Hi guys,

As some may know Ive been having trouble with a Drone/Grinding sound from the front end sice before Xmas when a Bearing went on the Passengers side. The car has never gone without and has been regularly maintained. Every year for the last 3 years Ive stripped the suspension off and the arch liners and cleaned them up and put new parts in to freshen it up along with a full service. OEM items used from TPS, no cheap OE quality stuff.

Anyway, I had the bearing done by a "VAG SPACIALIST" bown near Barry and also had my 2 new ball joints fitted too. ever since I have had this grinding noise mainly noticable at 40mph. It has slowly got worse and worse and got to the stge now where you can feel it in your feet. Ne way I thought something else was wrong so I did some fault finding to find no play in the CVs so that eliminated them, I noticed a noise from the gear box tho which shouldnt really be there so figured it was that.

Tried to get a box for it but the 02J gearbox for the vRS is like rocking horse poop. Couldnt find one anywhere. Well Westallc mentioned he might be stripping his one he got off Amateurstuntman after a change of plans so he would let me have the gearbox off that, Bonus seen as it had been Quaiffed lol.

I ended up buying the car off him instead and stripping it so not only did I get the Quaiffe gearbox, but also a Sache Clutch and G60 flywheel, Cast wishbones R32 FARB, S3 Upper brace and a newer set of Weitecs and a SuperPRO bushed rear beam. Not to mention the B&M shortshifter and 17" spiders with Toyo t1Rs.

After changing the gearbox: noise still there

Changed the drivers side srive shaft and hub: noise still there

Changed the Passengers side Hub: noise still there

I didnt change the short drive shaft as the inner boot was u/s so seen as my one seemed fine I left it.

This weekend Ive taken time off to sort it all out once and for all! (I hope)

What I am doing:

Remove/clean up and protect Front Coilovers

Remove Drive shafts, put my original long shaft back on and make up the short one with best CV joints from other car

Put TT tie rods + ends on to S3 TT R32 rack + new boots and clamps

Put new std bushes in cast wishbones

Put TT hub assemblies on + New bearings + new splash guards + new nuts and bolts everywhere

Put New turbo-DP gasket in + New nuts and washers

Clean up and Paint LCR 323mm 4 pot Brembos + Fit

Paint other Rear beam + Fit

Clean up rear suspension

Fit Neuspeed 28mm Rear ARB (painted vRS green)

Bleed/Flush Brakes and Clutch (easybleed preasure bleader, uses spare wheel)

fill PAS

oh and fit the TT jack points (what a pain in the bum)

Ill start with the Rear beam, all painted up with rust convirter left to go hard then painted over with black metal paint

I set about Removing all the front end:

remove front BUMPER: Torx screws x21 iirc(2 behind each front side pull outs, 2 underneath, 3 on top and 6 in each wheel arch) and 4 x 10mm bolts under the rub strip

Loosen off the HUB nuts(30mm double hex) and wheel bolts(17mm) while car is on ground.

Removed wheels, Hubs, Drive shafts(xx Spline on gearbox flange), Subframe(xxmm) and Coilovers(xx Alankey xxmm long socket) Dont forget to undo the PAS pipes, one on each side. easiest way to get to them is from the front of the car I found and not the side(19mm iirc)

Nearly forgot to mention:

13mm bolt under the foot rest connects the steering column to the Rack, once undone the clamp just lifts up like you are flashing the V with one finger either side. It wont come off if you leave it on and drop the subframe as it lengthens and moves so best disconect it there and then.

Subframe off:

Once that was off it gives more access to the Turbo, With my system being all one it was a pain to get back on but after some faf it went on adn I got it tightened up(Turbo Nuts 17mm) Once I have it back together I also moved the heatshield as it was vibrating o the floorpan after fitting the B&M shifter. I thought It would of been better keeping it away from the zorst but I was wrong.

Everything off:

Once I had the Subframe off I removed the Std Tie Rods+Ends and replaced them with the TT (thicker) ones. Bought them new in Feb by mistake. Put new Boots on and clamps and made sure it was all tight. I also removed the Cast Wishbones(xxmm) to fit new bushes.

