The Project Pad

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the S4 seats in the rear. I'm in the same boat (platinum to ecru fronts). Looks great!

alall wrote:Looking forward to seeing what you do with the S4 seats in the rear. I'm in the same boat (platinum to ecru fronts). Looks great!

Thanks! I'll be working on that in the near future. At first glance, they look dimensionally identical to the 200 seats, but the S4 seats may be a bit wider near the front where they meet the doors. Haven't actually test-fitted them myself, but I was told they don't directly fit a C3. Worst case, I can cut out a bit of material and stitch them closed again. I'll keep you updated.

I finally reinstalled the dizzy last week, but the engine just turned over without starting. I pulled codes, and now I'm getting a crank sensor error. "Please don't be the flywheel pin, please don be the" - yep. Sheared right off. I've heard of these cars sending codes +/- 1 of what is actually stored, so I'm guessing that's what happened here (Code 00513 vs 00514). I didn't know the car could run without a crank sensor, though.

A little investigating later and I found that the rear oil pan bolts (with the access holes by the bell-housing) were missing entirely. I'm thinking the little buggers must've backed out and collided with the flywheel pin. As it happens, I replaced about 70% of the oil pan hardware with stainless bolts, and almost every one of them was looser than I'd set them, while the standard ones were still nice and snug. Hmmmm...

In any case, I dropped the pan again, but the bolts and the remnants of the pin are nowhere to be found. Luckily, the flywheel teeth seem completely unscathed, but I'm a little concerned I can't find the perpetrators. Hopefully they fell out the access holes, or I might be doing the same thing over again with the new pin.

IIRC it will run fine without the pin, just wont start after you turn it off.

mr_aj_johnson wrote:IIRC it will run fine without the pin, just wont start after you turn it off.

When mine failed the car became really sluggish and down on power, and when I let the RPMs drop it died instead of idling.

What are you going to do? Drop the trans to repair the pin?

Ahhh I see! Mine also ran like a dog, and boost was limited to wastegate pressure. I mistakingly thought it could only keep running if the hall sender went bad.

I really don't want to drop the trans right now (never done it), so I'm just working on it with the oil pan removed. I masked off the bottom end with several layers of painter's plastic and the plan is to bore out the center and use a Dremel to work outwards until just a thin sleeve remains.

That pin is made of some seriously tough stuff, though! Only my tungsten carbide bit on the Dremel has any effect on it. Cobalt bits just got blunted, so I've got a carbide drill bit on order from Amazon.

lol damn, that sucks. That makes me want to have the clutch done and have a good aftermarket flywheel put on it too. Is the access pretty tight or is it not too hard to get to? That'll be pretty clutch if you do it without dropping the trans

I was able to get at it through the starter hole, and drill it out with a regular metal bit.

Trans drop is easy. Especially if you have a lift and a tranny jack. And an air gun... Yeah, super easy.

The linkage right is the hardest part in my opinion.

chaloux wrote:Trans drop is easy. Especially if you have a lift and a tranny jack. And an air gun... Yeah, super easy.

Lol I wish. My tool inventory is defined entirely by whether or not I can get away without it first.

Midnight wrote:I was able to get at it through the starter hole, and drill it out with a regular metal bit.

I originally planned on working through the starter hole, but with the pan bolts gone AWOL and the additional space I'd get, I went that route so I could clear any debris I found.

Interesting that yours came out so easily. I found a thread on MG where it looks like I'm not alone in my struggle. Guess we just got unlucky. From your experience, do you remember how deep you had to drill?

I don't remember how deep I went. But I also didn't get the pin in straight, maybe that's why I didn't have problems drilling it out...

Welp, I changed my mind; I'm dropping the tranny!

I made myself a jig to keep the drill orthogonal to the flywheel and spent faaarrr too long trying to get the stupid pin out. After a few hours of drilling and only getting in 3mm, I finally conceded that it would have been easier to just remove the flywheel and have a machine shop deal with it. Guess I shoulda listened to Matt.

A few newbie questions for you veterans:
- The Bentley is pretty adamant about using their driveshaft alignment tool during removal, but I'm 90% sure none of you use that. Is there some work-around, or do you just have to be careful to keep it straight?
- Any while-I'm-in-there's I should look at doing? Got a shifter bushing so far.
- Should the driveshaft be able to turn any with the rear wheels on the ground? Mine turns the rear diff a few degrees, and I'm wondering if I've found the source of the massive backlash in my drivetrain.

Any additional BTDT tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated! Also, huge thanks to my buddy Sam for letting me daily his E30 while the 200 is down. Now I'll be able to work on it more than one day a week!

