post!

Here's some pics I took a little while ago after work:

[guile]

Mate if I had to place a bet I would put a lot of money in it being the thermostat. I had exactly the same problem on my a3.

I'll post a link on how to test the fans when I can get to the internet, I'm on my phone at the moment.

[guile]

this is the link that helped me no end and diagnosed the issue as the thermostat. there is also plenty more info out there if you google this issue...

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/516/A4_Coolant_Fan_testing_Rev_7.pdf

let me know if you need a hand when i'm back as i still have the wiring set up i used to test my a3. it's pretty basic though and you could easily wire something up. i bought the fuse and holder from superscrote...

[koji]

Mate if I had to place a bet I would put a lot of money in it being the thermostat. I had exactly the same problem on my a3.

I'll post a link on how to test the fans when I can get to the internet, I'm on my phone at the moment.

Hey Richard,

I pulled the thermostat out and it was stuck closed, I had already bought a replacement w/ housing so fitted it all up and it is much better and not overheating. Was a pain to do but it's fixed the boiling problem.

this is the link that helped me no end and diagnosed the issue as the thermostat. there is also plenty more info out there if you google this issue...

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/516/A4_Coolant_Fan_testing_Rev_7.pdf

let me know if you need a hand when i'm back as i still have the wiring set up i used to test my a3. it's pretty basic though and you could easily wire something up. i bought the fuse and holder from superscrote...

Thanks for the link, I have seen a similar thread on vortex showing the procedure however I am not very good with electrical stuff and somewhat still a novice with car related work. If you have a pic of the 'fused jumper wire' that would be a great help! I know that the fans can run as I've pulled the blade fuse at the drivers side and they both run...I've checked and replaced the fuses on top the battery so I am 99% sure its coming from the fan module or the connectors - the jumper wire will tell the story.

In other news, I have an oil leak at the rear right of the engine and have tried to locate it by pulling a few things of the TIP however cannot really see much back there. I have done some research and it could be the VVT gasket, rocker cover gasket or the Cam adjuster gasket. I don't really know where these are located on my engine but apparently these are common leaks. Just another DIY job to be done - although it is annoying fixing all these parts, it has been a good learning experience and i'm sure it will be helpful for the future...and my wallet