With all them done I put the Subframe back on the car using a jack to help lift it. Once up I fitted the 4 bolts so the subframe was secure but movable, Fitted the PAS pipes back on and tightened them up. I then grabbed the middle of the S3 brace and pulled the Subframe all the way fwd and to the middle and tightened the 2 front bolts followed by the rear 2. Then Torqued it all up.

That was the end of day 1 lol

Day 2 I started to Prep the short Drive Shaft and the Wishbones

I thought Id start by having a play with the one off the other car seen as it was needing work anyway, just to get to know what I was doing.

I then set to stripping my Inner CV down, In the one off the other car the CV grease was firm, dirty but firm. My one that I was thinking is the cause of the noise was like caramel, very runny caramel. nothing was leaking but on removal of the rear plate:

This is what was in the other short inner CV:

My short shaft had no play in it, and seemed fine apart from when sliding it in and out it had a small part where it cought and felt rough. The other short shaft off the other car I didnt uses just coz there was play in the inner ball parts Also when replacing these back onto the shaft, if you look closly at side one side is flat and the other is shanfered slightly, the shanfered end goes on first till it hits the stop, you then put the new circlip into the groove.

The long shaft off the other car tho was good so I used that one.

This is what I found on my Inner CV housing after cleaning it up:

This was the one I used as it was the best of the lot, no way near as bad as the one that I had on.

Cleaned the shaft up:

All the items in the repair Kit and the tripod and cup section off the shaft: It was a bit of a pain to get the tropod off the shaft as there is a small circlip which is rather fiddly.

All Done and well packed with fresh grease:

More to follow

Fitting Bushes:

Here we go, it took me ages to get this done. Mainly the first bush as it was trial and error.

Tools I used:

Hammer

large flat head screwdriver

Wood drill bits: 6mm 4mm(snapped)8mm

M10 Threaded bar

M10 Nuts (Use 2 on each end to spread the load)

Metal plate from HomeBase cut in half and Drilled.

Spanner and Large adjustable

To start, Take the wishbones and Drill the hell out of the bushes:

This front Bush is the one to watch, as you can see due to angles and the metal middle you need to be careful. I used a drill and drilled lots of holes around the back of the metal part with the small drills. Be very careful too as the drills get really hot. to combat this I used some penitrating oil and sprayed the drill bit with it.

The rear bush is easy to do, the middle metal part is shaped like an egg tho so dont use too bigger drill. As you can see the more holes you drill the easier it is.

When you are happy youve drilled enough, I used a Large screwdriver and prised the middles out, again the front bushes are the harder ones as the metal mid section is large so not much room to play with.

When you have got the middles out, use the large flat head and a hammer and carefully prise the outer sleave away from the wishbone. No need to go at it like this. this was my first attempt and tbh it makes it harder. Only go at it in one place knocking a bit away and then turn the screwdriver 90 deg and hit the outer sheath of the bush to cut it(its very soft metal and cuts easy) then carry on getting some more away from the edge then cut again.

so instead of the above mess, you get this:

Once you have removed the bushes and sheaths, clean them up and get rid of any dirt and rust patches in there.

Once cleaned out you are ready then to press the new ones in:

To press the new ones in again I tried lots of things but to shorted it Ill say what worked best to keep the bush looking as new and not having a crease in the large rear bush like there was in the old ones. To do this you cant just use the plates as the bush middles are higher than the outers so by using a flat plate you push from the middle of the bush which gives them the creasing in the rubber. To get around this, use old parts off the car.

one of the middle bits of the Rear bush(plugs the large hole in the Hub flange)

FWD Hub flanges

Top mount bush

Hub Nut(this fills a void in the Top mount so it doesnt collaps)

The 2 plates

THe M10 Bar

4x nuts (I tried using one Nut to find that after so much it pulled the threads out of it and I had to cut it off)

Put it together like this: the blue line is the location of the wishbone

Pressing the new ones in:

As you can see here from one of my first attempts you can see what I mean about putting pressure on the rubber section of the bush and also you will only get the bush in so far before it hits the back plate and wont go in any further.

