Survey Platform Experiment

You probably already encountered the pop-up Survey.  I thought I would try a different survey format for a question I have.

Since for the past several weeks I have been focused on refreshing and doing some upgrades on a fellow B5 S4 owner’s car I haven’t been doing much in the way of product testing.

Test fitting turbo lines
Test fitting turbo lines

It occurred to me that I ought to see what ideas others have for products that could stand to be evaluated.  As a result, the survey you saw was created.

Below I will be creating a table of the suggestions made in response to the poll.

Or not.

After 185 opportunities to have a suggestion made for an item to test next there was a grand total of zero (0) suggestions given.

I will keep chugging along as I have done in the past, directing what gets tested next.

Taking care of the rear main seal

With the engine out of the car I’m taking the opportunity to install some new seals, gaskets, and o-rings with the rear main seal being the biggie today.

First up were the valve cover gaskets and cam chain tensioner gaskets.

After run pump
After run pump

Then I moved to the back of the engine to replace the rear main seal.

Audi B5 S4 Rear Main Seal - RMS
Audi B5 S4 Rear Main Seal – RMS

After a couple of tries I had the seal on with a good fit, only to realize I didn’t know where I had placed the bolts to tighten it down.  With stuff strewn throughout the garage it took a few minutes to find the misplaced bolts and get the job finished.

Note: The two bolts in the bottom of the RMS are not installed in the picture, but I did not forget about them.

Upgrade in progress

The Silver S4 that is in to be made healthy is now starting to see some upgrades added.  I’m starting at the rear of the vehicle and plan to make my way forward.  First off was the stock sway bar to be replaced by the 034 Motorsport swaybar and 034 adjustable endlinks.  The first step of this upgrade is to install the subframe reinforcing brackets.

034 Motorsport Swaybar Subframe Brackets
034 Motorsport Swaybar Subframe Brackets

Next I moved over to the driver side brakes to replace the pads and rotor along with upgrading to the 034 Motorsport brake lines.

034 Motorsport Brake Lines
034 Motorsport Brake Lines

While I was underneath the car the rear differential fluid was changed out with some Liqui Moly fluid.

The stock suspension was removed and a Vogtland coilover was installed in its place.

Vogtland Coilover Audi B5 S4
Vogtland Coilover

(Note: The rotor was swapped with the other after the picture was taken so that the slot angle is the other direction.)

The wheel bearings are also going to be replaced, but the rear axle bolt has been putting up a good fight against my breaker bar.

Breaker Bar Torque Rating

The bolt is going to strip before loosening, so I’m holding off on trying any more so I can get the car to a shop equipped with an impact wrench.