I'd do pilot bearing, throwout bearing, and possibly clutch depending on its amount of wear with the trans being dropped. also slave cylinder and shifter bushing. Trans fluid couldn't hurt to do as well.

I never used that alignment tool.


I kinda listed everything...

For the driveshaft, just make sure you mark it where it separates. If you don't get it lined up again, it'll be out of balance and you'll never get it balanced again. Ever, lol.

I second Phil's advice on replacing those parts while you're in there. Why not a rear main seal as well? Definitely do the shift selector bushing thing on the trans. Mine was toast after only 180k.

Not sure about the ability for the ds to move while the wheels are on the ground, but some differential backlash is definitely normal. I'm sure it was less when it was new, but what can ya do!

loxxrider wrote:For the driveshaft, just make sure you mark it where it separates. If you don't get it lined up again, it'll be out of balance and you'll never get it balanced again. Ever, lol.

I second Phil's advice on replacing those parts while you're in there. Why not a rear main seal as well? Definitely do the shift selector bushing thing on the trans. Mine was toast after only 180k.

I second chris on the rear main seal. My roommate replaced the clutch on his 300zx about a year ago, didnt do the rear main, guess what's leaking now?

Driveshaft support bearing couldn't hurt too if yours is starting to age.
This all is starting to add up...

loxxrider wrote:For the driveshaft, just make sure you mark it where it separates. If you don't get it lined up again, it'll be out of balance and you'll never get it balanced again. Ever, lol.

I second Phil's advice on replacing those parts while you're in there. Why not a rear main seal as well? Definitely do the shift selector bushing thing on the trans. Mine was toast after only 180k.

Agreed with what Chris said, they're easy enough surface parts to replace that don't cost a lot.



Quick question: for those of us doing an 01E swap into the small chassis, what do we need to know about installing a 4kq propshaft and keeping the alignment/balance happy?

Thank you so much! You guys are the best!

You definitely bring up a good point about the main seal. I believe of all the seals/gaskets on the engine, that's the only one I haven't replaced yet. It would be my luck for it to go bad after reinstalling the tranny.

The clutch only has 50k on it, and I drive like a grandpa, so I think it's still got life, but Idk about the bearings. It'd probably be wise to replace them.

As for the backlash, I haven't investigated it much, but letting off throttle in 5th feels like most cars in 1st/2nd. Low gear misfires are super violent. I just don't know what the source(s) is.

It's probably all in the Trans and diff. There aren't really any other weak points for driveline slop in these. You can check the diff separately from the Trans just by jacking the back up and turning the wheels while watching the driveshaft.

Your clutch is probably fine. I wouldn't replace it. Never hurts to change bearings though, especially if you didn't do them before.

Bam!




Had a bunch of friends (including a 200 20v Avant owner!) tag team it out! Got a little frustrated, cause the tranny was snagged on the cables above the transmission and we didn't realize it, but other than that, it was smooth sailing.

Just brought the flywheel to the shop today! Hopefully we'll get the car back on the road next week. Or at least for Carlisle 2015 babyyyy!!

Nice work Kevin. On the rear main, many urs folk have changed non-leaking ones only to have the new ones leak. If it's not leaking, I would personally not change it.

Chris, I never knew that about the driveshaft balancing. Are you just talking about marking the trans output flange and the ds?

No, I'm talking about marking the joint where the two pieces of the driveshaft come together. The middle of the driveshaft. I believe it's balanced as a unit.

Apikol just told me the same thing about rear mains... I think it's becuase all of the rear mains available now are not from VW/Audi.

I'm trying to decide whether to replace mine or not on the avant while it's getting a clutch.

Also, how did the flywheel pin shear? Is there anything that should be done to prevent this?

Hmmm.. I do have a rear main to go in, but it's an Elring unit. Maybe I'll leave that be for now. Thanks for the input!

If you do want a genuine VW/Audi one, I've been told the B5 1.8T rear main seal is interchangeable, so you most certainly could still get one, but I can't imagine it'll be cheap.

loxxrider wrote:Also, how did the flywheel pin shear? Is there anything that should be done to prevent this?

Haha, I'd say just double check that the oil pan bolts are still good and snug after running it a while. I've heard of the pin breaking off from fatigue, which I guess is unavoidable, but I'm 99.99% certain mine was taken out by the rear oil pan bolt backing out and colliding with it.

It's odd, because all the original hardware I installed was still tight, but the rusted bolts I'd replaced with stainless were all hand-loose. Maybe my new washers didn't supply enough friction, I dunno. Won't be a mistake I repeat, though.