The Rear bush has no markers to say when its in so personally I pressed them in so there is a small 1mm lip on each side of the bush to keep them even. Both wishbones the same.

the Front bush has a lip on it so you just press it in as far as it goes

you need to line the Front bushes up like this:

unfortunatly I didnt get the first one in perfectly but close enough.

All Done:

al thats left is to refit to the car with NEW bolts and Nut.

I greased up the outside of the bush and the inner whishbone before starting, then used lots of spray oil. Remember to get the 2 nuts in sink so you can turn them at the same time to lessen the stress on the one nut as I threaded one on my first attempt and had to cut the bolt. Not fun.

The Hub flange ring is perfect size for the outer ring of the bushes so as not to put stress on the rubber. The Top mount is also a perfect size to go on the Whisbone and it also allows an area where the middle metal bit of the bush can go into and not press on to hinder it going in. the Hub nut is at the back of it to add support to the thinner part of the topmount so it doesnt squash down.

Very simple to make up and very very effective. the bushes fo in really easy and you can see them too.

Hope this helps someone

billy

Stripping and Painting the Brembos:

These were taken the day I rx'd the brakes: not the best condition

I am not wanting the car to look too modified so everything that goes on needs to look like it belongs on the car so They needed to be painted GREEN. pain in the bum finding a place to get the paint from but managed with help thanks Dan

Also I needed New brake lines as the ones on them had been cut. I also renewed the hard L pipe in them too while I was at it which allowed me to use the old ones to keep the paint out and have something to hold onto.

First things first is to get the crap off them so I washed them down with alloy wheel cleaner and sand paper to remove the old laquer. I prob went a bit overboard and got rid of as much paint as I could too. the more that you get off the better I'd say.

Any stuborn stuff youll need to get off with a screwdriver. I them used a wire brush to go at it even more. While I was doing this I noticed one of the dust covers round a piston was poping up so when I removed it I noticed a hole in it and it was rather bad underneath in the well the seal sits in so that had to be cleaned.

I got some new seals from a place up near Catterick Garrison http://www.racepads.co.uk/ (I was posted there for 3.5 year and didnt even know they were there lol) From a dealer the set was £48+ form these guys they were £40 delivered and TPS could do them for for £36sih iirc but couldnt get hold of them in time so wasnt fussed.

PN will all be up later when I get them all together.

To get the new covers in you need to get the pistons out so you can see the locating lip on them then push them over and push the piston back in.

Then you can tape everything up ready for painting

For the seals I used one of the old ones both small and large and made a square of paper tape like this:

Then once you have that you can cut round it with scisors. leaving 1-2mm around the outside.

Then just stick it over the relevant piston.

Make sure you remove all impurities and the dust caps.

To remove impurities I washed them a few times with some water and washing up liquid as its a grease cutting agent, then rince really well and shake off then poped them in the oven on 60 deg for a few mins before just opening the door and leaving over night to cool. then get on with the sticking up.

On the blead nipples I used electrical tape but can be done with paper tape. Also on therear where the pipe connects I used electric tape so as to keepthe flat bit round the pipe clean from paint.

I then stuck the round tape items made over the pistons and some flat tape over the metal sliders in the sides and over the bolt holes for the carriers.

Then Sprayed them.

As you can see here all holes and stuff are plugged:

I had the paint mixed by a paint place here in Cardiff and only cost £12. perfect match too

I am not gonna put the Brembo stickers on yet as I want to see what the paint goes like after a while. because I was in a rush I put too much paint on the first pass so its not perfect but still looks damn good in green and they dont really stand out which is what I want. Ill be stripping them later on and redoing them again then putting the stickers on to complete.

Once fitted you need to bleed the system.

Best way is with one of these: http://www.screwfix.com/p/gunson-eezibleed-kit/33881

used the spare tyre with no more than 20psi and easy.

Make sure you tap the lines too to remove air as I found lots came out when tapping them. Make sure you have plenty of fluid too.

First off,

Reattach all the lines firmly.

Attach the empty eezibleed kit and put the spare wheel on to it and see if you can see any leaks from an of the system.

Once you have checked it over, remove tyre, and fill the header tank to max, and fill the bottle. re attach everything and put the tyre on again.

Using an 8mm spanner or socket bleed the MC by the 2 nipples on the top.

then bleed the 2 fronts together to get fluid into the system

then the same with the rear.

Once done you can then get on with the actual bleed proccess.

Start with the Passengers Front (I did both nipples at once)

Then Drivers Front

Then Passengers Rear

and finally Drivers Rear taping the lines as you go.

I did the process twice and I have a really good feel to them now, will do it again later on when I get chance again just to make sure. I used the pipesprovided in the kit but its enevitable that some will spill so I used some water with washing up liquid in to was the brakes then rinced with lots of water.

Replace the dust caps and thats it, pop the wheels back on and go for a gentle test drive just in case and remember to test the brakes before moving into the road just in case!

if they work and you are happy, go and have fun.

Part 4

Right seen as I slept most of the day, thought I'd start this again.

after a lot of messing and getting the alignment sort of sorted.

I can safely say that the fitting of the TT/S3/LCR front Hub assemblies and cast wishbones is a must for thoes with coilovers on.

As you can see from these 2 pics, the ride hight stays the same but the wishbone gets pushed down for improved handling and OMG it makes a big difference!

std hub

TT hub

Ride hight, its a tad lower than that now at the front

These are the comparrison of the 2 hubs

Again I cant say how much of an improvement these mods are. all can be sourced reasonably cheaply. The steering rack is not essential but does make a nice difference adding weight and feel to the steering and giving the front end a bit more positivity to it.

billy

And the noise is still there?? lol

I hope its sorted it.

Ill be putting up a how to for the TT arms and bushes. Took me ages to fathem the easiest way of gettin the bushes out and new ones in, turns out the best thing to use is the middle of the old bush, the std hub and an old top mount lol

Billy

There really is some people with to much time on there hands,

Altho i could do with with dropping subframe and rear beam off and cleaning them up, just need car so its abit difficult

Anyway, I had the bearing done by a "VAG SPACIALIST"

that would appear to be the problem - space cadets :rofl:

(only joking - hope you get it sorted)

Now that's what you call a service! :

Has it fixed it?

I hope its sorted it.

Ill be putting up a how to for the TT arms and bushes. Took me ages to fathem the easiest way of gettin the bushes out and new ones in, turns out the best thing to use is the middle of the old bush, the std hub and an old top mount lol

Billy

Jez you been busy Billy.

I hope all this sorts it out for you. I found removing old wishbone bushes not too bad by cutting out the rubber section then carefully using hacksaw cut the sleeve down the length then it falls out. Also you can get a screwdriver and just knock it between the sleeve and wishbone and it will cause the sleeve to crease inwards and then easy to remove.

Be interested on your TT arms and bushes install as I have mine ready to go, just waiting for a TT/S3 rack

Will be using the VRS Hubs as given up waiting for a set of TT hubs to appear. Which means i will need to sapce the ball joints out.

I wish I had time on my hands lol

I hope it sorts it too. That's one thing I know its all good now for a while longer, will do an oil and filter change mid year.

Cheers Mark,

It is a bit in depth, I couldn't fathem where and how much to drill lol, once the centres are out I did just use a screwdriver and hammer. And it was easy. Took ages to do the first one but rest took less than the first lol.

Gettin them in was a pain too. But I now have the right parts so it takes 10 mins lol.

I had no trouble at all findin the TT hub assemblies. A lad on edtn 38 been sellin them. Since Jan, jus did a search and there they were lol. If you get them you'll need the splash guards too. I bought the right ones for the 312mm brakes new to go on after tryin the 323mm brakes out on the battered backings that came with the hubs thinkin they will be good.

How wrong I was, had to flatten them down, doh 18 notes down the drain. Gonna enquire about the right ones tomoz. Etka says they are expensive so think ill be leavin it as is for now. Can't wait to get the Brembos on. Jus hope the rain holds off for a bit in mornin.

Jus a quick one. Today been HELL! I've put the brakes on and blead the system with an eazybleed using the spare wheel for preasure at 16 psi.

I let the fluid thru startin from front pass. Frond drivers, rear pass, rear drivers? Let it run thru pipe till was clear and no bubles. Went to try them and omg nothin.

I also have a prob wi the brembos, there is 1mm of clearence on one side and the drivers side just take the paint off a small bit in middle? I am usin my TD pro race 18" alloys. What's goin on?

I am at wits end with this damn car now!

Billy

PS don't get a NEUSPEED rear bar neither, they are a mahoosive royal pain in ass to fit! Once fitted tho they are much neater and secure than the whiteline.

Jus a quick one. Today been HELL! I've put the brakes on and blead the system with an eazybleed using the spare wheel for preasure at 16 psi.

I let the fluid thru startin from front pass. Frond drivers, rear pass, rear drivers? Let it run thru pipe till was clear and no bubles. Went to try them and omg nothin.

I also have a prob wi the brembos, there is 1mm of clearence on one side and the drivers side just take the paint off a small bit in middle? I am usin my TD pro race 18" alloys. What's goin on?

I am at wits end with this damn car now!

Billy

PS don't get a NEUSPEED rear bar neither, they are a mahoosive royal pain in ass to fit! Once fitted tho they are much neater and secure than the whiteline.

In reply to this,

The car is now AWESOME! so far I have tested it a little and its BRILL. In places I usually got a little understeer and the feeling of uncertainty in corners, I can now put it in at a faster pace and have the confidence it will stick. I am still not getting the most by a long way out of it but its cornering flatter and no feel of sliding at all.

The brakes are ONE AWESOME addition too.

I would say now that the only things lacking on my car is a set of KWv3's and the SuperPRO caster bushes. but only really needed for track use as Ive heard the KWv3's are very firm even when on softest settings and the caster bushes are 70 notes abouts and for that you can renew with std bushes multiple times.

I will get pics of the ride hight and the car next week after Ive detailed her as she is a bit of an embaracment atm. :'(

billy

i found the kwv3 fine for day to day use and are in a different league to any of the others

even the other half didnt find them harsh when on soft setting

get them and you will have the most complete handling car on here

updated

Bloody hell you on steriods? ,

The pictures and guidelines are brilliant, if you ever decide to sell that car I think the next owner would be getting a real gem.

Peter

yup v2s and v3s are a lot better than the weitecs sadly.

the weitecs are great for the price, but the kws are in a different league and not crashy, despite being firm

Cheers guys,

That's sorted then, they are the next thing to go on when the Weitecs are U/S. The weitecs I find are brill, I know what you mean about crashy, but I only found them like that when the car was low. When she is washed ill post up the hight as she isn't that low. I found that even the slightest rise made the car feel so much nicer, even handle better.

I spose its not just the price, its the fact there is no fafing about, just pop them on n go.

Clive, that one I had off you was awesome, but now mate its another car again lol, even flatter and grippier and stops like a gud un lol. I am even running the ECU from that car as its a more eco map and good for the pootlin around I do lol. Really need the rs tuning one tweeking but tbh I like the way that one goes.

Peter, cheers mate lol, na not on royds mate can't afford them after this lot lol. I just hope they are helpfull to someone as its a pain to go in blind. Also proof you don't need special tools to do jobs, just using parts from your car will do the job.

Ps, ill not be selling her now. I just have the odd outburst when things frustrate me lol.

good job billy

you have been busy!

Nice work

KW v3 rock

Extremely adjustable and flexible.

Billy please tell us the noise has none gone.........

Well done by the way for a very informed thread that covers lots of items and of interest to us folks that are going though some of the mods you have....

P.S Inserting new wishbone bushes is a pain if you do not have a hollow object to allow for the middle section of the new bush to stick through it, as it sits more proud than the edges. Lots of washing up liquid and a over size socket to sit in the vice helps also, so you can press in from one side and them allow the bush to push through the centre of the other side without being impinged.

If you get what i mean..

Great work so far billy!

Thanks for the step by steps two, as said above, a lot of us would be/are going to be doing this work, or at least you are going to encourage people to be doing it!!

Hey mate - after some advice - I got my Brembos fitted today by the local garage - didn't want to do it myself - the bleeding process sounded a bit painful

Anyway I don't think they're right - the pedal goes over halfway down before I get any bite at all, then the car stops okay .

Also what did you do with the connection for the low pads warning?

Mine are sealed up with eletrical tape and cable-tied to the coilover leg.

yup just seal them off with some tape properly